>In that case, maybe Regex can be of help - use named Groups
>
>Example
>
>After the day, I capture either a time or a year
>
> static void Main(string[] args)
> {
> string[] lines =
> { @"-rw-rw-rw- 1 user group 1402 Dec 30 2005 AmazonCA.gif",
> @"-rwxrwxrwx 1 owner group 4480 Feb 15 2:25 8A17T2T1.txt"
> };
>
> string pattern = @"^(?<Permissions>\S+)\s+(?<Links>\d+)\s+(?<User>\w+)\s+(?<Group>\w+)\s+(?<FileSize>\d+)\s+(?<Month>\w+)\s+(?<Day>\d+)\s+((?<Year>\d{4})|(?<Time>\d+:\d+(:\d+)?))\s+(?<FileName>\S+)$";
>
>
>
> foreach (string line in lines)
> {
> Match m = Regex.Match(line, pattern);
>
> if (m.Success)
> {
> Console.WriteLine("Month {0}", m.Groups["Month"]);
> Console.WriteLine("Day {0}", m.Groups["Day"]);
> Console.WriteLine("Year {0}", m.Groups["Year"]);
> Console.WriteLine("Time {0}", m.Groups["Time"]);
> Console.WriteLine("FileName {0}", m.Groups["FileName"]);
> }
> else
> Console.WriteLine("No match");
>
> }
>
>
> Console.ReadLine();
> return;
>
>
> }
>Very interesting approach, thanks for the sample
