C# Check a word exists in a string

Question

Is the best way to do this with Regex? I don't want it picking up partial words for example if I'm search for Gav it shouldn't match Gavin.

Any examples would be great as my regular expression skills are non existant.

Thanks

Answer 1

Yes, a Regex is perfect for the job.

Something like:

string regexPattern = string.Format(@"\b{0}\b", Regex.Escape(yourWord));
if (Regex.IsMatch(yourString, regexPattern)) {
    // word found
}

Answer 2

What you want is probably like this:

if (Regex.IsMatch(myString, @"\bGav\b")) { ... }

The \b:s in the regex indicate word boundaries, i.e. a whitespace or start/end of the string. You may also want to throw in RegexOptions.IgnoreCase as the third parameter if you want that. Note that the @-sign in front of the regex is essential, otherwise it gets misinterpreted due to the double meaning of the \ sign.