How Can I Efficiently Map C Enums to Strings?

How to Efficiently Map C Enums to Strings

When working with C enums, you may encounter the need to convert their values to user-defined strings or vice versa. While a brute force approach can involve a series of switch statements, there are more elegant solutions available.

Using a Std::map

A reliable method for mapping enums to strings is to employ a std::map. This approach avoids creating string copies within the map and provides efficient lookup.

Syntactic Sugar: Map_init Helper Class

For enhanced readability, consider using a map_init class. This class initializes a map and provides a convenient syntax for adding entries:

std::map<MyEnum, const char*> MyMap;
map_init(MyMap)
    (eValue1, "A")
    (eValue2, "B")
    (eValue3, "C")
;

This class employs a map_init_helper struct that allows for chaining of entries.

Leveraging Boost::assign

If you prefer not to create custom helpers, you can utilize the Boost::assign library, which offers similar functionality for both maps and other map-like structures.

Conclusion

While the techniques described here may not be as concise as using RTTI, they offer a more tailored and flexible approach to mapping C enums to strings, catering to specific requirements such as custom string representations and ease of maintenance.

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