enum Values to NSString (iOS)

I didn't like putting the enum on the heap, without providing a heap function for translation. Here's what I came up with:

typedef enum {value1, value2, value3} myValue;
#define myValueString(enum) [@[@"value1",@"value2",@"value3"] objectAtIndex:enum]

This keeps the enum and string declarations close together for easy updating when needed.

Now, anywhere in the code, you can use the enum/macro like this:

myValue aVal = value2;
NSLog(@"The enum value is '%@'.", myValueString(aVal));

outputs: The enum value is 'value2'.

To guarantee the element indexes, you can always explicitly declare the start(or all) enum values.

enum {value1=0, value2=1, value3=2};

This is answered here: a few suggestions on implementation

The bottom line is Objective-C is using a regular, old C enum, which is just a glorified set of integers.

Given an enum like this:

typedef enum { a, b, c } FirstThreeAlpha;

Your method would look like this:

- (NSString*) convertToString:(FirstThreeAlpha) whichAlpha {
    NSString *result = nil;

    switch(whichAlpha) {
        case a:
            result = @"a";
            break;
        case b:
            result = @"b";
            break;
        case c:
            result = @"c";
            break;

        default:
            result = @"unknown";
    }

    return result;
}