String.GetEnumerator Method

Reference

Definition

Namespace:: System

Assembly:: System.Runtime.dll

Assembly:: mscorlib.dll

Assembly:: netstandard.dll

Source:: String.cs

Source:: String.cs

Source:: String.cs

Important

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Retrieves an object that can iterate through the individual characters in this string.

public:
 CharEnumerator ^ GetEnumerator();

public CharEnumerator GetEnumerator ();

member this.GetEnumerator : unit -> CharEnumerator

Public Function GetEnumerator () As CharEnumerator

Returns

CharEnumerator

An enumerator object.

Examples

The following example iterates the characters in several strings and displays information about their individual characters. It uses the language iteration construct rather than a call to the GetEnumerator method.

using namespace System;

void EnumerateAndDisplay(String^ phrase)
{
   Console::WriteLine("The characters in the string \"{0}\" are:", 
                      phrase);

   int CharCount = 0;
   int controlChars = 0;
   int alphanumeric = 0;
   int punctuation = 0;

   for each (Char ch in phrase) {
      Console::Write("'{0}' ", (! Char::IsControl(ch)) ? ch.ToString() : 
                                "0x" + Convert::ToUInt16(ch).ToString("X4"));
      if (Char::IsLetterOrDigit(ch)) 
         alphanumeric++;
      else if (Char::IsControl(ch)) 
         controlChars++;
      else if (Char::IsPunctuation(ch)) 
         punctuation++;             
      CharCount++;
   }

   Console::WriteLine("\n   Total characters:        {0,3}", CharCount);
   Console::WriteLine("   Alphanumeric characters: {0,3}", alphanumeric);
   Console::WriteLine("   Punctuation characters:  {0,3}", punctuation);
   Console::WriteLine("   Control Characters:      {0,3}\n", controlChars);
}

int main()
{
   EnumerateAndDisplay("Test Case");
   EnumerateAndDisplay("This is a sentence.");
   EnumerateAndDisplay("Has\ttwo\ttabs");
   EnumerateAndDisplay("Two\nnew\nlines");
}
// The example displays the following output:
//    The characters in the string "Test Case" are:
//    'T' 'e' 's' 't' ' ' 'C' 'a' 's' 'e'
//       Total characters:          9
//       Alphanumeric characters:   8
//       Punctuation characters:    0
//       Control Characters:        0
//    
//    The characters in the string "This is a sentence." are:
//    'T' 'h' 'i' 's' ' ' 'i' 's' ' ' 'a' ' ' 's' 'e' 'n' 't' 'e' 'n' 'c' 'e' '.'
//       Total characters:         19
//       Alphanumeric characters:  15
//       Punctuation characters:    1
//       Control Characters:        0
//    
//    The characters in the string "Has       two     tabs" are:
//    'H' 'a' 's' '0x0009' 't' 'w' 'o' '0x0009' 't' 'a' 'b' 's'
//       Total characters:         12
//       Alphanumeric characters:  10
//       Punctuation characters:    0
//       Control Characters:        2
//    
//    The characters in the string "Two
//    new
//    lines" are:
//    'T' 'w' 'o' '0x000A' 'n' 'e' 'w' '0x000A' 'l' 'i' 'n' 'e' 's'
//       Total characters:         13
//       Alphanumeric characters:  11
//       Punctuation characters:    0
//       Control Characters:        2

using System;

class Example
{
   public static void Main() 
   {
      EnumerateAndDisplay("Test Case");
      EnumerateAndDisplay("This is a sentence.");
      EnumerateAndDisplay("Has\ttwo\ttabs" );
      EnumerateAndDisplay("Two\nnew\nlines");
   }

   static void EnumerateAndDisplay(String phrase)
   {
      Console.WriteLine("The characters in the string \"{0}\" are:",
                        phrase);

      int CharCount = 0;
      int controlChars = 0;
      int alphanumeric = 0;
      int punctuation = 0;

      foreach (var ch in phrase) {
         Console.Write(Char.IsControl(ch) ? $"{ch}" : $"0x{(ushort)ch:X4}");

         if (Char.IsLetterOrDigit(ch)) 
            alphanumeric++;
         else if (Char.IsControl(ch)) 
            controlChars++;
         else if (Char.IsPunctuation(ch)) 
            punctuation++;             
         CharCount++;
      }

