Better Enums alternatives and similar libraries
Based on the "Miscellaneous" category.
Alternatively, view Better Enums alternatives based on common mentions on social networks and blogs.
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ZXing
An open-source, multi-format 1D/2D barcode image processing library implemented in Java, with ports to other languages. [Apache] -
ZBar
A barcode scanner library, which allows to scan photos/images/video streams for barcodes and return their value. [LGPL2] -
American fuzzy lop
Crazy fuzzing tool that automatically discovers bugs given time and minimal example input. [Apache2] -
UNITS
a compile-time, header-only, dimensional analysis and unit conversion library built on c++14 with no dependencies. -
Better String
An alternative to the string library for C which is more functional and does not have buffer overflow overrun problems. Also includes a C++ wrapper. [BSD, GPL2] -
value-category-cheatsheet
A PDF cheatsheet for lvalues, rvalues, and the like. [Jank copyleft] -
CommonPP
Small library helping you with basic stuff like getting metrics out of your code, thread naming, etc.
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README
Better Enums

Reflective compile-time enum library with clean syntax, in a single header file, and without dependencies.
In C++11, everything can be used at compile time. You can convert your enums,
loop over them, find their max,
statically enforce conventions, and pass along the results as
template arguments or to constexpr
functions. All the reflection is available
for your metaprogramming needs.
The interface is the same for C++98 — you just have to use most of it at run time only. This library does provide scoped and sized enums, something not built into C++98.
See the project page for full documentation.
Installation
Simply add enum.h
to your project.
Additional features
- Uses only standard C++, though, for C++98, variadic macro support is required (major compilers have it).
- Supported and tested on clang, gcc, and msvc.
- Fast compilation. You have to declare a few dozen enums to slow down your
compiler as much as only including
iostream
does. - Use any initializers and sparse ranges, just like with a built-in enum.
- Control over size and alignment — you choose the representation type.
- Stream operators.
- Does not use the heap and can be compiled with exceptions disabled, for use in minimal freestanding environments.
Limitations
The biggest limitation is that the
BETTER_ENUM
macro can't be used inside a class. This seems difficult to remove. There is a workaround withtypedef
(or C++11using
):BETTER_ENUM(SomePrefix_Color, uint8_t, Red, Green, Blue) struct triplet { typedef SomePrefix_Color Color; Color r, g, b; }; triplet::Color color;
You can, however, use
BETTER_ENUM
inside a namespace.The macro has a soft limit of 64 declared constants. You can extend it by following these instructions. Ultimately, the number of constants is limited by your compiler's maximum macro argument count.
In some cases, it is necessary to prefix constants such as
Channel::Red
with a+
to explicitly promote them to typeChannel
. For example, if you are doing a comparison:channel == +Channel::Red
On msvc, you may need to enable warning C4062 to get
switch
case exhaustiveness checking.
History
The original version of the library was developed by the author in the winter of
2012-2013 at Hudson River Trading, as a replacement for an older generator
called BETTER_ENUM
.
*Note that all licence references and agreements mentioned in the Better Enums README section above
are relevant to that project's source code only.