6.5.4.2. Nodes (Entities)

In the following we describe the possible types of nodes contained in C# RFGs.

Assembly

Assembly (inherits from: File_System_Entity)

Subtypes

none

Containing Views

Assembly, Assembly References, Include

Description

A node of type Assembly represents the contents of a .NET assembly.

Attributes

Attribute name	Attribute type	Inherited from
Element.From_Bytecode	Toggle	-
Element.Has_Internal_Visibility	Toggle	-
Element.Has_Private_Protected_Visibility	Toggle	-
Element.Has_Private_Visibility	Toggle	-
Element.Has_Protected_Internal_Visibility	Toggle	-
Element.Has_Protected_Visibility	Toggle	-
Element.Has_Public_Visibility	Toggle	-
Element.Is_Artificial	Toggle	-
Element.Is_Inherited	Toggle	-
Element.Is_Referenced_Assembly	Toggle	-
Linkage.Is_Ambiguous_Name	Toggle	-
Linkage.Is_Definition	Toggle	-
Linkage.Name	String	File_System_Entity
Source.Column	Integer	File_System_Entity
Source.File	String	File_System_Entity
Source.Line	Integer	File_System_Entity
Source.Name	String	File_System_Entity
Source.Path	String	File_System_Entity
Source.Physical_Column	Integer	File_System_Entity
Source.Physical_File	String	File_System_Entity
Source.Physical_Line	Integer	File_System_Entity
Source.Physical_Path	String	File_System_Entity
Source.Physical_Region_Length	Integer	File_System_Entity
Source.Physical_Region_Start	Integer	File_System_Entity
Source.Region_Length	Integer	File_System_Entity
Source.Region_Start	Integer	File_System_Entity

Elements are contained in an assembly by Enclosing edges just like members are enclosed in types. Assembly is not a subtype of Source_Entity; it can be tagged with the following attributes:

• Linkage.Name: Contains a unique identifier for the assembly, containing its file path.

• Source.Name: Contains the value of the attribute Assembly_Title of the assembly.

• Source.File: Contains the file name of the corresponding assembly.

• Source.Path: Contains the directory path of the corresponding assembly.

•   Element.Is_Referenced_Assembly: Is set to true if the assembly is a referenced assembly (otherwise it is a source assembly).

Class

Class (inherits from: Type)

Subtypes

none

Containing Views

Assembly, Code Facts

Description

The Class node type represents nongeneric C# classes, in particular reference classes and value classes like structs), delegates (not enums, they are represented by Type). The term Class subsumes in particular all user-defined types, with the exception of interfaces, and is not equivalent to the types defined by the class key word in C#.

Attributes

Attribute name	Attribute type	Inherited from
Element.Is_Anonymous	Toggle	-
Element.Is_Delegate	Toggle	-
Element.Is_Extension	Toggle	-
Element.Is_Final	Toggle	-
Element.Is_New	Toggle	-
Element.Is_Partial	Toggle	-
Element.Is_Struct	Toggle	-
Element.Is_Template_Instance	Toggle	-
Element.Is_Unsafe	Toggle	-
Element.Is_Abstract	Toggle	Type
Element.Is_Enum	Toggle	Type
Element.Is_File_Local	Toggle	Type
Element.Is_Reference_Type	Toggle	Type
Element.Is_Static	Toggle	Type
Element.Is_Template_Parameter	Toggle	Type
Element.Is_Value_Type	Toggle	Type
Element.From_Bytecode	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Has_Internal_Visibility	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Has_Private_Protected_Visibility	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Has_Private_Visibility	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Has_Protected_Internal_Visibility	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Has_Protected_Visibility	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Has_Public_Visibility	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Is_Artificial	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Is_Inherited	Toggle	Source_Entity
Linkage.Is_Ambiguous_Name	Toggle	Source_Entity
Linkage.Is_Definition	Toggle	Source_Entity
Linkage.Name	String	Source_Entity
Source.Column	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Declaration_Start	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.File	String	Source_Entity
Source.Line	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Name	String	Source_Entity
Source.Path	String	Source_Entity
Source.Physical_Column	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Physical_File	String	Source_Entity
Source.Physical_Line	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Physical_Path	String	Source_Entity
Source.Physical_Region_Length	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Physical_Region_Start	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Region_Length	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Region_Start	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Signature_Start	Integer	Source_Entity

The .NET common type system distinguishes between value types (e.g. enums and structs) and reference types (e.g. actual (reference) classes and delegates). Value types have the attribute Element.Is_Value_Type set, reference types have the attribute   Element.Is_Reference_Type set. Nested classes are contained within their outer class by using edges of type Enclosing.

