When is it OK to use an Enum's name()

Question

Variables' name can be changed and shouldn't affect logic. But name() method in Enum returns a constant name as a value so it can break existing code. Should I avoid using name()?

For example,

public enum Example1 {FOO, BAR}

Refactoring FOO name to FOO2 will brake Example1.FOO.name().equals("FOO").

public enum Example2 {
    FOO("FOO"),
    BAR("BAR");

    String code;

    private Example2(final String code) {
        this.code = code;
    }

    public String getCode() {
        return code;
    }
}

In this case, changing FOO name to FOO2 will not brake Example2.FOO.getCode().equals("FOO").

Answer 1

• Business logic should use the enum value, never the name() directly. Reason: even if the name changes, the semantic (same enum value as before) remains the same.
• The name() is used when serializing/deserializing values. This affects the database (when using the names for O/R mapping), serialized data stored in files or transmitted over the wire (JSON/XML/YAML/... serialization), log entries and more.
  Changing the name might require data migration or adaptions in 3rd party code.