2-D array from txt in VB.NET - vb.net

Question

I am needing to create a code that is versatile enough where I can add more columns in the future with minimum reconstruction of my code. My current code does not allow me to travel through my file with my 2-D array. If I was to change MsgBox("map = "+ map(0,1) I can retrieve the value easily. Currently all I get in the code listed is 'System.IndexOutOfRangeException' and that Index was outside the bounds of the array. My current text file is 15 rows (down) and 2 columns (across) which puts it at a 14x1. they are also comma separated values.
Dim map(14,1) as string
Dim reader As IO.StreamReader
reader = IO.File.OpenText("C:\LocationOfTextFile")
Dim Linie As String, x,y As Integer
For x = 0 To 14
Linie = reader.ReadLine.Trim
For y = 0 To 1
map(x,y) = Split(Linie, ",")(y)
Next 'y
Next 'x
reader.Close()
MsgBox("map = " + map(y,x))``

Answer 1

Here's a generic way to look at reading the file:
Dim data As New List(Of List(Of String))
For Each line As String In IO.File.ReadAllLines("C:\LocationOfTextFile")
data.Add(New List(Of String)(line.Split(",")))
Next
Dim row As Integer = 1
Dim col As Integer = 10
Dim value As String = data(row)(col)

Answer 2

This is the method suggested by Microsoft. It is generic and will work on any properly formatted comma delimited file. It will also catch and display any errors found in the file.
Using MyReader As New Microsoft.VisualBasic.
FileIO.TextFieldParser(
"C:\LocationOfTextFile")
MyReader.TextFieldType = FileIO.FieldType.Delimited
MyReader.SetDelimiters(",")
Dim currentRow As String()
While Not MyReader.EndOfData
Try
currentRow = MyReader.ReadFields()
Dim currentField As String
For Each currentField In currentRow
MsgBox(currentField)
Next
Catch ex As Microsoft.VisualBasic.
FileIO.MalformedLineException
MsgBox("Line " & ex.Message &
"is not valid and will be skipped.")
End Try
End While
End Using

Answer 3

Essentially what you are asking is how can I take the contents of comma-separated values and convert this to a 2D array.
The easiest way, which is not necessarily the best way, is to return an IEnuemrable(Of IEnumerable(Of String)). The number of items will grow both vertically based on the number of lines and the number of items will grow horizontally based on the values split on a respective line by a comma.
Something along these lines:
Private Function GetMap(path As String) As IEnumerable(Of IEnumerable(Of String)
Dim map = New List(Of IEnumerable(Of String))()
Dim lines = IO.File.ReadAllLines(path)
For Each line In lines
Dim row = New List(Of String)()
Dim values = line.Split(","c)
row.AddRange(values)
map.Add(row)
Next
Return map
End Function
Now when you want to grab a specific cell using the (row, column) syntax, you could use:
Private _map As IEnumerable(Of IEnumerable(Of String))
Private Sub LoadMap()
_map = GetMap("C:/path-to-map")
End Sub
Private Function GetCell(row As Integer, column As Integer) As String
If (_map Is Nothing) Then
LoadMap()
End If
Return _map.ElementAt(row).ElementAt(column)
End Function
Here is an example: https://dotnetfiddle.net/ZmY5Ki
Keep in mind that there are some issues with this, for example:
What if you have commas in your cells?
What if you try to access a cell that doesn't exist?
These are considerations you need to make when implementing this in more detail.

Answer 4

You can consider the DataTable class for this. It uses much more memory than an array, but gives you a lot of versatility in adding columns, filtering, etc. You can also access columns by name rather than index.
You can bind to a DataGridView for visualizing the data.
It is something like an in-memory database.

Answer 5

This is much like #Idle_Mind's suggestion, but saves an array copy operation and at least one allocation per row by using an array, rather than a list, for the individual rows:
Dim data = File.ReadLines("C:\LocationOfTextFile").
Select(Function(ln) ln.Split(","c)).
ToList()
' Show last row and column:
Dim lastRow As Integer = data.Count - 1
Dim lastCol As Integer = data(row).Length - 1
MsgBox($"map = {data(lastRow)(lastCol)}")
Here, assuming Option Infer, the data variable will be a List(Of String())
As a step up from this, you could also define a class with fields corresponding to the expected CSV columns, and map the array elements to the class properties as another call to .Select() before calling .ToList().
But what I really recommend is getting a dedicated CSV parser from NuGet. While a given CSV source is usually consistent, more broadly the format is known for having a number of edge cases that can easily confound the Split() function. Therefore you tend to get better performance and consistency from a dedicated parser, and NuGet has several good options.