Similarly to methods and fields, the attribute Element.Is_Unsafe indicates that the type is tagged with the unsafe modifier (the code text of the type is then considered an unsafe context).

Class kinds.

The different subtypes of Class nodes are represented by the following attributes:

•   Element.Is_Delegate : the entity is a delegate (a type offering roughly the functionality of a type-safe function pointer, see C# specification 4.0, 4.2.7),

•   Element.Is_Struct : the entity is a value class ( struct),

If none of these attributes is set, the entity is an actual reference class ( class).

Note

Code Example

public class AClass
{
  protected struct ANestedStruct
  {
  }

  protected internal enum ANestedEnum
  {
    Value1, 
    Value2
  }

  internal delegate void ADelegate();
}

Example: Classes, structs, delegates, and enums.

Note

Code Example

public delegate void EventHandler ();

public class AClass {
    public event EventHandler Change;

    public void doSomething ()
    {   
        Change ();
    }
}

// Class which handles the event
public class HandlerClass
{
    public HandlerClass (AClass param) {
        param.Change += new EventHandler ( somethingChanges );
    }
    private void somethingChanges () { }
}

// Class to test it all
public class GameTest
{
    public static void Main () {
        AClass ac = new AClass();
        HandlerClass hc = new HandlerClass (ac);
    }
}

An event and a delegate.

Class_Template

Class_Template (inherits from: Template)

Subtypes

none

Containing Views

Assembly, Code Facts

Description

A Class_Template models an uninstantiated (open) generic class. It is connected to its instances (which are Class nodes) via Instance_Of edges.

Note

We use the term Template also for generic entities in C# to stay consistent with the language models of the other supported languages.

Attributes

Attribute name	Attribute type	Inherited from
Element.Is_Abstract	Toggle	-
Element.Is_Delegate	Toggle	-
Element.Is_Extension	Toggle	-
Element.Is_File_Local	Toggle	-
Element.Is_Final	Toggle	-
Element.Is_New	Toggle	-
Element.Is_Partial	Toggle	-
Element.Is_Reference_Type	Toggle	-
Element.Is_Static	Toggle	-
Element.Is_Struct	Toggle	-
Element.Is_Value_Type	Toggle	-
Element.From_Bytecode	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Has_Internal_Visibility	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Has_Private_Protected_Visibility	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Has_Private_Visibility	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Has_Protected_Internal_Visibility	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Has_Protected_Visibility	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Has_Public_Visibility	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Is_Artificial	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Is_Inherited	Toggle	Source_Entity
Linkage.Is_Ambiguous_Name	Toggle	Source_Entity
Linkage.Is_Definition	Toggle	Source_Entity
Linkage.Name	String	Source_Entity
Source.Column	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Declaration_Start	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.File	String	Source_Entity
Source.Line	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Name	String	Source_Entity
Source.Path	String	Source_Entity
Source.Physical_Column	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Physical_File	String	Source_Entity
Source.Physical_Line	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Physical_Path	String	Source_Entity
Source.Physical_Region_Length	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Physical_Region_Start	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Region_Length	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Region_Start	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Signature_Start	Integer	Source_Entity

Nodes of type Class_Template can have the same attributes set as nodes of type Class with the exception of the   Element.Is_Template_Instance attribute and the   Element.Is_Anonymous attribute.

Note

Code Example

public class AGenericClass<T, U>
{ }

public struct AGenericStruct<V>
{ }

public class AClass
{
  
  AGenericStruct<int> Member;

}

Example: Generic class.

Constant

Constant (inherits from: Object)

Subtypes

none

Containing Views

Assembly, Code Facts

Description

The Constant node type represents enum constants.

