I'm creating a program to generate schematics based off of user input. This has to be done dynamically/by hand due to the sheer volume of different possibilities (6.8M, growing exponentially). Right now I'm working on importing some data via CSV.
Example data:
Type,TIN_pos,TIN_ID,Desc
Elect, 0, X, Manual Regulator
Elect, 0, A, Electronic Regulator
Import code:
List<TIN_Fields> values = File.ReadAllLines("C:\\Users\\User\\Desktop\\Visual Basic\\CSV_Test_1.csv")
.Skip(1)
.Select(v => TIN_Fields.FromCsv(v))
.ToList();
public class TIN_Fields
{
public string Type;
public int TIN_pos;
public string TIN_ID;
public string Desc;
public static TIN_Fields FromCsv(string csvLine)
{
string[] values = csvLine.Split(',');
TIN_Fields _Fields = new TIN_Fields();
_Fields.Type = Convert.ToString(values[0]);
_Fields.TIN_pos = Convert.ToInt16(values[1]);
_Fields.TIN_ID = Convert.ToString(values[2]);
_Fields.Desc = Convert.ToString(values[3]);
return _Fields;
}
}
Once that data is Imported, I need to do two things with it,
display the raw csv data in a ListView table, just so users can see if anything in the list needs updating.
be able to compare the items in the list to various characters in a 10-digit hexadecimal code, and spit out some results.
First and foremost, i need to run through the list that was created with the above code, make sure that:
TIN_pos value = 0
because that is the character position of the input box.
Then, with the remaining options, look for the character represented in the input in the TIN_ID field.
Once found, it should then output the Desc field.
Everywhere I have looked says to use foreach, but that requires the array name, which is the part that is confusing me. I've tried filling in basically all of the variables in the FromCSV Method and usually get an error that the class doesn't have a definition.
to hopefully clear up confusion with my explanation, here is the code I created that does the same thing, but with the CSV data hard coded into it, using switch cases and if statements.
public partial class Form1 : Form
{
public string Model_Chassis;
public string Model_Test_Type;
public int ChannelNumberVar => Convert.ToInt32(TextBox_TIN[2]);
public string Tester_Type_Selector;
public string TextBox_TIN
{
get { return TIN_Entry_TextBox.Text; }
set { TIN_Entry_TextBox.Text = value; }
}
public string Model_Data_D
{
get { return Model_Data.Text; }
set { Model_Data.Text = value; }
}
public Form1()
{
InitializeComponent();
}
//Method grabs TIN Box data and decodes it to model information.
public void Model_Select()
{
//Picks Model Chassis
switch (char.ToUpper(TextBox_TIN[0]))
{
case 'H':
{
Model_Chassis = Coding.Model1.description;
}
break;
default:
{
Model_Data_D = "INVALID TIN";
}
break;
}
//Picks Test Type
switch (char.ToUpper(TextBox_TIN[3]))
{
case '0':
{
Model_Test_Type = Test_Types.TT_PD.TT_tt;
}
break;
case '1':
{
Model_Test_Type = Test_Types.TT_PV.TT_tt;
}
break;
default:
{
Model_Test_Type = "";
}
break;
}
//Puts chassis and Test Type together
if (Model_Data_D.Equals("INVALID TIN"))
{
;
}
else if (char.ToUpper(TextBox_TIN[2]).Equals(Coding.Num_Chan_1_2.tin_id))
{
Model_Data_D = $"{Model_Chassis}-{Model_Test_Type}";
}
else
{
Model_Data_D = $"{Model_Chassis}-{TextBox_TIN[2]}{Model_Test_Type}";
}
}
public class Coding
{
public char tin_id;
public string description;
public Coding(char TIN_ID, string Desc)
{
tin_id = TIN_ID;
description = Desc;
}
public static Coding Model1 = new Coding('H', "Model1");
public static Coding Num_Chan_1_2 = new Coding('X', "Single Channel");
public static Coding Elect_Reg_F_1 = new Coding('X', "Manual Regulator");
}
}
INPUT:
HXX0X
OUTPUT
Model1-PD
Thanks in advance for the help!
You're asking quite a few questions, and providing a lot of extra details in here, but for this:
"First and foremost, i need to run through the list that was created with the above code, make sure that:
TIN_pos value = 0
because that is the character position of the input box."
(seeing as you say you need to do this 'first and foremost').
