Split a string into 2 in Python

a,b = given_str[:len(given_str)/2], given_str[len(given_str)/2:]

Another possible approach is to use divmod. rem is used to append the middle character to the front (if odd).

def split(s):
    half, rem = divmod(len(s), 2)
    return s[:half + rem], s[half + rem:]

frontA, backA = split('abcde')

In Python 3:
If you want something like
madam => ma d am
maam => ma am

first_half  = s[0:len(s)//2]
second_half = s[len(s)//2 if len(s)%2 == 0 else ((len(s)//2)+1):]

minor correction
the above solution for below string will throw an error

string = '1116833058840293381'
firstpart, secondpart = string[:len(string)/2], string[len(string)/2:]

you can do an int(len(string)/2) to get the correct answer.

firstpart, secondpart = string[:int(len(string)/2)], string[int(len(string)/2):]

Whoever is suggesting string[:len(string)/2], string[len(string)/2] is not keeping odd length strings in mind!

This works perfectly. Verified on edx.

first_half  = s[:len(s)//2]
second_half = s[len(s)//2:]