Attributes

Attribute name	Attribute type	Inherited from
Element.From_Bytecode	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Has_Internal_Visibility	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Has_Private_Protected_Visibility	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Has_Private_Visibility	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Has_Protected_Internal_Visibility	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Has_Protected_Visibility	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Has_Public_Visibility	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Is_Artificial	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Is_Inherited	Toggle	Source_Entity
Linkage.Is_Ambiguous_Name	Toggle	Source_Entity
Linkage.Is_Definition	Toggle	Source_Entity
Linkage.Name	String	Source_Entity
Source.Column	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Declaration_Start	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.File	String	Source_Entity
Source.Line	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Name	String	Source_Entity
Source.Path	String	Source_Entity
Source.Physical_Column	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Physical_File	String	Source_Entity
Source.Physical_Line	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Physical_Path	String	Source_Entity
Source.Physical_Region_Length	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Physical_Region_Start	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Region_Length	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Region_Start	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Signature_Start	Integer	Source_Entity

Directory

Directory (inherits from: File_System_Entity)

Subtypes

none

Containing Views

Include

Description

In addition to the language representation, the Axivion Suite captures the containment of declarations/definitions in modules, files, and directories.

A Directory represents a directory in the file system. A Directory node can contain File nodes and Directory nodes.

Note

You can configure the topmost directory that will be used for a system, see Architecture-Dependencies.

Attributes

Attribute name	Attribute type	Inherited from
Linkage.Name	String	File_System_Entity
Source.Column	Integer	File_System_Entity
Source.File	String	File_System_Entity
Source.Line	Integer	File_System_Entity
Source.Name	String	File_System_Entity
Source.Path	String	File_System_Entity
Source.Physical_Column	Integer	File_System_Entity
Source.Physical_File	String	File_System_Entity
Source.Physical_Line	Integer	File_System_Entity
Source.Physical_Path	String	File_System_Entity
Source.Physical_Region_Length	Integer	File_System_Entity
Source.Physical_Region_Start	Integer	File_System_Entity
Source.Region_Length	Integer	File_System_Entity
Source.Region_Start	Integer	File_System_Entity

File

File (inherits from: File_System_Entity)

Subtypes

none

Containing Views

Include

Description

A File node represents a source file. It contains all declarations and definitions by incoming Enclosing edges. A File node itself may be contained in a Directory node. The path is expressed by the hierarchy of Directory nodes.

Attributes

Attribute name	Attribute type	Inherited from
Linkage.Name	String	File_System_Entity
Source.Column	Integer	File_System_Entity
Source.File	String	File_System_Entity
Source.Line	Integer	File_System_Entity
Source.Name	String	File_System_Entity
Source.Path	String	File_System_Entity
Source.Physical_Column	Integer	File_System_Entity
Source.Physical_File	String	File_System_Entity
Source.Physical_Line	Integer	File_System_Entity
Source.Physical_Path	String	File_System_Entity
Source.Physical_Region_Length	Integer	File_System_Entity
Source.Physical_Region_Start	Integer	File_System_Entity
Source.Region_Length	Integer	File_System_Entity
Source.Region_Start	Integer	File_System_Entity

The Source.Name of a File node is the name of the file in the file system (with extension).

File_System_Entity

File_System_Entity

Subtypes

Assembly, Directory, File

Containing Views

Include

Description

The File_System_Entity node type is the base type of all nodes representing entities of the file system, like directories and files.

Attributes

Attribute name	Attribute type	Inherited from
Linkage.Name	String	-
Source.Column	Integer	-
Source.File	String	-
Source.Line	Integer	-
Source.Name	String	-
Source.Path	String	-
Source.Physical_Column	Integer	-
Source.Physical_File	String	-
Source.Physical_Line	Integer	-
Source.Physical_Path	String	-
Source.Physical_Region_Length	Integer	-
Source.Physical_Region_Start	Integer	-
Source.Region_Length	Integer	-
Source.Region_Start	Integer	-

Interface

Interface (inherits from: Type)

Subtypes

none

Containing Views

Assembly, Code Facts

Description

An Interface models a non-generic C# interface type.

