ardalis/SmartEnum

Can/should SmartEnum implement the non-generic IComparable interface?

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#427 opened on Aug 28, 2023

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enhancementhelp wanted

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Description

Hi. We depend on some framework code that does comparison of objects based on the non-generic IComparable interface. I just stumbled across a CS0029 compilation error when trying to use a SmartEnum derived type. I quickly realized that this is because it doesn't implement the non-generic version of the IComparable interface, only the generic one.

In this particular case, I can modify my SmartEnum-derived type to implement IComparable itself, but that may not always be possible, and obviously isn't desirable from a DRY/code maintenance point of view.

Is there a reason that SmartEnum couldn't or shouldn't also implement the non-generic IComparable interface?

Thanks in advance for any consideration of this idea.

Contributor guide

Research direction
Analyze the SmartEnum base class to determine if adding non generic IComparable interface implementation is feasible without breaking existing functionality. Then implement the interface and update tests.
Tech stack
csharp
Domain
tooling
Issue type
Feature
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
3
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
1-3 hours
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Active
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
Clear
Prerequisites
C#Git
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
70