C++: Print out enum value as text

If i have an enum like this

enum Errors
{ErrorA=0, ErrorB, ErrorC};

Then i want to print out to console

Errors anError = ErrorA;
cout<<anError;/// 0 will be printed

but what i want is the text "ErrorA", can i do it without using if/switch?
And what is your solution for this?

Using map:

#include <iostream>
#include <map>
#include <string>

enum Errors {ErrorA=0, ErrorB, ErrorC};

std::ostream& operator<<(std::ostream& out, const Errors value){
	static std::map<Errors, std::string> strings;
	if (strings.size() == 0){
#define INSERT_ELEMENT(p) strings[p] = #p
		INSERT_ELEMENT(ErrorA);		
		INSERT_ELEMENT(ErrorB);		
		INSERT_ELEMENT(ErrorC);				
#undef INSERT_ELEMENT
	}	
	
	return out << strings[value];
}

int main(int argc, char** argv){
	std::cout << ErrorA << std::endl << ErrorB << std::endl << ErrorC << std::endl;
	return 0;	
}

Using array of structures with linear search:

#include <iostream>
#include <string>

enum Errors {ErrorA=0, ErrorB, ErrorC};

std::ostream& operator<<(std::ostream& out, const Errors value){
#define MAPENTRY(p) {p, #p}
	const struct MapEntry{
		Errors value;
		const char* str;
	} entries[] = {
		MAPENTRY(ErrorA),
		MAPENTRY(ErrorB),
		MAPENTRY(ErrorC),
		{ErrorA, 0}//doesn't matter what is used instead of ErrorA here...
	};
#undef MAPENTRY
	const char* s = 0;
	for (const MapEntry* i = entries; i->str; i++){
		if (i->value == value){
			s = i->str;
			break;
		}
	}

	return out << s;
}

int main(int argc, char** argv){
	std::cout << ErrorA << std::endl << ErrorB << std::endl << ErrorC << std::endl;
	return 0;   
}

Using switch/case:

#include <iostream>
#include <string>

enum Errors {ErrorA=0, ErrorB, ErrorC};

std::ostream& operator<<(std::ostream& out, const Errors value){
	const char* s = 0;
#define PROCESS_VAL(p) case(p): s = #p; break;
	switch(value){
	    PROCESS_VAL(ErrorA);     
        PROCESS_VAL(ErrorB);     
	    PROCESS_VAL(ErrorC);
	}
#undef PROCESS_VAL

	return out << s;
}

int main(int argc, char** argv){
	std::cout << ErrorA << std::endl << ErrorB << std::endl << ErrorC << std::endl;
	return 0;   
}

Use an array or vector of strings with matching values:

char *ErrorTypes[] =
{
    "errorA",
    "errorB",
    "errorC"
};

cout << ErrorTypes[anError];

---

EDIT: The solution above is applicable when the enum is contiguous, i.e. starts from 0 and there are no assigned values. It will work perfectly with the enum in the question.

To further proof it for the case that enum doesn't start from 0, use:

cout << ErrorTypes[anError - ErrorA];

Here is an example based on Boost.Preprocessor:

#include <iostream>

#include <boost/preprocessor/punctuation/comma.hpp>
#include <boost/preprocessor/control/iif.hpp>
#include <boost/preprocessor/comparison/equal.hpp>
#include <boost/preprocessor/stringize.hpp>
#include <boost/preprocessor/seq/for_each.hpp>
#include <boost/preprocessor/seq/size.hpp>
#include <boost/preprocessor/seq/seq.hpp>


#define DEFINE_ENUM(name, values)                               \
  enum name {                                                   \
    BOOST_PP_SEQ_FOR_EACH(DEFINE_ENUM_VALUE, , values)          \
  };                                                            \
  inline const char* format_##name(name val) {                  \
    switch (val) {                                              \
      BOOST_PP_SEQ_FOR_EACH(DEFINE_ENUM_FORMAT, , values)       \
    default:                                                    \
        return 0;                                               \
    }                                                           \
  }

#define DEFINE_ENUM_VALUE(r, data, elem)                        \
  BOOST_PP_SEQ_HEAD(elem)                                       \
  BOOST_PP_IIF(BOOST_PP_EQUAL(BOOST_PP_SEQ_SIZE(elem), 2),      \
               = BOOST_PP_SEQ_TAIL(elem), )                     \
  BOOST_PP_COMMA()

