How to convert csv string to list in vb.net?

Question

Possible Duplicate:
Parse Delimited CSV in .NET

Hi,

How can I convert a csv string into a list in vb.net?

Depends on the "type" of CSV string. For a very primitive string without embedded separators or quotes, `string.split` will work. However, this is not an answer because it's about as "correct" as using a regex to parse HTML. I am pretty sure the VisualBasic namespace contains support for CSV file/stream parsing, so that would be a place to look. — , Apr 08 '11 at 17:04
See [SO: Parse Delimited CSV in .NET](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/736629/parse-delimited-csv-in-net) It's not an exact duplicate, because that deals with a file, but the same approach *of the 2nd answer* which uses [TextFieldParser](http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/microsoft.visualbasic.fileio.textfieldparser.aspx) can be given a stream and a stream can be created directly from a string with [StreamReader](http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.io.streamreader.aspx) The first reply in the post also shows a "safer" method of manual parsing. — , Apr 08 '11 at 17:08

score 14 · Accepted Answer · answered Apr 08 '11 at 17:06

14

You want something like this...

Dim MyString as String = "one,two,three,four,five"
Dim MyArray() as String = Mystring.Split(",")
Dim MyList as List(Of String) = MyArray.ToList()

Hope this helps!

answered Apr 08 '11 at 17:06

DWRoelands

3

Breaks for `"one,two",two,three` – Apr 08 '11 at 17:09
2

On problem, I am getting an error saying Array.tolist() is not a member of system.array. I am using .net framework 4.0 – chobo Apr 08 '11 at 17:13
This is Helpful – Alexis Villar Dec 20 '18 at 07:50
@chobo or anybody reading this, One need to import System.LinQ – Nandostyle Dec 19 '21 at 23:48

score 4 · Answer 2 · answered Apr 08 '11 at 17:10

4

using Linq:

Dim parts As String = "1,2,3,4"
Dim itemsList As List(Of String)

itemsList = (From s In parts.Split(",")
            Select s).ToList()

Gives you a list with 4 items

answered Apr 08 '11 at 17:10

thorkia

Angelom · Answer 3 · 2011-04-08T17:10:42.720

1

Take a look at the split function.

    Dim a As String
    a = "data1,2,3,4,5"

    Dim b() As String
    b = a.Split(",")

    Dim c As List(Of String)
    c = b.ToList()

c will be a list of strings

edited Apr 08 '11 at 17:10

answered Apr 08 '11 at 17:05

Angelom

5

Breaks for `"one,two",two,three` – Apr 08 '11 at 17:09
You may code like this too: `Dim a As String a = "data1,2,3,4,5" Dim c As List(Of String) c = a.Split(",").ToList()` – 8oris Aug 09 '21 at 14:38

3 Answers3