CODEWITHSUNDEEP
iosswift
Jason Hocker
Jason Hocker

Reputation: 7067

Swift: How to get substring from start to last index of character

I want to learn the best/simplest way to turn a string into another string but with only a subset, starting at the beginning and going to the last index of a character.

For example, convert "www.stackoverflow.com" to "www.stackoverflow". What code snippet would do that, and being the most swift-like? (I hope this doesn't bring a debate, but I can't find good lesson on how to handle substrings in Swift.

Upvotes: 121

Views: 163365

Answers (23)

Bibin Jaimon
Bibin Jaimon

Reputation: 592

Approach 1:

var myString = "abcde"

var subString = myString[2,4] // The result will be "cde"

extension String {
    subscript(startIndex: Int, endIndex: Int) -> String {
        let start = self.index(self.startIndex, offsetBy: startIndex)
        let end = self.index(self.startIndex, offsetBy: endIndex)
        let range = start...end
        return String(self[range])
    }
}

Approach 2:

let string = "stackoverflow"
let array = Array(string)
let substring = array[5...7].map(String.init).joined() // The result will be "ove"

Upvotes: 1

Leo Dabus
Leo Dabus

Reputation: 236350

edit/update:

In Swift 4 or later (Xcode 10.0+) you can use the new BidirectionalCollection method lastIndex(of:)

func lastIndex(of element: Self.Element) -> Self.Index?

let string = "www.stackoverflow.com"
if let lastIndex = string.lastIndex(of: ".") {
    let subString = string[..<lastIndex]  // "www.stackoverflow"
}

Upvotes: 16

serg_zhd
serg_zhd

Reputation: 1043

Swift 3, XCode 8

func lastIndexOfCharacter(_ c: Character) -> Int? {
    return range(of: String(c), options: .backwards)?.lowerBound.encodedOffset
}

Since advancedBy(Int) is gone since Swift 3 use String's method index(String.Index, Int). Check out this String extension with substring and friends:

public extension String {

    //right is the first encountered string after left
    func between(_ left: String, _ right: String) -> String? {
        guard let leftRange = range(of: left), let rightRange = range(of: right, options: .backwards)
        , leftRange.upperBound <= rightRange.lowerBound
            else { return nil }
    
        let sub = self.substring(from: leftRange.upperBound)
        let closestToLeftRange = sub.range(of: right)!
        return sub.substring(to: closestToLeftRange.lowerBound)
    }

    var length: Int {
        get {
            return self.characters.count
        }
    }

    func substring(to : Int) -> String {
        let toIndex = self.index(self.startIndex, offsetBy: to)
        return self.substring(to: toIndex)
    }

    func substring(from : Int) -> String {
        let fromIndex = self.index(self.startIndex, offsetBy: from)
        return self.substring(from: fromIndex)
    }

    func substring(_ r: Range<Int>) -> String {
        let fromIndex = self.index(self.startIndex, offsetBy: r.lowerBound)
        let toIndex = self.index(self.startIndex, offsetBy: r.upperBound)
        return self.substring(with: Range<String.Index>(uncheckedBounds: (lower: fromIndex, upper: toIndex)))
    }

    func character(_ at: Int) -> Character {
        return self[self.index(self.startIndex, offsetBy: at)]
    }

    func lastIndexOfCharacter(_ c: Character) -> Int? {
        guard let index = range(of: String(c), options: .backwards)?.lowerBound else
        { return nil }
        return distance(from: startIndex, to: index)
    }
}

UPDATED extension for Swift 5

public extension String {
    
    //right is the first encountered string after left
    func between(_ left: String, _ right: String) -> String? {
        guard
            let leftRange = range(of: left), let rightRange = range(of: right, options: .backwards)
            , leftRange.upperBound <= rightRange.lowerBound
            else { return nil }
        
        let sub = self[leftRange.upperBound...]
        let closestToLeftRange = sub.range(of: right)!            
        return String(sub[..<closestToLeftRange.lowerBound])
    }
    
    var length: Int {
        get {
            return self.count
        }
    }
    
    func substring(to : Int) -> String {
        let toIndex = self.index(self.startIndex, offsetBy: to)
        return String(self[...toIndex])
    }
    
    func substring(from : Int) -> String {
        let fromIndex = self.index(self.startIndex, offsetBy: from)
        return String(self[fromIndex...])
    }
    
    func substring(_ r: Range<Int>) -> String {
        let fromIndex = self.index(self.startIndex, offsetBy: r.lowerBound)
        let toIndex = self.index(self.startIndex, offsetBy: r.upperBound)
        let indexRange = Range<String.Index>(uncheckedBounds: (lower: fromIndex, upper: toIndex))
        return String(self[indexRange])
    }
    
    func character(_ at: Int) -> Character {
        return self[self.index(self.startIndex, offsetBy: at)]
    }
    
    func lastIndexOfCharacter(_ c: Character) -> Int? {
        guard let index = range(of: String(c), options: .backwards)?.lowerBound else
        { return nil }
        return distance(from: startIndex, to: index)
    }
}