In your FromCsv method, check the value as you create the record, and throw an error if it is invalid. Like this:
public static TIN_Fields FromCsv(string csvLine)
{
string[] values = csvLine.Split(',');
TIN_Fields _Fields = new TIN_Fields();
_Fields.Type = Convert.ToString(values[0]);
_Fields.TIN_pos = Convert.ToInt16(values[1]);
if(_Fields.TIN_pos != 0){
throw new Exception("TIN_pos must be 0");
}
_Fields.TIN_ID = Convert.ToString(values[2]);
_Fields.Desc = Convert.ToString(values[3]);
return _Fields;
}
Assuming you've read in your CSV correctly, which it seems you have, then selecting the appropriate TIN from the list is a simple LINQ statement. The following code assumes that TIN IDs are unique and only a single character in length.
static void Main(string[] args)
{
string testCsv = #"C:\Users\User\Desktop\Visual Basic\CSV_Test_1.csv";
List<TIN_Fields> values = File.ReadAllLines(testCsv)
.Skip(1)
.Select(v => TIN_Fields.FromCsv(v))
.ToList();
// Simulates input received from form
string input = "HXX0X";
TIN_Fields selectedTIN = values.First(x => x.TIN_ID == Convert.ToString(input[0]));
// Insert the description as needed in your ouput.
string output = $"{ selectedTIN.Desc }-";
}
Hopefully that answers another part of the problem. The Convert.ToString() is required because the output of input[0] is a char.
I am building a model with Entity Framework and purchased responsive CSS.
The built in fixed icons comes with CSS. Like as follows (Name and Icon Class Value)
I need a way to keep the names of icons as fixed enums to access it from the VS intellisense. Currently we can't store as a entity table in entity framework (as it require relationship with tables difficult to maintain) and enum doesn't allows string type.
Code that did not work:
public sealed class IconType
{
public static readonly IconType Rupee_Icon = new IconType("rupee-icons");
public static readonly IconType Doller_Icon = new IconType("doller-icon");
private IconType(int EnumID,string EnumObjectValue)
{
IconValue = EnumObjectValue;
}
public string IconValue { get; private set; }
}
More code that did not work (CSS class names contains whitespaces like ui bell icon):
public enum Icon
{
NotSet=0,
Idea Icon=1,
Bell Icon =2
}
Is there any other ways to use names / objects as enums or constants in EF for easy intellisense in Visual Studio?
You could:
Omit the white spaces in the enums:
public enum Icon
{
NotSet = 0,
IdeaIcon = 1,
BellIcon = 2
}
Add a description or name (Or even some custom attribute) attributes to the enums:
public enum Icon
{
NotSet = 0,
[Description("ui idea icon")]
IdeaIcon = 1,
[Description("ui bell icon")]
BellIcon = 2
}
When needed get the description name. Example method to get the description attribute value:
public static string GetDescription<T>(this T enumerationValue)
where T : struct, IConvertible
{
var type = enumerationValue.GetType();
if (!type.IsEnum)
{
throw new ArgumentException("EnumerationValue must be of Enum type", "enumerationValue");
}
// Tries to find a DescriptionAttribute for a potential friendly name for the enum
var memberInfo = type.GetMember(enumerationValue.ToString(CultureInfo.InvariantCulture));
if (memberInfo.Length > 0)
{
var attributes = memberInfo[0].GetCustomAttributes(typeof(DescriptionAttribute), false);
if (attributes.Length > 0)
{
// Pull out the description value
return ((DescriptionAttribute)attributes[0]).Description;
}
}
// If we have no description attribute, just return the ToString of the enum
return enumerationValue.ToString(CultureInfo.InvariantCulture);
}
Did you consider using string constants?
public static class IconType
{
public const string RUPEE_ICON = "rupee-icon";
public const string DOLLER_ICON = "doller-icon";
// ...
}
Store the icon's as plain old objects. Why make use of entity framework at all?
public static class Icons
{
public enum Type
{
IdeaIcon = 1,
BellIcon =2
}
public static Icon Get(Type type)
{
return IconCollection.Single(icon => icon.Type == type);
}
static IEnumerable<Icon> IconCollection
{
get
{
return new List<Icon>
{
new Icon(Type.IdeaIcon, "Idea Icon", "icon idea-icon"),
new Icon(Type.BellIcon, "Bell Icon", "icon bell-icon"),
};
}
}
public class Icon
{
public Icon(Type type, string description, string cssClass)
{
Type = type;
Description = description;
CssClass = cssClass;
}
public Type Type { get; private set; }
public string Description { get; private set; }
public string CssClass { get; private set; }
}
}
Use in code:
public class Class1
{
public void Method1()
{
var ideaIcon = Icons.Get(Icons.Type.IdeaIcon);
var x = ideaIcon.CssClass;
var y = ideaIcon.Description;
var bellIcon = Icons.Get(Icons.Type.BellIcon);
// etc...
