I want to create string ENUM in c#.
Basically i wan't to set form name in Enum. When i open form in main page that time i want to switch case for form name and open that particular form.
I know ENUM allows only integer but i want to set it to string.
Any Idea?
Enum cannot be string but you can attach attribute and than you can read the value of enum as below....................
public enum States
{
[Description("New Mexico")]
NewMexico,
[Description("New York")]
NewYork,
[Description("South Carolina")]
SouthCarolina
}
public static string GetEnumDescription(Enum value)
{
FieldInfo fi = value.GetType().GetField(value.ToString());
DescriptionAttribute[] attributes =
(DescriptionAttribute[])fi.GetCustomAttributes(
typeof(DescriptionAttribute),
false);
if (attributes != null &&
attributes.Length > 0)
return attributes[0].Description;
else
return value.ToString();
}
here is good article if you want to go through it : Associating Strings with enums in C#
As everyone mentioned, enums can't be strings (or anything else except integers) in C#. I'm guessing you come from Java? It would be nice if .NET had this feature, where enums can be any type.
The way I usually circumvent this is using a static class:
public static class MyValues
{
public static string ValueA { get { return "A"; } }
public static string ValueB { get { return "B"; } }
}
With this technique, you can also use any type. You can call it just like you would use enums:
if (value == MyValues.ValueA)
{
// do something
}
bool b = MyValues.ValueA == "someString"..
strings. The issue I posted is simple. How about this: string a = MyValues.ValueA; and later, a = "haha";.. Basically spoils the idea of an enum.. I agree there are no simple workarounds. Attributes are the best still..Do this:
private IddFilterCompareToCurrent myEnum =
(IddFilterCompareToCurrent )Enum.Parse(typeof(IddFilterCompareToCurrent[1]),domainUpDown1.SelectedItem.ToString());
[Enum.parse] returns an Object, so you need to cast it.
Im not sure if I understood you corectly but I think you are looking for this?
public enum State { State1, State2, State3 };
public static State CurrentState = State.State1;
if(CurrentState == State.State1)
{
//do something
}
I don't think that enums are the best solution for your problem. As others have already mentionde, the values of an enum can only be integer values.
You could simply use a Dictionary to store the forms along with their name like:
Dictionary<string, Form> formDict = new Dictionary<string, Form>();
private void addFormToDict(Form form) {
formDict[form.Name] = form;
}
// ...
addFormToDict(new MyFirstForm());
addFormToDict(new MySecondForm());
// ... add all forms you want to display to the dictionary
if (formDict.ContainsKey(formName))
formDict[formName].Show();
else
MessageBox.Show(String.Format("Couldn't find form '{0}'", formName));
Either make the names of the Enum members exactly what you want and use .ToString(),
Write a function like this ...
string MyEnumString(MyEnum value)
{
const string MyEnumValue1String = "any string I like 1";
const string MyEnumValue2String = "any string I like 2";
...
switch (value)
{
case MyEnum.Value1:
return MyEnumValue1String;
case MyEnum.Value2:
return MyEnumValue2String;
...
}
}
Or use some dictionary or hash set of values and strings instead.
string enums don't exist in C#. See this related question.
Why don't you use an int (default type for enums) instead of a string?
