Help trying to find a string in a text file

I am likely missing something silly.

I need to check if a string is contained within a text file, as the whole word.

I have set the text file to a list and tested the list (debug the list) and the correct word comes up. I have wrote my own text file. When I check the string (user input, which calls the method from an other script, sending through a string) against the list it does not work. if I code in a word which is in the list it also does not work. If I hard code to add a word to the list it will then work. I am lost as every bit works just not when put together. I have tried uppercase/lowercase. I have also tried both list and arrays.

Thank you in advance for any help

Code (csharp):

1.  
2. using System.Collections;
3. using System.Collections.Generic;
4. using UnityEngine;
5. using System.IO;
6. public class WordsList : MonoBehaviour
7. {
8.     // each word
9.     private List<string> _wordList = new List<string>();
10.     // the text file to import from
11.     [SerializeField]
12.     private TextAsset _wordListTextFile;
13.     // one long string for every word
14.     private string _wordListFileWholeThing;
15.  
16.     private string[] _testWordArray;
17.     // bool to test
18.     [SerializeField]
19.     private bool _correct;
20.     void Start()
21.     {
22.         // create one long string
23.         _wordListFileWholeThing = _wordListTextFile.ToString();
24.         // split the string into actual words by line break and add to list
25.         _wordList.AddRange(_wordListFileWholeThing.Split("\n"[0]));
26.  
27.         //TEST WORD
28.        // _wordList.Add("BALE"); // manually adding a test word to the list
29.  
30.         _testWordArray = new string[_wordList.Capacity];
31.         for (int i = 0; i < _wordList.Capacity; i++)
32.         {
33.             string test = _wordList.ToString();
34.  
35.             _testWordArray = test;
36.         }
37.  
38.      
39.  
40.         Debug.Log(_wordList[0]);
41.         Debug.Log(_wordList[4]);
42.         Debug.Log(_wordList[12]);
43.         Debug.Log(_wordList[100]);
44.         Debug.Log(_wordList.Count);
45.        
46.     }
47.     private void Update()
48.     {
49.         if (Input.GetKeyDown(KeyCode.L))
50.         {
51.             // test word checker
52.             _correct = CheckWord(_wordList[12]); // this works
53.  
54.         }
55.         if (Input.GetKeyDown(KeyCode.K)) // this does not work unless I manually add it to the list
56.         {
57.          
58.             // test word checker
59.             _correct = CheckWordArray("BALE");
60.         }
61.     }
62.     public bool CheckWordArray(string word)
63.     {
64.         // bool to check if word is found
65.         bool wordFound = false;
66.        
67.        
68.         Debug.Log("Word to look up +" + word + "+");
69.      
70.  
71.         // loop through the list of words
72.         for(int i = 0; i< _testWordArray.Length; i++)
73.         {
74.             // check to see if words equal
75.             if(Equals(_testWordArray, word))
76.             {
77.                 Debug.Log("word found in array");
78.             }
79.         }
80.         {
81.          
82.         }
83.         // after loop if word is found return true
84.         if (wordFound == true)
85.         {
86.             return true;
87.         }
88.         // if word not found return false
89.         else
90.         {
91.             return false;
92.         }
93.        
94.     }
95.     public bool CheckWord(string word)
96.     {
97.         // bool to check if word is found
98.         bool wordFound = false;
99.        
100.         // loop through the list of words
101.         foreach (string str in _wordList)
102.         {
103.             // only check if word not already found
104.             if (wordFound == false)
105.             {
106.                 str.Trim();
107.                 str.TrimEnd();
108.                 str.TrimStart();
109.                 //if word is found set bool true
110.              
111.                 if (Equals(str, word))
112.                 {
113.                     Debug.Log("Word found in F***ing list!");
114.                     // set the bool true if word is found
115.                     wordFound = true;
116.                     // break out of loop as no need to run anyfurther
117.                     // break;
118.                 }
119.             }
120.         }
121.         // after loop if word is found return true
122.         if (wordFound == true)
123.         {
124.             return true;
125.         }
126.         // if word not found return false
127.         else
128.         {
129.             return false;
130.         }
131.     }
132. }
133.  

 

Please use code tags: https://forum.unity.com/threads/using-code-tags-properly.143875/

How to report problems productively in the Unity3D forums:

http://plbm.com/?p=220

 

Thank you, it’s all learning

 

Line 75:

Code (CSharp):

1. if(Equals(_testWordArray, word))

Why are you comparing the string to the entire array. I think you probably meant this:

Code (CSharp):

1. if(Equals(_testWordArray[i], word))

And while you're at it don't use the generic object.Equals method so you get compiler errors if you mess up:

Code (CSharp):

1. if(_testWordArray[i] == word)

 

It is!