Attributes

Attribute name	Attribute type	Inherited from
Element.Is_Interface	Toggle	-
Element.Is_Partial	Toggle	-
Element.Is_Template_Instance	Toggle	-
Element.Is_Abstract	Toggle	Type
Element.Is_Enum	Toggle	Type
Element.Is_File_Local	Toggle	Type
Element.Is_Reference_Type	Toggle	Type
Element.Is_Static	Toggle	Type
Element.Is_Template_Parameter	Toggle	Type
Element.Is_Value_Type	Toggle	Type
Element.From_Bytecode	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Has_Internal_Visibility	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Has_Private_Protected_Visibility	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Has_Private_Visibility	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Has_Protected_Internal_Visibility	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Has_Protected_Visibility	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Has_Public_Visibility	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Is_Artificial	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Is_Inherited	Toggle	Source_Entity
Linkage.Is_Ambiguous_Name	Toggle	Source_Entity
Linkage.Is_Definition	Toggle	Source_Entity
Linkage.Name	String	Source_Entity
Source.Column	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Declaration_Start	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.File	String	Source_Entity
Source.Line	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Name	String	Source_Entity
Source.Path	String	Source_Entity
Source.Physical_Column	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Physical_File	String	Source_Entity
Source.Physical_Line	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Physical_Path	String	Source_Entity
Source.Physical_Region_Length	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Physical_Region_Start	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Region_Length	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Region_Start	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Signature_Start	Integer	Source_Entity

Since interfaces are reference types, the attribute Element.Is_Reference_Type is always set for them.

Note

Code Example

public interface IForward
{
    void Next ();
}

public interface IBackward
{
    void Prev ();
}

public class Navigator: IForward, IBackward
{
    public void Next () 
    { }

    public void Prev () 
    { }
}

Example: Interfaces.

Interface_Template

Interface_Template (inherits from: Template)

Subtypes

none

Containing Views

Assembly, Code Facts

Description

A Interface_Template models an uninstantiated (open) generic interface. It is connected to its instances (which are Interface nodes) via Instance_Of edges.

Note

We use the term Template also for generic entities in C# to stay consistent with the language models of the other supported languages.

Attributes

Attribute name	Attribute type	Inherited from
Element.Is_Abstract	Toggle	-
Element.Is_File_Local	Toggle	-
Element.Is_Interface	Toggle	-
Element.Is_Partial	Toggle	-
Element.Is_Reference_Type	Toggle	-
Element.Is_Template_Instance	Toggle	-
Element.From_Bytecode	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Has_Internal_Visibility	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Has_Private_Protected_Visibility	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Has_Private_Visibility	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Has_Protected_Internal_Visibility	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Has_Protected_Visibility	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Has_Public_Visibility	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Is_Artificial	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Is_Inherited	Toggle	Source_Entity
Linkage.Is_Ambiguous_Name	Toggle	Source_Entity
Linkage.Is_Definition	Toggle	Source_Entity
Linkage.Name	String	Source_Entity
Source.Column	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Declaration_Start	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.File	String	Source_Entity
Source.Line	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Name	String	Source_Entity
Source.Path	String	Source_Entity
Source.Physical_Column	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Physical_File	String	Source_Entity
Source.Physical_Line	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Physical_Path	String	Source_Entity
Source.Physical_Region_Length	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Physical_Region_Start	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Region_Length	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Region_Start	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Signature_Start	Integer	Source_Entity

Note

Code Example

public interface IProvider<T>
{ }

public class AClass<U> : IProvider<int>
{ }

Example: Generic interface.

Member

Member (inherits from: Source_Entity)

Subtypes

none

Containing Views

Assembly, Code Facts

Description

The Member node type is used for fields and special syntactic member constructs like properties.

Attributes

Attribute name	Attribute type	Inherited from
Element.Is_Abstract	Toggle	-
Element.Is_Const	Toggle	-
Element.Is_Event	Toggle	-
Element.Is_Final	Toggle	-
Element.Is_Indexer	Toggle	-
Element.Is_New	Toggle	-
Element.Is_Partial	Toggle	-
Element.Is_Property	Toggle	-
Element.Is_Readonly	Toggle	-
Element.Is_Ref	Toggle	-
Element.Is_Required	Toggle	-
Element.Is_Static	Toggle	-
Element.Is_Unsafe	Toggle	-
Element.Is_Volatile	Toggle	-
Element.From_Bytecode	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Has_Internal_Visibility	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Has_Private_Protected_Visibility	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Has_Private_Visibility	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Has_Protected_Internal_Visibility	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Has_Protected_Visibility	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Has_Public_Visibility	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Is_Artificial	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Is_Inherited	Toggle	Source_Entity
Linkage.Is_Ambiguous_Name	Toggle	Source_Entity
Linkage.Is_Definition	Toggle	Source_Entity
Linkage.Name	String	Source_Entity
Source.Column	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Declaration_Start	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.File	String	Source_Entity
Source.Line	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Name	String	Source_Entity
Source.Path	String	Source_Entity
Source.Physical_Column	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Physical_File	String	Source_Entity
Source.Physical_Line	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Physical_Path	String	Source_Entity
Source.Physical_Region_Length	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Physical_Region_Start	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Region_Length	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Region_Start	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Signature_Start	Integer	Source_Entity

