Search a particular field in a file [VB.NET]

Question

0.00/5 (No votes)

See more:

Hi guys, i have a large .csv file that contains a lot of Data. I would like to look into this file using a particular field.

For example, my file looks a bit like this: location; company; product code, department, cost, price

So Id like to try with the product code, and if it finds it, it takes the entire line and he appears.

So if I have a file that looks like this.

left wall; wal-mart; 0000 0001; electronic; 7.99; 9.99;
right wall pepsi; 8883 0012; food; 0.01; 3.99;
upper; mcdo; 9981 0011; food; 0.05; 1.99;

So if I search for the product code 0000 0001 it will display left wall, wal-mart, 0000 0001 Electronic 7.99 9.99

Is it better to search directly in the file or transfer it in a string and search in it?

So yeah, if anyone have a link or a algorithm it would be very appreciated!

Thank you guys!

What I have tried:

I try a lot of search on google and didn't find what im looking for!

Posted 27-Sep-16 13:58pm

Member 12754823

Updated 28-Sep-16 11:22am

DaveAuld

Add a Solution

2 solutions

Add a Solution

Add your solution here

Treat my content as plain text, not as HTML

Preview 0

…

Existing Members

Sign in to your account

...or Join us

Download, Vote, Comment, Publish.

Your Email
Password
Forgot your password?

Your Email
This email is in use. Do you need your password?
Optional Password

I have read and agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy
Please subscribe me to the CodeProject newsletters

When answering a question please:

Read the question carefully.
Understand that English isn't everyone's first language so be lenient of bad spelling and grammar.
If a question is poorly phrased then either ask for clarification, ignore it, or edit the question and fix the problem. Insults are not welcome.
Don't tell someone to read the manual. Chances are they have and don't get it. Provide an answer or move on to the next question.

Let's work to help developers, not make them feel stupid.

This content, along with any associated source code and files, is licensed under The Code Project Open License (CPOL)

Maciej Los · Answer 1 · 2016-09-28T10:11:00

None of above! The fastest way to search data in delimited text files is to use OleDb[^].

Check this:
Read Text File (txt, csv, log, tab, fixed length)[^]
Read Text File Specific Columns[^] - complete, working code!

For further details, please see:
Much ADO About Text Files[^]
Schema.ini File (Text File Driver)[^]
ADO.NET Overview[^]

Try! Good luck!

Patrice T · Answer 2 · 2016-09-28T11:22:00

2 possibilities
- you have multiple researches to do:
loading the file in memory will make a large footprint, but will speedup researches after the first one.
A sophisticated handling like in Solution 1 will spend time when handling the file and save time with every search.

- you have a single search to do:
loading the file at once will have a large memory footprint but will not save time because you search only once.
loading line by line will have a small memory footprint will about same speed as loading the whole file.
For a single search, simple brut force is about the best.