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Prefer Enums Over #define Macros When You Need a Fixed Set of Values

Prefer Enums Over #define Macros When You Need a Fixed Set of Values

Instead of using #define macros to create a set of values, as in this (deprecated) example:

 #define JAN	1#define FEB	2//...#define DEC	12

Enum types are a significantly better choice:

 //file enums.henum Months {	//a list of enumerators: 	Jan,  		Feb,	//...	Dec };enum Days {	Sun,	Mon,	//...	};

There are several benefits to the use of enums.

1. They are safe, because the compiler checks that an enum is always assigned a valid value (one of the enumerators in the enum’s definition and no other). Enum types behave like any other built-in type so you can use them to overload functions:

 #include
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