Modelling of special members

For members being properties, indexers, and events, the attributes

•   Element.Is_Property,

•   Element.Is_Indexer, and

•   Element.Is_Event

are set, respectively. These entities have accessor methods enclosed in them.

Modifiers.

Fields, properties and events can be static; then they are tagged with the attribute   Element.Is_Static.

The attribute   Element.Is_New indicates that the entity is tagged with the new modifier (i.e., in the source code it is specified that the entity hides an entity of the same name in a base class of its declaring type, see also C# specification 4.0, 10.3.4 and C# specification 4.0, 3.7.1.2). The attribute   Element.Is_Unsafe indicates that a property is tagged with the unsafe modifier (the code text of the property is then considered an unsafe context). The attributes   Element.Is_Const,   Element.Is_Volatile and Element.Is_ReadOnly indicate that a field is const, volatile, or readonly, respectively (see e.g. C# specification 4.0, 10.5.3).

Note

For an automatic property like int AProperty { get; set; }, an artificial backing field is created (here of type int) which holds the actual value of the property. The backing field has the attribute Element.Is_Artificial set and is not enclosed within the Property node of the property.

Note

Code Example

using System;

class ParentClass 
{
  public int AnInstanceProperty { set; get; }
}

class AClass : ParentClass {
  public new int AnInstanceProperty { set; get; }
  
  public static event Func<int, int> AStaticEvent
  {      
    add { }
    remove { }
  }
}

Properties, indexers, and events.

Method

Method (inherits from: Routine)

Subtypes

none

Containing Views

Assembly, Call, Code Facts

Description

The Method node type is used for modelling all kinds of nongeneric methods: ordinary methods, constructors and destructors, operators, accessors of properties, indexers, and events. Additionally, instances of generic methods are also represented as methods.

A special kind of routines in C# programs are anonymous functions, which represent “an ’in-line’ method-definition” (C# specification 4.0, 7.15). There are two different kinds of anonymous functions, lambda expressions and anonymous method expressions. Both are represented by Method in the RFG, with the attribute Source.Name set to ?.

Attributes

Attribute name	Attribute type	Inherited from
Element.Is_Abstract	Toggle	-
Element.Is_Adder	Toggle	-
Element.Is_Constructor	Toggle	-
Element.Is_Destructor	Toggle	-
Element.Is_Final	Toggle	-
Element.Is_Getter	Toggle	-
Element.Is_Initonly	Toggle	-
Element.Is_New	Toggle	-
Element.Is_PInvoke	Toggle	-
Element.Is_Partial	Toggle	-
Element.Is_Remover	Toggle	-
Element.Is_Setter	Toggle	-
Element.Is_Static	Toggle	-
Element.Is_Template_Instance	Toggle	-
Element.Is_Unsafe	Toggle	-
Element.Is_Virtual_Method	Toggle	-
Element.Is_Anonymous	Toggle	Routine
Element.From_Bytecode	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Has_Internal_Visibility	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Has_Private_Protected_Visibility	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Has_Private_Visibility	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Has_Protected_Internal_Visibility	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Has_Protected_Visibility	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Has_Public_Visibility	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Is_Artificial	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Is_Inherited	Toggle	Source_Entity
Linkage.Is_Ambiguous_Name	Toggle	Source_Entity
Linkage.Is_Definition	Toggle	Source_Entity
Linkage.Name	String	Source_Entity
Source.Column	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Declaration_Start	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.File	String	Source_Entity
Source.Line	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Name	String	Source_Entity
Source.Path	String	Source_Entity
Source.Physical_Column	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Physical_File	String	Source_Entity
Source.Physical_Line	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Physical_Path	String	Source_Entity
Source.Physical_Region_Length	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Physical_Region_Start	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Region_Length	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Region_Start	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Signature_Start	Integer	Source_Entity

Method kinds

The different kinds of methods are indicated by the following attributes:

•   Element.Is_Constructor: the method is an instance constructor or static constructor,

•   Element.Is_Destructor : the method is a destructor,

•   Element.Is_Setter / Element.Is_Getter : the method is a setter respectively getter of a property or indexer, and

•   Element.Is_Adder / Element.Is_Remover : the method is an adder respectively a remover of an event.

