2 quick questions - (1) enums and (2) switch

[Madolite]

Hey guys, I'm new to these forums and I didn't see any dedicated "beginners" forum. So I'm asking here.

1. Are enums literally nothing more than an array of const unsigned ints that are presented as names rather than values, because names are more useful for humans than values in the given situation?

enum foo = { LOW, MEDIUM, HIGH };
vs.
int foo [] = { 3, 6, 8 };

2. Are switch statement nothing more than a cleaner way to handle larger groups of if statement. If so, what are the benefits of using if statements at all?

Thanks in advance.

[Madolite]

I should mention that I'm currently going through "Beginning C++ Through Game Programming" by Michael Dawson. And My questions are a result of me wanting to know the more obscure parts of C++ and that I've had a really hard time finding a clear explanation of these things that aren't either ambiguous, subjective or both.

[superbonzo]

Are switch statement nothing more than a cleaner way to handle larger groups of if statement. If so, what are the benefits of using if statements at all?[...] I've had a really hard time finding a clear explanation of these things that aren't either ambiguous, subjective or both.

the first thing you should understand as a beginner is that programming languages are primarily made for people to read and manipulate, rather than for computers to run. Otherwise, we'd all write in byte code ain't we ?

so, when you compare language constructs like "if" and "switch" you should firstly ask yourself what they mean, rather than what they do (*). Yes, it's subjective ( all human affairs are ) and it's on purpose, but it doesn't mean it's "obscure". Of course, how those constructs are actually processed by a compiler and then a computer is important, but somewhat secondary as far as the choices behind the language syntax are concerned.

(*) you've probably already heard of the notion of Turing completeness; well, simplifying, it means that all computers that can count and access some linear memory are essentially the same as far as what they can/cannot do; so, it's not surprising that programming languages are fillled of tons of equivent ways of <doing> the same thing ...

[Madolite]

Awesome. Thanks for the replies.

...programming languages are primarily made for people to read and manipulate, rather than for computers to run.

But not exclusively, which is why I don't assume anything and instead ask questions to clear things up.

[tiliavirga]

1. Are enums literally nothing more than an array of const unsigned ints that are presented as names rather than values, because names are more useful for humans than values in the given situation?

That's roughly correct but an even closer analogy would be to view an enum like a struct holding constants like this,

struct foo {
    static const int LOW = 3;
    static const int MEDIUM = 6;
    static const int HIGH = 8;
    int val; // holds one of the constants
};

Also note that since C++ 11 (the new major version) there's a new form of enum called strongly typed enum. In most situations it's a good idea to prefer the new enum.

2. Are switch statement nothing more than a cleaner way to handle larger groups of if statement. If so, what are the benefits of using if statements at all?

One usually considers a switch statement when the corresponding if-else chain becomes long and winding and hard on the eye.

But there's also a performance argument. In an if-else chain the selections are evaluated one by one from the beginning to the end whereas in a switch statement the evaluation order is not specified and this opens up for compiler optimizations. When there are many selections with equal probability (of being true) then the switch is faster than a corresponding if-else. If on the other hand some selections have a very high probability and these are put at the beginning of an if-else then this is faster than a switch.

[OReubens]

That's roughly correct but an even closer analogy would be to view an enum like a struct holding constants like this,

what ?
No. that's not even remotely what an enum is in either a practical or a semantical point of view.

[superbonzo]

an even closer analogy would be to view an enum like a struct holding constants like this

you're also missing a "static" before those const's ... and I'd also add a conversion operator to the underlying type and remove any reference to 'int', because the actual underlying integer type is choosen by the compiler based off the given enumerators ...

even then, constants can form lvalues, enumerators can't, so it's not the kind of "constants" the standard's referring to...

In an if-else chain the selections are evaluated one by one from the beginning to the end whereas in a switch statement the evaluation order is not specified and this opens up for compiler optimizations

uhm, evaluation order is fully specified in a switch: the (only) argument is evaluated once and case labels are not "evaluated", they're jumped through in order of appereance.
The performance bonus is rather due to the fact that switch operates on strictly integer types and matches against compile time integral constants, possibly enabling faster lookup table implementations, rather than the linear if() branches. Even than, I suppose nothing forbids a compiler to optimize a switch-looking if() accordingly ...

[GCDEF]

1. No. An enum is not an array. It's a way of assigning a name to a value in a series of integer constants.

2. Pretty much. A switch statement only works on expressions that evaluate to an integral type. if statements work on any expression. You can't say
switch (a == b) for example.

[Igor Vartanov]

Hey guys, I'm new to these forums and I didn't see any dedicated "beginners" forum. So I'm asking here.

1. Are enums literally nothing more than an array of const unsigned ints that are presented as names rather than values, because names are more useful for humans than values in the given situation?

enum foo = { LOW, MEDIUM, HIGH };
vs.
int foo [] = { 3, 6, 8 };

Enumeration, indeed, is a type that transparently casts to integer type. But by no means it's an array of anything. Array possess a memory region at runtime, while enumeration is a compile time information. It's a way of introducing a bunch of associated definition statements specifically for kinda integer type constants.

2. Are switch statement nothing more than a cleaner way to handle larger groups of if statement. If so, what are the benefits of using if statements at all?

if() operates on conditions (boolean) while switch() operates on integer data. It's totally up to you, what operator better suits your needs in a particular situation.

int input = 0;
. . .
if (input == 0) {
    // handle 0 case
} else if (input == 1 || input == 2) {
    // handle 1 or 2 case
} else if (input == 15) {
    // handle 15 case
} else {
    // handle other cases by default
}

is logically equivalent to

int input = 0;
. . .
switch (input) {
case 0: { /* handle 0 case*/ } break;
case 1:
case 2: { /* handle 1 or 2 case */ } break;
case 15: { /* handle 15 case */ } break;
default: { /* handle other cases by default */ }
}

[superbonzo]

"functional" ? by storing a copy of all constants in all and every instance ... ?

regarding the switch thing, well if you play with terminology ( FYI, evaluation has a definite meaning in c++ ) I suppose you can prove anything, so I won't insist my dear ...

EDIT: ooh just see you edited your post ...