How to extract valid word from string

Question

1.00/5 (1 vote)

See more:

I am having this string:

<img width="600" height="366" src="http://www.channelstv.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/boko-haram-2.jpg" class="attachment-post-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="boko-haram-2" /><Eleven people have been killed in a late night attack in Jakana village, Kaga Local Government Area of Borno State, north east Nigeria as residents of Magumeri flee after rumour of an impending attack by Boko Haram.

i want to extract only valid word and skip and word that is not readable, i have tried this:

C#

<pre>try
                {
                    string msg = "&lt;p&gt;&lt;img width=&quot;600&quot; height=&quot;366&quot; src=&quot;http://www.channelstv.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/boko-haram-2.jpg&quot; class=&quot;attachment-post-thumbnail wp-post-image&quot; alt=&quot;boko-haram-2&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;Eleven people have been killed in a late night attack in Jakana village, Kaga Local Government Area of Borno State, north east Nigeria as residents of Magumeri flee after rumour of an impending attack by Boko Haram.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;";

                    
                    string retrieve = msg.Substring(20, 105);
                }
                catch(IndexOutOfRangeException)
                {

                }
</pre>

but it doesn't seem to give me the desire result.

Any assistance will be appreciated. Thanks in advance...

[edit]SHOUTING removed - OriginalGriff[/edit]

Posted 31-Mar-14 5:47am

Uwakpeter

Updated 31-Mar-14 6:15am

v5

Add a Solution

Comments

OriginalGriff 31-Mar-14 11:52am

DON'T SHOUT. Using all capitals is considered shouting on the internet, and rude (using all lower case is considered childish). Use proper capitalisation if you want to be taken seriously.

Uwakpeter 31-Mar-14 11:57am

Thanks for the correction

[no name] 31-Mar-14 11:53am

Probably because "msg2" is not defined.

Uwakpeter 31-Mar-14 11:57am

msg2 holds the string

[no name] 31-Mar-14 11:58am

No it doesn't. There is no "msg2" defined anywhere in your code sample.

Uwakpeter 31-Mar-14 12:05pm

i mistakenly removed it while posting the question, but that is what it does.

[no name] 31-Mar-14 12:10pm

So do you expect us to help you when you cannot give us real factual information?

Uwakpeter 31-Mar-14 12:16pm

i have updated the question

Maciej Los 31-Mar-14 11:55am

What you mean by "extract valid string"?

Uwakpeter 31-Mar-14 12:07pm

i want to extract any word that is readable from a string that is mix with alphanumeric character

Maciej Los 31-Mar-14 12:53pm

Use Regex. Please see my answer.

[no name] 31-Mar-14 11:56am

What is your desired result? What would you expect to get if you SubString msg starting at index 20 and grabbing 105 characters?

Uwakpeter 31-Mar-14 12:04pm

the string changes, so the index 20, and grabbing 105 might not necessary work, the variable msg2 could contain something else next time the program is run, but in the above question i want to grab from Eleven people have been killed in...., in a general sense i want to grab any word that is readable.

[no name] 31-Mar-14 12:09pm

You need to define that clearly if you expect people to help you. I see the word "width" in your string. It is readable to me so how does that not fit into your criteria? What about "content"? And "channelstv"? I think what you are really looking for is a regular expression.

3 solutions

Solution 1

Please, read my comments to the question.

There are 2 general ways to "extract" substring from source string.
1) How to: Search Strings Using String Methods (C# Programming Guide)[^]
2) How to: Search Strings Using Regular Expressions (C# Programming Guide)[^]

Posted 31-Mar-14 5:57am

Maciej Los

Solution 2

C#

string retrieve = msg.Substring(msg.IndexOf("Eleven"), (msg.IndexOf(".<") - msg.IndexOf("Eleven")));

Posted 31-Mar-14 6:06am

Jawad Ahmed Tanoli

Comments

Uwakpeter 31-Mar-14 12:12pm

Eleven here will not always going to be eleven in that same position. so what happens if it changes to something else?

Jawad Ahmed Tanoli 31-Mar-14 12:15pm

so your string pattern can be change every time ?
what did you know that will be common in your message?

Uwakpeter 31-Mar-14 12:18pm

It changes every time, and nothing is going to be common. If i could filter the alphanumerics and be left with only readable words, that will suffice. Thanks

Jawad Ahmed Tanoli 31-Mar-14 12:24pm

then it will be hard to parse because there must be something unique if you will try to read alphabet only then also make some complex because it includes some other words.try to save multiple message string then observe what is common in all and where you get your desired message in string then it is possible to read accurately.

Add a Solution

Add your solution here

Treat my content as plain text, not as HTML

Preview 0

…

Existing Members

Sign in to your account

...or Join us

Download, Vote, Comment, Publish.

Your Email
Password
Forgot your password?

Your Email
This email is in use. Do you need your password?
Optional Password

I have read and agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy
Please subscribe me to the CodeProject newsletters

When answering a question please:

Read the question carefully.
Understand that English isn't everyone's first language so be lenient of bad spelling and grammar.
If a question is poorly phrased then either ask for clarification, ignore it, or edit the question and fix the problem. Insults are not welcome.
Don't tell someone to read the manual. Chances are they have and don't get it. Provide an answer or move on to the next question.

Let's work to help developers, not make them feel stupid.

This content, along with any associated source code and files, is licensed under The Code Project Open License (CPOL)

Ravi Bhavnani · Accepted Answer · 2014-03-31T06:31:00

Solution 3

At the risk of appearing arrogant, I will tell you what you really want to do.

First, HTML decode the string. This converts HTML encoded content like "<" to "<". See this[^] link for how to do this.
Once you have a string that contains HTML and plain text, remove the HTML using my StringParser[^] utility's removeHtml() method.
You will be left with just the text that you wanted in the first place.

Using your example, the resulting string will be:

Eleven people have been killed in a late night attack in Jakana village, Kaga Local Government Area of Borno State, north east Nigeria as residents of Magumeri flee after rumour of an impending attack by Boko Haram.

/ravi

Posted 31-Mar-14 6:31am

Ravi Bhavnani

Comments

Maciej Los 31-Mar-14 12:56pm

Self-reference, i like it!

Ravi Bhavnani 31-Mar-14 13:58pm

Thanks. :) I only mentioned it because I thought it fit the bill nicely.

/ravi

Uwakpeter 16-Apr-14 7:35am

please where is the StringParser utility class or method?

Ravi Bhavnani 16-Apr-14 8:14am

Did you try clicking the link in the solution?

/ravi

Uwakpeter 16-Apr-14 9:05am

yes i did, but i didnt see the StringParser Class!

Ravi Bhavnani 16-Apr-14 10:39am

Odd - it works for me. You can also just visit http://www.codeproject.com/Articles/12708/StringParser.

/ravi

Uwakpeter 16-Apr-14 11:19am

i have got it, thanks Ravi