[protobuf] EnumValueDescriptor doesn't provide toString()?

[Christopher Smith]

I noticed EnumValueDescriptor uses the default toString() method. Why not override it to call getFullName()?

--Chris

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[Kenton Varda]

I don't think we should add toString() to any of the descriptor classes unless we are going to implement it for *all* of them in some consistent way.  If we fill them in ad-hoc then they may be inconsistent, and we may not be able to change them to make them consistent without breaking users.

[Christopher Smith]

Actually, toString() seems to work for me for every other value I get from a dynamic message *except* enums.

--Chris

[Kenton Varda]

Right, because none of the other field value types are descriptors.  I see your point -- since getField() returns an Object, it would certainly be nice to be able to call toString() on it without knowing the type.  But, it's also important that EnumValueDescriptor be consistent with other descriptor classes, so we want to be careful not to mess up that consistency.

Instead of calling toString(), you could call TextFormat.printFieldToString() to get a string representation of the field, although it will include the field name.

[Christopher Smith]

I grok the problem now. This is the only descriptor that is also a value. Probably should have a method/visitor specifically for getting the value string of an object that isn't implemented by descriptors.

--Chris