Enumeration and Description

  • Thread starter Thread starter Joe Fallon
  • Start date Start date
J

Joe Fallon

If I have an Enumeration can I give a text description for each value?

e.g. something like
Public Enum Colors

Black "Really cool Black"

Blue "Ice Cold Labatts"

End Enum


If so, how do I get the text description for each value?
Code snippet would be great.
Thanks!
 
jfallon1 said:
If I have an Enumeration can I give a text description for each value?

e.g. something like
Public Enum Colors

Black "Really cool Black"

Blue "Ice Cold Labatts"

End Enum


If so, how do I get the text description for each value?
Code snippet would be great.
Click to expand...

This link shows how to set the description as well as how to retrieve it
programatically:

http://tinyurl.com/3yc4o
 
Joe Fallon said:
If I have an Enumeration can I give a text description for each
value?

e.g. something like
Public Enum Colors

Black "Really cool Black"

Blue "Ice Cold Labatts"

End Enum


If so, how do I get the text description for each value?
Code snippet would be great.
Click to expand...

No, not possible. You could create a class containing a short and long
description, like:

public class mycolor
public readonly Name as string
public readonly Description as string
public sub new(name as string,description as string)
me.name = name
me.description = description
end sub
end class

Optionally/in addition:

public class mycolor
public readonly Name as string
public readonly Description as string
private sub new(name as string,description as string)
me.name = name
me.description = description
end sub
public shared readonly Blue as new mycolor _
("Blue", "Ice Cold Labatts")
end class


- or an arraylist with key=name and value=description, or...


--
Armin

How to quote and why:
http://www.plig.net/nnq/nquote.html
http://www.netmeister.org/news/learn2quote.html
 
Thanks!
Here is a more general version:
Public Shared Function GetDescription(ByVal value As [Enum]) As String

Dim fi As FieldInfo = value.GetType().GetField(value.ToString())

Dim attributes As DescriptionAttribute() =
CType(fi.GetCustomAttributes(GetType(DescriptionAttribute), False),
DescriptionAttribute())

If attributes.Length > 0 Then

Return attributes(0).Description()

Else

Return value.ToString()

End If

End Function
 
Joe Fallon said:
If I have an Enumeration can I give a text description for each value?
Click to expand...

As I see things, the main point of using Enumerations is to make the
"values" within them more meaningful in their own right - self-describing,
if you like - and less like the "Magic Numbers" that we all know and
love ;-)

So, if you want to give your colours names, go for it ...

Public Enum Colours
ReallyCoolBlack = &H0
IceColdLabatts = &HFF0000
. . .

(OK, they're VB6 colour codes - I haven't got to the .Net ones yet).

HTH,
Phill W.
 
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