Enumeration and Description

[Joe Fallon]

If I have an Enumeration can I give a text description for each value?

e.g. something like
Public Enum Colors

Black "Really cool Black"

Blue "Ice Cold Labatts"

End Enum
If so, how do I get the text description for each value?
Code snippet would be great.
Thanks!
--
Joe Fallon

[Patrick Steele [MVP]]

In article <uS************ **@tk2msftngp13 .phx.gbl>, jfallon1
@nospamtwcny.rr .com says...

If I have an Enumeration can I give a text description for each value?

e.g. something like
Public Enum Colors

Black "Really cool Black"

Blue "Ice Cold Labatts"

End Enum
If so, how do I get the text description for each value?
Code snippet would be great.

This link shows how to set the description as well as how to retrieve it
programatically :

http://tinyurl.com/3yc4o

--
Patrick Steele
Microsoft .NET MVP
http://weblogs.asp.net/psteele

[Joe Fallon]

Thanks!
Here is a more general version:
Public Shared Function GetDescription( ByVal value As [Enum]) As String

Dim fi As FieldInfo = value.GetType() .GetField(value .ToString())

Dim attributes As DescriptionAttr ibute() =
CType(fi.GetCus tomAttributes(G etType(Descript ionAttribute), False),
DescriptionAttr ibute())

If attributes.Leng th > 0 Then

Return attributes(0).D escription()

Else

Return value.ToString( )

End If

End Function
--
Joe Fallon
"Patrick Steele [MVP]" <pa*****@mvps.o rg> wrote in message
news:MP******** *************** *@msnews.micros oft.com...

In article <uS************ **@tk2msftngp13 .phx.gbl>, jfallon1
@nospamtwcny.rr .com says...

If I have an Enumeration can I give a text description for each value?

e.g. something like
Public Enum Colors

Black "Really cool Black"

Blue "Ice Cold Labatts"

End Enum
If so, how do I get the text description for each value?
Code snippet would be great.

This link shows how to set the description as well as how to retrieve it
programatically :

http://tinyurl.com/3yc4o

--
Patrick Steele
Microsoft .NET MVP
http://weblogs.asp.net/psteele

[Armin Zingler]

"Joe Fallon" <jf******@nospa mtwcny.rr.com> schrieb

If I have an Enumeration can I give a text description for each
value?

e.g. something like
Public Enum Colors

Black "Really cool Black"

Blue "Ice Cold Labatts"

End Enum
If so, how do I get the text description for each value?
Code snippet would be great.

No, not possible. You could create a class containing a short and long
description, like:

public class mycolor
public readonly Name as string
public readonly Description as string
public sub new(name as string,descript ion as string)
me.name = name
me.description = description
end sub
end class

Optionally/in addition:

public class mycolor
public readonly Name as string
public readonly Description as string
private sub new(name as string,descript ion as string)
me.name = name
me.description = description
end sub
public shared readonly Blue as new mycolor _
("Blue", "Ice Cold Labatts")
end class
- or an arraylist with key=name and value=descripti on, or...
--
Armin

How to quote and why:
http://www.plig.net/nnq/nquote.html
http://www.netmeister.org/news/learn2quote.html

[Phill. W]

"Joe Fallon" <jf******@nospa mtwcny.rr.com> wrote in message
news:uS******** ******@tk2msftn gp13.phx.gbl...

If I have an Enumeration can I give a text description for each value?

As I see things, the main point of using Enumerations is to make the
"values" within them more meaningful in their own right - self-describing,
if you like - and less like the "Magic Numbers" that we all know and
love ;-)

So, if you want to give your colours names, go for it ...

Public Enum Colours
ReallyCoolBlack = &H0
IceColdLabatts = &HFF0000
. . .

(OK, they're VB6 colour codes - I haven't got to the .Net ones yet).

HTH,
Phill W.