How Can You Efficiently Convert C Strings to Enumerated Types?

Bridging the Divide: Converting C Strings to Enumerated Types

In C , converting strings to enumerated types (enums) presents a challenge that can be resolved using various techniques. While a switch statement may seem like a straightforward solution, its length can become unwieldy. This article explores alternative approaches to simplify string-to-enum conversion.

One method involves employing a mapping between strings and their corresponding enums. A standard map or unordered_map can be used for this purpose, with the strings as keys and the enums as values. Populating the map, however, can be as tedious as creating a switch statement.

C 11 to the Rescue

With the advent of C 11, populating a map with string-enum pairs becomes significantly easier. The following code snippet demonstrates this simplicity:

static std::unordered_map<std::string, E> const table = {{"a",E::a}, {"b",E::b}};
auto it = table.find(str);
if (it != table.end()) {
  return it->second;
} else { error() }

In this code, the table variable contains a static map that associates strings with enums. When the given string str is searched in the map, its corresponding enum value is returned if found, or an error is reported otherwise.

Conclusion

While using a map to convert strings to enums offers convenience, it's important to note that populating the map can be more complex than creating a switch statement. However, with C 11's simplified syntax, populating the map becomes a much simpler task.

The above is the detailed content of How Can You Efficiently Convert C Strings to Enumerated Types?. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!