The Power of Enum: Make Your Code More Readable and Efficient [Video]

Like any other language, Java has the enum feature that allows us to enumerate items. It is helpful to list delimited items in your code, such as the seasons. Regarding the readability of code, it is better and cleaner than using constant codes such as int. It avoids mistakes, such as an invalid number or a value the system does not support. Once we're talking about any number type such as int, float, double, or long, enum can support any value. On the other hand, with an enum, the API only has valid values.  

The question is: Can we do more with enum? Where else can we use an enum?  In this article, discover tips that are excellent and effective in Java. 

We'll cover a cleaner and safer API and performance and avoid compilation tricks.  The enum has the power to implement interfaces, have fields, a constructor, and several methods. It permits clean code design. We can think of an enum as a powerful enumerator that can go beyond with Java.  Indeed, we can apply several patterns such as:

• VO from DDD: An object representing a defining aspect of the domain with no conceptual identity is called a Value Object. Value Objects are instantiated to represent elements of the design that we care about only for what they are, not who or which they are.
• Singleton: "It is a creational design pattern that ensures that only one object of its kind exists and provides a single point of access to it for any other code. Singleton has almost the same pros and cons as global variables. Although they're super-handy, they break the modularity of your code. You can't just use a class that depends on Singleton in some other context. You'll have to carry the Singleton class as well. Most of the time, this limitation comes up during the creation of unit tests."
• Strategy from GoF: It is a behavioral design pattern that lets you define a family of algorithms, put each into a separate class, and make their objects interchangeable.

Enum also allows us to combine or even create new objects once we remember the item on enum must be immutable. Therefore, we must set the fields as final and avoid any setter methods in the enum fields. This will allow more scalability in the code, preventing future nightmares. 

The video below will explain how to achieve success in your design code using enum. It is not hard and not impossible; indeed, it is easy, but there are some tricks that we'll explain. We'll also learn how to explore and combine these patterns in your code to make it more readable, safe, bulletproof, and easy for you while someone can maintain this code.

The code's reliability is crucial today, mainly because we don't work alone. When we create a code that is easy for everyone to understand and avoid mistakes, it is the right way to design code.

Explore the power of enum: take advantage of it to make your code more readable and efficient.