Thread: String contains function

  1. #1
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    String contains function - handling unicode

    Hi all:

    In Java strings, there is a String.contains method that will tell you whether a particular string contains another string as its substring. Is there something that is the same in C++? I'm trying to use string.find(string input), but that seems to return -1 every time.

    Thanks.

    Edit: This has progressed to a unicode/ascii problem. Anyone can shed some light regarding Unicode processing/detection?

    Thanks again.
    Last edited by JizJizJiz; 06-19-2006 at 06:09 PM.
    -Zack

  2. #2
    C++ Witch laserlight's Avatar
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    Yes, the find member function of std::string should work, assuming you are working with such strings. If the substring is not found, std::string::npos would be returned.

    If you are using null terminated strings, then strstr() from C++'s C legacy should be used.
    Quote Originally Posted by Bjarne Stroustrup (2000-10-14)
    I get maybe two dozen requests for help with some sort of programming or design problem every day. Most have more sense than to send me hundreds of lines of code. If they do, I ask them to find the smallest example that exhibits the problem and send me that. Mostly, they then find the error themselves. "Finding the smallest program that demonstrates the error" is a powerful debugging tool.
    Look up a C++ Reference and learn How To Ask Questions The Smart Way

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    Quote Originally Posted by laserlight
    Yes, the find member function of std::string should work, assuming you are working with such strings. If the substring is not found, std::string::npos would be returned.

    If you are using null terminated strings, then strstr() from C++'s C legacy should be used.
    Thanks. However, that doesn't seem to be working. BTW, what does null terminated strings mean? I presume the getline function does give a null terminated string (I could be very wrong)?

    Here's what I'm working with:

    Code:
    string currentLine;
    	int line = 0;
    	ifstream input (file);
    	//input.open(file, ios::in);
    	while(!input.eof())
    	{
    		getline(input, currentLine);
    		line ++;
    		if (currentLine.find(contains) != string::npos)
    		{
    			int a = currentLine.find(contains);
    			cout <<"[" <<line <<"] " <<a <<"\n\n";
    		}
    	}
    -Zack

  4. #4
    C++ Witch laserlight's Avatar
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    BTW, what does null terminated strings mean? I presume the getline function does give a null terminated string (I could be very wrong)?
    By null terminated string I mean the C-style strings that use '\0' to denote one past the last character of the string. As for getline, that depends on which getline you refer to. In this case, std::getline works with std::string.

    I have no clue as to what data you are working with, so it could well be a problem with your data rather than with your code. To convince yourself that find works, try:
    Code:
    #include <string>
    #include <iostream>
    
    int main() {
    	if (std::string("hello world!").find("world") != std::string::npos) {
    		std::cout << "found" << std::endl;
    	} else {
    		std::cout << "not found" << std::endl;
    	}
    }
    By the way, you probably shouldnt be testing input.eof() in your loop condition. Rather, test with getline directly.
    Code:
    string currentLine;
    int line = 0;
    ifstream input(file);
    while (getline(input, currentLine))
    {
    	++line;
    	std::size_type pos = currentLine.find(contains);
    	if (pos != string::npos)
    	{
    		cout << "[" << line << "] " << pos << "\n\n";
    	}
    }
    Last edited by laserlight; 06-19-2006 at 10:55 AM.
    Quote Originally Posted by Bjarne Stroustrup (2000-10-14)
    I get maybe two dozen requests for help with some sort of programming or design problem every day. Most have more sense than to send me hundreds of lines of code. If they do, I ask them to find the smallest example that exhibits the problem and send me that. Mostly, they then find the error themselves. "Finding the smallest program that demonstrates the error" is a powerful debugging tool.
    Look up a C++ Reference and learn How To Ask Questions The Smart Way

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by laserlight
    By null terminated string I mean the C-style strings that use '\0' to denote one past the last character of the string. As for getline, that depends on which getline you refer to. In this case, std::getline works with std::string.

    I have no clue as to what data you are working with, so it could well be a problem with your data rather than with your code. To convince yourself that find works, try:
    Code:
    #include <string>
    #include <iostream>
    
    int main() {
    	if (std::string("hello world!").find("world") != std::string::npos) {
    		std::cout << "found" << std::endl;
    	} else {
    		std::cout << "not found" << std::endl;
    	}
    }
    By the way, you probably shouldnt be testing input.eof() in your loop condition. Rather, test with getline directly.
    Code:
    string currentLine;
    int line = 0;
    ifstream input(file);
    while (getline(input, currentLine))
    {
    	++line;
    	std::size_type pos = currentLine.find(contains);
    	if (pos != string::npos)
    	{
    		cout << "[" << line << "] " << pos << "\n\n";
    	}
    }
    Thanks. I can't seem to get the part with the find working...I changed it to look pretty much just like yours .

    You have a PM btw .
    -Zack

  6. #6
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    So I know that "hello world" works, but "HELLO WORLD" doesn't work when I look for "HELLO" - also, if I use something like <html>, it would not find anything. I'm starting to think that this is perhaps a character set conversion problem?

    Can anyone shed light on this?

    Thanks.
    -Zack

  7. #7
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    So we've determined that this is a problem between Unicode and ASCII text. Is there an easy way to convert?
    -Zack

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