• Growing Trend of Criticism: In the past few years, there's a trend of criticizing TypeScript's enum feature. Many developers prefer union types or const objects instead.
• Most Complaints are About Misuse: Most complaints about enums aren't about the feature itself but about misuse. The majority of enum pitfalls in TypeScript are caused by a misunderstanding of what an enum is.
• Enums Are Meant to Be Symbolic: Enums are not for representing literal values but symbolic ones. They should represent concepts rather than specific string or color codes.
• JavaScript's Built-in Symbolic Primitive: ES6 introduced the Symbol primitive, which is a perfect metaphor for using enums symbolically. Each call to Symbol() returns a unique value.
• Where TypeScript Gets Funky: TypeScript allows assigning actual string or number literal values to enum members, which can lead to problems like leaky abstractions, fragile equality, and making enum values public API.
• Enums Should Be for Internal Logic Only: When used correctly, enums are great for internal logic and branching. They should be used as internal tags and not directly in UI, APIs, or persisted.
• Problem With Misunderstood Criticism: Some criticisms of TypeScript enums are unfounded. If used symbolically, enums are powerful and semantically rich.
• Should You Use TypeScript Enums: TypeScript enums are quirky, but abandoning them is not the solution. We should use enums symbolically and properly.