cref Attribute (C# Programming Guide)

The cref attribute in an XML documentation tag means "code reference." It specifies that the inner text of the tag is a code element, such as a type, method, or property. Documentation tools like Sandcastle use the cref attributes to automatically generate hyperlinks to the page where the type or member is documented.

Example

The following example shows cref attributes used in <see> tags.

// Save this file as CRefTest.cs 
// Compile with: csc CRefTest.cs /doc:Results.xml  

namespace TestNamespace
{
    /// <summary> 
    /// TestClass contains several cref examples. 
    /// </summary> 
    public class TestClass
    {
        /// <summary> 
        /// This sample shows how to specify the <see cref="TestClass"/> constructor as a cref attribute.�
        /// </summary> 
        public TestClass()
        { }

        /// <summary> 
        /// This sample shows how to specify the <see cref="TestClass(int)"/> constructor as a cref attribute.�
        /// </summary> 
        public TestClass(int value)
        { }

        /// <summary> 
        /// The GetZero method. 
        /// </summary> 
        /// <example>  
        /// This sample shows how to call the <see cref="GetZero"/> method.
        /// <code> 
        /// class TestClass  
        /// { 
        ///     static int Main()  
        ///     { 
        ///         return GetZero(); 
        ///     } 
        /// } 
        /// </code> 
        /// </example> 
        public static int GetZero()
        {
            return 0;
        }

        /// <summary> 
        /// The GetGenericValue method. 
        /// </summary> 
        /// <remarks>  
        /// This sample shows how to specify the <see cref="GetGenericValue"/> method as a cref attribute.
        /// </remarks> 

        public static T GetGenericValue<T>(T para)
        {
            return para;
        }
    }

    /// <summary> 
    /// GenericClass. 
    /// </summary> 
    /// <remarks>  
    /// This example shows how to specify the <see cref="GenericClass{T}"/> type as a cref attribute.
    /// </remarks> 
    class GenericClass<T>
    {
        // Fields and members.
    }

    class Program
    {
        static int Main()
        {
            return TestClass.GetZero();
        }
    }
}

When compiled, the program produces the following XML file. Notice that the cref attribute for the GetZero method, for example, has been transformed by the compiler to "M:TestNamespace.TestClass.GetZero". The "M:" prefix means "method" and is a convention that is recognized by documentation tools such as Sandcastle. For a complete list of prefixes, see Processing the XML File (C# Programming Guide).

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<doc>
    <assembly>
        <name>CRefTest</name>
    </assembly>
    <members>
        <member name="T:TestNamespace.TestClass">
            <summary>
            TestClass contains cref examples.
            </summary>
        </member>
        <member name="M:TestNamespace.TestClass.#ctor">
            <summary>
            This sample shows how to specify the <see cref="T:TestNamespace.TestClass"/> constructor as a cref attribute. 
            </summary>
        </member>
        <member name="M:TestNamespace.TestClass.#ctor(System.Int32)">
            <summary>
            This sample shows how to specify the <see cref="M:TestNamespace.TestClass.#ctor(System.Int32)"/> constructor as a cref attribute. 
            </summary>
        </member>
        <member name="M:TestNamespace.TestClass.GetZero">
            <summary>
            The GetZero method.
            </summary>
            <example> 
            This sample shows how to call the <see cref="M:TestNamespace.TestClass.GetZero"/> method.
            <code>
            class TestClass 
            {
                static int Main() 
                {
                    return GetZero();
                }
            }
            </code>
            </example>
        </member>
        <member name="M:TestNamespace.TestClass.GetGenericValue``1(``0)">
            <summary>
            The GetGenericValue method.
            </summary>
            <remarks> 
            This sample shows how to specify the <see cref="M:TestNamespace.TestClass.GetGenericValue``1(``0)"/> method as a cref attribute.
            </remarks>
        </member>
        <member name="T:TestNamespace.GenericClass`1">
            <summary>
            GenericClass.
            </summary>
            <remarks> 
            This example shows how to specify the <see cref="T:TestNamespace.GenericClass`1"/> type as a cref attribute.
            </remarks>
        </member>
    </members>    <members>
        <member name="T:TestNamespace.TestClass">
            <summary>
            TestClass contains two cref examples.
            </summary>
        </member>
        <member name="M:TestNamespace.TestClass.GetZero">
            <summary>
            The GetZero method.
            </summary>
            <example> This sample shows how to call the <see cref="M:TestNamespace.TestClass.GetZero"/> method.
            <code>
            class TestClass 
            {
                static int Main() 
                {
                    return GetZero();
                }
            }
            </code>
            </example>
        </member>
        <member name="M:TestNamespace.TestClass.GetGenericValue``1(``0)">
            <summary>
            The GetGenericValue method.
            </summary>
            <remarks> 
            This sample shows how to specify the <see cref="M:TestNamespace.TestClass.GetGenericValue``1(``0)"/> method as a cref attribute.
            </remarks>
        </member>
        <member name="T:TestNamespace.GenericClass`1">
            <summary>
            GenericClass.
            </summary>
            <remarks> 
            This example shows how to specify the <see cref="T:TestNamespace.GenericClass`1"/> type as a cref attribute.
            </remarks>
        </member>
    </members>
</doc>

See Also

Reference

XML Documentation Comments (C# Programming Guide)

Recommended Tags for Documentation Comments (C# Programming Guide)