Chapter 21. Namespace Reference

The quick reference is organized into chapters-one per namespace. Each chapter begins with an overview of the namespace and includes a hierarchy diagram for the types (classes, interfaces, enumerations, delegates, and structs) in the namespace. Quick-reference entries for all the types in the namespace follow the overview.

Figure 21-1 is a sample diagram showing the notation used in this book. This notation is similar to that used in O’Reilly’s Java in a Nutshell, but it borrows some features from UML.

Class hierarchy notation

Figure 21-1. Class hierarchy notation

Classes marked as MustInherit are shown as a slanted rectangle; classes marked as NonInheritable are shown as an octagonal rectangle. Inheritance is shown as a solid line from the subtype, ending with a hollow triangle that points to the base class. Two notations indicate interface implementation. The lollipop notation is used most of the time, since it is easier to read. In some cases, especially when many types implement a given interface, the shaded box notation with the dashed line is used.

Important relationships between types (associations) are shown with a dashed line ending with an arrow. The figures don’t show every possible association. Some types have strong containing relationships with one another. For example, a System.Net.WebException object instance includes a System.Net.WebResponse object instance that ...

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