Format a list with dedicated wrapping characters

[iliashkolyar]

Hello,
It seems like a fairly easy thing to do, but I couldn't find the way to do it (from the following wiki).

I would like to format a list of strings while wrapping each entry with some character.
So let's say the character is '*', I would like the following outputs for each input:

var input = new List<string> { "one", "two" };
// Output = "*one*, *two*"

var input = new List<string>();
// Output = ""

Thanks in advance!

[axunonb]

The members of the list are prepended with a * and appended with a *. The separator is ,.
The empty list should give an empty result.
So you could e.g. go for this:

var result = Smart.Format("{0.Count:choose(0):|{0:list:*{}*|, }}", input);
//
// for input = new List<string> { "one", "two" };
// output: "*one*, *two*"
//
// for input = new List<string>();
// output: ""

[iliashkolyar]

First of all, thanks a lot for your prompt answer!

This really works well for the latest version, but unfortunately i'm using version 2.5.3 in which the :*{}* doesn't seem to do anything.

I've tried upgrading the version to the latest, but it broke the build since I use the (now deprecated) Smart.Default.Parser.UseAlternativeBraces API.
I'm using it to be able to format JSON payloads, so I needed to use different braces than { and }.

Could you please suggest what is the way of using "alternative braces" in the newest version?
Thanks again!

[axunonb]

Try setting SmartSettings.StringFormatCompatibility = true. This has some more implications as described in the Wiki, but might work in your case. The best way, however, is to keep SmartSettings.StringFormatCompatibility = false and to escape the JSON curly brace literals in the format string. Alternate braces were I nightmare to maintain - too many side effects.