Methods inside enum in C#

c# enums enumeration
Eya picture Eya · May 13, 2011 · Viewed 94.9k times · Source

In Java, it's possible to have methods inside an enum.

Is there such possibility in C# or is it just a string collection and that's it?

I tried to override ToString() but it does not compile. Does someone have a simple code sample?

Answer

MarkPflug picture MarkPflug · May 13, 2011

You can write extension methods for enum types:

enum Stuff
{
    Thing1,
    Thing2
}

static class StuffMethods
{

    public static String GetString(this Stuff s1)
    {
        switch (s1)
        {
            case Stuff.Thing1:
                return "Yeah!";
            case Stuff.Thing2:
                return "Okay!";
            default:
                return "What?!";
        }
    }
}

class Program
{


    static void Main(string[] args)
    {
        Stuff thing = Stuff.Thing1;
        String str = thing.GetString();
    }
}

Related questions

How to enumerate an enum

How can you enumerate an enum in C#? E.g. the following code does not compile: public enum Suit { Spades, Hearts, Clubs, Diamonds } public void EnumerateAllSuitsDemoMethod() { foreach (Suit suit in Suit) { DoSomething(suit); } } And it gives the following compile-time error: …

Read More
What is the tilde (~) in the enum definition?

I'm always surprised that even after using C# for all this time now, I still manage to find things I didn't know about... I've tried searching the internet for this, but using the "~" in a search isn't working for me …

Read More
Get int value from enum in C#

I have a class called Questions (plural). In this class there is an enum called Question (singular) which looks like this. public enum Question { Role = 2, ProjectFunding = 3, TotalEmployee = 4, NumberOfServers = 5, TopBusinessConcern = 6 } In the Questions class I have a get(int foo) function …

Read More