[svn-r22987] ported revisions from 22742 to 22986 from the trunk

39 files changed, 952 insertions, 1074 deletions

diff --git a/c++/src/CMakeLists.txt b/c++/src/CMakeLists.txt
index 375bd4a..d983d1e 100644
--- a/c++/src/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/c++/src/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@ SET (CPP_SRCS
     ${HDF5_CPP_SRC_SOURCE_DIR}/H5IdComponent.cpp
     ${HDF5_CPP_SRC_SOURCE_DIR}/H5IntType.cpp
     ${HDF5_CPP_SRC_SOURCE_DIR}/H5Library.cpp
+    ${HDF5_CPP_SRC_SOURCE_DIR}/H5Location.cpp
     ${HDF5_CPP_SRC_SOURCE_DIR}/H5Object.cpp
     ${HDF5_CPP_SRC_SOURCE_DIR}/H5PredType.cpp
     ${HDF5_CPP_SRC_SOURCE_DIR}/H5PropList.cpp
@@ -74,6 +75,7 @@ SET (CPP_HDRS
     ${HDF5_CPP_SRC_SOURCE_DIR}/H5Include.h
     ${HDF5_CPP_SRC_SOURCE_DIR}/H5IntType.h
     ${HDF5_CPP_SRC_SOURCE_DIR}/H5Library.h
+    ${HDF5_CPP_SRC_SOURCE_DIR}/H5Location.h
     ${HDF5_CPP_SRC_SOURCE_DIR}/H5Object.h
     ${HDF5_CPP_SRC_SOURCE_DIR}/H5PredType.h
     ${HDF5_CPP_SRC_SOURCE_DIR}/H5PropList.h
diff --git a/c++/src/H5AbstractDs.cpp b/c++/src/H5AbstractDs.cpp
index 9cf1ee8..e6cacf9 100644
--- a/c++/src/H5AbstractDs.cpp
+++ b/c++/src/H5AbstractDs.cpp
@@ -25,11 +25,6 @@
 #include "H5CommonFG.h"
 #include "H5Alltypes.h"
 
-#include <iostream> // remove when done
-
-    using std::cerr;
-    using std::endl;
-
 #ifndef H5_NO_NAMESPACE
 namespace H5 {
 #endif
diff --git a/c++/src/H5AbstractDs.h b/c++/src/H5AbstractDs.h
index 1d04d6c..354b47b 100644
--- a/c++/src/H5AbstractDs.h
+++ b/c++/src/H5AbstractDs.h
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ class H5_DLLCPP AbstractDs {
 	// dataset - pure virtual.
 	virtual hsize_t getStorageSize() const = 0;
 
-	// Returns this class name
+	///\brief Returns this class name.
 	virtual H5std_string fromClass() const = 0;
 
 	// Copy constructor
diff --git a/c++/src/H5ArrayType.h b/c++/src/H5ArrayType.h
index d50017a..7daafed 100644
--- a/c++/src/H5ArrayType.h
+++ b/c++/src/H5ArrayType.h
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ class H5_DLLCPP ArrayType : public DataType {
 	// Returns the sizes of dimensions of this array datatype.
 	int getArrayDims(hsize_t* dims);
 
-	// Returns this class name
+	///\brief Returns this class name.
 	virtual H5std_string fromClass () const { return("ArrayType"); }
 
 	// Copy constructor: makes copy of the original object.
diff --git a/c++/src/H5AtomType.h b/c++/src/H5AtomType.h
index 1ddfd7d..25770f5 100644
--- a/c++/src/H5AtomType.h
+++ b/c++/src/H5AtomType.h
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ class H5_DLLCPP AtomType : public DataType {
 	// Sets the total size for an atomic datatype.
 	void setSize( size_t size ) const;
 
-	// Returns this class name
+	///\brief Returns this class name.
 	virtual H5std_string fromClass () const { return("AtomType"); }
 
 	// Copy constructor - makes copy of the original object
diff --git a/c++/src/H5Attribute.cpp b/c++/src/H5Attribute.cpp
index 226ae5c..120ed39 100644
--- a/c++/src/H5Attribute.cpp
+++ b/c++/src/H5Attribute.cpp
@@ -385,6 +385,31 @@ hsize_t Attribute::getStorageSize() const
 }
 
 //--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Function:	Attribute::flush
+///\brief	Flushes all buffers associated with a file specified by
+///		this attribute, to disk.
+///\param	scope - IN: Specifies the scope of the flushing action,
+///		which can be either of these values:
+///		\li \c H5F_SCOPE_GLOBAL - Flushes the entire virtual file
+///		\li \c H5F_SCOPE_LOCAL - Flushes only the specified file
+///\exception	H5::AttributeIException
+///\par Description
+///		This attribute is used to identify the file to be flushed.
+// Programmer	Binh-Minh Ribler - 2012
+// Modification
+//	Sep 2012 - BMR
+//		Duplicated from H5Location
+//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+void Attribute::flush(H5F_scope_t scope) const
+{
+   herr_t ret_value = H5Fflush(getId(), scope);
+   if( ret_value < 0 )
+   {
+      throw AttributeIException("Attribute::flush", "H5Fflush failed");
+   }
+}
+
+//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
 // Function:    Attribute::getId
 // Purpose:     Get the id of this attribute
 // Description:
diff --git a/c++/src/H5Attribute.h b/c++/src/H5Attribute.h
index 284e5bc..dd37a99 100644
--- a/c++/src/H5Attribute.h
+++ b/c++/src/H5Attribute.h
@@ -51,7 +51,11 @@ class H5_DLLCPP Attribute : public AbstractDs, public IdComponent {
 	void write(const DataType& mem_type, const void *buf ) const;
 	void write(const DataType& mem_type, const H5std_string& strg ) const;
 
-	// Returns this class name
+	// Flushes all buffers associated with the file specified by this
+	// attribute to disk
+	void flush( H5F_scope_t scope ) const;
+
+	///\brief Returns this class name.
 	virtual H5std_string fromClass () const { return("Attribute"); }
 
 	// Creates a copy of an existing attribute using the attribute id
diff --git a/c++/src/H5Classes.h b/c++/src/H5Classes.h
index f691548..c3b61ca 100644
--- a/c++/src/H5Classes.h
+++ b/c++/src/H5Classes.h
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ namespace H5 {
 #endif
 	class Exception;
 	class IdComponent;
+	class H5Location;
 	class H5Object;
 	class PropList;
 	class FileCreatPropList;
diff --git a/c++/src/H5CommonFG.cpp b/c++/src/H5CommonFG.cpp
index 6a8609f..dcc331f 100644
--- a/c++/src/H5CommonFG.cpp
+++ b/c++/src/H5CommonFG.cpp
@@ -68,25 +68,29 @@ namespace H5 {
 //--------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Group CommonFG::createGroup( const char* name, size_t size_hint ) const
 {
-   // Create group creation property list for size_hint
-   hid_t gcpl_id = H5Pcreate(H5P_GROUP_CREATE);
-
-   // If the creation of the property list failed, throw an exception
-   if( gcpl_id < 0 )
-      throwException("createGroup", "H5Pcreate failed");
+   // Group creation property list for size_hint
+   hid_t gcpl_id = 0;
 
    // Set the local heap size hint
-   if( H5Pset_local_heap_size_hint(gcpl_id, size_hint) < 0) {
-      H5Pclose(gcpl_id);
-      throwException("createGroup", "H5Pset_local_heap_size failed");
-   }
+   if(!(size_hint == (size_t)-1 || size_hint == 0)) {
+
+       // If the creation of the property list failed, throw an exception
+       if((gcpl_id = H5Pcreate(H5P_GROUP_CREATE)) < 0)
+          throwException("createGroup", "H5Pcreate failed");
+
+       if( H5Pset_local_heap_size_hint(gcpl_id, size_hint) < 0) {
+          H5Pclose(gcpl_id);
+          throwException("createGroup", "H5Pset_local_heap_size failed");
+       }
+    }
 
    // Call C routine H5Gcreate2 to create the named group, giving the
    // location id which can be a file id or a group id
    hid_t group_id = H5Gcreate2( getLocId(), name, H5P_DEFAULT, gcpl_id, H5P_DEFAULT );
 
-   // Close the group creation property list
-   H5Pclose(gcpl_id);
+   // Close the group creation property list, if necessary
+   if(gcpl_id > 0)
+       H5Pclose(gcpl_id);
 
    // If the creation of the group failed, throw an exception
    if( group_id < 0 )
diff --git a/c++/src/H5CompType.h b/c++/src/H5CompType.h
index ae030ee..9b2b572 100644
--- a/c++/src/H5CompType.h
+++ b/c++/src/H5CompType.h
@@ -26,12 +26,21 @@ namespace H5 {
 
 class H5_DLLCPP CompType : public DataType {
    public:
+	// Default constructor
+	CompType();
+
+	// Creates a compound datatype using an existing id
+	CompType( const hid_t existing_id );
+
 	// Creates a new compound datatype, given the type's size
 	CompType( size_t size ); // H5Tcreate
 
 	// Gets the compound datatype of the specified dataset
 	CompType( const DataSet& dataset );  // H5Dget_type
 
+	// Copy constructor - makes a copy of original object
+	CompType( const CompType& original );
+
 	// Returns the type class of the specified member of this compound
 	// datatype.  It provides to the user a way of knowing what type
 	// to create another datatype of the same class
@@ -88,18 +97,9 @@ class H5_DLLCPP CompType : public DataType {
 	// Recursively removes padding from within this compound datatype.
 	void pack() const;
 
-	// Returns this class name
+	///\brief Returns this class name.
 	virtual H5std_string fromClass () const { return("CompType"); }
 
-	// Default constructor
-	CompType();
-
-	// Creates a compound datatype using an existing id
-	CompType( const hid_t existing_id );
-
-	// Copy constructor - makes a copy of original object
-	CompType( const CompType& original );
-
 	// Noop destructor.
 	virtual ~CompType();
 
diff --git a/c++/src/H5Cpp.h b/c++/src/H5Cpp.h
index 75d82ba..ddf4f19 100644
--- a/c++/src/H5Cpp.h
+++ b/c++/src/H5Cpp.h
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@
 #include "H5IdComponent.h"
 #include "H5DataSpace.h"
 #include "H5PropList.h"
+#include "H5Location.h"
 #include "H5Object.h"
 #include "H5AbstractDs.h"
 #include "H5Attribute.h"
diff --git a/c++/src/H5CppDoc.h b/c++/src/H5CppDoc.h
index b974238..ab3fa79 100644
--- a/c++/src/H5CppDoc.h
+++ b/c++/src/H5CppDoc.h
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@
  * It is assumed that the user has knowledge of the HDF5 file format
  * and its components.  If you are not familiar with HDF5 file format,
  * and would like to find out more, please refer to the HDF5 documentation
- * at http://hdf.ncsa.uiuc.edu/HDF5/doc/H5.intro.html
+ * at http://www.hdfgroup.org/HDF5/doc/index.html
  *
  * Because the HDF5 library maps very well to
  * the object oriented design approach, classes in the C++ API can
diff --git a/c++/src/H5DataSet.cpp b/c++/src/H5DataSet.cpp
index f7aaa72..6a1524d 100644
--- a/c++/src/H5DataSet.cpp
+++ b/c++/src/H5DataSet.cpp
@@ -644,54 +644,6 @@ void DataSet::fillMemBuf(void *buf, DataType& buf_type, DataSpace& space)
     }
 }
 
-#ifndef H5_NO_DEPRECATED_SYMBOLS
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// Function:	DataSet::getObjType
-///\brief	Retrieves the type of object that an object reference points to.
-///\param	ref_type - IN: Type of reference to query, valid values are:
-///		\li \c H5R_OBJECT         - Reference is an object reference.
-///		\li \c H5R_DATASET_REGION - Reference is a dataset region reference.
-///\param	ref      - IN: Reference to query
-///\return	An object type, which can be one of the following:
-///		\li \c H5G_LINK (0)    - Object is a symbolic link.
-///		\li \c H5G_GROUP (1)   - Object is a group.
-///		\li \c H5G_DATASET (2) - Object is a dataset.
-///		\li \c H5G_TYPE (3)    - Object is a named datatype
-///\exception	H5::DataSetIException
-// Programmer	Binh-Minh Ribler - May, 2004
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-H5G_obj_t DataSet::getObjType(void *ref, H5R_type_t ref_type) const
-{
-   try {
-      return(p_get_obj_type(ref, ref_type));
-   }
-   catch (IdComponentException E) {
-      throw DataSetIException("DataSet::getObjType", E.getDetailMsg());
-   }
-}
-#endif /* H5_NO_DEPRECATED_SYMBOLS */
-
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// Function:	DataSet::getRegion
-///\brief	Retrieves a dataspace with the region pointed to selected.
-///\param	ref      - IN: Reference to get region of
-///\param	ref_type - IN: Type of reference to get region of - default
-///		to H5R_DATASET_REGION
-///\return	DataSpace instance
-///\exception	H5::DataSetIException
-// Programmer	Binh-Minh Ribler - May, 2004
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-DataSpace DataSet::getRegion(void *ref, H5R_type_t ref_type) const
-{
-   try {
-      DataSpace dataspace(p_get_region(ref, ref_type));
-      return(dataspace);
-   }
-   catch (IdComponentException E) {
-      throw DataSetIException("DataSet::getRegion", E.getDetailMsg());
-   }
-}
-
 //--------------------------------------------------------------------------
 // Function:    DataSet::getId
 ///\brief	Get the id of this dataset.
diff --git a/c++/src/H5DataSet.h b/c++/src/H5DataSet.h
index 3d9183d..54e9d6f 100644
--- a/c++/src/H5DataSet.h
+++ b/c++/src/H5DataSet.h
@@ -76,15 +76,10 @@ class H5_DLLCPP DataSet : public H5Object, public AbstractDs {
 	// Iterates the selected elements in the specified dataspace - not implemented in C++ style yet
         int iterateElems( void* buf, const DataType& type, const DataSpace& space, H5D_operator_t op, void* op_data = NULL );
 
