C# – Get int value from enum

The simplest way to get an enum’s int value is by casting it to an int. Here’s an example: This outputs the following: When the enum is generic (of type ‘Enum’) You can’t cast a generic ‘Enum’ to int, otherwise you get a compiler error (CS0030 Cannot convert type ‘System.Enum’ to ‘int’). Use Convert.Int32() instead. … Read more

C# – Enum generic type constraint

Here’s how you can use Enum as a generic constraint: Note: Microsoft added this feature in C# 7.3. Whenever you have a generic method, it’s a good idea to use generic type constraints. Without constraints, you would have to implement type checking in the generic method and throw exceptions if an invalid type was used. … Read more

C# – Fill a dropdown with enum values

When you need to show enum values in a dropdown (ComboBox control with DropDownStyle=DropDown), it’s a good idea to automatically populate the list, instead of manually setting all of the values. To fill the dropdown with the enum’s values, set the DataSource to Enum.Values(), like this: Read more about how to show the enum’s Description … Read more

C# – How to use enum flags

Enum flags allow you to put multiple values in an enum variable/parameter. This is a nice alternative to the problem of having to pass around a ton of bools . You set multiple values by bitwise ORing them together. Here’s an example: In this article, I’ll show how to create and use enum flags. Use … Read more

JsonException: The JSON value could not be converted to Enum

When you’re using System.Text.Json to deserialize JSON that contains the string representation of an enum, you get the following exception: System.Text.Json.JsonException: The JSON value could not be converted to <Enum Type> The following JSON would cause this exception. Conference is an enum, and this is using the string representation “NFC” instead of the numeric value … Read more