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c++enumssizetypeshex

What is the underlying type of a c++ enum?


This may have been answered elsewhere but I could not find a suitable response.

I have this code:

enum enumWizardPage
{
    WP_NONE = 0x00,  
    WP_CMDID = 0x01,    
    WP_LEAGUES = 0x02,  
    WP_TEAMS = 0x04,    
    WP_COMP = 0x08, 
    WP_DIVISIONS = 0x10,
    WP_FORMULAS = 0x20, 
    WP_FINISHED = 0x40, 
};

Which is legacy and I have to modify it by adding a few new values. The issue is each value must be a unique bit so they may be OR combined to a bitmap.

The values are set using the #x## hex format, but I'm wondering if this is the max it can store? What will be the effect, if any, if I change my code to

enum enumWizardPage
{
    WP_NONE = 0x0000,  
    WP_CMDID = 0x0001,  
    WP_LEAGUES = 0x0002,    
    WP_TEAMS = 0x0004,  
    WP_COMP = 0x0008,   
    WP_DIVISIONS = 0x0010,
    WP_FORMULAS = 0x0020,   
    WP_FINISHED = 0x0040,   
};

Solution

  • From N4659 C++ 7.2/5:

    For an enumeration whose underlying type is not fixed, the underlying type is an integral type that can represent all the enumerator values defined in the enumeration. If no integral type can represent all the enumerator values, the enumeration is ill-formed. It is implementation-defined which integral type is used as the underlying type except that the underlying type shall not be larger than int unless the value of an enumerator cannot fit in an int or unsigned int. If the enumerator-list is empty, the underlying type is as if the enumeration had a single enumerator with value 0.