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How do I make the program request user input after inputting invalid data in C#?

I am not sure how to tackle this problem. I tried putting the do while loop in the method GetUserInput and then putting the for loop in the do while loop. It doesn't reset the question it just takes the number and adds it the numbers before it. Its a supposed to be a calculator program.
//This propgram will be used to make a calculator for the class project.
//The numbers are stored as floats as well as the result. Then displayed on console.
//V1 adds a do-while loop that repeats as long as the user wants.
//V2 adds a if and else logic for when the user input a character other than a number the program will close.
//V3 added a for-loop to increase the amount of numbers that can be considered in the calculation. It makes an array
//V4 added methods to get user input and sum the numbers
class MainClass
{
public static void Main(string[] args)
{
Console.WriteLine("Hello Ulises Sanchez");
//Define 3 floating point numbers to capture the 2 inputs and the result
//floats are used to capture a broader range of numbers
float[] userInput = new float[10];
//stores the number of inputs the user requests
int numberOfUserInputs;
//define strings to store data read and also user prompts
string inputString;
string doMorefunctions = "Add More Numbers Together - y = yes - anything else for no";
//variable to test the condition to continue with calculations
bool moreActions;
do
{
Console.Clear();
numberOfUserInputs = GetuserInput(userInput);
//adds the numbers together
Summation(userInput, numberOfUserInputs);
//reset moreAction
moreActions = false;
Console.WriteLine(doMorefunctions);
inputString = Console.ReadLine();
if (inputString == "y" || inputString == "Y")
moreActions = true;
} while (moreActions);
}
//Gets the number of user inputs and stores each in the userInput array
static int GetuserInput(float[] inputArray)
{
int numberOfInputs;
string userInputPrompt = "How many numbers do you want to enter?";
//string continueMessage = "Hit any key to continue";
string errorMessage = "Invalid Input";
string inputString;
bool TryAgain;
Array.Clear(inputArray, 0, 10);
//Gets number of inputs from user
Console.Write(userInputPrompt);
inputString = Console.ReadLine();
numberOfInputs = int.Parse(inputString);
//Get inputs
for (int i = 0; i < numberOfInputs; i++)
{
Console.Write("Enter variable number {0}: ", i + 1);
inputString = Console.ReadLine();
if (Single.TryParse(inputString, out float result))
{
//if input is valid convert to float
inputArray[i] = float.Parse(inputString);
}
else
{
TryAgain = false;
Console.WriteLine(errorMessage);
inputString = Console.ReadLine();
if (inputString == "y" || inputString == "Y") TryAgain = true;
//if input is not valid input exit program
//Console.WriteLine(continueMessage);
//Console.ReadLine();
//System.Environment.Exit(1);
}
}
return numberOfInputs;
}
//takes the user input and performs a summation calculation
static void Summation(float[] inputArray, int numberOfInputs)
{
float summationResult = 0.0f;
for (int i = 0; i < numberOfInputs; i++)
{
summationResult += inputArray[i];
}
//display result to the screen
Console.WriteLine("Summation = {0}", summationResult);
}
}

We have this concept of "don't repeat yourself" (DRY) so we look for ways to make code that repeats itself not do so. Every one of your methods repeats the print/ReadLine process for asking a question
Let's have a method that asks the user for a string:
public string Ask(string q){
Console.WriteLine(q);
return Console.ReadLine();
}
Now we can say:
string name = Ask("what is your name? ");
Suppose blank input is invalid, let's use a loop to repeat the question:
public string Ask(string q){
string a = "";
while(string.IsNullOrEmpty(a)){
Console.WriteLine(q);
a = Console.ReadLine();
}
return a;
}
If the user gives no answer, they are stuck in the loop and the question is repeated until they give a valid answer
Now let's reuse this to ask for an int:
public int AskInt(string q){
return int.Parse(Ask(q));
}
Here we reuse Ask within AskInt so we don't do the print/read thing again and we leverage the "cannot renter blank" validation we already write
This however explodes if the user enters non ints
So let's use int.TryParse and keep looping while they enter garbage that doesn't parse;
public int AskInt(string q){
bool success = false;
into a=0;
while(!success){
success = int.TryParse(Ask(q), out a);
}
return a;
}
The user can only get to the last line if they enter an int
If you also want to add range validation, for example, you can put an int min, int max into your method parameters and inside the loop do success = success && a <= && a >= min
int guess = AskInt("enter a number between 1 and 10: ", 1, 10);
The idea is to write one method that does one thing really well I.e. "ask the user for a string" and then reuse that when we write the next method that does one thing well, so we end up with two methods that do two things well. Giving the methods a sensible name allows us to package up that bit of logic they do into a few words and make out code read like a book. It doesn't need as many comments then
//ask the user what their next guess is
int guess = AskInt("enter a number between 1 and 10: ", 1, 10);
This comment isn't needed; we can easily deduce the same just by reading the code.

