Enum - Java Programming Tutorial

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TABLE OF CONTENTS (HIDE)

1. Introduction to Enumeration (enum

Java Programming Tutorial

1.1 Example: Scissor-Paper-Stone

1.2 Examples: Card Suit

2. More on Enumeration

Enum (Enumeration)

2.1 Constructor, Member Variables and Methods

2.2 Enum with abstract method
2.3 java.util.EnumSet & java.util.EnumMap

3. Summary

1. Introduction to Enumeration (enum) (JDK 1.5)

1.1 Example: Scissor-Paper-Stone
Suppose that we are writing a Scissor-Paper-Stone game. We could use three arbitrary integers (e.g., 0, 1, 2; or 88, 128, 168), three
inefficient strings ("Scissor", "Paper", "Stone"), or three characters ('s', 'p', 't') to represent the three hand-signs. The main drawback is we
need to check the other infeasible values (e.g. 4, "Rock", 'q', etc.) in our program to ensure correctness.
A better approach is to define our own list of permissible items in a construct called enumeration (or enum), introduced in JDK 1.5. The
syntax is as follows:
enum {
ITEM1, ITEM2, ...
}

For example,
enum HandSign {
SCISSOR, PAPER, STONE
}

An enumeration is a special class, which provides a type-safe implementation of constant data in your program. In other words, we can
declare a variable of the type HandSign, which takes values of either HandSign.SCISSOR, HandSign.PAPER, or HandSign.STONE, but
NOTHING ELSE. For example,
HandSign playerMove;
HandSign computerMove;
playerMove = HandSign.SCISSOR;
computerMove = HandSign.PAPER;
// playerMove = 0;

// Declare variables of the enum type HandSign

// Assign values into enum variables
// Compilation error

Example: Below is a Scissor-Paper-Stone game using an enumeration.

import java.util.Random;
import java.util.Scanner;
/*
* Define an enumeration called Sign, with 3 elements, referred to as:
* HandSign.SCISSOR, HandSign.PAPER, HandSign.STONE.
*/
enum HandSign {
SCISSOR, PAPER, STONE
}
/*
* A game of scissor-paper-stone.
*/
public class ScissorPaperStone {
public static void main(String[] args) {
Random random = new Random();
// Create a random number generator
boolean gameOver = false;
HandSign playerMove = HandSign.SCISSOR;
HandSign computerMove;
int numTrials = 0;
int numComputerWon = 0;

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int numPlayerWon = 0;
int numTie = 0;
Scanner in = new Scanner(System.in);
System.out.println("Let us begin...");
while (!gameOver) {
System.out.printf("%nScissor-Paper-Stone");
// Player move
// Use a do-while loop to handle invalid input
boolean validInput;
do {
System.out.print("
Your turn (Enter s for scissor, p for paper, t for stone, q to quit): ");
char inChar = in.next().toLowerCase().charAt(0); // Convert to lowercase and extract first char
validInput = true;
if (inChar == 'q') {
gameOver = true;
} else if (inChar == 's') {
playerMove = HandSign.SCISSOR;
} else if (inChar == 'p') {
playerMove = HandSign.PAPER;
} else if (inChar == 't') {
playerMove = HandSign.STONE;
} else {
System.out.println("
Invalid input, try again...");
validInput = false;
}
} while (!validInput);
if (!gameOver) {
// Computer Move
int aRandomNumber = random.nextInt(3); // random int between 0 (inclusive) and 3 (exclusive)
if (aRandomNumber == 0) {
computerMove = HandSign.SCISSOR;
System.out.println("
My turn: SCISSOR");
} else if (aRandomNumber == 0) {
computerMove = HandSign.PAPER;
System.out.println("
My turn: PLAYER");
} else {
computerMove = HandSign.STONE;
System.out.println("
My turn: STONE");
}
// Check result
if (computerMove == playerMove) {
System.out.println("
Tie!");
++numTie;
} else if (computerMove == HandSign.SCISSOR && playerMove == HandSign.PAPER) {
System.out.println("
Scissor cuts paper, I won!");
++numComputerWon;
} else if (computerMove == HandSign.PAPER && playerMove == HandSign.STONE) {
System.out.println("
Paper wraps stone, I won!");
++numComputerWon;
} else if (computerMove == HandSign.STONE && playerMove == HandSign.SCISSOR) {
System.out.println("
Stone breaks scissor, I won!");
++numComputerWon;
} else {
System.out.println("
You won!");
++numPlayerWon;
}
++numTrials;
}
}
// Print statistics
System.out.printf("%nNumber of trials: " + numTrials);
System.out.printf("I won %d(%.2f%%). You won %d(%.2f%%).%n", numComputerWon,
100.0*numComputerWon/numTrials, numPlayerWon, 100.0*numPlayerWon/numTrials);
System.out.println("Bye! ");
}
}
Let us begin...
Scissor-Paper-Stone
Your turn (Enter s for scissor, p for paper, t for stone, q to quit): s

