llParseString2List

list llParseString2List(string Text, list Separators, list Spacers)

Converts Text into a list, discarding Separators, keeping Spacers (Separators and Spacers must be lists of strings, maximum of 8 each).

Separators and Spacers are lists of strings with a maximum of 8 entries each.

Parameters

Text (string)
Separators (list)
Spacers (list)

Technical Details

Return Type: list
Energy: 10

Basic Separator and Spacer Usage

default
{
    state_entry()
    {
        // Using separators (discarded) and spacers (kept)
        string my_string = "A crazy fox.  Saw the moon..";
        list my_list = llParseString2List(my_string, [" "], ["."]);
        llOwnerSay("<" + llDumpList2String(my_list, "><") + ">");
        // Output: <A><crazy><fox><.><Saw><the><moon><.><.>

        // Compare with llParseStringKeepNulls to keep empty strings
        my_list = llParseStringKeepNulls(my_string, [" "], ["."]);
        llOwnerSay("<" + llDumpList2String(my_list, "><") + ">");
        // Output: <A><crazy><fox><.><><><Saw><the><moon><.><><.><>
    }
}

Nested List Parsing (Lists-in-Lists Emulation)

string shoppinglist = "macaroni::pepperoni::bread#wheat::sausage#italian::coffee::syrup::apple::ice cream#strawberry#chocolate#vanilla";

default
{
    state_entry()
    {
        list items = llParseString2List(shoppinglist, ["::"], []);
        integer i = 0;
        integer j = llGetListLength(items);
        for(; i < j; ++i)
        {
            list desc = llParseString2List(llList2String(items, i), ["#"], []);
            if(llGetListLength(desc) > 1)
            {
                list types = llDeleteSubList(desc, 0, 0);
                llOwnerSay("Item: " + llList2String(desc, 0) + "  Type: " + llList2CSV(llDeleteSubList(types, -2, -1) + llDumpList2String(llList2List(types, -2, -1), " & ")));
            } else {
                llOwnerSay("Item: " + (string)desc);
            }
        }
    }
}

Separators vs Spacers

string myString = "What Are You Looking At?";

// Using separators (removes them from output)
llSay(0, llList2CSV(llParseString2List(myString, ["W", "A", "Y", "L"], [])));
// Returns: hat , re , ou , ooking , t?

// Using spacers (keeps them in output)
llSay(0, llList2CSV(llParseString2List(myString, [], ["W", "A", "Y", "L"])));
// Returns: W, hat , A, re , Y, ou , L, ooking , A, t?

Caveats

All empty strings (from adjacent separators/spacers or at string ends) are removed automatically. Use llParseStringKeepNulls if you need to preserve empty strings and maintain list order.
Only the first 8 separators and first 8 spacers are used; any beyond are ignored. To work around this, use nested calls or JSON for complex parsing.
All separators and spacers must be strings; other types are silently ignored.
Separators take precedence over spacers. The string is parsed left to right, checking separators first at each position.
All returned list elements are strings and must be explicitly typecast if used as other types. Do not rely on implicit typecasting.
Empty strings used as separators or spacers have no effect.

Notes

Separators remove the matched text from the result (split and discard)
Spacers keep the matched text in the result as separate list entries (split but keep)
Using " " (space) as a separator effectively splits a sentence into words
An empty string used as a separator or spacer has no effect
If there is no spacer you care about, just use an empty list [] as the spacer parameter
Remember to capture the result in a variable unless you’re using it directly
While LSL doesn’t support lists-in-lists natively, you can emulate them using successive calls or JSON
For more complex parsing with more than 8 delimiters, consider using JSON or nested parse calls