Should I fill collections in ctor or private static method?
<p>If I have a collection object which is empty but needs to be filled and is going to be used by a class (say class Foo), then is it best to do the filling in the constructor?</p>

<p>Something like:</p>

<pre><code>List&lt;string&gt; strings = new List&lt;string();
strings.Add("sjsjhsj");
 // So on...
</code></pre>

<p>Or should it be in a static private ctor? State is not being changed of the containing class so this can be static, right?</p>

<p>BTW, if I write this.Name = name; or:</p>

<pre><code>john.Name = name;
// Instance method passing in john as a Person object.
</code></pre>

<p>Are these both known to be changing state and thus should not be static? Or is it only with instance?</p>

<p>If I need a collection which I want to be able to change the contents of without a recompile, I should use a txt file or  xml as the source. Which is faster when using for collections? Txt file will use ReadAllLines(); and XML will use a NodeNavigator (not sure of exact method/object names).</p>

<p>Thanks</p>
