StringStream in C#

Question

I want to be able to build a string from a class that I create that derives from Stream. Specifically, I want to be able to write code like this:

void Print(Stream stream) {
    // Some code that operates on a Stream.
}

void Main() {
    StringStream stream = new StringStream();
    Print(stream);
    string myString = stream.GetResult();
}

Can I create a class called StringStream that makes this possible? Or is such a class already available?

Update: In my example, the method Print is provided in a third-party external DLL. As you can see, the argument that Print expects is a Stream. After printing to the Stream, I want to be able to retrieve its content as a string.

Answer 1

You can use tandem of MemoryStream and StreamReader classes:

void Main()
{
    string myString;

    using (var stream = new MemoryStream())
    {
        Print(stream);

        stream.Position = 0;
        using (var reader = new StreamReader(stream))
        {
            myString = reader.ReadToEnd();
        }
    }
}

Answer 2

Since your Print() method presumably deals with Text data, could you rewrite it to accept a TextWriter parameter?

The library provides a StringWriter: TextWriter but not a StringStream. I suppose you could create one by wrapping a MemoryStream, but is it really necessary?

---

After the Update:

void Main() 
{
  string myString;  // outside using

  using (MemoryStream stream = new MemoryStream ())
  {
     Print(stream);
     myString = Encoding.UTF8.GetString(stream.ToArray());
  }
  ... 

}

You may want to change UTF8 to ASCII, depending on the encoding used by Print().

Answer 3

You can use a StringWriter to write values to a string. It provides a stream-like syntax (though does not derive from Stream) which works with an underlying StringBuilder.

Answer 4

I see a lot of good answers here, but none that directly address the lack of a StringStream class in C#. So I have written one of my own...

public class StringStream : Stream
{
    private readonly MemoryStream _memory;
    public StringStream(string text)
    {
        _memory = new MemoryStream(Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes(text));
    }
    public StringStream()
    {
        _memory = new MemoryStream();
    }
    public StringStream(int capacity)
    {
        _memory = new MemoryStream(capacity);
    }
    public override void Flush()
    {
        _memory.Flush();
    }
    public override int Read(byte[] buffer, int offset, int count)
    {
        return  _memory.Read(buffer, offset, count);
    }
    public override long Seek(long offset, SeekOrigin origin)
    {
        return _memory.Seek(offset, origin);
    }
    public override void SetLength(long value)
    {
        _memory.SetLength(value);
    }
    public override void Write(byte[] buffer, int offset, int count)
    {
        _memory.Write(buffer, offset, count);
    }
    public override bool CanRead => _memory.CanRead;
    public override bool CanSeek => _memory.CanSeek;
    public override bool CanWrite => _memory.CanWrite;
    public override long Length =>  _memory.Length;
    public override long Position
    {
        get => _memory.Position;
        set => _memory.Position = value;
    }
    public override string ToString()
    {
        return System.Text.Encoding.UTF8.GetString(_memory.GetBuffer(), 0, (int) _memory.Length);
    }
    public override int ReadByte()
    {
        return _memory.ReadByte();
    }
    public override void WriteByte(byte value)
    {
        _memory.WriteByte(value);
    }
}

An example of its use...

        string s0 =
            "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor\r\n" +
            "incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud\r\n" +
            "exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor\r\n" +
            "in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint\r\n" +
            "occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.\r\n";
        StringStream ss0 = new StringStream(s0);
        StringStream ss1 = new StringStream();
        int line = 1;
        Console.WriteLine("Contents of input stream: ");
        Console.WriteLine();
        using (StreamReader reader = new StreamReader(ss0))
        {
            using (StreamWriter writer = new StreamWriter(ss1))
            {
                while (!reader.EndOfStream)
                {
                    string s = reader.ReadLine();
                    Console.WriteLine("Line " + line++ + ": " + s);
                    writer.WriteLine(s);
                }
            }
        }

        Console.WriteLine();
        Console.WriteLine("Contents of output stream: ");
        Console.WriteLine();
        Console.Write(ss1.ToString());

Answer 5

You can create a MemoryStream from a String and use that in any third-party function that requires a stream. In this case, MemoryStream, with the help of UTF8.GetBytes, provides the functionality of Java's StringStream.

From String examples

String content = "stuff";
using (MemoryStream stream = new MemoryStream(System.Text.Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes(content)))
{
    Print(stream); //or whatever action you need to perform with the stream
    stream.Seek(0, SeekOrigin.Begin); //If you need to use the same stream again, don't forget to reset it.
    UseAgain(stream);
}

To String example

stream.Seek(0, SeekOrigin.Begin);
string s;
using (var readr = new StreamReader(stream))
{
    s = readr.ReadToEnd();
}
//and don't forget to dispose the stream if you created it

Answer 6

You have a number of options:

One is to not use streams, but use the TextWriter

   void Print(TextWriter writer) 
   {
   }

   void Main() 
  {
    var textWriter = new StringWriter();
    Print(writer);
    string myString = textWriter.ToString();
   }

It's likely that TextWriter is the appropriate level of abstraction for your print function. Streams are aimed at writing binary data, while TextWriter works at a higher abstraction level, specifically geared towards outputting strings.

If your motivation is that you also want your Print function to write to files, you can get a text writer from a filestream as well.

void Print(TextWriter writer) 
{
}

void PrintToFile(string filePath) 
{
     using(var textWriter = new StreamWriter(filePath))
     {
         Print(writer);
     }
}

If you REALLY want a stream you can look at MemoryStream.