result = re.sub(r'\d+', '#', 'There are 12 apples and 5 oranges')
print(result) # Output: There are # apples and # oranges
result, num_subs = re.subn(r'\d+', '#', 'There are 12 apples and 5 oranges')
print(result, num_subs) # Output: There are # apples and # oranges 2
parts = re.split(r'\s+', 'Split this string by spaces')
print(parts) # Output: ['Split', 'this', 'string', 'by', 'spaces']