Best way to store and read lists in c#

[Vivitary]

I'm looking for a way to store a list so that it can be recalled every time the program is used. currently my solution save the data to a .txt file but it cant read it and put it back in a list, any tips?

[Enderman]

Why can't you read it and put it back in a list...?

[Guest]

Did you use the StreamReader?
invent your own file format more or less.

 

My data is seperated by semicolons.

Psuedocode goes something like this

 

foreach item in list

  streamwrite current index to text file

  streamwrite seperation indicator to text file. (new line, space, semicolon, something distinct)

 

Read files

read next character

if (character is seperation indicator)

  Go to next index

else

  Add value to current index

 

My GitHub:
https://github.com/hislittlecuzin/ReadFiles

[FlappyBoobs]

Install json.net from nuget. Create a serializable class that will be your data (one class that has the fields, and a second that holds a list of the field classes). Then serialize your data into the file (or create the json manually) and save to your text file. Now when you read your text file contents you can deserialize into your objects and use the data in your program. This way your code is effectively open file, dump contents into my object, use object. Very simple looking code. 

 

 

Json is very efficient, and this method can easily be upgraded in the future with a new storage technique like a database, with you only changing the code that retrieves the data and nothing else. 

[MyName13]

17 hours ago, Vivitary said:

I'm looking for a way to store a list so that it can be recalled every time the program is used. currently my solution save the data to a .txt file but it cant read it and put it back in a list, any tips?

Have you heard of serialization?