#define DEFINE_ENUM_FORMAT(r, data, elem)             \
  case BOOST_PP_SEQ_HEAD(elem):                       \
  return BOOST_PP_STRINGIZE(BOOST_PP_SEQ_HEAD(elem));


DEFINE_ENUM(Errors,
            ((ErrorA)(0))
            ((ErrorB))
            ((ErrorC)))

int main() {
  std::cout << format_Errors(ErrorB) << std::endl;
}

You can use a simpler pre-processor trick if you are willing to list your enum entries in an external file.

/* file: errors.def */
/* syntax: ERROR_DEF(name, value) */
ERROR_DEF(ErrorA, 0x1)
ERROR_DEF(ErrorB, 0x2)
ERROR_DEF(ErrorC, 0x4)

Then in a source file, you treat the file like an include file, but you define what you want the ERROR_DEF to do.

enum Errors {
#define ERROR_DEF(x,y) x = y,
#include "errors.def"
#undef ERROR_DEF
};

static inline std::ostream & operator << (std::ostream &o, Errors e) {
    switch (e) {
    #define ERROR_DEF(x,y) case y: return o << #x"[" << y << "]";
    #include "errors.def"
    #undef ERROR_DEF
    default: return o << "unknown[" << e << "]";
    }
}

If you use some source browsing tool (like cscope), you'll have to let it know about the external file.

This is a good way,

enum Rank { ACE = 1, DEUCE, TREY, FOUR, FIVE, SIX, SEVEN, EIGHT, NINE, TEN, JACK, QUEEN, KING };

Print it with an array of character arrays

const char* rank_txt[] = {"Ace", "Deuce", "Trey", "Four", "Five", "Six", "Seven", "Eight", "Nine", "Ten", "Jack", "Four", "King" } ;

Like this

std::cout << rank_txt[m_rank - 1]

There has been a discussion here which might help: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/201593/is-there-a-simple-script-to-convert-c-enum-to-string

UPDATE: Here#s a script for Lua which creates an operator<< for each named enum it encounters. This might need some work to make it work for the less simple cases [1]:

function make_enum_printers(s)
	for n,body in string.gmatch(s,'enum%s+([%w_]+)%s*(%b{})') do
	print('ostream& operator<<(ostream &o,'..n..' n) { switch(n){') 
	for k in string.gmatch(body,"([%w_]+)[^,]*") do
	print('  case '..k..': return o<<"'..k..'";')
	end
	print('  default: return o<<"(invalid value)"; }}')
	end
end

local f=io.open(arg[1],"r")
local s=f:read('*a')
make_enum_printers(s)

Given this input:

enum Errors
{ErrorA=0, ErrorB, ErrorC};

enum Sec {
	X=1,Y=X,foo_bar=X+1,Z
};

It produces:

ostream& operator<<(ostream &o,Errors n) { switch(n){
  case ErrorA: return o<<"ErrorA";
  case ErrorB: return o<<"ErrorB";
  case ErrorC: return o<<"ErrorC";
  default: return o<<"(invalid value)"; }}
ostream& operator<<(ostream &o,Sec n) { switch(n){
  case X: return o<<"X";
  case Y: return o<<"Y";
  case foo_bar: return o<<"foo_bar";
  case Z: return o<<"Z";
  default: return o<<"(invalid value)"; }}

So that's probably a start for you.

[1] enums in different or non-namespace scopes, enums with initializer expressions which contain a komma, etc.

I use a string array whenever I define an enum:

Profile.h

#pragma once

struct Profile
{
	enum Value
	{
		Profile1,
		Profile2,
	};

	struct StringValueImplementation
	{
		const wchar_t* operator[](const Profile::Value profile)
		{
			switch (profile)
			{
			case Profile::Profile1: return L"Profile1";
			case Profile::Profile2: return L"Profile2";
			default: ASSERT(false); return NULL;
			}
		}
	};

	static StringValueImplementation StringValue;
};

Profile.cpp

#include "Profile.h"

Profile::StringValueImplementation Profile::StringValue;

#include <iostream>
using std::cout;
using std::endl;

enum TEnum
{ 
  EOne,
  ETwo,
  EThree,
  ELast
};

