_{(The approach of the better_enums library)}

There is a way to do enum to string in current C++ that looks like this:

ENUM(Channel, char, Red = 1, Green, Blue) // "Same as": // enum class Channel : char { Red = 1, Green, Blue }; 

Usage:

Channel c = Channel::_from_string("Green"); // Channel::Green (2) c._to_string(); // string "Green" for (Channel c : Channel::_values()) std::cout << c << std::endl; // And so on... 

All operations can be made constexpr. You can also implement the C++17 reflection proposal mentioned in the answer by @ecatmur.

• There is only one macro. I believe this is the minimum possible, because preprocessor stringization (#) is the only way to convert a token to a string in current C++.
• The macro is pretty unobtrusive – the constant declarations, including initializers, are pasted into a built-in enum declaration. This means they have the same syntax and meaning as in a built-in enum.
• Repetition is eliminated.
• The implementation is most natural and useful in at least C++11, due to constexpr. It can also be made to work with C++98 + __VA_ARGS__. It is definitely modern C++.

The macro's definition is somewhat involved, so I'm answering this in several ways.

• The bulk of this answer is an implementation that I think is suitable for the space constraints on StackOverflow.
• There is also a CodeProject article describing the basics of the implementation in a long-form tutorial. [Should I move it here? I think it's too much for a SO answer].
• There is a full-featured library "Better Enums" that implements the macro in a single header file. It also implements N4428 Type Property Queries, the current revision of the C++17 reflection proposal N4113. So, at least for enums declared through this macro, you can have the proposed C++17 enum reflection now, in C++11/C++14.

It is straightforward to extend this answer to the features of the library – nothing "important" is left out here. It is, however, quite tedious, and there are compiler portability concerns.

Disclaimer: I am the author of both the CodeProject article and the library.

You can try the code in this answer, the library, and the implementation of N4428 live online in Wandbox. The library documentation also contains an overview of how to use it as N4428, which explains the enums portion of that proposal.

Explanation

The code below implements conversions between enums and strings. However, it can be extended to do other things as well, such as iteration. This answer wraps an enum in a struct. You can also generate a traits struct alongside an enum instead.

The strategy is to generate something like this:

struct Channel { enum _enum : char { __VA_ARGS__ }; constexpr static const Channel _values[] = { __VA_ARGS__ }; constexpr static const char * const _names[] = { #__VA_ARGS__ }; static const char* _to_string(Channel v) { /* easy */ } constexpr static Channel _from_string(const char *s) { /* easy */ } }; 

The problems are:

1. We will end up with something like {Red = 1, Green, Blue} as the initializer for the values array. This is not valid C++, because Red is not an assignable expression. This is solved by casting each constant to a type T that has an assignment operator, but will drop the assignment: {(T)Red = 1, (T)Green, (T)Blue}.
2. Similarly, we will end up with {"Red = 1", "Green", "Blue"} as the initializer for the names array. We will need to trim off the " = 1". I am not aware of a great way to do this at compile time, so we will defer this to run time. As a result, _to_string won't be constexpr, but _from_string can still be constexpr, because we can treat whitespace and equals signs as terminators when comparing with untrimmed strings.
3. Both the above need a "mapping" macro that can apply another macro to each element in __VA_ARGS__. This is pretty standard. This answer includes a simple version that can handle up to 8 elements.
4. If the macro is to be truly self-contained, it needs to declare no static data that requires a separate definition. In practice, this means arrays need special treatment. There are two possible solutions: constexpr (or just const) arrays at namespace scope, or regular arrays in non-constexpr static inline functions. The code in this answer is for C++11 and takes the former approach. The CodeProject article is for C++98 and takes the latter.

Code

#include <cstddef> // For size_t. #include <cstring> // For strcspn, strncpy. #include <stdexcept> // For runtime_error. // A "typical" mapping macro. MAP(macro, a, b, c, ...) expands to // macro(a) macro(b) macro(c) ... // The helper macro COUNT(a, b, c, ...) expands to the number of // arguments, and IDENTITY(x) is needed to control the order of // expansion of __VA_ARGS__ on Visual C++ compilers. #define MAP(macro, ...) \ IDENTITY( \ APPLY(CHOOSE_MAP_START, COUNT(__VA_ARGS__)) \ (macro, __VA_ARGS__)) #define CHOOSE_MAP_START(count) MAP ## count #define APPLY(macro, ...) IDENTITY(macro(__VA_ARGS__)) #define IDENTITY(x) x #define MAP1(m, x) m(x) #define MAP2(m, x, ...) m(x) IDENTITY(MAP1(m, __VA_ARGS__)) #define MAP3(m, x, ...) m(x) IDENTITY(MAP2(m, __VA_ARGS__)) #define MAP4(m, x, ...) m(x) IDENTITY(MAP3(m, __VA_ARGS__)) #define MAP5(m, x, ...) m(x) IDENTITY(MAP4(m, __VA_ARGS__)) #define MAP6(m, x, ...) m(x) IDENTITY(MAP5(m, __VA_ARGS__)) #define MAP7(m, x, ...) m(x) IDENTITY(MAP6(m, __VA_ARGS__)) #define MAP8(m, x, ...) m(x) IDENTITY(MAP7(m, __VA_ARGS__)) #define EVALUATE_COUNT(_1, _2, _3, _4, _5, _6, _7, _8, count, ...) \ count #define COUNT(...) \ IDENTITY(EVALUATE_COUNT(__VA_ARGS__, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1)) // The type "T" mentioned above that drops assignment operations. template <typename U> struct ignore_assign { constexpr explicit ignore_assign(U value) : _value(value) { } constexpr operator U() const { return _value; } constexpr const ignore_assign& operator =(int dummy) const { return *this; } U _value; }; // Prepends "(ignore_assign<_underlying>)" to each argument. #define IGNORE_ASSIGN_SINGLE(e) (ignore_assign<_underlying>)e, #define IGNORE_ASSIGN(...) \ IDENTITY(MAP(IGNORE_ASSIGN_SINGLE, __VA_ARGS__)) // Stringizes each argument. #define STRINGIZE_SINGLE(e) #e, #define STRINGIZE(...) IDENTITY(MAP(STRINGIZE_SINGLE, __VA_ARGS__)) // Some helpers needed for _from_string. constexpr const char terminators[] = " =\t\r\n"; // The size of terminators includes the implicit '\0'. constexpr bool is_terminator(char c, size_t index = 0) { return index >= sizeof(terminators) ? false : c == terminators[index] ? true : is_terminator(c, index + 1); } constexpr bool matches_untrimmed(const char *untrimmed, const char *s, size_t index = 0) { return is_terminator(untrimmed[index]) ? s[index] == '\0' : s[index] != untrimmed[index] ? false : matches_untrimmed(untrimmed, s, index + 1); } // The macro proper. // // There are several "simplifications" in this implementation, for the // sake of brevity. First, we have only one viable option for declaring // constexpr arrays: at namespace scope. This probably should be done // two namespaces deep: one namespace that is likely to be unique for // our little enum "library", then inside it a namespace whose name is // based on the name of the enum to avoid collisions with other enums. // I am using only one level of nesting. // // Declaring constexpr arrays inside the struct is not viable because // they will need out-of-line definitions, which will result in // duplicate symbols when linking. This can be solved with weak // symbols, but that is compiler- and system-specific. It is not // possible to declare constexpr arrays as static variables in // constexpr functions due to the restrictions on such functions. // // Note that this prevents the use of this macro anywhere except at // namespace scope. Ironically, the C++98 version of this, which can // declare static arrays inside static member functions, is actually // more flexible in this regard. It is shown in the CodeProject // article. // // Second, for compilation performance reasons, it is best to separate // the macro into a "parametric" portion, and the portion that depends // on knowing __VA_ARGS__, and factor the former out into a template. // // Third, this code uses a default parameter in _from_string that may // be better not exposed in the public interface. #define ENUM(EnumName, Underlying, ...) \ namespace data_ ## EnumName { \ using _underlying = Underlying; \ enum { __VA_ARGS__ }; \ \ constexpr const size_t _size = \ IDENTITY(COUNT(__VA_ARGS__)); \ \ constexpr const _underlying _values[] = \ { IDENTITY(IGNORE_ASSIGN(__VA_ARGS__)) }; \ \ constexpr const char * const _raw_names[] = \ { IDENTITY(STRINGIZE(__VA_ARGS__)) }; \ } \ \ struct EnumName { \ using _underlying = Underlying; \ enum _enum : _underlying { __VA_ARGS__ }; \ \ const char * _to_string() const \ { \ for (size_t index = 0; index < data_ ## EnumName::_size; \ ++index) { \ \ if (data_ ## EnumName::_values[index] == _value) \ return _trimmed_names()[index]; \ } \ \ throw std::runtime_error("invalid value"); \ } \ \ constexpr static EnumName _from_string(const char *s, \ size_t index = 0) \ { \ return \ index >= data_ ## EnumName::_size ? \ throw std::runtime_error("invalid identifier") : \ matches_untrimmed( \ data_ ## EnumName::_raw_names[index], s) ? \ (EnumName)(_enum)data_ ## EnumName::_values[ \ index] : \ _from_string(s, index + 1); \ } \ \ EnumName() = delete; \ constexpr EnumName(_enum value) : _value(value) { } \ constexpr operator _enum() const { return (_enum)_value; } \ \ private: \ _underlying _value; \ \ static const char * const * _trimmed_names() \ { \ static char *the_names[data_ ## EnumName::_size]; \ static bool initialized = false; \ \ if (!initialized) { \ for (size_t index = 0; index < data_ ## EnumName::_size; \ ++index) { \ \ size_t length = \ std::strcspn(data_ ## EnumName::_raw_names[index],\ terminators); \ \ the_names[index] = new char[length + 1]; \ \ std::strncpy(the_names[index], \ data_ ## EnumName::_raw_names[index], \ length); \ the_names[index][length] = '\0'; \ } \ \ initialized = true; \ } \ \ return the_names; \ } \ }; 

and

// The code above was a "header file". This is a program that uses it. #include <iostream> #include "the_file_above.h" ENUM(Channel, char, Red = 1, Green, Blue) constexpr Channel channel = Channel::_from_string("Red"); int main() { std::cout << channel._to_string() << std::endl; switch (channel) { case Channel::Red: return 0; case Channel::Green: return 1; case Channel::Blue: return 2; } } static_assert(sizeof(Channel) == sizeof(char), ""); 

The program above prints Red, as you would expect. There is a degree of type safety, since you can't create an enum without initializing it, and deleting one of the cases from the switch will result in a warning from the compiler (depending on your compiler and flags). Also, note that "Red" was converted to an enum during compilation.

For C++17 C++20, you will be interested in the work of the Reflection Study Group (SG7). There is a parallel series of papers covering wording (P0194) and rationale, design and evolution (P0385). (Links resolve to the latest paper in each series.)

As of P0194r2 (2016-10-15), the syntax would use the proposed reflexpr keyword:

meta::get_base_name_v< meta::get_element_m< meta::get_enumerators_m<reflexpr(MyEnum)>, 0> > 

For example (adapted from Matus Choclik's reflexpr branch of clang):

#include <reflexpr> #include <iostream> enum MyEnum { AAA = 1, BBB, CCC = 99 }; int main() { auto name_of_MyEnum_0 = std::meta::get_base_name_v< std::meta::get_element_m< std::meta::get_enumerators_m<reflexpr(MyEnum)>, 0> >; // prints "AAA" std::cout << name_of_MyEnum_0 << std::endl; } 

Static reflection failed to make it into C++17 (rather, into the probably-final draft presented at the November 2016 standards meeting in Issaquah) but there is confidence that it will make it into C++20; from Herb Sutter's trip report:

In particular, the Reflection study group reviewed the latest merged static reflection proposal and found it ready to enter the main Evolution groups at our next meeting to start considering the unified static reflection proposal for a TS or for the next standard.

