FromDelimitedString

''' <summary>
''' Populates a list with the contents of a delimited string.
''' </summary>
''' <param name="ls"></param>
''' <param name="buf"></param>
''' <param name="delimiter"></param>
''' <returns></returns>
''' <remarks></remarks>
<Extension()> _
Public Function FromDelimitedString(ByVal ls As List(Of String), ByVal buf As String, ByVal delimiter As String) As List(Of String)            
    Dim items() As String = Split(buf, delimiter)
    Return items.ToList
End Function

Dim buf As String = "Bill|Jim|John|James|Jacob"
Dim ls As New List(Of String)
ls = ls.FromDelimitedString(buf, "|")