-#ifndef H5_NO_DEPRECATED_SYMBOLS
-	// Retrieves the type of object that an object reference points to.
-	H5G_obj_t getObjType(void *ref, H5R_type_t ref_type = H5R_OBJECT) const;
-#endif /* H5_NO_DEPRECATED_SYMBOLS */
-
 	// Retrieves a dataspace with the region pointed to selected.
 	DataSpace getRegion(void *ref, H5R_type_t ref_type = H5R_DATASET_REGION) const;
 
-	// Returns this class name
+	///\brief Returns this class name.
 	virtual H5std_string fromClass () const { return("DataSet"); }
 
 	// Creates a dataset by way of dereference.
@@ -110,6 +105,7 @@ class H5_DLLCPP DataSet : public H5Object, public AbstractDs {
    private:
 	hid_t id;       // HDF5 dataset id
 
+#ifndef DOXYGEN_SHOULD_SKIP_THIS
         // This function contains the common code that is used by
         // getTypeClass and various API functions getXxxType
         // defined in AbstractDs for generic datatype and specific
@@ -123,6 +119,7 @@ class H5_DLLCPP DataSet : public H5Object, public AbstractDs {
    protected:
         // Sets the dataset id.
         virtual void p_setId(const hid_t new_id);
+#endif // DOXYGEN_SHOULD_SKIP_THIS
 };
 #ifndef H5_NO_NAMESPACE
 }
diff --git a/c++/src/H5DataSpace.h b/c++/src/H5DataSpace.h
index 80842f7..9afb8ab 100644
--- a/c++/src/H5DataSpace.h
+++ b/c++/src/H5DataSpace.h
@@ -103,7 +103,7 @@ class H5_DLLCPP DataSpace : public IdComponent {
 	// Sets or resets the size of this dataspace.
 	void setExtentSimple( int rank, const hsize_t *current_size, const hsize_t *maximum_size = NULL ) const;
 
-	// Returns this class name
+	///\brief Returns this class name.
 	virtual H5std_string fromClass () const { return("DataSpace"); }
 
 	// Creates a DataSpace object using an existing dataspace id.
diff --git a/c++/src/H5DataType.cpp b/c++/src/H5DataType.cpp
index 3edb163..99525bc 100644
--- a/c++/src/H5DataType.cpp
+++ b/c++/src/H5DataType.cpp
@@ -679,51 +679,6 @@ bool DataType::isVariableStr() const
    }
 }
 
-#ifndef H5_NO_DEPRECATED_SYMBOLS
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// Function:	DataType::getObjType
-///\brief	Retrieves the type of object that an object reference points to.
-///\param		ref      - IN: Reference to query
-///\param		ref_type - IN: Type of reference to query
-///\return	Object type, which can be one of the following:
-///			\li \c H5G_LINK Object is a symbolic link.
-///			\li \c H5G_GROUP Object is a group.
-///			\li \c H5G_DATASET   Object is a dataset.
-///			\li \c H5G_TYPE Object is a named datatype
-///\exception	H5::DataTypeIException
-// Programmer	Binh-Minh Ribler - May, 2004
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-H5G_obj_t DataType::getObjType(void *ref, H5R_type_t ref_type) const
-{
-   try {
-      return(p_get_obj_type(ref, ref_type));
-   }
-   catch (IdComponentException E) {
-      throw DataTypeIException(inMemFunc("getObjType"), E.getDetailMsg());
-   }
-}
-#endif /* H5_NO_DEPRECATED_SYMBOLS */
-
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// Function:	DataType::getRegion
-///\brief	Retrieves a dataspace with the region pointed to selected.
-///\param	ref      - IN: Reference to get region of
-///\param	ref_type - IN: Type of reference to get region of - default
-///\return	DataSpace instance
-///\exception	H5::DataTypeIException
-// Programmer	Binh-Minh Ribler - May, 2004
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-DataSpace DataType::getRegion(void *ref, H5R_type_t ref_type) const
-{
-   try {
-      DataSpace dataspace(p_get_region(ref, ref_type));
-      return(dataspace);
-   }
-   catch (IdComponentException E) {
-      throw DataTypeIException(inMemFunc("getRegion"), E.getDetailMsg());
-   }
-}
-
 //--------------------------------------------------------------------------
 // Function:    DataType::getId
 // Purpose:     Get the id of this attribute
diff --git a/c++/src/H5DataType.h b/c++/src/H5DataType.h
index 48aeaf8..98514bb 100644
--- a/c++/src/H5DataType.h
+++ b/c++/src/H5DataType.h
@@ -101,15 +101,10 @@ class H5_DLLCPP DataType : public H5Object {
 	// Checks whether this datatype is a variable-length string.
 	bool isVariableStr() const;
 
-#ifndef H5_NO_DEPRECATED_SYMBOLS
-	// Retrieves the type of object that an object reference points to.
-	H5G_obj_t getObjType(void *ref, H5R_type_t ref_type = H5R_OBJECT) const;
-#endif /* H5_NO_DEPRECATED_SYMBOLS */
-
 	// Retrieves a dataspace with the region pointed to selected.
 	DataSpace getRegion(void *ref, H5R_type_t ref_type = H5R_DATASET_REGION) const;
 
-	// Returns this class name
+	///\brief Returns this class name.
 	virtual H5std_string fromClass () const { return("DataType"); }
 
 	// Creates a copy of an existing DataType using its id
diff --git a/c++/src/H5DcreatProp.h b/c++/src/H5DcreatProp.h
index b7f5823..ac7664e 100644
--- a/c++/src/H5DcreatProp.h
+++ b/c++/src/H5DcreatProp.h
@@ -107,7 +107,7 @@ class H5_DLLCPP DSetCreatPropList : public PropList {
 	// Sets SZIP compression method.
 	void setSzip(unsigned int options_mask, unsigned int pixels_per_block) const;
 
-	// Returns this class name
+	///\brief Returns this class name.
 	virtual H5std_string fromClass () const { return("DSetCreatPropList"); }
 
 	// Copy constructor: creates a copy of a DSetCreatPropList object.
diff --git a/c++/src/H5DxferProp.h b/c++/src/H5DxferProp.h
index 11e15fc..66216d8 100644
--- a/c++/src/H5DxferProp.h
+++ b/c++/src/H5DxferProp.h
@@ -92,7 +92,7 @@ class H5_DLLCPP DSetMemXferPropList : public PropList {
 	// Determines whether error-detection is enabled for dataset reads.
 	H5Z_EDC_t getEDCCheck();
 
-	// Returns this class name.
+	///\brief Returns this class name.
 	virtual H5std_string fromClass () const { return("DSetMemXferPropList"); }
 
 	// Copy constructor: makes a copy of a DSetMemXferPropList object.
diff --git a/c++/src/H5EnumType.h b/c++/src/H5EnumType.h
index 2a2c263..914eb66 100644
--- a/c++/src/H5EnumType.h
+++ b/c++/src/H5EnumType.h
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ class H5_DLLCPP EnumType : public DataType {
 	void valueOf( const char* name, void *value ) const;
 	void valueOf( const H5std_string& name, void *value ) const;
 
-	// Returns this class name
+	///\brief Returns this class name.
 	virtual H5std_string fromClass () const { return("EnumType"); }
 
 	// Default constructor
diff --git a/c++/src/H5FaccProp.h b/c++/src/H5FaccProp.h
index 7f133bb..0c2cc21 100644
--- a/c++/src/H5FaccProp.h
+++ b/c++/src/H5FaccProp.h
@@ -123,7 +123,7 @@ class H5_DLLCPP FileAccPropList : public PropList {
 	// Returns garbage collecting references setting.
 	unsigned getGcReferences() const;
 
-	// Returns this class name
+	///\brief Returns this class name.
 	virtual H5std_string fromClass () const { return("FileAccPropList"); }
 
 	// Copy constructor: creates a copy of a FileAccPropList object.
diff --git a/c++/src/H5FcreatProp.h b/c++/src/H5FcreatProp.h
index 1aa102f..61074ea 100644
--- a/c++/src/H5FcreatProp.h
+++ b/c++/src/H5FcreatProp.h
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ class H5_DLLCPP FileCreatPropList : public PropList {
 	// indexing chunked datasets.
 	void setIstorek( unsigned ik ) const;
 
-	// Returns this class name
+	///\brief Returns this class name.
 	virtual H5std_string fromClass () const { return("FileCreatPropList"); }
 
 	// Copy constructor: creates a copy of a FileCreatPropList object.
diff --git a/c++/src/H5File.cpp b/c++/src/H5File.cpp
index da0241f..92c4d32 100644
--- a/c++/src/H5File.cpp
+++ b/c++/src/H5File.cpp
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ namespace H5 {
 ///\brief	Default constructor: creates a stub H5File object.
 // Programmer	Binh-Minh Ribler - 2000
 //--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-H5File::H5File() : IdComponent(), id(0) {}
+H5File::H5File() : H5Location(), id(0) {}
 
 //--------------------------------------------------------------------------
 // Function:	H5File overloaded constructor
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ H5File::H5File() : IdComponent(), id(0) {}
 /// http://www.hdfgroup.org/HDF5/doc/RM/RM_H5F.html#File-Create
 // Programmer	Binh-Minh Ribler - 2000
 //--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-H5File::H5File( const char* name, unsigned int flags, const FileCreatPropList& create_plist, const FileAccPropList& access_plist ) : IdComponent(0)
+H5File::H5File( const char* name, unsigned int flags, const FileCreatPropList& create_plist, const FileAccPropList& access_plist ) : H5Location(0)
 {
    p_get_file(name, flags, create_plist, access_plist);
 }
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@ H5File::H5File( const char* name, unsigned int flags, const FileCreatPropList& c
 ///		FileCreatPropList::DEFAULT
 // Programmer	Binh-Minh Ribler - 2000
 //--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-H5File::H5File( const H5std_string& name, unsigned int flags, const FileCreatPropList& create_plist, const FileAccPropList& access_plist ) : IdComponent(0)
+H5File::H5File( const H5std_string& name, unsigned int flags, const FileCreatPropList& create_plist, const FileAccPropList& access_plist ) : H5Location(0)
 {
    p_get_file(name.c_str(), flags, create_plist, access_plist);
 }
@@ -140,34 +140,15 @@ void H5File::p_get_file(const char* name, unsigned int flags, const FileCreatPro
 ///\param	original - IN: H5File instance to copy
 // Programmer	Binh-Minh Ribler - 2000
 //--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-H5File::H5File(const H5File& original) : IdComponent(original)
+H5File::H5File(const H5File& original) : H5Location(original)
 {
     id = original.getId();
     incRefCount(); // increment number of references to this id
 }
 
 //--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// Function:	H5File::flush
-///\brief	Flushes all buffers associated with a file to disk.
-///\param	scope - IN: Specifies the scope of the flushing action,
-///		which can be either of these values:
-///		\li \c H5F_SCOPE_GLOBAL - Flushes the entire virtual file
-///		\li \c H5F_SCOPE_LOCAL - Flushes only the specified file
-///\exception	H5::FileIException
-// Programmer	Binh-Minh Ribler - Dec. 2005
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-void H5File::flush(H5F_scope_t scope) const
-{
-   herr_t ret_value = H5Fflush( id, scope );
-   if( ret_value < 0 )
-   {
-      throw FileIException("H5File::flush", "H5Fflush failed");
-   }
-}
-
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
 // Function:	H5File::isHdf5
-///\brief	Determines whether a file in HDF5 format.
+///\brief	Determines whether a file in HDF5 format. (Static)
 ///\param	name - IN: Name of the file
 ///\return	true if the file is in HDF5 format, and false, otherwise
 ///\exception	H5::FileIException
@@ -191,7 +172,7 @@ bool H5File::isHdf5(const char* name)
 //--------------------------------------------------------------------------
 // Function:	H5File::isHdf5
 ///\brief	This is an overloaded member function, provided for convenience.
-///		It takes an \c H5std_string for \a name.
+///		It takes an \c H5std_string for \a name. (Static)
 ///\param	name - IN: Name of the file - \c H5std_string
 // Programmer	Binh-Minh Ribler - 2000
 //--------------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -269,8 +250,8 @@ void H5File::reOpen()
         throw FileIException("H5File::reOpen", close_error.getDetailMsg());
     }
 
-   // call C routine to reopen the file - Note: not sure about this
-   // does id need to be closed later?  which id to be the parameter?
+   // call C routine to reopen the file - Note: not sure about this,
+   // which id to be the parameter when closing?
    id = H5Freopen( id );
    if( id < 0 ) // Raise exception when H5Freopen returns a neg value
       throw FileIException("H5File::reOpen", "H5Freopen failed");
@@ -278,12 +259,10 @@ void H5File::reOpen()
 
 //--------------------------------------------------------------------------
 // Function:	H5File::reopen
-///\brief	Reopens this file.
-///
-///\exception	H5::FileIException
-///\par Description
-///		This function will be replaced by the above function \c reOpen
-///		in future releases.
+// Purpose:	Reopens this file.
+// Exception	H5::FileIException
+// Description
+//		This function is replaced by the above function reOpen.
 // Programmer	Binh-Minh Ribler - 2000
 //--------------------------------------------------------------------------
 void H5File::reopen()
@@ -490,70 +469,6 @@ void H5File::getVFDHandle(void **file_handle) const
 }
 
