Simple way to use a LongListSelector to group a list alphabetically?

Question

i want to use the LongListSelector to groupe a list of entries alphabetically. acutally i'm unsing a normal ListBox and it looks like:

• Andhed
• Bdihed
• Cndie

I want to groupe all items like:

• A
• Andhed
• B
• Bdihed
• C
• Cndie

I know i can do it with the LongListSelector the problem is, that i dont want to change my data, its a simple List<String> is this possible? i dont want to add a additional structure like a groupe (e.g. A) which contains the items (e.g. Andhed).

Answer 1

With the LongListSelector you have to group your data before associating it with the control. This isn't so bad, especially if you use patterns such as Model-View-ViewModel.

As an alternative, I have written a jump list control which is presented here:

http://www.scottlogic.co.uk/blog/colin/2011/01/a-windows-phone-7-jump-list-control/

With this control you use a CategoryProvider, which will group the data in your list:

  <!-- category provider - details how the items are grouped -->
  <l:JumpList.CategoryProvider>
    <l:AlphabetCategoryProvider PropertyName="Surname"/>
  </l:JumpList.CategoryProvider>