Using Objects Instead of Enumerations

Introduction

Enumerations are one of many useful tools at the fingertips of developers. Most of us have been using them for years. Because they are so common and easy to use, I believe we sometimes overuse them. An enumeration at its core is merely a number value. Try this in C# and you will see how easy it is to convert between enumerations and integer values. Enumerations are useful because they are named collections of values which are associated under the surface with integer values. This example shows how one could quickly and easily print out the names and number values of an enumeration.