enum class is a two-word keyword that has different meanings, depending on the standard used:

enum class in the C++98 standard

enum class in the C++0x standard

Download the Qt Creator project 'CppEnumClass' (zip)

An enum class is a conversion-safe enum:


enum class Color { red  , orange };

enum class Fruit { apple, orange };



int main()

{

  Color c = Color::orange;

  Fruit a = Fruit::orange;

  Fruit b = Color::orange; //Fails

}

Screen output:


cannot convert 'Color' to 'Fruit' in initialization

Technical note: the code shown is compiled successfully using the G++ 4.4.5 compiler, which is supplied with the Qt Creator 2.0.0 IDE.

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(C++) enum class

enum class in the C++98 standard

enum class in the C++0x standard