Inserting string at a certain point in a larger set of text

Question

What i'm trying to do is insert a string <a href=\"{href}\">{text}</a> in a larger wall of article text but the large wall of text looks like:

{word|word|word} {word|word|word} {word|word|word} {word|word|word|word} etc

I'm looking to insert <a href=\"{href}\">{text}</a>"; randomly, but it has to be between one of these } { curly brackets so it will look like } <a href=\"{href}\">{text}</a> {

The way my code is now it just inserts anywhere (i know i need to add the logic to look between the brackets) which is where my issue is, i'm not sure the best way to do this.

Code:

        public static string GetAndInjectAhrefLinkIntoArticle(string article, string href, string text) {
            string injectedArticle = null;
            try {
                var rnd = new Random();
                string stringToInsert = $"<a href=\"{href}\">{text}</a>";

                int length = article.Length;
                if (length > 0)
                {
                    int pos = rnd.Next(0, length);
                    injectedArticle = article.Insert(pos, stringToInsert);
                }
            }
            catch (Exception ex)
            {
                DebugLogging($"[{DateTime.Now}]-[{ex}]");
            }
            return injectedArticle;
        }

Any help would be appreciated.

Collect the indexes of the "} {" substrings, select one of them randomly, then insert the link there. — kol
– kol, Commented Mar 6, 2021 at 8:44

Caius Jard · Accepted Answer · 2021-03-06 08:49:46Z

2

I suggest you use pos = article.IndexOf("} {", pos) + 1 after you pick a random pos, to find the location of the next } {, and when you insert, insert an extra space at the start of stringToInsert..

If IndexOf returns -1, you might have tried too near the end; you could either:

Accept it will insert at the start (-1 becomes 0 when +1'd so it's valid)
Go again with another random (i.e. use a while(pos == 0) ..., or
Look at using LastIndexOf to give a more suitable upper bound for your random so it will always find the last } {

edited Mar 6, 2021 at 8:49

answered Mar 6, 2021 at 8:44

Caius Jard

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