Convert String to Character Array in C#

In C#, converting a string to a character array is a straightforward process that allows you to manipulate individual characters within the string. This conversion can be useful for various operations, such as character manipulation, processing text, or analyzing strings.

Example

Input: "Hello, Geeks!";
Output: H, e, l, l, o, , ,  , G, e, e, k, s, !
Explanation: The string "Hello, Geeks!" is converted into a character array, resulting in the individual characters being displayed, including spaces and punctuation.

Syntax

char[] charArray = new char[input.Length];
for (int i = 0; i < input.Length; i++) {                                                                     # Naive Method
    charArray[i] = input[i];
}

char[] charArray = stringVariable.ToCharArray();                                           # ToCharArray() Method

char[] charArray = input.Select(c => c).ToArray();                                          # LINQ Method 

Naive Method

The naive method involves manually creating a character array and populating it with each character of the string.

Syntax

char[] charArray = new char[input.Length];
for (int i = 0; i < input.Length; i++) {
    charArray[i] = input[i];
}

using System;

public class GFG {
    static public void Main() {
        string input = "Hello, Geeks!";
        char[] charArray = new char[input.Length];

        // Manually populating the character array
        for (int i = 0; i < input.Length; i++) {
            charArray[i] = input[i];
        }

        Console.WriteLine(string.Join(" , ", charArray));
    }
}

H , e , l , l , o , , ,   , G , e , e , k , s , !

Using ToCharArray() Method

The ToCharArray() method converts a string into a character array.

Syntax

char[] charArray = stringVariable.ToCharArray();

Example

using System;

public class GFG {
    static public void Main() {
        string input = "Hello, Geeks!";
        char[] charArray = input.ToCharArray();
        Console.WriteLine("Character Array: " + string.Join(" , ", charArray));
    }
}

Character Array: H , e , l , l , o , , ,   , G , e , e , k , s , !

Using LINQ Method

This method utilizes the LINQ library to convert a string into a character array.

Syntax

char[] charArray = input.Select(c => c).ToArray();

Example

using System;
using System.Linq;

public class GFG {
    static public void Main() {
        string input = "Hello, Geeks!";
        char[] charArray = input.Select(c => c).ToArray();
        Console.WriteLine("Character Array: " + string.Join(" , ", charArray));
    }
}

Character Array: H , e , l , l , o , , ,   , G , e , e , k , s , !

Conclusion

Converting a string to a character array in C# is essential for various string manipulations and analyses. The methods presented above provide effective ways to achieve this conversion, each serving different use cases. The naive method offers a straightforward approach, while the ToCharArray(), LINQ provide efficient alternatives for converting strings to character arrays.