C# Text Processing
Function Library
String Functions in C#.NET
C#.NET comes with a lot of great string processing functions like Substring, Compare, IndexOf. But the truth is the built-in .NET string functions are very limited. Programmers constantly have to rewrite similar text processing functions over and over.
Luckily we can expand on them and create all kinds of C# advanced string functions. As for a matter of speed, there are is one thing to consider: String vs StringBuilder
.NET - String vs StringBuilder
Appending text to a string object is done in this fashion:
stringObject += "more text";
Concating strings like that is very fast and reliable when it is done for a small amount of C# strings. In fact it can be significantly simpler and faster than using the StringBuilder class.
The StringBuilder class on the other hand is excellent for processing text for a lot of iterations since it avoids creating new instances of a string each time the output string is modified. To add a string to a StringBuilder goes like this:
stringBuilderObject.Append("more text");
The downside to the StringBuilder is the overhead of initializing a class. However if we are going to need to create some C# functions that will processes large amounts of text, then StringBuilder saves processing time in the long run.
In the C# String Processing Library functions are divided into two sections, the StringProcessing and the StringBuilderProcess classes, so you can run whichever one is more fitting.
Advanced Csharp String Functions
Capitalize This C# function takes the first letter of a string an capitalizes it: IsCapitalized This C# function checks to see if the first letter of a string is capitalized: IsLowerCase Checks to see that an entire string is in lower cases IsUpperCase Checks to see that an entire string is in upper cases SwapCases This C# function swaps the cases of a string AlternateCases Takes the first character's casing an alternates the casing of the rest of the string AlternateCases This C# string function works exactly the same except the user specifies on which case the string will start (Upper case or Lower case) IsAlternateCases Checks to see whether a string has alternating cases CountTotal Counts the total number of occurances of a string within another string RemoveVowels This C# string function removes the vowels in a string KeepVowels This C# string function removes everything but the vowels in a string HasVowels Checks to see if there is any vowel psent in a string IsSpaces Quickly and effortlessly checks to see if a string is nothing but spaces IsRepeatedChar Quickly and effortlessly checks to see if a string is nothing but the same letter repeated IsNumeric Processes a string to see if it contains only numbers HasNumbers Checks a string to see if it contains any numbers. IsAlphaNumberic This C# function evaluates whether a string contains only numbers and letters (no symbols). isLetters Checks for a string to contain nothing but letters, no numbers or symbols. GetInitials Converts a string, like a name, into its initials |
GetTitle Capitalizes the first letter of every word in a string GetNameCasing Similar to the GetTitle function, capitalizes the first letter of every word, but has some additional rules for names IsTitle This C# string function checks if the first letter of every word is capitalized IsEmailAddress Verifies that an email address is written in the correct format. Useful for checking email addressed entered in a web application. IndexOfAll This very useful C# function returns all the indicies of a string in another string. As opposed to IndexOf which only returns the first index. ArrayToString This C# string function is a must for all developers. Quickly turns any array into a single string that can be displayed to survey an array's data. Check out a more complete array to string function right here on Visual C# Kicks. PasswordStrength Evaluate the effectiveness of a string as a password. Original idea credits go to D. Rijmenants. (If there are any copyright issues please contact us). CharRight Basically a Substring function that works backwards. Programmers from older languages will appciate this missing C# function. CharMid Another function that is missing from the original C# Net string processing list. Works like Substring but starts from a specified position. InsertSeparator Inserts a separator after each letter in a string, excluding the last letter InsertSeparatorEvery Inserts a separator after a specified number of letters, excluding the last letter SubstringEnd This C# function works exactly like the built-in Substring. The only difference is it takes in a Start and End parameter instead of the default Start and Length. (Basically the Java version of Substring) Reverse Reverses a string without the need for a recursive function. SplitQuotes This C# function works like the built-in Split function. The only difference is it will respect parts of a string surrounded by quotes. For example the string This is a "very long" string would get split into: |
Downloadable Components
For a downloadable easy-to-use component version of the string functions above, visit the Visual C# Kicks String Processing Library .NET component. It is completely free and is in essence the next version of the functions above.
Using the Source Code
All the C# string functions in .NET have been optimized for speed and minimum resource use. Feel free to build upon them to write your own C#.NET functions. Download the C# source code to check out how they work.