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My turn: SCISSOR
Tie!
Scissor-Paper-Stone
Your turn (Enter s for scissor, p for paper, t for stone, q to quit): s
My turn: STONE
Stone breaks scissor, I won!
Scissor-Paper-Stone
Your turn (Enter s for scissor, p for paper, t for stone, q to quit): p
My turn: STONE
You won!
Scissor-Paper-Stone
Your turn (Enter s for scissor, p for paper, t for stone, q to quit): t
My turn: SCISSOR
Scissor cuts paper, I won!
Scissor-Paper-Stone
Your turn (Enter s for scissor, p for paper, t for stone, q to quit): a
Invalid input, try again...
Your turn (Enter s for scissor, p for paper, t for stone, q to quit): p
My turn: STONE
You won!
Scissor-Paper-Stone
Your turn (Enter s for scissor, p for paper, t for stone, q to quit): q
Number of trials: 5
I won 2(40.00%). You won 2(40.00%).
Bye!

Note that I used the utility Random to generate a random integer between 0 and 2, as follows:
import java.util.Random;

// Needed to use Random

// In main()
Random random = new Random(); // Create a random number generator
rand.nextInt(3);
// Each call returns a random int between 0 (inclusive) and 3 (exclusive)

1.2 Examples: Card Suit

A card's suit can only be spade, diamond, club or heart. In other words, it has a limited set of values. Before the introduction of enum type
in JDK 1.5, we usually have to use an int variable to hold these values. For example,
class CardSuit {
public static final int SPADE
0;
public static final int DIAMOND 1;
public static final int CLUB
2;
public static final int HEART
3;
......
}
class Card {
int suit;
// CardSuit.SPADE, CardSuit.DIAMOND, CardSuit.CLUB, CardSuit.HEART
}

The drawbacks are:

It is not type-safe. You can assign any int value (e.g., 88) into the int variable suit.
No namespace: You must prefix the constants by the class name CardSuit.
Brittleness: new constants will break the existing codes.
Printed values are uninformative: printed value of 0, 1, 2 and 3 are not very meaningful.
JDK 1.5 introduces a new enum type (in addition to the existing top-level constructs class and interface) along with a new keyword
enum. For example, we could define:
enum Suit { SPADE, DIAMOND, CLUB, HEART }

An enum can be used to define a set of enum constants. The constants are implicitly static final, which cannot be modified. You could
refer to these constants just like any static constants, e.g., Suit.SPADE, Suit.HEART, etc. enum is type-safe. It has its own namespace.
enum works with switch-case statement (just like the exisitng int and char).
For example,

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import java.util.*;
enum Suit { SPADE, DIAMOND, CLUB, HEART }
enum Rank { ACE, TWO, THREE, FOUR, FIVE, SIX, SEVEN, EIGHT, NINE, TEN, JACK, QUEEN, KING }
class Card { // A card
private Suit suit;
private Rank rank;
Card(Suit suit, Rank rank) {
this.suit = suit;
this.rank = rank;
}

// constructor

Rank getRank() { return rank; }

Suit getSuit() { return suit; }
public String toString() { return "This card is " + rank + " of " + suit; }
}
class CardDeck { // A deck of card
List<Card> deck;
// constructor
CardDeck() {
deck = new ArrayList<Card>();
for (Suit suit : Suit.values()) {
for (Rank rank : Rank.values()) {
deck.add(new Card(suit, rank));
}
}
}
public void print() {
// print all cards
for (Card card : deck) System.out.println(card);
}
public void shuffle() {
Collections.shuffle(deck); // use java.util.Collections' static method to shuffle the List
}
}
public class CardTest {
public static void main(String[] args) {
CardDeck deck = new CardDeck();
deck.print();
deck.shuffle();
deck.print();
}
}

For each enum, the Java compiler automatically generates a static method called values() that returns an array of all the enum
constants, in the order they were defined.

