String.Contains Function in Visual Basic 2008 or 2012 - vb.net

How do I find a unique string that contains in a single .txt file with different strings in each line?
Example:
The .txt file contains the following
012345
023456
034567
045678
056789
Then I want to find one of the set of numbers.
This is what I want to happen~
Dim stN As String = TextBox1.Text
If stN.contains(.txt file) Then
'Anything to do here
Else
MsgBox("Your input number is incorrect", "ERROR")
End If

I assume your pseudo code should be the other way around: If .txt-file.Contains(stN) Then.
So you want to know if a string equals one line of a text-file:
Dim lines = File.ReadLines(path)
Dim fileContainsLine = lines.Any(Function(l) l.Trim.Equals(TextBox1.Text, StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
If you don't want to compare case-insensitively use l==TextBox1.Text instead. If the Trim is also unnecessary you could simplify it to:
Dim fileContainsLine = lines.Contains(TextBox1.Text)

Here is a little Linqpad program, but you would probably want to read in the file one time and cache it.
Sub Main
If (CheckContains("023456")) Then
Console.WriteLine("True")
Else
Console.WriteLine("False")
End If
End Sub
Function CheckContains(inputVal as String) as Boolean
Dim query = From line In File.ReadAllLines("C:\code\so\sample.txt") _
Select line
return query.Contains(inputVal)
End Function

Related

VB.net Apply function to items in a list

I have a list of string containing full file paths and I'd like to apply a function to each path in that list and get the result in the same or a new list.
Dim Remove As New List(Of String)
Remove.Add("C:\_Vault\Designs\Jobs\Customer\Job23\Assemblies\045-0201.iam")
Remove.Add("C:\_Vault\Designs\Jobs\Customer\Job23\Parts\212-D017.ipt")
Remove.Add("C:\_Vault\Designs\Jobs\Customer\Job23\Parts\211-W01.iam")
Function FileName(spth As String) As String
'Returns filename with extension from full path
Return System.IO.Path.GetFileName(spth)
End Function
The end result I'd like is for the list Remove to contain the following. I know I could use a loop to do this but I've been learning about lambda expressions lately and feel there should be a simple solution to this.
{"045-0201.iam", "212-D017.ipt", "211-W01.iam"}
Try this
Dim Remove As New List(Of String)
Remove.Add("C:\_Vault\Designs\Jobs\Customer\Job23\Assemblies\045-0201.iam")
Remove.Add("C:\_Vault\Designs\Jobs\Customer\Job23\Parts\212-D017.ipt")
Remove.Add("C:\_Vault\Designs\Jobs\Customer\Job23\Parts\211-W01.iam")
Remove = Remove.Select(Function(s)
Return IO.Path.GetFileName(s)
End Function).ToList
Calling Select and ToList on the existing List is most likely fine and what most people would do. It's worth being aware, though, that that will not modify the existing collection but rather return a new one. If you only have the one reference to that list then that's not a big deal but other references to the existing list will not see the change, e.g.
Dim fileNames As New List(Of String) From {"C:\Folder\File1.ext",
"C:\Folder\File2.ext",
"C:\Folder\File3.ext"}
Dim temp = fileNames
fileNames = fileNames.Select(Function(s) Path.GetFileName(s)).ToList()
For Each fileName In fileNames
Console.WriteLine(fileName)
Next
For Each fileName In temp
Console.WriteLine(fileName)
Next
If you run that then you'll see that the first loop displays just the files names but the second loop displays the full paths, because it still refers to the original list.
If that's a problem, there is another way to do this without an explicit loop:
Dim fileNames As New List(Of String) From {"C:\Folder\File1.ext",
"C:\Folder\File2.ext",
"C:\Folder\File3.ext"}
Dim temp = fileNames
Array.ForEach(Enumerable.Range(0, fileNames.Count).ToArray(),
Sub(i) fileNames(i) = Path.GetFileName(fileNames(i)))
For Each fileName In fileNames
Console.WriteLine(fileName)
Next
For Each fileName In temp
Console.WriteLine(fileName)
Next
If you run that then you'll see that both loops display just the file names because there's only one list.
That said, if the first code posed a problem because of multiple references to the list, I'd just use a loop.
I know you stated that you'd want something other than a loop, but there really is no needfor anything fancy here. By the way, writing Remove.Add sounds like a riddle.
Sub Main()
Dim Remove As New List(Of String)
Remove.Add("C:\_Vault\Designs\Jobs\Customer\Job23\Assemblies\045-0201.iam")
Remove.Add("C:\_Vault\Designs\Jobs\Customer\Job23\Parts\212-D017.ipt")
Remove.Add("C:\_Vault\Designs\Jobs\Customer\Job23\Parts\211-W01.iam")
Console.WriteLine("Before execution")
For Each s As String In Remove
Console.WriteLine(s)
Next
For i As Integer = 0 To Remove.Count - 1
Remove(i) = MyFunction(Remove(i))
Next
Console.WriteLine("After execution")
For Each s As String In Remove
Console.WriteLine(s)
Next
Console.ReadLine()
End Sub
Private Function MyFunction(path As String) As String
Return IO.Path.GetFileName(path)
End Function
This outputs:

