Java how to access inner enum class

Question

public class Constant {

  ......

  public enum Status {
    ERROR,
    WARNING,
    NORMAL
  }

  ......

}

After compiling I got a class file named Constant$Status.class. The question is, how can I access the enum value. For instance, I want to get the string representation of the ERROR status.

`Constant.Status status = Constant.Status.NORMAL;` doesn't work ? — Bala R, Jun 08 '11 at 15:06

Matt Ball · Accepted Answer · 2013-01-04T23:59:18.760

52

You'll be able to access it elsewhere like

import package.name.Constant;
//...
Constant.Status foo = Constant.Status.ERROR;

or,

import package.name.Constant;
import package.name.Constant.Status;
//...
Status foo = Status.ERROR;

To get the declared name of any enum element, use Enum#name():

Status foo = ...;
String fooName = foo.name();

edited Jan 04 '13 at 23:59

answered Jun 08 '11 at 15:04

Matt Ball

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12

if an enum is a member of a class, it is implicitly static - there's no need for the static keyword. – planetjones Jun 08 '11 at 15:07

score 6 · Answer 2 · answered Jun 08 '11 at 15:06

6

In your code just do:

Constant.Status.ERROR.toString();

answered Jun 08 '11 at 15:06

planetjones

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AaCodes · Answer 3 · 2016-08-11T02:00:22.547

2

Since this was not mentioned before, in the original question the enum has the public access modifier which means we should be able to do Constant.Status.ERROR.toString() from anywhere. If it was set to private it would have been available only to the class: Constant. Similarly it is accessible within the same package in case of no modifier (default).

edited Aug 11 '16 at 02:00

answered Aug 11 '16 at 00:52

AaCodes

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What 'outer enum'? – user207421 Aug 11 '16 at 01:11

Java how to access inner enum class

3 Answers3

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