      Console.WriteLine("\n   Total characters:        {0,3}", CharCount);
      Console.WriteLine("   Alphanumeric characters: {0,3}", alphanumeric);
      Console.WriteLine("   Punctuation characters:  {0,3}", punctuation);
      Console.WriteLine("   Control Characters:      {0,3}\n", controlChars);
   }
}
// The example displays the following output:
//    The characters in the string "Test Case" are:
//    'T' 'e' 's' 't' ' ' 'C' 'a' 's' 'e'
//       Total characters:          9
//       Alphanumeric characters:   8
//       Punctuation characters:    0
//       Control Characters:        0
//    
//    The characters in the string "This is a sentence." are:
//    'T' 'h' 'i' 's' ' ' 'i' 's' ' ' 'a' ' ' 's' 'e' 'n' 't' 'e' 'n' 'c' 'e' '.'
//       Total characters:         19
//       Alphanumeric characters:  15
//       Punctuation characters:    1
//       Control Characters:        0
//    
//    The characters in the string "Has       two     tabs" are:
//    'H' 'a' 's' '0x0009' 't' 'w' 'o' '0x0009' 't' 'a' 'b' 's'
//       Total characters:         12
//       Alphanumeric characters:  10
//       Punctuation characters:    0
//       Control Characters:        2
//    
//    The characters in the string "Two
//    new
//    lines" are:
//    'T' 'w' 'o' '0x000A' 'n' 'e' 'w' '0x000A' 'l' 'i' 'n' 'e' 's'
//       Total characters:         13
//       Alphanumeric characters:  11
//       Punctuation characters:    0
//       Control Characters:        2

open System

let enumerateAndDisplay phrase =
    printfn $"The characters in the string \"{phrase}\" are:"

    let mutable CharCount = 0
    let mutable controlChars = 0
    let mutable alphanumeric = 0
    let mutable punctuation = 0

    for ch in phrase do
        if Char.IsControl ch then
            printf $"{ch}"
        else
            printf $"0x{uint16 ch:X4}"

        if Char.IsLetterOrDigit ch then
            alphanumeric <- alphanumeric + 1
        elif Char.IsControl ch then
            controlChars <- controlChars + 1
        elif Char.IsPunctuation ch then
            punctuation <- punctuation + 1             
            CharCount <- CharCount + 1

    printfn $"\n   Total characters:        {CharCount,3}"
    printfn $"   Alphanumeric characters: {alphanumeric,3}"
    printfn $"   Punctuation characters:  {punctuation,3}"
    printfn $"   Control Characters:      {controlChars,3}\n"

enumerateAndDisplay "Test Case"
enumerateAndDisplay "This is a sentence."
enumerateAndDisplay "Has\ttwo\ttabs"
enumerateAndDisplay "Two\nnew\nlines"


// The example displays the following output:
//    The characters in the string "Test Case" are:
//    'T' 'e' 's' 't' ' ' 'C' 'a' 's' 'e'
//       Total characters:          9
//       Alphanumeric characters:   8
//       Punctuation characters:    0
//       Control Characters:        0
//    
//    The characters in the string "This is a sentence." are:
//    'T' 'h' 'i' 's' ' ' 'i' 's' ' ' 'a' ' ' 's' 'e' 'n' 't' 'e' 'n' 'c' 'e' '.'
//       Total characters:         19
//       Alphanumeric characters:  15
//       Punctuation characters:    1
//       Control Characters:        0
//    
//    The characters in the string "Has       two     tabs" are:
//    'H' 'a' 's' '0x0009' 't' 'w' 'o' '0x0009' 't' 'a' 'b' 's'
//       Total characters:         12
//       Alphanumeric characters:  10
//       Punctuation characters:    0
//       Control Characters:        2
//    
//    The characters in the string "Two
//    new
//    lines" are:
//    'T' 'w' 'o' '0x000A' 'n' 'e' 'w' '0x000A' 'l' 'i' 'n' 'e' 's'
//       Total characters:         13
//       Alphanumeric characters:  11
//       Punctuation characters:    0
//       Control Characters:        2

