Swift: How to get substring from start to last index of character

Question

I want to learn the best/simplest way to turn a string into another string but with only a subset, starting at the beginning and going to the last index of a character.

Answer 1

Do you want to get a substring of a string from start index to the last index of one of its characters? If so, you may choose one of the following Swift 2.0+ methods.

Methods that require Foundation

Get a substring that includes the last index of a character:

import Foundation

let string = "www.stackoverflow.com"
if let rangeOfIndex = string.rangeOfCharacterFromSet(NSCharacterSet(charactersInString: "."), options: .BackwardsSearch) {
    print(string.substringToIndex(rangeOfIndex.endIndex))
}

// prints "www.stackoverflow."

Get a substring that DOES NOT include the last index of a character:

import Foundation

let string = "www.stackoverflow.com"
if let rangeOfIndex = string.rangeOfCharacterFromSet(NSCharacterSet(charactersInString: "."), options: .BackwardsSearch) {
    print(string.substringToIndex(rangeOfIndex.startIndex))
}

// prints "www.stackoverflow"

---

If you need to repeat those operations, extending String can be a good solution:

import Foundation

extension String {
    func substringWithLastInstanceOf(character: Character) -> String? {
        if let rangeOfIndex = rangeOfCharacterFromSet(NSCharacterSet(charactersInString: String(character)), options: .BackwardsSearch) {
            return self.substringToIndex(rangeOfIndex.endIndex)
        }
        return nil
    }
    func substringWithoutLastInstanceOf(character: Character) -> String? {
        if let rangeOfIndex = rangeOfCharacterFromSet(NSCharacterSet(charactersInString: String(character)), options: .BackwardsSearch) {
            return self.substringToIndex(rangeOfIndex.startIndex)
        }
        return nil
    }
}

print("www.stackoverflow.com".substringWithLastInstanceOf("."))
print("www.stackoverflow.com".substringWithoutLastInstanceOf("."))

/*
prints:
Optional("www.stackoverflow.")
Optional("www.stackoverflow")
*/

---

Methods that DO NOT require Foundation

Get a substring that includes the last index of a character:

let string = "www.stackoverflow.com"
if let reverseIndex = string.characters.reverse().indexOf(".") {
    print(string[string.startIndex ..< reverseIndex.base])
}

// prints "www.stackoverflow."

Get a substring that DOES NOT include the last index of a character:

let string = "www.stackoverflow.com"
if let reverseIndex = string.characters.reverse().indexOf(".") {
    print(string[string.startIndex ..< reverseIndex.base.advancedBy(-1)])
}

// prints "www.stackoverflow"

---

If you need to repeat those operations, extending String can be a good solution:

extension String {
    func substringWithLastInstanceOf(character: Character) -> String? {
        if let reverseIndex = characters.reverse().indexOf(".") {
            return self[self.startIndex ..< reverseIndex.base]
        }
        return nil
    }
    func substringWithoutLastInstanceOf(character: Character) -> String? {
        if let reverseIndex = characters.reverse().indexOf(".") {
            return self[self.startIndex ..< reverseIndex.base.advancedBy(-1)]
        }
        return nil
    }
}

print("www.stackoverflow.com".substringWithLastInstanceOf("."))
print("www.stackoverflow.com".substringWithoutLastInstanceOf("."))

/*
prints:
Optional("www.stackoverflow.")
Optional("www.stackoverflow")
*/