Rust Enums
Enums
An enum (short for "enumeration") is a way to define a type that can be one of a few different values.
Each value in the enum is called a variant.
Enums are useful when you want to represent a value that can only be one of a set of options - like days of the week, directions, or results like success and error.
Create an Enum
To create an enum, use the enum keyword and add a set of named values (variants) separated by commas:
Example
enum Direction {
Up,
Down,
Left,
Right,
}
Up,
Down,
Left,
Right,
}
To use the enum, create a variable and assign it one of the enum's variants (use :: to access a variant):
Example
enum Direction {
Up,
Down,
Left,
Right,
}
fn main() {
let my_direction = Direction::Up;
println!("We are going up!");
}
Try it Yourself »
Up,
Down,
Left,
Right,
}
fn main() {
let my_direction = Direction::Up;
println!("We are going up!");
}
Match on Enum Values
Enums work great with the match statement.
You can run different code depending on which variant is used:
Example
enum Direction {
Up,
Down,
Left,
Right,
}
fn main() {
let my_direction = Direction::Left;
match my_direction {
Direction::Up => println!("Going up"),
Direction::Down => println!("Going down"),
Direction::Left => println!("Going left"),
Direction::Right => println!("Going right"),
}
}
Try it Yourself »
Up,
Down,
Left,
Right,
}
fn main() {
let my_direction = Direction::Left;
match my_direction {
Direction::Up => println!("Going up"),
Direction::Down => println!("Going down"),
Direction::Left => println!("Going left"),
Direction::Right => println!("Going right"),
}
}
Enums with Data
Enum variants can also hold data. This is useful when each variant needs to store extra information:
Example
enum LoginStatus {
Success(String),
Error(String),
}
fn main() {
let result1 = LoginStatus::Success(String::from("Welcome, John!"));
let result2 = LoginStatus::Error(String::from("Incorrect password"));
match result1 {
LoginStatus::Success(message) => println!("Success: {}", message),
LoginStatus::Error(message) => println!("Error: {}", message),
}
}
Try it Yourself »
Success(String),
Error(String),
}
fn main() {
let result1 = LoginStatus::Success(String::from("Welcome, John!"));
let result2 = LoginStatus::Error(String::from("Incorrect password"));
match result1 {
LoginStatus::Success(message) => println!("Success: {}", message),
LoginStatus::Error(message) => println!("Error: {}", message),
}
}
Why Use Enums?
- To group related values into one type
- To make your code more readable and safe
- To handle different cases with
match