I recommend a couple of things:

1. make a TINY list of words (like 3 different words)
2. at line 100 above, print out the two things you're comparing

That should cause you to immediately move to the next step of the problem. Whenever you have code that behaves weirdly as a result of data, PRINT OUT THAT DATA! It actually works 100% of the time.

 

Thank you for your replies, I have changed the code numerous times, and I had tried the code above. I have changed it as above and will link it (correctly this time) below. I have debugged the words on a small list and yet the bool is still returning false. With the following in the console.

just a quick note its line 82 that I am trying to get return( Debug.Log("word found in array")

Test Word BALE
= BALE
UnityEngine.Debug:Log(Object)
WordsList:CheckWordArray(String) (at Assets/Scripts/WordsList.cs:94)
WordsList:Update() (at Assets/Scripts/WordsList.cs:75)

Code (csharp):

1.  
2. using System.Collections;
3. using System.Collections.Generic;
4. using UnityEngine;
5. using System.IO;
6. public class WordsList : MonoBehaviour
7. {
8.     // each word
9.     private List<string> _wordList = new List<string>();
10.     // the text file to import from
11.     [SerializeField]
12.     private TextAsset _wordListTextFile;
13.     // one long string for every word
14.     private string _wordListFileWholeThing;
15.  
16.     private string[] _testWordArray;
17.     // bool to test
18.     [SerializeField]
19.     private bool _correct;
20.     void Start()
21.     {
22.         // create one long string
23.         _wordListFileWholeThing = _wordListTextFile.ToString();
24.         // split the string into actual words by line break and add to list
25.         _wordList.AddRange(_wordListFileWholeThing.Split("\n"[0]));
26.  
27.         //TEST WORD
28.        // _wordList.Add("garbed");
29.  
30.         _testWordArray = new string[_wordList.Capacity];
31.         for (int i = 0; i < _wordList.Capacity; i++)
32.         {
33.             string test = _wordList[i].ToString();
34.  
35.             _testWordArray[i] = test;
36.         }
37.  
38.      
39.  
40.         Debug.Log(_wordList[0]);
41.         Debug.Log(_wordList[1]);
42.         Debug.Log(_wordList[2]);
43.         Debug.Log(_wordList[3]);
44.         Debug.Log(_wordList.Count);
45.        
46.     }
47.     private void Update()
48.     {
49.         if (Input.GetKeyDown(KeyCode.L))
50.         {
51.             // test word checker
52.             _correct = CheckWord(_wordList[12]);
53.  
54.         }
55.         if (Input.GetKeyDown(KeyCode.K))
56.         {
57.             string testWord = "garbed";
58.             testWord.Trim();
59.             testWord.TrimEnd();
60.             testWord.TrimStart();
61.             testWord.ToLower();
62.             // test word checker
63.             _correct = CheckWordArray("BALE");
64.         }
65.     }
66.     public bool CheckWordArray(string word)
67.     {
68.         // bool to check if word is found
69.         bool wordFound = false;
70.        
71.        
72.         Debug.Log("Word to look up +" + word + "+");
73.      
74.  
75.         // loop through the list of words
76.         for(int i = 0; i< _testWordArray.Length; i++)
77.         {
78.             Debug.Log("Test Word " + _testWordArray[i] + " = " + word);
79.             // check to see if words equal
80.             if(_testWordArray[i] == word)
81.             {
82.                 Debug.Log("word found in array");
83.             }
84.         }
85.         {
86.          
87.         }
88.         // after loop if word is found return true
89.         if (wordFound == true)
90.         {
91.             return true;
92.         }
93.         // if word not found return false
94.         else
95.         {
96.             return false;
97.         }
98.        
99.     }
100.  

 

See how these print out on two lines? The first word (the one in the array) seems to have a newline at the end of it.

Unfortunately splitting via

"\n"[0]

does not strip off a

"\r"

if one happens to be at the end of the string.

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/1508203/best-way-to-split-string-into-lines

 

Would this be better, or do I have to scrap it completely

Code (csharp):

1.  
2. _wordList.AddRange(_wordListFileWholeThing.Split("\n\r"[0]));
3.  

 

As this is engineering, you're welcome to try your own stuff out, let us know if it works. What you wrote above should not work any different, since you're just passing the 0th character in, and ignoring the 1th character.

Alternatively if you just want to get this done and move forward, you might want to try one of the split options suggested in the stackoverflow post I linked above.

 

Thank you for your help. It is all sorted now, just a simple formatting error or the line space. In the end I just replaced the line space.