Objective-C String Function: Contains String

Question

How can I check if an NSString contains another substring, at which point it will return a Boolean Value.

This is what I'm thinking of:

If myString.contains("string") then
{
   //Stuff Happens
}

But, from the research I've done, it seems as if Obj-C has no function for this. This Wikipedia article gives numerous string functions, their differences, and all in different languages, but I see no Obj-C support for any Contain Function.

Does anyone know of a simple-to-use function like the once above (which is similar to the C# and VB.NET function)?

Would a "Find" Function work? If so, how?

If this is not supported in Obj-C, is there a workaround I can use?

Any help is very appreciated.

possible duplicate of [String contains string in objective-c](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/2753956/string-contains-string-in-objective-c) — warrenm, Apr 10 '12 at 23:17
Objective-C objects define methods, not functions. There is a big difference. — Rob Keniger, Apr 11 '12 at 03:38

score 12 · Accepted Answer · answered Apr 10 '12 at 23:15

12

if ([myString rangeOfString:@"string"].location != NSNotFound)
{
    // Stuff happens
}

answered Apr 10 '12 at 23:15

Andrew Madsen

20,769
5
52
92

3

iOS 8 implements `containsString:` – Murray Sagal Oct 08 '14 at 01:03

score 4 · Answer 2 · answered Apr 10 '12 at 23:18

4

NSString *someString = @"Time for an egg hunt";

if ( [someString rangeOfString:@"egg" options:NSCaseInsensitiveSearch].location != NSNotFound ) {
  NSLog( @"Found it!" );
}

answered Apr 10 '12 at 23:18

Frank

3,386
1
20
23

score 4 · Answer 3 · edited Aug 11 '16 at 11:23

4

If you want to be case insensitive.

NSRange range = [string rangeOfString:@"string" options:NSCaseInsensitiveSearch];
if (range.location != NSNotFound)
{
    return range.location;
}
else
{
    return nil;
}

Documentation

edited Aug 11 '16 at 11:23

P.J.Radadiya

1,372
10
16

answered Apr 10 '12 at 23:24

giannis christofakis

7,151
4
48
63

score 2 · Answer 4 · answered Apr 10 '12 at 23:18

Create a NSString category, and put that in...

Code :

- (BOOL)contains:(NSString *)str
{
    NSRange aRange = [self rangeOfString:str];

    return (aRange.location!=NSNotFound);
}

Usage :

NSString* testStr = @"This is my string";

if ([testStr contains:@"is"])
{
     // do something
}

score 1 · Answer 5 · answered Apr 10 '12 at 23:13

1

if([string rangeOfString:substring].length > 0)
    ...

answered Apr 10 '12 at 23:13

warrenm

28,472
4
71
102

Objective-C String Function: Contains String

5 Answers5