Question

How can I change a single property on a single item in a list in the most succinct way?

    public static class QuestionHelper
    {
        public static IEnumerable<SelectListItem> GetSecurityQuestions()
        {
            return new[]
                {
                    new SelectListItem { Value = "What was your childhood nickname?", Text = "What was your childhood nickname?"},
                    new SelectListItem { Value = "What is the name of your favorite childhood friend?", Text = "What is the name of your favorite childhood friend?"},
                    ...
                };
        }
    }

I want to generate this list set the Selected property one item based on a string:

string selectText = "What is the name of your favorite childhood friend?";
form.SecurityQuestions = QuestionHelper.GetSecurityQuestions().Select(x => { /*Set Selected = true for SelectListItem where item.Text == selectedText */ } );

return PartialView(form); 

Note: This has to account for if(selectedText == null) then set the first item as Selected

Answer 1

Don’t do it with LINQ, do it with foreach!

form.SecurityQuestions = QuestionHelper.GetSecurityQuestions();
foreach(var item in form.SecurityQuestions)
    item.Selected = item.Text == selectedText;

if(selectedText == null)  // Select the first item by default
    form.SecurityQuestions.First().Selected = true;

LINQ has been created for querying no to modify the state of an object.