How to: Modify String Contents (C# Programming Guide)
Because strings are immutable, it is not possible (without using unsafe code) to modify the value of a string object after it has been created. However, there are many ways to modify the value of a string and store the result in a new string object. The System.String class provides methods that operate on an input string and return a new string object. In many cases, you can assign the new object to the variable that held the original string. The System.Text.RegularExpressions.Regex class provides additional methods that work in a similar manner. The System.Text.StringBuilder class provides a character buffer that you can modify "in-place." You call the StringBuilder.ToString method to create a new string object that contains the current contents of the buffer.
Example
The following example shows various ways to replace or remove substrings in a specified string.
class ReplaceSubstrings
{
string searchFor;
string replaceWith;
static void Main(string[] args)
{
ReplaceSubstrings app = new ReplaceSubstrings();
string s = "The mountains are behind the clouds today.";
// Replace one substring with another with String.Replace.
// Only exact matches are supported.
s = s.Replace("mountains", "peaks");
Console.WriteLine(s);
// Output: The peaks are behind the clouds today.
// Use Regex.Replace for more flexibility.
// Replace "the" or "The" with "many" or "Many".
// using System.Text.RegularExpressions
app.searchFor = "the"; // A very simple regular expression.
app.replaceWith = "many";
s = Regex.Replace(s, app.searchFor, app.ReplaceMatchCase, RegexOptions.IgnoreCase);
Console.WriteLine(s);
// Output: Many peaks are behind many clouds today.
// Replace all occurrences of one char with another.
s = s.Replace(' ', '_');
Console.WriteLine(s);
// Output: Many_peaks_are_behind_many_clouds_today.
// Remove a substring from the middle of the string.
string temp = "many_";
int i = s.IndexOf(temp);
if (i >= 0)
{
s = s.Remove(i, temp.Length);
}
Console.WriteLine(s);
// Output: Many_peaks_are_behind_clouds_today.
// Remove trailing and leading whitespace.
// See also the TrimStart and TrimEnd methods.
string s2 = " I'm wider than I need to be. ";
// Store the results in a new string variable.
temp = s2.Trim();
Console.WriteLine(temp);
// Output: I'm wider than I need to be.
// Keep the console window open in debug mode.
Console.WriteLine("Press any key to exit");
Console.ReadKey();
}
// Custom match method called by Regex.Replace
// using System.Text.RegularExpressions
string ReplaceMatchCase(Match m)
{
// Test whether the match is capitalized
if (Char.IsUpper(m.Value[0]) == true)
{
// Capitalize the replacement string
// using System.Text;
StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder(replaceWith);
sb[0] = (Char.ToUpper(sb[0]));
return sb.ToString();
}
else
{
return replaceWith;
}
}
}
To access the individual characters in a string by using array notation, you can use the StringBuilder object, which overloads the [] operator to provide access to its internal character buffer. You can also convert the string to an array of chars by using the ToCharArray method. The following example uses ToCharArray to create the array. Some elements of this array are then modified. A string constructor that takes a char array as an input parameter is then called to create a new string.
class ModifyStrings
{
static void Main()
{
string str = "The quick brown fox jumped over the fence";
System.Console.WriteLine(str);
char[] chars = str.ToCharArray();
int animalIndex = str.IndexOf("fox");
if (animalIndex != -1)
{
chars[animalIndex++] = 'c';
chars[animalIndex++] = 'a';
chars[animalIndex] = 't';
}
string str2 = new string(chars);
System.Console.WriteLine(str2);
// Keep the console window open in debug mode
System.Console.WriteLine("Press any key to exit.");
System.Console.ReadKey();
}
}
/* Output:
The quick brown fox jumped over the fence
The quick brown cat jumped over the fence
*/
The following example is provided for those very rare situations in which you may want to modify a string in-place by using unsafe code in a manner similar to C-style char arrays. The example shows how to access the individual characters "in-place" by using the fixed keyword. It also demonstrates one possible side effect of unsafe operations on strings that results from the way that the C# compiler stores (interns) strings internally. In general, you should not use this technique unless it is absolutely necessary.
class UnsafeString
{
unsafe static void Main(string[] args)
{
// Compiler will store (intern)
// these strings in same location.
string s1 = "Hello";
string s2 = "Hello";
// Change one string using unsafe code.
fixed (char* p = s1)
{
p[0] = 'C';
}
// Both strings have changed.
Console.WriteLine(s1);
Console.WriteLine(s2);
// Keep console window open in debug mode.
Console.WriteLine("Press any key to exit.");
Console.ReadKey();
}
}