}
}
Razor view:
#Icons.Get(Icons.Type.BellIcon).CssClass
If you needed to enumerate over the icon collection you could easily add another static accessor to the Icons class.
I am dealing with values delimited by commas sent to me as a string. The strings come in many different structures (meaning different data types in different locations of the string as well as varying amounts of data). So while one string might be represented as:
- common data,identifier,int,string,string,string.
Another might be represented as:
- common data,identifier,int,int,string,string,string.
Design goals:
Common parse method
Common validation (i.e. int.TryParse() returns true)
Readily able to add different structures
Is there a good design pattern, or combination of design patterns, that allows me to parse the values, check them, and return an object only if the right amount of values were pulled in and those values were the expected data types?
Note: I am dealing with more than 30 different string structures.
If all the lines start with common data, identifier, and then are followed by a variable but expected (i.e. known based on the identifier) set of values, then a table approach could work well. To continue your example, say you have two different types:
common data,identifier,int,string,string,string.
common data,identifier,int,int,string,string,string.
You can build a class that defines what you're looking for:
class ItemDesc
{
public string Ident { get; private set; }
public string Fields { get; private set; }
public ItemDesc(string id, string flds)
{
Ident = id;
Fields = flds;
}
}
The Fields property is just a string that contains one-character type descriptions for the variable data. That is, "isss" would be interpreted as int,string,string,string.
You can then build a Dictionary<string, ItemDesc> that you can use to look these up:
Dictionary<string, ItemDesc> ItemLookup = new Dictionary<string, ItemDesc>
{
{ "ItemType1", new ItemDesc("ItemType1", "isss") },
{ "ItemType2", new ItemDesc("ItemType2", "iisss") },
};
Now when you read a line, use string.Split() to split it into fields. Get the identifier, look it up the dictionary to get the item descriptions, and then parse the rest of the fields. Something like:
string line = GetLine();
var fields = line.Split(',');
// somehow get the identifier
string id = GetIdentifier();
ItemDesc desc;
if (!ItemLookup.TryGetValue(id, out desc))
{
// unrecognized identifier
}
else
{
int fieldNo = 3; // or whatever field is after the identifier
foreach (var c in desc.Fields)
{
switch (c)
{
case 'i' :
// try to parse an int and save it.
break;
case 's' :
// save the string
break;
default:
// error, unknown field type
break;
}
++fieldNo;
}
}
// at this point if no errors occurred, then you have a collection
// of parsed fields that you saved. You can now create your object.
would need little more details, based on your problem domain it could entirely change. but following seem to be the first set of patterns, they are ordered on suitability.
Interpreter
Strategy
Builder
Just split them using string.Split(), and then int.Parse() or int.TryParse() each int value in the resulting array as needed.
var myStrings = string.Split(sourceString);
int myint1 = int.Parse(myStrings[0]);
There are several ways of dealing with this. Here's a simple one (outputting just an object array):
class Template
{
// map identifiers to templates
static Dictionary<string, string> templates = new Dictionary<string, string>
{
{ "type1", "isss" },
{ "type2", "iisss" },
};
static bool ParseItem(string input, char type, out object output)
{
output = null;
switch (type)
{
case 'i':
int i;
bool valid = int.TryParse(input, out i);
output = i;
return valid;
case 's':
output = input;
return true;
}
return false;
}
public static object[] ParseString(string input)
{
string[] items = input.Split(',');
// make sure we have enough items
if (items.Length < 2)
return null;
object[] output = new object[items.Length - 2];
string identifier = items[1];
string template;
// make sure a valid identifier was specified
if (!templates.TryGetValue(identifier, out template))
return null;
// make sure we have the right amount of data
if (template.Length != output.Length)
return null;
// parse each item
for (int i = 0; i < template.Length; i++)
if (!ParseItem(items[i + 2], template[i], out output[i]))
return null;
return output;
}
}
If you're interested in returning actual objects instead of just object arrays, you can put metadata into the class definitions of the objects you're returning. Then when you get the object type you look for the metadata to figure out where to find its value in the input array. Here's a quick example:
