<refentry id="refpurpose.element">
<?dbhtml filename="refpurpose.html"?>
<refentryinfo>
<pubdate>$Date$</pubdate>
<releaseinfo>$Revision$</releaseinfo>
</refentryinfo>

<refmeta>
<indexterm><primary>elements</primary>
<secondary>refpurpose</secondary></indexterm>
<refentrytitle>refpurpose</refentrytitle>
<refmiscinfo>Element</refmiscinfo>
</refmeta>
<refnamediv>
<refname>refpurpose</refname>
<refpurpose>&refpurpose.purpose;</refpurpose>
</refnamediv>

&refpurpose.synopsis.gen;
<refsect1 condition='ref.description'><title>Description</title>

<para>
The <sgmltag>RefPurpose</sgmltag> is a concise summary of the topic of the
reference page.  A <sgmltag>RefPurpose</sgmltag> is usually limited to a single,
short sentence.
</para>

<refsect2><title>Processing expectations</title>
<para>
&format.inline; See <sgmltag>RefNameDiv</sgmltag>.
</para>
<para>
In a large <sgmltag>Reference</sgmltag>, <sgmltag>RefName</sgmltag>s and
<sgmltag>RefPurpose</sgmltag>s are sometimes used to construct a permuted
index. A permuted index is a keyword-in-context concordance of lines,
like the short definitions in this element reference; the keyword
cycles alphabetically through the words of the (definition) lines.
</para>
<para>
Formatting reference pages may require a fairly sophisticated
processing system.  Much of the meta-information about a
reference page (its name, type, purpose, title, and
classification) is stored in wrappers near the beginning of
the <sgmltag>RefEntry</sgmltag>.
</para>
<para>
Common presentational features, such as titles and running
headers, may require data from several of these wrappers plus
some generated text. Other formatting often requires that
these elements be reordered.
</para>
</refsect2>

<refsect2 role='fu' revision="4.0"><title>&FutureChanges;</title>
<para>
<!--do not index this occurance-->
&fu.interfacedefinition;
</para>
</refsect2>


&refpurpose.parents.gen;
&refpurpose.children.gen;
</refsect1>
<refsect1><title>Examples</title>

&refpurpose.example.seealso.gen;
</refsect1>
</refentry>

