Chunk.SetBlock(Pos, E_BLOCK_PISTON, 0x10);

auto BlockType = Chunk.GetBlock(Pos);
if (BlockType == E_BLOCK_PISTON)
{
  auto IsSticky = Chunk.GetMeta(Pos) & 0x08;
}

• The set of Vanilla blocks are fixed per version. There is no need to parse all definitions from a file on every startup when the compiler can do the work.
  
• Mojang have changed block names, properties before. For example, Silverfish Egg, Monster Block, Infested Block. Using strings gives no indication that anything is amiss until something goes awry at runtime.
  
• Especially since so many of our users are on low powered devices, we need to be careful to avoid too many dynamic string allocations. Anecdote, but 1.16 runs at 1FPS on a flat world for 20 seconds after joining singleplayer. Pre-flattening 1.12.2 runs at 40. I'm unsure if allocations are to blame, but Pi Zero users should still have good performance after this migration.
  

struct Block
{
  // Gets the type of this block
  BlockType Type() const;

  // Comparison operators
  // ...

  unsigned short ID;
};

Chunk.SetBlock(
  Pos,

  // Call the autogenerated Piston(...) function in the autogenerated Blocks namespace
  // Creates a Block struct representing a Piston with the given properties set
  // Can also do Blocks::Piston() to create a default Piston, using the default Mojang defined in their registry.json
  Blocks::Piston(eBlockFace::BLOCK_FACE_XM, /* sticky */ true, /* extended */ false)
);

auto Block = Chunk.GetBlock(Pos);
if (Block == BlockType::Piston)  // Invokes comparison operator between Block and BlockType, converts a Block to its type automatically
{
  // Call the autogenerated "Sticky" accessor in the Blocks::Piston autogenerated namespace
  // The accessor looks at Block (i.e. its ID) and returns if it's sticky.
  auto IsSticky = Blocks::Piston::Sticky(Block);
}