Python (even in 2): >>> import re >>> pattern = re.compile(r"([0-9]{4})-([0-9]{2})-([0-9]{2}) ([0-9]{2}):([0-9]{2}):([0-9]{2})") >>> results = pattern.ma

Python (even in 2): >>> import re >>> pattern = re.compile(r"([0-9]{4})-([0-9]{2})-([0-9]{2}) ([0-9]{2}):([0-9]{2}):([0-9]{2})") >>> results = pattern.match('1973-01-05 09:30:00') >>> results.groups() ('1973', '01', '05', '09', '30', '00') >>> (y, m, d, h, min, s) = results.groups() (`results` will be None if the regex didn't match) Regexes are one of those things where, once you understand it (and capture groups in particular) and it's available in the language you're working in, string-splitting usually doesn't feel right anymore.