Module Example
   Sub Main()
      EnumerateAndDisplay("Test Case")
      EnumerateAndDisplay("This is a sentence.")
      EnumerateAndDisplay("Has" & vbTab & "two" & vbTab & "tabs")
      EnumerateAndDisplay("Two" & vbLf & "new" & vbLf & "lines")
   End Sub 
       
   Sub EnumerateAndDisplay(phrase As String)
      Console.WriteLine("The characters in the string ""{0}"" are:", phrase)
       
      Dim charCount As Integer = 0
      Dim controlChars As Integer = 0
      Dim alphanumeric As Integer = 0
      Dim punctuation As Integer = 0
        
      For Each ch In phrase          
         Console.Write("'{0}' ", If(Not Char.IsControl(ch), ch, 
                                     "0x" + Convert.ToUInt16(ch).ToString("X4")))
         If Char.IsLetterOrDigit(ch) Then 
            alphanumeric += 1
         Else If Char.IsControl(ch) Then 
            controlChars += 1
         Else If Char.IsPunctuation(ch) Then 
            punctuation += 1             
         End If
         CharCount += 1
      Next

      Console.WriteLine()
      Console.WriteLine("   Total characters:        {0,3}", CharCount)
      Console.WriteLine("   Alphanumeric characters: {0,3}", alphanumeric)
      Console.WriteLine("   Punctuation characters:  {0,3}", punctuation)
      Console.WriteLine("   Control Characters:      {0,3}", controlChars)
      Console.WriteLine()
    End Sub 
End Module 
' This example displays the following output:
'    The characters in the string "Test Case" are:
'    'T' 'e' 's' 't' ' ' 'C' 'a' 's' 'e'
'       Total characters:          9
'       Alphanumeric characters:   8
'       Punctuation characters:    0
'       Control Characters:        0
'    
'    The characters in the string "This is a sentence." are:
'       'T' 'h' 'i' 's' ' ' 'i' 's' ' ' 'a' ' ' 's' 'e' 'n' 't' 'e' 'n' 'c' 'e' '.'
'          Total characters:         19
'          Alphanumeric characters:  15
'          Punctuation characters:    1
'          Control Characters:        0
'       
'       The characters in the string "Has       two     tabs" are:
'       'H' 'a' 's' '0x0009' 't' 'w' 'o' '0x0009' 't' 'a' 'b' 's'
'          Total characters:         12
'          Alphanumeric characters:  10
'          Punctuation characters:    0
'          Control Characters:        2
'       
'       The characters in the string "Two
'       new
'       lines" are:
'       'T' 'w' 'o' '0x000A' 'n' 'e' 'w' '0x000A' 'l' 'i' 'n' 'e' 's'
'          Total characters:         13
'          Alphanumeric characters:  11
'          Punctuation characters:    0
'          Control Characters:        2

Remarks

Tip

Rather than calling the GetEnumerator method to retrieve a CharEnumerator object that you then use to enumerate a string, you should instead use your language's iteration construct (in C#, in F#, in C++/CLR, and in Visual Basic). foreach in C#, for..in in F#, for each in C++/CLR, and For Each in Visual Basic).

This method enables you to iterate the individual characters in a string. For example, the Visual Basic For Each, the F# for..in expression, and C# foreach statements invoke this method to return a CharEnumerator object that can provide read-only access to the characters in this string instance.

Applies to

Jaa