Perl6 split function adding extra elements to array

Question

my @r = split("", "hi");
say @r.elems;
--> output: 4

split is adding two extra elements to the array, one at the beginning and another at the end.

I have to do shift and pop after every split to correct for this.

Is there a better way to split a string?

Answer 1

If you're splitting on the empty string, you will get an empty element at the start and the end of the returned list as there is also an empty string before and after the string.

What you want is .comb without parameters, written out completely functionally:

"hi".comb.elems.say;    # 2

See https://docs.raku.org/routine/comb#(Str)_routine_comb for more info.