It's likely that your input is not a valid format. Try this instead. If the number is not valid, it should output an error.
Keep in mind that the string should consist of an optional sign followed by a number.
string line = "23"; // or whatever.
string str = line.Substring(0,1);
int i = 0;
if (Int32.TryParse(str, out i)) {
Console.WriteLine(i);
} else {
Console.WriteLine ("Error converting '" + line + "', '" + str + "'.");
}
One thing you may be seeing is the user entering "-1"
for example. If you do the substring(0,1)
on that, you'll only get "-"
which isn't really valid.