Splitting A String Up To A Character

Question

I'd like to split the following string:

user = "Lisa: yes"

So that I can get "Lisa"

Right now I have :

user[/([a-zA-Z].*?):/]

but it returns

"Lisa:" 

How can I split the string so that it will return each letter up to the colon?

Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

You can use this: user.split(':').first

user = "Lisa: yes" 
=> "Lisa: yes"
irb(main):006:0> user.split(':').first
=> "Lisa"

The split method will transform your string into an array, this array: ['Lisa',' yes']. Then, you'll just got to parse it with the first method, to get the first item, Lisa. Simple and intuitive, because personally, I hate regular expressions. I also like Arup Rakshit answer ;)

Answer 2

Do as below :

user = "Lisa: yes"
user[/([a-zA-Z].*?):/,1] # => "Lisa"

Documentation of str[regexp, capture] :

If a Regexp is supplied, the matching portion of the string is returned. If a capture follows the regular expression, which may be a capture group index or name, follows the regular expression that component of the MatchData is returned instead.