在java枚举类型中使用+

Question

I'm fairly new to Java and I'm trying to use the + character as part of an enum type, but the compiler is complaining about the syntax because I believe it sees it as an operator.

I'd like to do the following:

enum mediaType{

   FACEBOOK,GOOGLE+,TWITTER;

}

Any ideas?

Thanks!

Answer 1

Yes, the compiler will treat + as an operator. You can however choose a different name there:

enum mediaType{
    FACEBOOK,
    GOOGLE_PLUS,
    TWITTER;    
}

And if you want to use the value GOOGLE+ only, then have a field of type String , storing the value, and also a parameterized constructor.

PS: As per proper naming convention, the enum name should be MediaType .

Answer 2

You can't use arithmetic symbols in identifiers. You need to find something you can use like GOOGLE_PLUS

Answer 3

Maybe reading the official Java tutorial's section on Naming Conventions will help you: http://docs.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/java/nutsandbolts/variables.html

You could at least define a private String myName = "Google+"; inside the enum, and define a method that a UI can use to get the value you want rather than just displaying the enum's variable itself.

public String myName() {
    return myName;
}

Answer 4

Many people believe that you are limited to ASCII in Java just like C and C++.

Actually you have the full Unicode character set.

This is perfectly good Java:

enum Plus {
  Google,
  GooglePlus,
  Googleᚋ,
  Googleᐩ;
};

Not quite a + (which you cannot have in an enum because it will be confused with the + operator) but it will still carry the impression of a plus.

It seems you can use the Ogham character called muin which looks a bit like a plus character. Alternatively it seems the Canadian syllabics final plus is also acceptable alhough a number of the other possibilities seem not to be acceptable.