On 4/25/26 01:11, Sebastian Wittmeier via Std-Proposals wrote:
> They could have different underlying representations:

Yes.

> With strong typing the compiler could add an offset for one of the ancestor enum classes.

No, that won't work.


If this hypothetical feature is just for re-using enum values
and allowing conversion from a "base" value to a "derived" enum type,
then maybe there's some merit hidden here. However, I can't see how
to make a "Derived*" convert to a "Base*", similar to class derivation.


Alternative syntax suggestion:

enum class Derived {
  using enum Base; // import the enumerators here; ugh, semicolon
  NEXT_ENUM = whatever,
};

Jens

  
>
> -----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
> *Von:* Arthur O‘Dwyer via Std-Proposals <std-proposals_at_[hidden]>
> *Gesendet:* Fr 24.04.2026 23:10
> *Betreff:* Re: [std-proposals] Add inheritance for Enum Class enumerations
> *An:* std-proposals_at_[hidden];
> *CC:* Arthur O‘Dwyer <arthur.j.odwyer_at_[hidden]>;
> On Fri, Apr 24, 2026 at 4:00 PM Gašper Ažman via Std-Proposals <std-proposals_at_[hidden] <mailto:std-proposals_at_[hidden]>> wrote:
>
> Note that `using enum` exists and probably does what you need.
>
>
> I don't think "using enum" does what Andrey wants — because I think Andrey is trying to describe this other common problem instead. This /r/ProgrammingLanguages thread <https://www.reddit.com/r/ProgrammingLanguages/comments/rk1y4u/extending_enums/> calls it "extending enums."
> Here's some lightly-anonymized code from a real (DNS-related) codebase:
>
> enum HttpServerStat {
> TLS_HANDSHAKES,
> TLS_HANDSHAKE_ERRORS,
> TLS_HANDSHAKE_TIMEOUTS,
> [...]
> RESPONSE_DROPS,
> MAX_HTTP_SERVER_STAT_ID
> };
>
> enum HttpStat {
> // Extends HttpServerStat
> QUERY_COUNT_HTTP = MAX_HTTP_SERVER_STAT_ID,
> QUERY_BYTES_HTTP,
> RESPONSE_COUNT_HTTP,
> RESPONSE_BYTES_HTTP,
> [...]
> MAX_HTTP_STAT_ID
> };
>
> enum ODoHStat {
> // Extends HttpStat
> ODOH_QUERY_COUNT = MAX_HTTP_STAT_ID,
> ODOH_QUERY_BYTES,
> [...]
> ODOH_4XX_RESPONSE,
> MAX_ODOH_STAT_ID
> };
>
> (Sidebar: We had to make some very minor changes to the users of this code for C++20, which tightened restrictions on cross-enum arithmetic and comparison.)
> The idea is that ODoHStat "extends" HttpStat in the same way that std::partial_ordering "extends" std::strong_ordering. Every value in the domain of HttpStat is also in the domain of ODoHStat (although the reverse is not true).
> Notice that this is the opposite of what class inheritance means! When a /class/ ODoHStat /derives/ from HttpStat then we say that every object of type ODoHStat is an object of type HttpStat (not the reverse).
>
> What we really want to be able to say here is something like
> enum class ODoHStat : using HttpStat {
> ODOH_QUERY_COUNT = MAX_HTTP_STAT_ID,
> ODOH_QUERY_BYTES,
> [...]
> ODOH_4XX_RESPONSE,
> MAX_ODOH_STAT_ID
> };
> Again, notice the inappropriateness of "inheritance" syntax here.
> enum ODoHStat : HttpStat { // NO!
> Because that syntax already has a meaning for enum declarations: it's "HttpStat is the underlying type of ODoHStat; we guarantee that all values of type ODoHStat will fit into an HttpStat." Which is /*not at all*/ what we mean here; in fact we mean the opposite: here we guarantee that all values of type /HttpStat/ will fit into an /ODoHStat/.
>
> This fantasy feature would permit us to use `enum class`, and expose all the enumerators of the "parent" enum as members of the "child", thus:
> ODoHStat e = ODoHStat::QUERY_COUNT_HTTP;
> Today, we can't do that. We can either avoid scoped enums altogether, or else we have to write
> ODoHStat e = static_cast<ODoHStat>(HttpStat::QUERY_COUNT_HTTP);
>
> If we got such a facility:
>
> (1) We would not want to permit the "child" enum to just start listing new enumerators without an initializer for the first one:
> enum class ODoHStat : using HttpStat { ODOH_QUERY_COUNT, ODOH_QUERY_BYTES, [...] // NO!
> because what would they start numbering at — zero? one-more-than-the-parent-enum's-highest-enumerator? std::bit_ceil-of-one-more-than-the-parent-enum's-highest-enumerator? None of these are safe answers. The only safe pattern is as we do in the code above: start where the parent enum tells you to start. Even then, this is super fragile: if we add a new enumerator to HttpStat, that will increment the values of ODoHStat's enumerators too. Arguably the author of ODoHStat knew what they were signing up for when they used this facility?
>
> (2) The facility does not seem to permit "multiple inheritance," or if it does, the semantics might be surprising.
> enum class Fruit { Apple, Grape, Orange };
> enum class Color { Red, Orange, Yellow };
> enum class Thing : using Fruit, Color {};
> // both Thing::Apple and Thing::Red have value zero, right?
> // does Thing::Orange exist? what is its value?
>
> Anyway, I'm sure "extending enums" has been proposed before, but I haven't yet found where. N1513 Improving Enumeration Types <http://www2.open-std.org/JTC1/SC22/WG21/docs/papers/2003/n1513.pdf> (2003) sketches several ideas re enums, but not this one.
>
> my $.02,
> –Arthur
>
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