Calling this method should never be necessary. It is called whenever the size of the Array is changed.
The current alias design is flawed. It is impossible to map this onto the XML implementation where the DAS and DDS information are combined in one object.
Use value() in the leaf classes.
Use set_value() in the leaf classes.
This method is deprecated because it tries first to use exact_match and, if that fails, then tries leaf_match. It's better to use the alternate form of var(...) and specify exactly what you'd like to do.