Usage:

let text = "www.stackoverflow.com"
let at = text.character(3) // .
let range = text.substring(0..<3) // www
let from = text.substring(from: 4) // stackoverflow.com
let to = text.substring(to: 16) // www.stackoverflow
let between = text.between(".", ".") // stackoverflow
let substringToLastIndexOfChar = text.lastIndexOfCharacter(".") // 17

P.S. It's really odd that developers forced to deal with String.Index instead of plain Int. Why should we bother about internal String mechanics and not just have simple substring() methods?

Upvotes: 33

yassine menssi
yassine menssi

Reputation: 373

var url = "www.stackoverflow.com"
let str = path.suffix(3)
print(str) //low

Upvotes: 0

bauerMusic
bauerMusic

Reputation: 6166

The one thing that adds clatter is the repeated stringVar:

stringVar[stringVar.index(stringVar.startIndex, offsetBy: ...)

In Swift 4

An extension can reduce some of that:

extension String {

    func index(at location: Int) -> String.Index {
        return self.index(self.startIndex, offsetBy: location)
    }
}

Then, usage:

let string = "abcde"

let to = string[..<string.index(at: 3)] // abc
let from = string[string.index(at: 3)...] // de

It should be noted that to and from are type Substring (or String.SubSequance). They do not allocate new strings and are more efficient for processing.

To get back a String type, Substring needs to be casted back to String:

let backToString = String(from)

This is where a string is finally allocated.

Upvotes: 7

macpandit
macpandit

Reputation: 833

In Swift 5

We need String.Index instead of simple Int value to represent Index.

Also remember, when we try to get subString from Swift String (value type), we actually have to iterate with Sequence protocol, which returns String.SubSequence type instead of String type.

To get back String from String.SubSequence, use String(subString)

Example As Below:

    let string = "https://stackoverflow.com"
    let firstIndex = String.Index(utf16Offset: 0, in: string)
    let lastIndex = String.Index(utf16Offset: 6, in: string)
    let subString = String(string[firstIndex...lastIndex])

Upvotes: 3

steveluoxin
steveluoxin

Reputation: 436

Try this Int-based workaround:

extension String {
    // start and end is included
    func intBasedSubstring(_ start: Int, _ end: Int) -> String {
        let endOffset: Int = -(count - end - 1)
        let startIdx = self.index(startIndex, offsetBy: start)
        let endIdx = self.index(endIndex, offsetBy: endOffset)
        return String(self[startIdx..<endIdx])
    }
}

Note: It's just a practice. It doesn't check the boundary. Modify to suit your needs.

Upvotes: 1

Alexander Volkov
Alexander Volkov

Reputation: 8387

Swift 4:

extension String {

    /// the length of the string
    var length: Int {
        return self.characters.count
    }

    /// Get substring, e.g. "ABCDE".substring(index: 2, length: 3) -> "CDE"
    ///
    /// - parameter index:  the start index
    /// - parameter length: the length of the substring
    ///
    /// - returns: the substring
    public func substring(index: Int, length: Int) -> String {
        if self.length <= index {
            return ""
        }
        let leftIndex = self.index(self.startIndex, offsetBy: index)
        if self.length <= index + length {
            return self.substring(from: leftIndex)
        }
        let rightIndex = self.index(self.endIndex, offsetBy: -(self.length - index - length))
        return self.substring(with: leftIndex..<rightIndex)
    }

