---
title: EdiCompositeDataElement
summary: API reference for EdiCompositeDataElement.
status: draft
owner: SAIF Doc Gen
last_reviewed: 2026-09-15
library: SAIF.Framework.Common.Files
reference_type: package
---

# EdiCompositeDataElement

`EdiCompositeDataElement` represents a composite X12 data element — one whose raw value contains colon-separated sub-elements ([BR-019](../../business-rules.md#br-019-colon-containing-elements-become-composite-elements)). It is produced when `EdiDataElementParser`/`EdiCompositeDataElementParser` detect a colon in an element's raw value and holds a list of child `EdiDataElement` sub-elements rather than a single scalar value.

## Purpose
- Models a composite element as an ordered collection of child data elements, each keyed by its sub-element ordinal.
- `SetChildElement(int, string)` adds, updates, or removes a single child by index and immediately re-derives the composite's overall `Value` by joining all children with a colon and terminating with an asterisk, via `EdiRecordBuilder.BuildCompositeDataElementValue` ([BR-026](../../business-rules.md#br-026-composite-element-values-joined-with-colon)); passing a `null` value for an index that already has a child removes that child ([BR-024](../../business-rules.md#br-024-null-element-values-are-omitted)).
- `HasChildren` reports whether the composite currently has any parsed sub-elements, letting callers distinguish an empty composite from one with content.

## Context
- Namespace: `SAIF.Common.Files.Edi`
- Assembly/package: `SAIF.Framework.Common.Files`
- Base class: `EdiElement`
- Implements: `IEdiCompositeDataElement`

## Public members
| Member | Signature | Purpose |
| --- | --- | --- |
| HasChildren | `public bool HasChildren { get; }` | `true` if this composite currently has one or more parsed child data elements. |
| DataElements | `public IEnumerable<IEdiDataElement> DataElements { get; set; }` | The ordered collection of child sub-elements that make up this composite's value. |
| GetElement | `public IEdiDataElement GetElement(int index)` | Returns the child sub-element at ordinal `index`, or `null` if no child occupies that position. |
| GetChildValue | `public string GetChildValue(int elementIndex)` | Returns the raw text value of the child sub-element at `elementIndex`, or `string.Empty` if `HasChildren` is `false` or no child occupies that position. |
| ToString | `public override string ToString()` | Serializes all child sub-elements, colon-joined and asterisk-terminated, via `EdiRecordBuilder.BuildCompositeDataElementValue` ([BR-026](../../business-rules.md#br-026-composite-element-values-joined-with-colon)). |
| SetChildElement | `internal void SetChildElement(int index, string value)` | Adds a new child at `index` if none exists and `value` is non-null, removes the existing child at `index` if `value` is `null` ([BR-024](../../business-rules.md#br-024-null-element-values-are-omitted)), or updates the existing child's value otherwise; afterward re-derives `Value` from the full child list ([BR-026](../../business-rules.md#br-026-composite-element-values-joined-with-colon)). |
| Type | `public override ElementType Type { get; }` | Always returns `ElementType.CompositeDataElement`, identifying this instance as a composite element ([BR-019](../../business-rules.md#br-019-colon-containing-elements-become-composite-elements)). |

## Inherited public members

Members in this section are inherited from `EdiElement` in `SAIF.Framework.Common.Files`. They are available on this type through inheritance, though `Type` is overridden above and documented there with its `EdiCompositeDataElement`-specific behavior.

| Member | Signature | Purpose | Origin |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Index | `public int Index { get; set; }` | The composite element's ordinal position within its parent segment. | `SAIF.Framework.Common.Files` — `EdiElement` |
| Value | `public string Value { get; set; }` | The composite's overall colon-joined raw text value. | `SAIF.Framework.Common.Files` — `EdiElement` |
| Type | `public abstract ElementType Type { get; }` | Identifies the concrete element kind. | `SAIF.Framework.Common.Files` — `EdiElement` |

## Constraints and usage notes
- A composite sub-element can only exist as a child of an `EdiCompositeDataElement`; there is no standalone way to model a sub-element outside a composite parent ([BR-025](../../business-rules.md#br-025-composite-sub-elements-require-a-composite-parent)).

## Sources
- Common\SAIF.Common.Files\Edi\EdiCompositeDataElement.cs
- Common\SAIF.Common.Files\Edi\IEdiCompositeDataElement.cs