 //--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// Function:	H5File::getFileName
-///\brief	Gets the name of this file.
-///\return	File name
-///\exception	H5::FileIException
-// Programmer	Binh-Minh Ribler - Jul, 2004
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-H5std_string H5File::getFileName() const
-{
-   try {
-      return(p_get_file_name());
-   }
-   catch (IdComponentException E) {
-      throw FileIException("H5File::getFileName", E.getDetailMsg());
-   }
-}
-
-#ifndef H5_NO_DEPRECATED_SYMBOLS
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// Function:	H5File::getObjType
-///\brief	Retrieves the type of object that an object reference points to.
-///\param	ref      - IN: Reference to query
-///\param	ref_type - IN: Type of reference, valid values are:
-///		\li \c H5R_OBJECT         - Reference is an object reference
-///		\li \c H5R_DATASET_REGION - Reference is a dataset region reference
-///\return	Object type, which can be one of the following:
-///		\li \c H5G_LINK    - Object is a symbolic link.
-///		\li \c H5G_GROUP   - Object is a group.
-///		\li \c H5G_DATASET - Object is a dataset.
-///		\li \c H5G_TYPE    - Object is a named datatype
-///\exception	H5::FileIException
-// Programmer	Binh-Minh Ribler - May, 2004
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-H5G_obj_t H5File::getObjType(void *ref, H5R_type_t ref_type) const
-{
-   try {
-      return(p_get_obj_type(ref, ref_type));
-   }
-   catch (IdComponentException E) {
-      throw FileIException("H5File::getObjType", E.getDetailMsg());
-   }
-}
-#endif /* H5_NO_DEPRECATED_SYMBOLS */
-
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// Function:	H5File::getRegion
-///\brief	Retrieves a dataspace with the region pointed to selected.
-///\param	ref      - IN: Reference to get region of
-///\param	ref_type - IN: Type of reference to get region of - default
-///\return	DataSpace instance
-///\exception	H5::FileIException
-// Programmer	Binh-Minh Ribler - May, 2004
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-DataSpace H5File::getRegion(void *ref, H5R_type_t ref_type) const
-{
-   try {
-      DataSpace dataspace(p_get_region(ref, ref_type));
-      return(dataspace);
-   }
-   catch (IdComponentException E) {
-      throw FileIException("H5File::getRegion", E.getDetailMsg());
-   }
-}
-
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
 // Function:	H5File::getFileSize
 ///\brief	Returns the file size of the HDF5 file.
 ///\return	File size
@@ -575,134 +490,6 @@ hsize_t H5File::getFileSize() const
 }
 
 //--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// Function:    H5File::p_reference (protected)
-// Purpose      Creates a reference to an HDF5 object or a dataset region.
-// Parameters
-//              name - IN: Name of the object to be referenced
-//              dataspace - IN: Dataspace with selection
-//              ref_type - IN: Type of reference; default to \c H5R_DATASET_REGION
-// Exception    H5::IdComponentException
-// Programmer   Binh-Minh Ribler - May, 2004
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-void H5File::p_reference(void* ref, const char* name, hid_t space_id, H5R_type_t ref_type) const
-{
-   herr_t ret_value = H5Rcreate(ref, getId(), name, ref_type, space_id);
-   if (ret_value < 0)
-   {
-      throw IdComponentException("", "H5Rcreate failed");
-   }
-}
-
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// Function:    H5File::reference
-///\brief       Creates a reference to an HDF5 object or a dataset region.
-///\param       ref - IN: Reference pointer
-///\param       name - IN: Name of the object to be referenced
-///\param       dataspace - IN: Dataspace with selection
-///\param       ref_type - IN: Type of reference to query, valid values are:
-///             \li \c H5R_OBJECT         - Reference is an object reference
-///             \li \c H5R_DATASET_REGION - Reference is a dataset region
-///                     reference - this is the default
-///\exception   H5::IdComponentException
-// Programmer   Binh-Minh Ribler - May, 2004
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-void H5File::reference(void* ref, const char* name, const DataSpace& dataspace, H5R_type_t ref_type) const
-{
-   try {
-      p_reference(ref, name, dataspace.getId(), ref_type);
-   }
-   catch (IdComponentException E) {
-      throw IdComponentException("H5File::reference", E.getDetailMsg());
-   }
-}
-
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// Function:    H5File::reference
-///\brief       This is an overloaded function, provided for your convenience.
-///             It differs from the above function in that it only creates
-///             a reference to an HDF5 object, not to a dataset region.
-///\param       ref - IN: Reference pointer
-///\param       name - IN: Name of the object to be referenced - \c char pointer
-///\exception   H5::IdComponentException
-///\par Description
-//              This function passes H5R_OBJECT and -1 to the protected
-//              function for it to pass to the C API H5Rcreate
-//              to create a reference to the named object.
-// Programmer   Binh-Minh Ribler - May, 2004
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-void H5File::reference(void* ref, const char* name) const
-{
-   try {
-      p_reference(ref, name, -1, H5R_OBJECT);
-   }
-   catch (IdComponentException E) {
-      throw IdComponentException("H5File::reference", E.getDetailMsg());
-   }
-}
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// Function:    H5File::reference
-///\brief       This is an overloaded function, provided for your convenience.
-///             It differs from the above function in that it takes an
-///             \c H5std_string for the object's name.
-///\param       ref - IN: Reference pointer
-///\param       name - IN: Name of the object to be referenced - \c H5std_string
-// Programmer   Binh-Minh Ribler - May, 2004
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-void H5File::reference(void* ref, const H5std_string& name) const
-{
-   reference(ref, name.c_str());
-}
-
-#ifndef H5_NO_DEPRECATED_SYMBOLS
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// Function:    H5File::p_get_obj_type (protected)
-// Purpose      Retrieves the type of object that an object reference points to.
-// Parameters
-//              ref      - IN: Reference to query
-//              ref_type - IN: Type of reference to query
-// Return       An object type, which can be one of the following:
-//                      H5G_LINK Object is a symbolic link.
-//                      H5G_GROUP Object is a group.
-//                      H5G_DATASET   Object is a dataset.
-//                      H5G_TYPE Object is a named datatype
-// Exception    H5::IdComponentException
-// Programmer   Binh-Minh Ribler - May, 2004
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-H5G_obj_t H5File::p_get_obj_type(void *ref, H5R_type_t ref_type) const
-{
-   H5G_obj_t obj_type = H5Rget_obj_type1(getId(), ref_type, ref);
-
-   if (obj_type == H5G_UNKNOWN)
-   {
-      throw IdComponentException("", "H5Rget_obj_type failed");
-   }
-   return(obj_type);
-}
-#endif /* H5_NO_DEPRECATED_SYMBOLS */
-
-
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// Function:    H5File::p_get_region (protected)
-// Purpose      Retrieves a dataspace with the region pointed to selected.
-// Parameters
-//              ref_type - IN: Type of reference to get region of - default
-//                              to H5R_DATASET_REGION
-//              ref      - IN: Reference to get region of
-// Return       Dataspace id
-// Exception    H5::IdComponentException
-// Programmer   Binh-Minh Ribler - May, 2004
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-hid_t H5File::p_get_region(void *ref, H5R_type_t ref_type) const
-{
-   hid_t space_id = H5Rget_region(getId(), ref_type, ref);
-   if (space_id < 0)
-   {
-      throw IdComponentException("", "H5Rget_region failed");
-   }
-   return(space_id);
-}
-
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
 // Function:	H5File::getLocId
 // Purpose:	Get the id of this file
 // Description
diff --git a/c++/src/H5File.h b/c++/src/H5File.h
index b69c963..cfb6bdf 100644
--- a/c++/src/H5File.h
+++ b/c++/src/H5File.h
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@
 namespace H5 {
 #endif
 
-class H5_DLLCPP H5File : public IdComponent, public CommonFG {
+class H5_DLLCPP H5File : public H5Location, public CommonFG {
    public:
 	// Creates or opens an HDF5 file.
 	H5File( const char* name, unsigned int flags,
@@ -40,18 +40,12 @@ class H5_DLLCPP H5File : public IdComponent, public CommonFG {
 	// Close this file.
 	virtual void close();
 
-	// Flushes all buffers associated with this file to disk
-	void flush(H5F_scope_t scope) const;
-
 	// Gets the access property list of this file.
 	FileAccPropList getAccessPlist() const;
 
 	// Gets the creation property list of this file.
 	FileCreatPropList getCreatePlist() const;
 
-	// Gets the name of this file.
-	H5std_string getFileName() const;
-
 	// Retrieves the file size of an opened file.
 	hsize_t getFileSize() const;
 
@@ -67,11 +61,6 @@ class H5_DLLCPP H5File : public IdComponent, public CommonFG {
 	// and datatypes) in the same file.
 	void getObjIDs(unsigned types, size_t max_objs, hid_t *oid_list) const;
 
-#ifndef H5_NO_DEPRECATED_SYMBOLS
-	// Retrieves the type of object that an object reference points to.
-	H5G_obj_t getObjType(void *ref, H5R_type_t ref_type = H5R_OBJECT) const;
-#endif /* H5_NO_DEPRECATED_SYMBOLS */
-
 	// Retrieves a dataspace with the region pointed to selected.
 	DataSpace getRegion(void *ref, H5R_type_t ref_type = H5R_DATASET_REGION) const;
 
@@ -87,14 +76,7 @@ class H5_DLLCPP H5File : public IdComponent, public CommonFG {
 	void reOpen();	// added for better name
 	void reopen();
 
-	// Creates a reference to a named HDF5 object or to a dataset region
-	// in this object.
-	void reference(void* ref, const char* name, const DataSpace& dataspace,
-			H5R_type_t ref_type = H5R_DATASET_REGION) const;
-	void reference(void* ref, const char* name) const;
-	void reference(void* ref, const H5std_string& name) const;
-
-	// Returns this class name
+	///\brief Returns this class name.
 	virtual H5std_string fromClass () const { return("H5File"); }
 
 	// Throw file exception.
@@ -124,17 +106,6 @@ class H5_DLLCPP H5File : public IdComponent, public CommonFG {
 	// constructors taking a string or a char*
 	void p_get_file( const char* name, unsigned int flags, const FileCreatPropList& create_plist, const FileAccPropList& access_plist );
 
-	// Creates a reference to an HDF5 object or a dataset region.
-	void p_reference(void* ref, const char* name, hid_t space_id, H5R_type_t ref_type) const;
-
-#ifndef H5_NO_DEPRECATED_SYMBOLS
-	// Retrieves the type of object that an object reference points to.
-	H5G_obj_t p_get_obj_type(void *ref, H5R_type_t ref_type) const;
-#endif /* H5_NO_DEPRECATED_SYMBOLS */
-
-	// Retrieves a dataspace with the region pointed to selected.
-	hid_t p_get_region(void *ref, H5R_type_t ref_type) const;
-
    protected:
 	// Sets the HDF5 file id.
 	virtual void p_setId(const hid_t new_id);
diff --git a/c++/src/H5FloatType.h b/c++/src/H5FloatType.h
index 7444bd5..cbb9541 100644
--- a/c++/src/H5FloatType.h
+++ b/c++/src/H5FloatType.h
@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ class H5_DLLCPP FloatType : public AtomType {
 	// Sets the mantissa normalization of a floating-point datatype.
 	void setNorm( H5T_norm_t norm ) const;
 
-	// Returns this class name
+	///\brief Returns this class name.
 	virtual H5std_string fromClass () const { return("FloatType"); }
 
 	// Default constructor
diff --git a/c++/src/H5Group.cpp b/c++/src/H5Group.cpp
index 6ec2dbb..e83b635 100644
--- a/c++/src/H5Group.cpp
+++ b/c++/src/H5Group.cpp
@@ -147,53 +147,6 @@ Group::Group(Attribute& attr, const void* ref, H5R_type_t ref_type) : H5Object()
     }
 }
 
-#ifndef H5_NO_DEPRECATED_SYMBOLS
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// Function:	Group::getObjType
-///\brief	Retrieves the type of object that an object reference points to.
-///\param	ref      - IN: Reference to query
-///\param	ref_type - IN: Type of reference to query, valid values are:
-///		\li \c H5R_OBJECT         - Reference is an object reference.
-///		\li \c H5R_DATASET_REGION - Reference is a dataset region reference.
-///\return	An object type, which can be one of the following:
-///		\li \c H5G_LINK (0)    - Object is a symbolic link.
-///		\li \c H5G_GROUP (1)   - Object is a group.
-///		\li \c H5G_DATASET (2) - Object is a dataset.
-///		\li \c H5G_TYPE (3)    - Object is a named datatype
-///\exception	H5::GroupIException
-// Programmer	Binh-Minh Ribler - May, 2004
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-H5G_obj_t Group::getObjType(void *ref, H5R_type_t ref_type) const
-{
-   try {
-      return(p_get_obj_type(ref, ref_type));
-   }
-   catch (IdComponentException E) {
-      throw GroupIException("Group::getObjType", E.getDetailMsg());
-   }
-}
-#endif /* H5_NO_DEPRECATED_SYMBOLS */
-
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// Function:	Group::getRegion
-///\brief	Retrieves a dataspace with the region pointed to selected.
-///\param	ref      - IN: Reference to get region of
-///\param	ref_type - IN: Type of reference to get region of - default
-///\return	DataSpace instance
-///\exception	H5::GroupIException
-// Programmer	Binh-Minh Ribler - May, 2004
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-DataSpace Group::getRegion(void *ref, H5R_type_t ref_type) const
-{
-   try {
-      DataSpace dataspace(p_get_region(ref, ref_type));
-      return(dataspace);
-   }
-   catch (IdComponentException E) {
-      throw GroupIException("Group::getRegion", E.getDetailMsg());
-   }
-}
-
 //--------------------------------------------------------------------------
 // Function:    Group::getId
 // Purpose:     Get the id of this attribute
diff --git a/c++/src/H5Group.h b/c++/src/H5Group.h
index 9978cf0..e4c2415 100644
--- a/c++/src/H5Group.h
+++ b/c++/src/H5Group.h
@@ -26,15 +26,10 @@ class H5_DLLCPP Group : public H5Object, public CommonFG {
 	// Close this group.
 	virtual void close();
 
-#ifndef H5_NO_DEPRECATED_SYMBOLS
-	// Retrieves the type of object that an object reference points to.
-	H5G_obj_t getObjType(void *ref, H5R_type_t ref_type = H5R_OBJECT) const;
-#endif /* H5_NO_DEPRECATED_SYMBOLS */
-
 	// Retrieves a dataspace with the region pointed to selected.
 	DataSpace getRegion(void *ref, H5R_type_t ref_type = H5R_DATASET_REGION) const;
 
-	// Returns this class name
+	///\brief Returns this class name.
 	virtual H5std_string fromClass () const { return("Group"); }
 
