How to Use Enums in CSharp - Understanding the Basics

An enum (short for Enumeration) is a group of named constants in C# that represent fixed values. Enums can be used to create a set of named constants that can be referenced easily, making code more organized and readable. Enum values are integer-based, and every individual enum value has its unique integer equivalent. Learning how to use Enums in CSharp can be very helpful as they help developers write clean, maintainable code.

Understanding Enums is useful for software engineers because they provide a convenient mechanism to represent data, and doing so appropriately can lead to better and more efficient systems. By learning about enums, software engineers can ensure that their code is clean, organized, and easy to understand. Understanding how to use enums in CSharp also helps avoid their misuse!

Let's dive into how to use enums in CSharp!

Core Concepts of Enums

In C#, enums or enumerations represent a set of named constants or values, similar to a regular variable, but with a predefined range of possible values. Enums are used to assign symbolic names to a set of constant values that will remain fixed throughout the program. This may allow for cleaner, more maintainable code and reduce the chance of coding errors. If we use them properly!

And to help you out, alongside this article, I put together this video on the basics for how to use enums in CSharp:

Declaration and Initialization of Enums

To declare an enum, begin with the enum keyword, followed by the name of the enum, and then a set of constant values enclosed in curly brackets. A comma separates each value, and a semicolon is used to terminate the list. Below is an example of an enum for days of the week:

enum DayOfWeek
{
    Monday,
    Tuesday,
    Wednesday,
    Thursday,
    Friday,
    Saturday,
    Sunday
};

To initialize and assign a value to an enum variable, reference the name of the enum value. For example, to initialize an enum variable for Monday, we would use:

DayOfWeek currentDay = DayOfWeek.Monday;