How to get root node in MEL Script? - while-loop

Question

I have come across an existing piece of code that does this, but I assume there must be a better way. So, I need to get a highest level in mesh node in Autodesk Maya.
// List all mesh objects
string $nodess[] = `ls -type mesh` ;
// Replace existing items on active list with this
select -r $nodess[0] ;
int $i = 1 ;
while ($i < 30) {
// Pick up the tree 30 times
pickWalk -d up ;
$i++ ;
}
// List all selected objects
string $rootNode[] = `ls -sl` ;
// Clear selection
select -cl ;
string $myroot = $rootNode[0] ;

Answer 1

to get the root, just string-split the long name:
global proc string get_root(string $node)
{
string $longname[] = ls("-l", $node);
string $tokens[];
tokenize($longname[0], "|", $tokens);
return $tokens[0];
}
Of course it's much more elegant in Python:
root = cmds.ls(node, l=True)[0].split("|")[0]
You could also re-write the orignal function by calling listRelatives -p until it returns nothing; but the string method is easier

Answer 2

I think this is probably the most direct:
string $roots[] = `ls -assemblies`;
From the Docs:
-assemblies(-as)
List top level transform Dag objects

Answer 3

I understand this topic is a little out of date... However...
Theodox's answer helped me, but for some reason...
root = cmds.ls(node, l=True)[0].split("|")[0]
...didn't give me the exact answer I needed. Instead...
root = cmds.ls(node, l=True)[0].split("|")[1] #<-- Notice this [1]
gave me me the exact answer I needed. Apparently, [0] provides a blank space in my scene, because the array is listed as...
[u'',u'the_Item_I_Need',u'etc1',u'etc2']
Just a helpful hint if someone is having an issue!!