 	// Throw group exception.
diff --git a/c++/src/H5IdComponent.h b/c++/src/H5IdComponent.h
index b217c10..7dc1da3 100644
--- a/c++/src/H5IdComponent.h
+++ b/c++/src/H5IdComponent.h
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ class H5_DLLCPP IdComponent {
 	// <class-name> is returned by fromClass().
 	H5std_string inMemFunc(const char* func_name) const;
 
-	// Returns this class name.
+	///\brief Returns this class name.
 	virtual H5std_string fromClass() const { return("IdComponent");}
 
 #endif // DOXYGEN_SHOULD_SKIP_THIS
diff --git a/c++/src/H5IntType.h b/c++/src/H5IntType.h
index b712103..53864ee 100644
--- a/c++/src/H5IntType.h
+++ b/c++/src/H5IntType.h
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ class H5_DLLCPP IntType : public AtomType {
 	// Sets the sign proprety for an integer type.
 	void setSign( H5T_sign_t sign ) const;
 
-	// Returns this class name
+	///\brief Returns this class name.
 	virtual H5std_string fromClass () const { return("IntType"); }
 
 	// Default constructor
diff --git a/c++/src/H5Location.cpp b/c++/src/H5Location.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b93cd86
--- /dev/null
+++ b/c++/src/H5Location.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,669 @@
+/* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
+ * Copyright by The HDF Group.                                               *
+ * Copyright by the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois.         *
+ * All rights reserved.                                                      *
+ *                                                                           *
+ * This file is part of HDF5.  The full HDF5 copyright notice, including     *
+ * terms governing use, modification, and redistribution, is contained in    *
+ * the files COPYING and Copyright.html.  COPYING can be found at the root   *
+ * of the source code distribution tree; Copyright.html can be found at the  *
+ * root level of an installed copy of the electronic HDF5 document set and   *
+ * is linked from the top-level documents page.  It can also be found at     *
+ * http://hdfgroup.org/HDF5/doc/Copyright.html.  If you do not have          *
+ * access to either file, you may request a copy from help@hdfgroup.org.     *
+ * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * */
+
+#include <string>
+
+#include "H5Include.h"
+#include "H5Exception.h"
+#include "H5IdComponent.h"
+#include "H5PropList.h"
+#include "H5Location.h"
+#include "H5Object.h"
+#include "H5DcreatProp.h"
+#include "H5DxferProp.h"
+#include "H5FaccProp.h"
+#include "H5FcreatProp.h"
+#include "H5CommonFG.h"
+#include "H5DataType.h"
+#include "H5DataSpace.h"
+#include "H5AbstractDs.h"
+#include "H5File.h"
+#include "H5DataSet.h"
+#include "H5Attribute.h"
+
+#ifndef H5_NO_NAMESPACE
+namespace H5 {
+#endif
+
+#ifndef DOXYGEN_SHOULD_SKIP_THIS
+// userAttrOpWrpr simply interfaces between the user's function and the
+// C library function H5Aiterate2; used to resolve the different prototype
+// problem.  May be moved to Iterator later.
+extern "C" herr_t userAttrOpWrpr(hid_t loc_id, const char *attr_name,
+    const H5A_info_t *ainfo, void *op_data)
+{
+   H5std_string s_attr_name = H5std_string( attr_name );
+#ifdef NO_STATIC_CAST
+   UserData4Aiterate* myData = (UserData4Aiterate *) op_data;
+#else
+   UserData4Aiterate* myData = static_cast <UserData4Aiterate *> (op_data);
+#endif
+   myData->op( *myData->location, s_attr_name, myData->opData );
+   return 0;
+}
+
+//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Function:    H5Location default constructor (protected)
+// Programmer   Binh-Minh Ribler - 2000
+//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+H5Location::H5Location() : IdComponent(0) {}
+
+//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Function:    H5Location overloaded constructor (protected)
+// Purpose      Creates an H5Location object using the id of an existing HDF5
+//              object.
+// Parameters   object_id - IN: Id of an existing HDF5 object
+// Programmer   Binh-Minh Ribler - 2000
+//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+H5Location::H5Location(const hid_t object_id) : IdComponent(object_id) {}
+
+#endif // DOXYGEN_SHOULD_SKIP_THIS
+
+//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Function:	H5Location copy constructor
+///\brief	Copy constructor: makes a copy of the original H5Location
+///		instance.
+///\param	original - IN: H5Location instance to copy
+// Programmer	Binh-Minh Ribler - 2000
+//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+H5Location::H5Location( const H5Location& original ) : IdComponent( original ) {}
+
+//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Function:	H5Location::createAttribute
+///\brief	Creates an attribute for a group, dataset, or named datatype.
+///\param	name - IN: Name of the attribute
+///\param	data_type - IN: Datatype for the attribute
+///\param	data_space - IN: Dataspace for the attribute - only simple
+///		dataspaces are allowed at this time
+///\param	create_plist - IN: Creation property list - default to
+///		PropList::DEFAULT
+///\return	Attribute instance
+///\exception	H5::AttributeIException
+///\par Description
+///		The attribute name specified in \a name must be unique.
+///		Attempting to create an attribute with the same name as an
+///		existing attribute will raise an exception, leaving the
+///		pre-existing attribute intact. To overwrite an existing
+///		attribute with a new attribute of the same name, first
+///		delete the existing one with \c H5Location::removeAttr, then
+///		recreate it with this function.
+// Programmer	Binh-Minh Ribler - 2000
+//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+Attribute H5Location::createAttribute( const char* name, const DataType& data_type, const DataSpace& data_space, const PropList& create_plist ) const
+{
+   hid_t type_id = data_type.getId();
+   hid_t space_id = data_space.getId();
+   hid_t plist_id = create_plist.getId();
+   hid_t attr_id = H5Acreate2(getId(), name, type_id, space_id, plist_id, H5P_DEFAULT );
+
+   // If the attribute id is valid, create and return the Attribute object
+   if( attr_id > 0 )
+   {
+      Attribute attr( attr_id );
+      return( attr );
+   }
+   else
+      throw AttributeIException(inMemFunc("createAttribute"), "H5Acreate2 failed");
+}
+
+//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Function:	H5Location::createAttribute
+///\brief	This is an overloaded member function, provided for convenience.
+///		It differs from the above function in that it takes
+///		a reference to an \c H5std_string for \a name.
+// Programmer	Binh-Minh Ribler - 2000
+//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+Attribute H5Location::createAttribute( const H5std_string& name, const DataType& data_type, const DataSpace& data_space, const PropList& create_plist ) const
+{
+   return( createAttribute( name.c_str(), data_type, data_space, create_plist ));
+}
+
+//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Function:	H5Location::openAttribute
+///\brief	Opens an attribute given its name.
+///\param	name - IN: Name of the attribute
+///\return	Attribute instance
+///\exception	H5::AttributeIException
+// Programmer	Binh-Minh Ribler - 2000
+//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+Attribute H5Location::openAttribute( const char* name ) const
+{
+   hid_t attr_id = H5Aopen(getId(), name, H5P_DEFAULT);
+   if( attr_id > 0 )
+   {
+      Attribute attr( attr_id );
+      return( attr );
+   }
+   else
+   {
+      throw AttributeIException(inMemFunc("openAttribute"), "H5Aopen failed");
+   }
+}
+
+//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Function:	H5Location::openAttribute
+///\brief	This is an overloaded member function, provided for convenience.
+///		It differs from the above function in that it takes
+///		a reference to an \c H5std_string for \a name.
+// Programmer	Binh-Minh Ribler - 2000
+//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+Attribute H5Location::openAttribute( const H5std_string& name ) const
+{
+   return( openAttribute( name.c_str()) );
+}
+
+//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Function:	H5Location::openAttribute
+///\brief	Opens an attribute given its index.
+///\param	idx - IN: Index of the attribute, a 0-based, non-negative integer
+///\return	Attribute instance
+///\exception	H5::AttributeIException
+// Programmer	Binh-Minh Ribler - 2000
+//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+Attribute H5Location::openAttribute( const unsigned int idx ) const
+{
+   hid_t attr_id = H5Aopen_by_idx(getId(), ".", H5_INDEX_CRT_ORDER,
+			H5_ITER_INC, (hsize_t)idx, H5P_DEFAULT, H5P_DEFAULT);
+   if( attr_id > 0 )
+   {
+      Attribute attr( attr_id );
+      return( attr );
+   }
+   else
+   {
+      throw AttributeIException(inMemFunc("openAttribute"), "H5Aopen_by_idx failed");
+   }
+}
+
+//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Function:	H5Location::iterateAttrs
+///\brief	Iterates a user's function over all the attributes of an H5
+///		object, which may be a group, dataset or named datatype.
+///\param	user_op - IN: User's function to operate on each attribute
+///\param	_idx - IN/OUT: Starting (IN) and ending (OUT) attribute indices
+///\param	op_data - IN: User's data to pass to user's operator function
+///\return	Returned value of the last operator if it was non-zero, or
+///		zero if all attributes were processed
+///\exception	H5::AttributeIException
+///\par Description
+///		The signature of user_op is
+///		void (*)(H5::H5Location&, H5std_string, void*).
+///		For information, please refer to the C layer Reference Manual
+///		at:
+/// http://www.hdfgroup.org/HDF5/doc/RM/RM_H5A.html#Annot-Iterate
+// Programmer	Binh-Minh Ribler - 2000
+//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+int H5Location::iterateAttrs( attr_operator_t user_op, unsigned *_idx, void *op_data )
+{
+   // store the user's function and data
+   UserData4Aiterate* userData = new UserData4Aiterate;
+   userData->opData = op_data;
+   userData->op = user_op;
+   userData->location = this;
+
+   // call the C library routine H5Aiterate2 to iterate the attributes
+   hsize_t idx = _idx ? (hsize_t)*_idx : 0;
+   int ret_value = H5Aiterate2(getId(), H5_INDEX_NAME, H5_ITER_INC, &idx,
+			userAttrOpWrpr, (void *) userData);
+
+   // release memory
+   delete userData;
+
+   if( ret_value >= 0 ) {
+      /* Pass back update index value to calling code */
+      if (_idx)
+	 *_idx = (unsigned)idx;
+
+      return( ret_value );
+   }
+   else  // raise exception when H5Aiterate returns a negative value
+      throw AttributeIException(inMemFunc("iterateAttrs"), "H5Aiterate2 failed");
+}
+
+//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Function:	H5Location::getNumAttrs
+///\brief	Returns the number of attributes attached to this HDF5 object.
+///\return	Number of attributes
+///\exception	H5::AttributeIException
+// Programmer	Binh-Minh Ribler - 2000
+//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+int H5Location::getNumAttrs() const
+{
+   H5O_info_t oinfo;    /* Object info */
+
+   if(H5Oget_info(getId(), &oinfo) < 0)
+      throw AttributeIException(inMemFunc("getNumAttrs"), "H5Oget_info failed");
+   else
+      return( (int)oinfo.num_attrs );
+}
+
+//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Function:	H5Location::removeAttr
+///\brief	Removes the named attribute from this object.
+///\param	name - IN: Name of the attribute to be removed
+///\exception	H5::AttributeIException
+// Programmer	Binh-Minh Ribler - 2000
+//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+void H5Location::removeAttr( const char* name ) const
+{
+   herr_t ret_value = H5Adelete(getId(), name);
+   if( ret_value < 0 )
+      throw AttributeIException(inMemFunc("removeAttr"), "H5Adelete failed");
+}
+
+//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Function:	H5Location::removeAttr
+///\brief	This is an overloaded member function, provided for convenience.
+///		It differs from the above function in that it takes
+///		a reference to an \c H5std_string for \a name.
+// Programmer	Binh-Minh Ribler - 2000
+//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+void H5Location::removeAttr( const H5std_string& name ) const
+{
+   removeAttr( name.c_str() );
+}
+
+//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Function:	H5Location::renameAttr
+///\brief	Renames the named attribute from this object.
+///\param	oldname - IN: Name of the attribute to be renamed
+///\param	newname - IN: New name ame of the attribute
+///\exception	H5::AttributeIException
+// Programmer	Binh-Minh Ribler - Mar, 2005
+//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+void H5Location::renameAttr(const char* oldname, const char* newname) const
+{
+   herr_t ret_value = H5Arename(getId(), oldname, newname);
+   if (ret_value < 0)
+      throw AttributeIException(inMemFunc("renameAttr"), "H5Arename failed");
+}
+
+//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Function:	H5Location::renameAttr
+///\brief	This is an overloaded member function, provided for convenience.
+///		It differs from the above function in that it takes
+///		a reference to an \c H5std_string for the names.
+// Programmer	Binh-Minh Ribler - Mar, 2005
+//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+void H5Location::renameAttr(const H5std_string& oldname, const H5std_string& newname) const
+{
+   renameAttr (oldname.c_str(), newname.c_str());
+}
+
+//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Function:	H5Location::flush
+///\brief	Flushes all buffers associated with a location to disk.
+///\param	scope - IN: Specifies the scope of the flushing action,
+///		which can be either of these values:
+///		\li \c H5F_SCOPE_GLOBAL - Flushes the entire virtual file
+///		\li \c H5F_SCOPE_LOCAL - Flushes only the specified file
+///\exception	H5::FileIException
+///\par Description
+///		This location is used to identify the file to be flushed.
+// Programmer	Binh-Minh Ribler - 2012
+// Modification
+//	Sep 2012 - BMR
+//		Moved from H5File/H5Object
+//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+void H5Location::flush(H5F_scope_t scope) const
+{
+   herr_t ret_value = H5Fflush(getId(), scope);
+   if( ret_value < 0 )
+   {
+      throw FileIException(inMemFunc("flush"), "H5Fflush failed");
+   }
+}
+
+//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Function:	H5Location::getFileName
+///\brief	Gets the name of the file, in which this HDF5 object belongs.
+///\return	File name
+///\exception	H5::IdComponentException
+// Programmer	Binh-Minh Ribler - Jul, 2004
+//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+H5std_string H5Location::getFileName() const
+{
+   try {
+      return(p_get_file_name());
+   }
+   catch (IdComponentException E) {
+      throw FileIException(inMemFunc("getFileName"), E.getDetailMsg());
+   }
+}
+
+//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Function:    H5Location::p_reference (protected)
+// Purpose      Creates a reference to an HDF5 object or a dataset region.
+// Parameters
+//              name - IN: Name of the object to be referenced
+//              dataspace - IN: Dataspace with selection
+//              ref_type - IN: Type of reference; default to \c H5R_DATASET_REGION
+// Exception    H5::IdComponentException
+// Programmer   Binh-Minh Ribler - May, 2004
+//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+void H5Location::p_reference(void* ref, const char* name, hid_t space_id, H5R_type_t ref_type) const
+{
+   herr_t ret_value = H5Rcreate(ref, getId(), name, ref_type, space_id);
+   if (ret_value < 0)
+   {
+      throw ReferenceException("", "H5Rcreate failed");
+   }
+}
+
+//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Function:    H5Location::reference
+///\brief       Creates a reference to an HDF5 object or a dataset region.
+///\param       ref - IN: Reference pointer
+///\param       name - IN: Name of the object to be referenced
+///\param       dataspace - IN: Dataspace with selection
+///\param       ref_type - IN: Type of reference to query, valid values are:
+///		\li \c H5R_OBJECT         - Reference is an object reference.
+///		\li \c H5R_DATASET_REGION - Reference is a dataset region
+///			reference. - this is the default
+///\exception   H5::ReferenceException
+// Programmer   Binh-Minh Ribler - May, 2004
+//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+void H5Location::reference(void* ref, const char* name, const DataSpace& dataspace, H5R_type_t ref_type) const
+{
+   try {
+      p_reference(ref, name, dataspace.getId(), ref_type);
+   }
+   catch (ReferenceException E) {
+      throw ReferenceException("H5Location::reference", E.getDetailMsg());
+   }
+}
+
+//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Function:    H5Location::reference
+///\brief       This is an overloaded function, provided for your convenience.
+///             It differs from the above function in that it only creates
+///             a reference to an HDF5 object, not to a dataset region.
+///\param       ref - IN: Reference pointer
+///\param       name - IN: Name of the object to be referenced - \c char pointer
+///\exception   H5::ReferenceException
+///\par Description
