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What is an enumeration (enum) in C++? How do you assign specific values to enumerators? What is the difference between an enum and a set of #define constants? How do you specify the underlying type of an enum? How do you convert between an enum class and its underlying integer? Can you forward declare an enum, and what are the rules? What are the scoping and name-collision advantages of enum class? How do you implement type-safe bit flags with enum class? How can you convert an enum to a string (reflection limitations)?
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What is an enum class (scoped enum) and why is it preferred?

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Answer

An enum class (scoped enumeration, C++11) scopes its enumerators to the enum's name (Color::Red) and does not implicitly convert to int, preventing accidental mixing with numbers or other enums. This gives stronger type safety and avoids name clashes, so enum class is preferred over plain enum in modern code.
enum class Color { Red, Green, Blue };
Color c = Color::Red;
// int x = c;   // error: no implicit conversion
Real-world example Using enum class for Status and Priority prevents accidentally comparing a Status to a Priority.

Common follow-ups: How does it improve type safety? | Why must you qualify the enumerators?

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