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From: "John S. Dyson" <toor@dyson.iquest.net>
Message-Id: <199610171322.IAA04122@dyson.iquest.net>
Subject: Re: enum considered bad ?
To: phk@freebsd.org
Date: Thu, 17 Oct 1996 08:22:10 -0500 (EST)
Cc: hackers@freebsd.org
In-Reply-To: <2022.845535270@critter.tfs.com> from "Poul-Henning Kamp" at Oct 17, 96 08:54:30 am
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> 
> 
> I've noticed that "enum" is hardly ever used in C programs, is this
> because people consider it a bad idea or because they havn't really
> got the swing of it ?
> 
I think that it is mostly habit.  In C++, enum's are nice due to
extra typechecking.  ANSI-C does not afford typechecking of enums.
Unfortunately an enum is roughly the same as an int in ANSI-C and
misuse of an enum is easy (about the same as a #define.)

John