How do i Read a set of values from a .txt file into a usable array?

Question

Here is an example of the data i need to read from the .txt:

-6.28319, 1
-6.15752, 0.992115
-6.03186, 0.968583
-5.90619, 0.929776
-5.78053, 0.876307
-5.65487, 0.809017
-5.5292, 0.728969
-5.40354, 0.637424

Currently I have a load function from a menu strip that is working to load the file into a string.

private string s = " ";

        private void openToolStripMenuItem_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)

        {

            string stemp;

            //Loading the File for Reading.

            FileStream fin;

            OpenFileDialog fileChooser = new OpenFileDialog();

            fileChooser.Filter = "Text files (*.txt)|*.txt|All files|*.*";

            //.Filter is what allows you to find a type of file.//

            DialogResult result = fileChooser.ShowDialog();

            //fileChooser is a class that lets you pick or not pick something.

            //ShowDialog is a method that pops up the GUI that lets you select the file.

            if (result == DialogResult.Cancel)

                return;

            fin = new FileStream(fileChooser.FileName, FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read);

            StreamReader fstrIn = new StreamReader(fin);

            while ((stemp = fstrIn.ReadLine()) != null)

                s += stemp;

            fin.Close();

            fstrIn.Close();

}

From here i get lost as to what i need to do to convert the string to a 2D array.

The Goal of this project is to take this array and use it to paint a series of lines connecting these points as (x,y) coordinates.  I have the paint function and the GUI all worked out, but This step has me lost.

Thanks for any help.

Answer 1

You could use ReadAllLines to read the file into an array of strings instead of a single string.

Then loop through the array splitting each string on the comma to get the two parts. Then create a point (using PointF?) from the two parts (using Double.Parse or TryParse).

---

Regards David R
---------------------------------------------------------------
The great thing about Object Oriented code is that it can make small, simple problems look like large, complex ones.
Object-oriented programming offers a sustainable way to write spaghetti code. - Paul Graham.
Every program eventually becomes rococo, and then rubble. - Alan Perlis
The only valid measurement of code quality: WTFs/minute.

Answer 2

Hi Forest9914,
You can use a List to store all the PointF(If you use it). Please check following code:

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

namespace ConsoleApplicationTemp5
{
    class Program
    {
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            String path = @"C:\Users\alexandersun\Desktop\2.txt";
            String rString = null;
            String[] tdArray = null;
            List<PointF> pList = new List<PointF>();
            using (FileStream fs = new FileStream(path, FileMode.Open))
            {
                using (StreamReader sr = new StreamReader(fs))
                {
                    while ((rString = sr.ReadLine()) != null)
                    {
                        tdArray = new String[2];
                        tdArray = rString.Split(new Char[] { ',' });
                        PointF p = new PointF();
                        Single temp;
                        Single.TryParse(tdArray[0], out temp);
                        p.X = temp;
                        Single.TryParse(tdArray[1], out temp);
                        p.Y = temp;
                        pList.Add(p);
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

I hope it helps.

Have a nice day.

---

Alexander Sun

Answer 3

I eventually got this working with some advice from my professor.  I cannot remember off the top of my head what the final technique was other than a bit sloppy.  Thanks for the help though!  I was not sure what the PointF was.

Answer 4

Hi Forest9914,

PointF structure represents an ordered pair of floating-point x- and y-coordinates that defines a point in a two-dimensional plane. You can refer to this page: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.drawing.pointf(v=vs.100).aspx

Have a nice day.

Best Regards,

---

Alexander Sun [MSFT]
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