    /// Get substring, e.g. -> "ABCDE".substring(left: 0, right: 2) -> "ABC"
    ///
    /// - parameter left:  the start index
    /// - parameter right: the end index
    ///
    /// - returns: the substring
    public func substring(left: Int, right: Int) -> String {
        if length <= left {
            return ""
        }
        let leftIndex = self.index(self.startIndex, offsetBy: left)
        if length <= right {
            return self.substring(from: leftIndex)
        }
        else {
            let rightIndex = self.index(self.endIndex, offsetBy: -self.length + right + 1)
            return self.substring(with: leftIndex..<rightIndex)
        }
    }
}

you can test it as follows:

    print("test: " + String("ABCDE".substring(index: 2, length: 3) == "CDE"))
    print("test: " + String("ABCDE".substring(index: 0, length: 3) == "ABC"))
    print("test: " + String("ABCDE".substring(index: 2, length: 1000) == "CDE"))
    print("test: " + String("ABCDE".substring(left: 0, right: 2) == "ABC"))
    print("test: " + String("ABCDE".substring(left: 1, right: 3) == "BCD"))
    print("test: " + String("ABCDE".substring(left: 3, right: 1000) == "DE"))

Check https://gitlab.com/seriyvolk83/SwiftEx library. It contains these and other helpful methods.

Upvotes: 6

Mari&#225;n Čern&#253;
Mari&#225;n Čern&#253;

Reputation: 15748

I would do it using a subscript (s[start..<end]):

Swift 3, 4, 5

let s = "www.stackoverflow.com"
let start = s.startIndex
let end = s.index(s.endIndex, offsetBy: -4)
let substring = s[start..<end] // www.stackoverflow

Upvotes: 22

Marco Weber
Marco Weber

Reputation: 839

I also build a simple String-extension for Swift 4: 

extension String {
    func subStr(s: Int, l: Int) -> String { //s=start, l=lenth
        let r = Range(NSRange(location: s, length: l))!
        let fromIndex = self.index(self.startIndex, offsetBy: r.lowerBound)
        let toIndex = self.index(self.startIndex, offsetBy: r.upperBound)
        let indexRange = Range<String.Index>(uncheckedBounds: (lower: fromIndex, upper: toIndex))

        return String(self[indexRange])
     }
}

So you can easily call it like this: 

"Hallo world".subStr(s: 1, l: 3) //prints --> "all"

Upvotes: 1

fpg1503
fpg1503

Reputation: 7582

Just accessing backward

The best way is to use substringToIndex combined to the endIndexproperty and the advance global function.

var string1 = "www.stackoverflow.com"

var index1 = advance(string1.endIndex, -4)

var substring1 = string1.substringToIndex(index1)

Looking for a string starting from the back

Use rangeOfString and set options to .BackwardsSearch

var string2 = "www.stackoverflow.com"

var index2 = string2.rangeOfString(".", options: .BackwardsSearch)?.startIndex

var substring2 = string2.substringToIndex(index2!)

No extensions, pure idiomatic Swift

Swift 2.0

advance is now a part of Index and is called advancedBy. You do it like:

var string1 = "www.stackoverflow.com"

var index1 = string1.endIndex.advancedBy(-4)

var substring1 = string1.substringToIndex(index1)

Swift 3.0

You can't call advancedBy on a String because it has variable size elements. You have to use index(_, offsetBy:).

var string1 = "www.stackoverflow.com"

var index1 = string1.index(string1.endIndex, offsetBy: -4)

var substring1 = string1.substring(to: index1)

A lot of things have been renamed. The cases are written in camelCase, startIndex became lowerBound.

var string2 = "www.stackoverflow.com"

var index2 = string2.range(of: ".", options: .backwards)?.lowerBound

var substring2 = string2.substring(to: index2!)

Also, I wouldn't recommend force unwrapping index2. You can use optional binding or map. Personally, I prefer using map:

var substring3 = index2.map(string2.substring(to:))

Swift 4

The Swift 3 version is still valid but now you can now use subscripts with indexes ranges:

let string1 = "www.stackoverflow.com"

let index1 = string1.index(string1.endIndex, offsetBy: -4)

let substring1 = string1[..<index1]

The second approach remains unchanged:

let string2 = "www.stackoverflow.com"

let index2 = string2.range(of: ".", options: .backwards)?.lowerBound

let substring3 = index2.map(string2.substring(to:))

Upvotes: 208

ZagorTeNej
ZagorTeNej

Reputation: 1

Here is a simple way to get substring in Swift

import UIKit

var str = "Hello, playground" 
var res = NSString(string: str)
print(res.substring(from: 4))
print(res.substring(to: 10))

Upvotes: -1

ChikabuZ
ChikabuZ

Reputation: 10185

You can use these extensions:

