Enumerations in C Sharp

This post contains information about enumerations, the enum keyword, and how it is used in the C# language.

Enumerations in C#:

By using the enum keyword, we can attach named values to integers. This is usually done for two reasons:

1. to make code more 'human-readable' -- we can replace things like item = 1; with item = apple;
2. to stop any possible errors available from 'falling off the end of a list' of values which are internal to the code

Quick Rules:

• Enumerations should be organized as follows: the enum keyword, the identifier, an opening brace, a comma separated list of values, a closing brace, a trailing semi-colon
  
• If no explicit values are given to the enum then the compiler will assign ascending integer values starting from zero
  
  
• Basic enumerations provide named values to attach to integers e.g.:
  
• Basic (integer) enumerations can be explicitly forced to take values other than the compiler defaults e.g.:
  
• Basic (integer) enumerations are treated as integers by the compiler and may be added and subtracted as such e.g.:
  
• Explicit casts can be made to and from integer types e.g.:
  
• Enumerated values can be combined with a bitwise-OR operator e.g.:
  
• Any integer type other than int can be used to specify an enum if required e.g.:
  

Example 1: Basic enum usage:

Example 2: Hand enumeration and overlap of values:

Example 3: Explicit casts are required to access the integer value of the enum:

Example 4: Use of the ToString method to access the name of an enumeration:

References:

[1] Wikipedia -- C# Syntax
[2] Wikibooks -- C# enumerations