Question

Imagine I have defined the following Enum:

public enum Status : byte
{
    Inactive = 1,
    Active = 2,
}

What’s the best practice to use enum? Should it start with 1 like the above example or start with 0 (without the explicit values) like this:

public enum Status : byte
{
    Inactive,
    Active
}

Answer 1

Framework Design Guidelines:

✔️ DO provide a value of zero on simple enums.

Consider calling the value something like “None.” If such a value is not appropriate for this particular enum, the most common default value for the enum should be assigned the underlying value of zero.

Framework Design Guidelines / Designing Flag Enums:

❌ AVOID using flag enum values of zero unless the value represents “all flags are cleared” and is named appropriately, as prescribed by the next guideline.

✔️ DO name the zero value of flag enums None. For a flag enum, the value must always mean “all flags are cleared.”