For people suggesting throwing an exception:
Throwing an exception doesn't give me a compile-time error, it gives me a runtime error. I know I can throw an exception, I'd rather die during compilation than during runtime.
First-off, I am using eclipse 3.4.
I have a data model that has a mode property that is an Enum.
enum Mode {on(...), off(...), standby(...); ...}
I am currently writing a view of this model and I have the code
...
switch(model.getMode()) {
case on:
return getOnColor();
case off:
return getOffColor();
case standby:
return getStandbyColor();
}
...
I am getting an error "This method must return a result of type java.awt.Color" because I have no default case and no return xxx at the end of the function. I want a compilation error in the case where someone adds another type to the enum (e.g. shuttingdown) so I don't want to put a default case that throws an AssertionError, as this will compile with a modified Mode and not be seen as an error until runtime.
My question is this:
Why does EclipseBuilder (and javac) not recognize that this switch covers all possibilities (or does it cover them?) and stop warning me about needing a return type. Is there a way I can do what I want without adding methods to Mode?
Failing that, is there an option to warn/error on switch statements that don't cover all of the Enum's possible values?
Edit: Rob: It is a compile error. I just tried compiling it with javac and I get a "missing return statement" error targeting the last } of the method. Eclispe just places the error at the top of the method.