Split a string into an array of strings by using NSString's componentsSeparatedByString:
NSString *myString = @"This is a test";
NSArray *myWords = [myString componentsSeparatedByString:@" "];
// myWords is now: [@"This", @"is", @"a", @"test"]
If you need to split on a set of several different characters, use NSString's componentsSeparatedByCharactersInSet:
NSString *myString = @"Foo-bar/blee";
NSArray *myWords = [myString componentsSeparatedByCharactersInSet:
[NSCharacterSet characterSetWithCharactersInString:@"-/"]
];
// myWords is now: [@"Foo", @"bar", @"blee"]
http://www.idev101.com/code/Objective-C/Strings/split.html