Java enum Constructor
What is Java enums?
In Java, an enumeration (or “enum”) is a special kind of class that represents a fixed set of values. Each value in an enum is called an enumeration constant, and it’s defined as a static final instance of the enum type. Enums are used to define a fixed set of values that a variable of that type can take on.
- Enums are particularly useful when a variable can only take on one out of a small set of possible values. For example, in a card game, the suit of a card can be one of four values: hearts, diamonds, clubs, and spades
To know more about Java enum in java read the complete article.
Java enum constructor:
In Java, an enumeration (or “enum”) is a special kind of class that represents a fixed set of values. Each value in an enum is called an enumeration constant, and it’s defined as a static final instance of the enum type.
- Enum constructors are always private, it’s not possible to change the access level.
- Enum constructors are always called before any other code in the enum type, regardless of where they appear in the code.
- Enum constructors can only be called by the enum itself, and it’s not possible to create new instances of the enum outside of the enum type.
Private:
accessible within the class
Package Private:
accessible within the package
Let’s look at a Java enum where the Java enum constructor is used to perform an operation on the given code.
Example 1 : Java enum constructor Method
enum Size {
// enum constants calling the enum constructors
SMALL("PrepInsta."),
MEDIUM("PrepInsta."),
LARGE("PrepInsta."),
EXTRALARGE("PrepInsta.");
private final String pizzaSize;
// private enum constructor
private Size(String pizzaSize) {
this.pizzaSize = pizzaSize;
}
public String getSize() {
return pizzaSize;
}
}
class Main {
public static void main(String[] args) {
Size size = Size.SMALL;
System.out.println(size.getSize());
}
}
Output
PrepInsta.
Explanation:
we have created an enum Size. It includes a private enum constructor. The constructor takes a string value as a parameter and assigns value to the variable pizzaSize.
Since the constructor is private, we cannot access it from outside the class. However, we can use enum constants to call the constructor.
Example 2 : Java enum constructor Method
Run
public class Main {
public static void main(String[] args) {
Size small = Size.SMALL;
System.out.println("Abbreviation for small: " + small.getAbbreviation());
Size medium = Size.MEDIUM;
System.out.println("Abbreviation for medium: " + medium.getAbbreviation());
Size large = Size.LARGE;
System.out.println("Abbreviation for large: " + large.getAbbreviation());
Size extraLarge = Size.EXTRA_LARGE;
System.out.println("Abbreviation for extra large: " + extraLarge.getAbbreviation());
}
}
enum Size {
SMALL("S"), MEDIUM("M"), LARGE("L"), EXTRA_LARGE("XL");
private String abbreviation;
private Size(String abbreviation) {
this.abbreviation = abbreviation;
}
public String getAbbreviation() {
return abbreviation;
}
}
Output
Abbreviation for small: S Abbreviation for medium: M Abbreviation for large: L Abbreviation for extra large: XL
Explanation:
The enum defines four enumeration constants: SMALL, MEDIUM, LARGE, and EXTRA_LARGE.
The code also defines a private constructor that takes a single argument of type String, which is used to initialize the abbreviation field of the enum constant. The abbreviation field is of type String and it's used to store an abbreviation of the size.
The code also defines a getAbbreviation() method, which is used to retrieve the abbreviation of the size. This method returns the value of the abbreviation field.
Example 3: Java enum constructor
public class Main {
public static void main(String[] args) {
Size small = Size.SMALL;
System.out.println("Abbreviation for small: " + small.getAbbreviation());
Size medium = Size.MEDIUM;
System.out.println("Abbreviation for medium: " + medium.getAbbreviation());
Size large = Size.LARGE;
System.out.println("Abbreviation for large: " + large.getAbbreviation());
Size extraLarge = Size.EXTRA_LARGE;
System.out.println("Abbreviation for extra large: " + extraLarge.getAbbreviation());
Size custom = Size.valueOf("CUSTOM");
System.out.println("Abbreviation for custom: " + custom.getAbbreviation());
}
}
enum Size {
SMALL("S"), MEDIUM("M"), LARGE("L"), EXTRA_LARGE("XL"), CUSTOM("CUST");
private String abbreviation;
private Size(String abbreviation) {
this.abbreviation = abbreviation;
}
public String getAbbreviation() {
return abbreviation;
}
}
Output
Abbreviation for small: S Abbreviation for medium: M Abbreviation for large: L Abbreviation for extra large: XL Abbreviation for custom: CUST
Explanation:
, the main class creates four instances of the Size enum, one for each enumeration constant. It then uses the getAbbreviation() method to retrieve the abbreviation for each size and prints it to the console using the System.out.println() method.
The main class also uses the valueOf() method which converts a string to an enum constant, in this case, it converts "CUSTOM" to CUSTOM enum constant, and then use getAbbreviation method to retrieve the abbreviation of that constant.
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