How do I make a public enum?

I'm making a script, and I want it to have a public enum variable so I can set it in the inspector.

But when I try this, I get an error saying the variable itself is more accessible than the variable's type. I assume this is because I declared the enum inside that one class, and so the enum is only accessible to that one class.

How am I supposed to do it?

 

You've answered your own question here.

Declare the enum outside of the class, at the namespace level.

 

Okay, what specifically is the namespace level?

 

C# or JavaScript?

In C# its the same level where you write class. As in

Code (CSharp):

1. public class MyComponent : MonoBehaviour {
2.     // Do something awesome
3. }
4. public Enum MyEnum {valueA, valueB, ...}

I have no idea how this is done in JavaScript, but there will be something similar available.

 

But that's not what the error is about. It's about scope visibility.

Default member scope is private, so unless the enum is declared as public it can't be seen from outside the class. The compiler is smart enough to realize that this means it can't be used as a part of the public interface for the class, because it means that things which can see the interface can't see the type required. Hence the message saying that the variable (the public thing which uses the enum) is "more accessible" than the type (the enum declaration itself).

So... all you need to do is add 'public' before the enum type declaration.

 

Okay, it's compiling now! Angrypenguin had what I was missing.
Thank you!

 

personally, I ALWAYS define access modifer of anything I define.

I never say:

void Foo
class Bar
enum Grrr

it's always

private void Foo
public class Bar
internal enum Grr

(modifiers are arbitrary for example)

 

Probably good practice if you work across multiple languages. I get lazy and let the privates fall out to default.

 

But what about the argument that states that you must not know the language. Because the language spec states that by default members are private and classes are internal. If you knew that then you would not need to always define access modifiers.

 

First... I started the statement with "personally". So it's just my practice.

Second... it's because I've worked on several large teams through out my career. Several of those projects spanned across multiple tiers, and would be written in different languages depending which part of the system it was in. Being explicit in what you write makes the code more readable, as opposed to relying on default behaviours, which requires considering more information that otherwise wouldn't have to be kept in mind.

"Why the hell isn't the data contract for the new customer table on the database not being found when I import the data connection dll?"

"Ummm... not sure... uh, everything looks fine. It's compiled in there. No errors. The unit tester is working fine...." what could be several minutes later, "aw, crap, Joe forgot to mark it public... stupid me, for not catching that sooner, and stupid joe for forgetting."

When you work in teams like that, you develop standards that ease the working process. The language designers often sometimes come up with standards within their languages that don't actually translate well to real world application.

And actually, that would be my argument TO write it explicitly all the time. Knowing the default access modifier behaviour is requiring you to know more about the language.

 

When I need to consider a practice within a project, I take the path of least immediate knowledge necessary.

"When declaring a data type, I declare the access modifier"

"When declaring a data type, it's access modifier is by default X if it's data type A,B, or C, and Y if it's D,E, or F. Unless I otherwise declare the access modifier explicitly."

Which is the least amount of effort to remember? When you have 1000 of these little things to remember, which would you rather spend your limited brain resources on?

As my father always said, "First you learn the right way, then you learn the short cut. That way when the short cut fails, because it will, you have the right way to fall back on." He may have only been a hillbilly farmboy truck driver... but the man was smart.