C# net finding the shortest and longest line

Question

Trying to find the longest and shortest line in a text file. Longest returns correct but the shortest is always blank, any ideas?

        var lines = System.IO.File.ReadLines(@"C:\test.txt");            
        var Minimum = "";
        var Maximum = "";


            foreach (string line in lines)
            {

                if (Maximum.Length < line.Length)
                {
                    Maximum = line;
                }


                if (Minimum.Length > line.Length)
                {
                    Minimum = line;
                }
           }

Maybe because you have a blank line in your file? Check the file I think it will be the last line — Mivaweb, Jun 25 '15 at 06:21

score 12 · Accepted Answer · answered Jun 25 '15 at 06:25

12

You are setting var Minimum = ""; and as it's length will be 0, it will never be longer than any line in the file. Set the first line as the Minimum before the loop:

var Minimum = lines[0];

answered Jun 25 '15 at 06:25

va.

848
3
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sangram parmar · Answer 2 · 2015-06-25T07:08:44.963

4

without using loop..

Maximum = lines.OrderByDescending(a => a.Length).First().ToString();
Minimum = lines.OrderBy(a => a.Length).First().ToString();

edited Jun 25 '15 at 07:08

answered Jun 25 '15 at 06:31

sangram parmar

8,462
2
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1

Why do you sort twice, isn't the longest the first and shortest the last after the first sort? Also, sorting has a larger time complexity than one loop, so this solution has worse performance. It is easier to read though. – juunas Jun 25 '15 at 06:43
@juunas Do you have any reference that this type sorting for twice using lamda expression is slower than the for loop.. – sangram parmar Jun 25 '15 at 06:50
3

Any comparison sort has a time complexity of n log n. OPs loop is linear, thus it is faster. – juunas Jun 25 '15 at 06:52

score 1 · Answer 3 · answered Jun 25 '15 at 06:24

1

Minimum.Length is initially 0. I.e.

Minimum.Length > line.Length

will never get true, because of line.Length >= 0 for all lines.

Solution: You should initialize Mimimum with the first line before iterating.

answered Jun 25 '15 at 06:24

JimiLoe

950
2
14
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C# net finding the shortest and longest line

3 Answers3

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