Substring issue

Question

I have the below code:

sDocType = pqReq.Substring(0, pqReq.IndexOf(@"\t"));

The string pqReq is like this: "CSTrlsEN\t001\t\\sgprt\Projects2\t001\tCSTrl". But even though I can clearly see the t\ in the string, pqReq.IndexOf(@"\t") returns -1, so an error is thrown.

What's the correct way to do this? I don't want to split the string pqReq until later on in the code.

I can't reproduce this, for this input: @"CSTrlsEN\t001\t\\sgprt\Projects2\t001\tCSTrl". Check the .NET Fiddle [here](http://dotnetfiddle.net/6b0meK). Did you perhaps forget to prefix the string with `@` ? — Panagiotis Kanavos, Dec 17 '13 at 15:35
I've tried this myself with a simple 2 liner and get back "CSTrlsEN". Are you sure that you are "@" escaping your string in code? — Wolfwyrd, Dec 17 '13 at 15:35
Is `pqReq` a literal? if it were declared inside your code, would it be declared as `pqReq = @"CSTrlsEN\t001\t\\sgprt\Projects2\t001\tCSTrl"` — AllenG, Dec 17 '13 at 15:36
In your question, you first state you are looking for `t\ `, then describe searching for `\t`. Those are *different*. Please clarify. — abelenky, Dec 17 '13 at 15:40
works for me. `var s = "CSTrlsEN\\t001\\t\\\\sgprt\\Projects2\\t001\\tCSTrl";` produce **exaclty** the same output as you stated, but still `s.IndexOf(@"\t")` returns **8**. — Ilya Ivanov, Dec 17 '13 at 15:41
Same goes with `var s = @"CSTrlsEN\t001\t\\sgprt\Projects2\t001\tCSTrl";` — Ilya Ivanov, Dec 17 '13 at 15:45

Abbas · Accepted Answer · 2013-12-17T15:49:11.653

2

~~Use \\t instead of \t. The \t is seen as a tab-character. sDocType = pqReq.Substring(0, pqReq.IndexOf(@"\t"));~~

Edit:

I didn't notice the \t being literal due to the @. But is your input string a literal string? If not, place an @ before the value of pqReq.

string pqReq = @"CSTrlsEN\t001\t\\sgprt\Projects2\t001\tCSTrl";
int i = pqReq.IndexOf(@"\t");
//i = 8

edited Dec 17 '13 at 15:49

answered Dec 17 '13 at 15:33

Abbas

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The string is @ escaped. No escapes are possible inside this kind of string... see http://stackoverflow.com/questions/4879152/c-sharp-before-a-string – Wolfwyrd Dec 17 '13 at 15:34
No. The @ makes this a string literal, so `\t` is **not** escaped to a tab character. [See the spec](http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa691090(v=vs.71).aspx). – Esoteric Screen Name Dec 17 '13 at 15:34
2

`@"\t"` is a literal, not a tab character – Panagiotis Kanavos Dec 17 '13 at 15:34
@PanagiotisKanavos: Thanks, I was tearing my hair out as I too didn't notice the **@** – Our Man in Bananas Dec 17 '13 at 15:37
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Check my edited answer, do you have an `@` before `"CSTrlsEN\t001\t\\sgprt\Projects2\t001\tCSTrl"`? If not, place one. – Abbas Dec 17 '13 at 15:41
well, my string will come for a text file in my application so I just used that string in the question, which is how I confused everyone! – Our Man in Bananas Dec 17 '13 at 15:55

score 2 · Answer 2 · answered Dec 17 '13 at 15:48

2

I can't reproduce this issue. The following code (.NET Fiddle here):

var pqReq=@"CSTrlsEN\t001\t\\sgprt\Projects2\t001\tCSTrl";
var idx=pqReq.IndexOf(@"\t");
Console.WriteLine(idx);
var sDocType = pqReq.Substring(0, idx);
Console.WriteLine(sDocType);

produces:

8
CSTrlsEN

Did you forget to prefix pqReq with @?

answered Dec 17 '13 at 15:48

Panagiotis Kanavos

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yes that was it! In fact I only used that string literal for the question, my string will come for a text file. – Our Man in Bananas Dec 17 '13 at 15:54

Substring issue

2 Answers2

Edit: