CODEWITHSUNDEEP
vb.net
Brandon W
Brandon W

Reputation: 13

Vb.net Search for string not in any specific order

So i have a issue im running into and i cannot quite get my mind wrapped around it, hopefully i can explain this correctly.

I am working in VB.net

My string is

From the National Weather Service in Jackson: Severe Thunderstorm Warning [wind: 60 MPH, hail: 1.00 IN] for Pittsburgh [PA],Guernsey, Belmont [OH] till 3:45 PM CDT

So here is my issue, The counties listed above can be put in any order on each given warning/watch/advisory, So PA could be listed first or last or in the middle.

This is what i need, I need to be able to split the counties for PA into one section, OH in another, WV Into another and so on...

Example: Belmon, Guernsey, Noble [OH] Marshall, Ohio, Wetzel [WV]

Keeping in mind that the counties and states can change from warning to warning.

My overall goal is this, Its possible that Marion [OH] and Marion [WV] could be in the same warning, I want to leave Marion [WV] out and keep Marion [OH] along with any other counties that might be listed.

Dim string1 As String
string1 = Split(TextBox1.Text, "till")(0)
If InStr(TextBox1.Text, "[PA]") Then
    string1 = Split(string1, "[PA]")(1)
    string1 = Replace(string1, ", ", ",")
    string1 = Replace(string1, ",", "|")
    string1 = Split(string1, "[OH]")(0)
Else
    If InStr(TextBox1.Text, "[WV]") Then
        string1 = Split(string1, "[WV]")(1)
        string1 = Replace(string1, ", ", ",")
        string1 = Replace(string1, ",", "|")
        string1 = Split(string1, "[OH]")(0)
    End If
End If

TextBox2.Text = string1

Upvotes: 1

Views: 51

Answers (1)

Nostromo
Nostromo

Reputation: 1264

It seems that you need to parse the string. I suggest you read about "Regular Expressions" (in short RegEx). This is a method to find things in strings.

The RegEx search pattern \[(PA|OH|CA)\] for instance will give you any occurrence of the strings "[PA]" or "[OH]" or "[CA]" in a given source string.

Imports System.Text.RegularExpressions

Public Module Module1

    Sub Main()
        Dim source As String = "From the National Weather Service in Jackson: Severe Thunderstorm Warning [wind: 60 MPH, hail: 1.00 IN] for Pittsburgh [PA],Guernsey, Belmont [OH] till 3:45 PM CDT"
        Dim searchPattern As String = "\[(PA|OH|CA)\]"
        Dim matches As MatchCollection

        matches = Regex.Matches(source, searchPattern)

        For Each match As Match In matches
            Console.WriteLine(String.Format("{0} at position {1} in source string", match.Value, match.Index))
        Next match

        Console.ReadKey()
    End Sub

End Module

This short console program shows you how to use RegEx in VB.NET.

Now you know where in your source string you can find state abbreviations, now you can parse the source string for the rest of the information needed.

Be sure to test your RegEx search patterns thoroughly because usually they'll capture more or less than you may think. There are a lot of web sites to test RegEx search patterns (e.g. https://regex101.com)

Upvotes: 1

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