+//              This function passes H5R_OBJECT and -1 to the protected
+//              function for it to pass to the C API H5Rcreate
+//              to create a reference to the named object.
+// Programmer   Binh-Minh Ribler - May, 2004
+//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+void H5Location::reference(void* ref, const char* name) const
+{
+   try {
+      p_reference(ref, name, -1, H5R_OBJECT);
+   }
+   catch (ReferenceException E) {
+      throw ReferenceException("H5Location::reference", E.getDetailMsg());
+   }
+}
+
+//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Function:    H5Location::reference
+///\brief       This is an overloaded function, provided for your convenience.
+///             It differs from the above function in that it takes an
+///             \c H5std_string for the object's name.
+///\param       ref - IN: Reference pointer
+///\param       name - IN: Name of the object to be referenced - \c H5std_string
+// Programmer   Binh-Minh Ribler - May, 2004
+//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+void H5Location::reference(void* ref, const H5std_string& name) const
+{
+   reference(ref, name.c_str());
+}
+
+//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Function:	H5Location::p_dereference (protected)
+// Purpose	Dereference a ref into an hdf5 object.
+// Parameters
+//		loc_id - IN: An hdf5 identifier specifying the location of the
+//			 referenced object
+//		ref - IN: Reference pointer
+//		ref_type - IN: Reference type
+// Exception	H5::ReferenceException
+// Programmer	Binh-Minh Ribler - Oct, 2006
+// Modification
+//	May 2008 - BMR
+//		Moved from IdComponent.
+//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+hid_t H5Location::p_dereference(hid_t loc_id, const void* ref, H5R_type_t ref_type)
+{
+   hid_t temp_id;
+   temp_id = H5Rdereference2(loc_id, H5P_DEFAULT, ref_type, ref);
+   if (temp_id < 0)
+   {
+      throw ReferenceException("", "H5Rdereference failed");
+   }
+
+   // No failure, set id to the object
+   return(temp_id);
+}
+
+//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Function:	H5Location::dereference
+///\brief	Dereferences a reference into an HDF5 object, given an HDF5 object.
+///\param	obj - IN: Object specifying the location of the referenced object
+///\param	ref - IN: Reference pointer
+///\param	ref_type - IN: Reference type
+///\exception	H5::ReferenceException
+// Programmer   Binh-Minh Ribler - Oct, 2006
+// Modification
+//	May, 2008
+//		Corrected missing parameters. - BMR
+//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+void H5Location::dereference(H5Object& obj, const void* ref, H5R_type_t ref_type)
+{
+   hid_t temp_id;
+   try {
+      temp_id = p_dereference(obj.getId(), ref, ref_type);
+   }
+   catch (ReferenceException E) {
+      throw ReferenceException("H5Location::dereference - located by object", E.getDetailMsg());
+   }
+   p_setId(temp_id);
+}
+
+//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Function:	H5Location::dereference
+///\brief	Dereferences a reference into an HDF5 object, given an HDF5 file.
+///\param	h5file - IN: HDF5 file specifying the location of the referenced object
+///\param	ref - IN: Reference pointer
+///\param	ref_type - IN: Reference type
+///\exception	H5::ReferenceException
+// Programmer   Binh-Minh Ribler - Oct, 2006
+// Modification
+//	May, 2008
+//		Corrected missing parameters. - BMR
+//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+void H5Location::dereference(H5File& h5file, const void* ref, H5R_type_t ref_type)
+{
+   hid_t temp_id;
+   try {
+      temp_id = p_dereference(h5file.getId(), ref, ref_type);
+   }
+   catch (ReferenceException E) {
+      throw ReferenceException("H5Location::dereference - located by file", E.getDetailMsg());
+   }
+   p_setId(temp_id);
+}
+
+//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Function:	H5Location::dereference
+///\brief	Dereferences a reference into an HDF5 object, given an attribute.
+///\param	attr - IN: Attribute specifying the location of the referenced object
+///\param	ref - IN: Reference pointer
+///\param	ref_type - IN: Reference type
+///\exception	H5::ReferenceException
+// Programmer   Binh-Minh Ribler - Oct, 2006
+// Modification
+//	May, 2008
+//		Corrected missing parameters. - BMR
+//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+void H5Location::dereference(Attribute& attr, const void* ref, H5R_type_t ref_type)
+{
+   hid_t temp_id;
+   try {
+      temp_id = p_dereference(attr.getId(), ref, ref_type);
+   }
+   catch (ReferenceException E) {
+      throw ReferenceException("H5Location::dereference - located by attribute", E.getDetailMsg());
+   }
+   p_setId(temp_id);
+}
+
+#ifndef H5_NO_DEPRECATED_SYMBOLS
+//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Function:	H5Location::getObjType
+///\brief	Retrieves the type of object that an object reference points to.
+///\param	ref_type - IN: Type of reference to query, valid values are:
+///		\li \c H5R_OBJECT \tReference is an object reference.
+///		\li \c H5R_DATASET_REGION \tReference is a dataset region reference.
+///\param	ref      - IN: Reference to query
+///\return	An object type, which can be one of the following:
+///		\li \c H5G_UNKNOWN \tA failure occurs. (-1)
+///		\li \c H5G_GROUP \tObject is a group.
+///		\li \c H5G_DATASET \tObject is a dataset.
+///		\li \c H5G_TYPE Object \tis a named datatype
+///		\li \c H5G_LINK \tObject is a symbolic link.
+///		\li \c H5G_UDLINK \tObject is a user-defined link.
+///\exception	H5::ReferenceException
+// Programmer	Binh-Minh Ribler - May, 2004
+// Modification
+//	Sep 2012: Moved up from H5File, Group, DataSet, and DataType
+//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+H5G_obj_t H5Location::getObjType(void *ref, H5R_type_t ref_type) const
+{
+   try {
+      return(p_get_obj_type(ref, ref_type));
+   }
+   catch (ReferenceException E) {
+      throw ReferenceException("H5Location::getObjType", E.getDetailMsg());
+   }
+}
+
+//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Function:    H5Location::p_get_obj_type (protected)
+// Purpose      Retrieves the type of object that an object reference points to.
+// Parameters
+//              ref      - IN: Reference to query
+//              ref_type - IN: Type of reference to query
+// Return       An object type, which can be one of the following:
+//                      H5G_UNKNOWN \tFailure occurs (-1)
+//                      H5G_GROUP \tObject is a group.
+//                      H5G_DATASET \tObject is a dataset.
+//                      H5G_TYPE Object \tis a named datatype.
+//                      H5G_LINK \tObject is a symbolic link.
+//                      H5G_UDLINK \tObject is a user-defined link.
+// Exception    H5::ReferenceException
+// Programmer   Binh-Minh Ribler - May, 2004
+//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+H5G_obj_t H5Location::p_get_obj_type(void *ref, H5R_type_t ref_type) const
+{
+   H5G_obj_t obj_type = H5Rget_obj_type1(getId(), ref_type, ref);
+
+   if (obj_type == H5G_UNKNOWN)
+   {
+      throw ReferenceException("", "H5Rget_obj_type1 failed");
+   }
+   return(obj_type);
+}
+#endif /* H5_NO_DEPRECATED_SYMBOLS */
+
+
+//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Function:    H5Location::getRefObjType
+///\brief       Retrieves the type of object that an object reference points to.
+///\param       ref      - IN: Reference to query
+///\param       ref_type - IN: Type of reference to query, valid values are:
+///             \li \c H5R_OBJECT         - Reference is an object reference.
+///             \li \c H5R_DATASET_REGION - Reference is a dataset region reference.
+///\return      An object type, which can be one of the following:
+///             \li \c H5O_TYPE_UNKNOWN	- Unknown object type (-1)
+///             \li \c H5O_TYPE_GROUP	- Object is a group
+///             \li \c H5O_TYPE_DATASET	- Object is a dataset
+///             \li \c H5O_TYPE_NAMED_DATATYPE - Object is a named datatype
+///             \li \c H5O_TYPE_NTYPES	- Number of different object types
+///\exception   H5::ReferenceException
+// Programmer   Binh-Minh Ribler - May, 2004
+//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+H5O_type_t H5Location::getRefObjType(void *ref, H5R_type_t ref_type) const
+{
+   try {
+      return(p_get_ref_obj_type(ref, ref_type));
+   }
+   catch (ReferenceException E) {
+      throw ReferenceException("H5Location::getRefObjType", E.getDetailMsg());
+   }
+}
+
+//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Function:    H5Location::p_get_ref_obj_type (protected)
+// Purpose      Retrieves the type of object that an object reference points to.
+// Parameters
+//              ref      - IN: Reference to query
+//              ref_type - IN: Type of reference to query
+// Return       An object type, which can be one of the following:
+//			H5O_TYPE_UNKNOWN	- Unknown object type (-1)
+//			H5O_TYPE_GROUP		- Object is a group
+//			H5O_TYPE_DATASET	- Object is a dataset
+//			H5O_TYPE_NAMED_DATATYPE - Object is a named datatype
+//			H5O_TYPE_NTYPES		- Number of object types
+// Exception    H5::ReferenceException
+// Programmer   Binh-Minh Ribler - May, 2004
+//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+H5O_type_t H5Location::p_get_ref_obj_type(void *ref, H5R_type_t ref_type) const
+{
+   H5O_type_t obj_type = H5O_TYPE_UNKNOWN;
+   herr_t ret_value = H5Rget_obj_type2(getId(), ref_type, ref, &obj_type);
+
+   if (obj_type == H5O_TYPE_UNKNOWN || obj_type >= H5O_TYPE_NTYPES)
+   {
+      throw ReferenceException("", "H5Rget_obj_type2 failed");
+   }
+   return(obj_type);
+}
+
+
+//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Function:    H5Location::p_get_region (protected)
+// Purpose      Retrieves a dataspace with the region pointed to selected.
+// Parameters
+//              ref_type - IN: Type of reference to get region of - default
+//                              to H5R_DATASET_REGION
+//              ref      - IN: Reference to get region of
+// Return       Dataspace id
+// Exception    H5::ReferenceException
+// Programmer   Binh-Minh Ribler - May, 2004
+//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+hid_t H5Location::p_get_region(void *ref, H5R_type_t ref_type) const
+{
+   hid_t space_id = H5Rget_region(getId(), ref_type, ref);
+   if (space_id < 0)
+   {
+      throw ReferenceException("", "H5Rget_region failed");
+   }
+   return(space_id);
+}
+
+
+//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Function:	H5Location destructor
+///\brief	Noop destructor.
+// Programmer	Binh-Minh Ribler - 2000
+//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+H5Location::~H5Location() {}
+
+#ifndef H5_NO_NAMESPACE
+} // end namespace
+#endif
diff --git a/c++/src/H5Location.h b/c++/src/H5Location.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d1dd892
--- /dev/null
+++ b/c++/src/H5Location.h
@@ -0,0 +1,146 @@
+// C++ informative line for the emacs editor: -*- C++ -*-
+/* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
+ * Copyright by The HDF Group.                                               *
+ * Copyright by the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois.         *
+ * All rights reserved.                                                      *
+ *                                                                           *
+ * This file is part of HDF5.  The full HDF5 copyright notice, including     *
+ * terms governing use, modification, and redistribution, is contained in    *
+ * the files COPYING and Copyright.html.  COPYING can be found at the root   *
+ * of the source code distribution tree; Copyright.html can be found at the  *
+ * root level of an installed copy of the electronic HDF5 document set and   *
+ * is linked from the top-level documents page.  It can also be found at     *
+ * http://hdfgroup.org/HDF5/doc/Copyright.html.  If you do not have          *
+ * access to either file, you may request a copy from help@hdfgroup.org.     *
+ * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * */
+
+#ifndef _H5Location_H
+#define _H5Location_H
+
+#include "H5Classes.h"		// constains forward class declarations
+
+// H5Location is an abstract class.  It provides a collection of wrappers
+// of C functions which take location IDs.  Most of these were in H5Object
+// but are now moved here for H5File's access.
+
+#ifndef H5_NO_NAMESPACE
+namespace H5 {
+#endif
+
+class H5_DLLCPP H5Location;  // forward declaration for UserData4Aiterate
+
+// Define the operator function pointer for H5Aiterate().
+typedef void (*attr_operator_t)( H5Location& loc/*in*/,
+                                 const H5std_string attr_name/*in*/,
+                                 void *operator_data/*in,out*/);
+
+class UserData4Aiterate { // user data for attribute iteration
+   public:
+        attr_operator_t op;
+        void* opData;
+        H5Location* location;
+};
+
+// An H5Location can be a file, group, dataset, named datatype, or attribute.
+
+class H5_DLLCPP H5Location : public IdComponent {
+   public:
+	// Creates an attribute for the specified object at this location
+	// PropList is currently not used, so always be default.
+	Attribute createAttribute( const char* name, const DataType& type, const DataSpace& space, const PropList& create_plist = PropList::DEFAULT ) const;
+	Attribute createAttribute( const H5std_string& name, const DataType& type, const DataSpace& space, const PropList& create_plist = PropList::DEFAULT ) const;
+
+	// Given its name, opens the attribute that belongs to an object at
+	// this location.
+	Attribute openAttribute( const char* name ) const;
+	Attribute openAttribute( const H5std_string& name ) const;
+
+	// Given its index, opens the attribute that belongs to an object at
+	// this location.
+	Attribute openAttribute( const unsigned int idx ) const;
+
+	// Flushes all buffers associated with this location to disk.
+	void flush( H5F_scope_t scope ) const;
+
+	// Gets the name of the file, specified by this location.
+	H5std_string getFileName() const;
+
+	// Determines the number of attributes at this location.
+	int getNumAttrs() const;
+
+#ifndef H5_NO_DEPRECATED_SYMBOLS
+	// Retrieves the type of object that an object reference points to.
+	H5G_obj_t getObjType(void *ref, H5R_type_t ref_type = H5R_OBJECT) const;
+#endif /* H5_NO_DEPRECATED_SYMBOLS */
+
+	// Retrieves the type of object that an object reference points to.
+	H5O_type_t getRefObjType(void *ref, H5R_type_t ref_type = H5R_OBJECT) const;
+	// Note: getRefObjType deprecates getObjType, but getObjType's name is
+	// misleading, so getRefObjType is used in the new function instead.
+
+	// Iterate user's function over the attributes at this location.
+	int iterateAttrs( attr_operator_t user_op, unsigned* idx = NULL, void* op_data = NULL );
+
+	// Removes the named attribute from this location.
+	void removeAttr( const char* name ) const;
+	void removeAttr( const H5std_string& name ) const;
+
+	// Renames the named attribute to a new name.
+	void renameAttr(const char* oldname, const char* newname) const;
+	void renameAttr(const H5std_string& oldname, const H5std_string& newname) const;
+
+	// Creates a reference to a named object or to a dataset region
+	// in this object.
+	void reference(void* ref, const char* name, const DataSpace& dataspace,
+			H5R_type_t ref_type = H5R_DATASET_REGION) const;
+	void reference(void* ref, const char* name) const;
+	void reference(void* ref, const H5std_string& name) const;
+
+	// Open a referenced object whose location is specified by either
+	// a file, an HDF5 object, or an attribute.
+	void dereference(H5File& h5file, const void* ref, H5R_type_t ref_type = H5R_OBJECT);
+	void dereference(H5Object& obj, const void* ref, H5R_type_t ref_type = H5R_OBJECT);
+	void dereference(Attribute& attr, const void* ref, H5R_type_t ref_type = H5R_OBJECT);
+
+        // For subclasses.
+        virtual hid_t getId() const = 0;
+
+   protected:
+#ifndef DOXYGEN_SHOULD_SKIP_THIS
+	// Default constructor,
+	H5Location();
+
+	// Creates a copy of an existing object giving the location id.
+	H5Location(const hid_t loc_id);
+
+	// Copy constructor.
+	H5Location(const H5Location& original);
+
+	// Creates a reference to an HDF5 object or a dataset region.
+	void p_reference(void* ref, const char* name, hid_t space_id, H5R_type_t ref_type) const;
+
+	// Dereferences a ref into an HDF5 id.
+	hid_t p_dereference(hid_t loc_id, const void* ref, H5R_type_t ref_type);
+
+#ifndef H5_NO_DEPRECATED_SYMBOLS
+	// Retrieves the type of object that an object reference points to.
+	H5G_obj_t p_get_obj_type(void *ref, H5R_type_t ref_type) const;
+#endif /* H5_NO_DEPRECATED_SYMBOLS */
+
+	// Retrieves the type of object that an object reference points to.
+	H5O_type_t p_get_ref_obj_type(void *ref, H5R_type_t ref_type) const;
+
+	// Retrieves a dataspace with the region pointed to selected.
+	hid_t p_get_region(void *ref, H5R_type_t ref_type) const;
+
+	// Noop destructor.
+	virtual ~H5Location();
+
+#endif // DOXYGEN_SHOULD_SKIP_THIS
+
+}; /* end class H5Location */
+
+#ifndef H5_NO_NAMESPACE
+}
+#endif
+#endif
diff --git a/c++/src/H5Object.cpp b/c++/src/H5Object.cpp
index 3c85502..e29e80e 100644
--- a/c++/src/H5Object.cpp
+++ b/c++/src/H5Object.cpp
@@ -37,30 +37,11 @@ namespace H5 {
 #endif
 
