Can a Swift enum be referenced as a variable? - swift

Question

I am centralizing all my application strings in enums, and these strings are all namespaced to the application feature in which they are used (example below).
When I attempt to store the enum in a variable (like var strings = Strings.Feature.SubFeature) and call it like strings.someStringValue, I get a Expected member name or constructor call after name type error.
Declaration:
enum Strings {
enum Feature {
enum Subfeature {
static var someString: String { "some string".localizedLowerCase }
}
}
}
Callsite:
someLabel.text = Strings.Feature.Subfeature.string
Hoped-for behavior:
var strings = Strings.Feature.Subfeature
someLabel.text = strings.someString
Is it possible to store a reference to the containing enum, such that I will not have to reference the full path every time I use a given string? I would love to know if there are any alternative ways of going about this as well.

Answer 1

Joakim's answer looks like it answers your question, but another option (with potentially lower memory use?) would be using a typealias.
typealias SubFeatureStrings = Strings.Feature.Subfeature
and then
SubFeatureStrings.someString
The typealias could be nested inside the class/struct where you're calling it, to avoid conflicts across your app.

Answer 2

enum Strings {
enum Feature {
enum Subfeature {
static var someString: String { "some string".localizedLowerCase }
static var otherString: String { "some other string".localizedLowerCase }
}
}
}
var strings = Strings.Feature.Subfeature.self
someLabel.text = strings.someString
someLabel.text = strings.someOtherString

Answer 3

An enum can be enum <#name#> : String
enum Foo : String {
case bar = "bar"
}
usage: <#something#>.text = Foo.bar.rawValue
For chained purposes
enum SomeEnum {
enum Foo : String {
case bar = "bar"
}
}
usage: <#something#>.text = SomeEnum.Foo.bar.rawValue
Then you can typealias the chain:
typealias foo = SomeEnum.Foo
<#something#>.text = foo.bar.rawValue