Can you explain very briefly what CodeDOM is and used for with a simple real life example?

Question

Can you explain very briefly what CodeDOM is and used for with a simple real life example?

A simple example that covers why would I need it as a developer, in what scenarios?

Thanks

Answer 1

CodeDOM stands for Code Document Object Model. Basically, it is your code represented by a hierarchical tree of objects, a model.. Consider a method with some statements in it:

int Foo(int bar)
{
    int i = 0;
    if ( bar == 1 ) i = 1;
    return i;
}

This would result in a DOM as follows:

method foo
    declaration
    if (expression)
        assignment
    return

A model like this that represents your code allows you to perform various manipulations or checks on it.

Answer 2

The CodeDOM represents the code in a structured manner. You would want to use it, if you would like to write a program that analyses code like ReSharper or that generates code. For more info, see: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/y2k85ax6.aspx