 #ifndef DOXYGEN_SHOULD_SKIP_THIS
-// userAttrOpWrpr simply interfaces between the user's function and the
-// C library function H5Aiterate2; used to resolve the different prototype
-// problem.  May be moved to Iterator later.
-extern "C" herr_t userAttrOpWrpr(hid_t loc_id, const char *attr_name,
-    const H5A_info_t *ainfo, void *op_data)
-{
-   H5std_string s_attr_name = H5std_string( attr_name );
-#ifdef NO_STATIC_CAST
-   UserData4Aiterate* myData = (UserData4Aiterate *) op_data;
-#else
-   UserData4Aiterate* myData = static_cast <UserData4Aiterate *> (op_data);
-#endif
-   myData->op( *myData->object, s_attr_name, myData->opData );
-   return 0;
-}
-
 //--------------------------------------------------------------------------
 // Function:	H5Object default constructor (protected)
-// Description
-//		The id is set by IdComponent() but subclass constructor will
-//		set it to a valid HDF5 id.
 // Programmer	Binh-Minh Ribler - 2000
 //--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-H5Object::H5Object() : IdComponent(0) {}
+H5Object::H5Object() : H5Location() {}
 
 //--------------------------------------------------------------------------
 // Function:	H5Object overloaded constructor (protected)
@@ -69,7 +50,7 @@ H5Object::H5Object() : IdComponent(0) {}
 // Parameters	object_id - IN: Id of an existing HDF5 object
 // Programmer	Binh-Minh Ribler - 2000
 //--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-H5Object::H5Object( const hid_t object_id ) : IdComponent( object_id ) {}
+H5Object::H5Object( const hid_t object_id ) : H5Location( object_id ) {}
 
