C# Strings: A Complete Guide for Beginners

In C#, strings are used to store sequences of characters like names, sentences, file paths, and more. They are one of the most essential data types used in everyday programming.

What is a String?

In C#, a string is a collection of characters enclosed in double quotes ("). It’s part of the System.String class.

Example:

string greeting = "Hello, World!";
string empty = ""; // empty string

Key Points About C# Strings

• Strings are immutable: once created, they cannot be changed.
• All string operations return a new string.
• string is an alias for System.String.

Common String Operations

1. Concatenation

Combining strings using the + operator.

string firstName = "John";
string lastName = "Doe";
string fullName = firstName + " " + lastName;
Console.WriteLine(fullName); // John Doe

2. String Interpolation

Easier way to combine variables with strings.

string name = "Alice";
int age = 25;
string info = $"Name: {name}, Age: {age}";

3. Common String Methods

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/csharp/programming-guide/strings/

Special String Types

Verbatim Strings (@)

Used for file paths or strings with escape characters.

string path = @"C:\Users\John\Documents";

Escape Sequences

Example - 

string message = "Hello\nWorld!";

String vs StringBuilder

Since strings are immutable, use StringBuilder for efficient modifications:

using System.Text;

StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder("Hello");
sb.Append(" World");
Console.WriteLine(sb.ToString()); // Hello World

Summary