Additionally, the following attributes can be set for methods:

•   Element.Is_Abstract: indicates that the method is abstract (in particular, no method body is present),

•   Element.Is_Final: the method is sealed,

•   Element.Is_New: the method is tagged with the new modifier in the source code (this indicates that method hides a method of the same name in a base class of its declaring type, see also C# specification 4.0, 10.3.4),

•   Element.Is_Static: the method is static,

•   Element.Is_PInvoke: the method is tagged with the DllImport attribute (i.e., refers to an unmanaged method within another library),

•   Element.Is_Template_Instance: indicates that the method is an instance of a generic type.

•   Element.Is_Unsafe: indicates that the method is tagged with the unsafe modifier (the code of the method is then considered an unsafe context).

•   Element.Is_Virtual_Method: the method is virtual.

•   Element.Is_Initonly: the method is a property init-only setter. This attribute is set in addition to the   Element.Is_Setter attribute.

Note

Some routines and methods are generated by the C# compiler and do not appear directly in source code. This includes special operators and default constructors. In the RFG the corresponding nodes have the attribute Element.Is_Artificial set.

Note

Code Example

public class AClass
{
  public delegate void Foo();

  protected string AProperty { get { return ""; } set {} }
  
  private int this[int i1, int i2]
  {
    get { return 1; }
  }

  public event Foo AnEvent { add {} remove {}}
}

Accessors of properties, indexers, and events.

Note

Code Example

public class AClass
{
  delegate int ADelegate(int parameter);

  public int Member1;
  public int Member2;
  
  public void AMethod()
  {
    ADelegate f1 = x => { Member1 = x; return x; };
    ADelegate f2 = delegate (int x) { Member2 = x; return x; };
  }
}

Anonymous functions.

Note

Code Example

public unsafe class AClass
{
  public AClass()
  {}

  ~AClass() 
  {}
  
  public void AnInstanceMethod() {}

  public static void AStaticMethod() {}  

  public static unsafe void AnUnsafeStaticMethod() {}
}

Different kinds of methods.

Method_Template

Method_Template (inherits from: Routine_Template)

Subtypes

none

Containing Views

Assembly, Call, Code Facts

Description

Attributes

Attribute name	Attribute type	Inherited from
Element.Is_Abstract	Toggle	-
Element.Is_Anonymous	Toggle	-
Element.Is_New	Toggle	-
Element.Is_Partial	Toggle	-
Element.Is_Static	Toggle	-
Element.Is_Virtual_Method	Toggle	-
Element.From_Bytecode	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Has_Internal_Visibility	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Has_Private_Protected_Visibility	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Has_Private_Visibility	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Has_Protected_Internal_Visibility	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Has_Protected_Visibility	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Has_Public_Visibility	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Is_Artificial	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Is_Inherited	Toggle	Source_Entity
Linkage.Is_Ambiguous_Name	Toggle	Source_Entity
Linkage.Is_Definition	Toggle	Source_Entity
Linkage.Name	String	Source_Entity
Source.Column	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Declaration_Start	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.File	String	Source_Entity
Source.Line	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Name	String	Source_Entity
Source.Path	String	Source_Entity
Source.Physical_Column	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Physical_File	String	Source_Entity
Source.Physical_Line	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Physical_Path	String	Source_Entity
Source.Physical_Region_Length	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Physical_Region_Start	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Region_Length	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Region_Start	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Signature_Start	Integer	Source_Entity

Nodes of type Method_Template can have the same attributes set as the Method with the exception of the   Element.Is_Template_Instance attribute.

Note

Code Example

public class AClass
{
  public T AMethod<T>(T t)
  {
    return t;
  }

  public void Foo()
  {
    int x = AMethod<int>(1);
  }
}

Example: Generic method.

