C# - STRINGS

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In C#, you can use string s as array of characters, however, more common practice is to use the string keyword
to declare a string variable. T he string keyword is an alias for the System.String class.

Creating a String Object

You can create string object using one of the following methods:
By assig ning a string literal to a String variable
By using a String class constructor
By using the string concatenation operator (+)
By retrieving a property or calling a method that returns a string
By calling a formatting method to convert a value or object to its string representation
T he following example demonstrates this:
using System;
namespace StringApplication
{
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
//from string literal and string concatenation
string fname, lname;
fname = "Rowan";
lname = "Atkinson";
string fullname = fname + lname;
Console.WriteLine("Full Name: {0}", fullname);
//by using string constructor
char[] letters = { 'H', 'e', 'l', 'l','o' };
string greetings = new string(letters);
Console.WriteLine("Greetings: {0}", greetings);
//methods returning string
string[] sarray = { "Hello", "From", "Tutorials", "Point" };
string message = String.Join(" ", sarray);
Console.WriteLine("Message: {0}", message);
//formatting method to convert a value
DateTime waiting = new DateTime(2012, 10, 10, 17, 58, 1);
string chat = String.Format("Message sent at {0:t} on {0:D}",
waiting);
Console.WriteLine("Message: {0}", chat);
Console.ReadKey() ;
}
}
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result:
Full Name: Rowan Atkinson
Greetings: Hello
Message: Hello From Tutorials Point
Message: Message sent at 5:58 PM on Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Properties of the String Class

T he String class has the following two properties:

S.N

Property Name & Desc ription

Chars
Gets the Char object at a specified position in the current String object.

Leng th
Gets the number of characters in the current String object.

Methods of the String Class

T he String class has numerous methods that help you in working with the string objects. T he following table
provides some of the most commonly used methods:

S.N

Method Name & Desc ription

public static int Compare( string strA, string strB )

Compares two specified string objects and returns an integ er that indicates their relative position in
the sort order.

public static int Compare( string strA, string strB, bool ig noreCase )
Compares two specified string objects and returns an integ er that indicates their relative position in
the sort order. However, it ig nores case if the Boolean parameter is true.

public static string Conc at( string str0, string str1 )

Concatenates two string objects.

public static string Conc at( string str0, string str1, string str2 )
Concatenates three string objects.

public static string Conc at( string str0, string str1, string str2, string str3 )
Concatenates four string objects.

public bool Contains( string value )

Returns a value indicating whether the specified string object occurs within this string .

public static string Copy( string str )

Creates a new String object with the same value as the specified string .

public void CopyT o( int sourc eIndex, c har[] destination, int destinationIndex, int
c ount )
Copies a specified number of characters from a specified position of the string object to a specified
position in an array of Unicode characters.

public bool EndsWith( string value )

Determines whether the end of the string object matches the specified string .

10

public bool Equals( string value )

Determines whether the current string object and the specified string object have the same value.

11

public static bool Equals( string a, string b )

Determines whether two specified string objects have the same value.

12

public static string Format( string format, O bjec t arg 0 )

Replaces one or more format items in a specified string with the string representation of a specified
object.

13

public int IndexO f( c har value )

Returns the zero-based index of the first occurrence of the specified Unicode character in the current

string .
14

public int IndexO f( string value )

Returns the zero-based index of the first occurrence of the specified string in this instance.

15

public int IndexO f( c har value, int startIndex )

Returns the zero-based index of the first occurrence of the specified Unicode character in this string ,
starting search at the specified character position.

16

public int IndexO f( string value, int startIndex )

Returns the zero-based index of the first occurrence of the specified string in this instance, starting
search at the specified character position.

17

public int IndexO fAny( c har[] anyO f )

Returns the zero-based index of the first occurrence in this instance of any character in a specified
array of Unicode characters.

18

public int IndexO fAny( c har[] anyO f, int startIndex )

Returns the zero-based index of the first occurrence in this instance of any character in a specified
array of Unicode characters, starting search at the specified character position.