Back in 2011 I spent a weekend fine-tuning a macro-based solution and ended up never using it.

My current procedure is to start Vim, copy the enumerators in an empty switch body, start a new macro, transform the first enumerator into a case statement, move the cursor to the beginning of the next line, stop the macro and generate the remaining case statements by running the macro on the other enumerators.

Vim macros are more fun than C++ macros.

Real-life example:

enum class EtherType : uint16_t { ARP = 0x0806, IPv4 = 0x0800, VLAN = 0x8100, IPv6 = 0x86DD }; 

I will create this:

std::ostream& operator<< (std::ostream& os, EtherType ethertype) { switch (ethertype) { case EtherType::ARP : return os << "ARP" ; case EtherType::IPv4: return os << "IPv4"; case EtherType::VLAN: return os << "VLAN"; case EtherType::IPv6: return os << "IPv6"; // omit default case to trigger compiler warning for missing cases }; return os << static_cast<std::uint16_t>(ethertype); } 

And that's how I get by.

Native support for enum stringification would be much better though. I'm very interested to see the results of the reflection workgroup in C++17.

An alternative way to do it was posted by @sehe in the comments.

This is similar to Yuri Finkelstein; but does not required boost. I am using a map so you can assign any value to the enums, any order.

Declaration of enum class as:

DECLARE_ENUM_WITH_TYPE(TestEnumClass, int32_t, ZERO = 0x00, TWO = 0x02, ONE = 0x01, THREE = 0x03, FOUR); 

The following code will automatically create the enum class and overload:

• '+' '+=' for std::string
• '<<' for streams
• '~' just to convert to string (Any unary operator will do, but I personally don't like it for clarity)
• '*' to get the count of enums

No boost required, all required functions provided.

Code:

#include <algorithm> #include <iostream> #include <map> #include <sstream> #include <string> #include <vector> #define STRING_REMOVE_CHAR(str, ch) str.erase(std::remove(str.begin(), str.end(), ch), str.end()) std::vector<std::string> splitString(std::string str, char sep = ',') { std::vector<std::string> vecString; std::string item; std::stringstream stringStream(str); while (std::getline(stringStream, item, sep)) { vecString.push_back(item); } return vecString; } #define DECLARE_ENUM_WITH_TYPE(E, T, ...) \ enum class E : T \ { \ __VA_ARGS__ \ }; \ std::map<T, std::string> E##MapName(generateEnumMap<T>(#__VA_ARGS__)); \ std::ostream &operator<<(std::ostream &os, E enumTmp) \ { \ os << E##MapName[static_cast<T>(enumTmp)]; \ return os; \ } \ size_t operator*(E enumTmp) { (void) enumTmp; return E##MapName.size(); } \ std::string operator~(E enumTmp) { return E##MapName[static_cast<T>(enumTmp)]; } \ std::string operator+(std::string &&str, E enumTmp) { return str + E##MapName[static_cast<T>(enumTmp)]; } \ std::string operator+(E enumTmp, std::string &&str) { return E##MapName[static_cast<T>(enumTmp)] + str; } \ std::string &operator+=(std::string &str, E enumTmp) \ { \ str += E##MapName[static_cast<T>(enumTmp)]; \ return str; \ } \ E operator++(E &enumTmp) \ { \ auto iter = E##MapName.find(static_cast<T>(enumTmp)); \ if (iter == E##MapName.end() || std::next(iter) == E##MapName.end()) \ iter = E##MapName.begin(); \ else \ { \ ++iter; \ } \ enumTmp = static_cast<E>(iter->first); \ return enumTmp; \ } \ bool valid##E(T value) { return (E##MapName.find(value) != E##MapName.end()); } #define DECLARE_ENUM(E, ...) DECLARE_ENUM_WITH_TYPE(E, int32_t, __VA_ARGS__) template <typename T> std::map<T, std::string> generateEnumMap(std::string strMap) { STRING_REMOVE_CHAR(strMap, ' '); STRING_REMOVE_CHAR(strMap, '('); std::vector<std::string> enumTokens(splitString(strMap)); std::map<T, std::string> retMap; T inxMap; inxMap = 0; for (auto iter = enumTokens.begin(); iter != enumTokens.end(); ++iter) { // Token: [EnumName | EnumName=EnumValue] std::string enumName; T enumValue; if (iter->find('=') == std::string::npos) { enumName = *iter; } else { std::vector<std::string> enumNameValue(splitString(*iter, '=')); enumName = enumNameValue[0]; //inxMap = static_cast<T>(enumNameValue[1]); if (std::is_unsigned<T>::value) { inxMap = static_cast<T>(std::stoull(enumNameValue[1], 0, 0)); } else { inxMap = static_cast<T>(std::stoll(enumNameValue[1], 0, 0)); } } retMap[inxMap++] = enumName; } return retMap; } 

Example:

DECLARE_ENUM_WITH_TYPE(TestEnumClass, int32_t, ZERO = 0x00, TWO = 0x02, ONE = 0x01, THREE = 0x03, FOUR); int main(void) { TestEnumClass first, second; first = TestEnumClass::FOUR; second = TestEnumClass::TWO; std::cout << first << "(" << static_cast<uint32_t>(first) << ")" << std::endl; // FOUR(4) std::string strOne; strOne = ~first; std::cout << strOne << std::endl; // FOUR std::string strTwo; strTwo = ("Enum-" + second) + (TestEnumClass::THREE + "-test"); std::cout << strTwo << std::endl; // Enum-TWOTHREE-test std::string strThree("TestEnumClass: "); strThree += second; std::cout << strThree << std::endl; // TestEnumClass: TWO std::cout << "Enum count=" << *first << std::endl; } 

You can run the code here

I don't know if you're going to like this or not, I'm not pretty happy with this solution but it is a C++14 friendly approach because it is using template variables and abusing template specialization:

enum class MyEnum : std::uint_fast8_t { AAA, BBB, CCC, }; template<MyEnum> const char MyEnumName[] = "Invalid MyEnum value"; template<> const char MyEnumName<MyEnum::AAA>[] = "AAA"; template<> const char MyEnumName<MyEnum::BBB>[] = "BBB"; template<> const char MyEnumName<MyEnum::CCC>[] = "CCC"; int main() { // Prints "AAA" std::cout << MyEnumName<MyEnum::AAA> << '\n'; // Prints "Invalid MyEnum value" std::cout << MyEnumName<static_cast<MyEnum>(0x12345678)> << '\n'; // Well... in fact it prints "Invalid MyEnum value" for any value // different of MyEnum::AAA, MyEnum::BBB or MyEnum::CCC. return 0; } 

The worst about this approach is that is a pain to maintain, but it is also a pain to maintain some of other similar aproaches, aren't they?

Good points about this aproach:

• Using variable tempates (C++14 feature)
• With template specialization we can "detect" when an invalid value is used (but I'm not sure if this could be useful at all).
• It looks neat.
• The name lookup is done at compile time.

Live example

Edit

Misterious user673679 you're right; the C++14 variable template approach doesn't handles the runtime case, it was my fault to forget it :(

But we can still use some modern C++ features and variable template plus variadic template trickery to achieve a runtime translation from enum value to string... it is as bothersome as the others but still worth to mention.

Let's start using a template alias to shorten the access to a enum-to-string map:

// enum_map contains pairs of enum value and value string for each enum // this shortcut allows us to use enum_map<whatever>. template <typename ENUM> using enum_map = std::map<ENUM, const std::string>; // This variable template will create a map for each enum type which is // instantiated with. template <typename ENUM> enum_map<ENUM> enum_values{}; 

Then, the variadic template trickery:

template <typename ENUM> void initialize() {} template <typename ENUM, typename ... args> void initialize(const ENUM value, const char *name, args ... tail) { enum_values<ENUM>.emplace(value, name); initialize<ENUM>(tail ...); } 

The "best trick" here is the use of variable template for the map which contains the values and names of each enum entry; this map will be the same in each translation unit and have the same name everywhere so is pretty straightforward and neat, if we call the initialize function like this:

initialize ( MyEnum::AAA, "AAA", MyEnum::BBB, "BBB", MyEnum::CCC, "CCC" ); 

We are asigning names to each MyEnum entry and can be used in runtime:

std::cout << enum_values<MyEnum>[MyEnum::AAA] << '\n'; 

But can be improved with SFINAE and overloading << operator:

template<typename ENUM, class = typename std::enable_if<std::is_enum<ENUM>::value>::type> std::ostream &operator <<(std::ostream &o, const ENUM value) { static const std::string Unknown{std::string{typeid(ENUM).name()} + " unknown value"}; auto found = enum_values<ENUM>.find(value); return o << (found == enum_values<ENUM>.end() ? Unknown : found->second); } 

With the correct operator << now we can use the enum this way:

std::cout << MyEnum::AAA << '\n'; 

This is also bothersome to maintain and can be improved, but hope you get the idea.

Live example

If your enum looks like

enum MyEnum { AAA = -8, BBB = '8', CCC = AAA + BBB }; 

You can move the content of the enum to a new file:

AAA = -8, BBB = '8', CCC = AAA + BBB 

And then the values can be surrounded by a macro:

// default definition #ifned ITEM(X,Y) #define ITEM(X,Y) #endif // Items list ITEM(AAA,-8) ITEM(BBB,'8') ITEM(CCC,AAA+BBB) // clean up #undef ITEM 

Next step may be include the items in the enum again:

enum MyEnum { #define ITEM(X,Y) X=Y, #include "enum_definition_file" }; 

And finally you can generate utility functions about this enum:

std::string ToString(MyEnum value) { switch( value ) { #define ITEM(X,Y) case X: return #X; #include "enum_definition_file" } return ""; } MyEnum FromString(std::string const& value) { static std::map<std::string,MyEnum> converter { #define ITEM(X,Y) { #X, X }, #include "enum_definition_file" }; auto it = converter.find(value); if( it != converter.end() ) return it->second; else throw std::runtime_error("Value is missing"); } 

The solution can be applied to older C++ standards and it does not use modern C++ elements but it can be used to generate lot of code without too much effort and maintenance.

I had the same problem a couple of days ago. I couldn't find any C++ solution without some weird macro magic, so I decided to write a CMake code generator to generate simple switch case statements.

Usage:

enum2str_generate( PATH <path to place the files in> CLASS_NAME <name of the class (also prefix for the files)> FUNC_NAME <name of the (static) member function> NAMESPACE <the class will be inside this namespace> INCLUDES <LIST of files where the enums are defined> ENUMS <LIST of enums to process> BLACKLIST <LIST of constants to ignore> USE_CONSTEXPR <whether to use constexpr or not (default: off)> USE_C_STRINGS <whether to use c strings instead of std::string or not (default: off)> ) 

The function searches the include files in the filesystem (uses the include directories provided with the include_directories command), reads them and does some regex to generate the class and the function(s).

NOTE: constexpr implies inline in C++, so using the USE_CONSTEXPR option will generate a header only class!