 #endif // DOXYGEN_SHOULD_SKIP_THIS
 
@@ -80,496 +61,7 @@ H5Object::H5Object( const hid_t object_id ) : IdComponent( object_id ) {}
 ///\param	original - IN: H5Object instance to copy
 // Programmer	Binh-Minh Ribler - 2000
 //--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-H5Object::H5Object( const H5Object& original ) : IdComponent( original ) {}
-
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// Function:	H5Object::createAttribute
-///\brief	Creates an attribute for a group, dataset, or named datatype.
-///\param	name - IN: Name of the attribute
-///\param	data_type - IN: Datatype for the attribute
-///\param	data_space - IN: Dataspace for the attribute - only simple
-///		dataspaces are allowed at this time
-///\param	create_plist - IN: Creation property list - default to
-///		PropList::DEFAULT
-///\return	Attribute instance
-///\exception	H5::AttributeIException
-///\par Description
-///		The attribute name specified in \a name must be unique.
-///		Attempting to create an attribute with the same name as an
-///		existing attribute will raise an exception, leaving the
-///		pre-existing attribute intact. To overwrite an existing
-///		attribute with a new attribute of the same name, first
-///		delete the existing one with \c H5Object::removeAttr, then
-///		recreate it with this function.
-// Programmer	Binh-Minh Ribler - 2000
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-Attribute H5Object::createAttribute( const char* name, const DataType& data_type, const DataSpace& data_space, const PropList& create_plist ) const
-{
-   hid_t type_id = data_type.getId();
-   hid_t space_id = data_space.getId();
-   hid_t plist_id = create_plist.getId();
-   hid_t attr_id = H5Acreate2(getId(), name, type_id, space_id, plist_id, H5P_DEFAULT );
-
-   // If the attribute id is valid, create and return the Attribute object
-   if( attr_id > 0 )
-   {
-      Attribute attr( attr_id );
-      return( attr );
-   }
-   else
-      throw AttributeIException(inMemFunc("createAttribute"), "H5Acreate2 failed");
-}
-
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// Function:	H5Object::createAttribute
-///\brief	This is an overloaded member function, provided for convenience.
-///		It differs from the above function in that it takes
-///		a reference to an \c H5std_string for \a name.
-// Programmer	Binh-Minh Ribler - 2000
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-Attribute H5Object::createAttribute( const H5std_string& name, const DataType& data_type, const DataSpace& data_space, const PropList& create_plist ) const
-{
-   return( createAttribute( name.c_str(), data_type, data_space, create_plist ));
-}
-
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// Function:	H5Object::openAttribute
-///\brief	Opens an attribute given its name.
-///\param	name - IN: Name of the attribute
-///\return	Attribute instance
-///\exception	H5::AttributeIException
-// Programmer	Binh-Minh Ribler - 2000
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-Attribute H5Object::openAttribute( const char* name ) const
-{
-   hid_t attr_id = H5Aopen(getId(), name, H5P_DEFAULT);
-   if( attr_id > 0 )
-   {
-      Attribute attr( attr_id );
-      return( attr );
-   }
-   else
-   {
-      throw AttributeIException(inMemFunc("openAttribute"), "H5Aopen failed");
-   }
-}
-
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// Function:	H5Object::openAttribute
-///\brief	This is an overloaded member function, provided for convenience.
-///		It differs from the above function in that it takes
-///		a reference to an \c H5std_string for \a name.
-// Programmer	Binh-Minh Ribler - 2000
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-Attribute H5Object::openAttribute( const H5std_string& name ) const
-{
-   return( openAttribute( name.c_str()) );
-}
-
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// Function:	H5Object::openAttribute
-///\brief	Opens an attribute given its index.
-///\param	idx - IN: Index of the attribute, a 0-based, non-negative integer
-///\return	Attribute instance
-///\exception	H5::AttributeIException
-// Programmer	Binh-Minh Ribler - 2000
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-Attribute H5Object::openAttribute( const unsigned int idx ) const
-{
-   hid_t attr_id = H5Aopen_by_idx(getId(), ".", H5_INDEX_CRT_ORDER,
-			H5_ITER_INC, (hsize_t)idx, H5P_DEFAULT, H5P_DEFAULT);
-   if( attr_id > 0 )
-   {
-      Attribute attr( attr_id );
-      return( attr );
-   }
-   else
-   {
-      throw AttributeIException(inMemFunc("openAttribute"), "H5Aopen_by_idx failed");
-   }
-}
-
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// Function:	H5Object::iterateAttrs
-///\brief	Iterates a user's function over all the attributes of an H5
-///		object, which may be a group, dataset or named datatype.
-///\param	user_op - IN: User's function to operate on each attribute
-///\param	_idx - IN/OUT: Starting (IN) and ending (OUT) attribute indices
-///\param	op_data - IN: User's data to pass to user's operator function
-///\return	Returned value of the last operator if it was non-zero, or
-///		zero if all attributes were processed
-///\exception	H5::AttributeIException
-///\par Description
-///		The signature of user_op is
-///		void (*)(H5::H5Object&, H5std_string, void*).
-///		For information, please refer to the C layer Reference Manual
-///		at:
-/// http://www.hdfgroup.org/HDF5/doc/RM/RM_H5A.html#Annot-Iterate
-// Programmer	Binh-Minh Ribler - 2000
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-int H5Object::iterateAttrs( attr_operator_t user_op, unsigned *_idx, void *op_data )
-{
-   // store the user's function and data
-   UserData4Aiterate* userData = new UserData4Aiterate;
-   userData->opData = op_data;
-   userData->op = user_op;
-   userData->object = this;
-
-   // call the C library routine H5Aiterate2 to iterate the attributes
-   hsize_t idx = _idx ? (hsize_t)*_idx : 0;
-   int ret_value = H5Aiterate2(getId(), H5_INDEX_NAME, H5_ITER_INC, &idx,
-			userAttrOpWrpr, (void *) userData);
-
-   // release memory
-   delete userData;
-
-   if( ret_value >= 0 ) {
-      /* Pass back update index value to calling code */
-      if (_idx)
-	 *_idx = (unsigned)idx;
-
-      return( ret_value );
-   }
-   else  // raise exception when H5Aiterate returns a negative value
-      throw AttributeIException(inMemFunc("iterateAttrs"), "H5Aiterate2 failed");
-}
-
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// Function:	H5Object::getNumAttrs
-///\brief	Returns the number of attributes attached to this HDF5 object.
-///\return	Number of attributes
-///\exception	H5::AttributeIException
-// Programmer	Binh-Minh Ribler - 2000
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-int H5Object::getNumAttrs() const
-{
-   H5O_info_t oinfo;    /* Object info */
-
-   if(H5Oget_info(getId(), &oinfo) < 0)
-      throw AttributeIException(inMemFunc("getNumAttrs"), "H5Oget_info failed");
-   else
-      return( (int)oinfo.num_attrs );
-}
-
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// Function:	H5Object::removeAttr
-///\brief	Removes the named attribute from this object.
-///\param	name - IN: Name of the attribute to be removed
-///\exception	H5::AttributeIException
-// Programmer	Binh-Minh Ribler - 2000
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-void H5Object::removeAttr( const char* name ) const
-{
-   herr_t ret_value = H5Adelete(getId(), name);
-   if( ret_value < 0 )
-      throw AttributeIException(inMemFunc("removeAttr"), "H5Adelete failed");
-}
-
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// Function:	H5Object::removeAttr
-///\brief	This is an overloaded member function, provided for convenience.
-///		It differs from the above function in that it takes
-///		a reference to an \c H5std_string for \a name.
-// Programmer	Binh-Minh Ribler - 2000
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-void H5Object::removeAttr( const H5std_string& name ) const
-{
-   removeAttr( name.c_str() );
-}
-
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// Function:	H5Object::renameAttr
-///\brief	Renames the named attribute from this object.
-///\param	oldname - IN: Name of the attribute to be renamed
-///\param	newname - IN: New name ame of the attribute
-///\exception	H5::AttributeIException
-// Programmer	Binh-Minh Ribler - Mar, 2005
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-void H5Object::renameAttr(const char* oldname, const char* newname) const
-{
-   herr_t ret_value = H5Arename(getId(), oldname, newname);
-   if (ret_value < 0)
-      throw AttributeIException(inMemFunc("renameAttr"), "H5Arename failed");
-}
-
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// Function:	H5Object::renameAttr
-///\brief	This is an overloaded member function, provided for convenience.
-///		It differs from the above function in that it takes
-///		a reference to an \c H5std_string for the names.
-// Programmer	Binh-Minh Ribler - Mar, 2005
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-void H5Object::renameAttr(const H5std_string& oldname, const H5std_string& newname) const
-{
-   renameAttr (oldname.c_str(), newname.c_str());
-}
-
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// Function:	H5Object::flush
-///\brief	Flushes all buffers associated with a file to disk.
-///\param	scope - IN: Specifies the scope of the flushing action,
-///		which can be either of these values:
-///		\li \c H5F_SCOPE_GLOBAL - Flushes the entire virtual file
-///		\li \c H5F_SCOPE_LOCAL - Flushes only the specified file
-///\exception	H5::AttributeIException
-///\par Description
-///		This object is used to identify the file to be flushed.
-// Programmer	Binh-Minh Ribler - 2000
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-void H5Object::flush(H5F_scope_t scope) const
-{
-   herr_t ret_value = H5Fflush(getId(), scope);
-   if( ret_value < 0 )
-   {
-      throw FileIException(inMemFunc("flush"), "H5Fflush failed");
-   }
-}
-
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// Function:	H5Object::getFileName
-///\brief	Gets the name of the file, in which this HDF5 object belongs.
-///\return	File name
-///\exception	H5::IdComponentException
-// Programmer	Binh-Minh Ribler - Jul, 2004
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-H5std_string H5Object::getFileName() const
-{
-   try {
-      return(p_get_file_name());
-   }
-   catch (IdComponentException E) {
-      throw FileIException(inMemFunc("getFileName"), E.getDetailMsg());
-   }
-}
-
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// Function:    H5Object::p_reference (protected)
-// Purpose      Creates a reference to an HDF5 object or a dataset region.
-// Parameters
-//              name - IN: Name of the object to be referenced
-//              dataspace - IN: Dataspace with selection
-//              ref_type - IN: Type of reference; default to \c H5R_DATASET_REGION
-// Exception    H5::IdComponentException
-// Programmer   Binh-Minh Ribler - May, 2004
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-void H5Object::p_reference(void* ref, const char* name, hid_t space_id, H5R_type_t ref_type) const
-{
-   herr_t ret_value = H5Rcreate(ref, getId(), name, ref_type, space_id);
-   if (ret_value < 0)
-   {
-      throw IdComponentException("", "H5Rcreate failed");
-   }
-}
-
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// Function:    H5Object::reference
-///\brief       Creates a reference to an HDF5 object or a dataset region.
-///\param       ref - IN: Reference pointer
-///\param       name - IN: Name of the object to be referenced
-///\param       dataspace - IN: Dataspace with selection
-///\param       ref_type - IN: Type of reference to query, valid values are:
-///		\li \c H5R_OBJECT         - Reference is an object reference.
-///		\li \c H5R_DATASET_REGION - Reference is a dataset region
-///			reference. - this is the default
-///\exception   H5::IdComponentException
-// Programmer   Binh-Minh Ribler - May, 2004
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-void H5Object::reference(void* ref, const char* name, const DataSpace& dataspace, H5R_type_t ref_type) const
-{
-   try {
-      p_reference(ref, name, dataspace.getId(), ref_type);
-   }
-   catch (IdComponentException E) {
-      throw IdComponentException("H5Object::reference", E.getDetailMsg());
-   }
-}
-
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// Function:    H5Object::reference
-///\brief       This is an overloaded function, provided for your convenience.
-///             It differs from the above function in that it only creates
-///             a reference to an HDF5 object, not to a dataset region.
-///\param       ref - IN: Reference pointer
-///\param       name - IN: Name of the object to be referenced - \c char pointer
-///\exception   H5::IdComponentException
-///\par Description
-//              This function passes H5R_OBJECT and -1 to the protected
-//              function for it to pass to the C API H5Rcreate
-//              to create a reference to the named object.
-// Programmer   Binh-Minh Ribler - May, 2004
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-void H5Object::reference(void* ref, const char* name) const
-{
-   try {
-      p_reference(ref, name, -1, H5R_OBJECT);
-   }
-   catch (IdComponentException E) {
-      throw IdComponentException("H5Object::reference", E.getDetailMsg());
-   }
-}
-
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// Function:    H5Object::reference
-///\brief       This is an overloaded function, provided for your convenience.
-///             It differs from the above function in that it takes an
-///             \c H5std_string for the object's name.
-///\param       ref - IN: Reference pointer
-///\param       name - IN: Name of the object to be referenced - \c H5std_string
-// Programmer   Binh-Minh Ribler - May, 2004
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-void H5Object::reference(void* ref, const H5std_string& name) const
-{
-   reference(ref, name.c_str());
-}
-
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// Function:	H5Object::p_dereference (protected)
-// Purpose	Dereference a ref into an hdf5 object.
-// Parameters
-//		loc_id - IN: An hdf5 identifier specifying the location of the
-//			 referenced object
-//		ref - IN: Reference pointer
-//		ref_type - IN: Reference type
-// Exception	H5::ReferenceException
-// Programmer	Binh-Minh Ribler - Oct, 2006
-// Modification
-//	May 2008 - BMR
-//		Moved from IdComponent.
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-hid_t H5Object::p_dereference(hid_t loc_id, const void* ref, H5R_type_t ref_type)
-{
-   hid_t temp_id;
-   temp_id = H5Rdereference2(loc_id, H5P_DEFAULT, ref_type, ref);
-   if (temp_id < 0)
-   {
-      throw ReferenceException("", "H5Rdereference failed");
-   }
-
-   // No failure, set id to the object
-   return(temp_id);
-}
-
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// Function:	H5Object::dereference
-///\brief	Dereferences a reference into an HDF5 object, given an HDF5 object.
-///\param	obj - IN: Object specifying the location of the referenced object
-///\param	ref - IN: Reference pointer
-///\param	ref_type - IN: Reference type
-///\exception	H5::ReferenceException
-// Programmer   Binh-Minh Ribler - Oct, 2006
-// Modification
-//	May, 2008
-//		Corrected missing parameters. - BMR
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-void H5Object::dereference(H5Object& obj, const void* ref, H5R_type_t ref_type)
-{
-   hid_t temp_id;
-   try {
-      temp_id = p_dereference(obj.getId(), ref, ref_type);
-   }
-   catch (ReferenceException E) {
-      throw ReferenceException("H5Object::dereference - located by object", E.getDetailMsg());
-   }
-   p_setId(temp_id);
-}
-
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// Function:	H5Object::dereference
-///\brief	Dereferences a reference into an HDF5 object, given an HDF5 file.
-///\param	h5file - IN: HDF5 file specifying the location of the referenced object
-///\param	ref - IN: Reference pointer
-///\param	ref_type - IN: Reference type
-///\exception	H5::ReferenceException
-// Programmer   Binh-Minh Ribler - Oct, 2006
-// Modification
-//	May, 2008
-//		Corrected missing parameters. - BMR
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-void H5Object::dereference(H5File& h5file, const void* ref, H5R_type_t ref_type)
-{
-   hid_t temp_id;
-   try {
-      temp_id = p_dereference(h5file.getId(), ref, ref_type);
-   }
-   catch (ReferenceException E) {
-      throw ReferenceException("H5Object::dereference - located by file", E.getDetailMsg());
-   }
-   p_setId(temp_id);
-}
-
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// Function:	H5Object::dereference
-///\brief	Dereferences a reference into an HDF5 object, given an attribute.
-///\param	attr - IN: Attribute specifying the location of the referenced object
-///\param	ref - IN: Reference pointer
-///\param	ref_type - IN: Reference type
-///\exception	H5::ReferenceException
-// Programmer   Binh-Minh Ribler - Oct, 2006
-// Modification
-//	May, 2008
-//		Corrected missing parameters. - BMR
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-void H5Object::dereference(Attribute& attr, const void* ref, H5R_type_t ref_type)
-{
-   hid_t temp_id;
-   try {
-      temp_id = p_dereference(attr.getId(), ref, ref_type);
-   }
-   catch (ReferenceException E) {
-      throw ReferenceException("H5Object::dereference - located by attribute", E.getDetailMsg());
-   }
-   p_setId(temp_id);
-}
-
-#ifndef H5_NO_DEPRECATED_SYMBOLS
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// Function:    H5Object::p_get_obj_type (protected)
-// Purpose      Retrieves the type of object that an object reference points to.
-// Parameters
-//              ref      - IN: Reference to query
-//              ref_type - IN: Type of reference to query
-// Return       An object type, which can be one of the following:
-//                      H5G_LINK Object is a symbolic link.
-//                      H5G_GROUP Object is a group.
-//                      H5G_DATASET   Object is a dataset.
-//                      H5G_TYPE Object is a named datatype
-// Exception    H5::IdComponentException
-// Programmer   Binh-Minh Ribler - May, 2004
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-H5G_obj_t H5Object::p_get_obj_type(void *ref, H5R_type_t ref_type) const
-{
-   H5G_obj_t obj_type = H5Rget_obj_type1(getId(), ref_type, ref);
-
-   if (obj_type == H5G_UNKNOWN)
-   {
-      throw IdComponentException("", "H5Rget_obj_type failed");
-   }
-   return(obj_type);
-}
-#endif /* H5_NO_DEPRECATED_SYMBOLS */
-
-
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// Function:    H5Object::p_get_region (protected)
-// Purpose      Retrieves a dataspace with the region pointed to selected.
-// Parameters
-//              ref_type - IN: Type of reference to get region of - default
-//                              to H5R_DATASET_REGION
-//              ref      - IN: Reference to get region of
-// Return       Dataspace id
-// Exception    H5::IdComponentException
-// Programmer   Binh-Minh Ribler - May, 2004
-//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-hid_t H5Object::p_get_region(void *ref, H5R_type_t ref_type) const
-{
-   hid_t space_id = H5Rget_region(getId(), ref_type, ref);
-   if (space_id < 0)
-   {
-      throw IdComponentException("", "H5Rget_region failed");
-   }
-   return(space_id);
-}
-
+H5Object::H5Object( const H5Object& original ) : H5Location( original ) {}
 
 //--------------------------------------------------------------------------
 // Function:	H5Object destructor
diff --git a/c++/src/H5Object.h b/c++/src/H5Object.h
index 4ac417b..bfd5e6f 100644
--- a/c++/src/H5Object.h
+++ b/c++/src/H5Object.h
@@ -17,81 +17,29 @@
 #ifndef _H5Object_H
 #define _H5Object_H
 
+#include "H5Location.h"
 #include "H5Classes.h"		// constains forward class declarations
 
 // H5Object is a baseclass.  It has these subclasses:
 // Group, DataSet, and DataType.
 // DataType, in turn, has several specific datatypes as subclasses.
+// Modification:
+//	Sept 18, 2012: Added class H5Location in between IdComponent and
+//		H5Object.  An H5File now inherits from H5Location.  All HDF5
+//		wrappers in H5Object are moved up to H5Location.  H5Object
+//		is left mostly empty for future wrappers that are only for
+//		group, dataset, and named datatype.  Note that the reason for
+//		adding H5Location instead of simply moving H5File to be under
+//		H5Object is H5File is not an HDF5 object, and renaming H5Object
+//		to H5Location will risk breaking user applications.
+//		-BMR
 
