How can I get a count of the total number of digits in a number?
Solution 1:
Without converting to a string you could try
Math.Floor(Math.Log10(n) + 1);
Solution 2:
Try This:
myint.ToString().Length
Does that work ?
Solution 3:
The Solution
Any of the following extension methods will do the job. All of them consider the minus sign as a digit, and work correctly for all possible input values. They also work for .NET Framework and for .NET Core. There are however relevant performance differences (discussed below), depending on your choice of Platform / Framework.
Int32 version:
public static class Int32Extensions
{
// IF-CHAIN:
public static int Digits_IfChain(this int n)
{
if (n >= 0)
{
if (n < 10) return 1;
if (n < 100) return 2;
if (n < 1000) return 3;
if (n < 10000) return 4;
if (n < 100000) return 5;
if (n < 1000000) return 6;
if (n < 10000000) return 7;
if (n < 100000000) return 8;
if (n < 1000000000) return 9;
return 10;
}
else
{
if (n > -10) return 2;
if (n > -100) return 3;
if (n > -1000) return 4;
if (n > -10000) return 5;
if (n > -100000) return 6;
if (n > -1000000) return 7;
if (n > -10000000) return 8;
if (n > -100000000) return 9;
if (n > -1000000000) return 10;
return 11;
}
}
// USING LOG10:
public static int Digits_Log10(this int n) =>
n == 0 ? 1 : (n > 0 ? 1 : 2) + (int)Math.Log10(Math.Abs((double)n));
// WHILE LOOP:
public static int Digits_While(this int n)
{
int digits = n < 0 ? 2 : 1;
while ((n /= 10) != 0) ++digits;
return digits;
}
// STRING CONVERSION:
public static int Digits_String(this int n) =>
n.ToString().Length;
}
Int64 version:
public static class Int64Extensions
{
// IF-CHAIN:
public static int Digits_IfChain(this long n)
{
if (n >= 0)
{
if (n < 10L) return 1;
if (n < 100L) return 2;
if (n < 1000L) return 3;
if (n < 10000L) return 4;
if (n < 100000L) return 5;
if (n < 1000000L) return 6;
if (n < 10000000L) return 7;
if (n < 100000000L) return 8;
if (n < 1000000000L) return 9;
if (n < 10000000000L) return 10;
if (n < 100000000000L) return 11;
if (n < 1000000000000L) return 12;
if (n < 10000000000000L) return 13;
if (n < 100000000000000L) return 14;
if (n < 1000000000000000L) return 15;
if (n < 10000000000000000L) return 16;
if (n < 100000000000000000L) return 17;
if (n < 1000000000000000000L) return 18;
return 19;
}
else
{
if (n > -10L) return 2;
if (n > -100L) return 3;
if (n > -1000L) return 4;
if (n > -10000L) return 5;
if (n > -100000L) return 6;
if (n > -1000000L) return 7;
if (n > -10000000L) return 8;
if (n > -100000000L) return 9;
if (n > -1000000000L) return 10;
if (n > -10000000000L) return 11;
if (n > -100000000000L) return 12;
if (n > -1000000000000L) return 13;
if (n > -10000000000000L) return 14;
if (n > -100000000000000L) return 15;
if (n > -1000000000000000L) return 16;
if (n > -10000000000000000L) return 17;
if (n > -100000000000000000L) return 18;
if (n > -1000000000000000000L) return 19;
return 20;
}
}
// USING LOG10:
public static int Digits_Log10(this long n) =>
n == 0L ? 1 : (n > 0L ? 1 : 2) + (int)Math.Log10(Math.Abs((double)n));
// WHILE LOOP:
public static int Digits_While(this long n)
{
int digits = n < 0 ? 2 : 1;
while ((n /= 10L) != 0L) ++digits;
return digits;
}
// STRING CONVERSION:
public static int Digits_String(this long n) =>
n.ToString().Length;
}
Discussion
This answer includes tests performed for both Int32 and Int64 types, using an array of 100.000.000 randomly sampled int / long numbers. The random dataset is pre-processed into an array before executing the tests.
Consistency tests among the 4 different methods were also executed, for MinValue, negative border cases, -1, 0, 1, positive border cases, MaxValue, and also for the whole random dataset. No consistency tests fail for the above provided methods, EXCEPT for the LOG10 method (this is discussed later).