Swift 2.3 

 extension String
    {
        func substringFromIndex(index: Int) -> String
        {
            if (index < 0 || index > self.characters.count)
            {
                print("index \(index) out of bounds")
                return ""
            }
            return self.substringFromIndex(self.startIndex.advancedBy(index))
        }

        func substringToIndex(index: Int) -> String
        {
            if (index < 0 || index > self.characters.count)
            {
                print("index \(index) out of bounds")
                return ""
            }
            return self.substringToIndex(self.startIndex.advancedBy(index))
        }

        func substringWithRange(start: Int, end: Int) -> String
        {
            if (start < 0 || start > self.characters.count)
            {
                print("start index \(start) out of bounds")
                return ""
            }
            else if end < 0 || end > self.characters.count
            {
                print("end index \(end) out of bounds")
                return ""
            }
            let range = Range(start: self.startIndex.advancedBy(start), end: self.startIndex.advancedBy(end))
            return self.substringWithRange(range)
        }

        func substringWithRange(start: Int, location: Int) -> String
        {
            if (start < 0 || start > self.characters.count)
            {
                print("start index \(start) out of bounds")
                return ""
            }
            else if location < 0 || start + location > self.characters.count
            {
                print("end index \(start + location) out of bounds")
                return ""
            }
            let range = Range(start: self.startIndex.advancedBy(start), end: self.startIndex.advancedBy(start + location))
            return self.substringWithRange(range)
        }
    }

Swift 3

extension String
{   
    func substring(from index: Int) -> String
    {
        if (index < 0 || index > self.characters.count)
        {
            print("index \(index) out of bounds")
            return ""
        }
        return self.substring(from: self.characters.index(self.startIndex, offsetBy: index))
    }

    func substring(to index: Int) -> String
    {
        if (index < 0 || index > self.characters.count)
        {
            print("index \(index) out of bounds")
            return ""
        }
        return self.substring(to: self.characters.index(self.startIndex, offsetBy: index))
    }

    func substring(start: Int, end: Int) -> String
    {
        if (start < 0 || start > self.characters.count)
        {
            print("start index \(start) out of bounds")
            return ""
        }
        else if end < 0 || end > self.characters.count
        {
            print("end index \(end) out of bounds")
            return ""
        }
        let startIndex = self.characters.index(self.startIndex, offsetBy: start)
        let endIndex = self.characters.index(self.startIndex, offsetBy: end)
        let range = startIndex..<endIndex

        return self.substring(with: range)
    }

    func substring(start: Int, location: Int) -> String
    {
        if (start < 0 || start > self.characters.count)
        {
            print("start index \(start) out of bounds")
            return ""
        }
        else if location < 0 || start + location > self.characters.count
        {
            print("end index \(start + location) out of bounds")
            return ""
        }
        let startIndex = self.characters.index(self.startIndex, offsetBy: start)
        let endIndex = self.characters.index(self.startIndex, offsetBy: start + location)
        let range = startIndex..<endIndex

        return self.substring(with: range)
    }
}

Usage:

let string = "www.stackoverflow.com"        
let substring = string.substringToIndex(string.characters.count-4)

Upvotes: 6

Nike Kov
Nike Kov

Reputation: 13718

Swift 3

let string = "www.stackoverflow.com"
let first3Characters = String(string.characters.prefix(3)) // www
let lastCharacters = string.characters.dropFirst(4) // stackoverflow.com (it would be a collection)

//or by index 
let indexOfFouthCharacter = olNumber.index(olNumber.startIndex, offsetBy: 4)
let first3Characters = olNumber.substring(to: indexOfFouthCharacter) // www
let lastCharacters = olNumber.substring(from: indexOfFouthCharacter) // .stackoverflow.com

Good article for understanding, why do we need this

Upvotes: 4

Andrey Gordeev
Andrey Gordeev

Reputation: 32459

Here's an easy and short way to get a substring if you know the index:

let s = "www.stackoverflow.com"
let result = String(s.characters.prefix(17)) // "www.stackoverflow"

It won't crash the app if your index exceeds string's length:

let s = "short"
let result = String(s.characters.prefix(17)) // "short"

Both examples are Swift 3 ready.

