Question

Using extension method we can create methods to convert an enum to other datatype like string, int by creating extension methods ToInt(), ToString(), etc for the enum.

I wonder how to implement the other way around, e.g. FromInt(int), FromString(string), etc. As far as I know I can’t create MyEnum.FromInt() (static) extension method. So what are the possible approaches for this?

Answer 1

I would avoid polluting int or string with extension methods for enums, instead a good old fashioned static helper class might be in order.

public static class EnumHelper
{
   public static T FromInt<T>(int value)
   {
       return (T)value;
   }

  public static T FromString<T>(string value)
  {
     return (T) Enum.Parse(typeof(T),value);
  }
}