Namespace

Namespace (inherits from: Source_Entity)

Subtypes

none

Containing Views

Assembly, Code Facts

Description

A node of type Namespace groups together elements of a C# namespace; it is a subtype of Source_Entity. Elements are contained in a namespaces by Enclosing edges just like members are enclosed in types.

Attributes

Attribute name	Attribute type	Inherited from
Element.From_Bytecode	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Has_Internal_Visibility	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Has_Private_Protected_Visibility	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Has_Private_Visibility	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Has_Protected_Internal_Visibility	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Has_Protected_Visibility	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Has_Public_Visibility	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Is_Artificial	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Is_Inherited	Toggle	Source_Entity
Linkage.Is_Ambiguous_Name	Toggle	Source_Entity
Linkage.Is_Definition	Toggle	Source_Entity
Linkage.Name	String	Source_Entity
Source.Column	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Declaration_Start	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.File	String	Source_Entity
Source.Line	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Name	String	Source_Entity
Source.Path	String	Source_Entity
Source.Physical_Column	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Physical_File	String	Source_Entity
Source.Physical_Line	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Physical_Path	String	Source_Entity
Source.Physical_Region_Length	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Physical_Region_Start	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Region_Length	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Region_Start	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Signature_Start	Integer	Source_Entity

Apart from attributes inherited from Source_Entity, Namespace does not have any additional attributes.

Routine

Routine (inherits from: Source_Entity)

Subtypes

Method

Containing Views

Assembly, Call, Code Facts

Description

An artificial routine represents the entry point of a project (generated by rule:tool:Architecture-Dependencies). Apart of that, there appear no other nodes of type Routine in C# RFGs (only nodes of its subtype Method).

Attributes

Attribute name	Attribute type	Inherited from
Element.Is_Anonymous	Toggle	-
Element.From_Bytecode	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Has_Internal_Visibility	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Has_Private_Protected_Visibility	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Has_Private_Visibility	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Has_Protected_Internal_Visibility	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Has_Protected_Visibility	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Has_Public_Visibility	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Is_Artificial	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Is_Inherited	Toggle	Source_Entity
Linkage.Is_Ambiguous_Name	Toggle	Source_Entity
Linkage.Is_Definition	Toggle	Source_Entity
Linkage.Name	String	Source_Entity
Source.Column	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Declaration_Start	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.File	String	Source_Entity
Source.Line	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Name	String	Source_Entity
Source.Path	String	Source_Entity
Source.Physical_Column	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Physical_File	String	Source_Entity
Source.Physical_Line	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Physical_Path	String	Source_Entity
Source.Physical_Region_Length	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Physical_Region_Start	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Region_Length	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Region_Start	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Signature_Start	Integer	Source_Entity

Source_Entity

Source_Entity

Subtypes

Member, Namespace, Object, Routine, Template, Type

Containing Views

none (only subtypes of Source_Entity are contained in views)

Description

The Source_Entity node type is the base type of all source-related entities like types, routines, fields, and namespaces.

Attributes

Attribute name	Attribute type	Inherited from
Element.From_Bytecode	Toggle	-
Element.Has_Internal_Visibility	Toggle	-
Element.Has_Private_Protected_Visibility	Toggle	-
Element.Has_Private_Visibility	Toggle	-
Element.Has_Protected_Internal_Visibility	Toggle	-
Element.Has_Protected_Visibility	Toggle	-
Element.Has_Public_Visibility	Toggle	-
Element.Is_Artificial	Toggle	-
Element.Is_Inherited	Toggle	-
Linkage.Is_Ambiguous_Name	Toggle	-
Linkage.Is_Definition	Toggle	-
Linkage.Name	String	-
Source.Column	Integer	-
Source.Declaration_Start	Integer	-
Source.File	String	-
Source.Line	Integer	-
Source.Name	String	-
Source.Path	String	-
Source.Physical_Column	Integer	-
Source.Physical_File	String	-
Source.Physical_Line	Integer	-
Source.Physical_Path	String	-
Source.Physical_Region_Length	Integer	-
Source.Physical_Region_Start	Integer	-
Source.Region_Length	Integer	-
Source.Region_Start	Integer	-
Source.Signature_Start	Integer	-

Nodes of type Source_Entity (or one of its subtypes) might be tagged with attributes describing their visibility, their source position, and information about the compilation process.

