def splitExact(s, sep, maxsplit, pad=None):
    """
    Split string using the specified separator, just like string.split()
    Return a list of exactly maxsplit+1 elements.
    If the normal split returns fewer than maxsplit elements, pad the rest of
    the list with the specified pad (defaulting to None)
    """
    if s is None:
        arr = []
    else:
        arr = s.split(sep, maxsplit)
    arrLen = len(arr)
    arr.extend(pad for x in range(maxsplit + 1 - arrLen))
    return arr