Is it possible to use String.Split() when NewLine is the delimiter?

I have a question which asks me to calculate something from an input file. The problem is, the lines in the file don't use any special character as delimiter, like , or |. I will show it down below.
Data Communication
20
Visual Basic
40
The output I need to write to another file should look like this:
Data communication 20
Visual Basic 40
Total Books : 60
The problem is, how can I specify the delimiter? Like when there is a symbol as in strArray = strLine.Split(","). Since there is nothing I can use as delimiter, how can I split the file content?
There's no real need to split the text in the input file, when you can read a file line by line using standard methods.
You can use, e.g., a StreamReader to read the lines from the source file, check whether the current line is just text or it can be converted to a number, using Integer.TryParse and excluding empty lines.
Here, when the line read is not numeric, it's added as a Key in a Dictionary(Of String, Integer), unless it already exists (to handle duplicate categories in the source file).
If the line represents a number, it's added to the Value corresponding to the category Key previously read, stored in a variable named previousLine.
This setup can handle initial empty lines, empty lines in the text body and duplicate categories, e.g.,
Data Communication
20
Visual Basic
40
C#
100
Visual Basic
10
Other stuff
2
C++
10000
Other stuff
1
If a number is instead found in the first line, it's treated as a category.
Add any other check to handle a different structure of the input file.
Imports System.IO
Imports System.Linq
Dim basePath = "[Path where the input file is stored]"
Dim booksDict = New Dictionary(Of String, Integer)
Dim currentValue As Integer = 0
Dim previousLine As String = String.Empty
Using sr As New StreamReader(Path.Combine(basePath, "Books.txt"))
While sr.Peek > -1
Dim line = sr.ReadLine().Trim()
If Not String.IsNullOrEmpty(line) Then
If Integer.TryParse(line, currentValue) AndAlso (Not String.IsNullOrEmpty(previousLine)) Then
booksDict(previousLine) += currentValue
Else
If Not booksDict.ContainsKey(line) Then
booksDict.Add(line, 0)
End If
End If
End If
previousLine = line
End While
End Using
Now, you have a Dictionary where the Keys represent categories and the related Value is the sum of all books in that category.
You can Select() each KeyValuePair of the Dictionary and transform it into a string that represents the Key and its Value (Category:Number).
Here, also OrderBy() is used, to order the categories alphabetically, in ascending order; it may be useful.
File.WriteAllLines is then called to store the strings generated.
In the end, a new string is appended to the file, using File.AppendAllText, to write the sum of all books in all categories. The Sum() method sums all the Values in the Dictionary.
Dim newFilePath = Path.Combine(basePath, "BooksNew.txt")
File.WriteAllLines(newFilePath, booksDict.
Select(Function(kvp) $"{kvp.Key}:{kvp.Value}").OrderBy(Function(s) s))
File.AppendAllText(newFilePath, vbCrLf & "Total Books: " & booksDict.Sum(Function(kvp) kvp.Value).ToString())
The output is:
C#:100
C++:10000
Data Communication:20
Other stuff:3
Visual Basic:50
Total Books: 10173
Sure.. System.IO.File.ReadAllLines() will read the whole file and split into an array based on newlines, so you'll get an array of 4 elements. You can process it with a flipflop boolean to get alternate lines, or you can try and parse the line to a number and if it works, then its a number and if not, it's a string. If it's a number take the string you remembered (using a variable) from the previous loop
Dim arr = File.ReadALlLines(...)
Dim isStr = True
Dim prevString = ""
For Each s as String in arr
If isStr Then
prevString = s
Else
Console.WriteLine($"The string is {prevString} and the number is {s}")
End If
'flip the boolean
isStr = Not isStr
Next s
I used File.ReadAllLines to get an array containing each line in the file. Since the size of the file could be larger than the sample shown, I am using a StringBuilder. This save having to throw away and create a new string on each iteration of the loop.
I am using interpolated strings indicated by the $ preceding the quotes. This allows you to insert variables into the string surrounded by braces.
Note the Step 2 in the For loop. i will increment by 2 instead of the default 1.
Private Sub Button1_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles Button1.Click
Dim lines = File.ReadAllLines("input.txt")
Dim sb As New StringBuilder
Dim total As Integer
For i = 0 To lines.Length - 2 Step 2
sb.AppendLine($"{lines(i)} {lines(i + 1)}")
total += CInt(lines(i + 1))
Next
sb.AppendLine($"Total Books: {total}")
TextBox1.Text = sb.ToString
End Sub

