C# Extension Method - String Split that also accepts an Escape Character

Question

I\'d like to write an extension method for the .NET String class. I\'d like it to be a special varation on the Split method - one that takes an escape character to prevent s

Answer 1

How about:

public static IEnumerable Split(this string input, 
                                        string separator,
                                        char escapeCharacter)
{
    int startOfSegment = 0;
    int index = 0;
    while (index < input.Length)
    {
        index = input.IndexOf(separator, index);
        if (index > 0 && input[index-1] == escapeCharacter)
        {
            index += separator.Length;
            continue;
        }
        if (index == -1)
        {
            break;
        }
        yield return input.Substring(startOfSegment, index-startOfSegment);
        index += separator.Length;
        startOfSegment = index;
    }
    yield return input.Substring(startOfSegment);
}

That seems to work (with a few quick test strings), but it doesn't remove the escape character - that will depend on your exact situation, I suspect.