Printing Enum Variable Re: Linux World

[David Starner <dstarner98@aasaa.ofe.org>]

fraser@synopsys.synopsys.com.com wrote:
> I'd really like to go, pending time constraints.  If you see a guy wearing
> black with a shaved head asking innocent C-philes how to display the
> string representation of an enumeration constant, that's me. :)

/* This code is off the top of my head, and has not been tested. */
#include <stdio.h>
enum Bob {Red_Apple, Green_Apple, Orange};

char * PrintBob(enum Bob Mike) {
	switch (Mike) {
		case Red_Apple: return "Red apple";
		case Green_Apple: return "Green apple";
		case Orange: return "Orange";
	};
};

int main() {puts (PrintBob(Apple));}

Note this has certain advantages over Ada's default method - it lets you
print a good string, instead of the mangled string that went into the
code (which, in my experiance, Ada further mangles by making it all
upper case), and it lets you internationalize the code easily. 

IMO, printing enumerator literals, as is, is a quick and dirty hack that
should be used only if you're the only user. It's not C's fault for
leaving it out; it would be inappropriate with C's model of enumerated
variables, IMO. (How should you print a value that doesn't have an
associated name, for instance?)

-- 
David Starner - OSU student - dstarner98@aasaa.ofe.org
If you want a real optimist, look up Ray Bradbury. Guy's nuts. 
He actually likes people. -David Brin