namespace Parser
{
// create metadata attribute
class CsvPositionAttribute : Attribute
{
public int Position { get; set; }
public CsvPositionAttribute(int position)
{
Position = position;
}
}
// define some classes that use our metadata
public class type1
{
[CsvPosition(0)]
public int int1;
[CsvPosition(1)]
public string str1;
[CsvPosition(2)]
public string str2;
[CsvPosition(3)]
public string str3;
}
public class type2
{
[CsvPosition(0)]
public int int1;
[CsvPosition(1)]
public int int2;
[CsvPosition(2)]
public string str1;
[CsvPosition(3)]
public string str2;
[CsvPosition(4)]
public string str3;
}
public class CsvParser
{
public static object ParseString(string input)
{
string[] items = input.Split(',');
// make sure we have enough items
if (items.Length < 2)
return null;
string identifier = items[1];
// assume that our identifiers refer to a type in our namespace
Type type = Type.GetType("Parser." + identifier, false);
if (type == null)
return null;
object output = Activator.CreateInstance(type);
// iterate over fields in the type -- you may want to use properties
foreach (var field in type.GetFields())
// find the members that have our position attribute
foreach (CsvPositionAttribute attr in
field.GetCustomAttributes(typeof(CsvPositionAttribute),
false))
// if the item exists, convert it to the type of the field
if (attr.Position + 2 >= items.Length)
return null;
else
// ChangeType may throw exceptions on failure;
// catch them and return an error
try { field.SetValue(output,
Convert.ChangeType(items[attr.Position + 2],
field.FieldType));
} catch { return null; }
return output;
}
}
}
My enum consists of the following values:
private enum PublishStatusses{
NotCompleted,
Completed,
Error
};
I want to be able to output these values in a user friendly way though.
I don't need to be able to go from string to value again.
I use the Description attribute from the System.ComponentModel namespace. Simply decorate the enum:
private enum PublishStatusValue
{
[Description("Not Completed")]
NotCompleted,
Completed,
Error
};
Then use this code to retrieve it:
public static string GetDescription<T>(this T enumerationValue)
where T : struct
{
Type type = enumerationValue.GetType();
if (!type.IsEnum)
{
throw new ArgumentException("EnumerationValue must be of Enum type", "enumerationValue");
}
//Tries to find a DescriptionAttribute for a potential friendly name
//for the enum
MemberInfo[] memberInfo = type.GetMember(enumerationValue.ToString());
if (memberInfo != null && memberInfo.Length > 0)
{
object[] attrs = memberInfo[0].GetCustomAttributes(typeof(DescriptionAttribute), false);
if (attrs != null && attrs.Length > 0)
{
//Pull out the description value
return ((DescriptionAttribute)attrs[0]).Description;
}
}
//If we have no description attribute, just return the ToString of the enum
return enumerationValue.ToString();
}
I do this with extension methods:
public enum ErrorLevel
{
None,
Low,
High,
SoylentGreen
}
public static class ErrorLevelExtensions
{
public static string ToFriendlyString(this ErrorLevel me)
{
switch(me)
{
case ErrorLevel.None:
return "Everything is OK";
case ErrorLevel.Low:
return "SNAFU, if you know what I mean.";
case ErrorLevel.High:
return "Reaching TARFU levels";
case ErrorLevel.SoylentGreen:
return "ITS PEOPLE!!!!";
default:
return "Get your damn dirty hands off me you FILTHY APE!";
}
}
}
Maybe I'm missing something, but what's wrong with Enum.GetName?
public string GetName(PublishStatusses value)
{
return Enum.GetName(typeof(PublishStatusses), value)
}
edit: for user-friendly strings, you need to go through a .resource to get internationalisation/localisation done, and it would arguably be better to use a fixed key based on the enum key than a decorator attribute on the same.
I created a reverse extension method to convert the description back into an enum value:
public static T ToEnumValue<T>(this string enumerationDescription) where T : struct
{
var type = typeof(T);
if (!type.IsEnum)
throw new ArgumentException("ToEnumValue<T>(): Must be of enum type", "T");
foreach (object val in System.Enum.GetValues(type))
if (val.GetDescription<T>() == enumerationDescription)
return (T)val;
throw new ArgumentException("ToEnumValue<T>(): Invalid description for enum " + type.Name, "enumerationDescription");
}
The easiest solution here is to use a custom extension method (in .NET 3.5 at least - you can just convert it into a static helper method for earlier framework versions).
public static string ToCustomString(this PublishStatusses value)
{
switch(value)
{
// Return string depending on value.
