Introduction to the Namespace and Class view

Using the Browser view to navigate through the WMI set of objects and their attributes doesn't disclose the full set of objects WMI has to offer. Also, different machines may have different set of objects available depending on the version of the WMI repository installed. You can use the View by Namespace & Class view to fully explore what the remote machine has to offer.

Using this view you will be able to:

  1. Explore the full set of namespaces and classes available on a machine.

  2. View object class definitions.

  3. View object task parameter definitions.

  4. Query object instances.

  5. Add new root objects in the Browser View.

Using this view you will NOT be able to execute tasks on an object.

The WMI Repository

The WMI repository is organized in a hierarchy of namespaces. Each namespace contains classes which are themselves organized in a hierarchy and may contain child namespaces. A WMI Class can either be an object definition or an association definition. Furthermore, a class can either be concrete, abstract or pure abstract. The following is a legend of the miscellaneous icons you may find in the View by Namespace & Class view.

Namespace
A namespace is a logical grouping of classes which belong to the same management environment.

Localised Namespace
A localised namespace contains a specific language's version of class definitions. This is a system object which should be of little interest.

Concrete Class
An object definition which can generate instances.

Abstract Concrete Class
A class which is used to define a set of common properties and methods to be inherited by derived concrete classes. Querying the instances of an abstract concrete class results in the instances of all its child concrete classes.

Association
A class which expresses the relationship between two or more concrete classes. The relationship is identified by the definition of two or more references in the association.

Abstract Association
An association class which is used to define a set of common properties and methods to be inherited by derived associations.

 

Pure Abstract Class
A pure abstract class is an abstract class which does not have any concrete class or association which is derived from it. Such a class cannot generate instances. A method parameter class is an example of a pure abstract class.

Navigating through namespaces and classes

The initial view displays the Root namespace and its direct child namespaces and classes. The Root namespace only contains system classes. The most important namespace is the CIMV2 child namespace. It contains the object definition of most components a system has to offer.

Controlling the view appearance

The WMI repository of namespaces and classes is intricate. WMIX includes a set of options to help navigate through it. You can find them at the top and bottom of the view as a set of radio buttons and check boxes.

Display objects using Friendly Names / WMI Names

WMIX can display objects using friendly names or the WMI original object names. An original class name, for instance, Win32_ComputerSystem, is by convention formatted with first the class provider name (here Win32) and then the object name (here ComputerSystem). The friendly name of Win32_ComputerSystem would simply be Computer System.

Show Class Hierarchy

Enable to show the namespace class hierarchy or disable to show all classes in a flat namespace. Displaying all classes in a flat namespace is sometimes easier when you are looking for a particular class. You do not need to search through the class hierarchy to disclose the available class definitions.

Simplify View

Enable to hide objects which are usually of little interest or rarely used. Disable to display all child objects. If enabled, system classes, pure abstract objects and localized namespaces are hidden from the view.

Show Association Classes

Enable to show association classes or disable to hide association classes from the view.

Searching for an object

If you are looking for an object but do not know its name or location in the namespace's hierarchy, click on the Search WMI... button in the main toolbar. The Search WMI window allows you to enter a search string and search for any object which includes this string in its name, property, method or description. Once the desired object is found, select it and click on the OK button, WMIX will then automatically find the selected object in the hierarchy and set the focus on it. For more information about the search feature, see Searching for Objects.

Note: The Search WMI window can only return objects which are allowed by this view. For instance, if you selected to hide the Association objects, the Search WMI window will not include any associations in the result list. Likewise, if the Simplify View option is enabled, the Search WMI window will not return system classes or pure abstract objects. If you need to find association objects, system objects or pure abstract classes, make sure that the appropriate options are set accordingly before searching for objects.

Adding objects to the Browser View

As you explore the available objects in a namespace, you may find interesting classes that you wish to add to the list of root objects in the Browser view. To do so, simply select the object and either right click on the mouse and select Add Class to Browser View or click on the Add Object to Root button in the ribbon bar. For more information, see Modifying the list of Root Objects.