Code Snippet - How to Use Extension with Enum

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. The Problem
3. The Extension Method
4. Conclusion

Introduction

In C# you sometimes need to convert an enum to an int value. Here is a simple extension method to make that easier.

The Problem

Given the following enum:

public enum NameType
    {
        Undefined,
        TypeA,
        TypeB,
        TypeC,
        TypeD,
        TypeE = 99
    }

You could write like this:

(int)NameType.TypeE

But what if you could just write like this:

NameType.TypeE.ToInt();

The Extension Method

Here is an Enum Extension Class that makes this possible. This is just a basic example.

public static class EnumHelper
    {
        public static int ToInt(this Enum enumValue)
        {
            object val = Convert.ChangeType(enumValue, enumValue.GetTypeCode());
            return Convert.ToInt32(val);
        }
    }

Conclusion

Using extension methods on enums in C# provides a cleaner syntax for common operations like converting to int. You can extend this pattern to add other useful helpers to your enum types.