Char.TryParse() Method in C#

The Char.TryParse() method in C# is used to convert a string representation to its equivalent Unicode character. This method returns true if the conversion succeeds, or false if it fails, making it a safe alternative to Char.Parse() which throws exceptions on invalid input.

The method only succeeds if the input string contains exactly one character. Multi-character strings, empty strings, or null values will cause the method to return false.

Syntax

Following is the syntax for the Char.TryParse() method −

public static bool TryParse(string str, out char result);

Parameters

• str − A string containing a single character to convert, or null.

• result − When this method returns, contains the Unicode character equivalent to the single character contained in str, if the conversion succeeded, or an undefined value if the conversion failed.

Return Value

Returns true if str was converted successfully; otherwise, false.

Using Char.TryParse() with Invalid Input

Example

using System;

public class Demo {
   public static void Main() {
      bool res;
      char ch;
      
      res = Char.TryParse("10", out ch);
      Console.WriteLine("Input: "10"");
      Console.WriteLine("Result: " + res);
      Console.WriteLine("Character: " + ch);
      Console.WriteLine();
      
      res = Char.TryParse("", out ch);
      Console.WriteLine("Input: "" (empty)");
      Console.WriteLine("Result: " + res);
      Console.WriteLine("Character: " + ch);
   }
}

The output of the above code is −

Input: "10"
Result: False
Character: 

Input: "" (empty)
Result: False
Character: 

Using Char.TryParse() with Valid Input

Example

using System;

public class Demo {
   public static void Main() {
      bool res;
      char ch;
      
      res = Char.TryParse("P", out ch);
      Console.WriteLine("Input: "P"");
      Console.WriteLine("Result: " + res);
      Console.WriteLine("Character: " + ch);
      Console.WriteLine();
      
      res = Char.TryParse("5", out ch);
      Console.WriteLine("Input: "5"");
      Console.WriteLine("Result: " + res);
      Console.WriteLine("Character: " + ch);
      Console.WriteLine("Unicode value: " + (int)ch);
   }
}

The output of the above code is −

Input: "P"
Result: True
Character: P

Input: "5"
Result: True
Character: 5
Unicode value: 53

Common Use Cases

Example

using System;

public class Demo {
   public static void Main() {
      string[] inputs = { "A", "z", "5", "@", "AB", "", null };
      
      foreach (string input in inputs) {
         char result;
         bool success = Char.TryParse(input, out result);
         
         string displayInput = input ?? "null";
         if (success) {
            Console.WriteLine($"'{displayInput}' ? '{result}' (Unicode: {(int)result})");
         } else {
            Console.WriteLine($"'{displayInput}' ? Parse failed");
         }
      }
   }
}

The output of the above code is −

'A' ? 'A' (Unicode: 65)
'z' ? 'z' (Unicode: 122)
'5' ? '5' (Unicode: 53)
'@' ? '@' (Unicode: 64)
'AB' ? Parse failed
'' ? Parse failed
'null' ? Parse failed

Conclusion

The Char.TryParse() method provides a safe way to convert single-character strings to char values without throwing exceptions. It returns true for successful conversions of exactly one character, and false for multi-character strings, empty strings, or null values.