Different Methods to Read a Character in C#

 

In C#, there are several methods to read a single character from the standard input. Let’s see them:

1. Console.ReadLine()[0] Method:

• The Console.ReadLine() method reads a string from the input, and since a string is a sequence of characters, you can extract the first character using the 0th index.

Example 

using System;

namespace dm
{
    class Program
    {
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            char chr = Console.ReadLine()[0];
            Console.WriteLine(chr);
            Console.ReadLine();
        }
    }
}

Input: “Geeks”      Output: “G”.

2.console.ReadKey().KeyChar Method:

• The Console.ReadKey() method obtains the next character or function key pressed by the user. The KeyChar property returns the Unicode character represented by the current System.ConsoleKeyInfo object.
• It reads a character without waiting for the Enter key to be pressed.
• Example

  char chr = Console.ReadKey().KeyChar;
  Console.WriteLine(chr);

  Input: “G”    Output: “G”.

  3.Char.TryParse() Method:

  • The Char.TryParse() method reads a character and handles exceptions. It returns true for valid characters and false for invalid ones.
  • Example 

    char chr;
    bool valid = Char.TryParse(Console.ReadLine(), out chr);
    Console.WriteLine("Result: " + valid);
    Console.WriteLine("Input character: " + chr);

    Input: “G”          Output: “Result: True” and “Input character: G”

    4.Convert.ToChar() Method:

    • The Convert.ToChar() method converts a specified string value to a character. The string must be of length 1.
    • Example 

      char chr = Convert.ToChar(Console.ReadLine());
      Console.WriteLine(chr);

      Input: “G”    Output: “G”