Why aren't my Sharepoint List contents being saved to the list? - sharepoint-2010

Question

I'm successfully creating a Sharepoint List (named "XMLToPDFTestList"), which I can see via Site Actions > View All Site Content, but my attempts to add columns to the list has so far proven fruitless.
Here is how I'm trying to do it:
private void ProvisionallyCreateList()
{
SPWeb mySite = SPContext.Current.Web;
// Check to see if list already exists; if so, exit
if (mySite.Lists.TryGetList(listTitle) != null) return;
SPListCollection lists = mySite.Lists;
SPListTemplateType listTemplateType = new SPListTemplateType();
listTemplateType = SPListTemplateType.GenericList;
string listDescription = "This list is to hold inputted vals";
lists.Add(listTitle, listDescription, listTemplateType);
// Now add a couple of columns
SPList list = lists["XMLToPDFTestList"];
string faveNum = list.Fields.Add("favoriteNumber", SPFieldType.Text, false);
list.Fields[faveNum].Description = "favorite number";
list.Fields[faveNum].Update();
string faveCol = list.Fields.Add("favoriteColor", SPFieldType.Text, false);
list.Fields[faveCol].Description = "favorite color";
list.Fields[faveCol].Update();
}
This is all I see when I click "XMLToPDFTestList":
My "gut feeling" is that this line:
SPList list = lists["XMLToPDFTestList"];
...is not right/not specific enough. Instead of "XMLToPDFTestList" it should be something else/prepend something, or so. But what, exactly?

Answer 1

It was, as is so often the case, "my bad" (YMMV?).
The problem is in my list item creation code which, because I was not assigning anything to the default/inherited "Title" field, made it appear to me (as in the scream shot above) that no item was being added.
Once I fixed the code, by changing this:
private void SaveInputToList()
{
using (SPSite site = new SPSite(siteUrl))
{
using (SPWeb web = site.RootWeb)
{
SPList list = web.Lists[listTitle];
SPListItem SPListItemFaveNum = list.Items.Add();
SPListItemFaveNum["favoriteNumber"] = "7"; //inputtedNumber; TODO: Once 7 and teal are being saved and retrieved successfully, assign the var vals - will need to declare the controls created in CreateChildControls() globally
SPListItemFaveNum.Update();
SPListItem SPListItemFaveHue = list.Items.Add();
SPListItemFaveHue["favoriteColor"] = "teal";
SPListItemFaveHue.Update();
}
}
}
...to this:
private void SaveInputToList()
{
using (SPSite site = new SPSite(siteUrl))
{
using (SPWeb web = site.RootWeb)
{
SPList list = web.Lists[listTitle];
SPListItem spli = list.Items.Add();
spli["Title"] = "Write the Title";
spli["favoriteNumber"] = "7";
//SPListItemFaveNum.Update();
//SPListItem SPListItemFaveHue = list.Items.Add();
spli["favoriteColor"] = "teal";
//SPListItemFaveHue.Update();
spli.Update();
}
}
}
...it works fine: an item is added with all three values (Title, favoriteNumber, and favoriteColor).
I was assuming the item wasn't being created because "Title" was blank, and I was calling update on each SPListItem, whereas all I really need to do is call Update once, and on one SPListItem, not multiple.