Character and String Basics

Vaibhav • September 11, 2025

In programming, text is everywhere - from user names and messages to file paths and error logs. In C#, text is represented using two fundamental types: char and string. This article introduces both, explains how they differ, and shows how to work with them using only the concepts we've covered so far. We’ll also explore how to combine strings, format them neatly, and handle special characters like newlines and tabs.

Understanding char and string

A char represents a single character - just one letter, digit, or symbol. Think of it as the smallest unit of text. A string, on the other hand, is a sequence of characters. It can be empty, short, or very long. You’ve already seen strings in action when printing messages with Console.WriteLine.

char letter = 'A';
string greeting = "Hello";

In this example, letter holds the character 'A', while greeting holds the word "Hello". Notice the difference in quotation marks: char uses single quotes (' '), while string uses double quotes (" ").

Displaying characters and strings

You can use Console.WriteLine to display both characters and strings. This is useful for debugging, logging, or simply showing output to the user.

char symbol = '#';
string name = "Vaibhav";

Console.WriteLine(symbol); // Output: #
Console.WriteLine(name);   // Output: Vaibhav

Each call to Console.WriteLine prints the value followed by a newline. The character symbol prints as a single glyph, while the string name prints the full sequence of letters.

String concatenation - combining text

Concatenation means joining strings together. In C#, you can use the + operator to combine strings. This is one of the simplest ways to build messages or labels.

string firstName = "Vaibhav";
string lastName = "Lawand";
string fullName = firstName + " " + lastName;

Console.WriteLine(fullName); // Output: Vaibhav Lawand

Here, we combine firstName, a space " ", and lastName to form fullName. The result is a readable string with proper spacing.

String interpolation - formatting with ease

Interpolation is a cleaner way to build strings. Instead of using +, you embed variables directly inside a string using the $ symbol and curly braces.

string city = "Pune";
string message = $"Welcome to {city}!";

Console.WriteLine(message); // Output: Welcome to Pune!

The $ before the string tells C# to treat it as an interpolated string. Inside the curly braces, you can place any variable or expression. This makes the code easier to read and maintain.

Escape characters - special formatting

Sometimes you need to include special characters in a string - like a newline or a tab. These are called escape characters, and they start with a backslash (\).

string formatted = "Name:\tVaibhav\nLocation:\tPune";

Console.WriteLine(formatted);

This string contains two escape sequences:

• \t adds a horizontal tab (like pressing the Tab key).
• \n adds a newline (like pressing Enter).

The output will look like this:

Name:       Vaibhav
Location:   Pune

Escape characters help format output neatly, especially when displaying structured data.

Empty strings and whitespace

An empty string is a string with no characters. You can create one using "". It’s different from null, which means no value at all.

string empty = "";
Console.WriteLine(empty); // Output: (nothing)

You can also create strings that contain only spaces or tabs. These are not empty, but they may look blank when printed.

Combining characters into strings

You can build strings by combining multiple char values. This is useful when constructing text one character at a time.

char c1 = 'C';
char c2 = '#';
char c3 = '!';
string result = "" + c1 + c2 + c3;

Console.WriteLine(result); // Output: C#!

Here, we start with an empty string ("") and add characters to it. The result is a string that contains all three characters.

String length and indexing (preview)

While we won’t explore string methods yet, it’s helpful to know that strings have a Length property that tells you how many characters they contain. You can also access individual characters using indexing.

string word = "CSharp";
Console.WriteLine(word.Length); // Output: 6
Console.WriteLine(word[0]);     // Output: C

This shows that word has six characters, and the first character (at index 0) is C. We’ll explore this more deeply in future chapters.

Common mistakes and how to avoid them

Beginners often confuse char and string. For example, writing char letter = "A"; will cause an error because "A" is a string, not a character.

// Incorrect
char letter = "A"; // ❌

// Correct
char letter = 'A'; // ✅

Another mistake is forgetting escape characters. For example, writing "Hello"World" will break the string. You need to escape the inner quotes: "Hello\"World\"".

Summary

In this article, you learned the difference between char and string - the building blocks of text in C#. A char holds a single character, while a string holds a sequence. You saw how to display them, combine them using concatenation and interpolation, and format them with escape characters like \n and \t. We also previewed how strings can be indexed and measured.

These concepts are foundational. Whether you're printing a welcome message, formatting a report, or building a user interface, strings are everywhere. Mastering them early will make your code cleaner, clearer, and more expressive.