19

public string Insert( int startIndex, string value )

Returns a new string in which a specified string is inserted at a specified index position in the current
string object.

20

public static bool IsNullO rEmpty( string value )

Indicates whether the specified string is null or an Empty string .

21

public static string J oin( string separator, params string [] value )

Concatenates all the elements of a string array, using the specified separator between each element.

22

public static string J oin( string separator, string [] value, int startIndex, int c ount )
Concatenates the specified elements of a string array, using the specified separator between each
element.

23

public int LastIndexO f( c har value )

Returns the zero-based index position of the last occurrence of the specified Unicode character within
the current string object.

24

public int LastIndexO f( string value )

Returns the zero-based index position of the last occurrence of a specified string within the current
string object.

25

public string Remove( int startIndex )

Removes all the characters in the current instance, beg inning at a specified position and continuing
throug h the last position, and returns the string .

26

public string Remove( int startIndex, int c ount )

Removes the specified number of characters in the current string beg inning at a specified position and
returns the string .

27

public string Replac e( c har oldChar, c har newChar )

Replaces all occurrences of a specified Unicode character in the current string object with the
specified Unicode character and returns the new string .

28

public string Replac e( string oldValue, string newValue )

Replaces all occurrences of a specified string in the current string object with the specified string and
returns the new string .

29

public string [] Split( params c har[] separator )

Returns a string array that contains the substring s in the current string object, delimited by elements
of a specified Unicode character array.

30

public string [] Split( c har[] separator, int c ount )

Returns a string array that contains the substring s in the current string object, delimited by elements

Returns a string array that contains the substring s in the current string object, delimited by elements
of a specified Unicode character array. T he int parameter specifies the maximum number of
substring s to return.
31

public bool StartsWith( string value )

Determines whether the beg inning of this string instance matches the specified string .

32

public c har[] T oCharArray()

Returns a Unicode character array with all the characters in the current string object.

33

public c har[] T oCharArray( int startIndex, int leng th )

Returns a Unicode character array with all the characters in the current string object, starting from the
specified index and up to the specified leng th.

34

public string T oLower()

Returns a copy of this string converted to lowercase.

35

public string T oUpper()

Returns a copy of this string converted to uppercase.

36

public string T rim()

Removes all leading and trailing white-space characters from the current String object.

T he above list of methods is not exhaustive, please visit MSDN library for the complete list of methods and String
class constructors.

Examples:
T he following example demonstrates some of the methods mentioned above:
Comparing String s:
using System;
namespace StringApplication
{
class StringProg
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
string str1 = "This is test";
string str2 = "This is text";
if (String.Compare(str1, str2) == 0)
{
Console.WriteLine(str1 + " and " + str2 + " are equal.");
}
else
{
Console.WriteLine(str1 + " and " + str2 + " are not equal.");
}
Console.ReadKey() ;
}
}
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result:
This is test and This is text are not equal.

String Contains String :

using System;
namespace StringApplication
{

class StringProg
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
string str = "This is test";
if (str.Contains("test"))
{
Console.WriteLine("The sequence 'test' was found.");
}
Console.ReadKey() ;
}
}
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result:
The sequence 'test' was found.

Getting a Substring :
using System;
namespace StringApplication
{
class StringProg
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
string str = "Last night I dreamt of San Pedro";
Console.WriteLine(str);
string substr = str.Substring(23);
Console.WriteLine(substr);
}
Console.ReadKey() ;
}
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result:
San Pedro

J oining String s:
using System;
namespace StringApplication
{
class StringProg
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
string[] starray = new string[]{"Down the way nights are dark",
"And the sun shines daily on the mountain top",
"I took a trip on a sailing ship",
"And when I reached Jamaica",
"I made a stop"};
string str = String.Join("\n", starray);
Console.WriteLine(str);
}
Console.ReadKey() ;
}
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result:
Down the way nights are dark
And the sun shines daily on the mountain top

I took a trip on a sailing ship

And when I reached Jamaica
I made a stop