how do I use an enum value on a switch statement i

Question

I would like to use an enum value for a switch statement. Is it possible to use the enum values enclosed in "{}" as choices for the switch()"? I know that switch() needs an integer value in order to direct the flow of programming to the appropriate case number. If this is the case, do I just make a variable for each constant in the enum statement? I also want the user to be able to pick the choice and pass that choice to the switch() statement.

For example:

cout << "1 - Easy, ";
cout << "2 - Medium, ";
cout << "3 - Hard: ";

enum myChoice { EASY = 1, MEDIUM = 2, HARD = 3 };

cin >> ????

switch(????)
{
case 1/EASY:  // (can I just type case EASY?)
    cout << "You picked easy!";
    break;

case 2/MEDIUM: 
    cout << "You picked medium!";
    break;

case 3/HARD: // ..... (same thing as case 2 except on hard.)

default:
    return 0;
}

Answer 1

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

int main() {

    enum level {EASY = 1, NORMAL, HARD};

    // Present menu
    int choice;
    cout << "Choose your level:\n\n";
    cout << "1 - Easy.\n";
    cout << "2 - Normal.\n";
    cout << "3 - Hard.\n\n";
    cout << "Choice --> ";
    cin >> choice;
    cout << endl;

    switch (choice) {
    case EASY:
        cout << "You chose Easy.\n";
        break;
    case NORMAL:
        cout << "You chose Normal.\n";
        break;
    case HARD:
        cout << "You chose Hard.\n";
        break;
    default:
        cout << "Invalid choice.\n";
    }

    return 0;
}

Answer 2

You're on the right track. You may read the user input into an integer and switch on that:

enum Choice
{
  EASY = 1, 
  MEDIUM = 2, 
  HARD = 3
};

int i = -1;

// ...<present the user with a menu>...

cin >> i;

switch(i)
{
  case EASY:
    cout << "Easy\n";
    break;
  case MEDIUM:
    cout << "Medium\n";
    break;
  case HARD:
    cout << "Hard\n";
    break;
  default:
    cout << "Invalid Selection\n";
    break;
}

Answer 3

Some things to note:

You should always declare your enum inside a namespace as enums are not proper namespaces and you will be tempted to use them like one.

Always have a break at the end of each switch clause execution will continue downwards to the end otherwise.

Always include the default: case in your switch.

Use variables of enum type to hold enum values for clarity.

see here for a discussion of the correct use of enums in C++.

This is what you want to do.

namespace choices
{
    enum myChoice 
    { 
        EASY = 1 ,
        MEDIUM = 2, 
        HARD = 3  
    };
}

int main(int c, char** argv)
{
    choices::myChoice enumVar;
    cin >> enumVar;
    switch (enumVar)
    {
        case choices::EASY:
        {
            // do stuff
            break;
        }
        case choices::MEDIUM:
        {
            // do stuff
            break;
        }

        default:
        {
            // is likely to be an error
        }
    };

}

Answer 4

You can use a std::map to map the input to your enum:

#include <iostream>
#include <string>
#include <map>
using namespace std;

enum level {easy, medium, hard};
map<string, level> levels;

void register_levels()
{
    levels["easy"]   = easy;
    levels["medium"] = medium;
    levels["hard"]   = hard;
}

int main()
{
    register_levels();
    string input;
    cin >> input;
    switch( levels[input] )
    {
    case easy:
        cout << "easy!"; break;
    case medium:
        cout << "medium!"; break;
    case hard:
        cout << "hard!"; break;
    }
}

Answer 5

You can use an enumerated value just like an integer:

myChoice c;

...

switch( c ) {
case EASY:
    DoStuff();
    break;
case MEDIUM:
    ...
}

Answer 6

i had a similar issue using enum with switch cases later i resolved it on my own....below is the corrected code, perhaps this might help.

     //Menu Chooser Programe using enum
     #include<iostream>
     using namespace std;
     int main()
     {
        enum level{Novice=1, Easy, Medium, Hard};
        level diffLevel=Novice;
        int i;
        cout<<"\nenter a level: ";
        cin>>i;
        switch(i)
        {
        case Novice: cout<<"\nyou picked Novice\n"; break;
        case Easy: cout<<"\nyou picked Easy\n"; break;
        case Medium: cout<<"\nyou picked Medium\n"; break;
        case Hard: cout<<"\nyou picked Hard\n"; break;
        default: cout<<"\nwrong input!!!\n"; break;
        }
        return 0;
     }