C# Enumeration (Enum)

An enum is a set of named integer constants. The enum type is defined usingenumDeclared by keyword.

C# enums are value types. In other words, an enum contains its own values and cannot inherit or pass on inheritance.

DeclarationenumVariable

General syntax for declaring an enum:

enum <enum_name>
{ 
    enumeration list 
};

where,

  • enum_nameSpecify the type name of the enum.
  • enumeration listIs a comma-separated list of identifiers.

Each symbol in the enum list represents an integer value, one greater than the symbol before it. By default, the first enum symbol has a value of 0. For example:

enum Days { Sun, Mon, tue, Wed, thu, Fri, Sat };

Example

The following example demonstrates the usage of enum variables:

Example

using System;

public class EnumTest
{
    enum Day { Sun, Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat };

    static void Main()
    {
        int x = (int)Day.Sun;
        int y = (int)Day.Fri;
        Console.WriteLine("Sun = {0}", x);
        Console.WriteLine("Fri = {0}", y);
    }
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following results:

Sun = 0
Fri = 5
other extensions