}
return null;
}
I am assuming here that you want to return something other than the actual name of the enum value (which you can get by simply calling ToString).
That other post is Java. You can't put methods in Enums in C#.
just do something like this:
PublishStatusses status = ...
String s = status.ToString();
If you want to use different display values for your enum values, you could use Attributes and Reflection.
Some other more primitive options that avoid classes/reference types:
Array method
Nested struct method
Array method
private struct PublishStatusses
{
public static string[] Desc = {
"Not Completed",
"Completed",
"Error"
};
public enum Id
{
NotCompleted = 0,
Completed,
Error
};
}
Usage
string desc = PublishStatusses.Desc[(int)PublishStatusses.Id.Completed];
Nested struct method
private struct PublishStatusses
{
public struct NotCompleted
{
public const int Id = 0;
public const string Desc = "Not Completed";
}
public struct Completed
{
public const int Id = 1;
public const string Desc = "Completed";
}
public struct Error
{
public const int Id = 2;
public const string Desc = "Error";
}
}
Usage
int id = PublishStatusses.NotCompleted.Id;
string desc = PublishStatusses.NotCompleted.Desc;
Update (03/09/2018)
A hybrid of Extension Methods and the first technique above.
I prefer enums to be defined where they "belong" (closest to their source of origin and not in some common, global namespace).
namespace ViewModels
{
public class RecordVM
{
//public enum Enum { Minutes, Hours }
public struct Enum
{
public enum Id { Minutes, Hours }
public static string[] Name = { "Minute(s)", "Hour(s)" };
}
}
}
The extension method seems suited for a common area, and the "localized" definition of the enum now makes the extension method more verbose.
namespace Common
{
public static class EnumExtensions
{
public static string Name(this RecordVM.Enum.Id id)
{
return RecordVM.Enum.Name[(int)id];
}
}
}
A usage example of the enum and it's extension method.
namespace Views
{
public class RecordView
{
private RecordDataFieldList<string, string> _fieldUnit;
public RecordView()
{
_fieldUnit.List = new IdValueList<string, string>
{
new ListItem<string>((int)RecordVM.Enum.Id.Minutes, RecordVM.Enum.Id.Minutes.Name()),
new ListItem<string>((int)RecordVM.Enum.Id.Hours, RecordVM.Enum.Id.Hours.Name())
};
}
private void Update()
{
RecordVM.Enum.Id eId = DetermineUnit();
_fieldUnit.Input.Text = _fieldUnit.List.SetSelected((int)eId).Value;
}
}
}
Note: I actually decided to eliminate the Enum wrapper (and Name array), since it's best that the name strings come from a resource (ie config file or DB) instead of being hard-coded, and because I ended up putting the extension method in the ViewModels namespace (just in a different, "CommonVM.cs" file). Plus the whole .Id thing becomes distracting and cumbersome.
namespace ViewModels
{
public class RecordVM
{
public enum Enum { Minutes, Hours }
//public struct Enum
//{
// public enum Id { Minutes, Hours }
// public static string[] Name = { "Minute(s)", "Hour(s)" };
//}
}
}
CommonVM.cs
//namespace Common
namespace ViewModels
{
public static class EnumExtensions
{
public static string Name(this RecordVM.Enum id)
{
//return RecordVM.Enum.Name[(int)id];
switch (id)
{
case RecordVM.Enum.Minutes: return "Minute(s)";
case RecordVM.Enum.Hours: return "Hour(s)";
default: return null;
}
}
}
}
A usage example of the enum and it's extension method.
namespace Views
{
public class RecordView
{
private RecordDataFieldList<string, string> _fieldUnit
public RecordView()
{
_fieldUnit.List = new IdValueList<string, string>
{
new ListItem<string>((int)RecordVM.Enum.Id.Minutes, RecordVM.Enum.Id.Minutes.Name()),
new ListItem<string>((int)RecordVM.Enum.Id.Hours, RecordVM.Enum.Id.Hours.Name())
};
}
private void Update()
{
RecordVM.Enum eId = DetermineUnit();
_fieldUnit.Input.Text = _fieldUnit.List.SetSelected((int)eId).Value;
}
}
}
The simplest way is just to include this extension class into your project, it will work with any enum in the project:
public static class EnumExtensions
{
public static string ToFriendlyString(this Enum code)
{
return Enum.GetName(code.GetType(), code);
}
}
Usage:
enum ExampleEnum
{
Demo = 0,
Test = 1,
Live = 2
}
...
