Convert delimited string to array and group using LINQ in C#

Question

I have a string that has a delimited format like this:

orgname: firstname lastname, firstname lastname;

(this can repeat with orgnames and variable number of names for each org)

Example:

**XXX University**: Martha Zander, Rick Anderson; **Albert School**: Nancy Vanderburg, Eric Towson, George Branson; **Hallowed Halls**: Jane Goodall, Ann Crabtree, Rick Grey, Tammy Hudson;

The resultant string needs to be grouped and sorted by orgname and then lastname like this:

**Albert School**: George Branson, Eric Towson, Nancy Vanderburg; 
**Hallowed Halls**: Ann Crabtree, Jane Goodall, Rick Grey, Tammy Hudson;
**XXX University**: Rick Anderson, Martha Zander;

I have gotten this far:

string[][] splitThis = staff.Split(';').Select(s => s.Split(':')).ToArray();

This gives me an array split up by orgname and then I am stuck after this.

I know I need a multidimensional array with orname, firstname, lastname but I don't know how to populate, group and sort it to get the proper result.

Is there any chance that you will have a person that doesn't have exactly two parts to their name? Like Mary Jane Watson or Dale Earnhardt Jr.? — D Stanley
– D Stanley, Commented Jun 15, 2015 at 21:07
How do you define lastname. You have people with multiple first names, or with multiple last names. Like "William Of Baskeville", "Vlad the Impaler" and "Marie Rose Foo". — willeM_ Van Onsem
– willeM_ Van Onsem, Commented Jun 15, 2015 at 21:11
Why do you need a multidimensional array? This seems like a perfect time to define classes (like Person and Organization). — ryanyuyu
– ryanyuyu, Commented Jun 15, 2015 at 21:19
Unfortunately the data comes to us in this format by the client and was all hand-entered into one field of a database (sigh). We were told to sort it as best as possible for display. Therefore it would be possible to have multiple first or last names but I don't think there would be a way to determine and adjust for this. @ryanyuyu — PegR
– PegR, Commented Jun 15, 2015 at 21:48

3dGrabber · Accepted Answer · 2017-09-22 10:40:31Z

2

public static void Main()
{
    var input =
    @"**Albert School**: George Branson, Eric Towson, Nancy Vanderburg; 
     **Hallowed Halls**: Ann Crabtree, Jane Goodall, Rick Grey, Tammy Hudson;
     **XXX University**: Rick Anderson, Martha Zander;";

    var universities = input
                      .Split(';')
                      .Select(ParseUniversity)
                      .ToArray();
}

public static University ParseUniversity(string line)
{
    var fields = line
                .Split(',',':')
                .Select(f=>f.Trim('*','\n','\r', '\t' ,' '))  // remove trailing crap
                .ToArray();

    var universityName = fields.First();

    var persons = fields
                 .Skip(1)  // skip university field
                 .Select(ParsePerson)
                 .ToArray();

    return new University {Name = universityName, Persons = persons};
}

public static Person ParsePerson(string field)
{
    var p = field.Split(' ');
    return new Person{FirstName = p.First(), LastName = p.Last()};
}

public class University
{
    public string   Name    {get;set;}
    public Person[] Persons {get;set;}
}

public class Person
{
    public string FirstName {get;set;}
    public string LastName  {get;set;}
}

edited Sep 22, 2017 at 10:40

answered Jun 16, 2015 at 10:07

3dGrabber

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1 Comment

PegR Over a year ago

this is just what I needed! The data is now organized perfectly. A million thanks for taking the time to help me.

EZI · Accepted Answer · 2015-06-15 21:30:24Z

1

I would use a regex here

string input = @"**XXX University**: Martha Zander, Rick Anderson; **Albert School**: Nancy Vanderburg, Eric Towson, George Branson; **Hallowed Halls**: Jane Goodall, Ann Crabtree, Rick Grey, Tammy Hudson;";
var dict = Regex.Matches(input, @"\*\*(.+?)\*\*: (.+?);")
           .Cast<Match>()
           .ToDictionary(x => x.Groups[1].Value, x=>x.Groups[2].Value.Split(','));

dict would be (in json):

{
  "XXX University": [
    "Martha Zander",
    " Rick Anderson"
  ],
  "Albert School": [
    "Nancy Vanderburg",
    " Eric Towson",
    " George Branson"
  ],
  "Hallowed Halls": [
    "Jane Goodall",
    " Ann Crabtree",
    " Rick Grey",
    " Tammy Hudson"
  ]
}

edited Jun 15, 2015 at 21:30

answered Jun 15, 2015 at 21:19

EZI

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1 Comment

PegR Over a year ago

Thanks @EZI, That helps get the data into parsed into json format but I need to get it sorted and grouped by org and then sorted by last name. It's a good lesson for me how to use Dictionary and regex effectively. I appreciate it!

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