Enum inheriting from int

Question

I\'ve found this all over the place in this code:

public enum Blah: int
{
    blah = 0,
    blahblah = 1
}

Why would it need to inherit fro

Answer 1

Enums are implicitly backed by integers.
: int just restates the default, just like void M(); vs. private void M();.

You can also create enums that are backed by other intergral types, such as enum GiantEnum : long.