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Program documentaiton

Program documentaiton. Using the Doxygen tool. C# comment styles. The C# compiler recognizes a number of comment styles, including // the rest of the line is a comment /* this is a comment */ /// the rest of the line is a comment, XML style

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Program documentaiton

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  1. Program documentaiton Using the Doxygen tool

  2. C# comment styles • The C# compiler recognizes a number of comment styles, including • // the rest of the line is a comment • /* this is a comment */ • /// the rest of the line is a comment, XML style • The 3-slash comment style is the most interesting.

  3. What to document • All public and protected parts of a program should be documented using /// comments • Private parts are not that important to document since they are only for internal use • Classes • Write a /// comment in front of the class declaration. • Mention class invariants, if any. • Thread safety • Methods • Write a /// comment in from of the method declaration. • Document parameters, returned values, and exceptions thrown

  4. Documenting methods • Document the contract between the method and its callers • Focus on what the method does, not how • The how might change in the future, while the what should remain constant over time • Preconditions • Postconditions • Side effects • Thread safety

  5. Tags for documentation comments • The 3-slash comments can include some special tags, like • <summary>description of class or method</summary> • <param name=“theParametersname”>description</param> • <returns>description</returns> • <exceptioncref=“exceptionClass”>description</exception> • <value>property description</value> • Properties should have summary + value • <c>text</c>, code, single word • <code>text</code> code, multiple lines • http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/5ast78ax.aspx

  6. Assistance from Visual Studio • Visual Studio can help you write 3-slash comments for methods. • In front of the method write the 3 slashes and press ‘return’ • Visual Studio will now generate a comment template to document parameters, return values, etc. • This is a template! You have to fill out the template!!

  7. Doxygen • Doxygen is a tool to extract comments, declarations, etc. from C# files and generate HTML pages. • Doxygen can be used with other languages than C#. • Doxygen can has other output formats than HTML • Doxygen can be run from the from the command line • Doxygen comes in a free and a paid edition • http://www.stack.nl/~dimitri/doxygen/index.html

  8. Doxygen XML commands • Doxygenrecognices the standard tags for documentation comments and adds at least one extra commands • <inheritdoc> insert the documentation from the base class method • http://www.stack.nl/~dimitri/doxygen/manual/xmlcmds.html

  9. Doxygen configuration scripts • To run Doxygen on more than the very simple cases you must make a configuration file • Syntax is MAKE like • ComandLine:>doxygenconfFile • Doxygen comes with a wizard that can help make a configuration file • Doxywizard • Go through the wizard, press “save” and you have a configuration file

  10. Other special comments: TODO and HACK • Visual Studio recognizes a few other special comments, like • // TODO some comment • // HACK some comment • Note: 2 slashes, not 3 slashes • Theses special comments can be viewed in Visual Studio • Menu View -> Task List • Use for internal developer comments • Reference • http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/vstudio/zce12xx2(v=vs.100).aspx

  11. Technical writers vs. programmers • Programmers are supposed to writhe the program code and the comments • Programmers are usually better writing code than comments. • Some companies employ technical writers who write program documentation • Comments in the source code • Reference documentation • User manuals • Tutorials • etc.

  12. References and further reading • MSDN Recommended Tags for Documentation Comments • http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/5ast78ax.aspx • Doxygen • http://www.stack.nl/~dimitri/doxygen/index.html

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