C# Technique - Getting Constant Values By String

Question

Is there any good way to convert strings like "xlSum", "xlAverage", and "xlCount" into the value they have under Microsoft.Office.Interop.Excel.XlConsolidationFunction?

I guess reflection would be slow (if its possible). There are about 10 of these constant values. I was trying to avoid a large switch statement if possible.

Answer 1

Instead of switch you can always use a Dictionary<string, ...> and fill it once when the application starts

Answer 2

This is an enum so you should be able to use

using Microsoft.Office.Interop.Excel;

XlConslidationFunction func = (XlConsolidationFunction)
                               Enum.Parse( typeof(XlConsolidationFunction),
                                           stringVal );