C# (and Java) offer a type call enum (aka enumeration). It represents a fixed list of possible values and is a powerful tool for communicating intentions through the type system. However, a recent legacy project forced me to face the shortcomings of enums and realize an even more powerful pattern, struct named constants.
I got to thinking about the Rediscovering Options post. The volatility analysis portion is an important artifact of my design process. The current version requires reading the whole list to comprehend the results. How could I make it better?
Configuration is a powerful tool and a dangerous temptation. My goal in this post is to walk through the ways I mishandled configuration, ended up rediscovering the Options configuration pattern, and finally dive into specific design scenarios to show why Options is the most stable solution.