need help with file searching and listing for an assignment

---

Hi everyone sorry if it is not the place to ask this question but im new to this site and i am new to programming. I have recently been set an assignment for file searching and listing. Im in the first year of a course. What im trying to do is search in a folder what the user has requested. So far if i specify the folder in the code. it works for that folder. what i want to do is. the user inputs a folder of their choice and it searches for it. code is below:

else if (UserSelection == 4)
{
Console.Write("Please type a specified path:");
string User = Console.ReadLine();
DirectoryInfo folderChange = new DirectoryInfo(User);
FileInfo[] filechange = folderChange.GetFiles(User);
for (int index = 0; index < filechange.LongLength; index++)
{
Console.WriteLine("{0}.{1} ({2} bytes)", FileListNumbering++, filechange[index].Name, filechange[index].Length);
}
Console.ReadLine();
}

This part I am trying to do the samebut let the user search his own extension input. I have tried string[] fileFiltering = Directory.GetFiles("C:\\Windows", "*.{0}", UserInput); but I keep getting errors


else if (UserSelection == 2)
{
Console.Write("What filetype would you like to search for?: ");
string UserInput = Console.ReadLine();

if (UserInput == "exe")
{
string[] fileFiltering = Directory.GetFiles("C:\\Windows", "*.exe");
for (int index = 0; index < fileFiltering.Length; index++)
{
Console.WriteLine("{0}", fileFiltering[index]);
}
Console.ReadLine();
}

ANY HELP WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED.

Abub,

I'll try to help.

I took the 2nd section of code you outlined and put it into a console application. It behaves as you would expect it to. What kind of errors are you seeing?

This is what I have set up and it works OK.

Code:

---

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using System.IO;

namespace ConsoleTesting {
        class Program {
                static void Main(string[] args) {

                        Console.Write("What filetype would you like to search for?: ");
                        string UserInput = Console.ReadLine();

                        if (UserInput == "exe") {
                                string[] fileFiltering = Directory.GetFiles("C:\\Windows", "*.exe");
                                for (int index = 0; index < fileFiltering.Length; index++) {
                                        Console.WriteLine("{0}", fileFiltering[index]);
                                }
                        }
                        //
                        //  Pause waiting for user to respond before closing the console window.
                        //
                        if (System.Diagnostics.Debugger.IsAttached) {
                                Console.WriteLine("Press ENTER to continue: ");
                                Console.ReadLine();
                        } else
                                Console.WriteLine();
                }
        }
}

---

-Max

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Max Peck

Abub,

I'll try to help.

I took the 2nd section of code you outlined and put it into a console application. It behaves as you would expect it to. What kind of errors are you seeing?

This is what I have set up and it works OK.

Code:

---

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using System.IO;

namespace ConsoleTesting {
        class Program {
                static void Main(string[] args) {

                        Console.Write("What filetype would you like to search for?: ");
                        string UserInput = Console.ReadLine();

                        if (UserInput == "exe") {
                                string[] fileFiltering = Directory.GetFiles("C:\\Windows", "*.exe");
                                for (int index = 0; index < fileFiltering.Length; index++) {
                                        Console.WriteLine("{0}", fileFiltering[index]);
                                }
                        }
                        //
                        //  Pause waiting for user to respond before closing the console window.
                        //
                        if (System.Diagnostics.Debugger.IsAttached) {
                                Console.WriteLine("Press ENTER to continue: ");
                                Console.ReadLine();
                        } else
                                Console.WriteLine();
                }
        }
}

---

-Max

---

Thanks very much for your help but what im ting to do is search the extension the user inputs. rather than have string[] fileFiltering = Directory.GetFiles("C:\\Windows", "*.exe"); I would like string[] fileFiltering = Directory.GetFiles("C:\\Windows", "*.{0}", UserInput); so that it searches any file the user inputted. rather than constantly being exe. but doing that gets a error. Hope you understand where im coming from

Oh ... OK. Here's another version of it that will accomplish what you're after. You were trying to use a formatted representation ({0}) to put together your string. Also, don't test on the input "exe". The following works for any file extension you want to input.