ExampleEnum ee = ExampleEnum.Live;
Console.WriteLine(ee.ToFriendlyString());
You can use Humanizer package with Humanize Enums possiblity. An eaxample:
enum PublishStatusses
{
[Description("Custom description")]
NotCompleted,
AlmostCompleted,
Error
};
then you can use Humanize extension method on enum directly:
var st1 = PublishStatusses.NotCompleted;
var str1 = st1.Humanize(); // will result in Custom description
var st2 = PublishStatusses.AlmostCompleted;
var str2 = st2.Humanize(); // will result in Almost completed (calculated automaticaly)
public enum MyEnum
{
[Description("Option One")]
Option_One
}
public static string ToDescriptionString(this Enum This)
{
Type type = This.GetType();
string name = Enum.GetName(type, This);
MemberInfo member = type.GetMembers()
.Where(w => w.Name == name)
.FirstOrDefault();
DescriptionAttribute attribute = member != null
? member.GetCustomAttributes(true)
.Where(w => w.GetType() == typeof(DescriptionAttribute))
.FirstOrDefault() as DescriptionAttribute
: null;
return attribute != null ? attribute.Description : name;
}
With respect to Ray Booysen, there is a bug in the code: Enum ToString with user friendly strings
You need to account for multiple attributes on the enum values.
public static string GetDescription<T>(this object enumerationValue)
where T : struct
{
Type type = enumerationValue.GetType();
if (!type.IsEnum)
{
throw new ArgumentException("EnumerationValue must be of Enum type", "enumerationValue");
}
//Tries to find a DescriptionAttribute for a potential friendly name
//for the enum
MemberInfo[] memberInfo = type.GetMember(enumerationValue.ToString());
if (memberInfo != null && memberInfo.Length > 0)
{
object[] attrs = memberInfo[0].GetCustomAttributes(typeof(DescriptionAttribute), false);
if (attrs != null && attrs.Length > 0 && attrs.Where(t => t.GetType() == typeof(DescriptionAttribute)).FirstOrDefault() != null)
{
//Pull out the description value
return ((DescriptionAttribute)attrs.Where(t=>t.GetType() == typeof(DescriptionAttribute)).FirstOrDefault()).Description;
}
}
//If we have no description attribute, just return the ToString of the enum
return enumerationValue.ToString();
Instead of using an enum use a static class.
replace
private enum PublishStatuses{
NotCompleted,
Completed,
Error
};
with
private static class PublishStatuses{
public static readonly string NotCompleted = "Not Completed";
public static readonly string Completed = "Completed";
public static readonly string Error = "Error";
};
it will be used like this
PublishStatuses.NotCompleted; // "Not Completed"
Issue using the top "extension method" solutions:
A private enum is often used inside another class. The extension method solution is not valid there since it must be in it's own class. This solution can be private and embedded in another class.
Clean summary of the above suggestions with sample:
namespace EnumExtensions {
using System;
using System.Reflection;
public class TextAttribute : Attribute {
public string Text;
public TextAttribute( string text ) {
Text = text;
}//ctor
}// class TextAttribute
public static class EnumExtender {
public static string ToText( this Enum enumeration ) {
MemberInfo[] memberInfo = enumeration.GetType().GetMember( enumeration.ToString() );
if ( memberInfo != null && memberInfo.Length > 0 ) {
object[] attributes = memberInfo[ 0 ].GetCustomAttributes( typeof(TextAttribute), false );
if ( attributes != null && attributes.Length > 0 ) {
return ( (TextAttribute)attributes[ 0 ] ).Text;
}
}//if
return enumeration.ToString();
}//ToText
}//class EnumExtender
}//namespace
USAGE:
using System;
using EnumExtensions;
class Program {
public enum Appearance {
[Text( "left-handed" ) ]
Left,
[Text( "right-handed" ) ]
Right,
}//enum
static void Main( string[] args ) {
var appearance = Appearance.Left;
Console.WriteLine( appearance.ToText() );
}//Main
}//class
Use Enum.GetName
From the above link...
