code: def area(self, by_spec=False):
          
          if by_spec:
              cell_area = {}
              for element in self.elements:
                  element_area = element.area(True)
                  for ll in element_area.keys():
                      if ll in cell_area:
                          cell_area[ll] += element_area[ll]
                      else:
                          cell_area[ll] = element_area[ll]
          else:
              cell_area = 0
              for element in self.elements:
                  cell_area += element.area()
          return cell_area
docs: Calculate the total area of the elements on this cell, including
          cell references and arrays.
  
          Parameters
          ----------
          by_spec : bool
              If ``True``, the return value is a dictionary with the areas
              of each individual pair (layer, datatype).
  
          Returns
          -------
          out : number, dictionary
              Area of this cell.