Class Template
List of: Types
Contents: Online Help Guide

<NAME> The Name title indicates the exact string used to identify the C++ class (names are case sensitive).

Purpose: The Purpose field summarizes the intended purpose of the class.

Derivation: The Derivation field specifies the derivation of the class. The class described by the template is always listed on the left, followed by its parent, grandparent, etc. The last class in the list is always a base class, indicated by a trailing hyphen (-). Classes with no parents (base classes) show only the class name and a trailing hyphen (-).

SAT Identifier: The SAT Identifier field contains either a quoted identifier string or the word "None".


The quoted identifier string is the word relating to the class that is written to the SAT save file in addition to the saved data for this class. This string is the same as that returned by the class method type_name.


The word "None" in this field means there is no identifier written to the save file for this class. However, the class may have data that is written to the SAT save file.

Filename: The Filename field specifies the name of the header file, including the directory path, containing the prototype of the class. To use this class, applications should include this header file. The first element of the file path is the top-level installation directory for the component.

Description: The Description field describes the class, its use, and its structure. This field may provide other general information that applies to the entire class.

Limitations: The Limitations field describes any limitations of the class. These can include conceptual limitations, such as operations for which the class should not be used, real limitations, such as operations the class does not perform, or platform-specific limitations.

Note The use of term limitations here does not equate to a legal performance standard, rather the term limitation means "additional guidance" regarding the usage.

References: The References field lists classes that this class references and classes by which this class is referenced. If the data of the class described in this template contains a pointer (often private) to another class, this template's class "references" that other class. If another class contains a pointer to this template's class, the class described in this template is "referenced by" the other class.


Component names, shown at the left, show the component in which the referenced classes are defined. If the component name is preceded by the word "by," then this template's class is referenced by that class(es).

Data: The Data field describes public and protected data items used by the class. Public data can generally be accessed by any other function. Protected data can generally be referenced only by this class and derived classes. Each data item is shown explicitly scoped, although in the actual code it may be block-scoped or may be defined by a preprocessor macro. Private data is never shown.

Constructor: The Constructor field lists public and protected constructors. The default C++ constructor generally creates an instance by reserving space without initializing the data. Other constructors may initialize the instance using arguments or may copy the data from other instances.

Destructor: The Destructor field lists public and protected destructors. If a lose destructor is provided, it should be used instead of any other destructors because it handles instances that can be used by multiple users.

Methods: The Methods field lists, in alphabetical order, the public and protected class methods (member functions). Certain methods common to all classes derived from ENTITY are not shown here; these methods are defined uniquely for each class using the ENTITY_FUNCTIONS macro. Because these methods are rarely called by applications, they are documented only in the ENTITY class template.

Internal Use: The Internal Use field alphabetically lists class methods that are internal to ACIS and not intended for direct usage. These are public or protected class methods which are declared in the class header file and may be needed for class derivation. If required, refer to the header file and other sources for more detailed information.

Related Fncs: The Related Fncs field lists other related functions declared in the class header file that are not class methods.
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