Why do I access enumeration types without creating objects of the enum initialization class?

Question

I created the enumeration class and initialization class, but when I went to implement these changes I tried adding objects of type enumType to an array list of objects.

public enum inputType {
    POLNBR, NAME, CLMNBR, PHN;
}

public class enumType {
    inputType type;

    public enumType(inputType type){

        this.type = type;
    }
}

What I don't understand is why I can only get it to work in a static way. Meaning I was only able to add to the array list by using the enumeration class attribute instead of instantiating an object of said class.

private List<inputType> possibilities = new ArrayList<inputType>();

Then later I add to the array with:

possibilities.add(inputType.POLNBR);

I was able to add an object, but I was not able to return the object attribute, so this is the only way I was able to make it work.

Is this the correct way to use enum classes??
Is there a way to add the object and later return the object with the attributed enum value?

Sorry, I have never tried to use them, and I am trying to add them to my repertoire.

Possible duplicate of [Understanding Enums in Java](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/1419835/understanding-enums-in-java) — Cedric Martens, May 30 '17 at 17:22
Umm, enums aren't singletons unless they only have one enum constant in them. — Lew Bloch, May 30 '17 at 20:25

score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered May 30 '17 at 17:49

You were using enums correctly before trying using an ArrayList. To set the value of the enum inputType in your enumType object all you have to do is create a new instance of the enumType object by calling the constructor, here's a quick example:

enumType e = new enumType(inputType.NAME);
// You can also replace it with the value you want

For more information about enums in Java please refer to this.

Why do I access enumeration types without creating objects of the enum initialization class?

1 Answers1