The key strategy involves organizing the strings into a hierarchical tree structure. The following code snippet in LinqPad demonstrates this process. While the direct output may not be readily usable client-side, it can be easily customized to suit your needs.
void Main()
{
var rootNode = new Node("root");
foreach(string s in new[] {"Automotive Electronics",
"Automotive Electronics---Body Electronics",
"Automotive Electronics---Body Electronics---Access Control Systems",
"Automotive Electronics---Body Electronics---Body Control Modules",
"Automotive Electronics---Driver Information",
"Automotive Electronics---Driver Information---Clocks",
"Automotive Electronics---Driver Information---Compass Systems",
"Automotive Electronics---HomeL",
"Automotive Electronics---Infotainment & Connectivity",
"Automotive Electronics---Infotainment & Connectivity---Handsfree Systems",
"Automotive Interiors",
"Automotive Interiors---Door Panels",
"Automotive Interiors---Floor Consoles",
"Automotive Interiors---Headliners & Overhead Systems",
"Automotive Interiors---Overhead Consoles",
"Automotive Seating",
"Automotive Seating---Complete Seats",
"Automotive Seating---Complete Seats---SuperThin Seats"})
{
AddNodes(rootNode, s.Split(new[] {"---"}, StringSplitOptions.RemoveEmptyEntries));
}
new JavaScriptSerializer().Serialize(rootNode.Nodes).Dump();
}
public void AddNodes( Node parentNode, string[] names)
{
if (names.Any())
{
var node = parentNode.AddNode(names.First());
AddNodes(node, names.Skip(1).ToArray());
}
}
public class Node
{
public Node(string name)
{
Name = name;
Nodes = new List<Node>();
}
public Node AddNode(string name)
{
if (!this.Nodes.Select(n => n.Name).Contains(name.Trim()))
{
//name.Dump(this.Name);
this.Nodes.Add(new Node(name.Trim()));
}
return this.Nodes.Where (n => n.Name == name).First();
}
public string Name { get;set;}
public List<Node> Nodes { get; set; }
}
Output:
[{"Name":"Automotive Electronics","Nodes":[{"Name":"Body Electronics","Nodes":[{"Name":"Access Control Systems","Nodes":[]},{"Name":"Body Control Modules","Nodes":[]}]},{"Name":"Driver Information","Nodes":[{"Name":"Clocks","Nodes":[]},{"Name":"Compass Systems","Nodes":[]}]},{"Name":"HomeL","Nodes":[]},{"Name":"Infotainment & Connectivity","Nodes":[{"Name":"Handsfree Systems","Nodes":[]}]}]},{"Name":"Automotive Interiors","Nodes":[{"Name":"Door Panels","Nodes":[]},{"Name":"Floor Consoles","Nodes":[]},{"Name":"Headliners & Overhead Systems","Nodes":[]},{"Name":"Overhead Consoles","Nodes":[]}]},{"Name":"Automotive Seating","Nodes":[{"Name":"Complete Seats","Nodes":[{"Name":"SuperThin Seats","Nodes":[]}]}]}]
(Please note that you need to import specific namespaces in LinqPad for the JavaScriptSerializer to work properly).