#define VAR_NAME_HELPER(name) #name
#define VAR_NAME(x) VAR_NAME_HELPER(x)

#define CHECK_STATE_STR(x) case(x):return VAR_NAME(x);

const char *State2Str(const TEnum state)
{
  switch(state)
  {
    CHECK_STATE_STR(EOne);
    CHECK_STATE_STR(ETwo);
    CHECK_STATE_STR(EThree);
    CHECK_STATE_STR(ELast);
    default:
      return "Invalid";
  }
}

int main()
{
  int myInt=12345;
  cout << VAR_NAME(EOne) " " << VAR_NAME(myInt) << endl;

  for(int i = -1; i < 5;   i)
    cout << i << " " << State2Str((TEnum)i) << endl;
  return 0;
}

You could use a stl map container....

typedef map<Errors, string> ErrorMap;

ErrorMap m;
m.insert(ErrorMap::value_type(ErrorA, "ErrorA"));
m.insert(ErrorMap::value_type(ErrorB, "ErrorB"));
m.insert(ErrorMap::value_type(ErrorC, "ErrorC"));

Errors error = ErrorA;

cout << m[error] << endl;

For this problem, I do a help function like this:

const char* name(Id id) {
    struct Entry {
        Id id;
        const char* name;
    };
    static const Entry entries[] = {
        { ErrorA, "ErrorA" },
        { ErrorB, "ErrorB" },
        { 0, 0 }
    }
    for (int it = 0; it < gui::SiCount; ++it) {
        if (entries[it].id == id) {
            return entries[it].name;
        }
    }
   return 0;
}

Linear search is usually more efficient than std::map for small collections like this.

This solution doesn't require you to use any data structures or make a different file.

Basically, you define all your enum values in a #define, then use them in the operator <<. Very similar to @jxh's answer.

ideone link for final iteration: http://ideone.com/hQTKQp

Full code:

#include <iostream>

#define ERROR_VALUES ERROR_VALUE(NO_ERROR)\
ERROR_VALUE(FILE_NOT_FOUND)\
ERROR_VALUE(LABEL_UNINITIALISED)

enum class Error
{
#define ERROR_VALUE(NAME) NAME,
    ERROR_VALUES
#undef ERROR_VALUE
};

inline std::ostream& operator<<(std::ostream& os, Error err)
{
	int errVal = static_cast<int>(err);
    switch (err)
    {
#define ERROR_VALUE(NAME) case Error::NAME: return os << "[" << errVal << "]" #NAME;
    ERROR_VALUES
#undef ERROR_VALUE
    default:
    	// If the error value isn't found (shouldn't happen)
        return os << errVal;
    }
}

int main() {
    std::cout << "Error: " << Error::NO_ERROR << std::endl;
    std::cout << "Error: " << Error::FILE_NOT_FOUND << std::endl;
    std::cout << "Error: " << Error::LABEL_UNINITIALISED << std::endl;
	return 0;
}

Output:

Error: [0]NO_ERROR
Error: [1]FILE_NOT_FOUND
Error: [2]LABEL_UNINITIALISED

A nice thing about doing it this way is that you can also specify your own custom messages for each error if you think you need them:

#include <iostream>

#define ERROR_VALUES ERROR_VALUE(NO_ERROR, "Everything is fine")\
ERROR_VALUE(FILE_NOT_FOUND, "File is not found")\
ERROR_VALUE(LABEL_UNINITIALISED, "A component tried to the label before it was initialised")

enum class Error
{
#define ERROR_VALUE(NAME,DESCR) NAME,
    ERROR_VALUES
#undef ERROR_VALUE
};

inline std::ostream& operator<<(std::ostream& os, Error err)
{
	int errVal = static_cast<int>(err);
    switch (err)
    {
#define ERROR_VALUE(NAME,DESCR) case Error::NAME: return os << "[" << errVal << "]" #NAME <<"; " << DESCR;
    ERROR_VALUES
#undef ERROR_VALUE
    default:
        return os << errVal;
    }
}

int main() {
    std::cout << "Error: " << Error::NO_ERROR << std::endl;
    std::cout << "Error: " << Error::FILE_NOT_FOUND << std::endl;
    std::cout << "Error: " << Error::LABEL_UNINITIALISED << std::endl;
	return 0;
}

