Finding an enum value by its Description Attribute

Question

This may seem a little upside down faced, but what I want to be able to do is get an enum value from an enum by it's Description attribute.

So, if I have an enum declared as follows:

enum Testing
{
    [Description("David Gouge")]
    Dave = 1,
    [Description("Peter Gouge")]
    Pete = 2,
    [Description("Marie Gouge")]
    Ree = 3
}

I'd like to be able to get 2 back by supplying the string "Peter Gouge".

As a starting point, I can iterate through the enum fields and grab the field with the correct attribute:

string descriptionToMatch = "Peter Gouge";

        FieldInfo[] fields = typeof(Testing).GetFields();

        foreach (FieldInfo field in fields)
        {
            if (field.GetCustomAttributes(typeof(DescriptionAttribute), false).Count() > 0)
            {
                if (((DescriptionAttribute)field.GetCustomAttributes(typeof(DescriptionAttribute), false)[0]).Description == descriptionToMatch)
                {

                }
            }
        }

But then I'm stuck as to what to do in that inner if. Also not sure if this is the way to go in the first place.

Look forward to your help.

Answer 1

Ok, after typing all that I think this is a case of a decision right at the beginning leading me down the wrong path. Enum seemed the right way to go to start with, but a simple Dictionary<string, int> will suffice and be a hell of a lot easier to work with!

Answer 2

Using the extension method described here :

Testing t = Enum.GetValues(typeof(Testing))
                .Cast<Testing>()
                .Where(v => v.GetDescription() == descriptionToMatch)
                .FirstOrDefault();

If no matching value is found, it will return (Testing)0 (you might want to define a None member in your enum for this value)

Answer 3

return field.GetRawConstantValue();

You could of course cast it back to Testing if required.