Enums provide a way to define sets of named constants from "summary" of C Programming Language by Brian W. Kernighan,Dennis Ritchie
Enums provide a way to define sets of named constants. Instead of having to remember that 0 means "January", 1 means "February", and so on, we can use an enumeration type to give those numbers meaningful names. For example, we might sayenum months { JAN = 1, FEB, MAR, APR, MAY, JUN, JUL, AUG, SEP, OCT, NOV, DEC }; and then we can use "JAN" in place of 1, "FEB" in place of 2, and so on. Not only does this make the program more readable, but it also makes it easier to make changes later on. If we decide to change the numbering of the months, we only have to make the change in one place, where the enumeration is defined. This change will automatically propagate throughout the program. Enums are also helpful in preventing errors. By using named constants instead of literal integers, we reduce the chances of mistyping a number or using the wrong value. For example, if we accidentally use the number 13 instead of "DEC", the compiler will catch this mistake and alert us to the error. This can save us time and effort in debugging our code. Additionally, enums can improve the clarity of our code by making it more self-explanatory. When we see a variable declared as type "enum months" instead of just an integer, we immediately know that this variable represents a month. This can make it easier for other programmers (or even ourselves, when revisiting the code later on) to understand the purpose and intent of the code. In summary, enums provide a simple and effective way to define sets of named constants in C. By using enums, we can make our code more readable, maintainable, and error-resistant. This is a powerful tool in our programming arsenal that can help us write better, more robust code.
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