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Asked: 2026-05-11T14:22:32+00:00

Why does this return False public enum Directions { Up, Down, Left, Right }

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Why does this return False

    public enum Directions { Up, Down, Left, Right }      static void Main(string[] args)     {         bool matches = IsOneOf(Directions.Right, Directions.Left, Directions.Right);         Console.WriteLine(matches);         Console.Read();     }      public static bool IsOneOf(Enum self, params Enum[] values)     {         foreach (var value in values)             if (self == value)                 return true;         return false;     }

while this returns True?

    public static bool IsOneOf(Enum self, params Enum[] values)     {         foreach (var value in values)             if (self.Equals(value))                 return true;         return false;     }
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1 Answer

  1. Enum does not implement a == equality operator but it does override the Equals method.

    Since it does not implement ==, the system performs a reference equality check. Note that System.Enum is a class not a structure. Hence, values such as Directions.Left are boxed. In this particular case, the boxed objects end up being separate objects, hence they fail a reference equality test.

    The compiler understands == for concrete Enum types (such as Directions), but the compiler does not do this special processing against the System.Enum type.

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