Converting C# application to C++ enum

Question

I've used Enum.GetValues and Enum.GetName in my C# project and would like to know if there were somekind of alternative in the standard C++ library?

Off-topic: This is a terrible question title. It suggests that you want to express a complete C# application as a C++ enum... which is clearly nonsense. Please choose a more precise and meaningful title. — stakx - no longer contributing, Jul 19 '12 at 19:16

score 1 · Answer 1 · edited May 23 '17 at 11:56

1

There's no easy way to do this. There are a few SO questions on the subject (not exactly this question, though):

Is there a simple way to convert C++ enum to string?

How to easily map c++ enums to strings

edited May 23 '17 at 11:56

Community

1
1

answered Jul 19 '12 at 19:09

zmbq

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Although the question is slightly different, the top solution in "Is there a simple script to convert C++ enum to string?" is also a great solution to this question. You use GCCXML to generate an XML description from your enum at build time, then run a build-time script that reads it and generates C++ code that initializes an array of values and a std::map from values to names. – Chiara Coetzee Jul 19 '12 at 19:14

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Jul 19 '12 at 19:18

You could roll your own with a class.

Widget.h:

#include <map>
#include <string>

using namespace std;

class Widget
{
public:
    static Widget VALUE1, VALUE2, VALUE3;

    type GetValue();
    string GetName();
    bool Widget::operator==(const Widget& other) const;

private:
    // specific traits should be declared here
    int i;

    Widget(string name, int value);
    static map<Widget, string> names;
}

Widget.cpp:

Widget::VALUE1 = Widget("VALUE1", 1);
// others

Widget::Widget(string name, int value)
{
    i = value;
    Widget::names[name] = *this; // this should happen after all initialization is done
}

bool Widget::operator==(const Widget& other) const
{
    return (this->i == other.i);
}

Note: this probably isn't perfect. It's untested and very unlikely to magically work the first try.

score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Jul 19 '12 at 19:10

I would use a stl::map if you need all the functionality of getting all the possible names and the associated int values.

In general, in c++ and using enums, you have to look at the documentation to get all the possible enum values or use namespaces or let the IDE tell you which ones are available when you are programming.

Sometimes, when writing enums, I'll prefix all the named values with some information that indicates what enum they belong to.

Converting C# application to C++ enum

3 Answers3