Wiki source for DocumentingCodeHowto
[[WikkaHowto Wikka "Howto" Pages]]
----
=====Code Documentation Tutorial=====
>>==See also:==
~-[[CodingGuidelinesHowto Wikka Coding Guidelines]]
>><<==Table of contents==""<ul>
<li><a href="http://wikkawiki.org/DocumentingCodeHowto#hn_Code_documentation">Code documentation</a></li>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://wikkawiki.org/DocumentingCodeHowto#hn_The_docblock">The docblock</a></li>
<li><a href="http://wikkawiki.org/DocumentingCodeHowto#hn_Element_description">Element description</a></li>
<li><a href="http://wikkawiki.org/DocumentingCodeHowto#hn_Tags">Tags</a></li>
<li><a href="http://wikkawiki.org/DocumentingCodeHowto#hn_Documentable_elements">Documentable elements</a></li>
</ul>
<li><a href="http://wikkawiki.org/DocumentingCodeHowto#hn_Comments_outside_dockblocks">Comments outside docblocks</a></li>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://wikkawiki.org/DocumentingCodeHowto#hn_Single-line_comments_vs._comment_blocks">Single-line comments vs. comment blocks</a></li>
<li><a href="http://wikkawiki.org/DocumentingCodeHowto#hn_End-of-line_comments">End-of-line comments</a></li>
<li><a href="http://wikkawiki.org/DocumentingCodeHowto#hn_Special_markers">Special markers</a></li>
</ul>
</ul>""<<::c::
====Code documentation====
Documentation is essential! Even well-written code is not necessarily self-documenting; there is always some decision-making involved, for instance, in **why** you coded something the way you did, why a particular algorithm is chosen, etc. Such "why" decisions should be documented. Also, pieces of code that need to be **used** by others, such as classes and functions (and in Wikka this includes actions and handlers) need to have their interface documented so others can make use of the functionality without needing to read all the code first. In fact, when starting to write something new, it's a good idea to start with the documentation - and then work that out into code.
It's important that such documentation "travels with" the code, instead of having it externally. That's where comments come in, and specific guidelines for how to write comments for multiple purposes. A tool like [[http://www.phpdoc.org phpDocumentor]] can help to make a user-friendly and cross-referenced documentation for others to use by parsing the code looking for structures like classes and functions and for structured comments, and outputting fully-crossreferenced HTML documentation.
===The docblock===
>>This section uses materials adapted from the phpDoc [[http://manual.phpdoc.org/HTMLframesConverter/DOM/default/phpDocumentor/tutorial_phpDocumentor.howto.pkg.html#basics.docblock manual]]>>Self-documenting code can be created by adding phpDoc **docblocks**. Every //file//, //class//, //function// and - where needed - //constant// or //variable// should be introduced by a docblock.
A docblock is an extended ##""C++""##-style PHP comment that begins with ##**""/**""**## and has an ##**""*""**## at the beginning of every line. Every file contains a main (or //page-level//) docblock, followed by docblocks for specific elements always //preceding// the element they refer to.
%%(php)
/**
* The most basic Wikka function.
*/
function foo()
{
}
%%
A docblock contains three basic segments in this order:
~-Short Description
~-Long Description
~-Tags
===Element description===
The **SHORT DESCRIPTION** starts on the first line of a code block, and can be terminated with a blank line or a period. A period inside a word is ignored. If the Short Description becomes more than three lines long, only the first line is taken. The **LONG DESCRIPTION** continues for as many lines as desired and may contain html markup for display formatting. Here is a sample docblock with a Short and a Long Description:
%%(php)
/**
* Display information about the system Wikka is running on.
*
* Depending on the 'show' parameter, this action displays different types of system information.
* By default it only displays this information to Wikka Admins, this option can be changed by
* setting 'public_sysinfo' to '1' in the Wikka configuration file.
