How to get the first word in the string

Question

text is :

WYATT    - Ranked # 855 with    0.006   %
XAVIER   - Ranked # 587 with    0.013   %
YONG     - Ranked # 921 with    0.006   %
YOUNG    - Ranked # 8         


        

Answer 1

If you want to feel especially sly, you can write it as this:

(firstWord, rest) = yourLine.split(maxsplit=1)

This is supposed to bring the best from both worlds:

• optimality tweak with maxsplit while splitting with any whitespace
• improved reliability and readability, as argued by the author of the technique.

I kind of fell in love with this solution and it's general unpacking capability, so I had to share it. :)