Why are the contents of my array being printed twice in C#?

I do not understand why this code prints the contents of the array twice.
static void Main(string[] args)
{
Int64 userlength;
Int64 userlengthcounter;
String unencrypted;
char current;
start:
Console.WriteLine("Please enter how many characters the string you want encrypyted to be:");
userlength = Convert.ToInt64(Console.ReadLine());
Console.WriteLine("Please enter the string you want to be encrypted:");
unencrypted = Console.ReadLine();
int[] first = new int[userlength];
int[] second = new int[userlength];
if (userlength != unencrypted.Length)
{
Console.WriteLine("The string you entered was not the same length as the number of characters you specified");
goto start;
}
for (int i = 0; i < userlength; i++)
{
Console.WriteLine(unencrypted[i]);
current = unencrypted[i];
first[i] = current;
}
foreach (char item in first)
{
Console.WriteLine(item.ToString());
}
Console.ReadLine();
}
For example entering abcd would return abcdabcd and i don't understand why. Any help would be appreciated thanks.

It's because you have two loops, first you print each character in unencrypted in the for loop and store the chars in first array.
Then you loop over the array and print the chars again with foreach.
Additional Note: Using goto is almost always a bad idea because it makes your code hard to follow and unreadable. Because you have to manually track where the code jumps.
You can do the same thing with a do-while loop instead.
do {
Console.WriteLine("Please enter how many characters the string you want encrypyted to be:");
userlength = Convert.ToInt64(Console.ReadLine());
Console.WriteLine("Please enter the string you want to be encrypted:");
unencrypted = Console.ReadLine();
int[] first = new int[userlength];
int[] second = new int[userlength];
if (userlength != unencrypted.Length)
{
Console.WriteLine("The string you entered was not the same length as the number of characters you specified");
}
} while(userlength != unencrypted.Length);

you specifically build "first" then you print it in foreach, basically displaying the same content twice:
for (int i = 0; i < userlength; i++)
{
Console.WriteLine(unencrypted[i]);
current = unencrypted[i];
first[i] = current;
}
foreach (char item in first)
{
Console.WriteLine(item.ToString());
}

c# switch all letters in a string for a different pre-chosen letter

Whilst working on a simple project I was trying to come up with a very basic cryptographic system which will allow me to switch letters in a message to another pre-chosen letter. So far I have tried a few ways but have so far been unsuccessful in my attempts. (*NOTE: This is not for anything other then learning the basics of c# so randomness and security is not important in this case, I simply want to turn one letter into another for the sake of learning how to do it)
so first I started by defining some strings such as this
string a = "a";
string b = "b";
string c = "d";
..... //continues to string z = "z"
next I tried to create a new string based on the values that have been input in to a textbox called PlainTextBox and place them inside a separate textbox called ChangedTextBox. this code is triggered with a button click event.
string str = PlainTextBox.Text;
char[] array = str.ToCharArray();
array[int.Parse(a)] = 'x';
array[int.Parse(b)] = 'y';
array[int.Parse(c)] = 'z';
.......// continues to (z)
str = new string(array);
ChangedTextBox.Text = str;
but this code throws an exception because the input is not a valid integer. the basic Idea is that if the user types "abc" in the PlainTextBox and pushes a button, the ChangedTextBox should show "xyz" but should be inclusive of the whole text in PlainTextBox, switching every letter in the message to its chosen counterpart.
Besides the error I receive, this code seems very cumbersome and inefficient.
Is there a faster way to achieve this result?

Just for completeness I will also include information, that what you are doing is called Caesar cipher
You could define yourself a proper Dictionary
var mapping = new Dictionary<char, char>()
{
{ 'a', 'x' },
{ 'b', 'y' },
{ 'c', 'z' }
// other letters
}
in which you would assign every original letter the letter it should be converted to. Then you could use this dictionary
ChangedTextBox.Text = new string(PlainTextBox.Text.Select(letter => mapping[letter].ToArray());

