how can i parse this file in c - c

Question

how can split the word from its meaning
1. mammoth: large
My code:
void ReadFromFile(){
FILE *dictionary = fopen("dictionary.txt", "r");
char word[20];
char meaning[50];
while(fscanf(dictionary, "%[^:]:%[^\t]\t", word, meaning) == 2){
printf("%s %s\n", word, meaning);
}
fclose(dictionary);

Answer 1

Assuming the word and the meaning do not contain digits and dots,
my approach is the following:
First, split the input line on the digits and dots into the tokens which
have the form as word: meaning.
Next separate each token on the colon character.
As a finish up, remove the leading and trailing blank characters.
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <string.h>
#define INFILE "dictionary.txt"
void split(char *str);
void separate(char *str);
char *trim(char *str);
/*
* split line on serial number into "word" and "meaning" pairs
* WARNING: the array of "str" is modified
*/
void
split(char *str)
{
char *tk; // pointer to each token
char delim[] = "0123456789."; // characters used in the serial number
tk = strtok(str, delim); // get the first token
while (tk != NULL) {
separate(tk); // separate each token
tk = strtok(NULL, delim); // get the next token
}
}
/*
* separate the pair into "word" and "meaning" and print them
*/
void
separate(char *str)
{
char *p;
if (NULL == (p = index(str, ':'))) {
// search a colon character in "str"
fprintf(stderr, "Illegal format: %s\n", str);
exit(1);
}
*p++ = '\0'; // terminate the "word" string
// now "p" points to the start of "meaning"
printf("%s %s\n", trim(str), trim(p));
}
/*
* remove leading and trailing whitespaces
* WARNING: the array of "str" is modified
*/
char *
trim(char *str)
{
char *p;
for (p = str; *p != '\0'; p++); // jump to the end of "str"
for (; p > str && (*p == ' ' || *p == '\t' || *p == '\r' || *p == '\n' || *p == '\0'); p--);
// rewind the pointer skipping blanks
*++p = '\0'; // chop the trailing blanks off
for (p = str; *p != '\0' && (*p == ' ' || *p == '\t' || *p == '\r' || *p == '\n'); p++);
// skip leading blanks
return p;
}
int
main()
{
FILE *fp;
char str[BUFSIZ];
if (NULL == (fp = fopen(INFILE, "r"))) {
perror(INFILE);
exit(1);
}
while (NULL != fgets(str, BUFSIZ, fp)) {
split(trim(str));
}
fclose(fp);
return 0;
}
Output:
foe enemy
vast huge
purchase buy
drowsy sleepy
absent missing
prank trick
[snip]
[Alternative]
I suppose C may not be a suitable language for this kind of string manipulations. High-level languages such as python, perl or ruby will solve it with much fewer codes. Here is an example with python which will produce the same results:
import re
with open("dictionary.txt") as f:
s = f.read()
for m in re.finditer(r'\d+\.\s*(.+?):\s*(\S+)', s):
print(m.group(1) + " " + m.group(2))