C#: get rid of multiple invalid characters in string [duplicate]

Question

I am new to C#. Say that I have a string like this:

string test = 'yes/, I~ know# there@ are% invalid£ characters$ in& this* string^";

If I wanted to get rid of a single invalid symbol, I would do:

if (test.Contains('/')) 
{ 
    test = test.Replace("/","");
} 

But is there a way I can use a list of symbols as argument of the Contains and Replace functions, instead of deleting symbols one by one?

Answer 1

I would go with the regular expression solution

string test = Regex.Replace(test, @"\/|~|#|@|%|£|\$|&|\*|\^", "");

Add a | or parameter for each character and use the replace

Bear in mind the \/ means / but you need to escape the character.

Answer 2

You'll likely be better off defining acceptable characters than trying to think of and code for everything you need to eliminate.

Because you mention that you are learning, sounds like the perfect time to learn about Regular Expressions. Here are a couple of links to get you started:

• Regular Expression Language - Quick Reference (MSDN)
• C# Regex.Match Examples (DotNetPerls