How to convert string result of enum with overridden toString() back to enum?

Question

Given the following java enum:

public enum AgeRange {

   A18TO23 {
        public String toString() {        
            return \"18 - 23\";
        }
    },
          


        

Answer 1

The class overrides "toString()" - so, to get the reverse operation, you need to override valueOf() to translate the output of toString() back to the Enum values.

public enum AgeRange {

   A18TO23 {
        public String toString() {        
                return "18 - 23";
        }
        public AgeRange valueOf (Class enumClass, String name) {
                return A18T023
        }
    },

    .
    .
    .
}

Buyer beware - uncompiled and untested...

The mechanism for toString() and valueOf() is a documented part of the API