How do I check if a string contains another string

Question

How can I check if a string (NSString) contains another smaller string?

I was hoping for something like:

NSString *string = @"hello bla bla";
NSLog(@"%d",[string containsSubstring:@"hello"]);

But the closest I could find was:

if ([string rangeOfString:@"hello"] == 0) {
    NSLog(@"sub string doesnt exist");
} 
else {
    NSLog(@"exists");
}

Anyway, is that the best way to find if a string contains another string?

Answer 1

NSString *categoryString = @"Holiday Event";
if([categoryString rangeOfString:@"Holiday"].location == NSNotFound)
{
    //categoryString does not contains Holiday
}
else
{
    //categoryString contains Holiday
}

Answer 2

Please use this code

NSString *string = @"hello bla bla";
if ([string rangeOfString:@"bla"].location == NSNotFound) 
{
    NSLog(@"string does not contain bla");
} 
else 
{  
    NSLog(@"string contains bla!");
}

Answer 3

Since this seems to be a high-ranking result in Google, I want to add this:

iOS 8 and OS X 10.10 add the containsString: method to NSString. An updated version of Dave DeLong's example for those systems:

NSString *string = @"hello bla bla";
if ([string containsString:@"bla"]) {
    NSLog(@"string contains bla!");
} else {
    NSLog(@"string does not contain bla");
}

Answer 4

An improved version of P i's solution, a category on NSString, that not only will tell, if a string is found within another string, but also takes a range by reference, is:

@interface NSString (Contains)
-(BOOL)containsString: (NSString*)substring
              atRange:(NSRange*)range;

-(BOOL)containsString:(NSString *)substring;
@end

@implementation NSString (Contains)

-(BOOL)containsString:(NSString *)substring
              atRange:(NSRange *)range{

    NSRange r = [self rangeOfString : substring];
    BOOL found = ( r.location != NSNotFound );
    if (range != NULL) *range = r;
    return found;
}

-(BOOL)containsString:(NSString *)substring
{
    return [self containsString:substring
                        atRange:NULL];
}

@end

Use it like:

NSString *string = @"Hello, World!";

//If you only want to ensure a string contains a certain substring
if ([string containsString:@"ello" atRange:NULL]) {
    NSLog(@"YES");
}

// Or simply
if ([string containsString:@"ello"]) {
    NSLog(@"YES");
}

//If you also want to know substring's range
NSRange range;
if ([string containsString:@"ello" atRange:&range]) {
    NSLog(@"%@", NSStringFromRange(range));
}

Answer 5

try this,

NSString *string = @"test Data";
if ([[string lowercaseString] rangeOfString:@"data"].location == NSNotFound) 
{
    NSLog(@"string does not contain Data");
}   
else 
{
    NSLog(@"string contains data!");
}

Answer 6

In case of swift, this can be used

let string = "Package #23"
if string.containsString("Package #") {
    //String contains substring
}
else {
    //String does not contain substring
}