Example:

./includes/a.h:

enum AAA : char { A1, A2 }; typedef enum { VAL1 = 0, VAL2 = 1, VAL3 = 2, VAL_FIRST = VAL1, // Ignored VAL_LAST = VAL3, // Ignored VAL_DUPLICATE = 1, // Ignored VAL_STRANGE = VAL2 + 1 // Must be blacklisted } BBB; 

./CMakeLists.txt:

include_directories( ${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/includes ...) enum2str_generate( PATH "${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}" CLASS_NAME "enum2Str" NAMESPACE "abc" FUNC_NAME "toStr" INCLUDES "a.h" # WITHOUT directory ENUMS "AAA" "BBB" BLACKLIST "VAL_STRANGE") 

Generates:

./enum2Str.hpp:

/*! * \file enum2Str.hpp * \warning This is an automatically generated file! */ #ifndef ENUM2STR_HPP #define ENUM2STR_HPP #include <string> #include <a.h> namespace abc { class enum2Str { public: static std::string toStr( AAA _var ) noexcept; static std::string toStr( BBB _var ) noexcept; }; } #endif // ENUM2STR_HPP 

./enum2Str.cpp:

/*! * \file enum2Str.cpp * \warning This is an automatically generated file! */ #include "enum2Str.hpp" namespace abc { /*! * \brief Converts the enum AAA to a std::string * \param _var The enum value to convert * \returns _var converted to a std::string */ std::string enum2Str::toStr( AAA _var ) noexcept { switch ( _var ) { case A1: return "A1"; case A2: return "A2"; default: return "<UNKNOWN>"; } } /*! * \brief Converts the enum BBB to a std::string * \param _var The enum value to convert * \returns _var converted to a std::string */ std::string enum2Str::toStr( BBB _var ) noexcept { switch ( _var ) { case VAL1: return "VAL1"; case VAL2: return "VAL2"; case VAL3: return "VAL3"; default: return "<UNKNOWN>"; } } } 

Update:

The script now also supports scoped enumerations (enum class|struct) and I moved it to a seperate repo with some other scripts I often use: https://github.com/mensinda/cmakeBuildTools

You can abuse user-defined literals to achieve the desired result:

enum { AAA = "AAA"_h8, BB = "BB"_h8, }; std::cout << h8::to_string(AAA) << std::endl; std::cout << h8::to_string(BB) << std::endl; 

This packs a string into an integer, which is reversible. Check out the example here.

As per request from the OP, here a stripped down version of the ugly macro solution based on Boost Preprosessor and Variadic Macros.

It allows for a simple list like syntax of the enumerator elements along with setting values for specific elements so that

XXX_ENUM(foo,(a,b,(c,42))); 

expands to

enum foo { a, b, c=42 }; 

Alongside with the necessary functions to output and do some conversion back. This macro has been around here for ages, and I am not totally sure that its the most efficient way, or that it is a conforming way, but it has ever since been working

The complete code can be seen in action at both Ideone and Coliru.

Its gargantuan ugliness is above; I would have put it behind spoilers to protect your eyes, if I knew how, but markdown doesn't like me.

The library (merged within one single header file)

#include <boost/preprocessor.hpp> #include <string> #include <unordered_map> namespace xxx { template<class T> struct enum_cast_adl_helper { }; template<class E> E enum_cast( const std::string& s ) { return do_enum_cast(s,enum_cast_adl_helper<E>()); } template<class E> E enum_cast( const char* cs ) { std::string s(cs); return enum_cast<E>(s); } } // namespace xxx #define XXX_PP_ARG_N( \ _1, _2, _3, _4, _5, _6, _7, _8, _9,_10, \ _11,_12,_13,_14,_15,_16,_17,_18,_19,_20, \ _21,_22,_23,_24,_25,_26,_27,_28,_29,_30, \ _31,_32,_33,_34,_35,_36,_37,_38,_39,_40, \ _41,_42,_43,_44,_45,_46,_47,_48,_49,_50, \ _51,_52,_53,_54,_55,_56,_57,_58,_59,_60, \ _61,_62,_63,N,...) N #define XXX_PP_RSEQ_N() \ 63,62,61,60, \ 59,58,57,56,55,54,53,52,51,50, \ 49,48,47,46,45,44,43,42,41,40, \ 39,38,37,36,35,34,33,32,31,30, \ 29,28,27,26,25,24,23,22,21,20, \ 19,18,17,16,15,14,13,12,11,10, \ 9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1,0 #define XXX_PP_NARG_(...) XXX_PP_ARG_N(__VA_ARGS__) #define XXX_PP_NARG(...) XXX_PP_NARG_(__VA_ARGS__,XXX_PP_RSEQ_N()) #define XXX_TUPLE_SIZE_INTERNAL(TUPLE) XXX_PP_NARG TUPLE #define XXX_TUPLE_CHOICE(i) \ BOOST_PP_APPLY( \ BOOST_PP_TUPLE_ELEM( \ 25, i, ( \ (0), (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), \ (9), (10), (11), (12), (13), (14), (15), (16), \ (17), (18), (19), (20), (21), (22), (23), (24) \ ) ) ) #define BOOST_PP_BOOL_00 BOOST_PP_BOOL_0 #define BOOST_PP_BOOL_01 BOOST_PP_BOOL_1 #define BOOST_PP_BOOL_02 BOOST_PP_BOOL_2 #define BOOST_PP_BOOL_03 BOOST_PP_BOOL_3 #define BOOST_PP_BOOL_04 BOOST_PP_BOOL_4 #define BOOST_PP_BOOL_05 BOOST_PP_BOOL_5 #define BOOST_PP_BOOL_06 BOOST_PP_BOOL_6 #define BOOST_PP_BOOL_07 BOOST_PP_BOOL_7 #define BOOST_PP_BOOL_08 BOOST_PP_BOOL_8 #define BOOST_PP_BOOL_09 BOOST_PP_BOOL_9 #define BOOST_PP_BOOL_010 BOOST_PP_BOOL_10 #define BOOST_PP_BOOL_011 BOOST_PP_BOOL_11 #define BOOST_PP_BOOL_012 BOOST_PP_BOOL_12 #define BOOST_PP_BOOL_013 BOOST_PP_BOOL_13 #define BOOST_PP_BOOL_014 BOOST_PP_BOOL_14 #define BOOST_PP_BOOL_015 BOOST_PP_BOOL_15 #define BOOST_PP_BOOL_016 BOOST_PP_BOOL_16 #define BOOST_PP_BOOL_017 BOOST_PP_BOOL_17 #define BOOST_PP_BOOL_018 BOOST_PP_BOOL_18 #define BOOST_PP_BOOL_019 BOOST_PP_BOOL_19 #define BOOST_PP_BOOL_020 BOOST_PP_BOOL_20 #define BOOST_PP_BOOL_021 BOOST_PP_BOOL_21 #define BOOST_PP_BOOL_022 BOOST_PP_BOOL_22 #define BOOST_PP_BOOL_023 BOOST_PP_BOOL_23 #define BOOST_PP_BOOL_024 BOOST_PP_BOOL_24 #define BOOST_PP_BOOL_025 BOOST_PP_BOOL_25 #define BOOST_PP_BOOL_026 BOOST_PP_BOOL_26 #define BOOST_PP_BOOL_027 BOOST_PP_BOOL_27 #define BOOST_PP_BOOL_028 BOOST_PP_BOOL_28 #define BOOST_PP_BOOL_029 BOOST_PP_BOOL_29 #define BOOST_PP_BOOL_030 BOOST_PP_BOOL_30 #define BOOST_PP_BOOL_031 BOOST_PP_BOOL_31 #define BOOST_PP_BOOL_032 BOOST_PP_BOOL_32 #define BOOST_PP_BOOL_033 BOOST_PP_BOOL_33 #define BOOST_PP_BOOL_034 BOOST_PP_BOOL_34 #define BOOST_PP_BOOL_035 BOOST_PP_BOOL_35 #define BOOST_PP_BOOL_036 BOOST_PP_BOOL_36 #define BOOST_PP_BOOL_037 BOOST_PP_BOOL_37 #define BOOST_PP_BOOL_038 BOOST_PP_BOOL_38 #define BOOST_PP_BOOL_039 BOOST_PP_BOOL_39 #define BOOST_PP_BOOL_040 BOOST_PP_BOOL_40 #define BOOST_PP_BOOL_041 BOOST_PP_BOOL_41 #define BOOST_PP_BOOL_042 BOOST_PP_BOOL_42 #define BOOST_PP_BOOL_043 BOOST_PP_BOOL_43 #define BOOST_PP_BOOL_044 BOOST_PP_BOOL_44 #define BOOST_PP_BOOL_045 BOOST_PP_BOOL_45 #define BOOST_PP_BOOL_046 BOOST_PP_BOOL_46 #define BOOST_PP_BOOL_047 BOOST_PP_BOOL_47 #define BOOST_PP_BOOL_048 BOOST_PP_BOOL_48 #define BOOST_PP_BOOL_049 BOOST_PP_BOOL_49 #define BOOST_PP_BOOL_050 BOOST_PP_BOOL_50 #define BOOST_PP_BOOL_051 BOOST_PP_BOOL_51 #define BOOST_PP_BOOL_052 BOOST_PP_BOOL_52 #define BOOST_PP_BOOL_053 BOOST_PP_BOOL_53 #define BOOST_PP_BOOL_054 BOOST_PP_BOOL_54 #define BOOST_PP_BOOL_055 BOOST_PP_BOOL_55 #define BOOST_PP_BOOL_056 BOOST_PP_BOOL_56 #define BOOST_PP_BOOL_057 BOOST_PP_BOOL_57 #define BOOST_PP_BOOL_058 BOOST_PP_BOOL_58 #define BOOST_PP_BOOL_059 BOOST_PP_BOOL_59 #define BOOST_PP_BOOL_060 BOOST_PP_BOOL_60 #define BOOST_PP_BOOL_061 BOOST_PP_BOOL_61 #define BOOST_PP_BOOL_062 BOOST_PP_BOOL_62 #define BOOST_PP_BOOL_063 BOOST_PP_BOOL_63 #define BOOST_PP_DEC_00 BOOST_PP_DEC_0 #define BOOST_PP_DEC_01 BOOST_PP_DEC_1 #define BOOST_PP_DEC_02 BOOST_PP_DEC_2 #define BOOST_PP_DEC_03 BOOST_PP_DEC_3 #define BOOST_PP_DEC_04 BOOST_PP_DEC_4 #define BOOST_PP_DEC_05 BOOST_PP_DEC_5 #define BOOST_PP_DEC_06 BOOST_PP_DEC_6 #define BOOST_PP_DEC_07 BOOST_PP_DEC_7 #define BOOST_PP_DEC_08 BOOST_PP_DEC_8 #define BOOST_PP_DEC_09 BOOST_PP_DEC_9 #define BOOST_PP_DEC_010 BOOST_PP_DEC_10 #define BOOST_PP_DEC_011 BOOST_PP_DEC_11 #define BOOST_PP_DEC_012 BOOST_PP_DEC_12 #define BOOST_PP_DEC_013 BOOST_PP_DEC_13 #define BOOST_PP_DEC_014 BOOST_PP_DEC_14 #define BOOST_PP_DEC_015 BOOST_PP_DEC_15 #define BOOST_PP_DEC_016 BOOST_PP_DEC_16 #define BOOST_PP_DEC_017 BOOST_PP_DEC_17 #define BOOST_PP_DEC_018 BOOST_PP_DEC_18 #define BOOST_PP_DEC_019 BOOST_PP_DEC_19 #define BOOST_PP_DEC_020 BOOST_PP_DEC_20 #define BOOST_PP_DEC_021 BOOST_PP_DEC_21 #define BOOST_PP_DEC_022 BOOST_PP_DEC_22 #define BOOST_PP_DEC_023 BOOST_PP_DEC_23 #define BOOST_PP_DEC_024 BOOST_PP_DEC_24 #define BOOST_PP_DEC_025 BOOST_PP_DEC_25 #define BOOST_PP_DEC_026 BOOST_PP_DEC_26 #define BOOST_PP_DEC_027 BOOST_PP_DEC_27 #define BOOST_PP_DEC_028 BOOST_PP_DEC_28 #define BOOST_PP_DEC_029 BOOST_PP_DEC_29 #define BOOST_PP_DEC_030 BOOST_PP_DEC_30 #define BOOST_PP_DEC_031 BOOST_PP_DEC_31 #define BOOST_PP_DEC_032 BOOST_PP_DEC_32 #define BOOST_PP_DEC_033 BOOST_PP_DEC_33 #define BOOST_PP_DEC_034 BOOST_PP_DEC_34 #define BOOST_PP_DEC_035 BOOST_PP_DEC_35 #define BOOST_PP_DEC_036 BOOST_PP_DEC_36 #define BOOST_PP_DEC_037 BOOST_PP_DEC_37 #define BOOST_PP_DEC_038 BOOST_PP_DEC_38 #define BOOST_PP_DEC_039 BOOST_PP_DEC_39 #define BOOST_PP_DEC_040 BOOST_PP_DEC_40 #define BOOST_PP_DEC_041 BOOST_PP_DEC_41 #define BOOST_PP_DEC_042 BOOST_PP_DEC_42 #define BOOST_PP_DEC_043 BOOST_PP_DEC_43 #define BOOST_PP_DEC_044 BOOST_PP_DEC_44 #define BOOST_PP_DEC_045 BOOST_PP_DEC_45 #define BOOST_PP_DEC_046 BOOST_PP_DEC_46 #define BOOST_PP_DEC_047 BOOST_PP_DEC_47 #define BOOST_PP_DEC_048 BOOST_PP_DEC_48 #define BOOST_PP_DEC_049 BOOST_PP_DEC_49 #define BOOST_PP_DEC_050 BOOST_PP_DEC_50 #define BOOST_PP_DEC_051 BOOST_PP_DEC_51 #define BOOST_PP_DEC_052 BOOST_PP_DEC_52 #define BOOST_PP_DEC_053 BOOST_PP_DEC_53 #define BOOST_PP_DEC_054 BOOST_PP_DEC_54 #define BOOST_PP_DEC_055 BOOST_PP_DEC_55 #define BOOST_PP_DEC_056 BOOST_PP_DEC_56 #define BOOST_PP_DEC_057 BOOST_PP_DEC_57 #define BOOST_PP_DEC_058 BOOST_PP_DEC_58 #define BOOST_PP_DEC_059 BOOST_PP_DEC_59 #define BOOST_PP_DEC_060 BOOST_PP_DEC_60 #define BOOST_PP_DEC_061 BOOST_PP_DEC_61 #define BOOST_PP_DEC_062 BOOST_PP_DEC_62 #define BOOST_PP_DEC_063 BOOST_PP_DEC_63 #define XXX_TO_NUMx(x) 0 ## x #define XXX_TO_NUM(x) BOOST_PP_ADD(0,XXX_TO_NUMx(x)) #define XXX_STRINGIZEX(x) # x #define XXX_VSTRINGIZE_SINGLE(a,b,x) XXX_STRINGIZE(x) #define XXX_VSTRINGIZE_TUPLE(tpl) XXX_TUPLE_FOR_EACH(XXX_VSTRINGIZE_SINGLE,,tpl) #define XXX_TUPLE_SIZE(TUPLE) XXX_TO_NUM(XXX_TUPLE_CHOICE(XXX_TUPLE_SIZE_INTERNAL(TUPLE))) #define XXX_TUPLE_FOR_EACH(MACRO,DATA,TUPLE) BOOST_PP_LIST_FOR_EACH(MACRO,DATA,BOOST_PP_TUPLE_TO_LIST(XXX_TUPLE_SIZE(TUPLE),TUPLE)) #define XXX_STRINGIZE(x) XXX_STRINGIZEX(x) #define XXX_VSTRINGIZE(...) XXX_VSTRINGIZE_TUPLE((__VA_ARGS__)) #define XXX_CAST_TO_VOID_ELEMENT(r,data,elem) (void)(elem); #define XXX_CAST_TO_VOID_INTERNAL(TUPLE) XXX_TUPLE_FOR_EACH(XXX_CAST_TO_VOID_ELEMENT,,TUPLE) #define XXX_CAST_TO_VOID(...) XXX_CAST_TO_VOID_INTERNAL((__VA_ARGS__)) #define XXX_ENUM_EXTRACT_SP(en) BOOST_PP_TUPLE_ELEM(XXX_TUPLE_SIZE(en),0,en) = BOOST_PP_TUPLE_ELEM(XXX_TUPLE_SIZE(en),1,en) #define XXX_ENUM_ELEMENT(r,data,elem) BOOST_PP_IF( XXX_TUPLE_SIZE(elem), XXX_ENUM_EXTRACT_SP(elem), elem) , #define XXX_ENUM_EXTRACT_ELEMENT(en) BOOST_PP_TUPLE_ELEM(XXX_TUPLE_SIZE(en),0,en) #define XXX_ENUM_CASE_ELEMENT(en) BOOST_PP_IF( XXX_TUPLE_SIZE(en), XXX_ENUM_EXTRACT_ELEMENT(en), en ) #define XXX_ENUM_CASE(r,data,elem) case data :: XXX_ENUM_CASE_ELEMENT(elem) : return #data "::" XXX_STRINGIZE(XXX_ENUM_CASE_ELEMENT(elem)); #define XXX_ENUM_IFELSE(r,data,elem) else if( en == data :: XXX_ENUM_CASE_ELEMENT(elem)) { return #data "::" XXX_STRINGIZE(XXX_ENUM_CASE_ELEMENT(elem)); } #define XXX_ENUM_CASTLIST(r,data,elem) { XXX_STRINGIZE(XXX_ENUM_CASE_ELEMENT(elem)), data :: XXX_ENUM_CASE_ELEMENT(elem) }, #define XXX_ENUM_QUALIFIED_CASTLIST(r,data,elem) { #data "::" XXX_STRINGIZE(XXX_ENUM_CASE_ELEMENT(elem)), data :: XXX_ENUM_CASE_ELEMENT(elem) }, #define XXX_ENUM_INTERNAL(TYPE,NAME,TUPLE) \ enum TYPE \ { \ XXX_TUPLE_FOR_EACH(XXX_ENUM_ELEMENT,,TUPLE) \ BOOST_PP_CAT(last_enum_,NAME) \ }; \ \ inline \ const char* to_string( NAME en ) \ { \ if(false) \ { \ } \ XXX_TUPLE_FOR_EACH(XXX_ENUM_IFELSE,NAME,TUPLE) \ else if( en == NAME :: BOOST_PP_CAT(last_enum_,NAME) ) \ { \ return XXX_VSTRINGIZE(NAME,::,BOOST_PP_CAT(last_enum_,NAME)); \ } \ else \ { \ return "Invalid enum value specified for " # NAME; \ } \ } \ \ inline \ std::ostream& operator<<( std::ostream& os, const NAME& en ) \ { \ os << to_string(en); \ return os; \ } \ \ inline \ NAME do_enum_cast( const std::string& s, const ::xxx::enum_cast_adl_helper<NAME>& ) \ { \ static const std::unordered_map<std::string,NAME> map = \ { \ XXX_TUPLE_FOR_EACH(XXX_ENUM_CASTLIST,NAME,TUPLE) \ XXX_TUPLE_FOR_EACH(XXX_ENUM_QUALIFIED_CASTLIST,NAME,TUPLE) \ }; \ \ auto cit = map.find(s); \ if( cit == map.end() ) \ { \ throw std::runtime_error("Invalid value to cast to enum"); \ } \ return cit->second; \ } #define XXX_ENUM(NAME,TUPLE) XXX_ENUM_INTERNAL(NAME,NAME,TUPLE) #define XXX_ENUM_CLASS(NAME,TUPLE) XXX_ENUM_INTERNAL(class NAME,NAME,TUPLE) #define XXX_ENUM_CLASS_TYPE(NAME,TYPE,TUPLE) XXX_ENUM_INTERNAL(class NAME : TYPE,NAME,TUPLE) #define XXX_ENUM_TYPE(NAME,TYPE,TUPLE) XXX_ENUM_INTERNAL(NAME : TYPE,NAME,TUPLE) 

