Create an array from the output of whiptail command

So, I am trying to use whiptail command to give users option to choose different things they want to install in their system. I use the whiptail --checklist command as below: name =$(whiptail --title "Tools to install" --checklist 20 78 4 \ "NTP" "NTP setup" OFF\ "Perl" "Perl install" OFF\ "Ruby" "Ruby install" OFF \ "Python" "Python install" OFF 3>&1 1>&2 2>&3) Now, if my users choose Perl and python, this will output "Perl" and "Python". What I am looking for is to be able to convert these outputs into an array because ultimately I need to loop through this array. I need to feed these outputs as inputs to next command I am using. Any help or lead will be highly appreciated!