Use wildcard characters * and ? to compare strings

Sign Up to vote

Add a reason or comment to your vote: x
Votes of 3 or less require a comment

public Boolean MatchWildcardString(String pattern, String input)
{
    if (String.Compare(pattern, input) == 0)
    {
        return true;
    }
    else if(String.IsNullOrEmpty(input))
    {
        if (String.IsNullOrEmpty(pattern.Trim(new Char[1] { '*' })))
        {
            return true;
        }
        else
        {
            return false;
        }
    }
    else if(pattern.Length == 0)
    {
        return false;
    }
    else if (pattern[0] == '?')
    {
        return MatchWildcardString(pattern.Substring(1), input.Substring(1));
    }
    else if (pattern[pattern.Length - 1] == '?')
    {
        return MatchWildcardString(pattern.Substring(0, pattern.Length - 1), input.Substring(0, input.Length - 1));
    }
    else if (pattern[0] == '*')
    {
        if (MatchWildcardString(pattern.Substring(1), input))
        {
            return true;
        }
        else
        {
            return MatchWildcardString(pattern, input.Substring(1));
        }
    }
    else if (pattern[pattern.Length - 1] == '*')
    {
        if (MatchWildcardString(pattern.Substring(0, pattern.Length - 1), input))
        {
            return true;
        }
        else
        {
            return MatchWildcardString(pattern, input.Substring(0, input.Length - 1));
        }
    }
    else if (pattern[0] == input[0])
    {
        return MatchWildcardString(pattern.Substring(1), input.Substring(1));
    }
    return false;
}

// Positive Tests
Assert.IsTrue(MatchWildcardString("*", ""));
Assert.IsTrue(MatchWildcardString("?", " "));
Assert.IsTrue(MatchWildcardString("*", "a"));
Assert.IsTrue(MatchWildcardString("*", "ab"));
Assert.IsTrue(MatchWildcardString("?", "a"));
Assert.IsTrue(MatchWildcardString("*?", "abc"));
Assert.IsTrue(MatchWildcardString("?*", "abc"));
Assert.IsTrue(MatchWildcardString("*abc", "abc"));
Assert.IsTrue(MatchWildcardString("*abc*", "abc"));
Assert.IsTrue(MatchWildcardString("*a*bc*", "aXXXbc"));
 
// Negative Tests
Assert.IsFalse(MatchWildcardString("*a", ""));
Assert.IsFalse(MatchWildcardString("a*", ""));
Assert.IsFalse(MatchWildcardString("?", ""));
Assert.IsFalse(MatchWildcardString("*b*", "a"));
Assert.IsFalse(MatchWildcardString("b*a", "ab"));
Assert.IsFalse(MatchWildcardString("??", "a"));
Assert.IsFalse(MatchWildcardString("*?", ""));
Assert.IsFalse(MatchWildcardString("??*", "a"));
Assert.IsFalse(MatchWildcardString("*abc", "abX"));
Assert.IsFalse(MatchWildcardString("*abc*", "Xbc"));
Assert.IsFalse(MatchWildcardString("*a*bc*", "ac"));