Java Enum — Free Java Tutorial

TL;DR: Learn Java Enum in Java with a free, beginner-friendly tutorial, examples and practice for Indian students on Syllab.in.

Java Enum in Java

An enum (enumeration) defines a fixed set of named constants. Use it when a variable can only hold one of a limited set of values: days of the week, directions, seasons, status codes.

Enums are type-safe — the compiler prevents assigning invalid values, unlike using int constants (0, 1, 2...).

Java enums are full classes — they can have fields, constructors, and methods. This makes them far more powerful than enums in other languages.

Useful enum methods: values() returns all constants as an array, ordinal() returns the position (0-based), name() returns the name as a String, valueOf(String) converts a string to an enum constant.

// Basic enum
enum Direction { NORTH, SOUTH, EAST, WEST }

// Enum with fields
enum Priority {
    LOW(1), MEDIUM(5), HIGH(10);
    private final int value;
    Priority(int value) { this.value = value; }
    public int getValue() { return value; }
}

Direction dir = Direction.NORTH;
for (Direction 

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