CODEWITHSUNDEEP
c++enumscout
Lemonizer
Lemonizer

Reputation: 83

printing text-value of enum, not the value

I want to print the text value of an enum, if I enter 5, it will print F1. If i enter 63, it has to print H8. In the code below, I tried cout << "You chose: " << board_square(chosen_piece) << endl, but it prints the value twice.

enum board_square {
    A1 = 1, B1, C1, D1, E1, F1, G1, H1,
    A2, B2, C2, D2, E2, F2, G2, H2,
    A3, B3, C3, D3, E3, F3, G3, H3,
    A4, B4, C4, D4, E4, F4, G4, H4,
    A5, B5, C5, D5, E5, F5, G5, H5,
    A6, B6, C6, D6, E6, F6, G6, H6,
    A7, B7, C7, D7, E7, F7, G7, H7,
    A8, B8, C8, D8, E8, F8, G8, H8,
};

int choose_piece()
{
    using namespace std;
    cout << "X Location?" << endl << ">";
    int column;
    cin >> column;
    cout << "Y Location?" << endl << ">";
    int line;
    cin >> line;
    //This formula calculates which square is placed on the dimensions you entered
    int chosen_piece = (column + (line - 1) * 8);
    return chosen_piece;
}

int main()
{
    using namespace std;
    cout << "Enter dimensions for the piece you want to move" << endl;
    int chosen_piece = choose_piece();
    cout << chosen_piece << endl;
    //How can I get it to print the enum for it here?
    cout << "You chose: " << board_square(chosen_piece) << endl; //This doesn't work either :(
    return 0;
}

Upvotes: 0

Views: 5370

Answers (3)

Mike Seymour
Mike Seymour

Reputation: 254431

Enumerator names aren't available at run-time; they are just a convenient way give names to numbers in the source. You will need some run-time code to convert numeric values into run-time strings, perhaps something like:

std::string label(int row, int col) {
    return {char('A'+row), char('1'+col)};
}

Upvotes: 1

Drew Dormann
Drew Dormann

Reputation: 63745

Your runtime C++ executable is not designed to know the names of all the symbols you create.

In the case of your specific problem, it's pretty easy to generate a matching name.

std::string name_of( board_square s )
{
    std::string name;
    name += 'A' + int(s) % 8;  // First character
    name += '1' + int(s) / 8;  // Second character
    return name;
}

Upvotes: 2

user529758
user529758

Reputation:

I want to print the text value of an enum

That's not something simple. This is an XY problem, I feel. What you could do instead (assuming a locale in which letters of the alphabet are in order):

string name;
name += (char)(column + 'A');
name += (char)(line + '1');
cout << "You chose: " << name << endl;

Upvotes: 1

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