Re: API docs for dummies

["Mike O." <obie1121 -at- yahoo -dot- com>]

Mark Lewin wrote:
> I am new to the list and have recently applied for 
> a new role over here in the UK which will require 
> me to write API docs for C programmers. I learnt
> C many moons ago and although I have looked at API 
> docs in the past, I have never had to write any.
> Does anyone know of any resources online that might 
> help? Or any particularly good samples of API documentation 
> I could use as a guide? ...

If I were in your position I'd look for an accessible system with an
existing C API that you can use for an example and also as a testbed.
Open-source would be good in this case so you can run the code as well
as examine the docs. Here's a good example, but you can google for
more:

http://dev.mysql.com/doc/mysql/en/C.html

> I want to knock up a dummy API doc extract to
> show them I can do it!

I'd start with an auto-generating tool like doxygen:
http://www.stack.nl/~dimitri/doxygen/

Try to find a tool that "knows C" and can generate an API skeleton
document without requiring custom tags in the code. Generate a skeleton
document, then for your example choose a section to fill in content. 

Check out these guys for expert advice:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nettechwriters/

Mike O.




		
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