Color enum Enum.GetName String StartsWith where

Color table

We can enumerate colors in the C# language. We build a table containing all named colors, making HTML easier to write.

With a foreach loop, we can enumerate the values in an enum like the type KnownColor. We can write the color table directly to the console.

Example

We use the Enum.GetNames method and the typeof operator along with the Where extension method. With Where, we remove Control colors from the output.

Tip In .NET 6 in 2022, the program compiles and runs correctly without adding any assemblies.

However In previous versions of the .NET Framework, adding System.Drawing assembly might be needed.

And It uses the StartsWith method and LINQ extension methods. These help generate the correct output.

using System;
using System.Drawing;
using System.Linq;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        // Get enum strings and order them by name.
        // Remove Control colors.
        foreach (string c in Enum.GetNames(typeof(KnownColor)).Where(
            item => !item.StartsWith("Control")).OrderBy(item => item))
        {
            // Write table row.
            Console.WriteLine("<b style=background:{0}>{1}</b>",
                c.ToLower(),
                c.ToLower().PadRight(20));
        }
    }
}

Discussion

In this example, the KnownColors can be enumerated and listed. The C# code also helps us learn about how to use this programming language.

We can enumerate KnownColors from the System.Drawing namespace. Next we saw the console program that generates the table. A color sheet can be useful for selecting named colors.