Introduction
Enumerated types, also known as enum types, are a special type of data type in C++. They are used to define a set of named constants, which can be used to represent a set of related values. Enumerated types are useful for representing a set of related values that can be used in a program, such as days of the week, months of the year, or colors. They are also useful for representing a set of related values that can be used in a program, such as days of the week, months of the year, or colors. This article will discuss the basics of enumerated types in C++, including how to define and use them.
Solution
Enumerated types in C++ are user-defined data types that consist of a set of named integral constants. They are declared using the enum keyword and can be used to assign meaningful names to integral constants, making the code more readable and maintainable.
From cppreference:
An enumeration is a distinct type whose value is restricted to one of
several explicitly named constants (“enumerators”). The values of the
constants are values of an integral type known as the underlying type
of the enumeration.
So an example of an enumerated type is any type you might declare using the enum keyword.
An example of a non-enumerated type would be an int because its values are not restricted to a set of explicitly named constants, but rather all integers (or all integers an int could represent given its size).
Another example of a non-enumerated type is a pointer to anything because the set of possible values for a pointer are not integrals.