Converting enum to int

Question

I have the following enum

public enum TESTENUM
{
    Value1 = 1,
    Value2 = 2
}

I then want to use this to compare to an integer variable that I have, like this:

if ( myValue == TESTENUM.Value1 )
{
}

But in order to do this test I have to cast the enum as follows (or presumably declare the integer as type enum):

if ( myValue == (int) TESTENUM.Value1 )
{
}

Is there a way that I can tell the compiler that the enum is a series of integers, so that I don’t have to do this cast or redefine the variable?

Answer 1

No there isn't (unlike C++), and for a good reason of type safety.

Answer 2

You can tell the enum that it contains integers:

public enum TESTENUM: int
{
    Value1 = 1,
    Value2 = 2
}

However you have to still cast them manually,

Answer 3

No. You need to cast the enum value. If you don't want to cast, then consider using a class with constant int values:

class static EnumLikeClass
{
    public const int Value1 = 1;
    public const int Value2 = 2;
}

However, there are some downsides to this; the lack of type safety being a big reason to use the enum.

Answer 4

It's uglier IMO, but you could compare the string representation, like so:

if ( myValue.ToString() == TESTENUM.Value1.ToString("d") )
{
}

It also looks like:

if ( myValue == TESTENUM.Value1.ToInt32() )
{
}

would work

Answer 5

Keep in mind that casting the enum value in your context is exactly how you tell the compiler that "look here, I know this enum value to be of type int, so use it as such".