*
* Syntax:
* {{system [show="OS|machine|host"]}}
*
*/
%%
You can optionally use a [[http://manual.phpdoc.org/HTMLframesConverter/DOM/default/phpDocumentor/tutorial_phpDocumentor.howto.pkg.html#basics.desc limited set of HTML elements]] in the Long Description if needed. Long Descriptions can also contain lists like in the following example:
%%(php)
/**
* Simple DocBlock with simple lists
*
* Here's a simple list:
* - item 1
* - item 2, this one
* is multi-line
* - item 3
* end of list. Next list is ordered
* 1 ordered item 1
* 2 ordered item 2
* end of list. This is also ordered:
* 1. ordered item 1
* 2. ordered item 2
*/
%%
===Tags===
The last (and most important) part of a docblock contains **TAGS** that add information on the documented item. Tags are single words prefixed by a ##**@**## symbol.
Wikka recommends the use of a subset of all the tags supported by phpDoc (for the complete list check [[http://manual.phpdoc.org/HTMLframesConverter/DOM/default/phpDocumentor/tutorial_tags.pkg.html this page]]). The following is a list of standard tags used in Wikka:
**@author**
Define the author of current element.
%%
@author Author Name <author@email>
@author {@link http://wikkawiki.org/UserPage Author Name} (further notes)
%%
**@copyright**
Define copyright information for an element.
%%
@copyright Copyright © 2002-2006, Wikka Development Team
%%
**@filesource**
Add a link to the source of the current file. The @filesource tag can only be used in a page-level docblock, it will be ignored anywhere else.
%%
@name PageIndex
@package Actions
@filesource
%%
**@ignore**
Prevent the documentation of an element.
**@internal**
Mark documentation as private, internal to the software project. ##@internal## can be used to facilitate the creation of two sets of documentation, one for advanced developers or for internal use, and the other for the general public.
**@license**
Display a hyperlink to a URL for a license
%%
@license http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html GNU General Public License
%%
**@link**
Display a hyperlink to a URL in the documentation. You may use the ##@link## tag to document any element (include, page, class, function, define, method, variable).
%%
@link sftp://ftp.wikkawiki.org
@link http://wikkawiki.org Wikka Documentation
@link http://wikkawiki.org, http://tracker.wikkawiki.org, http://demo.wikkawiki.org
%%
##{@link URL description}## can also be used as an inline tag anywere in a docblock:
%%
For further information contact the {@link http://wikkawiki.org/CreditsPage Wikka Development Team}
%%
If you want to link to an element's documentation, use the ##@see## tag.
**@name**
Specify an alias to use for a page or global variable in displayed documentation and linking.
%%
@name RecentChanges
%%
**@package**
Specify package to group files and classes.
%%
@package Handlers
%%
Package names for Wikka are: ##3rdParty, Actions, Css, Core, Docs, Formatters, Handlers, Setup, Template##
**@see**
Display a link to the documentation for an element. The ##@see## tag may be used to document any element (global variable, include, page, class, function, define, method, variable) and it accepts an unlimited number of values separated by commas.
%%
@see Wakka
@see Wakka::$foo
@see Wakka::IsAdmin()
@see /css/wikka.css
@see TEST_CONSTANT
@see parent_method()
%%
**@since**
Document when (at which version) an element was first added to a package. If it's part of the Wikka package it should be indicated as ##Wikka version_number##.
%%
@since Wikka 1.1.6.2
%%
**@subpackage**
Specify a sub-package to group classes or functions and defines into. Requires ##@package## tag.
%%
@package Handlers
@subpackage Page
%%
**@todo**
Document changes that will be made in the future. Multiple todo items should be added separately.
%%
@todo add credits;
@todo remove useless whitespace;
%%
**@uses**
Display a link to the documentation for an element, and create a backlink in the other element's documentation. The ##@uses## tag differs from ##@see## in that a return link is added automatically (with the label "used by") in the referred element.
%%
@uses Wakka::IsAdmin()
@uses /libs/Wakka.class.php
@uses parent_method()
@uses ERROR_INVALID_USERNAME
%%
**@version**
Define the version of the current element. This should only be used in page-level docblocks and be set to ##$Id$## to use the SVN Id keyword.
%%
@version $Id$
%%
On top of these standard tags, some other tags are required to document specific elements.
===Documentable elements===
""<!--
%%(php)
/**
* A short description
*
* As many lines of extendend description as you want {@link element}
* links to an element {@link http://www.example.com Example} links to
* a website.
