XDesignXElement

XDesignXElement is the element-level XML wrapper used by xPression-oriented reports. It tracks primary and foreign key elements, propagates keys through nested structures, and renders the resulting element tree as escaped XML markup.

Purpose

• Extend the base SAIF XML element type with key tracking for report structures.
• Serialize nested report elements into xPression-compatible markup.

Context

• Namespace: SAIF.Services.Printing.Reporting
• Assembly/package: SAIF.Services.Printing

Public members

Member	Signature	Purpose
Keys	Public ReadOnly Property Keys() As List(Of XDesignXElement)	Returns the collection of key elements owned by the current element.
ForeignKeys	Public ReadOnly Property ForeignKeys() As List(Of XDesignXElement)	Returns the collection of foreign-key elements propagated from ancestors.
New	Public Sub New(name As XName)	Creates an element with a name only.
New	Public Sub New(name As XName, content As Object)	Creates an element with a name and content.
New	Public Sub New(name As XName, ParamArray content() As Object)	Creates an element with a name and multiple content items.
New	Public Sub New(other As XDesignXElement)	Creates a copy of another XDesignXElement.
New	Public Sub New(other As XStreamingElement)	Creates an element from a streaming element source.
AddKey	Public Sub AddKey(child As XDesignXElement)	Adds a child element and records it as a key element.
Clone	Public Function Clone() As XDesignXElement	Creates a detached copy of the current element tree.
ToXpression	Public Function ToXpression(Optional tabIndex As Integer = 0) As String	Propagates keys and renders the element tree as escaped XML text.
DisplayKeys	Public Sub DisplayKeys(Optional tabIndex As Integer = 0)	Writes the current element's key information to the console and recurses through child elements.

Behavioral notes

• ToXpression propagates the current element's keys into child foreign-key collections before it renders nested content.
• Leaf nodes render as single escaped elements, while non-leaf nodes emit propagated foreign keys before their child elements.
• Clone uses the ToSAIFXElement extension path to create a detached copy suitable for insertion into another document tree.

Constraints and usage notes

• Only XDesignXElement children participate in key propagation; non-XDesignXElement children are converted through the extension method before rendering.
• DisplayKeys is diagnostic output written to the console rather than a structured return value.

Sources

• Services\SAIF.Services.Printing\Reporting\XDesignXElement.vb