Creating an enum member

Question

Hi,

I just tried exposing an enum as a member of a class & i was surprised that it didn't work as expected. Basically I did this:

MyNamespace
{
   public enum MyEnum{Hello, Goodbye}

   public class MyClass
   {
      public static MyEnum MyEnum;
  
   }

}

When I try to use it, I only get the enums base members, not the enums values.

e.g.


MyEnum enum = Myclass.MyEnum.OtherStuffButNotMyValues

What am I doinf wrong here?

many thanks for your help

---

@nt

Answer 1

your public static variable has the same name as the enum list.
change the name of your variable to something else like :

 public static MyEnum MyEnumVar;

<br/><br/><br/>

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my code is perfect until i don't find a bug

Answer 2

I would suggest that you do *not* name your variable and your Enum the same thing. At least not with the same casing. So something more like this:

public static MyEnum myEnum;

That will make it more clear which you are referencing.

Hope this helps.

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Answer 3

Hi,

Many thanks for that. I've changed it accordingly. While that may address best practice, it hasn't actually solved my issue. When I try to access the enum, I still don't get the values it is meant to expose: To be precise:

internal

 

enum SomeValue

{

True,

False

};

internal

 

class TestClass

{
public static SomeValue SomeValueEnum;

}

class SomeClass
{
   public void SomeMethod()
   {
        TestClass.SomeEnumValue.[CompareTo;Equals;GetHashCode etc etc...]
   }  // I would expect True or False to be exposed...
}


I cannot access the enums values.

Any ideas as to what I'm doing wrong here

Thanks  

 

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@nt

Answer 4

Hi ,
If you expecting True or false, then it is wrong. Those are enum values and can be as
SomeValue.True
SomeValue.False

You can use SomeValueEnum variable as below
TestClass.SomeValueEnum = SomeValue.True;

SomeValueEnum holds a value of type SomeValue.

Below code should help you understand more about enum and its variable:

	enum State
	{
		Initial,
		Read,
		Close
	}

	class Reader
	{
		private State CurrentState;

		internal State ReaderCurrentState
		{
			get { return CurrentState; }
		}

		public Reader()
		{
			CurrentState = State.Initial;
		}

		public void Reading()
		{
			CurrentState = State.Read;
		}

		public void Close()
		{
			CurrentState = State.Close;
		}
	}

Hope it is helpful.
Thanks
PKR

Answer 5

It's actually very common to make the name of an enum property the same as the name of the enum itself.

See, for example, these members of System.Windows.Forms.Control:

public AccessibleRole AccessibleRole { get; set; }


public ImeMode ImeMode { get; set; }

The important thing here is that it is a property, not a field. You shouldn't really have public fields in a class anyway.

Answer 6

Thanks, Vic, I'm not expecting boolean values. I just expect to see True/False to be *exposed* by the enum :)

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@nt

Answer 7

Thanks Matt, that's what I thought i nthe first place :) I didn't see nay issue in calling it the same name. I've always done that with properties. Thanks for the backup there :)

However, it still doens't answer my question. If I expose the enum as a property using getters & setters, when I triy to access it, I still only get the native members, but not the members of the enum.

e.g.

enum Numbers
{1,2};

class MyClass
{
   public static Numbers Numbers{get;set;}
}

MyClass.Numbers.CompareTo etc etc  (but no 1 or 2)


I'd expect (or desire)
MyClass.Numbers.1
or
MyClass.Numbers.2


This is if it is static or instance.

How Can I do this?

Many thanks

---

@nt

Answer 8

If you want to access MyClass.Numbers.1 , then you can do it as below:
Numbers.1.
Why to add MyClass.
You want access members of enum, then you can use enum directly. Am I wrong in my understanding?

Answer 9

Thanks vic,

You are correct in the context of what I've written, but say the class  is used in a different namespace. I would like the enum to be encapsulated in the class rather than importing the enum with it. (just neater in my mind). If the enum is specific to the class & won't be used for any other purpose, I'd like it to be represented as part of the classes members, so rather than do this:

Myclass c = new Class();

c.Value = MyEnum.1;

you could do this:

c.Value = MyClass.MyEnum.1;

To me this would wrap it better. Just my own opinion but I think it would work more neatly.

So, can this be done? Can you expose an enum out of a class?

Cheers for your interest

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@nt

Answer 10

Hi,
         Lets try to understand this with a example.

	class EnumEncaps
	{
		public EnumEncaps() { }
		public EnumExample CurrentValue
		{
			get { return EnumExample.Value1; }
		}
		public  enum EnumExample
		{
			Value1,
			Value2,
			Value3
		}

		public static void Check()
		{
			EnumEncaps e = new EnumEncaps();
			System.Diagnostics.Debug.Assert(e.CurrentValue == EnumEncaps.EnumExample.Value1, "Check Value");
		}
	}

In above code , I have kept enum within a class. look at the way I used the property. If enum is kept as private, then the property too has to be private, since enum is not exposed (Compiler will throw Inconsistent accessibility: property type error). If you are using enum only within class, then you can encapsulate enum as private.

If client of this class has to use enum type property, then we have expose enum to client at least. If you keep access within a assembly, Please use internal keyword.

Thanks & Regards
Pavan Rai

Answer 11

You are correct in the context of what I've written, but say the class  is used in a different namespace. I would like the enum to be encapsulated in the class rather than importing the enum with it. (just neater in my mind).

Unfortunately, you can't do that and still have the property have the same name as the enum; you have to have the enum declared outside the class (even if the enum is public).

Microsoft say you should put the enum into a suitable namespace along with the class(es) that use it.

Answer 12

ok :( I guess that answers my question.

many thanks for your patience on this one

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@nt