Associating enums with strings in C#

.net, c#

Solution

I like to use properties in a class instead of methods, since they look more enum-like.

Here's an example for a Logger:

public class LogCategory
{
    private LogCategory(string value) { Value = value; }

    public string Value { get; private set; }

    public static LogCategory Trace   { get { return new LogCategory("Trace"); } }
    public static LogCategory Debug   { get { return new LogCategory("Debug"); } }
    public static LogCategory Info    { get { return new LogCategory("Info"); } }
    public static LogCategory Warning { get { return new LogCategory("Warning"); } }
    public static LogCategory Error   { get { return new LogCategory("Error"); } }

    public override string ToString()
    {
        return Value;
    }
}

Pass in type-safe string values as a parameter:

public static void Write(string message, LogCategory logCategory)
{
    var log = new LogEntry { Message = message };
    Logger.Write(log, logCategory.Value);
}

Usage:

Logger.Write("This is almost like an enum.", LogCategory.Info);

Problem

I know the following is not possible because the Enumeration's type has to be an int ``` enum GroupTypes { TheGroup = "OEM", TheOtherGroup = "CMB" } ``` From my database I get a field with incomprehensive codes (the `OEM` and `CMB`s). I would want to make this field into an `enum` or something else understandable. Because if the target is readability, the solution should be terse. What other options do I have?

Original source

Related problems