How to enumerate an enum

Question

How can you enumerate an enum in C#?

E.g. the following code does not compile:

public enum Suit
{         


        

Answer 1

Three ways:

1. Enum.GetValues(type) // Since .NET 1.1, not in Silverlight or .NET Compact Framework
2. type.GetEnumValues() // Only on .NET 4 and above
3. type.GetFields().Where(x => x.IsLiteral).Select(x => x.GetValue(null)) // Works everywhere

I am not sure why GetEnumValues was introduced on type instances. It isn't very readable at all for me.

---

Having a helper class like Enum is what is most readable and memorable for me:

public static class Enum where T : struct, IComparable, IFormattable, IConvertible
{
    public static IEnumerable GetValues()
    {
        return (T[])Enum.GetValues(typeof(T));
    }

    public static IEnumerable GetNames()
    {
        return Enum.GetNames(typeof(T));
    }
}

Now you call:

Enum.GetValues();

// Or
Enum.GetValues(typeof(Suit)); // Pretty consistent style

One can also use some sort of caching if performance matters, but I don't expect this to be an issue at all.

public static class Enum where T : struct, IComparable, IFormattable, IConvertible
{
    // Lazily loaded
    static T[] values;
    static string[] names;

    public static IEnumerable GetValues()
    {
        return values ?? (values = (T[])Enum.GetValues(typeof(T)));
    }

    public static IEnumerable GetNames()
    {
        return names ?? (names = Enum.GetNames(typeof(T)));
    }
}