How can I remove or replace all punctuation characters from a String?

String has a enumerateSubstringsInRange() method. With the .ByWords option, it detects word boundaries and punctuation automatically:

Swift 3/4:

let string = "Hello, this : is .. a \"string\"!"
var words : [String] = []
string.enumerateSubstrings(in: string.startIndex..<string.endIndex,
                                  options: .byWords) {
                                    (substring, _, _, _) -> () in
                                    words.append(substring!)
}
print(words) // [Hello, this, is, a, string]

Swift 2:

let string = "Hello, this : is .. a \"string\"!"
var words : [String] = []
string.enumerateSubstringsInRange(string.characters.indices,
    options: .ByWords) {
        (substring, _, _, _) -> () in
        words.append(substring!)
}
print(words) // [Hello, this, is, a, string]

Xcode 11.4 • Swift 5.2 or later

extension StringProtocol {
    var words: [SubSequence] {
        split(whereSeparator: \.isLetter.negation)
    }
}

---

extension Bool {
    var negation: Bool { !self }
}

---

let sentence = "Hello, this : is .. a  string?"
let words = sentence.words  // ["Hello", "this", "is", "a", "string"]