# SPLIT function
<a name="split"></a>

The SPLIT function allows you to extract substrings from a larger string and work with them as an array. The SPLIT function is useful when you need to break down a string into individual components based on a specific delimiter or pattern.

## Syntax
<a name="split-syntax"></a>

```
split(str, regex, limit)
```

## Arguments
<a name="split-arguments"></a>

 *str*  
A string expression to split.

 *regex*  
A string representing a regular expression. The *regex* string should be a Java regular expression.

 *limit*  
An integer expression which controls the number of times the *regex* is applied.   
+ limit > 0: The resulting array's length will not be more than limit, and the resulting array's last entry will contain all input beyond the last matched *regex*. 
+ limit <= 0: *regex* will be applied as many times as possible, and the resulting array can be of any size.

## Return type
<a name="split-return-type"></a>

The SPLIT function returns an ARRAY<STRING>.

If `limit > 0`: The resulting array’s length will not be more than limit, and the resulting array’s last entry will contain all input beyond the last matched regex. 

If `limit <= 0`: regex will be applied as many times as possible, and the resulting array can be of any size.

## Example
<a name="split-example"></a>

In this example, the SPLIT function splits the input string `'oneAtwoBthreeC'` wherever it encounters the characters `'A'`, `'B'`, or `'C'` (as specified by the regular expression pattern `'[ABC]'`). The resulting output is an array of four elements: `"one"`, `"two"`, `"three"`, and an empty string `""`.

```
SELECT split('oneAtwoBthreeC', '[ABC]');
 ["one","two","three",""]
```