 #ifndef H5_NO_NAMESPACE
 namespace H5 {
 #endif
 
-#ifndef DOXYGEN_SHOULD_SKIP_THIS
-class H5_DLLCPP H5Object;  // forward declaration for UserData4Aiterate
-
-// Define the operator function pointer for H5Aiterate().
-typedef void (*attr_operator_t)( H5Object& loc/*in*/,
-				 const H5std_string attr_name/*in*/,
-				 void *operator_data/*in,out*/);
-
-class UserData4Aiterate { // user data for attribute iteration
-   public:
-	attr_operator_t op;
-	void* opData;
-	H5Object* object;
-};
-#endif // DOXYGEN_SHOULD_SKIP_THIS
-
-// The above part is being moved into Iterator, but not completed
-
-class H5_DLLCPP H5Object : public IdComponent {
+class H5_DLLCPP H5Object : public H5Location {
    public:
-	// Creates an attribute for a group, dataset, or named datatype.
-	// PropList is currently not used, so always be default.
-	Attribute createAttribute( const char* name, const DataType& type, const DataSpace& space, const PropList& create_plist = PropList::DEFAULT ) const;
-	Attribute createAttribute( const H5std_string& name, const DataType& type, const DataSpace& space, const PropList& create_plist = PropList::DEFAULT ) const;
-
-	// Opens an attribute given its name.
-	Attribute openAttribute( const char* name ) const;
-	Attribute openAttribute( const H5std_string& name ) const;
-
-	// Opens an attribute given its index.
-	Attribute openAttribute( const unsigned int idx ) const;
-
-	// Flushes all buffers associated with this object to disk
-	void flush( H5F_scope_t scope ) const;
-
-	// Gets the name of the file, in which this HDF5 object belongs.
-	H5std_string getFileName() const;
-
-	// Determines the number of attributes attached to this object.
-	int getNumAttrs() const;
-
-	// Iterate user's function over the attributes of this object
-	int iterateAttrs( attr_operator_t user_op, unsigned* idx = NULL, void* op_data = NULL );
-
-	// Removes the named attribute from this object.
-	void removeAttr( const char* name ) const;
-	void removeAttr( const H5std_string& name ) const;
-
-	// Renames the attribute to a new name.
-	void renameAttr(const char* oldname, const char* newname) const;
-	void renameAttr(const H5std_string& oldname, const H5std_string& newname) const;
-
-	// Creates a reference to a named Hdf5 object or to a dataset region
-	// in this object.
-	void reference(void* ref, const char* name, const DataSpace& dataspace,
-			H5R_type_t ref_type = H5R_DATASET_REGION) const;
-	void reference(void* ref, const char* name) const;
-	void reference(void* ref, const H5std_string& name) const;
-
-	// Open a referenced HDF5 object whose location is specified by either
-	// a file, an HDF5 object, or an attribute.
-	void dereference(H5File& h5file, const void* ref, H5R_type_t ref_type = H5R_OBJECT);
-	void dereference(H5Object& obj, const void* ref, H5R_type_t ref_type = H5R_OBJECT);
-	void dereference(Attribute& attr, const void* ref, H5R_type_t ref_type = H5R_OBJECT);
-
 	// Copy constructor: makes copy of an H5Object object.
 	H5Object(const H5Object& original);
 
@@ -106,23 +54,6 @@ class H5_DLLCPP H5Object : public IdComponent {
 	// Creates a copy of an existing object giving the object id
 	H5Object( const hid_t object_id );
 
-	// Gets the id of the H5 file in which the given object is located.
-	hid_t p_get_file_id();
-
-	// Creates a reference to an HDF5 object or a dataset region.
-	void p_reference(void* ref, const char* name, hid_t space_id, H5R_type_t ref_type) const;
-
-	// Dereferences a ref into an hdf5 id.
-	hid_t p_dereference(hid_t loc_id, const void* ref, H5R_type_t ref_type);
-
-#ifndef H5_NO_DEPRECATED_SYMBOLS
-	// Retrieves the type of object that an object reference points to.
-	H5G_obj_t p_get_obj_type(void *ref, H5R_type_t ref_type) const;
-#endif /* H5_NO_DEPRECATED_SYMBOLS */
-
-	// Retrieves a dataspace with the region pointed to selected.
-	hid_t p_get_region(void *ref, H5R_type_t ref_type) const;
-
 #endif // DOXYGEN_SHOULD_SKIP_THIS
 
 }; /* end class H5Object */
diff --git a/c++/src/H5PredType.h b/c++/src/H5PredType.h
index 9cb1c65..8a04f0c 100644
--- a/c++/src/H5PredType.h
+++ b/c++/src/H5PredType.h
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ namespace H5 {
 
 class H5_DLLCPP PredType : public AtomType {
    public:
-	///\brief Returns this class name
+	///\brief Returns this class name.
 	virtual H5std_string fromClass () const { return("PredType"); }
 
 	// Makes a copy of the predefined type and stores the new
diff --git a/c++/src/H5PropList.h b/c++/src/H5PropList.h
index 5dfa538..7e47b32 100644
--- a/c++/src/H5PropList.h
+++ b/c++/src/H5PropList.h
@@ -94,7 +94,7 @@ class H5_DLLCPP PropList : public IdComponent {
 	void removeProp(const char *name) const;
 	void removeProp(const H5std_string& name) const;
 
-	// Returns this class name
+	///\brief Returns this class name.
 	virtual H5std_string fromClass () const { return("PropList"); }
 
 	// Default constructor: creates a stub PropList object.
diff --git a/c++/src/H5StrType.h b/c++/src/H5StrType.h
index d4a0016..be9fed8 100644
--- a/c++/src/H5StrType.h
+++ b/c++/src/H5StrType.h
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ class H5_DLLCPP StrType : public AtomType {
 	// Defines the storage mechanism for character strings.
 	void setStrpad(H5T_str_t strpad) const;
 
-	// Returns this class name
+	///\brief Returns this class name.
 	virtual H5std_string fromClass () const { return("StrType"); }
 
 	// default constructor
diff --git a/c++/src/H5VarLenType.h b/c++/src/H5VarLenType.h
index 91f653e..0cee219 100644
--- a/c++/src/H5VarLenType.h
+++ b/c++/src/H5VarLenType.h
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ class H5_DLLCPP VarLenType : public DataType {
 	// on the specified base type.
 	VarLenType(const DataType* base_type);
 
-	// Returns this class name
+	///\brief Returns this class name.
 	virtual H5std_string fromClass () const { return("VarLenType"); }
 
 	// Copy constructor: makes copy of the original object.
diff --git a/c++/src/Makefile.am b/c++/src/Makefile.am
index 6278fa0..ec942fd 100644
--- a/c++/src/Makefile.am
+++ b/c++/src/Makefile.am
@@ -40,12 +40,12 @@ bin_SCRIPTS=h5c++
 
 # Source files for the library
 libhdf5_cpp_la_SOURCES=H5Exception.cpp H5IdComponent.cpp H5Library.cpp        \
-        H5Attribute.cpp H5Object.cpp H5PropList.cpp H5FaccProp.cpp            \
-        H5FcreatProp.cpp H5DcreatProp.cpp H5DxferProp.cpp H5DataType.cpp      \
-        H5DataSpace.cpp H5AbstractDs.cpp H5AtomType.cpp H5PredType.cpp        \
-        H5EnumType.cpp H5IntType.cpp H5FloatType.cpp H5StrType.cpp            \
-        H5ArrayType.cpp H5VarLenType.cpp H5CompType.cpp H5DataSet.cpp         \
-        H5CommonFG.cpp H5Group.cpp H5File.cpp
+        H5Attribute.cpp H5Location.cpp H5Object.cpp H5PropList.cpp	      \
+	H5FaccProp.cpp H5FcreatProp.cpp H5DcreatProp.cpp H5DxferProp.cpp      \
+	H5DataType.cpp H5DataSpace.cpp H5AbstractDs.cpp H5AtomType.cpp        \
+	H5PredType.cpp H5EnumType.cpp H5IntType.cpp H5FloatType.cpp           \
+	H5StrType.cpp H5ArrayType.cpp H5VarLenType.cpp H5CompType.cpp         \
+	H5DataSet.cpp H5CommonFG.cpp H5Group.cpp H5File.cpp
 
 # HDF5 C++ library depends on HDF5 Library.
 libhdf5_cpp_la_LIBADD=$(LIBHDF5)
@@ -55,8 +55,9 @@ include_HEADERS=H5Cpp.h H5AbstractDs.h H5AtomType.h H5Attribute.h H5Classes.h \
         H5CommonFG.h H5CompType.h H5DataSet.h H5DataSpace.h H5DataType.h      \
         H5DcreatProp.h H5DxferProp.h H5EnumType.h H5Exception.h H5FaccProp.h  \
         H5FcreatProp.h H5File.h H5FloatType.h H5Group.h H5IdComponent.h       \
-        H5Include.h H5IntType.h H5Library.h H5Object.h H5PredType.h           \
-        H5PropList.h H5StrType.h H5CppDoc.h H5ArrayType.h H5VarLenType.h      
+        H5Include.h H5IntType.h H5Library.h H5Location.h H5Object.h           \
+	H5PredType.h H5PropList.h H5StrType.h H5CppDoc.h H5ArrayType.h        \
+	H5VarLenType.h      
 
 # h5c++ and libhdf5.settings are generated during configure.  Remove only when
 # distclean.
diff --git a/c++/src/Makefile.in b/c++/src/Makefile.in
index 8382deb..7a4d3ee 100644
--- a/c++/src/Makefile.in
+++ b/c++/src/Makefile.in
@@ -120,12 +120,12 @@ am__installdirs = "$(DESTDIR)$(libdir)" "$(DESTDIR)$(bindir)" \
 LTLIBRARIES = $(lib_LTLIBRARIES)
 libhdf5_cpp_la_DEPENDENCIES = $(LIBHDF5)
 am_libhdf5_cpp_la_OBJECTS = H5Exception.lo H5IdComponent.lo \
-	H5Library.lo H5Attribute.lo H5Object.lo H5PropList.lo \
-	H5FaccProp.lo H5FcreatProp.lo H5DcreatProp.lo H5DxferProp.lo \
-	H5DataType.lo H5DataSpace.lo H5AbstractDs.lo H5AtomType.lo \
-	H5PredType.lo H5EnumType.lo H5IntType.lo H5FloatType.lo \
-	H5StrType.lo H5ArrayType.lo H5VarLenType.lo H5CompType.lo \
-	H5DataSet.lo H5CommonFG.lo H5Group.lo H5File.lo
+	H5Library.lo H5Attribute.lo H5Location.lo H5Object.lo \
+	H5PropList.lo H5FaccProp.lo H5FcreatProp.lo H5DcreatProp.lo \
+	H5DxferProp.lo H5DataType.lo H5DataSpace.lo H5AbstractDs.lo \
+	H5AtomType.lo H5PredType.lo H5EnumType.lo H5IntType.lo \
+	H5FloatType.lo H5StrType.lo H5ArrayType.lo H5VarLenType.lo \
+	H5CompType.lo H5DataSet.lo H5CommonFG.lo H5Group.lo H5File.lo
 libhdf5_cpp_la_OBJECTS = $(am_libhdf5_cpp_la_OBJECTS)
 AM_V_lt = $(am__v_lt_@AM_V@)
 am__v_lt_ = $(am__v_lt_@AM_DEFAULT_V@)
@@ -467,7 +467,7 @@ CHECK_CLEANFILES = *.chkexe *.chklog *.clog
 # Add libtool shared library version numbers to the HDF5 library
 # See libtool versioning documentation online.
 LT_VERS_INTERFACE = 6
-LT_VERS_REVISION = 118
+LT_VERS_REVISION = 122
 LT_VERS_AGE = 0
 
 # Include src directory
@@ -482,12 +482,12 @@ bin_SCRIPTS = h5c++
 
 # Source files for the library
 libhdf5_cpp_la_SOURCES = H5Exception.cpp H5IdComponent.cpp H5Library.cpp        \
-        H5Attribute.cpp H5Object.cpp H5PropList.cpp H5FaccProp.cpp            \
-        H5FcreatProp.cpp H5DcreatProp.cpp H5DxferProp.cpp H5DataType.cpp      \
-        H5DataSpace.cpp H5AbstractDs.cpp H5AtomType.cpp H5PredType.cpp        \
-        H5EnumType.cpp H5IntType.cpp H5FloatType.cpp H5StrType.cpp            \
-        H5ArrayType.cpp H5VarLenType.cpp H5CompType.cpp H5DataSet.cpp         \
-        H5CommonFG.cpp H5Group.cpp H5File.cpp
+        H5Attribute.cpp H5Location.cpp H5Object.cpp H5PropList.cpp	      \
+	H5FaccProp.cpp H5FcreatProp.cpp H5DcreatProp.cpp H5DxferProp.cpp      \
+	H5DataType.cpp H5DataSpace.cpp H5AbstractDs.cpp H5AtomType.cpp        \
+	H5PredType.cpp H5EnumType.cpp H5IntType.cpp H5FloatType.cpp           \
+	H5StrType.cpp H5ArrayType.cpp H5VarLenType.cpp H5CompType.cpp         \
+	H5DataSet.cpp H5CommonFG.cpp H5Group.cpp H5File.cpp
 
 
 # HDF5 C++ library depends on HDF5 Library.
@@ -498,8 +498,9 @@ include_HEADERS = H5Cpp.h H5AbstractDs.h H5AtomType.h H5Attribute.h H5Classes.h
         H5CommonFG.h H5CompType.h H5DataSet.h H5DataSpace.h H5DataType.h      \
         H5DcreatProp.h H5DxferProp.h H5EnumType.h H5Exception.h H5FaccProp.h  \
         H5FcreatProp.h H5File.h H5FloatType.h H5Group.h H5IdComponent.h       \
-        H5Include.h H5IntType.h H5Library.h H5Object.h H5PredType.h           \
-        H5PropList.h H5StrType.h H5CppDoc.h H5ArrayType.h H5VarLenType.h      
+        H5Include.h H5IntType.h H5Library.h H5Location.h H5Object.h           \
+	H5PredType.h H5PropList.h H5StrType.h H5CppDoc.h H5ArrayType.h        \
+	H5VarLenType.h      
 
 
 # h5c++ and libhdf5.settings are generated during configure.  Remove only when
@@ -664,6 +665,7 @@ distclean-compile:
 @AMDEP_TRUE@@am__include@ @am__quote@./$(DEPDIR)/H5IdComponent.Plo@am__quote@
 @AMDEP_TRUE@@am__include@ @am__quote@./$(DEPDIR)/H5IntType.Plo@am__quote@
 @AMDEP_TRUE@@am__include@ @am__quote@./$(DEPDIR)/H5Library.Plo@am__quote@
+@AMDEP_TRUE@@am__include@ @am__quote@./$(DEPDIR)/H5Location.Plo@am__quote@
 @AMDEP_TRUE@@am__include@ @am__quote@./$(DEPDIR)/H5Object.Plo@am__quote@
 @AMDEP_TRUE@@am__include@ @am__quote@./$(DEPDIR)/H5PredType.Plo@am__quote@
 @AMDEP_TRUE@@am__include@ @am__quote@./$(DEPDIR)/H5PropList.Plo@am__quote@