Using default in a switch statement when switching over an enum

Question

What is your procedure when switching over an enum where every enumeration is covered by a case? Ideally you\'d like the code to be future proof, how do you do that?

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Answer 1

I personally recommend any of your solutions, except the first. Leave in the default case, and assert, throw (whatever exception type you like). In C#, Visual Studio doesn't warn you if you leave out the default case.

The reason I suggest you add the case and fail on it is that this is an important point of code maintenance. As soon as someone adds to the enumerated list, the switch statement has to grow to match.

Also (as UncleBen said), see if you can design against this whole scenario by using polymorphism. That way, when you add a new value to the enumeration, you only have to add it in one place. Any time you see a switch on an enum, you should consider using polymorphism instead.