You've chosen wrong collection type (array) for mapping; dictionary is much more convenient
private static Dictionary<char, char> m_Mapping = new Dictionary<char, char>() {
{'a', 'x'}, // a -> x
{'b', 'y'}, // b -> y
...
};
Then implement the encoding
// I'd rather used Linq
private static String Encode(String value) {
// Simplest: we don't check if the actual character can be mapped
return String.Concat(value.Select(c => m_Mapping[c]));
}
But your (amended) implementation is good enough:
private static String Encode(string str) {
char[] array = str.ToCharArray();
for (int i = 0; i < array.Length; ++i) {
// Simplest: we don't check if the actual character can be mapped
array[i] = m_Mapping[array[i]];
}
return new string(array);
}
Finally, add up UI:
ChangedTextBox.Text = Encode(PlainTextBox.Text);
Edit: in general case, when m_Mapping doesn't contain records for some characters (e.g. for new line \n) and so we want to preserve these characters intact we can't use direct m_Mapping[...] but should implement, say, EncodeChar.
private static char EncodeChar(char value) {
char result;
if (m_Mapping.TryGetValue(value, out result))
return result;
else
return value;
}
And put EncodeChar(...) instead of m_Mapping[...]
private static String Encode(String value) {
return String.Concat(value.Select(EncodeChar(c)));
}
Your version
private static String Encode(string str) {
char[] array = str.ToCharArray();
for (int i = 0; i < array.Length; ++i) {
array[i] = EncodeChar(array[i]);
return new string(array);
}

Probably the best solution is using a Dictionary, as other answers had said. But if I understand what you want, you want to just change one letter by that letter plus an offset in a kind of "circular" way. This solution would do something like that (with "abcd" as input it would return "xyza"):
string input = "abcd";
char startChar = 'x';
char lastChar = 'z';
char firstChar = 'a';
byte[] asciiBytes=Encoding.ASCII.GetBytes(input);
byte[] encriptedByteArray = new byte[asciiBytes.Length];
int val = (int)startChar-(int)firstChar;
int i = 0;
foreach(byte b in asciiBytes)
{
var a=b + val;
if (a>(int)lastChar)
{
a = firstChar+(a-lastChar)-1;
}
encriptedByteArray[i] = (byte)a;
i++;
}
string encriptedArray = System.Text.Encoding.UTF8.GetString(encriptedByteArray);
With this solution you can change the offsety easily (changing startChar). It has room for improvement though, for example it only works on lower letters from a-z, it could be changed to be more extensive.

int.Parse(a)
will of course throw InvalidCastException because a is a string as you've defined it
string a = "a";

C# how can I check users input

I´m having a string with allowed chars. I´d like that user is only able to use this chars.
My idea was to loop through the unser inputs string and compare char for char. But the problem which I have is when the first char in string allowed is "A" and the first in the users input "B" is, it gives me an error...
Totally confused right now
string allowed = "abc";
string read= Console.ReadLine();
for (int i = 0; i < allowed.Length; i++ )
{
if (allowed[i] == read[i])
{
Console.WriteLine("Okay");
}
else
{
Console.WriteLine("Invalid char on" +index);
}
}

If you wanna check if the user input has any of not allowed characters you need a nested loop, because you wanna compare each char in the user input against the chars in the allowed:
foreach(var r in read)
{
bool isValid = false;
foreach(var c in allowed)
{
// if we found a valid char set isValid to true
if(c == r)
isValid = true;
}
// if it's still false then the current char
// doesn't match any of the allowed chars
// so it's invalid
if(!isValid)
{
Console.WriteLine("the string has invalid char(s)");
break;
}
}
Or, to simplify this you can use LINQ:
bool isInvalid = read.Any(c => !allowed.Contains(c));
If you want to know which chars are invalid, you can use Except method:
var invalidChars = read.Except(allowed);
foreach(var c in invalidChars)
{
Console.WriteLine(c);
}

You either need to search the char of user input within the allowed characters or you could use a regular expression.
Search approach:
private string allowed = "abc";
private string userInput = "some string entered";
bool stringIsValid = false;
for (int i = 0; i < userInput.Length; i++)
{
if (!allowed.IndexOf(userInput[i]))
{
stringIsValid = false;
break; // You can stop the loop upon the first occurance of an invalid char
}
}
Regular expression approach:
private string allowed = "abc";
private string userInput = "some string entered";
bool stringIsValid = Regex.IsMatch(allowed, userInput);
Please note that the regular expression approach is more flexible. If you learn about regular expressions, you will find it very powerful.

