How to get file extension from string in C++

Question

Given a string \"filename.conf\", how to I verify the extension part?

I need a cross platform solution.

Answer 1

If you consider the extension as the last dot and the possible characters after it, but only if they don't contain the directory separator character, the following function returns the extension starting index, or -1 if no extension found. When you have that you can do what ever you want, like strip the extension, change it, check it etc.

long get_extension_index(string path, char dir_separator = '/') {
    // Look from the end for the first '.',
    // but give up if finding a dir separator char first
    for(long i = path.length() - 1; i >= 0; --i) {
        if(path[i] == '.') {
            return i;
        }
        if(path[i] == dir_separator) {
            return -1;
        }
    }
    return -1;
}