Java String.Split split everyone

Question

I want to split a String to Array.
I use the method string.split.

My Code

            list = "Toni Mustermann|Jenny Mustermann|Jorge Mustermann";
            kinderarray = list.split("|");

But this is the output (Android): https://i.sstatic.net/QHmvT.png

The Code:

AlertDialog.Builder builder = new AlertDialog.Builder(this);
    builder.setTitle("Wähle ein Kind");
    builder.setItems(kinderarray, new DialogInterface.OnClickListener() {
        public void onClick(DialogInterface dialog, int item) {
            selectkind = kinderarray[item];
            Toast.makeText(MainActivity.this, selectkind, Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
        }
    });
    AlertDialog alert = builder.create();
    alert.show();

Answer 1

String#split uses a regular expression as its argument. The pipe character | is a special character used to denote OR in the expression. It should be escaped

kinderarray = list.split("\\|");

otherwise the OR expression will cause the String to be split into a String array based on its individual characters complete with initial empty String element.

This has remained the same for the next year's Java 8 release so is unlikely to change.