Usage

#include "xxx_enum.h" // the above lib #include <iostream> XXX_ENUM(foo,(a,b,(c,42))); int main() { std::cout << "foo::a = " << foo::a <<'\n'; std::cout << "(int)foo::c = " << (int)foo::c <<'\n'; std::cout << "to_string(foo::b) = " << to_string(foo::b) <<'\n'; std::cout << "xxx::enum_cast<foo>(\"b\") = " << xxx::enum_cast<foo>("b") <<'\n'; } 

Compilation (copy paste header within main.cpp)

> g++ --version | sed 1q g++ (GCC) 4.9.2 > g++ -std=c++14 -pedantic -Wall -Wextra main.cpp main.cpp:268:31: warning: extra ';' [-Wpedantic] XXX_ENUM(foo,(a,b,(c,42))); ^ 

Output

foo::a = foo::a (int)foo::c = 42 to_string(foo::b) = foo::b xxx::enum_cast<foo>("b") = foo::b 

Just generate your enums. Writing a generator for that purpose is about five minutes' work.

Generator code in java and python, super easy to port to any language you like, including C++.

Also super easy to extend by whatever functionality you want.

example input:

First = 5 Second Third = 7 Fourth Fifth=11 

generated header:

#include <iosfwd> enum class Hallo { First = 5, Second = 6, Third = 7, Fourth = 8, Fifth = 11 }; std::ostream & operator << (std::ostream &, const Hallo&); 

generated cpp file

#include <ostream> #include "Hallo.h" std::ostream & operator << (std::ostream &out, const Hallo&value) { switch(value) { case Hallo::First: out << "First"; break; case Hallo::Second: out << "Second"; break; case Hallo::Third: out << "Third"; break; case Hallo::Fourth: out << "Fourth"; break; case Hallo::Fifth: out << "Fifth"; break; default: out << "<unknown>"; } return out; } 

And the generator, in a very terse form as a template for porting and extension. This example code really tries to avoid overwriting any files but still use it at your own risk.

