Note: This article was originally published in 2011. Some steps, commands, or software versions may have changed. Check the current .Net documentation for the latest information.
Prerequisites
Before you begin, make sure you have:
- Visual Studio or .NET CLI installed
- .NET Framework or .NET Core SDK
- Basic C# programming knowledge
Recently I came across the need to convert a string stored in the database into an enumeration in our application. I wasn’t really excited about having to write a switch statement nor having to maintain that code. Fortunately there is a command in .Net that allows you to parse that string into any enumeration which is a great help! Below is a sample of how to use Enum.Parse():
///
/// This procedure generates the Permissions Mask necessary so that the correct permissions are applied by combining all the Masks that belong to a Security Permission Level
///
/// The Permission level for which the mask needs to be calculated
///
private static Microsoft.SharePoint.SPBasePermissions GeneratePermissionMask(Security___Permission_Levels permissionLevel)
{
Microsoft.SharePoint.SPBasePermissions permissionMask = Microsoft.SharePoint.SPBasePermissions.EmptyMask;
Type SPBasePermissionType = typeof(Microsoft.SharePoint.SPBasePermissions);
foreach (Model.Security___Permissions_definition individualPermissionValue in permissionLevel.Security___Permissions_definition)
{
permissionMask |= (Microsoft.SharePoint.SPBasePermissions)Enum.Parse(SPBasePermissionType, individualPermissionValue.Security_Mask, true);
}
return (Microsoft.SharePoint.SPBasePermissions)permissionLevel.Permissions;
}
Summary
You’ve successfully learned convert a string into an enum in c#.net. If you run into any issues, double-check the prerequisites and ensure your .Net environment is properly configured.