Question

i have set of constants. Enum will be the best option to define set of constants.even we can define all constants in a java class. what are the advantages and disadvantages over both? i mean which one is more advantageous? Please help me.

Thanks!

Answer 1

I would go for enum. Enum gives you almost the same flexibility as classes (after all, enum is a class!), so you can declare fields, methods, constructors as you will. Forget about inheritance, but hey – you should favor composition over inheritance either way 😉

Enum also gives you few cool features without any hustle:

1. it’s typesafe
2. it’s threadsafe
3. you could use it in switch and for-loop statements
4. you have a neat API to work with constants you define (like valueOf(String))

I suggest having a look on ‘Effective Java by Josh Bloch‘, you will be amazed how powerful tools they really are.