In this example, we will learn to create an enum class in Java
Example 1: Java program to create an enum class
enum Size{ // enum constants SMALL, MEDIUM, LARGE, EXTRALARGE; public String getSize() { // this will refer to the object SMALL switch(this) { case SMALL: return "small"; case MEDIUM: return "medium"; case LARGE: return "large"; case EXTRALARGE: return "extra large"; default: return null; } } public static void main(String[] args) { // call the method getSize() // using the object SMALL System.out.println("The size of Pizza I get is " + Size.SMALL.getSize()); // call the method getSize() // using the object LARGE System.out.println("The size of Pizza I want is " + Size.LARGE.getSize()); } }
Output
The size of Pizza I get is small The size of Pizza I want is large
In the above example, we have created an enum class named Size. The class contains four constants SMALL, MEDIUM, LARGE, and EXTRALARGE.
Here, the compiler automatically converts all the constants of the enum into its instances. Hence, we can call the method using the constant as objects.
Size.SMALL.getSize()
In this call, the this
keyword is now associated with the SMALL object. Hence, the value small is returned.