*
* @access public or private
* @author Author Name <author@email>
or
* @author {@link http://wikkawiki.org/UserPage author name} (further notes)
* @copyright name date
* @deprecated description
* @example /path/to/example (include an external example file with syntax highlighting)
* @global type $globalvarname
or
* @global type description of global variable usage in a function
* @ignore
* @internal private information for advanced developers only
* @link URL
* @name Name of the handler/action/formatter, e.g. recentchanges
* @package package name, e.g. Handlers
* @param type [$varname] description
* @return type description
* @see name of another element that can be documented (displays an internal link to the documentation for that element)
* @since Wikka version number
* @subpackage sub package name, e.g. Page (for page handlers)
* @todo item for a todo lisy
* @var type a data type for a class variable
* @version version (will use SVN $Id$)
*/
function foo()
{
// ...
}
%%
-->""
(stub - file/class/function/constant/variable - refer to page with templates)
===""DocBlock"" templates===
""DocBlock"" templates are designed to save typing by applying the same ""DocBlock"" elements to a series of PHP statements, such as a list of private variable declarations. The start element for a ""DocBlock"" template always appears like this:
%%
/**#@+
*
*/
%%
Denote the end of a ""DocBlock"" template using this syntax:
%%
/**#@-*/
%%
Here is an example borrowed from the phpDocumentor docs:
%%
class Bob
{
// beginning of docblock template area
/**#@+
* @access private
* @var string
*/
var $_var1 = 'hello';
var $_var2 = 'my';
var $_var3 = 'name';
/**
* Two words
*/
var $_var4 = 'like strings';
/**#@-*/
var $publicvar = 'Lookee me!';
}
%%
is parsed as if the following ""DocBlock"" elements appeared instead:
%%
class Bob
{
// beginning of docblock template area
/**
* @access private
* @var string
*/
var $_var1 = 'hello';
/**
* @access private
* @var string
*/
var $_var2 = 'my';
/**
* @access private
* @var string
*/
var $_var3 = 'name';
/**
* Two words
* @access private
* @var string
*/
var $_var4 = 'like strings';
var $publicvar = 'Lookee me!';
}
%%
====Comments outside dockblocks====
(stub)
===Single-line comments vs. comment blocks===
(stub)
===End-of-line comments===
(stub)
===Special markers===
(stub - conventions for things like "todo" and "fixme" remarks)
----
CategoryHowto
----
=====Code Documentation Tutorial=====
>>==See also:==
~-[[CodingGuidelinesHowto Wikka Coding Guidelines]]
>><<==Table of contents==""<ul>
<li><a href="http://wikkawiki.org/DocumentingCodeHowto#hn_Code_documentation">Code documentation</a></li>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://wikkawiki.org/DocumentingCodeHowto#hn_The_docblock">The docblock</a></li>
<li><a href="http://wikkawiki.org/DocumentingCodeHowto#hn_Element_description">Element description</a></li>
<li><a href="http://wikkawiki.org/DocumentingCodeHowto#hn_Tags">Tags</a></li>
<li><a href="http://wikkawiki.org/DocumentingCodeHowto#hn_Documentable_elements">Documentable elements</a></li>
</ul>
<li><a href="http://wikkawiki.org/DocumentingCodeHowto#hn_Comments_outside_dockblocks">Comments outside docblocks</a></li>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://wikkawiki.org/DocumentingCodeHowto#hn_Single-line_comments_vs._comment_blocks">Single-line comments vs. comment blocks</a></li>
<li><a href="http://wikkawiki.org/DocumentingCodeHowto#hn_End-of-line_comments">End-of-line comments</a></li>
<li><a href="http://wikkawiki.org/DocumentingCodeHowto#hn_Special_markers">Special markers</a></li>
</ul>
</ul>""<<::c::
====Code documentation====
Documentation is essential! Even well-written code is not necessarily self-documenting; there is always some decision-making involved, for instance, in **why** you coded something the way you did, why a particular algorithm is chosen, etc. Such "why" decisions should be documented. Also, pieces of code that need to be **used** by others, such as classes and functions (and in Wikka this includes actions and handlers) need to have their interface documented so others can make use of the functionality without needing to read all the code first. In fact, when starting to write something new, it's a good idea to start with the documentation - and then work that out into code.
It's important that such documentation "travels with" the code, instead of having it externally. That's where comments come in, and specific guidelines for how to write comments for multiple purposes. A tool like [[http://www.phpdoc.org phpDocumentor]] can help to make a user-friendly and cross-referenced documentation for others to use by parsing the code looking for structures like classes and functions and for structured comments, and outputting fully-crossreferenced HTML documentation.