Output:

Error: [0]NO_ERROR; Everything is fine
Error: [1]FILE_NOT_FOUND; File is not found
Error: [2]LABEL_UNINITIALISED; A component tried to the label before it was initialised

If you like making your error codes/descriptions very descriptive, you might not want them in production builds. Turning them off so only the value is printed is easy:

inline std::ostream& operator<<(std::ostream& os, Error err)
{
	int errVal = static_cast<int>(err);
    switch (err)
    {
    #ifndef PRODUCTION_BUILD // Don't print out names in production builds
    #define ERROR_VALUE(NAME,DESCR) case Error::NAME: return os << "[" << errVal << "]" #NAME <<"; " << DESCR;
        ERROR_VALUES
    #undef ERROR_VALUE
    #endif
    default:
        return os << errVal;
    }
}

Output:

Error: 0
Error: 1
Error: 2

If this is the case, finding error number 525 would be a PITA. We can manually specify the numbers in the initial enum like this:

#define ERROR_VALUES ERROR_VALUE(NO_ERROR, 0, "Everything is fine")\
ERROR_VALUE(FILE_NOT_FOUND, 1, "File is not found")\
ERROR_VALUE(LABEL_UNINITIALISED, 2, "A component tried to the label before it was initialised")\
ERROR_VALUE(UKNOWN_ERROR, -1, "Uh oh")

enum class Error
{
#define ERROR_VALUE(NAME,VALUE,DESCR) NAME=VALUE,
    ERROR_VALUES
#undef ERROR_VALUE
};

inline std::ostream& operator<<(std::ostream& os, Error err)
{
	int errVal = static_cast<int>(err);
    switch (err)
    {
#ifndef PRODUCTION_BUILD // Don't print out names in production builds
#define ERROR_VALUE(NAME,VALUE,DESCR) case Error::NAME: return os << "[" #VALUE  "]" #NAME <<"; " << DESCR;
    ERROR_VALUES
#undef ERROR_VALUE
#endif
    default:
        return os <<errVal;
    }
}
    ERROR_VALUES
#undef ERROR_VALUE
#endif
    default:
    {
    	// If the error value isn't found (shouldn't happen)
        return os << static_cast<int>(err);
        break;
    }
    }
}

Output:

Error: [0]NO_ERROR; Everything is fine
Error: [1]FILE_NOT_FOUND; File is not found
Error: [2]LABEL_UNINITIALISED; A component tried to the label before it was initialised
Error: [-1]UKNOWN_ERROR; Uh oh

How about this?

	enum class ErrorCodes : int{
	      InvalidInput = 0
    };

    std::cout << ((int)error == 0 ? "InvalidInput" : "") << std::endl;

etc... I know this is a highly contrived example but I think it has application where applicable and needed and is certainly shorter than writing a script for it.

Use the preprocessor:

#define VISIT_ERROR(FIRST, MIDDLE, LAST) \
    FIRST(ErrorA) MIDDLE(ErrorB) /* MIDDLE(ErrorB2) */ LAST(ErrorC)

enum Errors
{
    #define ENUMFIRST_ERROR(E)  E=0,
    #define ENUMMIDDLE_ERROR(E) E,
    #define ENUMLAST_ERROR(E)   E
    VISIT_ERROR(ENUMFIRST_ERROR, ENUMMIDDLE_ERROR, ENUMLAST_ERROR)
    // you might undefine the 3 macros defined above
};

std::string toString(Error e)
{
    switch(e)
    {
    #define CASERETURN_ERROR(E)  case E: return #E;
    VISIT_ERROR(CASERETURN_ERROR, CASERETURN_ERROR, CASERETURN_ERROR)
    // you might undefine the above macro.
    // note that this will produce compile-time error for synonyms in enum;
    // handle those, if you have any, in a distinct macro

    default:
        throw my_favourite_exception();
    }
}

The advantage of this approach is that:

• it's still simple to understand, yet
• it allows for various visitations (not just string)

If you're willing to drop the first, craft yourself a FOREACH() macro, then #define ERROR_VALUES() (ErrorA, ErrorB, ErrorC) and write your visitors in terms of FOREACH(). Then try to pass a code review :).