Howto parse a string using a char in python

[Tim Chase]

On 2013-02-15 18:04, Steve Goodwin wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> I am looking for the python2.7 function(s) to parse a string from a
> colon character ":"
> 
> Sounds simple enough.
> 
> For example, a string like "123456:789".  I just need the "123456" 
> substring.(left of the :)
> 
> I have looked at regular expressions and string functions, so far
> no luck. Custom function required?

With just a single character, it sounds like you want something like

  whole = "123456:789"
  parts = whole.split(':') # or .split(':', 1)
  interesting = parts[0]

No custom function needed.

-tkc