public abstract class

Enum

extends Object
implements Serializable Comparable<T>
java.lang.Object
   ↳ java.lang.Enum<E extends java.lang.Enum<E>>
Known Direct Subclasses

Class Overview

This is the common base class of all Java language enumeration types.

Summary

Protected Constructors
Enum(String name, int ordinal)
Sole constructor.
Public Methods
final int compareTo(E o)
Compares this enum with the specified object for order.
final boolean equals(Object other)
Returns true if the specified object is equal to this enum constant.
final Class<E> getDeclaringClass()
Returns the Class object corresponding to this enum constant's enum type.
final int hashCode()
Returns a hash code for this enum constant.
final String name()
Returns the name of this enum constant, exactly as declared in its enum declaration.
final int ordinal()
Returns the ordinal of this enumeration constant (its position in its enum declaration, where the initial constant is assigned an ordinal of zero).
String toString()
Returns the name of this enum constant, as contained in the declaration.
static <T extends Enum<T>> T valueOf(Class<T> enumType, String name)
Returns the enum constant of the specified enum type with the specified name.
Protected Methods
final Object clone()
Throws CloneNotSupportedException.
final void finalize()
enum classes cannot have finalize methods.
[Expand]
Inherited Methods
From class java.lang.Object
From interface java.lang.Comparable

Protected Constructors

protected Enum (String name, int ordinal)

Sole constructor. Programmers cannot invoke this constructor. It is for use by code emitted by the compiler in response to enum type declarations.

Parameters
name - The name of this enum constant, which is the identifier used to declare it.
ordinal - The ordinal of this enumeration constant (its position in the enum declaration, where the initial constant is assigned an ordinal of zero).

Public Methods

public final int compareTo (E o)

Compares this enum with the specified object for order. Returns a negative integer, zero, or a positive integer as this object is less than, equal to, or greater than the specified object. Enum constants are only comparable to other enum constants of the same enum type. The natural order implemented by this method is the order in which the constants are declared.

public final boolean equals (Object other)

Returns true if the specified object is equal to this enum constant.

Parameters
other the object to be compared for equality with this object.
Returns
  • true if the specified object is equal to this enum constant.

public final Class<E> getDeclaringClass ()

Returns the Class object corresponding to this enum constant's enum type. Two enum constants e1 and e2 are of the same enum type if and only if e1.getDeclaringClass() == e2.getDeclaringClass(). (The value returned by this method may differ from the one returned by the getClass() method for enum constants with constant-specific class bodies.)

Returns
  • the Class object corresponding to this enum constant's enum type

public final int hashCode ()

Returns a hash code for this enum constant.

Returns
  • a hash code for this enum constant.

public final String name ()

Returns the name of this enum constant, exactly as declared in its enum declaration. Most programmers should use the toString() method in preference to this one, as the toString method may return a more user-friendly name. This method is designed primarily for use in specialized situations where correctness depends on getting the exact name, which will not vary from release to release.

Returns
  • the name of this enum constant

public final int ordinal ()

Returns the ordinal of this enumeration constant (its position in its enum declaration, where the initial constant is assigned an ordinal of zero). Most programmers will have no use for this method. It is designed for use by sophisticated enum-based data structures, such as EnumSet and EnumMap.

Returns
  • the ordinal of this enumeration constant

public String toString ()

Returns the name of this enum constant, as contained in the declaration. This method may be overridden, though it typically isn't necessary or desirable. An enum type should override this method when a more "programmer-friendly" string form exists.

Returns
  • the name of this enum constant

public static T valueOf (Class<T> enumType, String name)

Returns the enum constant of the specified enum type with the specified name. The name must match exactly an identifier used to declare an enum constant in this type. (Extraneous whitespace characters are not permitted.)

Parameters
enumType the Class object of the enum type from which to return a constant
name the name of the constant to return
Returns
  • the enum constant of the specified enum type with the specified name
Throws
IllegalArgumentException if the specified enum type has no constant with the specified name, or the specified class object does not represent an enum type
NullPointerException if enumType or name is null

Protected Methods

protected final Object clone ()

Throws CloneNotSupportedException. This guarantees that enums are never cloned, which is necessary to preserve their "singleton" status.

Returns
  • (never returns)

protected final void finalize ()

enum classes cannot have finalize methods.