Python
03 Sep 2026
9 min read
Model Finite States Clearly with Python Enum
Many programs represent a small fixed set of states with plain strings: status = "paid" That looks simple, but the string carries no built-in guarantee that it belongs to the set of states your application actually supports. A typo such as "paied" is still a valid Python string. So is an unexpected value received from a file, database, message, or HTTP request.