Create 2D array from txt file

Question

Okay so I've managed to read in a .txt file... now I'm trying to figure the best way to convert this information into a 2D array.

My text file (first two number provide height and width):

5
5
0,0,0,0,0
0,0,0,0,0
0,0,1,0,0
0,1,1,1,0
1,1,1,1,1

My C# / XNA:

string fileContents = string.Empty;
try
{
    using (StreamReader reader = new StreamReader("Content/map.txt"))
    {
        fileContents = reader.ReadToEnd().ToString();
    }
}
catch (Exception e)
{
    Console.WriteLine(e.Message);
}

Now what I need to do next is define the size of the 2-dimensional map array and then populate the entry values... this is where I'm getting a bit stuck and have found various ways I can loop through the data but I don't think any of them have been terribly tidy.

What I've tried to do is have one loops which splits by newline... and then another loop which splits by comma delimiter.

Is this the best way to do it... or are there better alternatives?

Answer 1

It can be done with LINQ but that is only practical when you want (accept) an array-of-array, int[][] instead of a straight 2-dimensional int[,] .

int[][] data = 
    File.ReadLines(fileName)
    .Skip(2)
    .Select(l => l.Split(',').Select(n => int.Parse(n)).ToArray())
    .ToArray();