How to use typesafe enums in Java

How to use typesafe enums in Java

This article introduces you to the difference between enumerated types and typesafe enums. You will learn how to declare a typesafe enum and use it in a switch statement, and you’ll see how to customize a typesafe enum by adding data and behaviors. We’ll also take a look at java.lang.Enum<E extends Enum<E>>, which is the base class for all typesafe enums.

What you’ll learn in this Java tutorial

Why use typesafe enums and not enumerated types
How to use typesafe enums in switch statements
How to add data and behaviors to typesafe enums
Details and examples of the Enum class (Enum<E extends Enum<E>>)

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Download the source code for examples in this tutorial. Created by Jeff Friesen.
 

Why use typesafe enums, not enumerated types

An enumerated type specifies a set of related constants as its values. Examples include the days in a week, the standard north/south/east/west compass directions, a currency’s coin denominations, and a lexical analyzer’s token types.

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