Code:

---

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using System.IO;

namespace ConsoleTesting {
        class Program {
                static void Main(string[] args) {

                        Console.Write("What filetype would you like to search for? : ");
                        string UserInput = Console.ReadLine();

                        string[] fileFiltering = Directory.GetFiles("C:\\Windows", "*." + UserInput);
                        for (int index = 0; index < fileFiltering.Length; index++) {
                                Console.WriteLine("{0}", fileFiltering[index]);
                        }
                        //
                        //  Pause waiting for user to respond before closing the console window.
                        //
                        if (System.Diagnostics.Debugger.IsAttached) {
                                Console.WriteLine("Press ENTER to continue: ");
                                Console.ReadLine();
                        } else
                                Console.WriteLine();
                       
                                       
                }
        }
}

---

HTH,

-Max

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Max Peck

Oh ... OK. Here's another version of it that will accomplish what you're after. You were trying to use a formatted representation ({0}) to put together your string. Also, don't test on the input "exe". The following works for any file extension you want to input.

Code:

---

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using System.IO;

namespace ConsoleTesting {
        class Program {
                static void Main(string[] args) {

                        Console.Write("What filetype would you like to search for? : ");
                        string UserInput = Console.ReadLine();

                        string[] fileFiltering = Directory.GetFiles("C:\\Windows", "*." + UserInput);
                        for (int index = 0; index < fileFiltering.Length; index++) {
                                Console.WriteLine("{0}", fileFiltering[index]);
                        }
                        //
                        //  Pause waiting for user to respond before closing the console window.
                        //
                        if (System.Diagnostics.Debugger.IsAttached) {
                                Console.WriteLine("Press ENTER to continue: ");
                                Console.ReadLine();
                        } else
                                Console.WriteLine();
                       
                                       
                }
        }
}

---

HTH,

-Max

---

Thanks a lot. Just what I needed. Is there a similar way to do the first code or is it completely different? What I'm trying to do is a similar principle. Userinputs the folder THEY want to search. The program should read that info and search in/for that folder . The first bit of code I posted is related to this. But much appreciated

Extending the functionality is simply a matter of allowing the user to input the path first then the extension to be searched. Here's my modified version of the routine:

Code:

---

//
//  General Purpose console application for testing code constructs.
//
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using System.IO;

namespace ConsoleTesting {
        class Program {
                static void Main(string[] args) {
                        //
                        //  Obtain the path then the file extension to be searched.
                        //
                        Console.Write("Enter the path to be searched: ");
                        string path = Console.ReadLine();
                        Console.Write("What filetype would you like to search for?: ");
                        string fileExtension = Console.ReadLine();

                        string[] fileFiltering = Directory.GetFiles(path, "*." + fileExtension);
                        for (int index = 0; index < fileFiltering.Length; index++) {
                                Console.WriteLine("{0}", fileFiltering[index]);
                        }
                        //
                        //  Pause waiting for user to respond before closing the console window.
                        //
                        if (System.Diagnostics.Debugger.IsAttached) {
                                Console.WriteLine("Press ENTER to continue: ");
                                Console.ReadLine();
                        } else
                                Console.WriteLine();
                       
                                       
                }
        }
}

---

Now, there are things you could still do to improve the program, such as:

1) Enclose the routine in a while loop of some kind that will allow the program to ask you for another set of parameters instead of having to re-run the program each time. Of course you would need to provide a way for the user to say "OK, I'm done" so he could exit the program.
2) Validation of the input parameters: For example you could code it so that if a user enters a path that doesn't exist that the program could issue an error message to that effect rather than just not returning any results.
3) The program could be done in a GUI (Instead of a Console application) so the output could be made more attractive.

You're at a fun time right now. Enjoy the adventure of tinkering with it to see what you can make it do.

-Max :-)

Thanks a lot max. You''ve been great help