VBNET Reading a specific column on a line in a text file

I have saved written a text file and it currently reads:
"first","surname","pass"
I want to read the password column so the 3rd one and define that as a variable. Its basically for a login, if pass in text file matches the entered pass (from user).
I have searched for about an hour now and no luck. Could someone guide me to a correct path.
Thanks.
Simple example of reading a small file line by line and splitting each one into fields:
' get the values from the user somehow:
Dim first As String = "James"
Dim surname As String = "Bond"
Dim pass As String = "007"
Dim validated As Boolean = False ' assume wrong until proven otherwise
' check the file:
Dim fileName As String = "c:\some folder\path\somefile.txt"
Dim lines As New List(Of String)(System.IO.File.ReadAllLines(fileName))
For Each line As String In lines
Dim values() As String = line.Split(",")
If values.Length = 3 Then
If values(0).Trim(Chr(34)) = first AndAlso
values(1).Trim(Chr(34)) = surname AndAlso
values(2).Trim(Chr(34)) = pass Then
validated = True
Exit For
End If
End If
Next
' check the result
If validated Then
MessageBox.Show("Login Successful!")
Else
MessageBox.Show("Login Failed!")
End If
If this is a CSV file, as seems to be the case, then the easiest way to read it will be with the TextFieldParser class. The MSDN already provides an excellent example for how to use it to read a CSV file, so I won't bother reproducing it here.

My List(OF Strings) are being saved as system.string (Empty)

I'm trying to delete a selected row, then save the rest into a file. However, when I save it, it totally empties the file.
Console.Write("Please eneter the first name of the student you wish to search for: ")
searchfname = Console.ReadLine
searchfname = StrConv(searchfname, VbStrConv.ProperCase)
Console.Write("Please enter the second name of the student you wish to search for: ")
searchsname = Console.ReadLine
searchsname = StrConv(searchsname, VbStrConv.ProperCase)
Dim foundItem() As String = Nothing
Dim foundline As String = Nothing
Dim fnsearch As String = String.Join(searchfname, searchsname)
Dim lines As New List(Of String)(File.ReadAllLines("F:\Computing\Spelling Bee\stdnt&staffdtls.csv"))
For Each line As String In lines
If searchfname = item(3) And searchsname = item(4) Then
Console.WriteLine(line)
Console.WriteLine()
Console.WriteLine("Are you sure you wish to delete this record? (y/n)")
End If
Dim answer As String
answer = Console.ReadLine
If answer = "y" Or answer = "Y" Then
Console.Clear()
lines.Remove(line)
Using sw As New StreamWriter("F:\Computing\Spelling Bee\stdnt&staffdtls.csv")
sw.WriteLine(lines.ToString)
End Using
ElseIf answer = "n" Or answer = "N" Then
staffmenu()
End If
Next
Look at this line in your code:
sw.WriteLine(lines.ToString)
Extract the lines.ToString expression from that statement. The result of that expression is "System.String". You are telling your stream writer to write the text "System.String" to the file.
To fix it, you need something more like this:
Using sw As New StreamWriter("F:\Computing\Spelling Bee\stdnt&staffdtls.csv")
For Each line As String In lines
sw.WriteLine(line)
Next line
End Using
The method List(Of T).ToString does not produce a value that includes the elements of the collection. Instead it will just return the type name.
The API you are looking for is File.WriteAllLines. Using this instead of StreamWriter and the Using block
File.WriteAllLines("F:\Computing\Spelling Bee\stdnt&staffdtls.csv", lines)
I can see that this issue can be resolved from the given answers and comment, but I would like to add an alternative to use Join function in writing to a file. Try like this may be of help:
Using sw As New StreamWriter(.....)
sw.WriteLine(Join(lines.ToArray(), Environment.NewLine))
End Using
Since using VB.Net, this is a vb.net specific solution can not be used in C#. For C#, use string.join instead.
Hope it helps too!

