# apiSyntaxItem

The <apiSyntaxItem> element provides the programming language representation of the declared interface for the API item.

#### Description

In the <apiDef> element, the <apiSyntaxItem> element can supplement or replace the semantic declaration of the same interface. When a specialization provides a complete representation of the interface within a specialized <apiDef> element, the <apiSyntaxItem> element is omitted. The Java DITA API reference takes this approach.

#### Example

The following example shows an <apiSyntaxItem> element for a Visual Basic function:

    <apiClassifier id="com.ibm.xtools.rational.xde">
        <apiName>IRXEAbstraction</apiName>
        <shortdesc>Represents a semantic mapping between elements that characterize the
                same concept.</shortdesc>
        <apiClassifierDetail >
          <apiSyntax>
             <apiSyntaxText>IRXEAbstraction</apiSyntaxText>
          </apiSyntax>
    </apiClassifier>

    <apiClassifier id="rational.xde" outputclass="statement" platform="vb">
        <apiName>TestImplements</apiName>
        <shortdesc>Specifies one or more interfaces or interface members.</shortdesc>
        <apiClassifierDetail>
          <apiSyntax platform="vb">
            <apiSyntaxText>Implements <apiItemName>IRXEAbstraction</apiItemName>
                          <apiItemName>TestImplements</apiItemName>[name, …]<apiRelation
            </apiSyntaxText>
            <apiSyntaxItem>
              <apiItemName>IRXEAbstraction</apiItemName>
              <apiDefNote>Required. An interface whose properties, methods, and events will be
                 implemented by corresponding members in the class or structure.</apiDefNote>
            </apiSyntaxItem>
            <apiSyntaxItem>
             <apiItemName>TestImplements</apiItemName>
               <apiDefNote>Required. The member of an interface that is being implemented.</apiDefNote>
            </apiSyntaxItem>
            <apiSyntaxItem id="nameParam">
               <apiItemName>name</apiItemName>
                  <apiDefNote>The name for the created interface member.</apiDefNote>
            </apiSyntaxItem>
         </apiSyntax>
         <apiDesc>An interface is a collection of prototypes representing the members
             (properties, methods and events) the interface encapsulates.</apiDesc>
    </apiClassifier>

#### Contained by

apiSyntax

#### Contains

apiDefNote, apiItemName

#### Content model

( (apiItemName) (any number) then (apiDefNote) (optional))

#### Inheritance

topic/p reference/p

Parent topic: apiSyntax