package cppgen; import java.io.BufferedReader; import java.io.File; import java.io.FileInputStream; import java.io.FileOutputStream; import java.io.InputStreamReader; import java.io.OutputStreamWriter; import java.io.PrintWriter; import java.nio.charset.Charset; import java.util.LinkedHashMap; import java.util.Map; import java.util.Map.Entry; import java.util.regex.Matcher; import java.util.regex.Pattern; public class EnumGenerator { static void fail(String message) { System.err.println(message); System.exit(1); } static void run(String[] args) throws Exception { Pattern pattern = Pattern.compile("\\s*(\\w+)\\s*(?:=\\s*(\\d+))?\\s*", Pattern.UNICODE_CHARACTER_CLASS); Charset charset = Charset.forName("UTF8"); String tab = " "; if (args.length != 3) { fail("Required arguments: <enum name> <input file> <output dir>"); } String enumName = args[0]; File inputFile = new File(args[1]); if (inputFile.isFile() == false) { fail("Not a file: [" + inputFile.getCanonicalPath() + "]"); } File outputDir = new File(args[2]); if (outputDir.isDirectory() == false) { fail("Not a directory: [" + outputDir.getCanonicalPath() + "]"); } File headerFile = new File(outputDir, enumName + ".h"); File codeFile = new File(outputDir, enumName + ".cpp"); for (File file : new File[] { headerFile, codeFile }) { if (file.exists()) { fail("Will not overwrite file [" + file.getCanonicalPath() + "]"); } } int nextValue = 0; Map<String, Integer> fields = new LinkedHashMap<>(); try ( BufferedReader reader = new BufferedReader(new InputStreamReader(new FileInputStream(inputFile), charset)); ) { while (true) { String line = reader.readLine(); if (line == null) { break; } if (line.trim().length() == 0) { continue; } Matcher matcher = pattern.matcher(line); if (matcher.matches() == false) { fail("Syntax error: [" + line + "]"); } String fieldName = matcher.group(1); if (fields.containsKey(fieldName)) { fail("Double fiend name: " + fieldName); } String valueString = matcher.group(2); if (valueString != null) { int value = Integer.parseInt(valueString); if (value < nextValue) { fail("Not a monotonous progression from " + nextValue + " to " + value + " for enum field " + fieldName); } nextValue = value; } fields.put(fieldName, nextValue); ++nextValue; } } try ( PrintWriter headerWriter = new PrintWriter(new OutputStreamWriter(new FileOutputStream(headerFile), charset)); PrintWriter codeWriter = new PrintWriter(new OutputStreamWriter(new FileOutputStream(codeFile), charset)); ) { headerWriter.println(); headerWriter.println("#include <iosfwd>"); headerWriter.println(); headerWriter.println("enum class " + enumName); headerWriter.println('{'); boolean first = true; for (Entry<String, Integer> entry : fields.entrySet()) { if (first == false) { headerWriter.println(","); } headerWriter.print(tab + entry.getKey() + " = " + entry.getValue()); first = false; } if (first == false) { headerWriter.println(); } headerWriter.println("};"); headerWriter.println(); headerWriter.println("std::ostream & operator << (std::ostream &, const " + enumName + "&);"); headerWriter.println(); codeWriter.println(); codeWriter.println("#include <ostream>"); codeWriter.println(); codeWriter.println("#include \"" + enumName + ".h\""); codeWriter.println(); codeWriter.println("std::ostream & operator << (std::ostream &out, const " + enumName + "&value)"); codeWriter.println('{'); codeWriter.println(tab + "switch(value)"); codeWriter.println(tab + '{'); first = true; for (Entry<String, Integer> entry : fields.entrySet()) { codeWriter.println(tab + "case " + enumName + "::" + entry.getKey() + ':'); codeWriter.println(tab + tab + "out << \"" + entry.getKey() + "\";"); codeWriter.println(tab + tab + "break;"); first = false; } codeWriter.println(tab + "default:"); codeWriter.println(tab + tab + "out << \"<unknown>\";"); codeWriter.println(tab + '}'); codeWriter.println(); codeWriter.println(tab + "return out;"); codeWriter.println('}'); codeWriter.println(); } } public static void main(String[] args) { try { run(args); } catch(Exception exc) { exc.printStackTrace(); System.exit(1); } } } 

And a port to Python 3.5 because different enough to be potentially helpful

import re import collections import sys import io import os def fail(*args): print(*args) exit(1) pattern = re.compile(r'\s*(\w+)\s*(?:=\s*(\d+))?\s*') tab = " " if len(sys.argv) != 4: n=0 for arg in sys.argv: print("arg", n, ":", arg, " / ", sys.argv[n]) n += 1 fail("Required arguments: <enum name> <input file> <output dir>") enumName = sys.argv[1] inputFile = sys.argv[2] if not os.path.isfile(inputFile): fail("Not a file: [" + os.path.abspath(inputFile) + "]") outputDir = sys.argv[3] if not os.path.isdir(outputDir): fail("Not a directory: [" + os.path.abspath(outputDir) + "]") headerFile = os.path.join(outputDir, enumName + ".h") codeFile = os.path.join(outputDir, enumName + ".cpp") for file in [ headerFile, codeFile ]: if os.path.exists(file): fail("Will not overwrite file [" + os.path.abspath(file) + "]") nextValue = 0 fields = collections.OrderedDict() for line in open(inputFile, 'r'): line = line.strip() if len(line) == 0: continue match = pattern.match(line) if match == None: fail("Syntax error: [" + line + "]") fieldName = match.group(1) if fieldName in fields: fail("Double field name: " + fieldName) valueString = match.group(2) if valueString != None: value = int(valueString) if value < nextValue: fail("Not a monotonous progression from " + nextValue + " to " + value + " for enum field " + fieldName) nextValue = value fields[fieldName] = nextValue nextValue += 1 headerWriter = open(headerFile, 'w') codeWriter = open(codeFile, 'w') try: headerWriter.write("\n") headerWriter.write("#include <iosfwd>\n") headerWriter.write("\n") headerWriter.write("enum class " + enumName + "\n") headerWriter.write("{\n") first = True for fieldName, fieldValue in fields.items(): if not first: headerWriter.write(",\n") headerWriter.write(tab + fieldName + " = " + str(fieldValue)) first = False if not first: headerWriter.write("\n") headerWriter.write("};\n") headerWriter.write("\n") headerWriter.write("std::ostream & operator << (std::ostream &, const " + enumName + "&);\n") headerWriter.write("\n") codeWriter.write("\n") codeWriter.write("#include <ostream>\n") codeWriter.write("\n") codeWriter.write("#include \"" + enumName + ".h\"\n") codeWriter.write("\n") codeWriter.write("std::ostream & operator << (std::ostream &out, const " + enumName + "&value)\n") codeWriter.write("{\n") codeWriter.write(tab + "switch(value)\n") codeWriter.write(tab + "{\n") for fieldName in fields.keys(): codeWriter.write(tab + "case " + enumName + "::" + fieldName + ":\n") codeWriter.write(tab + tab + "out << \"" + fieldName + "\";\n") codeWriter.write(tab + tab + "break;\n") codeWriter.write(tab + "default:\n") codeWriter.write(tab + tab + "out << \"<unknown>\";\n") codeWriter.write(tab + "}\n") codeWriter.write("\n") codeWriter.write(tab + "return out;\n") codeWriter.write("}\n") codeWriter.write("\n") finally: headerWriter.close() codeWriter.close() 

I have been frustrated by this problem for a long time too, along with the problem of getting a type converted to string in a proper way. However, for the last problem, I was surprised by the solution explained in Is it possible to print a variable's type in standard C++?, using the idea from Can I obtain C++ type names in a constexpr way?. Using this technique, an analogous function can be constructed for getting an enum value as string:

#include <iostream> using namespace std; class static_string { const char* const p_; const std::size_t sz_; public: typedef const char* const_iterator; template <std::size_t N> constexpr static_string(const char(&a)[N]) noexcept : p_(a) , sz_(N - 1) {} constexpr static_string(const char* p, std::size_t N) noexcept : p_(p) , sz_(N) {} constexpr const char* data() const noexcept { return p_; } constexpr std::size_t size() const noexcept { return sz_; } constexpr const_iterator begin() const noexcept { return p_; } constexpr const_iterator end() const noexcept { return p_ + sz_; } constexpr char operator[](std::size_t n) const { return n < sz_ ? p_[n] : throw std::out_of_range("static_string"); } }; inline std::ostream& operator<<(std::ostream& os, static_string const& s) { return os.write(s.data(), s.size()); } /// \brief Get the name of a type template <class T> static_string typeName() { #ifdef __clang__ static_string p = __PRETTY_FUNCTION__; return static_string(p.data() + 30, p.size() - 30 - 1); #elif defined(_MSC_VER) static_string p = __FUNCSIG__; return static_string(p.data() + 37, p.size() - 37 - 7); #endif } namespace details { template <class Enum> struct EnumWrapper { template < Enum enu > static static_string name() { #ifdef __clang__ static_string p = __PRETTY_FUNCTION__; static_string enumType = typeName<Enum>(); return static_string(p.data() + 73 + enumType.size(), p.size() - 73 - enumType.size() - 1); #elif defined(_MSC_VER) static_string p = __FUNCSIG__; static_string enumType = typeName<Enum>(); return static_string(p.data() + 57 + enumType.size(), p.size() - 57 - enumType.size() - 7); #endif } }; } /// \brief Get the name of an enum value template <typename Enum, Enum enu> static_string enumName() { return details::EnumWrapper<Enum>::template name<enu>(); } enum class Color { Blue = 0, Yellow = 1 }; int main() { std::cout << "_" << typeName<Color>() << "_" << std::endl; std::cout << "_" << enumName<Color, Color::Blue>() << "_" << std::endl; return 0; } 

The code above has only been tested on Clang (see https://ideone.com/je5Quv) and VS2015, but should be adaptable to other compilers by fiddling a bit with the integer constants. Of course, it still uses macros under the hood, but at least one doesn't need access to the enum implementation.

I took the idea from @antron and implemented it differently: generating a true enum class.

This implementation meets all the requirements listed in original question but currently has only one real limitation: it assumes the enum values are either not provided or, if provided, must start with 0 and go up sequentially without gaps.

This is not an intrinsic limitation - simply that I don't use ad-hoc enum values. If this is needed, one can replace vector lookup with traditional switch/case implementation.

The solution uses some c++17 for inline variables but this can be easily avoided if needed. It also uses boost:trim because of simplicity.

Most importantly, it takes only 30 lines of code and no black magic macros. The code is below. It's meant to be put in header and included in multiple compilation modules.

It can be used the same way as was suggested earlier in this thread:

ENUM(Channel, int, Red, Green = 1, Blue) std::out << "My name is " << Channel::Green; //prints My name is Green 

Pls let me know if this is useful and how it can be improved further.

#include <boost/algorithm/string.hpp> struct EnumSupportBase { static std::vector<std::string> split(const std::string s, char delim) { std::stringstream ss(s); std::string item; std::vector<std::string> tokens; while (std::getline(ss, item, delim)) { auto pos = item.find_first_of ('='); if (pos != std::string::npos) item.erase (pos); boost::trim (item); tokens.push_back(item); } return tokens; } }; #define ENUM(EnumName, Underlying, ...) \ enum class EnumName : Underlying { __VA_ARGS__, _count }; \ struct EnumName ## Support : EnumSupportBase { \ static inline std::vector<std::string> _token_names = split(#__VA_ARGS__, ','); \ static constexpr const char* get_name(EnumName enum_value) { \ int index = (int)enum_value; \ if (index >= (int)EnumName::_count || index < 0) \ return "???"; \ else \ return _token_names[index].c_str(); \ } \ }; \ inline std::ostream& operator<<(std::ostream& os, const EnumName & es) { \ return os << EnumName##Support::get_name(es); \ } 

As long as you are okay with writing a separate .h/.cpp pair for each queryable enum, this solution works with nearly the same syntax and capabilities as a regular c++ enum:

// MyEnum.h #include <EnumTraits.h> #ifndef ENUM_INCLUDE_MULTI #pragma once #end if enum MyEnum : int ETRAITS { EDECL(AAA) = -8, EDECL(BBB) = '8', EDECL(CCC) = AAA + BBB }; 

The .cpp file is 3 lines of boilerplate:

// MyEnum.cpp #define ENUM_DEFINE MyEnum #define ENUM_INCLUDE <MyEnum.h> #include <EnumTraits.inl> 

Example usage:

for (MyEnum value : EnumTraits<MyEnum>::GetValues()) std::cout << EnumTraits<MyEnum>::GetName(value) << std::endl; 

Code

This solution requires 2 source files:

// EnumTraits.h #pragma once #include <string> #include <unordered_map> #include <vector> #define ETRAITS #define EDECL(x) x template <class ENUM> class EnumTraits { public: static const std::vector<ENUM>& GetValues() { return values; } static ENUM GetValue(const char* name) { auto match = valueMap.find(name); return (match == valueMap.end() ? ENUM() : match->second); } static const char* GetName(ENUM value) { auto match = nameMap.find(value); return (match == nameMap.end() ? nullptr : match->second); } public: EnumTraits() = delete; using vector_type = std::vector<ENUM>; using name_map_type = std::unordered_map<ENUM, const char*>; using value_map_type = std::unordered_map<std::string, ENUM>; private: static const vector_type values; static const name_map_type nameMap; static const value_map_type valueMap; }; struct EnumInitGuard{ constexpr const EnumInitGuard& operator=(int) const { return *this; } }; template <class T> constexpr T& operator<<=(T&& x, const EnumInitGuard&) { return x; } 

...and

// EnumTraits.inl #define ENUM_INCLUDE_MULTI #include ENUM_INCLUDE #undef ETRAITS #undef EDECL using EnumType = ENUM_DEFINE; using TraitsType = EnumTraits<EnumType>; using VectorType = typename TraitsType::vector_type; using NameMapType = typename TraitsType::name_map_type; using ValueMapType = typename TraitsType::value_map_type; using NamePairType = typename NameMapType::value_type; using ValuePairType = typename ValueMapType::value_type; #define ETRAITS ; const VectorType TraitsType::values #define EDECL(x) EnumType::x <<= EnumInitGuard() #include ENUM_INCLUDE #undef ETRAITS #undef EDECL #define ETRAITS ; const NameMapType TraitsType::nameMap #define EDECL(x) NamePairType(EnumType::x, #x) <<= EnumInitGuard() #include ENUM_INCLUDE #undef ETRAITS #undef EDECL #define ETRAITS ; const ValueMapType TraitsType::valueMap #define EDECL(x) ValuePairType(#x, EnumType::x) <<= EnumInitGuard() #include ENUM_INCLUDE #undef ETRAITS #undef EDECL 

Explanation

This implementation exploits the fact that the braced list of elements of an enum definition can also be used as a braced initializer list for class member initialization.

