In Swift, is it possible to convert a string to an enum? - swift

Question

If I have an enum with the cases a,b,c,d is it possible for me to cast the string "a" as the enum?

Answer 1

Sure. Enums can have a raw value. To quote the docs:
Raw values can be strings, characters, or any of the integer or
floating-point number types
— Excerpt From: Apple Inc. “The Swift Programming Language.” iBooks. https://itun.es/us/jEUH0.l,
So you can use code like this:
enum StringEnum: String
{
case one = "value one"
case two = "value two"
case three = "value three"
}
let anEnum = StringEnum(rawValue: "value one")!
print("anEnum = \"\(anEnum.rawValue)\"")
Note: You don't need to write = "one" etc. after each case. The default string values are the same as the case names so calling .rawValue will just return a string
EDIT
If you need the string value to contain things like spaces that are not valid as part of a case value then you need to explicitly set the string. So,
enum StringEnum: String
{
case one
case two
case three
}
let anEnum = StringEnum.one
print("anEnum = \"\(anEnum)\"")
gives
anEnum = "one"
But if you want case one to display "value one" you will need to provide the string values:
enum StringEnum: String
{
case one = "value one"
case two = "value two"
case three = "value three"
}

Answer 2

All you need is:
enum Foo: String {
case a, b, c, d
}
let a = Foo(rawValue: "a")
assert(a == Foo.a)
let 💩 = Foo(rawValue: "💩")
assert(💩 == nil)

Answer 3

In Swift 4.2, the CaseIterable protocol can be used for an enum with rawValues, but the string should match against the enum case labels:
enum MyCode : String, CaseIterable {
case one = "uno"
case two = "dos"
case three = "tres"
static func withLabel(_ label: String) -> MyCode? {
return self.allCases.first{ "\($0)" == label }
}
}
usage:
print(MyCode.withLabel("one")) // Optional(MyCode.one)
print(MyCode(rawValue: "uno")) // Optional(MyCode.one)

Answer 4

In case with an enum with Int type you can do it so:
enum MenuItem: Int {
case One = 0, Two, Three, Four, Five //... as much as needs
static func enumFromString(string:String) -> MenuItem? {
var i = 0
while let item = MenuItem(rawValue: i) {
if String(item) == string { return item }
i += 1
}
return nil
}
}
And use:
let string = "Two"
if let item = MenuItem.enumFromString(string) {
//in this case item = 1
//your code
}

Answer 5

Riffing on djruss70's answer to create highly generalized solution:
extension CaseIterable {
static func from(string: String) -> Self? {
return Self.allCases.first { string == "\($0)" }
}
func toString() -> String { "\(self)" }
}
Usage:
enum Chassis: CaseIterable {
case pieridae, oovidae
}
let chassis: Chassis = Chassis.from(string: "oovidae")!
let string: String = chassis.toString()
Note: this will unfortunately not work if the enum is declared #objc. As far as I know as of Swift 5.3 there is no way to get this to work with #objc enum's except brute force solutions (a switch statement).
If someone happens to know of a way to make this work for #objc enums, I'd be very interested in the answer.

Answer 6

Swift 4.2:
public enum PaymentPlatform: String, CaseIterable {
case visa = "Visa card"
case masterCard = "Master card"
case cod = "Cod"
var nameEnum: String {
return Mirror(reflecting: self).children.first?.label ?? String(describing: self)
}
func byName(name: String) -> PaymentPlatform {
return PaymentPlatform.allCases.first(where: {$0.nameEnum.elementsEqual(name)}) ?? .cod
}
}

Answer 7

Extending Duncan C's answer
extension StringEnum: StringLiteralConvertible {
init(stringLiteral value: String){
self.init(rawValue: value)!
}
init(extendedGraphemeClusterLiteral value: String) {
self.init(stringLiteral: value)
}
init(unicodeScalarLiteral value: String) {
self.init(stringLiteral: value)
}
}

Answer 8

For Int enum and their String representation, I declare enum as follows:
enum OrderState: Int16, CustomStringConvertible {
case waiting = 1
case inKitchen = 2
case ready = 3
var description: String {
switch self {
case .waiting:
return "Waiting"
case .inKitchen:
return "InKitchen"
case .ready:
return "Ready"
}
}
static func initialize(stringValue: String)-> OrderState? {
switch stringValue {
case OrderState.waiting.description:
return OrderState.waiting
case OrderState.inKitchen.description:
return OrderState.inKitchen
case OrderState.ready.description:
return OrderState.ready
default:
return nil
}
}
}
Usage:
order.orderState = OrderState.waiting.rawValue
let orderState = OrderState.init(rawValue: order.orderState)
let orderStateStr = orderState?.description ?? ""
print("orderStateStr = \(orderStateStr)")

Answer 9

I used this:
public enum Currency: CaseIterable, Codable {
case AFN = 971 // Afghani (minor=2)
case DZD = 012 // Algerian Dinar (minor=2)
...
private static var cachedLookup: [String: Currency] = [:]
init?(string: String) {
if Self.cachedLookup.isEmpty {
Self.cachedLookup = Dictionary(uniqueKeysWithValues: Self.allCases.map { ("\($0)", $0) })
}
if let currency = Self.cachedLookup[string] {
self = currency
return
} else {
return nil
}
}
}

Answer 10

I found the other answers make this way more complicated then it needs to be. Here is a quick and concise example.
enum Gender: String {
case male, female, unspecified
}
Simple enum, note that I added ": String" to the enum itself to declare the type as string.
Now all you have to do is:
let example: Gender = Gender(rawValue: "male")
And thats it, 'example' is now an enum of type Gender with the value of .male
There is literally nothing else you need to do in Swift 4+.