csv="alice,bob,cara,dave"
# Method 1: IFS + read
IFS=',' read -r -a arr <<< "$csv"
printf '%s\n' "${arr[@]}"
# alice
# bob
# cara
# dave
# Method 2: readarray (one line per element)
multiline=$'red\ngreen\nblue'
readarray -t colors <<< "$multiline"
echo "${#colors[@]}" # 3
echo "${colors[1]}" # green
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