When ETRAITS is evaluated in the context of EnumTraits.inl, it expands out to a static member definition for the EnumTraits<> class.

The EDECL macro transforms each enum member into initializer list values which subsequently get passed into the member constructor in order to populate the enum info.

The EnumInitGuard class is designed to consume the enum initializer values and then collapse - leaving a pure list of enum data.

Benefits

• c++-like syntax
• Works identically for both enum and enum class (*almost)
• Works for enum types with any numeric underlying type
• Works for enum types with automatic, explicit, and fragmented initializer values
• Works for mass renaming (intellisense linking preserved)
• Only 5 preprocessor symbols (3 global)

* In contrast to enums, initializers in enum class types that reference other values from the same enum must have those values fully qualified

Disbenefits

• Requires a separate .h/.cpp pair for each queryable enum
• Depends on convoluted macro and include magic
• Minor syntax errors explode into much larger errors
• Defining class or namespace scoped enums is nontrivial
• No compile time initialization

Comments

Intellisense will complain a bit about private member access when opening up EnumTraits.inl, but since the expanded macros are actually defining class members, that isn't actually a problem.

The #ifndef ENUM_INCLUDE_MULTI block at the top of the header file is a minor annoyance that could probably be shrunken down into a macro or something, but it's small enough to live with at its current size.

Declaring a namespace scoped enum requires that the enum first be forward declared inside its namespace scope, then defined in the global namespace. Additionally, any enum initializers using values of the same enum must have those values fully qualified.

namespace ns { enum MyEnum : int; } enum ns::MyEnum : int ETRAITS { EDECL(AAA) = -8, EDECL(BBB) = '8', EDECL(CCC) = ns::MyEnum::AAA + ns::MyEnum::BBB } 

Very simple solution with one big constraint: you can't assign custom values to enum values, but with the right regex, you could. you could also add a map to translate them back to enum values without much more effort:

#include <vector> #include <string> #include <regex> #include <iterator> std::vector<std::string> split(const std::string& s, const std::regex& delim = std::regex(",\\s*")) { using namespace std; vector<string> cont; copy(regex_token_iterator<string::const_iterator>(s.begin(), s.end(), delim, -1), regex_token_iterator<string::const_iterator>(), back_inserter(cont)); return cont; } #define EnumType(Type, ...) enum class Type { __VA_ARGS__ } #define EnumStrings(Type, ...) static const std::vector<std::string> \ Type##Strings = split(#__VA_ARGS__); #define EnumToString(Type, ...) EnumType(Type, __VA_ARGS__); \ EnumStrings(Type, __VA_ARGS__) 

Usage example:

EnumToString(MyEnum, Red, Green, Blue); 

You could use a reflection library, like Ponder:

enum class MyEnum { Zero = 0, One = 1, Two = 2 }; ponder::Enum::declare<MyEnum>() .value("Zero", MyEnum::Zero) .value("One", MyEnum::One) .value("Two", MyEnum::Two); ponder::EnumObject zero(MyEnum::Zero); zero.name(); // -> "Zero" 

I am not sure if this approach is already covered in one of the other answers (actually it is, see below). I encountered the problem many times and didnt find a solution that did not use obfuscated macros or third party libraries. Hence I decided to write my own obfuscated macro version.

What I want to enable is the equivalent of

enum class test1 { ONE, TWO = 13, SIX }; std::string toString(const test1& e) { ... } int main() { test1 x; std::cout << toString(x) << "\n"; std::cout << toString(test1::TWO) << "\n"; std::cout << static_cast<std::underlying_type<test1>::type>(test1::TWO) << "\n"; //std::cout << toString(123);// invalid } 

which should print

ONE TWO 13 

I am not a fan of macros. However, unless c++ natively supports converting enums to strings one has to use some sort of code generation and/or macros (and I doubt this will happen too soon). I am using a X-macro:

// x_enum.h #include <string> #include <map> #include <type_traits> #define x_begin enum class x_name { #define x_val(X) X #define x_value(X,Y) X = Y #define x_end }; x_enum_def #undef x_begin #undef x_val #undef x_value #undef x_end #define x_begin inline std::string toString(const x_name& e) { \ static std::map<x_name,std::string> names = { #define x_val(X) { x_name::X , #X } #define x_value(X,Y) { x_name::X , #X } #define x_end }; return names[e]; } x_enum_def #undef x_begin #undef x_val #undef x_value #undef x_end #undef x_name #undef x_enum_def 

Most of it is defining and undefining symbols that the user will pass as parameter to the X-marco via an include. The usage is like this

#define x_name test1 #define x_enum_def x_begin x_val(ONE) , \ x_value(TWO,13) , \ x_val(SIX) \ x_end #include "x_enum.h" 

Live Demo

Note that I didnt include choosing the underlying type yet. I didnt need it so far, but it should be straight forward to modify to code to enable that.

Only after writing this I realized that it is rather similar to eferions answer. Maybe I read it before and maybe it was the main source of inspiration. I was always failing in understanding X-macros until I wrote my own ;).

My solution, using a preprocessor define.

You can check this code on https://repl.it/@JomaCorpFX/nameof#main.cpp

#include <iostream> #include <stdexcept> #include <regex> typedef std::string String; using namespace std::literals::string_literals; class Strings { public: static String TrimStart(const std::string& data) { String s = data; s.erase(s.begin(), std::find_if(s.begin(), s.end(), [](unsigned char ch) { return !std::isspace(ch); })); return s; } static String TrimEnd(const std::string& data) { String s = data; s.erase(std::find_if(s.rbegin(), s.rend(), [](unsigned char ch) { return !std::isspace(ch); }).base(), s.end()); return s; } static String Trim(const std::string& data) { return TrimEnd(TrimStart(data)); } static String Replace(const String& data, const String& toFind, const String& toReplace) { String result = data; size_t pos = 0; while ((pos = result.find(toFind, pos)) != String::npos) { result.replace(pos, toFind.length(), toReplace); pos += toReplace.length(); pos = result.find(toFind, pos); } return result; } }; static String Nameof(const String& name) { std::smatch groups; String str = Strings::Trim(name); if (std::regex_match(str, groups, std::regex(u8R"(^&?([_a-zA-Z]\w*(->|\.|::))*([_a-zA-Z]\w*)$)"))) { if (groups.size() == 4) { return groups[3]; } } throw std::invalid_argument(Strings::Replace(u8R"(nameof(#). Invalid identifier "#".)", u8"#", name)); } #define nameof(name) Nameof(u8## #name ## s) #define cnameof(name) Nameof(u8## #name ## s).c_str() enum TokenType { COMMA, PERIOD, Q_MARK }; struct MyClass { enum class MyEnum : char { AAA = -8, BBB = '8', CCC = AAA + BBB }; }; int main() { String greetings = u8"Hello"s; std::cout << nameof(COMMA) << std::endl; std::cout << nameof(TokenType::PERIOD) << std::endl; std::cout << nameof(TokenType::Q_MARK) << std::endl; std::cout << nameof(int) << std::endl; std::cout << nameof(std::string) << std::endl; std::cout << nameof(Strings) << std::endl; std::cout << nameof(String) << std::endl; std::cout << nameof(greetings) << std::endl; std::cout << nameof(&greetings) << std::endl; std::cout << nameof(greetings.c_str) << std::endl; std::cout << nameof(std::string::npos) << std::endl; std::cout << nameof(MyClass::MyEnum::AAA) << std::endl; std::cout << nameof(MyClass::MyEnum::BBB) << std::endl; std::cout << nameof(MyClass::MyEnum::CCC) << std::endl; std::cin.get(); return 0; } 

Output

COMMA PERIOD Q_MARK int string Strings String greetings greetings c_str npos AAA BBB CCC 

Clang

Visual C++

The following solution is based on a std::array<std::string,N> for a given enum.

For enum to std::string conversion we can just cast the enum to size_t and lookup the string from the array. The operation is O(1) and requires no heap allocation.

#include <boost/preprocessor/seq/transform.hpp> #include <boost/preprocessor/seq/enum.hpp> #include <boost/preprocessor/stringize.hpp> #include <string> #include <array> #include <iostream> #define STRINGIZE(s, data, elem) BOOST_PP_STRINGIZE(elem) // ENUM // ============================================================================ #define ENUM(X, SEQ) \ struct X { \ enum Enum {BOOST_PP_SEQ_ENUM(SEQ)}; \ static const std::array<std::string,BOOST_PP_SEQ_SIZE(SEQ)> array_of_strings() { \ return {{BOOST_PP_SEQ_ENUM(BOOST_PP_SEQ_TRANSFORM(STRINGIZE, 0, SEQ))}}; \ } \ static std::string to_string(Enum e) { \ auto a = array_of_strings(); \ return a[static_cast<size_t>(e)]; \ } \ } 

For std::string to enum conversion we would have to make a linear search over the array and cast the array index to enum.

Try it here with usage examples: http://coliru.stacked-crooked.com/a/e4212f93bee65076

Edit: Reworked my solution so the custom Enum can be used inside a class.

Solutions using enum within class/struct (struct defaults with public members) and overloaded operators:

struct Color { enum Enum { RED, GREEN, BLUE }; Enum e; Color() {} Color(Enum e) : e(e) {} Color operator=(Enum o) { e = o; return *this; } Color operator=(Color o) { e = o.e; return *this; } bool operator==(Enum o) { return e == o; } bool operator==(Color o) { return e == o.e; } operator Enum() const { return e; } std::string toString() const { switch (e) { case Color::RED: return "red"; case Color::GREEN: return "green"; case Color::BLUE: return "blue"; default: return "unknown"; } } }; 

From the outside it looks nearly exactly like a class enum:

Color red; red = Color::RED; Color blue = Color::BLUE; cout << red.toString() << " " << Color::GREEN << " " << blue << endl; 

This will output "red 1 2". You could possibly overload << to make blue output a string (although it might cause ambiguity so not possible), but it wouldn't work with Color::GREEN since it doesn't automatically convert to Color.

The purpose of having an implicit convert to Enum (which implicitly converts to int or type given) is to be able to do:

Color color; switch (color) ... 

This works, but it also means that this work too:

int i = color; 

With an enum class it wouldn't compile. You ought to be careful if you overload two functions taking the enum and an integer, or remove the implicit conversion...

