Most of us who transitioned from C++ to Java missed having an enum in versions of Java prior to J2SE 5.Fortunately, the wait was worth it as the Java enum is far superior to the C++ enum.

Fortunately, when Java finally got its enum , it was worth the wait . Not only does the Java enum provide a typesafe representation of finite values, but it supports methods on those values.

JPA and Hibernate enum mapping. The Java enum, introduced in Java 5, will map to the underlying database without any intervention. The JPA framework, be it Hibernate or Toplink or DataNucleus, will ...