The tests were executed on .NET Framework 4.7.2 and .NET Core 2.2; for x86 and x64 platforms, on a 64-bit Intel Processor machine, with Windows 10, and with VS2017 v.15.9.17. The following 4 cases have the same effect on performance results:
.NET Framework (x86)
Platform = x86Platform = AnyCPU,Prefer 32-bitis checked in project settings
.NET Framework (x64)
Platform = x64Platform = AnyCPU,Prefer 32-bitis unchecked in project settings
.NET Core (x86)
"C:\Program Files (x86)\dotnet\dotnet.exe" bin\Release\netcoreapp2.2\ConsoleApp.dll"C:\Program Files (x86)\dotnet\dotnet.exe" bin\x86\Release\netcoreapp2.2\ConsoleApp.dll
.NET Core (x64)
"C:\Program Files\dotnet\dotnet.exe" bin\Release\netcoreapp2.2\ConsoleApp.dll"C:\Program Files\dotnet\dotnet.exe" bin\x64\Release\netcoreapp2.2\ConsoleApp.dll
Results
The performance tests below produce a uniform distribution of values among the wide range of values an integer could assume. This means there is a much higher chance of testing values with a big count of digits. In real life scenarios, most values may be small, so the IF-CHAIN should perform even better. Furthermore, the processor will cache and optimize the IF-CHAIN decisions according to your dataset.
As @AlanSingfield pointed out in the comment section, the LOG10 method had to be fixed with a casting to double inside Math.Abs() for the case when the input value is int.MinValue or long.MinValue.
Regarding the early performance tests I've implemented before editing this question (it had to be edited a million times already), there was a specific case pointed out by @GyörgyKőszeg, in which the IF-CHAIN method performs slower than the LOG10 method.
This still happens, although the magnitude of the difference became much lower after the fix for the issue pointed out by @AlanSingfield. This fix (adding a cast to double) causes a computation error when the input value is exactly -999999999999999999: the LOG10 method returns 20 instead of 19. The LOG10 method also must have a if guard for the case when the input value is zero.
The LOG10 method is quite tricky to get working for all values, which means you should avoid it. If someone finds a way to make it work correctly for all the consistency tests below, please post a comment!
The WHILE method also got a recent refactored version which is faster, but it is still slow for Platform = x86 (I could not find the reason why, until now).
The STRING method is consistently slow: it greedily allocates too much memory for nothing. Interestingly, in .NET Core, string allocation seems to be much faster than in .NET Framework. Good to know.
The IF-CHAIN method should outperform all other methods in 99.99% of the cases; and, in my personal opinion, is your best choice (considering all the adjusts necessary to make the LOG10 method work correctly, and the bad performance of the other two methods).
Finally, the results are:
Since these results are hardware-dependent, I recommend anyway running the performance tests below on your own computer if you really need to be 100% sure in your specific case.
Test Code
Below is the code for the performance test, and the consistency test too. The same code is used for both .NET Framework and .NET Core.
using System;
using System.Diagnostics;
namespace NumberOfDigits
{
// Performance Tests:
class Program
{
private static void Main(string[] args)
{
Console.WriteLine("\r\n.NET Core");
RunTests_Int32();
RunTests_Int64();
}
// Int32 Performance Tests:
private static void RunTests_Int32()
{
Console.WriteLine("\r\nInt32");
const int size = 100000000;
int[] samples = new int[size];
Random random = new Random((int)DateTime.Now.Ticks);
for (int i = 0; i < size; ++i)
samples[i] = random.Next(int.MinValue, int.MaxValue);
Stopwatch sw1 = new Stopwatch();
sw1.Start();
for (int i = 0; i < size; ++i) samples[i].Digits_IfChain();
sw1.Stop();
Console.WriteLine($"IfChain: {sw1.ElapsedMilliseconds} ms");
Stopwatch sw2 = new Stopwatch();
sw2.Start();
for (int i = 0; i < size; ++i) samples[i].Digits_Log10();
sw2.Stop();
Console.WriteLine($"Log10: {sw2.ElapsedMilliseconds} ms");
Stopwatch sw3 = new Stopwatch();
sw3.Start();
for (int i = 0; i < size; ++i) samples[i].Digits_While();
sw3.Stop();
Console.WriteLine($"While: {sw3.ElapsedMilliseconds} ms");
Stopwatch sw4 = new Stopwatch();
sw4.Start();
for (int i = 0; i < size; ++i) samples[i].Digits_String();
sw4.Stop();
Console.WriteLine($"String: {sw4.ElapsedMilliseconds} ms");
// Start of consistency tests:
Console.WriteLine("Running consistency tests...");
bool isConsistent = true;
// Consistency test on random set:
for (int i = 0; i < samples.Length; ++i)
{
int s = samples[i];
int a = s.Digits_IfChain();
int b = s.Digits_Log10();
int c = s.Digits_While();
int d = s.Digits_String();
if (a != b || c != d || a != c)
{
Console.WriteLine($"Digits({s}): IfChain={a} Log10={b} While={c} String={d}");
isConsistent = false;
break;
}
}
// Consistency test of special values:
samples = new int[]
{
0,
int.MinValue, -1000000000, -999999999, -100000000, -99999999, -10000000, -9999999, -1000000, -999999, -100000, -99999, -10000, -9999, -1000, -999, -100, -99, -10, -9, - 1,
int.MaxValue, 1000000000, 999999999, 100000000, 99999999, 10000000, 9999999, 1000000, 999999, 100000, 99999, 10000, 9999, 1000, 999, 100, 99, 10, 9, 1,
};
for (int i = 0; i < samples.Length; ++i)
{
int s = samples[i];
int a = s.Digits_IfChain();
int b = s.Digits_Log10();
int c = s.Digits_While();
int d = s.Digits_String();
if (a != b || c != d || a != c)
{
Console.WriteLine($"Digits({s}): IfChain={a} Log10={b} While={c} String={d}");
isConsistent = false;
break;
}
}
// Consistency test result:
if (isConsistent)
Console.WriteLine("Consistency tests are OK");
}
// Int64 Performance Tests:
private static void RunTests_Int64()
{
Console.WriteLine("\r\nInt64");
const int size = 100000000;
long[] samples = new long[size];
Random random = new Random((int)DateTime.Now.Ticks);
for (int i = 0; i < size; ++i)
samples[i] = Math.Sign(random.Next(-1, 1)) * (long)(random.NextDouble() * long.MaxValue);
Stopwatch sw1 = new Stopwatch();
sw1.Start();
for (int i = 0; i < size; ++i) samples[i].Digits_IfChain();
sw1.Stop();
Console.WriteLine($"IfChain: {sw1.ElapsedMilliseconds} ms");
Stopwatch sw2 = new Stopwatch();
sw2.Start();
for (int i = 0; i < size; ++i) samples[i].Digits_Log10();
sw2.Stop();
Console.WriteLine($"Log10: {sw2.ElapsedMilliseconds} ms");
Stopwatch sw3 = new Stopwatch();
sw3.Start();
for (int i = 0; i < size; ++i) samples[i].Digits_While();
sw3.Stop();
Console.WriteLine($"While: {sw3.ElapsedMilliseconds} ms");
Stopwatch sw4 = new Stopwatch();
sw4.Start();
for (int i = 0; i < size; ++i) samples[i].Digits_String();
sw4.Stop();
Console.WriteLine($"String: {sw4.ElapsedMilliseconds} ms");
// Start of consistency tests:
Console.WriteLine("Running consistency tests...");
bool isConsistent = true;
// Consistency test on random set:
for (int i = 0; i < samples.Length; ++i)
{
long s = samples[i];
int a = s.Digits_IfChain();
int b = s.Digits_Log10();
int c = s.Digits_While();
int d = s.Digits_String();
if (a != b || c != d || a != c)
{
Console.WriteLine($"Digits({s}): IfChain={a} Log10={b} While={c} String={d}");
isConsistent = false;
break;
}
}
// Consistency test of special values:
samples = new long[]
{
0,
long.MinValue, -1000000000000000000, -999999999999999999, -100000000000000000, -99999999999999999, -10000000000000000, -9999999999999999, -1000000000000000, -999999999999999, -100000000000000, -99999999999999, -10000000000000, -9999999999999, -1000000000000, -999999999999, -100000000000, -99999999999, -10000000000, -9999999999, -1000000000, -999999999, -100000000, -99999999, -10000000, -9999999, -1000000, -999999, -100000, -99999, -10000, -9999, -1000, -999, -100, -99, -10, -9, - 1,
long.MaxValue, 1000000000000000000, 999999999999999999, 100000000000000000, 99999999999999999, 10000000000000000, 9999999999999999, 1000000000000000, 999999999999999, 100000000000000, 99999999999999, 10000000000000, 9999999999999, 1000000000000, 999999999999, 100000000000, 99999999999, 10000000000, 9999999999, 1000000000, 999999999, 100000000, 99999999, 10000000, 9999999, 1000000, 999999, 100000, 99999, 10000, 9999, 1000, 999, 100, 99, 10, 9, 1,
};
for (int i = 0; i < samples.Length; ++i)
{
long s = samples[i];
int a = s.Digits_IfChain();
int b = s.Digits_Log10();
int c = s.Digits_While();
int d = s.Digits_String();
if (a != b || c != d || a != c)
{
Console.WriteLine($"Digits({s}): IfChain={a} Log10={b} While={c} String={d}");
isConsistent = false;
break;
}
}
// Consistency test result:
if (isConsistent)
Console.WriteLine("Consistency tests are OK");
}
}
}
Solution 4:
Not directly C#, but the formula is: n = floor(log10(x)+1)
Solution 5:
Answers already here work for unsigned integers, but I have not found good solutions for getting number of digits from decimals and doubles.
public static int Length(double number)
{
number = Math.Abs(number);
int length = 1;
while ((number /= 10) >= 1)
length++;
return length;
}
//number of digits in 0 = 1,
//number of digits in 22.1 = 2,
//number of digits in -23 = 2
You may change input type from double to decimal if precision matters, but decimal has a limit too.