Split (string regex, int limit) method for string in Java

The limit parameter controls the number of times the pattern is applied and therefore affects the length of the resulting array. If the limit n is greater than 0, the pattern will be applied up to n-1 times, the length of the array will not be greater than N, and the last item of the array will contain all inputs that exceed the last matching delimiter. If n is not positive, then the pattern will be applied as many times as possible, and the array can be any length. If n is 0, then the pattern will be applied as many times as possible, the array can be any length, and the trailing empty string will be discarded.

For example, the string "Boo:and:foo" uses these parameters to produce the following results:

Regex Limit Results

: 2 {"Boo", "And:foo"}
: 5 {"Boo", "and", "foo"}
:-2 {"Boo", "and", "foo"}
o 5 {"B", "", ": And:f", "", ""}
o-2 {"B", "", ": And:f", "", ""}
o 0 {"B", "", ": And:f"}

Split (string regex, int limit) method for string in Java