[This is preliminary documentation and is subject to change.]
Declaration Syntax| C# |
[SerializableAttribute] public struct Reference : IReference, IEquatable<Reference>
Members| All Members | Methods | Properties | Fields | ||
| Icon | Member | Description |
|---|---|---|
 | Class | Obtains the ObjectClass to which the object
referenced by this Reference belongs. |
| Database | Gets the Database in which the target object of
this Reference is held. |
 | DeReference(Persistent) | Retrieves the Persistent object referred to by this
Reference. |
  | Empty | Represents an empty Reference, with database, class and object
numbers all zero. |
 | Equality(Reference, Reference) | Defines the equality operator for References. |
| Equals(Object) | Determines whether this Reference refers to the
same object as another object. (Overrides ValueType.Equals(Object).) |
| Equals(Reference) | Determines whether this Reference refers to the
same object as another Reference. |
 | Finalize()()()() |
Allows an Object to attempt to free resources and perform other cleanup operations before the Object is reclaimed by garbage collection.
(Inherited from Object.) |
| GetHashCode()()()() |
Creates a hash code for this Reference.
(Overrides ValueType.GetHashCode()()()().) |
| GetType()()()() |
Gets the Type of the current instance.
(Inherited from Object.) |
| Inequality(Reference, Reference) | Defines the inequality operator for References. |
| IsForeign | Gets a value determining whether this Reference
refers to an object originally from a foreign domain. |
| IsPersisted | Gets a value determining whether this Reference
refers to an object which has been persisted in a Database. |
| IsProvisional | Gets a value determining whether this Reference
refers to an object which is provisional - has not been persisted in a
Database. |
| MemberwiseClone()()()() |
Creates a shallow copy of the current Object.
(Inherited from Object.) |
| ObjectNumber | Gets the object number from the Reference.
|
| OwningDomain | Gets the Domain to which the object referenced by
this Reference belongs. |
| SaveToMessage(Message) | Appends a value representing this Reference to a
Message |
| ToReference()()()() | Obtains a Reference to the target of this
Reference. |
| ToString()()()() | Gets a text representation of the Reference. (Overrides ValueType.ToString()()()().) |
RemarksReferences are divided into two categories. Internal references refer to objects created within the domain, and Copy references refer to local copies of objects created in foreign domains. These differ from ForeignReference objects, as the latter refer to both the original object and the local copy.
Internal references are comprised of a database number which indexes The.Internet.LocalDomain.Databases, a class number which indexes The.Internet.LocalDomain.ObjectClasses and an object number, unique within each database-class combination.
Copy references are comprised of a domain number, which indexes The.Internet.Domains, a class number which indexes The.Internet.ForeignObjectClasses and an object number, unique within each class.