How can I iterate over an enum?

I just noticed that you can not use standard math operators on an enum such as ++ or +=

So what is the best way to iterate through all of the values in a C++ enum?

Solution 1:

The typical way is as follows:

enum Foo {
  One,
  Two,
  Three,
  Last
};

for ( int fooInt = One; fooInt != Last; fooInt++ )
{
   Foo foo = static_cast<Foo>(fooInt);
   // ...
}

Please note, the enum Last is meant to be skipped by the iteration. Utilizing this "fake" Last enum, you don't have to update your terminating condition in the for loop to the last "real" enum each time you want to add a new enum. If you want to add more enums later, just add them before Last. The loop in this example will still work.

Of course, this breaks down if the enum values are specified:

enum Foo {
  One = 1,
  Two = 9,
  Three = 4,
  Last
};

This illustrates that an enum is not really meant to iterate through. The typical way to deal with an enum is to use it in a switch statement.

switch ( foo )
{
    case One:
        // ..
        break;
    case Two:  // intentional fall-through
    case Three:
        // ..
        break;
    case Four:
        // ..
        break;
     default:
        assert( ! "Invalid Foo enum value" );
        break;
}

If you really want to enumerate, stuff the enum values in a vector and iterate over that. This will properly deal with the specified enum values as well.

Solution 2:

#include <iostream>
#include <algorithm>

namespace MyEnum
{
  enum Type
  {
    a = 100,
    b = 220,
    c = -1
  };

  static const Type All[] = { a, b, c };
}

void fun( const MyEnum::Type e )
{
  std::cout << e << std::endl;
}

int main()
{
  // all
  for ( const auto e : MyEnum::All )
    fun( e );

  // some
  for ( const auto e : { MyEnum::a, MyEnum::b } )
    fun( e );

  // all
  std::for_each( std::begin( MyEnum::All ), std::end( MyEnum::All ), fun );

  return 0;
}

Solution 3:

With c++11, there actually is an alternative: writing a simple templatized custom iterator.

let's assume your enum is

enum class foo {
  one,
  two,
  three
};

This generic code will do the trick, quite efficiently - place in a generic header, it'll serve you for any enum you may need to iterate over:

#include <type_traits>
template < typename C, C beginVal, C endVal>
class Iterator {
  typedef typename std::underlying_type<C>::type val_t;
  int val;
public:
  Iterator(const C & f) : val(static_cast<val_t>(f)) {}
  Iterator() : val(static_cast<val_t>(beginVal)) {}
  Iterator operator++() {
    ++val;
    return *this;
  }
  C operator*() { return static_cast<C>(val); }
  Iterator begin() { return *this; } //default ctor is good
  Iterator end() {
      static const Iterator endIter=++Iterator(endVal); // cache it
      return endIter;
  }
  bool operator!=(const Iterator& i) { return val != i.val; }
};

You'll need to specialize it

typedef Iterator<foo, foo::one, foo::three> fooIterator;

And then you can iterate using range-for

for (foo i : fooIterator() ) { //notice the parentheses!
   do_stuff(i);
}

The assumption that you don't have gaps in your enum is still true; there is no assumption on the number of bits actually needed to store the enum value (thanks to std::underlying_type)

Solution 4:

too much complicated these solution, i do like that :

enum NodePosition { Primary = 0, Secondary = 1, Tertiary = 2, Quaternary = 3};

const NodePosition NodePositionVector[] = { Primary, Secondary, Tertiary, Quaternary };

for (NodePosition pos : NodePositionVector) {
...
}