Setting the Stage and String Basics

00:00 Alright, before we dive head first into the mechanics of .split(), let’s take a brief moment to refresh some core concepts about Python strings.

00:07 Understanding these fundamentals will make learning .split() much smoother, as .split() itself is a method that operates on strings and returns results derived from strings.

00:17 Think of this as checking our tools and materials before starting the main construction work. Let’s quickly recap two key ideas about strings. First, strings are sequences of characters.

00:29 This means that characters in a string have a defined order, and you can access individual characters or ranges of characters using their position. For example, in the string, Python, P is at index zero and Y is at index one, and so on.

00:45 The sequential nature is fundamental to how many string operations, including splitting, work internally.

00:53 Second, and this is crucial, strings are immutable. Immutable means unchangeable. Once you create a string object in Python, like my_string = "hello", you cannot modify that specific object in memory.

01:06 If you perform an operation that seems to change it, like converting it to uppercase, Python doesn’t alter the original "hello". Instead, it creates and returns a brand new string object with uppercase "HELLO". The same applies to splitting.

01:21 When you call my_string.split(), the original string remains untouched. What you get back is a new list object containing the substrings. This immutability has implications for memory and how you structure your code when doing lots of string manipulations.