.. auto-generated by dev_tools.docs.nxdl from the NXDL source base_classes/NXcomponent.nxdl.xml -- DO NOT EDIT

.. index::
    ! NXcomponent (base class)
    ! component (base class)
    see: component (base class); NXcomponent

.. _NXcomponent:

===========
NXcomponent
===========

**Status**:

  base class, extends :ref:`NXobject`

**Description**:

  Base class for components of an instrument - real ones or simulated ones.

**Symbols**:

  No symbol table

**Groups cited**:
  :ref:`NXfabrication`, :ref:`NXprogram`, :ref:`NXtransformations`

.. index:: NXfabrication (base class); used in base class, NXprogram (base class); used in base class, NXtransformations (base class); used in base class

**Structure**:

  .. _/NXcomponent/applied-field:

  .. index:: applied (field)

  **applied**: (optional) :ref:`NX_BOOLEAN <NX_BOOLEAN>` 

    Was the component used?

  .. _/NXcomponent/name-field:

  .. index:: name (field)

  **name**: (optional) :ref:`NX_CHAR <NX_CHAR>` 

    Name of the component.

  .. _/NXcomponent/description-field:

  .. index:: description (field)

  **description**: (optional) :ref:`NX_CHAR <NX_CHAR>` 

    .. collapse:: Ideally, use instances of ``identifierNAME`` to point to a resource ...

        Ideally, use instances of ``identifierNAME`` to point to a resource
        that provides further details.

        If such a resource does not exist or should not be used, use this free text,
        although it is not recommended.

  .. _/NXcomponent/inputs-field:

  .. index:: inputs (field)

  **inputs**: (optional) :ref:`NX_CHAR <NX_CHAR>` 

    .. collapse:: Instance or list of instances of ``NXcomponent`` (or base classes ...

        Instance or list of instances of ``NXcomponent`` (or base classes
        extending ``NXcomponent``) or ``NXbeam`` that act as input(s) to this 
        component.

        Each input should point to the path of the group acting as input.

        An example usage would be to chain components and/or beams together to describe
        the beam path in an experiment.

  .. _/NXcomponent/outputs-field:

  .. index:: outputs (field)

  **outputs**: (optional) :ref:`NX_CHAR <NX_CHAR>` 

    .. collapse:: Instance or list of instances of ``NXcomponent`` (or base classes ...

        Instance or list of instances of ``NXcomponent`` (or base classes
        extending ``NXcomponent``) or ``NXbeam`` that act as output(s) of this
        component.

        For more information, see :ref:`inputs </NXcomponent/inputs-field>`.

  .. _/NXcomponent/depends_on-field:

  .. index:: depends_on (field)

  **depends_on**: (optional) :ref:`NX_CHAR <NX_CHAR>` 

    .. collapse:: Specifies the position of the component by pointing to the last ...

        Specifies the position of the component by pointing to the last
        transformation in the transformation chain that is defined
        via the NXtransformations group.

        NeXus positions components by applying a set of translations and rotations
        to apply to the component starting from 0, 0, 0. The order of these operations
        is critical and forms what NeXus calls a dependency chain. The depends_on
        field defines the path to the top most operation of the dependency chain or the
        string "." if located in the origin. Usually these operations are stored in a
        NXtransformations group. But NeXus allows them to be stored anywhere.

  .. _/NXcomponent/FABRICATION-group:

  :bolditalic:`FABRICATION`: (optional) :ref:`NXfabrication` 


  .. _/NXcomponent/PROGRAM-group:

  :bolditalic:`PROGRAM`: (optional) :ref:`NXprogram` 


  .. _/NXcomponent/TRANSFORMATIONS-group:

  :bolditalic:`TRANSFORMATIONS`: (optional) :ref:`NXtransformations` 

    .. collapse:: Collection of axis-based translations and rotations to describe the ...

        Collection of axis-based translations and rotations to describe the
        location and geometry of the component in the instrument. The dependency
        chain may however traverse similar groups in other component groups.


Hypertext Anchors
-----------------

List of hypertext anchors for all groups, fields,
attributes, and links defined in this class.


* :ref:`/NXcomponent/applied-field </NXcomponent/applied-field>`
* :ref:`/NXcomponent/depends_on-field </NXcomponent/depends_on-field>`
* :ref:`/NXcomponent/description-field </NXcomponent/description-field>`
* :ref:`/NXcomponent/FABRICATION-group </NXcomponent/FABRICATION-group>`
* :ref:`/NXcomponent/inputs-field </NXcomponent/inputs-field>`
* :ref:`/NXcomponent/name-field </NXcomponent/name-field>`
* :ref:`/NXcomponent/outputs-field </NXcomponent/outputs-field>`
* :ref:`/NXcomponent/PROGRAM-group </NXcomponent/PROGRAM-group>`
* :ref:`/NXcomponent/TRANSFORMATIONS-group </NXcomponent/TRANSFORMATIONS-group>`

**NXDL Source**:
  https://github.com/FAIRmat-NFDI/nexus_definitions/tree/fairmat/base_classes/NXcomponent.nxdl.xml