Spring Boot Java Read multiple Locations separated by ; instead of only one

How can I read more Locations from the imported file separated by ; do I need to change the searchByName function as well?

 @Override
    public String getData(Row rowData, int index) {
        final Cell cell = rowData.getCell(index);
        if ((cell != null) && ((CellType.STRING == cell.getCellType()) || (CellType.FORMULA == cell.getCellType()))) {
            return StringUtils.trimToNull(cell.getStringCellValue());
        }
        return null;
    }

private Location getLocation(Row rowData, int index, String prefix) {
		String nomLocation= this.excelReaderService.getData(rowData, index);
		
		Location location= this.locationService.searchByName(nomLocation);

		return location;
	}

  @Override
    public Location searchByName(String name) {
        return this.locationRepository.findFirstByName(name).orElse(null);
    }

To accomplish this, I'd first create a new method called getLocations to return a List<Location>. Inside that, I'd split on the semi-colon to get a String array of locations. I'd also convert that array to a List<String> as those are easier with work with when dealing with repository methods :

private List<Location> getLocations(Row rowData, int index, String prefix) {
    String locationData= this.excelReaderService.getData(rowData, index);
    String[] nomLocations = locationData.split(";");
    List<String> locationsList = new ArrayList<>(Arrays.asList(nomLocations));

    List<Location> locations= this.locationService.searchByNames(locationsList);

    return locations;
}

Then, I'd create a new method in the Locations Service called searchByNames. How you build that method depends on what your underlying database is. If it's a relational database, you might be able to use the JPA query method for an IN clause:

@Override
public List<Location> searchByNames(List<String> names) {
    return this.locationRepository.findByNameIn(names);
}

You would, of course, also have to define that method in your Location Repository interface:

List<Location> findByNameIn(List<String> names);

On the other hand, if you're using a NoSQL database, querying with an IN clause is usually an anti-pattern. In that case, you'd want to build the new searchByNames method iterate through the list and make multiple calls to the repository method:

@Override
public List<Location> searchByNames(List<String> names) {
    List<Location> locations = new ArrayList<>();

    for (Location location : locations) {
        Location result = this.locationRepository.findFirstByName(name).orElse(null);

        if (result != null) {
            locations.add(result);
        }        
    }

    return locations;
}

Hope this helps!