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java.lang
Class Enum<E extends Enum<E>>

java.lang.Object
  extended by java.lang.Enum<E>
All Implemented Interfaces:
Serializable, Comparable<E>
public abstract class Enum<E extends Enum<E>>
extends Object
implements Comparable<E>, Serializable

This is the common base class of all Java language enumeration types.

Since:
1.5
See Also:
Serialized Form

Constructor Summary
protected Enum(String name, int ordinal)
          Sole constructor.
 
Method Summary
protected  Object clone()
          Throws CloneNotSupportedException.
 int compareTo(E o)
          Compares this enum with the specified object for order.
 boolean equals(Object other)
          Returns true if the specified object is equal to this enum constant.
protected  void finalize()
          enum classes cannot have finalize methods.
 Class<E> getDeclaringClass()
          Returns the Class object corresponding to this enum constant's enum type.
 int hashCode()
          Returns a hash code for this enum constant.
 String name()
          Returns the name of this enum constant, exactly as declared in its enum declaration.
 int ordinal()
          Returns the ordinal of this enumeration constant (its position in its enum declaration, where the initial constant is assigned an ordinal of zero).
 String toString()
          Returns the name of this enum constant, as contained in the declaration.
static
<T extends Enum<T>>
T
valueOf(Class<T> enumType, String name)
          Returns the enum constant of the specified enum type with the specified name.
 
Methods inherited from class java.lang.Object
getClass, notify, notifyAll, wait, wait, wait
 

Constructor Detail

Enum

protected Enum(String name,
               int ordinal)
Sole constructor. Programmers cannot invoke this constructor. It is for use by code emitted by the compiler in response to enum type declarations.

Parameters:
name - - The name of this enum constant, which is the identifier used to declare it.
ordinal - - The ordinal of this enumeration constant (its position in the enum declaration, where the initial constant is assigned an ordinal of zero).
Method Detail

name

public final String name()
Returns the name of this enum constant, exactly as declared in its enum declaration. Most programmers should use the toString() method in preference to this one, as the toString method may return a more user-friendly name. This method is designed primarily for use in specialized situations where correctness depends on getting the exact name, which will not vary from release to release.

Returns:
the name of this enum constant

ordinal

public final int ordinal()
Returns the ordinal of this enumeration constant (its position in its enum declaration, where the initial constant is assigned an ordinal of zero). Most programmers will have no use for this method. It is designed for use by sophisticated enum-based data structures, such as EnumSet and EnumMap.

Returns:
the ordinal of this enumeration constant

toString

public String toString()
Returns the name of this enum constant, as contained in the declaration. This method may be overridden, though it typically isn't necessary or desirable. An enum type should override this method when a more "programmer-friendly" string form exists.

Overrides:
toString in class Object
Returns:
the name of this enum constant

equals

public final boolean equals(Object other)
Returns true if the specified object is equal to this enum constant.

Overrides:
equals in class Object
Parameters:
other - the object to be compared for equality with this object.
Returns:
true if the specified object is equal to this enum constant.
See Also:
Object.hashCode(), Hashtable

hashCode

public final int hashCode()
Returns a hash code for this enum constant.

Overrides:
hashCode in class Object
Returns:
a hash code for this enum constant.
See Also:
Object.equals(java.lang.Object), Hashtable

clone

protected final Object clone()
                      throws CloneNotSupportedException
Throws CloneNotSupportedException. This guarantees that enums are never cloned, which is necessary to preserve their "singleton" status.

Overrides:
clone in class Object
Returns:
(never returns)
Throws:
CloneNotSupportedException - if the object's class does not support the Cloneable interface. Subclasses that override the clone method can also throw this exception to indicate that an instance cannot be cloned.
See Also:
Cloneable

compareTo

public final int compareTo(E o)
Compares this enum with the specified object for order. Returns a negative integer, zero, or a positive integer as this object is less than, equal to, or greater than the specified object. Enum constants are only comparable to other enum constants of the same enum type. The natural order implemented by this method is the order in which the constants are declared.

Specified by:
compareTo in interface Comparable<E extends Enum<E>>
Parameters:
o - the object to be compared.
Returns:
a negative integer, zero, or a positive integer as this object is less than, equal to, or greater than the specified object.

getDeclaringClass

public final Class<E> getDeclaringClass()
Returns the Class object corresponding to this enum constant's enum type. Two enum constants e1 and e2 are of the same enum type if and only if e1.getDeclaringClass() == e2.getDeclaringClass(). (The value returned by this method may differ from the one returned by the Object.getClass() method for enum constants with constant-specific class bodies.)

Returns:
the Class object corresponding to this enum constant's enum type

valueOf

public static <T extends Enum<T>> T valueOf(Class<T> enumType,
                                            String name)
Returns the enum constant of the specified enum type with the specified name. The name must match exactly an identifier used to declare an enum constant in this type. (Extraneous whitespace characters are not permitted.)

Parameters:
enumType - the Class object of the enum type from which to return a constant
name - the name of the constant to return
Returns:
the enum constant of the specified enum type with the specified name
Throws:
IllegalArgumentException - if the specified enum type has no constant with the specified name, or the specified class object does not represent an enum type
NullPointerException - if enumType or name is null
Since:
1.5

finalize

protected final void finalize()
enum classes cannot have finalize methods.

Overrides:
finalize in class Object