Find a string in all DataTable columns

Question

I am trying to find a fast way to find a string in all datatable columns! Followed is not working as I want to search within all columns value.

string str = "%whatever%";
foreach (DataRow row in dataTable.Rows)
    foreach (DataColumn col in row.ItemArray)
        if (row[col].ToString() == str) return true;

Answer 1

You can use LINQ. It wouldn't be any faster, because you still need to look at each cell in case the value is not there, but it will fit in a single line:

return dataTable
    .Rows
    .Cast<DataRow>()
    .Any(r => r.ItemArray.Any(c => c.ToString().Contains("whatever")));

For searching for random text and returning an array of rows with at least one cell that has a case-insensitive match, use this:

var text = "whatever";
return dataTable
    .Rows
    .Cast<DataRow>()
    .Where(r => r.ItemArray.Any(
        c => c.ToString().IndexOf(text, StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase) > 0
    )).ToArray();