[Edit] Python .split() (#6574)

* Update split.md

* fixed casing, added links, backticks, and changed the structure a bit

---------

Author: Radhika-okhade

content/python/concepts/strings/terms/split/split.md

@@ -1,89 +1,135 @@
 ---
 Title: '.split()'
-Description: 'Converts a string to a list. It takes a specified delimiter and a maximum number of items to split as optional parameters. '
+Description: 'Breaks down a string into a list of substrings based on a specified separator.'
 Subjects:
   - 'Data Science'
   - 'Computer Science'
 Tags:
   - 'Characters'
-  - 'Strings'
-  - 'Methods'
-  - 'Functions'
   - 'Formatting'
+  - 'Functions'
   - 'Lists'
+  - 'Methods'
+  - 'Strings'
 CatalogContent:
   - 'learn-python-3'
   - 'paths/analyze-data-with-python'
 ---
 
-The **`.split()`** method returns a new [list](https://www.codecademy.com/resources/docs/python/lists) of substrings based on a given string.
+The **`.split()`** method breaks down a string into a [list](https://www.codecademy.com/resources/docs/python/lists) of [substrings](https://www.codecademy.com/resources/docs/python/substrings) based on a specified separator. When no separator is specified, `.split()` uses whitespace as the default delimiter, making it ideal for tokenizing text into individual words.
+
+This method is one of the most commonly used in Python for tasks like text tokenization, log parsing, and data cleaning.
 
 ## Syntax
 
 ```pseudo
-string.split(delimiter, maxsplit)
+str.split(separator, maxsplit)
 ```
 
-The `.split()` method takes the following optional parameters:
+**Parameters:**
 
-- A `delimiter` that is either a [regular expression](https://www.codecademy.com/resources/docs/python/regex) or a string that is composed of one or more characters.
-- The value `maxsplit` specifies the total number of splits that can occur, and the remainder of the string is returned as the final element of the list. The default value is `-1`, which means an unlimited number of splits.
+- `separator` (optional): Specifies the delimiter to use for splitting the string. If not provided, whitespace characters (spaces, tabs, newlines) are used as separators.
+- `maxsplit` (optional): Specifies the maximum number of splits to perform. The default value is `-1`, which means all possible splits are made.
 
-If no parameters are passed to the `.split()` method, a list is returned with the `string` as the sole element.
+**Return value:**
 
-> **Note**: An empty string (`""`) cannot be used as a `delimiter` to return a list of single characters from a given `string`. Using the built-in `list()` method can achieve this.
+- Returns a list of substrings.
 
-## Examples
+## Example 1: Using `.split()` with default separator
 
-If the parameters of `.split()` are left blank, the delimiter will default to whitespace and the maximum number of items to split will be infinite.
+Let's look at how to use Python's `.split()` method with its default behavior:
 
 ```py
-my_string = "I like waffles from Belgium"
+text = "Python split method demonstration"
 
-my_list = my_string.split()
+# Using the split function in Python
+words = text.split()
 
-print(my_list)
-# Output: ['I', 'like', 'waffles', 'from', 'Belgium']
+print(words)
 ```
 
-The next example shows the following:
+This will generate the following output:
 
-- It is possible to use escape characters (tab `\t`, newline `\n`, etc.) as delimiters (in `list_a`).
-- The `maxsplit` can control the size of the returned `list_b`.
+```shell
+['Python', 'split', 'method', 'demonstration']
+```
 
-```py
-multiline_string = """
-Beets
-Bears
-Battlestar Galactica
-"""
+In this example, Python's `.split()` function divides the string at each whitespace character, creating a list of individual words.
 
-menu = "Breakfast|Eggs|Tomatoes|Beans|Waffles"
+## Example 2: Python Split Function with Custom Separator and Maxsplit
 
-list_a = multiline_string.split("\n")
+Here's how to use the split method in Python with custom separators:
 
-list_b = menu.split("|", 3)
+```py
+# Using split in Python with comma separator
+data_string = "apple,orange,banana,grape"
 
-print(f"Using escape characters: {list_a}")
+# Python split with comma delimiter
+fruit_list = data_string.split(',')
+print("Split result with comma:", fruit_list)
 
-print(f"Limited number of list items: {list_b}")
+# Python .split() with limit parameter
+limited_split = data_string.split(',', 2)
+print("Split in Python with limit:", limited_split)
 ```
 
-The following output is shown below:
+This example will generate the following output:
 
 ```shell
-Using escape characters: ['', 'Beets', 'Bears', 'Battlestar Galactica', '']
-Limited number of list items: ['Breakfast', 'Eggs', 'Tomatoes', 'Beans|Waffles']
+Split result with comma: ['apple', 'orange', 'banana', 'grape']
+Split in Python with limit: ['apple', 'orange', 'banana,grape']
 ```
 
+This demonstrates how the Python split function works with a custom separator and the `maxsplit` parameter to control the splitting behavior.
+
 ## Codebyte Example
 
-The following example showcases a regular expression (`r"ea"`) being applied as a delimiter for the `.split()` method:
+This example demonstrates how to use Python’s `.split()` method with both default and custom separators:
 
 ```codebyte/python
-example_string = "Bears, beans, and breakfast."
+# Create a simple sentence
+sentence = "Python is fun and easy to learn"
+print("Original sentence:")
+print(sentence)
+print("-" * 30)
+
+# Step 1: Basic split with default separator (space)
+words = sentence.split()
+print("Split into words:")
+print(words)
+print("-" * 30)
+
+# Step 2: Access individual words from the result
+print("Individual words:")
+print("First word:", words[0])
+print("Second word:", words[1])
+print("Last word:", words[-1])
+print("-" * 30)
+
+# Step 3: Split using a different separator
+fruits = "apple,banana,orange,grape"
+print("Fruit string:", fruits)
+
+fruit_list = fruits.split(",")
+print("Fruits after splitting:")
+print(fruit_list)
+print("-" * 30)
+
+# Step 4: Count the items after splitting
+print(f"The sentence has {len(words)} words")
+print(f"The fruit list has {len(fruit_list)} fruits")
+```
 
-regex_string = r"ea"
+## Frequently Asked Questions
 
-print(example_string.split(regex_string))
-```
+### 1. What does `.strip()` `.split()` do in Python?
+
+These are two different string methods that are often used together. The [`strip()`](https://www.codecademy.com/resources/docs/python/strings/strip) method removes specified characters (or whitespace by default) from the beginning and end of a string, while the Python `.split()` method divides a string into a list of substrings. When used together like `text.strip().split()`, the string is first trimmed of leading and trailing whitespace, then split into a list.
+
+### 2. What is the difference between `.split()` and slicing in Python?
+
+The `.split()` method in Python divides a string into a list of substrings based on a separator, whereas [slicing](https://www.codecademy.com/resources/docs/python/built-in-functions/slice) extracts a portion of the string based on position indexes. The split function in Python is for breaking apart a string into components, while slicing is for extracting a continuous section of characters.
+
+### 3. Can you split a list in Python?
+
+No, the `.split()` method is specifically a Python string method and cannot be directly used on lists. For lists, you might use methods like `list slicing` (`list[start:end]`), [`list comprehension`](https://www.codecademy.com/resources/docs/python/list-comprehension), or functions like `itertools.islice()` to achieve similar division operations. The Python split functionality is designed for string manipulation only.