# 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:

    <apiOperationDetail>
          <apiImpl>Method</apiImpl>
          <apiSyntax>
             <apiSyntaxText>
                Public Function getApplicableStereotypesAsString( <┘
                <apiItemName>delimiterOPT</apiItemName> <┘
                As String) <┘
                As String <┘
             </apiSyntaxText>
             <apiSyntaxItem>
               <apiItemName>delimiterOPT</apiItemName>
               <apiDefNote>A string that provides the text that you want to
                     use to separate the stereotype names.</apiDefNote>
             </apiSyntaxItem>
             <apiSyntaxItem>
               <apiItemName>string</apiItemName>
               <apiDefNote>One or more strings to interpolate.</apiDefNote>
             </apiSyntaxItem>
          </apiSyntax>
    </apiOperationDetail>

#### Contained by

apiSyntax

#### Contains

apiDefNote, apiItemName

#### Content model

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

#### Inheritance

topic/p reference/p

- apiItemName
  The <apiItemName> element provides the name for substructure of an interface such as parameter of an operation or subfield of a method.
- apiDefNote
  The <apiDefNote> element provides an optional note element to expand the information about a part of the declared interface for the API item within the <apiDef> element.

Parent topic: apiSyntax