Can an enum class be converted to the underlying type?

Question

Is there a way to convert an enum class field to the underlying type? I thought this would be automatic, but apparently not.

enum class my_fields : unsigned { field = 1 };

unsigned a = my_fields::field;

That assignment is being rejected by GCC. error: cannot convert 'my_fields' to 'unsigned int' in assignment .

Answer 1

I think you can use std::underlying_type to know the underlying type, and then use cast:

#include <type_traits> //for std::underlying_type

typedef std::underlying_type<my_fields>::type utype;

utype a = static_cast<utype>(my_fields::field);

With this, you don't have to assume the underlying type, or you don't have to mention it in the definition of the enum class like enum class my_fields : int { .... } or so.

You can even write a generic convert function that should be able to convert any enum class to its underlying integral type:

template<typename E>
constexpr auto to_integral(E e) -> typename std::underlying_type<E>::type 
{
   return static_cast<typename std::underlying_type<E>::type>(e);
}

then use it:

auto value = to_integral(my_fields::field);

auto redValue = to_integral(Color::Red);//where Color is an enum class!

And since the function is declared to be constexpr , you can use it where constant expression is required:

int a[to_integral(my_fields::field)]; //declaring an array

std::array<int, to_integral(my_fields::field)> b; //better!

Answer 2

You cannot convert it implicitly , but an explicit cast is possible:

enum class my_fields : unsigned { field = 1 };

// ...

unsigned x = my_fields::field; // ERROR!
unsigned x = static_cast<unsigned>(my_fields::field); // OK

Also mind the fact, that the semicolon should be after the closed curly brace in your enum's definition, not before.

Answer 3

As others have pointed out there is no implicit cast, but you can use an explicit static_cast . I use the following helper functions in my code to convert to and from an enum type and its underlying class.

    template<typename EnumType>
    constexpr inline decltype(auto) getIntegralEnumValue(EnumType enumValue)
    {
        static_assert(std::is_enum<EnumType>::value,"Enum type required");
        using EnumValueType = std::underlying_type_t<EnumType>;
        return static_cast<EnumValueType>(enumValue);
    }

    template<typename EnumType,typename IntegralType>
    constexpr inline EnumType toEnum(IntegralType value)
    {
        static_assert(std::is_enum<EnumType>::value,"Enum type required");
        static_assert(std::is_integral<IntegralType>::value, "Integer required");
        return static_cast<EnumType>(value);
    }

    template<typename EnumType,typename UnaryFunction>
    constexpr inline void setIntegralEnumValue(EnumType& enumValue, UnaryFunction integralWritingFunction)
    {
        // Since using reinterpret_cast on reference to underlying enum type is UB must declare underlying type value and write to it and then cast it to enum type
        // See discussion on https://stackoverflow.com/questions/19476818/is-it-safe-to-reinterpret-cast-an-enum-class-variable-to-a-reference-of-the-unde

        static_assert(std::is_enum<EnumType>::value,"Enum type required");

        auto enumIntegralValue = getIntegralEnumValue(enumValue);
        integralWritingFunction(enumIntegralValue);
        enumValue = toEnum<EnumType>(enumIntegralValue);
    }

Usage code

enum class MyEnum {
   first = 1,
   second
};

MyEnum myEnum = MyEnum::first;
std::cout << getIntegralEnumValue(myEnum); // prints 1

MyEnum convertedEnum = toEnum(1);

setIntegralEnumValue(convertedEnum,[](auto& integralValue) { ++integralValue; });
std::cout << getIntegralEnumValue(convertedEnum); // prints 2

Answer 4

I find the following function underlying_cast useful when having to serialise enum values correctly.

namespace util
{

namespace detail
{
    template <typename E>
    using UnderlyingType = typename std::underlying_type<E>::type;

    template <typename E>
    using EnumTypesOnly = typename std::enable_if<std::is_enum<E>::value, E>::type;

}   // namespace util.detail


template <typename E, typename = detail::EnumTypesOnly<E>>
constexpr detail::UnderlyingType<E> underlying_cast(E e) {
    return static_cast<detail::UnderlyingType<E>>(e);
}

}   // namespace util

enum SomeEnum : uint16_t { A, B };

void write(SomeEnum /*e*/) {
    std::cout << "SomeEnum!\n";
}

void write(uint16_t /*v*/) {
    std::cout << "uint16_t!\n";
}

int main(int argc, char* argv[]) {
    SomeEnum e = B;
    write(util::underlying_cast(e));
    return 0;
}

Answer 5

With C++23 you'll finally get a library function for this:

std::to_underlying

It is already implemented in the standard libraries of GCC 11, Clang 13, and MSVC 19.30 (aka 2022 17.0).

Until you're able to use C++23 I recommend you (re)name any custom implementation to to_underlying and place it between a #if !defined(__cpp_lib_to_underlying) #endif block, which is the associated feature test macro. This way you can simply ditch the code at some point in the future when C++23 becomes available for you.