Creating Newlines in PDF with VB.net

I have an application which creates a list from items in a collection. Then for each item, I will add it to an empty string, then add a newline character to the end of it. So ideally my string will look something like:
List1\nList2\nList3\n
Once this string is generated, I send it back to be placed in a placeholder for a pdf. If I try this code in a simple console application, it prints everything on a newline. But in my real world situation, I have to print it to a pdf. The items only show up with spaces in between them and not newlines. How can can format my strings so that pdf recognizes the newline symbol rather than ignoring it?
Here is my code that generates the string with newlines.
Private Function ConcatPlacardNumbers(ByVal BusinessPlacardCollection As BusinessPlacardCollection) As String
Dim PlacardNumbersList As String = Nothing
Dim numberofBusinessPlacards As Long = BusinessPlacardCollection.LongCount()
For Each BusinessPlacard As BusinessPlacard In BusinessPlacardCollection
numberofBusinessPlacards = numberofBusinessPlacards - 1
PlacardNumbersList = String.Concat(PlacardNumbersList, BusinessPlacard.PlacardNumber)
If numberofBusinessPlacards <> 0 Then
PlacardNumbersList = String.Concat(PlacardNumbersList, Enviornment.newline)
End If
Next
Return PlacardNumbersList
End Function
Try to add \u2028 instead:
Private Function ConcatPlacardNumbers(ByVal BusinessPlacardCollection As _
BusinessPlacardCollection) As String
Dim PlacardNumbersList As New StringBuilder()
For Each BusinessPlacard As BusinessPlacard In BusinessPlacardCollection
PlacardNumbersList.Append(BusinessPlacard.PlacardNumber)
'PlacardNumbersList.Append(ChrW(8232)) '\u2028 line in decimal form
PlacardNumbersList.Append(ChrW(8233)) '\u2029 paragr. in decimal form
Next
Return PlacardNumbersList.ToString
End Function
For paragraphs use \u2029instead. Fore more details:
http://blogs.adobe.com/formfeed/2009/01/paragraph_breaks_in_plain_text.html
The answer will depend on the tool that is being used to produce the PDF. Since newline doesn't work, I would actually try \n. The other possibility is that the PDF generation code is not designed to emit multiple lines; you can only determine this by examining the generation code.
However, there is a significant performance issue that you should address in your code: you will be generating a lot of string objects using this code. You should change the design to use System.Text.StringBuilder, which will greatly improve the performance:
Private Function ConcatPlacardNumbers(ByVal BusinessPlacardCollection As BusinessPlacardCollection) As String
Dim PlacardNumbersList As New System.Text.StringBuilder(10000)
For Each BusinessPlacard As BusinessPlacard In BusinessPlacardCollection
If PlacardNumbersList.Length <> 0 Then
' This is equivalent to Environment.NewLine
'PlacardNumbersList.AppendLine()
' The attempt to use \n
PlacardNumbersList.Append("\n")
End If
PlacardNumbersList.Append(BusinessPlacard.PlacardNumber)
Next
Return PlacardNumbersList.ToString
End Function
Note that you also do not need to keep track of the placard number: you can add a newline to the end of the previous item on each pass after the first one.