String to enum in C++

Question

Is there a way to associate a string from a text file with an enum value?

The problem is: I have a few enum values stored as string in a text file which I read on the fly on meeting some condition... Now I want to assign the read value to an enum.

What is the most effective way to do so? It doesn't need to be the simplest approach.

Answer 1

You can set up a map that you can use over and over:

template <typename T>
class EnumParser
{
    map <string, T> enumMap;
public:
    EnumParser(){};

    T ParseSomeEnum(const string &value)
    { 
        map <string, T>::const_iterator iValue = enumMap.find(value);
        if (iValue  == enumMap.end())
            throw runtime_error("");
        return iValue->second;
    }
};

enum SomeEnum
{
    Value1,
    Value2
};
EnumParser<SomeEnum>::EnumParser()
{
    enumMap["Value1"] = Value1;
    enumMap["Value2"] = Value2;
}

enum OtherEnum
{
    Value3, 
    Value4
};
EnumParser<OtherEnum>::EnumParser()
{
    enumMap["Value3"] = Value3;
    enumMap["Value4"] = Value4;
}

int main()
{
    EnumParser<SomeEnum> parser;
    cout << parser.ParseSomeEnum("Value2");
}