How Can I Easily Map C Enums to Strings Using Templates?

How to Easily Map C Enums to Strings

Background:

You have enum types defined in external library headers and wish to convert enum values to human-readable strings. Brute-force solutions involve manually defined functions, but an elegant solution is sought using templates.

Using a std::map:

A simple approach is to use a std::map to associate enum values with string literals.

Syntactic Sugar with map_init class:

To simplify syntax, a map_init class can be created to enable chaining of value assignments:

map_init(MyMap)(eValue1, "A")
    (eValue2, "B")
    (eValue3, "C");

This class template returns a map_init_helper object that stores a reference to the map and provides an operator() function for adding key-value pairs.

Example Usage:

To use this approach, you can:

1. Create a map using std::map MyMap;.
2. Initialize the map with map_init(MyMap) followed by chained operator() calls.
3. Retrieve the string representation of an enum value using getStringValue(enumValue).

Alternative Approach:

If the enum names themselves should be used as strings, refer to [this post](link to relevant post).

Summary:

This solution provides an easy and efficient way to map C enums to strings, offering a more elegant alternative to brute-force methods. The map_init class further simplifies the syntax, making it easier to work with maps of enum values and their string representations.

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