string replace phone number iOS swift

Question

I import a phone-number from "Contacts" and save in NSString. this string contains white-space and I try to delete them using the method:

numero = numero.stringByReplacingOccurrencesOfString(" ", withString: "")

this method doesn't work.

---

func sostituisci( stringa: NSString! ) -> NSString     
{         
var numero: NSString = ""         
NSLog(stringa) 
numero = ((stringa as String).stringByReplacingOccurrencesOfString(" ", withString: "") as NSString) 
NSLog(numero)

return numero
}

the output unchanged

---

log

2014-11-05 17:54:50.734 HappyRicarica[33438:3119446] (327) 124-3503
2014-11-05 17:54:50.737 HappyRicarica[33438:3119446] (327) 124-3503

Answer 1

I suspect that the space character in your string is not really a space. Try adding this after NSLog(string) to see what the unicode scalar values are for the characters in your string:

for uni in (stringa as String).unicodeScalars {
    println("\(uni) = \(uni.value)")
}

The expected output for "(327) 124-3503" is:

( = 40
3 = 51
2 = 50
7 = 55
) = 41
  = 32
1 = 49
2 = 50
4 = 52
- = 45
3 = 51
5 = 53
0 = 48
3 = 51

From your comment, your space has value 160 instead of 32. You could remove that with:

numero = stringa.stringByReplacingOccurrencesOfString(String(Character(UnicodeScalar(160))), withString: "")

Answer 2

update: Xcode 7.2 • Swift 2.1.1

extension String {
    var numbersOnly: String {
        return componentsSeparatedByCharactersInSet(NSCharacterSet(charactersInString: "1234567890")
            .invertedSet)
            .joinWithSeparator("")
    }
    var numbersExempt: String {
        return componentsSeparatedByCharactersInSet(NSCharacterSet(charactersInString: "1234567890"))
            .joinWithSeparator("")
    }
    var charactersOnly: String {
        return componentsSeparatedByCharactersInSet(NSCharacterSet(charactersInString: "abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ").invertedSet).joinWithSeparator("")
    }
    var charactersExempt: String {
        return componentsSeparatedByCharactersInSet(NSCharacterSet(charactersInString: "abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ")).joinWithSeparator("")
    }
    func keep(keepIt: String) -> String {
        return componentsSeparatedByCharactersInSet(NSCharacterSet(charactersInString: keepIt).invertedSet).joinWithSeparator("")
    }
    func exclude(excludeIt: String) -> String {
        return componentsSeparatedByCharactersInSet(NSCharacterSet(charactersInString: excludeIt)).joinWithSeparator("")
    }
}

let phoneNumber = "+1 (555) 555 - 5555".numbersOnly
print(phoneNumber) // "15555555555"

let excludePlusMinus = "+1 (555) 555-5555".exclude("+-") // "1 (555) 5555555"
let keepWhatever = "+1 (555) 555-5555".keep("()-+") //  "+()-"

you can also use your function to subtract only spaces with some adjustments. Try like this:

func sostituisci(stringa: String) -> String {
     return stringa.stringByReplacingOccurrencesOfString(" ", withString: "")
}

sostituisci("1 234 567 8901")   // "12345678901"

or like an extension:

extension String {
    var sostituisci: String {
        return stringByReplacingOccurrencesOfString(" ", withString: "")
    }
}
let phoneNumber2 = "1 234 567 8901".sostituisci

Answer 3

NSString is not String, so you should use:

numero = ((numero as String).stringByReplacingOccurrencesOfString(" ", withString: "") as NSString)

Answer 4

did you try :

let str = "XX XX XX XX XX"
    let separated = str.componentsSeparatedByCharactersInSet(NSCharacterSet.whitespaceAndNewlineCharacterSet())
    let finalStr = "".join(separated)