[ python-Bugs-1390608 ] split() breaks no-break spaces

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Bugs item #1390608, was opened at 2005-12-26 16:03
Message generated for change (Comment added) made by doerwalter
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Category: Python Library
Group: Python 2.4
Status: Open
Resolution: None
Priority: 5
Submitted By: MvR (maxim_razin)
Assigned to: Nobody/Anonymous (nobody)
Summary: split() breaks no-break spaces

Initial Comment:
string.split(), str.split() and unicode.split() without
parameters break strings by the No-break space (U+00A0)
character.  This character is specially intended not to
be a split border.  

>>> u"Hello\u00A0world".split()
[u'Hello', u'world']


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>Comment By: Walter Dörwald (doerwalter)
Date: 2005-12-30 13:35

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What's wrong with the following?

import sys, unicodedata
spaces = u"".join(unichr(c) for c in xrange(0,
sys.maxunicode) if unicodedata.category(unichr(c))=="Zs" and
c != 160)
foo.split(spaces)

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Comment By: Hye-Shik Chang (perky)
Date: 2005-12-30 01:30

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Python documentation says that it splits in "whitespace 
characters" not "breaking characters". So, current 
behavior is correct according to the documentation. And 
even rationale among string methods are heavily depends on 
ctype functions on libc. Therefore, we can't serve special 
treatment for the NBSP.

However, I feel the need for the splitting function that 
awares what character is breaking or not. How about to add 
it as unicodedata.split()?

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Comment By: Fredrik Lundh (effbot)
Date: 2005-12-29 21:42

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split isn't a word-wrapping split, so I'm not sure that's
the right place to fix this.  ("no-break space" is white-
space, according to the Unicode standard, and split breaks
on whitespace).

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