Java enum – why use toString instead of name

It really depends on what you want to do with the returned value:

• If you need to get the exact name used to declare the enum constant, you should use name() as toString may have been overriden
• If you want to print the enum constant in a user friendly way, you should use toString which may have been overriden (or not!).

When I feel that it might be confusing, I provide a more specific getXXX method, for example:

public enum Fields {
    LAST_NAME("Last Name"), FIRST_NAME("First Name");

    private final String fieldDescription;

    private Fields(String value) {
        fieldDescription = value;
    }

    public String getFieldDescription() {
        return fieldDescription;
    }
}