AFCategory Class
- Last UpdatedNov 18, 2025
- 8 minute read
- PI System
- AF SDK 2024 R2
- Developer
The AFCategory represents a user-defined value used to categorize
objects within the AF SDK. Use it to group objects by categories
when generating reports or when making queries.
Inheritance Hierarchy
Namespace: OSIsoft.AF
Assembly: OSIsoft.AFSDK (in OSIsoft.AFSDK.dll) Version: 3.1.1.1182
Syntax
[SerializableAttribute] public sealed class AFCategory : AFObject, IAFTransactable, IAFChangedEvent, IAFSecurable, IComparable<AFCategory>
<SerializableAttribute> Public NotInheritable Class AFCategory Inherits AFObject Implements IAFTransactable, IAFChangedEvent, IAFSecurable, IComparable(Of AFCategory) Dim instance As AFCategory
[SerializableAttribute] public ref class AFCategory sealed : public AFObject, IAFTransactable, IAFChangedEvent, IAFSecurable, IComparable<AFCategory^>
[<SealedAttribute>] [<SerializableAttribute>] type AFCategory = class inherit AFObject interface IAFTransactable interface IAFChangedEvent interface IAFSecurable interface IComparable<AFCategory> end
The AFCategory type exposes the following members.
Constructors
| Name | Description | |
|---|---|---|
 | AFCategory |
Initializes a new instance of the class with default values.
|
| AFCategory(String) |
Initializes a new instance of the class with the specified name.
|
Properties
| Name | Description | |
|---|---|---|
 | CheckOutInfo |
This read-only property returns the checked out status information for the object.
|
| Database |
This read-only property returns the AFDatabase where this object is defined.
|
| Description |
Read/write property that provides a more detailed description of the object.
|
| ID |
Read-only property that provides a unique identifier for the object to be used for
quick access that is not dependent upon the index.
(Inherited from AFObject.) |
| Identity |
This read-only property contains identity of the object.
(Inherited from AFObject.) |
| IsDeleted |
This read-only property indicates whether the object has been deleted.
(Inherited from AFObject.) |
| IsDirty |
This read-only property indicates whether the object has been modified since the
last save to the PI AF Server.
|
| IsNew |
This read-only property indicates whether the object is new and has never been saved
to the PI AF Server.
|
| Name |
Read/write property that identifies the name of the object.
|
 | None |
An AFCategory that represents no category.
|
| PISystem |
This read-only property allows access to the PISystem associated with this
object.
(Inherited from AFObject.) |
| Security |
This read-only property returns the AFSecurity information for the object.
|
| UniqueID |
Read-only property that provides the object's ID as a String.
(Inherited from AFObject.) |
Methods
| Name | Description | |
|---|---|---|
 | ApplyChanges |
This method applies the changes to the object and makes
those changes available to other objects for the current user.
|
| CheckIn |
This method checks in (commits) all the changes to the object by saving
the information to persistent storage.
|
| CheckOut |
This method locks the object so that its configuration can be modified.
|
| CheckOutCategories |
Check out the objects with the specified unique identifiers at the specified query date.
|
| CompareTo(Object) |
Compares this instance with a specified Object.
(Inherited from AFObject.) |
| CompareTo(AFObject) |
Compares this instance with a specified AFObject.
(Inherited from AFObject.) |
| DeleteCategories |
Delete the objects with the specified unique identifiers.
|
| Equals(Object) |
Determines whether the specified Object is equal to the current object.
(Inherited from AFObject.) |
| Equals(AFObject) |
Indicates whether the current object is equal to another object of the same type.
(Inherited from AFObject.) |
| FindCategory |
Retrieves the AFCategory object with the specified unique identifier.
|
| GetHashCode |
Gets the hash code for this instance of the object which is suitable for use in hashing
algorithms and data structures like a hash table.
(Inherited from AFObject.) |
| GetPath |
Returns the full path to the object, using just the names.
(Inherited from AFObject.) |
| GetPath(AFObject) |
Returns the path to the object relative from another object.
(Inherited from AFObject.) |
| GetPath(AFEncodeType, AFObject) |
Returns the path to the object relative from another object,
using the name and/or id as specified
by encodeType.
(Inherited from AFObject.) |
| GetSecurity |
Gets the AFSecurity information of the specified security item
associated with the object.
|
| GetType | Gets the Type of the current instance. (Inherited from Object.) |
| LoadCategories |
Loads the AFCategory objects with the specified unique identifiers.
|
| Persist |
This method returns the persistence string for the object.
(Inherited from AFObject.) |
| Refresh |
Refreshes the client with any changes that have been made to the object since loaded.
|
| ToString |
Returns a String that represents the current object.
(Inherited from AFObject.) |
| UndoCheckOut |
This method discards all the changes to the object and all sub-objects since the
last call to CheckOut. Any changes since the check out will be lost.
|
Events
| Name | Description | |
|---|---|---|
 | Changed |
Event is raised when the object or one of its sub-objects is changed.
|
Remarks
The collections of available categories are maintained by the AFDatabase. There are separate collections of categories defined for the following objects: AFElementTemplateAFBaseElement, AFAttributeTemplate, AFAttribute, AFReferenceType, AFTable, AFAnalysisTemplate, and AFAnalysis. The AFDatabase.ElementCategories collection is used for AFElementTemplate objects and all derived objects of AFBaseElement. The AFDatabase.AnalysisCategories collection is used for AFAnalysisTemplate and AFAnalysis objects.
Create a new AFCategory object by calling one of the AFCategoriesAdd methods of the desired collection maintained by the AFDatabase.
Examples
// This example demonstrates how to create an element category and display its information. // It also shows how to set the category for an element template. // Get the Database PISystems myPISystems = new PISystems(); AFDatabase myDB = myPISystems.DefaultPISystem.Databases.DefaultDatabase; // Create the Category AFCategory myCategory = myDB.ElementCategories.Add("MyElementCategory"); myCategory.Description = "This is my Element Category"; // Display the Name and Description of the Category Console.WriteLine("Name of Category = {0}", myCategory.Name); Console.WriteLine("Description = {0}", myCategory.Description); // Create an Element Template AFElementTemplate myElemTemplate = myDB.ElementTemplates.Add("MyElementTemplate"); // Set the Category for an Element Template myElemTemplate.Categories.Add(myCategory);
' This example demonstrates how to create an element category and display its information. ' It also shows how to set the category for an element template. ' Get the Database Dim myPISystems As New PISystems Dim myDB As AFDatabase = myPISystems.DefaultPISystem.Databases.DefaultDatabase ' Create the Category Dim myCategory As AFCategory = myDB.ElementCategories.Add("MyElementCategory") myCategory.Description = "This is my Element Category" ' Display the Name and Description of the Category Console.WriteLine("Name of Category = {0}", myCategory.Name) Console.WriteLine("Description = {0}", myCategory.Description) ' Create an Element Template Dim myElemTemplate As AFElementTemplate = myDB.ElementTemplates.Add("MyElementTemplate") ' Set the Category for an Element Template myElemTemplate.Categories.Add(myCategory)
No code example is currently available or this language may not be supported.
No code example is currently available or this language may not be supported.