One of the most important attributes of source entities is Source.Name, which contains the name of the entity. Two nodes can in general have the same source name (e.g. a constructor of a type A has A as its source name, so does the type itself). The attribute Element.Is_Artificial is set for entities that are generated by the compiler and do not have an exact corresponding entity in the source code.

Visibility

Visibility is expressed by the attributes

•   Element.Has_Internal_Visibility,

•   Element.Has_Private_Visibility,

•   Element.Has_Protected_Visibility,

• Element.Has_Private_Protected_Visibility,

• Element.Has_Protected_Internal_Visibility, and

•   Element.Has_Public_Visibility.

Source location

The location of an entity in a source file (if there is one) is specified by Source.Column and Source.Line. The source file can be located by the attributes Source.Path and Source.File. If the source file makes use of #line directives, the attributes with the Physical_ prefix provide the physical/untranslated location, and the unprefixed attributes provide the mapped location information, otherwise both attribute groups refer to the same location.

If the entity has a signature, the attributes Source.Declaration_Start and Source.Signature_Start provide the first (physical) line number of the declaration and signature, respectively. The declaration start includes attribute lists, if present. The signature starts from the first modifier keyword.

If the entity spans a larger region in the code, the attributes Source.Region_Start and Source.Region_Length provide its starting line and total number of lines.

Compilation process

The attribute Linkage.Is_Definition is set if the node represents a definition of e.g. a method. For distinguishing nodes from each other, the attribute Linkage.Name contains a unique identifier of the node.

Note

For facilitating analyses that investigate architectural problems, nodes for inherited entities might be copied: E.g., if a type A contains a method f(), and a class B inherits from A without overriding it, then a call b.f() with b having static type B causes a copy of f() to be inserted as a child of the node representing B. These copies are marked by the attributes Element.Is_Artificial and Element.Is_Inherited.

Type

Type (inherits from: Source_Entity)

Subtypes

Class, Interface

Containing Views

Assembly, Code Facts

Description

The Type node type is the base type of non-generic types. It represents in particular enums and generic parameters, and has the subtypes Class and Interface.

Attributes

Attribute name	Attribute type	Inherited from
Element.Is_Abstract	Toggle	-
Element.Is_Enum	Toggle	-
Element.Is_File_Local	Toggle	-
Element.Is_Reference_Type	Toggle	-
Element.Is_Static	Toggle	-
Element.Is_Template_Parameter	Toggle	-
Element.Is_Value_Type	Toggle	-
Element.From_Bytecode	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Has_Internal_Visibility	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Has_Private_Protected_Visibility	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Has_Private_Visibility	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Has_Protected_Internal_Visibility	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Has_Protected_Visibility	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Has_Public_Visibility	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Is_Artificial	Toggle	Source_Entity
Element.Is_Inherited	Toggle	Source_Entity
Linkage.Is_Ambiguous_Name	Toggle	Source_Entity
Linkage.Is_Definition	Toggle	Source_Entity
Linkage.Name	String	Source_Entity
Source.Column	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Declaration_Start	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.File	String	Source_Entity
Source.Line	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Name	String	Source_Entity
Source.Path	String	Source_Entity
Source.Physical_Column	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Physical_File	String	Source_Entity
Source.Physical_Line	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Physical_Path	String	Source_Entity
Source.Physical_Region_Length	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Physical_Region_Start	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Region_Length	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Region_Start	Integer	Source_Entity
Source.Signature_Start	Integer	Source_Entity

Abstract types are tagged with the   Element.Is_Abstract attribute. If the type is a generic instance, the attribute Element.Is_Template_Instance is set.

Type kinds

A type in C# and .NET can either be

• a value type: then it is tagged with the Element.Is_Value_Type attribute, or

• a reference type, then it is tagged with the Element.Is_Reference_Type.

Enums are represented by nodes of type Type, tagged by the   Element.Is_Enum attribute. This representation is done to harmonize the representation with the C/C++ language model (technically, enums in C# are value classes). A special kind of types are generic parameters; they are tagged with the attribute   Element.Is_Template_Parameter.

Note

Code Example

public class AClass<T> where T : class
{
}

Example: Generic type parameter.