Extract a character at particular place in a string

I have a function:

Private Function getbyte(s As String, ByVal place As Integer) As String
If place < Len(s) Then
place = place + 1
getbyte = Mid(s, place, 1)
Else
getbyte = ""
End If
End Function

For extracting a character at a particular place in a string, how can I shorten this or any alternate for the same purpose?

According to MSDN, this function is already implemented:

' Code from MSDN
'
Dim myString As String = "ABCDE" 
Dim myChar As Char 
' The value of myChar is "D".
myChar = myString.Chars(3)

A review of your code

• Please indent your code.

• I would choose another, more meaningful name for your function: getCharAt or getByteFromString. It is now clear that the function operates on a string.

• I would use the clearer parameter name str instead of s.

-
"Compress":

place = place + 1
getbyte = Mid(s, place, 1)

' change to
getbyte = Mid(s, place + 1, 1)

The first version is definitely not wrong or ugly, but why use an extra line if we could express the same logic in the same clear manner?

-
You could use If to shorten your code:

Private Function getbyte(str As String, ByVal place As Integer) As String
  getbyte = If(place < Len(str), Mid(str, place + 1, 1), "")
End Function

StackExchange Code Review Q#58895, answer score: 6