Node

Overview

Central AST representation. Each node is a parsed C/C++ declaration with kind, type info, source location, tags, and tree structure. All queries and metadata extraction operate on nodes.

Why Use This?

node is the primary data structure returned by parser::parse(). It provides a persistent, queryable tree that caches all relevant data from libclang cursors, enabling tree traversal, pattern matching, and filtering without raw libclang API exposure.

Types

Type	Description
node	AST node representing a parsed declaration
node_ptr	std::shared_ptr<node> — shared ownership pointer
node_weak_ptr	std::weak_ptr<node> — non-owning reference
node::kind	Enum of declaration kinds (40+ values)
access_specifier	Enum: invalid, public_, protected_, private_
storage_class	Enum: none, extern_, static_, register_, auto_, thread_local_

Node Kinds

Type declarations: class_decl, struct_decl, union_decl, enum_decl, enum_constant_decl, typedef_decl, type_alias_decl

Members: field_decl, method_decl, constructor_decl, destructor_decl, conversion_decl

Functions: function_decl, function_template, parameter_decl, variable_decl

Templates: class_template, template_type_parameter, template_non_type_parameter, template_template_parameter

Other: namespace_decl, namespace_alias, using_directive, using_declaration, base_specifier, friend_decl, linkage_spec, static_assert_decl, translation_unit

Functions

Identity

get_kind

Get the node’s declaration kind.

Signature: kind get_kind() const

get_kind_name

Get a human-readable string for the node’s kind.

Signature: const char* get_kind_name() const

kind_to_string (static)

Convert a kind enum to string.

Signature: static const char* kind_to_string(kind k)

get_usr

Get the Unified Symbol Resolution identifier. Deterministic across parses of the same code.

Signature: const std::string& get_usr() const

get_name

Get the simple name (e.g., "MyClass").

Signature: const std::string& get_name() const

get_qualified_name

Get the fully qualified name (e.g., "ns::MyClass").

Signature: const std::string& get_qualified_name() const

get_display_name

Get the display name (may include parameters for functions).

Signature: const std::string& get_display_name() const

get_mangled_name

Get the mangled linker symbol name.

Signature: const std::string& get_mangled_name() const

Type Information

get_type

Get type information for typed declarations (fields, variables).

Signature: const type_info& get_type() const

get_return_type

Get the return type for functions/methods.

Signature: const type_info& get_return_type() const

Location

get_location

Get the source location.

Signature: const source_location& get_location() const

get_extent

Get the source range spanning the entire declaration.

Signature: const source_range& get_extent() const

Access and Storage

get_access

Get the access specifier (public/protected/private).

Signature: access_specifier get_access() const

get_storage_class

Get the storage class specifier.

Signature: storage_class get_storage_class() const

Declaration Properties

is_definition

Whether this is a definition (not just a forward declaration).

Signature: bool is_definition() const

is_virtual / is_pure_virtual / is_override / is_final

Virtual method properties.

Signatures:

• bool is_virtual() const
• bool is_pure_virtual() const
• bool is_override() const
• bool is_final() const

is_static / is_const_method / is_inline / is_explicit

Method qualifiers.

Signatures:

• bool is_static() const
• bool is_const_method() const
• bool is_inline() const
• bool is_explicit() const

is_constexpr / is_noexcept / is_deleted / is_defaulted

Special function properties.

Signatures:

• bool is_constexpr() const
• bool is_noexcept() const
• bool is_deleted() const
• bool is_defaulted() const

is_anonymous / is_scoped_enum

Type properties.

Signatures:

• bool is_anonymous() const
• bool is_scoped_enum() const

is_template / is_template_specialization / is_variadic

Template properties.

Signatures:

• bool is_template() const
• bool is_template_specialization() const
• bool is_variadic() const

is_bitfield / get_bitfield_width

Bitfield properties.

Signatures:

• bool is_bitfield() const
• int get_bitfield_width() const

Default Values and Enum Info

has_default_value / get_default_value

Signatures:

• bool has_default_value() const
• const std::string& get_default_value() const

get_underlying_type

Get the underlying type for enums.

