Building a table from string C#

Question

Okay, so I have a <tr> table being built from a string that looks something like this: 13467

1= monday
2= tuesday
...
7= sunday
so 13467 = mon,wed,thurs,sat,sun

My existing code manually checked the string, like so

if (breakfastDays.Contains("1")) {
        sb.Append("<td class=\"active\">&nbsp;</td>");
        mo++;
    } else {
        sb.Append("<td>&nbsp;</td>");
    }

    if (breakfastDays.Contains("2")) {
        sb.Append("<td class=\"active\">&nbsp;</td>");
        tu++;
    } else {
        sb.Append("<td>&nbsp;</td>");
    }

The class="active"part just tells the css to check the box.

Is there an easier way of doing the string checking by any chance?

Perhaps some for-in loops maybe?

There's a lot here that's hard to understand, but if you're wondering if there's a better method to determine whether breakfastDays contains a "1" or a "5", breakfastDays.Contains() is about as good as it gets. — dnord
– dnord, Commented Dec 8, 2014 at 22:49
We might be in a better spot if you say why you have to increment mo and tu in this code. — dnord
– dnord, Commented Dec 8, 2014 at 22:50
Hmm. Building html with a string builder seems rather like a chore. You sure you don't wanna use a templating engine for that? weblogs.asp.net/scottgu/introducing-razor — Gaute Løken
– Gaute Løken, Commented Dec 8, 2014 at 23:08

Guffa · Accepted Answer · 2014-12-08 22:54:15Z

7

Yes, you can use a loop. The only tricky thing is the variables that you increase, it would be easier if you used an array for that.

for (char c = '1'; c <= '7'; c++) {
  if (breakfastDays.Contains(c)) {
    sb.Append("<td class=\"active\">&nbsp;</td>");
    switch (c) {
      case '1': mo++; break;
      case '2': tu++; break;
      case '3': we++; break;
      case '4': th++; break;
      case '5': fr++; break;
      case '6': sa++; break;
      case '7': su++; break;
    }
  } else {
    sb.Append("<td>&nbsp;</td>");
  }
}

answered Dec 8, 2014 at 22:54

Guffa

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4 Comments

Greg Over a year ago

A perfect instance for the usage of a switch over if else if else. +1

Quill Over a year ago

I had to do Contains(Convert.ToString(c))) but other than that perfect answer. Thanks a bunch!

Guffa Over a year ago

@DPB: Aha, the method that takes a char is an extension method in the System.Linq namespace. If you include that you can use the char directly. I tested the code in a project that already had it included.

Quill Over a year ago

@Guffa I just implemented System.Linq, thanks, works like a charm.

Icemanind · Accepted Answer · 2014-12-08 23:05:31Z

1

I think that mo and tu are counts that keep count of the days of the week. A better way might be an array:

public static void Main()
{
    int[] breakfastDays = new int[7];
    string days = "13467";
    var sb = new StringBuilder();

    for (int i = 0; i < 7; i++)
    {
        if (days.Contains((i + 1).ToString()))
        {
            sb.Append("<td class=\"active\">&nbsp;</td>");
            breakfastDays[i]++;
        } else {
            sb.Append("<td>&nbsp;</td>");
        }
    }

    Console.WriteLine(sb.ToString());
}

This way, you won't need separate variables for every day.

answered Dec 8, 2014 at 23:05

Icemanind

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Comments

Cᴏʀʏ · Accepted Answer · 2014-12-08 23:46:47Z

1

I would first see if you can get rid of individual variables for the day counters, that seems clunky and issue-prone. That, and reducing this to a simple loop, something like:

// Set up buckets for each day, with an initial count of 0
var dayMap = "1234567".ToDictionary(c => c, c => 0);

// For each key ("day")...
foreach (var day in dayMap.Keys.ToList())
{
    // Start writing the cell
    sb.Append("<td");
    // Check if input string contains that key
    if (breakfastDays.Contains(day)) 
    {
        // Increment the value in our day bucket
        dayMap[day]++;
        // Make the cell "active"
        sb.Append(" class=\"active\"");
    } 
    // Finish writing the cell
    sb.Append(">&nbsp;</td>");
}

edited Dec 8, 2014 at 23:46

answered Dec 8, 2014 at 23:10

Cᴏʀʏ

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Comments

dnord · Accepted Answer · 2014-12-08 22:53:55Z

0

This will fix the issue of having to write seven tests for the table:

for (int i = 1; i <= 7; i++)
{
    if (breakfastDays.Contains(i.ToString())
    {
        sb.Append("<td class=\"active\">&nbsp;</td>"));
    }
    else
    {
        sb.Append("<td>&nbsp;</td>");
    }
}

We could sure get more clever but I don't want to skip over the importance of mo++ and tu++ in your code.

answered Dec 8, 2014 at 22:53

dnord

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