using System;
public class GetNameTest {
enum Colors { Red, Green, Blue, Yellow };
enum Styles { Plaid, Striped, Tartan, Corduroy };
public static void Main() {
Console.WriteLine("The 4th value of the Colors Enum is {0}", Enum.GetName(typeof(Colors), 3));
Console.WriteLine("The 4th value of the Styles Enum is {0}", Enum.GetName(typeof(Styles), 3));
}
}
// The example displays the following output:
// The 4th value of the Colors Enum is Yellow
// The 4th value of the Styles Enum is Corduroy
According to this documentation: https://learn.microsoft.com/pt-br/dotnet/api/system.enum.tostring?view=netframework-4.8
It is possible to just convert a enumerator to string using a format like this:
public enum Example
{
Example1,
Example2
}
Console.WriteLine(Example.Example1.ToString("g"));
//Outputs: "Example1"
You can see all the possible formats in this link: https://learn.microsoft.com/pt-br/dotnet/api/system.string?view=netframework-4.8
I happen to be a VB.NET fan, so here's my version, combining the DescriptionAttribute method with an extension method. First, the results:
Imports System.ComponentModel ' For <Description>
Module Module1
''' <summary>
''' An Enum type with three values and descriptions
''' </summary>
Public Enum EnumType
<Description("One")>
V1 = 1
' This one has no description
V2 = 2
<Description("Three")>
V3 = 3
End Enum
Sub Main()
' Description method is an extension in EnumExtensions
For Each v As EnumType In [Enum].GetValues(GetType(EnumType))
Console.WriteLine("Enum {0} has value {1} and description {2}",
v,
CInt(v),
v.Description
)
Next
' Output:
' Enum V1 has value 1 and description One
' Enum V2 has value 2 and description V2
' Enum V3 has value 3 and description Three
End Sub
End Module
Basic stuff: an enum called EnumType with three values V1, V2 and V3. The "magic" happens in the Console.WriteLine call in Sub Main(), where the last argument is simply v.Description. This returns "One" for V1, "V2" for V2, and "Three" for V3. This Description-method is in fact an extension method, defined in another module called EnumExtensions:
Option Strict On
Option Explicit On
Option Infer Off
Imports System.Runtime.CompilerServices
Imports System.Reflection
Imports System.ComponentModel
Module EnumExtensions
Private _Descriptions As New Dictionary(Of String, String)
''' <summary>
''' This extension method adds a Description method
''' to all enum members. The result of the method is the
''' value of the Description attribute if present, else
''' the normal ToString() representation of the enum value.
''' </summary>
<Extension>
Public Function Description(e As [Enum]) As String
' Get the type of the enum
Dim enumType As Type = e.GetType()
' Get the name of the enum value
Dim name As String = e.ToString()
' Construct a full name for this enum value
Dim fullName As String = enumType.FullName + "." + name
' See if we have looked it up earlier
Dim enumDescription As String = Nothing
If _Descriptions.TryGetValue(fullName, enumDescription) Then
' Yes we have - return previous value
Return enumDescription
End If
' Find the value of the Description attribute on this enum value
Dim members As MemberInfo() = enumType.GetMember(name)
If members IsNot Nothing AndAlso members.Length > 0 Then
Dim descriptions() As Object = members(0).GetCustomAttributes(GetType(DescriptionAttribute), False)
If descriptions IsNot Nothing AndAlso descriptions.Length > 0 Then
' Set name to description found
name = DirectCast(descriptions(0), DescriptionAttribute).Description
End If
End If
' Save the name in the dictionary:
_Descriptions.Add(fullName, name)
' Return the name
Return name
End Function
End Module
Because looking up description attributes using Reflection is slow, the lookups are also cached in a private Dictionary, that is populated on demand.
(Sorry for the VB.NET solution - it should be relatively straighforward to translate it to C#, and my C# is rusty on new subjects like extensions)
Even cleaner summary:
using System;
using System.Reflection;
public class TextAttribute : Attribute
{
public string Text;
public TextAttribute(string text)
{
Text = text;
}
}
public static class EnumExtender
{
public static string ToText(this Enum enumeration)
{
var memberInfo = enumeration.GetType().GetMember(enumeration.ToString());
if (memberInfo.Length <= 0) return enumeration.ToString();
var attributes = memberInfo[0].GetCustomAttributes(typeof(TextAttribute), false);
return attributes.Length > 0 ? ((TextAttribute)attributes[0]).Text : enumeration.ToString();
}
}
Same usage as underscore describes.
In case you just want to add a whitespace between the words, it is as simple as
string res = Regex.Replace(PublishStatusses.NotCompleted, "[A-Z]", " $0").Trim();
This is an update to Ray Booysen's code that uses the generic GetCustomAttributes method and LINQ to make things a bit tidier.