===The docblock===
>>This section uses materials adapted from the phpDoc [[http://manual.phpdoc.org/HTMLframesConverter/DOM/default/phpDocumentor/tutorial_phpDocumentor.howto.pkg.html#basics.docblock manual]]>>Self-documenting code can be created by adding phpDoc **docblocks**. Every //file//, //class//, //function// and - where needed - //constant// or //variable// should be introduced by a docblock.
A docblock is an extended ##""C++""##-style PHP comment that begins with ##**""/**""**## and has an ##**""*""**## at the beginning of every line. Every file contains a main (or //page-level//) docblock, followed by docblocks for specific elements always //preceding// the element they refer to.
%%(php)
/**
* The most basic Wikka function.
*/
function foo()
{
}
%%
A docblock contains three basic segments in this order:
~-Short Description
~-Long Description
~-Tags
===Element description===
The **SHORT DESCRIPTION** starts on the first line of a code block, and can be terminated with a blank line or a period. A period inside a word is ignored. If the Short Description becomes more than three lines long, only the first line is taken. The **LONG DESCRIPTION** continues for as many lines as desired and may contain html markup for display formatting. Here is a sample docblock with a Short and a Long Description:
%%(php)
/**
* Display information about the system Wikka is running on.
*
* Depending on the 'show' parameter, this action displays different types of system information.
* By default it only displays this information to Wikka Admins, this option can be changed by
* setting 'public_sysinfo' to '1' in the Wikka configuration file.
*
* Syntax:
* {{system [show="OS|machine|host"]}}
*
*/
%%
You can optionally use a [[http://manual.phpdoc.org/HTMLframesConverter/DOM/default/phpDocumentor/tutorial_phpDocumentor.howto.pkg.html#basics.desc limited set of HTML elements]] in the Long Description if needed. Long Descriptions can also contain lists like in the following example:
%%(php)
/**
* Simple DocBlock with simple lists
*
* Here's a simple list:
* - item 1
* - item 2, this one
* is multi-line
* - item 3
* end of list. Next list is ordered
* 1 ordered item 1
* 2 ordered item 2
* end of list. This is also ordered:
* 1. ordered item 1
* 2. ordered item 2
*/
%%
===Tags===
The last (and most important) part of a docblock contains **TAGS** that add information on the documented item. Tags are single words prefixed by a ##**@**## symbol.
Wikka recommends the use of a subset of all the tags supported by phpDoc (for the complete list check [[http://manual.phpdoc.org/HTMLframesConverter/DOM/default/phpDocumentor/tutorial_tags.pkg.html this page]]). The following is a list of standard tags used in Wikka:
**@author**
Define the author of current element.
%%
@author Author Name <author@email>
@author {@link http://wikkawiki.org/UserPage Author Name} (further notes)
%%
**@copyright**
Define copyright information for an element.
%%
@copyright Copyright © 2002-2006, Wikka Development Team
%%
**@filesource**
Add a link to the source of the current file. The @filesource tag can only be used in a page-level docblock, it will be ignored anywhere else.
%%
@name PageIndex
@package Actions
@filesource
%%
**@ignore**
Prevent the documentation of an element.
**@internal**
Mark documentation as private, internal to the software project. ##@internal## can be used to facilitate the creation of two sets of documentation, one for advanced developers or for internal use, and the other for the general public.
**@license**
Display a hyperlink to a URL for a license
%%
@license http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html GNU General Public License
%%
**@link**
Display a hyperlink to a URL in the documentation. You may use the ##@link## tag to document any element (include, page, class, function, define, method, variable).
%%
@link sftp://ftp.wikkawiki.org
@link http://wikkawiki.org Wikka Documentation
@link http://wikkawiki.org, http://tracker.wikkawiki.org, http://demo.wikkawiki.org
%%
##{@link URL description}## can also be used as an inline tag anywere in a docblock:
%%
For further information contact the {@link http://wikkawiki.org/CreditsPage Wikka Development Team}
%%
If you want to link to an element's documentation, use the ##@see## tag.
**@name**
Specify an alias to use for a page or global variable in displayed documentation and linking.