Signature: const std::string& get_underlying_type() const

get_enum_value

Get the integer value of an enum constant.

Signature: std::int64_t get_enum_value() const

is_virtual_base

Whether a base specifier is virtual.

Signature: bool is_virtual_base() const

Documentation

get_comment / get_brief_comment

Get documentation comments attached to the declaration.

Signatures:

• const std::string& get_comment() const — full comment text
• const std::string& get_brief_comment() const — first paragraph only

Tags

get_tags

Get all tags on this node.

Signature: const std::vector<tag>& get_tags() const

has_tag

Check if a specific tag exists.

Signature: bool has_tag(const std::string& name) const

has_tags

Check if any of the given tags exist.

Signature: bool has_tags(const std::vector<std::string>& names) const

find_tag

Find the first tag matching a name.

Signature: std::optional<tag> find_tag(const std::string& name) const

Returns: the tag if found, std::nullopt otherwise

find_tags

Find all tags matching any of the given names.

Signature: std::vector<tag> find_tags(const std::vector<std::string>& names) const

get_parent_tags

Get tags from all ancestor nodes (walking up the tree).

Signature: std::vector<tag> get_parent_tags() const

get_all_tags

Get own tags combined with parent tags.

Signature: std::vector<tag> get_all_tags() const

Tree Navigation

get_parent

Get the parent node.

Signature: node_ptr get_parent() const

Returns: parent node, or nullptr for root

get_children

Get all child nodes.

Signature: const std::vector<node_ptr>& get_children() const

find_child

Find the first child matching a predicate.

Signature: template <typename Predicate> node_ptr find_child(Predicate pred) const

Returns: first matching child, or nullptr

find_children

Find all children matching a predicate.

Signature: template <typename Predicate> std::vector<node_ptr> find_children(Predicate pred) const

find_descendants

Recursively find all descendants matching a predicate (depth-first).

Signature: template <typename Predicate> std::vector<node_ptr> find_descendants(Predicate pred) const

Notes: For large trees (>10k nodes), consider caching results or using filter.

Convenience Queries

get_children_by_kind

Signature: std::vector<node_ptr> get_children_by_kind(kind k) const

find_child_by_name

Signature: node_ptr find_child_by_name(const std::string& name) const

Tag-Based Child Queries

Signatures:

• std::vector<node_ptr> get_children_by_tag(const std::string& tag_name) const
• std::vector<node_ptr> get_children_by_tags(const std::vector<std::string>& tag_names) const
• std::vector<node_ptr> get_children_without_tag(const std::string& tag_name) const
• std::vector<node_ptr> get_children_without_tags(const std::vector<std::string>& tag_names) const
• node_ptr find_child_with_tag(const std::string& tag_name) const
• node_ptr find_child_with_tags(const std::vector<std::string>& tag_names) const
• node_ptr find_child_without_tag(const std::string& tag_name) const
• node_ptr find_child_without_tags(const std::vector<std::string>& tag_names) const

Type Helpers

Signatures:

• bool is_type_decl() const — class/struct/union/enum/typedef?
• bool is_record_decl() const — class/struct/union?
• bool is_callable() const — function/method/constructor?

Member Accessors

Signatures:

• std::vector<node_ptr> get_bases() const — base classes
• std::vector<node_ptr> get_methods() const — methods
• std::vector<node_ptr> get_fields() const — fields
• std::vector<node_ptr> get_parameters() const — function/method parameters
• std::vector<node_ptr> get_enum_constants() const — enum values

Free Functions

access_specifier_to_string

Signature: const char* access_specifier_to_string(access_specifier a)

storage_class_to_string

Signature: const char* storage_class_to_string(storage_class sc)

Example:

auto structs = ast->find_descendants([](auto& n) {
  return n->is_record_decl() && n->has_tag("reflect");
});

for (auto& s : structs) {
  for (auto& field : s->get_fields()) {
    auto type = field->get_type().get_spelling();
    auto name = field->get_name();
  }
}