What is the benefit of using an enum rather than a #define constant?

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G Venkat Reddy

Oracle, Hindi, C++, C, MS Office, VBScript,JavaScript,Spoken English etc with 32 years of experience

#define is a symbolic constant. symbolic constants are uppercase letters. symbolic constants above the main() function. symbolic constants are not terminated with semicolon. symbolic constants must define using #define preprocessor directive.
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Master

1) Another advantage of using the enumeration constant method is that your programs are more readable and thus can be understood better by others who might have to update your program later. 2) A third advantage to using enumeration constants is that some symbolic debuggers can print the value of...
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1) Another advantage of using the enumeration constant method is that your programs are more readable and thus can be understood better by others who might have to update your program later. 2) A third advantage to using enumeration constants is that some symbolic debuggers can print the value of an enumeration constant. Conversely, most symbolic debuggers cannot print the value of a symbolic constant. This can be an enormous help in debugging your program, because if your program is stopped at a line that uses an enum, you can simply inspect that constant and instantly know its value. On the other hand, because most debuggers cannot print #define values, you would most likely have to search for that value by manually looking it up in a header file. read less
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Master

1) Advantage of using the enumeration constant method is that your programs are more readable and thus can be understood better by others who might have to update your program later. 2) Another advantage to using enumeration constants is that some symbolic debuggers can print the value of an enumeration...
read more
1) Advantage of using the enumeration constant method is that your programs are more readable and thus can be understood better by others who might have to update your program later. 2) Another advantage to using enumeration constants is that some symbolic debuggers can print the value of an enumeration constant. Conversely, most symbolic debuggers cannot print the value of a symbolic constant. This can be an enormous help in debugging your program, because if your program is stopped at a line that uses an enum, you can simply inspect that constant and instantly know its value. On the other hand, because most debuggers cannot print #define values, you would most likely have to search for that value by manually looking it up in a header file. read less
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16 Yrs of Experience in Teaching

with #define N 5 , u can have only one option .. N =5 and in enum we can have multiple choice enum days{mon,tue,wed,thu,fri} among 5 u can select one
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Computer Science

The use of an enumeration constant (enum) has many advantages over using the traditional symbolic constant style of #define. These advantages include a lower maintenance requirement, improved program readability, and better debugging capability. The first advantage is that enumerated constants are generated...
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The use of an enumeration constant (enum) has many advantages over using the traditional symbolic constant style of #define. These advantages include a lower maintenance requirement, improved program readability, and better debugging capability. The first advantage is that enumerated constants are generated automatically by the compiler. Conversely, symbolic constants must be manually assigned values by the programmer. read less
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MCA

-enum are deifined like structure -enum type name can be used to declare variable of its type -Eg: enum course{BCA,Btech,MCA,Mtech}; in C we can declare variable of its type like enum course program_code;
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VBA/Excel/Access/SQL Server

#define statements are handled by the pre-processor before the compiler gets to see the code whereas enums are part of the C language itself and have the following advantages. They may have type and the compiler can type-check them. Since they are available to the compiler, symbol information on them...
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#define statements are handled by the pre-processor before the compiler gets to see the code whereas enums are part of the C language itself and have the following advantages. They may have type and the compiler can type-check them. Since they are available to the compiler, symbol information on them can be passed through to the debugger, making debugging easier. read less
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