Another solution would involve using an actual enum class and static members:

struct Color { enum class Enum { RED, GREEN, BLUE }; static const Enum RED = Enum::RED, GREEN = Enum::GREEN, BLUE = Enum::BLUE; //same as previous... }; 

It possibly takes more space, and is longer to make, but causes a compile error for implicit int conversions. I'd use this one because of that!

There's surely overhead with this though, but I think it's just simpler and looks better than other code I've seen. There's also potential for adding functionality, which could all be scoped within the class.

Edit: this works and most can be compiled before execution:

class Color { public: enum class Enum { RED, GREEN, BLUE }; static const Enum RED = Enum::RED, GREEN = Enum::GREEN, BLUE = Enum::BLUE; constexpr Color() : e(Enum::RED) {} constexpr Color(Enum e) : e(e) {} constexpr bool operator==(Enum o) const { return e == o; } constexpr bool operator==(Color o) const { return e == o.e; } constexpr operator Enum() const { return e; } Color& operator=(Enum o) { const_cast<Enum>(this->e) = o; return *this; } Color& operator=(Color o) { const_cast<Enum>(this->e) = o.e; return *this; } std::string toString() const { switch (e) { case Enum::RED: return "red"; case Enum::GREEN: return "green"; case Enum::BLUE: return "blue"; default: return "unknown"; } } private: const Enum e; }; 

This gist provides a simple mapping based on C++ variadic templates.

This is a C++17-simplified version of the type-based map from the gist:

#include <cstring> // http://stackoverflow.com/q/24520781 template<typename KeyValue, typename ... RestOfKeyValues> struct map { static constexpr typename KeyValue::key_t get(const char* val) noexcept { if constexpr (sizeof...(RestOfKeyValues)==0) // C++17 if constexpr return KeyValue::key; // Returns last element else { static_assert(KeyValue::val != nullptr, "Only last element may have null name"); return strcmp(val, KeyValue::val()) ? map<RestOfKeyValues...>::get(val) : KeyValue::key; } } static constexpr const char* get(typename KeyValue::key_t key) noexcept { if constexpr (sizeof...(RestOfKeyValues)==0) return (KeyValue::val != nullptr) && (key == KeyValue::key) ? KeyValue::val() : ""; else return (key == KeyValue::key) ? KeyValue::val() : map<RestOfKeyValues...>::get(key); } }; template<typename Enum, typename ... KeyValues> class names { typedef map<KeyValues...> Map; public: static constexpr Enum get(const char* nam) noexcept { return Map::get(nam); } static constexpr const char* get(Enum key) noexcept { return Map::get(key); } }; 

An example usage:

enum class fasion { fancy, classic, sporty, emo, __last__ = emo, __unknown__ = -1 }; #define NAME(s) static inline constexpr const char* s() noexcept {return #s;} namespace name { NAME(fancy) NAME(classic) NAME(sporty) NAME(emo) } template<auto K, const char* (*V)()> // C++17 template<auto> struct _ { typedef decltype(K) key_t; typedef decltype(V) name_t; static constexpr key_t key = K; // enum id value static constexpr name_t val = V; // enum id name }; typedef names<fasion, _<fasion::fancy, name::fancy>, _<fasion::classic, name::classic>, _<fasion::sporty, name::sporty>, _<fasion::emo, name::emo>, _<fasion::__unknown__, nullptr> > fasion_names; 

The map<KeyValues...> can be used in both directions:

• fasion_names::get(fasion::emo)
• fasion_names::get("emo")

This example is available on godbolt.org

int main () { constexpr auto str = fasion_names::get(fasion::emo); constexpr auto fsn = fasion_names::get(str); return (int) fsn; } 

Result from gcc-7 -std=c++1z -Ofast -S

main: mov eax, 3 ret 

EDIT: check below for a newer version

As mentioned above, N4113 is the final solution to this matter, but we'll have to wait more than a year to see it coming out.

Meanwhile, if you want such feature, you'll need to resort to "simple" templates and some preprocessor magic.

Enumerator

template<typename T> class Enum final { const char* m_name; const T m_value; static T m_counter; public: Enum(const char* str, T init = m_counter) : m_name(str), m_value(init) {m_counter = (init + 1);} const T value() const {return m_value;} const char* name() const {return m_name;} }; template<typename T> T Enum<T>::m_counter = 0; #define ENUM_TYPE(x) using Enum = Enum<x>; #define ENUM_DECL(x,...) x(#x,##__VA_ARGS__) #define ENUM(...) const Enum ENUM_DECL(__VA_ARGS__); 

Usage

#include <iostream> //the initialization order should be correct in all scenarios namespace Level { ENUM_TYPE(std::uint8) ENUM(OFF) ENUM(SEVERE) ENUM(WARNING) ENUM(INFO, 10) ENUM(DEBUG) ENUM(ALL) } namespace Example { ENUM_TYPE(long) ENUM(A) ENUM(B) ENUM(C, 20) ENUM(D) ENUM(E) ENUM(F) } int main(int argc, char** argv) { Level::Enum lvl = Level::WARNING; Example::Enum ex = Example::C; std::cout << lvl.value() << std::endl; //2 std::cout << ex.value() << std::endl; //20 } 

Simple explaination

Enum<T>::m_counter is set to 0 inside each namespace declaration.
(Could someone point me out where ^^this behaviour^^ is mentioned on the standard?)
The preprocessor magic automates the declaration of enumerators.

Disadvantages

• It's not a true enum type, therefore not promotable to int
• Cannot be used in switch cases

Alternative solution

This one sacrifices line numbering (not really) but can be used on switch cases.

#define ENUM_TYPE(x) using type = Enum<x> #define ENUM(x) constexpr type x{__LINE__,#x} template<typename T> struct Enum final { const T value; const char* name; constexpr operator const T() const noexcept {return value;} constexpr const char* operator&() const noexcept {return name;} }; 

Errata

#line 0 conflicts with -pedantic on GCC and clang.

Workaround

Either start at #line 1 and subtract 1 from __LINE__.
Or, don't use -pedantic.
And while we're at it, avoid VC++ at all costs, it has always been a joke of a compiler.

Usage

#include <iostream> namespace Level { ENUM_TYPE(short); #line 0 ENUM(OFF); ENUM(SEVERE); ENUM(WARNING); #line 10 ENUM(INFO); ENUM(DEBUG); ENUM(ALL); #line <next line number> //restore the line numbering }; int main(int argc, char** argv) { std::cout << Level::OFF << std::endl; // 0 std::cout << &Level::OFF << std::endl; // OFF std::cout << Level::INFO << std::endl; // 10 std::cout << &Level::INFO << std::endl; // INFO switch(/* any integer or integer-convertible type */) { case Level::OFF: //... break; case Level::SEVERE: //... break; //... } return 0; } 

Real-life implementation and use

r3dVoxel - Enum
r3dVoxel - ELoggingLevel

Quick Reference

#line lineno -- cppreference.com

(Analogue of https://stackoverflow.com/a/54967187/2338477, slightly modified).

Here is my own solution with minimum define magic and support of individual enum assignments.

Here is header file:

#pragma once #include <string> #include <map> #include <regex> template <class Enum> class EnumReflect { public: static const char* getEnums() { return ""; } }; // // Just a container for each enumeration type. // template <class Enum> class EnumReflectBase { public: static std::map<std::string, int> enum2int; static std::map<int, std::string> int2enum; static void EnsureEnumMapReady( const char* enumsInfo ) { if (*enumsInfo == 0 || enum2int.size() != 0 ) return; // Should be called once per each enumeration. std::string senumsInfo(enumsInfo); std::regex re("^([a-zA-Z_][a-zA-Z0-9_]+) *=? *([^,]*)(,|$) *"); // C++ identifier to optional " = <value>" std::smatch sm; int value = 0; for (; regex_search(senumsInfo, sm, re); senumsInfo = sm.suffix(), value++) { string enumName = sm[1].str(); string enumValue = sm[2].str(); if (enumValue.length() != 0) value = atoi(enumValue.c_str()); enum2int[enumName] = value; int2enum[value] = enumName; } } }; template <class Enum> std::map<std::string, int> EnumReflectBase<Enum>::enum2int; template <class Enum> std::map<int, std::string> EnumReflectBase<Enum>::int2enum; #define DECLARE_ENUM(name, ...) \ enum name { __VA_ARGS__ }; \ template <> \ class EnumReflect<##name>: public EnumReflectBase<##name> { \ public: \ static const char* getEnums() { return #__VA_ARGS__; } \ }; /* Basic usage: Declare enumeration: DECLARE_ENUM( enumName, enumValue1, enumValue2, enumValue3 = 5, // comment enumValue4 ); Conversion logic: From enumeration to string: printf( EnumToString(enumValue3).c_str() ); From string to enumeration: enumName value; if( !StringToEnum("enumValue4", value) ) printf("Conversion failed..."); */ // // Converts enumeration to string, if not found - empty string is returned. // template <class T> std::string EnumToString(T t) { EnumReflect<T>::EnsureEnumMapReady(EnumReflect<T>::getEnums()); auto& int2enum = EnumReflect<T>::int2enum; auto it = int2enum.find(t); if (it == int2enum.end()) return ""; return it->second; } // // Converts string to enumeration, if not found - false is returned. // template <class T> bool StringToEnum(const char* enumName, T& t) { EnumReflect<T>::EnsureEnumMapReady(EnumReflect<T>::getEnums()); auto& enum2int = EnumReflect<T>::enum2int; auto it = enum2int.find(enumName); if (it == enum2int.end()) return false; t = (T) it->second; return true; } 

And here is example test application:

DECLARE_ENUM(TestEnum, ValueOne, ValueTwo, ValueThree = 5, ValueFour = 7 ); DECLARE_ENUM(TestEnum2, ValueOne2 = -1, ValueTwo2, ValueThree2 = -4, ValueFour2 ); void main(void) { string sName1 = EnumToString(ValueOne); string sName2 = EnumToString(ValueTwo); string sName3 = EnumToString(ValueThree); string sName4 = EnumToString(ValueFour); TestEnum t1, t2, t3, t4, t5 = ValueOne; bool b1 = StringToEnum(sName1.c_str(), t1); bool b2 = StringToEnum(sName2.c_str(), t2); bool b3 = StringToEnum(sName3.c_str(), t3); bool b4 = StringToEnum(sName4.c_str(), t4); bool b5 = StringToEnum("Unknown", t5); string sName2_1 = EnumToString(ValueOne2); string sName2_2 = EnumToString(ValueTwo2); string sName2_3 = EnumToString(ValueThree2); string sName2_4 = EnumToString(ValueFour2); TestEnum2 t2_1, t2_2, t2_3, t2_4, t2_5 = ValueOne2; bool b2_1 = StringToEnum(sName2_1.c_str(), t2_1); bool b2_2 = StringToEnum(sName2_2.c_str(), t2_2); bool b2_3 = StringToEnum(sName2_3.c_str(), t2_3); bool b2_4 = StringToEnum(sName2_4.c_str(), t2_4); bool b2_5 = StringToEnum("Unknown", t2_5); 

Updated version of same header file will be kept here:

https://github.com/tapika/cppscriptcore/blob/master/SolutionProjectModel/EnumReflect.h

enum_name is header only, supports >=C++11 and easy to use library. It's simple and supports enum to/from string conversion. During development I aimed to support C++11, using with no macros and simplicity.