Upvotes: 5

philippe
philippe

Reputation: 1957

I've modified andrewz' post to make it compatible with Swift 2.0 (and maybe Swift 3.0). In my humble opinion, this extension is easier to understand and similar to what is available in other languages (like PHP).

extension String {

    func length() -> Int {
        return self.lengthOfBytesUsingEncoding(NSUTF16StringEncoding)
    }
    func substring(from:Int = 0, to:Int = -1) -> String {
       var nto=to
        if nto < 0 {
            nto = self.length() + nto
        }
        return self.substringWithRange(Range<String.Index>(
           start:self.startIndex.advancedBy(from),
           end:self.startIndex.advancedBy(nto+1)))
    }
    func substring(from:Int = 0, length:Int) -> String {
        return self.substringWithRange(Range<String.Index>(
            start:self.startIndex.advancedBy(from),
            end:self.startIndex.advancedBy(from+length)))
    }
}

Upvotes: 0

Chamath Jeevan
Chamath Jeevan

Reputation: 5172

Swift 2.0 The code below is tested on XCode 7.2 . Please refer to the attached screenshot at the bottom

import UIKit

class ViewController: UIViewController {

    override func viewDidLoad() {
        super.viewDidLoad()

        var mainText = "http://stackoverflow.com"

        var range = Range(start: mainText.startIndex.advancedBy(7), end: mainText.startIndex.advancedBy(24))
        var subText = mainText.substringWithRange(range)


        //OR Else use below for LAST INDEX

        range = Range(start: mainText.startIndex.advancedBy(7), end: mainText.endIndex)
        subText = mainText.substringWithRange(range)
    }
}

Upvotes: 2

andrewz
andrewz

Reputation: 5220

I've extended String with two substring methods. You can call substring with a from/to range or from/length like so:

var bcd = "abcdef".substring(1,to:3)
var cde = "abcdef".substring(2,to:-2)
var cde = "abcdef".substring(2,length:3)

extension String {
  public func substring(from:Int = 0, var to:Int = -1) -> String {
    if to < 0 {
        to = self.length + to
    }
    return self.substringWithRange(Range<String.Index>(
        start:self.startIndex.advancedBy(from),
        end:self.startIndex.advancedBy(to+1)))
  }
  public func substring(from:Int = 0, length:Int) -> String {
    return self.substringWithRange(Range<String.Index>(
        start:self.startIndex.advancedBy(from),
        end:self.startIndex.advancedBy(from+length)))
  }
}

Upvotes: 3

Imanou Petit
Imanou Petit

Reputation: 92419

Do you want to get a substring of a string from start index to the last index of one of its characters? If so, you may choose one of the following Swift 2.0+ methods.

Methods that require Foundation

Get a substring that includes the last index of a character:

import Foundation

let string = "www.stackoverflow.com"
if let rangeOfIndex = string.rangeOfCharacterFromSet(NSCharacterSet(charactersInString: "."), options: .BackwardsSearch) {
    print(string.substringToIndex(rangeOfIndex.endIndex))
}

// prints "www.stackoverflow."

Get a substring that DOES NOT include the last index of a character:

import Foundation

let string = "www.stackoverflow.com"
if let rangeOfIndex = string.rangeOfCharacterFromSet(NSCharacterSet(charactersInString: "."), options: .BackwardsSearch) {
    print(string.substringToIndex(rangeOfIndex.startIndex))
}

// prints "www.stackoverflow"

If you need to repeat those operations, extending String can be a good solution:

import Foundation

extension String {
    func substringWithLastInstanceOf(character: Character) -> String? {
        if let rangeOfIndex = rangeOfCharacterFromSet(NSCharacterSet(charactersInString: String(character)), options: .BackwardsSearch) {
            return self.substringToIndex(rangeOfIndex.endIndex)
        }
        return nil
    }
    func substringWithoutLastInstanceOf(character: Character) -> String? {
        if let rangeOfIndex = rangeOfCharacterFromSet(NSCharacterSet(charactersInString: String(character)), options: .BackwardsSearch) {
            return self.substringToIndex(rangeOfIndex.startIndex)
        }
        return nil
    }
}

print("www.stackoverflow.com".substringWithLastInstanceOf("."))
print("www.stackoverflow.com".substringWithoutLastInstanceOf("."))

/*
prints:
Optional("www.stackoverflow.")
Optional("www.stackoverflow")
*/

Methods that DO NOT require Foundation

Get a substring that includes the last index of a character:

let string = "www.stackoverflow.com"
if let reverseIndex = string.characters.reverse().indexOf(".") {
    print(string[string.startIndex ..< reverseIndex.base])
}

// prints "www.stackoverflow."