%%
@name RecentChanges
%%
**@package**
Specify package to group files and classes.
%%
@package Handlers
%%
Package names for Wikka are: ##3rdParty, Actions, Css, Core, Docs, Formatters, Handlers, Setup, Template##
**@see**
Display a link to the documentation for an element. The ##@see## tag may be used to document any element (global variable, include, page, class, function, define, method, variable) and it accepts an unlimited number of values separated by commas.
%%
@see Wakka
@see Wakka::$foo
@see Wakka::IsAdmin()
@see /css/wikka.css
@see TEST_CONSTANT
@see parent_method()
%%
**@since**
Document when (at which version) an element was first added to a package. If it's part of the Wikka package it should be indicated as ##Wikka version_number##.
%%
@since Wikka 1.1.6.2
%%
**@subpackage**
Specify a sub-package to group classes or functions and defines into. Requires ##@package## tag.
%%
@package Handlers
@subpackage Page
%%
**@todo**
Document changes that will be made in the future. Multiple todo items should be added separately.
%%
@todo add credits;
@todo remove useless whitespace;
%%
**@uses**
Display a link to the documentation for an element, and create a backlink in the other element's documentation. The ##@uses## tag differs from ##@see## in that a return link is added automatically (with the label "used by") in the referred element.
%%
@uses Wakka::IsAdmin()
@uses /libs/Wakka.class.php
@uses parent_method()
@uses ERROR_INVALID_USERNAME
%%
**@version**
Define the version of the current element. This should only be used in page-level docblocks and be set to ##$Id$## to use the SVN Id keyword.
%%
@version $Id$
%%
On top of these standard tags, some other tags are required to document specific elements.
===Documentable elements===
""<!--
%%(php)
/**
* A short description
*
* As many lines of extendend description as you want {@link element}
* links to an element {@link http://www.example.com Example} links to
* a website.
*
* @access public or private
* @author Author Name <author@email>
or
* @author {@link http://wikkawiki.org/UserPage author name} (further notes)
* @copyright name date
* @deprecated description
* @example /path/to/example (include an external example file with syntax highlighting)
* @global type $globalvarname
or
* @global type description of global variable usage in a function
* @ignore
* @internal private information for advanced developers only
* @link URL
* @name Name of the handler/action/formatter, e.g. recentchanges
* @package package name, e.g. Handlers
* @param type [$varname] description
* @return type description
* @see name of another element that can be documented (displays an internal link to the documentation for that element)
* @since Wikka version number
* @subpackage sub package name, e.g. Page (for page handlers)
* @todo item for a todo lisy
* @var type a data type for a class variable
* @version version (will use SVN $Id$)
*/
function foo()
{
// ...
}
%%
-->""
(stub - file/class/function/constant/variable - refer to page with templates)
===""DocBlock"" templates===
""DocBlock"" templates are designed to save typing by applying the same ""DocBlock"" elements to a series of PHP statements, such as a list of private variable declarations. The start element for a ""DocBlock"" template always appears like this:
%%
/**#@+
*
*/
%%
Denote the end of a ""DocBlock"" template using this syntax:
%%
/**#@-*/
%%
Here is an example borrowed from the phpDocumentor docs:
%%
class Bob
{
// beginning of docblock template area
/**#@+
* @access private
* @var string
*/
var $_var1 = 'hello';
var $_var2 = 'my';
var $_var3 = 'name';
/**
* Two words
*/
var $_var4 = 'like strings';
/**#@-*/
var $publicvar = 'Lookee me!';
}
%%
is parsed as if the following ""DocBlock"" elements appeared instead:
%%
class Bob
{
// beginning of docblock template area
/**
* @access private
* @var string
*/
var $_var1 = 'hello';
/**
* @access private
* @var string
*/
var $_var2 = 'my';
/**
* @access private
* @var string
*/
var $_var3 = 'name';
/**
* Two words
* @access private
* @var string
*/
var $_var4 = 'like strings';
var $publicvar = 'Lookee me!';
}
%%
====Comments outside dockblocks====
(stub)
===Single-line comments vs. comment blocks===
(stub)
===End-of-line comments===
(stub)
===Special markers===
(stub - conventions for things like "todo" and "fixme" remarks)
----
CategoryHowto