/// <summary>
/// Gets the value of the <see cref="T:System.ComponentModel.DescriptionAttribute"/> on an struct, including enums.
/// </summary>
/// <typeparam name="T">The type of the struct.</typeparam>
/// <param name="enumerationValue">A value of type <see cref="T:System.Enum"/></param>
/// <returns>If the struct has a Description attribute, this method returns the description. Otherwise it just calls ToString() on the struct.</returns>
/// <remarks>Based on http://stackoverflow.com/questions/479410/enum-tostring/479417#479417, but useful for any struct.</remarks>
public static string GetDescription<T>(this T enumerationValue) where T : struct
{
return enumerationValue.GetType().GetMember(enumerationValue.ToString())
.SelectMany(mi => mi.GetCustomAttributes<DescriptionAttribute>(false),
(mi, ca) => ca.Description)
.FirstOrDefault() ?? enumerationValue.ToString();
}
I'm 7 years late for the party :-) But I'm sure this topic is visited frequently. So I wanted to add a little sugar to the coffee:
What about the "F" format string specifier?
PublishStatusses[] ps = Enum.GetValues<PublishStatusses>();
ps.ToList().ForEach(c => Console.Write($"{c:F} "));
There is no need for any explicit function call.
In fact there isn't even need for any format specifier.
In case of a variable assignment to a string, ToString() does the work:
string foo = PublishStatusses.Error.ToString(); // or ToString("F")
And if it is about to insert spaces between words of a CamelCase string, you can just use a regular expression:
Regex.Replace(foo, "(\\B[A-Z])", " $1")
For flags enum including.
public static string Description(this Enum value)
{
Type type = value.GetType();
List<string> res = new List<string>();
var arrValue = value.ToString().Split(',').Select(v=>v.Trim());
foreach (string strValue in arrValue)
{
MemberInfo[] memberInfo = type.GetMember(strValue);
if (memberInfo != null && memberInfo.Length > 0)
{
object[] attrs = memberInfo[0].GetCustomAttributes(typeof(DescriptionAttribute), false);
if (attrs != null && attrs.Length > 0 && attrs.Where(t => t.GetType() == typeof(DescriptionAttribute)).FirstOrDefault() != null)
{
res.Add(((DescriptionAttribute)attrs.Where(t => t.GetType() == typeof(DescriptionAttribute)).FirstOrDefault()).Description);
}
else
res.Add(strValue);
}
else
res.Add(strValue);
}
return res.Aggregate((s,v)=>s+", "+v);
}
Just use a static class that simulate an enum:
public static class PublishStatusses{
public const string NotCompleted = "Not Completed";
public const string Completed = "Completed";
public const string Error = "Error"
};
And to access the values, just use like an enum:
PublishStatusses.NotCompleted;
I use a generic class to store the enum/description pairs and a nested helper class to get the description.
The enum:
enum Status { Success, Fail, Pending }
The generic class:
Note: Since a generic class cannot be constrained by an enum I am constraining by struct instead and checking for enum in the constructor.
public class EnumX<T> where T : struct
{
public T Code { get; set; }
public string Description { get; set; }
public EnumX(T code, string desc)
{
if (!typeof(T).IsEnum) throw new NotImplementedException();
Code = code;
Description = desc;
}
public class Helper
{
private List<EnumX<T>> codes;
public Helper(List<EnumX<T>> codes)
{
this.codes = codes;
}
public string GetDescription(T code)
{
EnumX<T> e = codes.Where(c => c.Code.Equals(code)).FirstOrDefault();
return e is null ? "Undefined" : e.Description;
}
}
}
Usage:
EnumX<Status>.Helper StatusCodes = new EnumX<Status>.Helper(new List<EnumX<Status>>()
{
new EnumX<Status>(Status.Success,"Operation was successful"),
new EnumX<Status>(Status.Fail,"Operation failed"),
new EnumX<Status>(Status.Pending,"Operation not complete. Please wait...")
});
Console.WriteLine(StatusCodes.GetDescription(Status.Pending));
I think the best (and easiest) way to solve your problem is to write an Extension-Method for your enum:
public static string GetUserFriendlyString(this PublishStatusses status)
{
}
If you want something completely customizable, try out my solution here:
http://www.kevinwilliampang.com/post/Mapping-Enums-To-Strings-and-Strings-to-Enums-in-NET.aspx
Basically, the post outlines how to attach Description attributes to each of your enums and provides a generic way to map from enum to description.