Example of comparing SAS scan function to Python split function

SAS Version:

data _null_;

  name1 = "Richard Thornton";

  fname = scan(name1,1);

  lname=scan(name1,2);

    print fname;

    print lname;

run;

Python 3.x Version:

name1 = "Richard Thornton"

fname=name1.split(" ")[0]

lname=name1.split(" ")[1]

print(fname)

print(lname)

explanation:  The split() function takes the string and turns the individual elements into a new variable which is essentially a list, based on the delimiter passed.

To reference, each item in the list, an offset is passed via [0] or [1].  Python is like C, it references from 0, not 1, as SAS does.