You need another loop in your first one:
string allowed = "abc";
string read= Console.ReadLine();
for (int i = 0; i < read.Length; i++ )
{
bool isValid = false;
for (int j = 0; j < allowed.Length; j++)
{
if (read[i] == allowed[j])
{
isValid = true;
break;
}
}
if (isValid)
{
Console.WriteLine("Okay");
}else{
Console.WriteLine("Invalid char on" +index);
}
}
Right now, what you're saying is "every character in read must be exactly the same as in allowed".
What you're trying to say (I think) is "every character in read must be present somewhere in allowed" – that's what the second loop does. It looks for the character in allowed and if it finds it, sets isValid to true. Otherwise the character wasn't found and it's incorrect.
As other answers here state, you can use LINQ or (preferrably) regular expressions (regex) for things like this. I assume this is homework, or you're new to C# or programming, so I provided a basic answer to (hopefully) help you understand what's not working currently with your code.
If this should indeed be a homerwok or studying-related question, then let me recommend you put that in your question next time, for it's not forbidden to ask about homework.
The "real world" solutions we would use are of no help to you if you're trying to figure out the basics, so if we know it's about learning stuff then we'll provide answers that are more useful for you.

When using a collection to store not allowed items (instead of a plain string) it opens a whole new spectrum of LINQ expressions you can use:
public static void Main(string[] args)
{
var allowed = new List<string> { "a", "b", "c" };
var read = Console.ReadLine().Select(c => c.ToString()).ToList();
if (read.All(allowed.Contains))
{
Console.WriteLine("Okay");
}
else
{
var firstNotAllowed = read.First(a => !allowed.Contains(a));
var firstIndex = read.FindIndex(a => !allowed.Contains(a));
Console.WriteLine("Invalid char: {0}, at index: {1}", firstNotAllowed, firstIndex);
}
}

Trying to get the largest int in each line of a file and sum the result

When I try and run my code I get the error:
Input string was not in a correct format.
I am trying to find the largest int in each line of a text file and then add them all up.
I am sure that there are no letters in this file and everything is separated by a space.
Here is my code:
int counter = 0;
string line;
List<int> col = new List<int>();
// Read the file and display it line by line.
System.IO.StreamReader file =
new System.IO.StreamReader(label3.Text);
while ((line = file.ReadLine()) != null)
{
int[] storage = new int[10000];
Console.WriteLine(line);
counter++;
string s = line;
string[] words = s.Split(' ');
for (int i = 0; i < words.Length; i++)
{
storage[i] = Convert.ToInt32(words[i]);
}
int large = storage.Max();
col.Add(large);
Console.WriteLine(" ");
foreach (int iii in col)
{
Console.WriteLine(iii);
}
int total = col.Sum();
Console.WriteLine(total);
}
file.Close();
// Suspend the screen.
Console.ReadLine();

It's possible that target string cannot be stored in a 32 bit integer. You can try parsing to ulong type. Take a look at Integral Types Table and Floating-Point Types Table.
Instead of doing Convert.ToInt32(), try int.TryParse(). It will return a bool value telling you if operation succeeded, and it has an out parameter where it will place result of parse operation. TryParse operation is also available on other numeric types if you decide you need them.
E.g.
int val;
string strVal = "1000";
if (int.TryParse(strVal, out val))
{
// do something with val
}
else
{
// report error or skip
}

I did a quick test and it is likely you get the error in the line
storage[i] = Convert.ToInt32(words[i]);
If so, make sure what you are trying to convert is an integer and not an empty string, for example.

I believe that the line in your code that can cause this error is
Convert.ToInt32(words[i]);
Now, when you're running this application in debug mode(which you probably are) in visual studio, you have a way to check what's going on in your program when the exception happens.
At the very very bottom of your screen is going to be some tabs. these tabs include your error list among other things. The ones I like to use are called "Locals" and "Watch". You can use the Locals tab.
When you click on the Locals tab, you should see a tree structure of all the local variables in your program. if you expand the words variable, you should see all the individual members of the array. you should also be able to see the variable i check the i'th member of your words array, and make sure that it's an integer, and not something else.

You're either converting out of size, or attempting to parse a return carriage '/r'
Make sure you're trimming your input.
My solution:
static void Main(string[] args)
{
int linecount = 100;
string path = #"C:\test\test.txt";
Random rand = new Random();
//Create File
StreamWriter writer = new StreamWriter(path, false);
for (int i = 0; i < linecount; i++)
{
for (int j = 0; j < rand.Next(10, 15); j++)
{
writer.Write(rand.Next() + " ");
}
writer.WriteLine("");
}
writer.Close();
//Sum File
long sum = Enumerable.Sum<string>(
(new StreamReader(path)).ReadToEnd().Split(new char[] { '\n' }, StringSplitOptions.RemoveEmptyEntries),
l => Enumerable.Max(
l.Split(' '),
i => String.IsNullOrEmpty(i.Trim()) ? 0 : long.Parse(i.Trim())
)
);
}