code: private static String[] getNmeaItems(String line) {
          String[] items = StringUtils.splitByWholeSeparatorPreserveAllTokens(line,
                  PARAMETER_DELIMITER);
          // remove the checksum from the end
          String last = items[items.length - 1];
          if (last.contains("*"))
              items[items.length - 1] = last.substring(0, last.lastIndexOf('*'));
          return items;
      }
docs: Returns the items from the comma delimited NMEA line. The last item
  always contains a * followed by a checksum. If * is not present
  {@link IndexOutOfBoundsException} will be thrown.
  
  @param line
  @return