Replace certain string in array of strings

Question

let's say I have this string array in java

String[] test = {"hahaha lol", "jeng jeng jeng", "stack overflow"};

but now I want to replace all the whitespaces in the strings inside the array above to %20, to make it like this

String[] test = {"hahaha%20lol", "jeng%20jeng%20jeng", "stack%20overflow"};

How do I do it?

Note that your question and its title diverge - your question is very specific, while the title is very general. My answer below goes into the question, not the title. — Urs Reupke
– Urs Reupke, Commented Jan 25, 2012 at 15:32

Urs Reupke · Accepted Answer · 2012-01-26 07:49:36Z

12

Iterate over the Array and replace each entry with its encoded version.

Like so, assuming that you are actually looking for URL-compatible Strings only:

for (int index =0; index < test.length; index++){
  test[index] = URLEncoder.encode(test[index], "UTF-8");
}

To conform to current Java, you have to specify the encoding - however, it should always be UTF-8.

If you want a more generic version, do what everyone else suggests:

for (int index =0; index < test.length; index++){
    test[index] = test[index].replace(" ", "%20");
}

edited Jan 26, 2012 at 7:49

answered Jan 25, 2012 at 15:31

Urs Reupke

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1 Comment

maerics Over a year ago

Note that, annoyingly, URLEncoder.encode(str) is deprecated in favor of its overloaded form which takes the encoding type as a second argument (which should always be "UTF-8").

score 4 · Accepted Answer · 2012-01-25 15:46:43Z

4

Here's a simple solution:

for (int i=0; i < test.length; i++) {
    test[i] = test[i].replaceAll(" ", "%20");
}

However, it looks like you're trying to escape these strings for use in a URL, in which case I suggest you look for a library which does it for you.

edited Jan 25, 2012 at 15:46

answered Jan 25, 2012 at 15:31

user130076

3 Comments

Urs Reupke Over a year ago

Look to my answer for that, it's part of the JDK.

user130076 Over a year ago

Rush to answer a simple question and make simple mistakes :)

Urs Reupke Over a year ago

Also, see my comment on maerics' answer re: replace and replaceall.

maerics · Accepted Answer · 2012-01-25 15:39:02Z

3

Try using String#relaceAll(regex,replacement); untested, but this should work:

for (int i=0; i<test.length; i++) {
  test[i] = test[i].replaceAll(" ", "%20");
}

edited Jan 25, 2012 at 15:39

answered Jan 25, 2012 at 15:32

maerics

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1 Comment

Urs Reupke Over a year ago

Note that String#replace(target, replacement) should do the trick. replace does the same as replaceAll, but doesn't work with RegExes.

Maher Abuthraa · Accepted Answer · 2012-01-25 15:33:19Z

2

String[] test={"hahaha lol","jeng jeng jeng","stack overflow"};
                for (int i=0;i<test.length;i++) {
                    test[i]=test[i].replaceAll(" ", "%20");
                }

answered Jan 25, 2012 at 15:33

Maher Abuthraa

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Comments

Eugene · Accepted Answer · 2012-01-25 15:31:47Z

1

for each String you would do a replaceAll("\\s", "%20")

answered Jan 25, 2012 at 15:31

Eugene

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Comments

Davos555 · Accepted Answer · 2012-01-25 15:33:32Z

0

Straight out of the Java docs... String java docs

You can do String.replace('toreplace','replacement').

Iterate through each member of the array with a for loop.

answered Jan 25, 2012 at 15:33

Davos555

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Comments

user14838237 · Accepted Answer · 2020-12-20 15:33:31Z

You can use IntStream instead. Code might look something like this:

String[] test = {"hahaha lol", "jeng jeng jeng", "stack overflow"};

IntStream.range(0, test.length).forEach(i ->
        // replace non-empty sequences
        // of whitespace characters
        test[i] = test[i].replaceAll("\\s+", "%20"));

System.out.println(Arrays.toString(test));
// [hahaha%20lol, jeng%20jeng%20jeng, stack%20overflow]

^{See also: How to replace a whole string with another in an array}

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