Objective C - Split string into array - objective-c

Question

How would I do this? I'm new to Objective-C but I can't find anything that would help me do this.
NSArray *splitLine = [currentLine componentsSeparatedByString:#":%#",notNumber];
Where notNumber is a string that represents anything that isn't a number. So I want to separate a string where there are colons separated by strings that aren't numbers. (I want to avoid splitting at times i.e. 3:00pm, but split at iCal parameters like DESCRIPTION: and LOCATION:.)

Answer 1

You can do this in several steps, like this. I have not compiled this code, but it should at least give you an idea of what to do.
1) Create a regex object to match your separators:
NSString *regexString = #"DESCRIPTION:\s|LOCATION:\s"; // or whatever makes sense for your scenario
NSRegularExpression *regex =
[NSRegularExpression regularExpressionWithPattern:regexString
options:NSRegularExpressionCaseInsensitive
error:nil];
2) Replace all the different separators matching your regex with just one separator:
NSRange range = NSMakeRange(0, string.length);
NSString *string2 = [regex stringByReplacingMatchesInString:string
options:0
range:range
withTemplate:#"SEPARATOR"];
3) Split the string!
NSArray *elements = [string2 componentsSeparatedByString:#"SEPARATOR"];

Answer 2

Shortest solution for splitting string.
NSString *str = #"Please split me to form array of words";
NSArray *wordsArray = [str componentsSeparatedByString:#" "];

Answer 3

You can use regular expressions!
Using the pattern (I believe this is the core of your question):
pattern = #"(?<=[^0-9]):(?=[^0-9])"
This pattern will only match ':' symbols not surrounded by numbers.
Then replace with a dummy value that won't show in your data
dummy = #"NEVERSEETHIS"
NSRegularExpressions *regex = [NSRegularExpression regularExpressionWithPattern:pattern options:0 error:nil];
NSRange range = NSMakeRange(0, [string length])
NSString *modified= [regex replaceMatchesInString:yourString options:0 range:range withTemplate:dummy];
and finally, split
return [modified componentsSeparatedByString:dummy];