Alternative to multiple String.Replaces

Question

My code uses String.Replace several times in a row:

mystring = mystring.Replace("somestring", variable1);
mystring = mystring.Replace("somestring2", variable2);
mystring = mystring.Replace("somestring3", variable1);

I suspect there's a better and faster way to do it. What would you suggest?

Answer 1

For an 'easy' alternative just use a StringBuilder....

StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder("11223344");

string myString =
    sb
      .Replace("1", string.Empty)
      .Replace("2", string.Empty)
      .Replace("3", string.Empty)
      .ToString();

Answer 2

Are we going for ways to make this harder to understand what is going on?

If so regex is your friend

var replacements = new Dictionary<string,string>()
{
   {"somestring",someVariable1},
   {"anotherstring",someVariable2}
};

var regex = new Regex(String.Join("|",replacements.Keys.Select(k => Regex.Escape(k))));
var replaced = regex.Replace(input,m => replacements[m.Value]);

Live: http://rextester.com/SXXB8348

Answer 3

You could at least chain the statements:

mystring = mystring.Replace("somestring", variable1)
                   .Replace("somestring2", variable2)
                   .Replace("somestring3", variable3); 

Answer 4

Calling Replace three times is not only a valid answer, it might be the preferred one:

RegEx takes three steps: Parse, Execute, Formulate. But String.Replace is hard-coded, so in many cases it has superior speed. And a complex RegEx isn't as readable as a well-formatted chain of Replace statements. (Compare Jonathan's solution to Daniel's)

If you're still not convinced that Replace is better for your case, make a competition out of it! Try both methods side-by-side and use a Stopwatch to see how many milliseconds you save when using your data.

But DON'T optimize prematurely! Any developer will prefer readability and maintainability over a cryptic pile of spaghetti that performs three milliseconds faster.

Answer 5

This article Regex: replace multiple strings in a single pass with C# can be helpful:

static string MultipleReplace(string text, Dictionary replacements) {
    return Regex.Replace(text, 
        "(" + String.Join("|", adict.Keys.ToArray()) + ")",
        delegate(Match m) { return replacements[m.Value]; }
    );
}

// somewhere else in code
string temp = "Jonathan Smith is a developer";
adict.Add("Jonathan", "David");
adict.Add("Smith", "Seruyange");
string rep = MultipleReplace(temp, adict);

Answer 6

Depending how your data is organized (what you're replacing) or how many you have; an array and loops might be a good approach.

string[] replaceThese = {"1", "2", "3"};
string data = "replace1allthe2numbers3";

foreach (string curr in replaceThese)
{
    data = data.Replace(curr, string.Empty);
}

Answer 7

If you don't want to use RegEx add this class to your project,
It uses an extension method 'MultipleReplace':

public static class StringExtender
{
    public static string MultipleReplace(this string text, Dictionary<string, string> replacements)
    {
        string retVal = text;
        foreach (string textToReplace in replacements.Keys)
        {
            retVal = retVal.Replace(textToReplace, replacements[textToReplace]);
        }
        return retVal;
    }
}

Then you can use this piece of code:

 string mystring = "foobar";

 Dictionary<string, string> stringsToReplace = new Dictionary<string,string>();
 stringsToReplace.Add("somestring", variable1);
 stringsToReplace.Add("somestring2", variable2);
 stringsToReplace.Add("somestring3", variable1);

 mystring = mystring.MultipleReplace(stringsToReplace);

Answer 8

My preferred method is to use the power of Regex to solve a multiple replace problem. The only issue with this approach is you only get to choose one string to replace with.

The following will replace all '/' or ':' with a '-' to make a valid file name.

Regex.Replace("invalid:file/name.txt", @"[/:]", "-");