2. More on Enumeration
2.1 Constructor, Member Variables and Methods
An enum is a reference type (just like a class, interface and array), which holds a reference to memory in the heap. It is implicitly final,
because the constants should not be changed. It can include other component of a traditional class, such as constructors, member
variables and methods. (This is where Java's enum is more powerful than C/C++'s counterpart). Each enum constant can be declared with
parameters to be passed to the constructor when it is created. For example,
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enum TrafficLight {
RED(30), AMBER(10), GREEN(30);

// Named constants

private final int seconds;

// Private variable

TrafficLight(int seconds) {
this.seconds = seconds;
}

// Constructor

int getSeconds() {
return seconds;
}

// Getter

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public class TrafficLightTest {

public static void main(String[] args) {
for (TrafficLight light : TrafficLight.values()) {
System.out.printf("%s: %d seconds\n", light, light.getSeconds());
}
}
}

Three instances of enum type TrafficLight were generated via values(). The instances are created by calling the constructor with the
actual argument, when they are first referenced. You are not allowed to construct a new instance of enum using new operator, because
enum keeps a fixed list of constants. enum's instances could have its own instance variable (int seconds) and method (getSeconds()).

2.2 Enum with abstract method

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enum TLight {
// Each instance provides its implementation to abstract method
RED(30) {
public TLight next() {
return GREEN;
}
},
AMBER(10) {
public TLight next() {
return RED;
}
},
GREEN(30) {
public TLight next() {
return AMBER;
}
};
public abstract TLight next(); // An abstract method
private final int seconds;

// Private variable

TLight(int seconds) {
this.seconds = seconds;
}

// Constructor

int getSeconds() {
return seconds;
}

// Getter

}
public class TLightTest {
public static void main(String[] args) {
for (TLight light : TLight.values()) {
System.out.printf("%s: %d seconds, next is %s\n", light,
light.getSeconds(), light.next());
}
}
}

Each of the instances of enum could have its own behaviors. To do this, you can define an abstract method in the enum, where each of
its instances provides its own implementation.

Another Example
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enum Day {
MONDAY(1) {
public Day next()
},
TUESDAY(2) {
public Day next()
},
WEDNESDAY(3) {
public Day next()
},
THURSDAY(4) {
public Day next()
},
FRIDAY(5) {
public Day next()
},

{ return TUESDAY; }

// each instance provides its implementation to abstract method

{ return WEDNESDAY; }

{ return THURSDAY; }

{ return FRIDAY; }

{ return SATURDAY; }

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SATURDAY(6) {
public Day next() { return SUNDAY; }
},
SUNDAY(7) {
public Day next() { return MONDAY; }
};
public abstract Day next();
private final int dayNumber;
// constructor
Day(int dayNumber) {
this.dayNumber = dayNumber;
}
int getDayNumber() {
return dayNumber;
}
}
public class DayTest {
public static void main(String[] args) {
for (Day day : Day.values()) {
System.out.printf("%s (%d), next is %s\n", day, day.getDayNumber(), day.next());
}
}
}

2.3 java.util.EnumSet & java.util.EnumMap

Two classes have been added to java.util to support enum: EnumSet and EnumMap. They are high performance implementation of the
Set and Map interfaces respectively.
[TODO]

3. Summary
So when should you use enums? Any time you need a fixed set of constants, whose values are known at compile-time. That includes
natural enumerated types (like the days of the week and suits in a card deck) as well as other sets where you know all possible values at
compile time, such as choices on a menu, command line flags, and so on. It is not necessary that the set of constants in an enum type
stays fixed for all time. In most of the situations, you can add new constants to an enum without breaking the existing codes.
Properties:
1. Enums are type-safe!
2. Enums provide their namespace.
3. Whenever an enum is defined, a class that extends java.lang.Enum is created. Hence, enum cannot extend another class or enum.
The compiler also create an instance of the class for each constants defined inside the enum. The java.lang.Enum has these
methods:
public final String name();
public String toString();
public final int ordinal();

//
//
//
//
//

Returns the name of this enum constant, exactly as declared in its enum declaration.
You could also override the toString() to provide a more user-friendly description.
Returns the name of this enum constant, as contained in the declaration.
This method may be overridden.
Returns the ordinal of this enumeration constant.

4. All constants defined in an enum are public

static

final. Since they are static, they can be accessed via

EnumName.instanceName.
5. You do not instantiate an enum, but rely the constants defined.
6. Enums can be used in a switch-case statement, just like an int.

LINK TO JAVA REFERENCES & RESOURCES

Latest version tested: JDK 1.7.0_03

Last modified: May, 2012

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Feedback, comments, corrections, and errata can be sent to Chua Hock-Chuan ([email protected]) | HOME

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