Example

#include <iostream> #include "enum_name.hpp" enum class rgb_color { red, green, blue, unknown = -1}; // you can specialize enum ranges with specialize struct per enum types (option 1) namespace mgutility{ template<> struct enum_range<rgb_color> { static constexpr auto min = -1; static constexpr auto max = 3; }; } // you can specialize enum ranges with overload per enum types (option 2) auto enum_name = [](rgb_color c){ return mgutility::enum_name<-1, 3>(c); }; int main() { auto x = rgb_color::blue; auto y = mgutility::to_enum<rgb_color>("green"); // default signature: enum_name<min_value = -128, max_value = 128, Enum typename>(Enum&&) // Changing max_value to not too much greater than enum's max value, it will compiles faster std::cout << mgutility::enum_name(x) << '\n'; // will print "blue" to output // calling specialized enum ranges function for rgb_color type // will print "green" to output, if y can't convert to rgb_color prints "unknown" std::cout << enum_name(y.value_or(rgb_color::unknown)) << '\n'; } 

^{Old question, but it is worth adding this solution to the list of solutions actually displayed in this thread.}

There is no One Good Way to do this in C++. But I personally find that the venerable old X-Macro trick is the best way to manage ODR enum declarations.

//-header-file--------------------------------------------------------------- #define MYCLASS_MYENUM(F) \ F(AAA, -8) \ F(BBB, '8') \ F(CCC, AAA + BBB) struct MyClass { enum class MyEnum : char { #define F(name,value) name = value, MYCLASS_MYENUM(F) #undef F }; }; const char * magic (MyClass::MyEnum e); //-source-file--------------------------------------------------------------- #include <unordered_map> #include "header.hpp" #ifndef STRINGIFY #define STRINGIFY(s) STRINGIFY_(s) #define STRINGIFY_(s) #s #endif const char * magic (MyClass::MyEnum e) { const std::unordered_map<MyClass::MyEnum,const char*> MyEnumStrings { #define F(name,...) { MyClass::MyEnum::name, STRINGIFY(MyClass::MyEnum::name) }, MYCLASS_MYENUM(F) #undef F }; auto it = MyEnumStrings.find(e); return it == MyEnumStrings.end() ? nullptr : it->second; } //-main-program-file--------------------------------------------------------- #include <iostream> int main() { std::cout << magic(MyClass::MyEnum::AAA) <<'\n'; std::cout << magic(MyClass::MyEnum::BBB) <<'\n'; std::cout << magic(MyClass::MyEnum::CCC) <<'\n'; } 

This solution can be a little less general. For example, if your enum class is a standard 0,1,2,... collection of values (no matter the initial value), then the magic function can work off a straight array.

If the enum value name is to be different than the stringified name, then add the string name to the macro definition and forget the STRINGIFY macro.

#define MYENUM(F) \ F(AAA, "AAA", -8) \ ... 

Also notice my returning a nullptr if the enum is not correctly resolved. This provides proper error checking ability. (If not returning a C-string then you could use something like std::optional<std::string> for C++17. Or, going into C++23, the std::expected class.)

This solution is also very succinct, requiring as few as three macros:

• The enumeration table data
• the macro to transform the table to an enumeration
• the macro to transform the table to a lookup table

How and where you store those additional macros are up to you. I personally like to keep them in the header alongside the enum table definition. Just be sure to name them something appropriately unique (instead of the simple F exampled here).

I wrote a library for solving this problem, everything happens in compiling time, except for getting the message.

Usage:

Use macro DEF_MSG to define a macro and message pair:

DEF_MSG(CODE_OK, "OK!") DEF_MSG(CODE_FAIL, "Fail!") 

CODE_OK is the macro to use, and "OK!" is the corresponding message.

Use get_message() or just gm() to get the message:

get_message(CODE_FAIL); // will return "Fail!" gm(CODE_FAIL); // works exactly the same as above 

Use MSG_NUM to find out how many macros have been defined. This will automatically increse, you don't need to do anything.

Predefined messages:

MSG_OK: OK MSG_BOTTOM: Message bottom 

Project: libcodemsg

The library doesn't create extra data. Everything happens in compiling time. In message_def.h, it generates an enum called MSG_CODE; in message_def.c, it generates a variable holds all the strings in static const char* _g_messages[].

In such case, the library is limited to create one enum only. This is ideal for return values, for example:

MSG_CODE foo(void) { return MSG_OK; // or something else } MSG_CODE ret = foo(); if (MSG_OK != ret) { printf("%s\n", gm(ret);); } 

Another thing I like this design is you can manage message definitions in different files.

I found the solution to this question looks much better.

#define ENUM_MAKE(TYPE, ...) \ enum class TYPE {__VA_ARGS__};\ struct Helper_ ## TYPE { \ static const String& toName(TYPE type) {\ int index = static_cast<int>(type);\ return splitStringVec()[index];}\ static const TYPE toType(const String& name){\ static std::unordered_map<String,TYPE> typeNameMap;\ if( typeNameMap.empty() )\ {\ const StringVector& ssVec = splitStringVec();\ for (size_t i = 0; i < ssVec.size(); ++i)\ typeNameMap.insert(std::make_pair(ssVec[i], static_cast<TYPE>(i)));\ }\ return typeNameMap[name];}\ static const StringVector& splitStringVec() {\ static StringVector typeNameVector;\ if(typeNameVector.empty()) \ {\ typeNameVector = StringUtil::split(#__VA_ARGS__, ",");\ for (auto& name : typeNameVector)\ {\ name.erase(std::remove(name.begin(), name.end(), ' '),name.end()); \ name = String(#TYPE) + "::" + name;\ }\ }\ return typeNameVector;\ }\ }; using String = std::string; using StringVector = std::vector<String>; StringVector StringUtil::split( const String& str, const String& delims, unsigned int maxSplits, bool preserveDelims) { StringVector ret; // Pre-allocate some space for performance ret.reserve(maxSplits ? maxSplits+1 : 10); // 10 is guessed capacity for most case unsigned int numSplits = 0; // Use STL methods size_t start, pos; start = 0; do { pos = str.find_first_of(delims, start); if (pos == start) { // Do nothing start = pos + 1; } else if (pos == String::npos || (maxSplits && numSplits == maxSplits)) { // Copy the rest of the string ret.push_back( str.substr(start) ); break; } else { // Copy up to delimiter ret.push_back( str.substr(start, pos - start) ); if(preserveDelims) { // Sometimes there could be more than one delimiter in a row. // Loop until we don't find any more delims size_t delimStart = pos, delimPos; delimPos = str.find_first_not_of(delims, delimStart); if (delimPos == String::npos) { // Copy the rest of the string ret.push_back( str.substr(delimStart) ); } else { ret.push_back( str.substr(delimStart, delimPos - delimStart) ); } } start = pos + 1; } // parse up to next real data start = str.find_first_not_of(delims, start); ++numSplits; } while (pos != String::npos); return ret; } 

example

ENUM_MAKE(MY_TEST, MY_1, MY_2, MY_3) MY_TEST s1 = MY_TEST::MY_1; MY_TEST s2 = MY_TEST::MY_2; MY_TEST s3 = MY_TEST::MY_3; String z1 = Helper_MY_TEST::toName(s1); String z2 = Helper_MY_TEST::toName(s2); String z3 = Helper_MY_TEST::toName(s3); MY_TEST q1 = Helper_MY_TEST::toType(z1); MY_TEST q2 = Helper_MY_TEST::toType(z2); MY_TEST q3 = Helper_MY_TEST::toType(z3); 

automatically ENUM_MAKE macro generate 'enum class' and helper class with 'enum reflection function'.

In order to reduce mistakes, at once Everything is defined with only one ENUM_MAKE.

The advantage of this code is automatically created for reflection and a close look at macro code ,easy-to-understand code. 'enum to string' , 'string to enum' performance both is algorithm O(1).

Disadvantages is when first use , helper class for enum relection 's string vector and map is initialized. but If you want you'll also be pre-initialized. –

my solution is without macro usage.

advantages:

• you see exactly what you do
• access is with hash maps, so good for many valued enums
• no need to consider order or non-consecutive values
• both enum to string and string to enum translation, while added enum value must be added in one additional place only

disadvantages:

• you need to replicate all the enums values as text
• access in hash map must consider string case
• maintenance if adding values is painful - must add in both enum and direct translate map

so... until the day that C++ implements the C# Enum.Parse functionality, I will be stuck with this:

 #include <unordered_map> enum class Language { unknown, Chinese, English, French, German // etc etc }; class Enumerations { public: static void fnInit(void); static std::unordered_map <std::wstring, Language> m_Language; static std::unordered_map <Language, std::wstring> m_invLanguage; private: static void fnClear(); static void fnSetValues(void); static void fnInvertValues(void); static bool m_init_done; }; std::unordered_map <std::wstring, Language> Enumerations::m_Language = std::unordered_map <std::wstring, Language>(); std::unordered_map <Language, std::wstring> Enumerations::m_invLanguage = std::unordered_map <Language, std::wstring>(); void Enumerations::fnInit() { fnClear(); fnSetValues(); fnInvertValues(); } void Enumerations::fnClear() { m_Language.clear(); m_invLanguage.clear(); } void Enumerations::fnSetValues(void) { m_Language[L"unknown"] = Language::unknown; m_Language[L"Chinese"] = Language::Chinese; m_Language[L"English"] = Language::English; m_Language[L"French"] = Language::French; m_Language[L"German"] = Language::German; // and more etc etc } void Enumerations::fnInvertValues(void) { for (auto it = m_Language.begin(); it != m_Language.end(); it++) { m_invLanguage[it->second] = it->first; } } // usage - //Language aLanguage = Language::English; //wstring sLanguage = Enumerations::m_invLanguage[aLanguage]; //wstring sLanguage = L"French" ; //Language aLanguage = Enumerations::m_Language[sLanguage]; 

Well, yet another option. A typical use case is where you need constants for the HTTP verbs as well as using its string version values.

The example:

int main () { VERB a = VERB::GET; VERB b = VERB::GET; VERB c = VERB::POST; VERB d = VERB::PUT; VERB e = VERB::DELETE; std::cout << a.toString() << std::endl; std::cout << a << std::endl; if ( a == VERB::GET ) { std::cout << "yes" << std::endl; } if ( a == b ) { std::cout << "yes" << std::endl; } if ( a != c ) { std::cout << "no" << std::endl; } } 

The VERB class:

// ----------------------------------------------------------- // ----------------------------------------------------------- class VERB { private: // private constants enum Verb {GET_=0, POST_, PUT_, DELETE_}; // private string values static const std::string theStrings[]; // private value const Verb value; const std::string text; // private constructor VERB (Verb v) : value(v), text (theStrings[v]) { // std::cout << " constructor \n"; } public: operator const char * () const { return text.c_str(); } operator const std::string () const { return text; } const std::string toString () const { return text; } bool operator == (const VERB & other) const { return (*this).value == other.value; } bool operator != (const VERB & other) const { return ! ( (*this) == other); } // --- static const VERB GET; static const VERB POST; static const VERB PUT; static const VERB DELETE; }; const std::string VERB::theStrings[] = {"GET", "POST", "PUT", "DELETE"}; const VERB VERB::GET = VERB ( VERB::Verb::GET_ ); const VERB VERB::POST = VERB ( VERB::Verb::POST_ ); const VERB VERB::PUT = VERB ( VERB::Verb::PUT_ ); const VERB VERB::DELETE = VERB ( VERB::Verb::DELETE_ ); // end of file 

My answer is here.

You can get enum value names and these indices simultaneously as deque of string.

This method only needs little copy and paste and edit.

Obtained result needs type-casting from size_t to enum class type when you need enum class type value, but I think it is a very portable and powerful way to treat enum class.

enum class myenum { one = 0, two, three, }; deque<string> ssplit(const string &_src, boost::regex &_re) { boost::sregex_token_iterator it(_src.begin(), _src.end(), _re, -1); boost::sregex_token_iterator e; deque<string> tokens; while (it != e) tokens.push_back(*it++); return std::move(tokens); } int main() { regex re(","); deque<string> tokens = ssplit("one,two,three", re); for (auto &t : tokens) cout << t << endl; getchar(); return 0; }