mat-nav-bar missing example for method updateActiveLinks

[pcnate]

https://github.com/angular/material2/blob/a6c6a58cc4bccddeb87ad71b33a849527e23c462/src/lib/tabs/tab-nav-bar/tab-nav-bar.ts#L118-L123

The docs do not provide any explanation of how to access this method. Tried checking other methods that I have used but nothing works.

<nav mat-tab-nav-bar #tabs>
  <a mat-tab-link *ngFor="let link of links"
    (click)="activelink = link.identifier"
    [active]="activelink === link.identifier"
    [routerLink]="[ './', link.identifier ]"
  >{{ link.title }}</a>
</nav>

Is this this correct?
@ViewChild( 'tabs' ) tabs: MatTabNav;
Even tried this:
@ViewChild( 'MatTabNav' ) tabs: MatTabNav;

I feel like I am missing something important
this.whatshouldthisbe.updateActiveLink( '#tabs' )

As a side note, many other times I feel the source code makes far more sense than the docs do. Do I need to fully understand the source in order to make sense of the docs?

[pcnate]

Also related is the example that uses stackblitz does not work use a routerlink and in trying to add it, things break. I haven't figured out if this was because of outdated dependencies on the stackblitz example or some other issue.