How can I enumerate everything in an enum?

Question

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How do I enumerate an enum?

Suppose there is an enum

public enum Numbers {one, two, three };

What do I have to write instead of the three dots in the following code in order to get output "one", "two", "three":

foreach (Numbers n in ...) {
   Console.WriteLine (n.ToString ());
}

Of course, I would like to do it in a way such that modifying the enum definition does not require modification of the code within the foreach ( ).

[How to enumerate an enum](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/105372/how-to-enumerate-an-enum) — Zbigniew, Jul 21 '12 at 09:19

score 5 · Accepted Answer · answered Jul 21 '12 at 09:19

5

You could use:

foreach (Numbers n in Enum.GetValues(typeof(Numbers))) 
{
    Console.WriteLine(n.ToString());
}

answered Jul 21 '12 at 09:19

Darin Dimitrov

I must convert the Enum.GetValues result to (Numbers []) before the in, then it works. Not very pretty code, but definitely a solution to my problem. – JohnB Jul 21 '12 at 09:23
2

@JohnB do you need to? It worked out-of-the-box with C# 4.0 in my own programs – Alvin Wong Jul 21 '12 at 09:24
Sorry, no, of course you are right. If I write var n ..., then I must convert. – JohnB Jul 21 '12 at 09:26
1

@JohnB feel free to write your own static method wrapper to keep your code clean and handle the casting: `public static IEnumerable GetAll() { foreach(T value in Enum.GetValues(typeof(T))) yield return value; }` – Chris Sinclair Jul 21 '12 at 10:54

score 3 · Answer 2 · answered Jul 21 '12 at 09:20

3

If you only need to get the names you can use this:

foreach (string name in Enum.GetNames(typeof(Numbers)))
{
    Console.WriteLine(name);
}

Of course if you want to actually use the Enum values, others have pointed out already.

answered Jul 21 '12 at 09:20

Alvin Wong

score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Jul 21 '12 at 09:20

0

use this: Enum.GetValues(type)

answered Jul 21 '12 at 09:20

burning_LEGION

score 0 · Answer 4 · answered Jul 21 '12 at 09:25

0

Consider the following:

        foreach (var n in Enum.GetValues(typeof(Numbers)))
        {
            Console.WriteLine(n.ToString());
        }

answered Jul 21 '12 at 09:25

Mare Infinitus

4 Answers4