Get a substring that DOES NOT include the last index of a character:

let string = "www.stackoverflow.com"
if let reverseIndex = string.characters.reverse().indexOf(".") {
    print(string[string.startIndex ..< reverseIndex.base.advancedBy(-1)])
}

// prints "www.stackoverflow"

If you need to repeat those operations, extending String can be a good solution:

extension String {
    func substringWithLastInstanceOf(character: Character) -> String? {
        if let reverseIndex = characters.reverse().indexOf(".") {
            return self[self.startIndex ..< reverseIndex.base]
        }
        return nil
    }
    func substringWithoutLastInstanceOf(character: Character) -> String? {
        if let reverseIndex = characters.reverse().indexOf(".") {
            return self[self.startIndex ..< reverseIndex.base.advancedBy(-1)]
        }
        return nil
    }
}

print("www.stackoverflow.com".substringWithLastInstanceOf("."))
print("www.stackoverflow.com".substringWithoutLastInstanceOf("."))

/*
prints:
Optional("www.stackoverflow.")
Optional("www.stackoverflow")
*/

Upvotes: 5

mike.tihonchik
mike.tihonchik

Reputation: 6933

For Swift 2.0, it's like this:

var string1 = "www.stackoverflow.com"
var index1 = string1.endIndex.advancedBy(-4)
var substring1 = string1.substringToIndex(index1)

Upvotes: 0

Professor Oak
Professor Oak

Reputation: 41

func substr(myString: String, start: Int, clen: Int)->String

{
  var index2 = string1.startIndex.advancedBy(start)
  var substring2 = string1.substringFromIndex(index2)
  var index1 = substring2.startIndex.advancedBy(clen)
  var substring1 = substring2.substringToIndex(index1)

  return substring1   
}

substr(string1, start: 3, clen: 5)

Upvotes: 4

rintaro
rintaro

Reputation: 51911

String has builtin substring feature:

extension String : Sliceable {
    subscript (subRange: Range<String.Index>) -> String { get }
}

If what you want is "going to the first index of a character", you can get the substring using builtin find() function:

var str = "www.stackexchange.com"
str[str.startIndex ..< find(str, ".")!] // -> "www"

To find last index, we can implement findLast().

/// Returns the last index where `value` appears in `domain` or `nil` if
/// `value` is not found.
///
/// Complexity: O(\ `countElements(domain)`\ )
func findLast<C: CollectionType where C.Generator.Element: Equatable>(domain: C, value: C.Generator.Element) -> C.Index? {
    var last:C.Index? = nil
    for i in domain.startIndex..<domain.endIndex {
        if domain[i] == value {
            last = i
        }
    }
    return last
}

let str = "www.stackexchange.com"
let substring = map(findLast(str, ".")) { str[str.startIndex ..< $0] } // as String?
// if "." is found, substring has some, otherwise `nil`

ADDED:

Maybe, BidirectionalIndexType specialized version of findLast is faster:

func findLast<C: CollectionType where C.Generator.Element: Equatable, C.Index: BidirectionalIndexType>(domain: C, value: C.Generator.Element) -> C.Index? {
    for i in lazy(domain.startIndex ..< domain.endIndex).reverse() {
        if domain[i] == value {
            return i
        }
    }
    return nil
}

Upvotes: 6

joelparkerhenderson
joelparkerhenderson

Reputation: 35443

Here's how I do it. You could do it the same way, or use this code for ideas.

let s = "www.stackoverflow.com"
s.substringWithRange(0..<s.lastIndexOf("."))

Here are the extensions I use:

import Foundation
extension String {

  var length: Int {
    get {
      return countElements(self)
    }
  }

  func indexOf(target: String) -> Int {
    var range = self.rangeOfString(target)
    if let range = range {
      return distance(self.startIndex, range.startIndex)
    } else {
      return -1
    }
  }

  func indexOf(target: String, startIndex: Int) -> Int {
    var startRange = advance(self.startIndex, startIndex)        
    var range = self.rangeOfString(target, options: NSStringCompareOptions.LiteralSearch, range: Range<String.Index>(start: startRange, end: self.endIndex))
    if let range = range {
      return distance(self.startIndex, range.startIndex)
    } else {
      return -1
    }
  }

  func lastIndexOf(target: String) -> Int {
    var index = -1
    var stepIndex = self.indexOf(target)
    while stepIndex > -1 {
      index = stepIndex
      if stepIndex + target.length < self.length {
        stepIndex = indexOf(target, startIndex: stepIndex + target.length)
      } else {
        stepIndex = -1
      }
    }
    return index
  } 

  func substringWithRange(range:Range<Int>) -> String {
    let start = advance(self.startIndex, range.startIndex)
    let end = advance(self.startIndex, range.endIndex)
    return self.substringWithRange(start..<end)
  }

}

Credit albertbori / Common Swift String Extensions

Generally I am a strong proponent of extensions, especially for needs like string manipulation, searching, and slicing.

Upvotes: 9

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