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Subject:Re: Documenting OO Languages (i.e. java & C++) From:Michael Priestley <mpriestley -at- VNET -dot- IBM -dot- COM> Date:Thu, 13 Feb 1997 10:04:27 EST
Jon Steiner <jons -at- li -dot- net> writes:
>Does anyone know of any tools that automatically document C++ code?
>I know that "javadoc" does an incredibly efficient job of breaking Java =
>code down.
What product are you using, and what platforms are you on? I believe
MS Visual C++ includes a utility for generating RTF docs from comments in
header files, similar to javadoc. For IBM's VisualAge for C++ we use an
in-house solution, but it's somewhat available via licensing agreements.
FWIW, none of these tools, javadoc included, provide automatic documentation
in the strict sense. They parse the structure of header files or source
code, and display the structure in an online viewing format (eg HTML or RTF).
Any actual descriptive text is parsed from comments in those files, or
added in some other way. They're invaluable tools for a class library
documenter, but I wouldn't say they automatically document code. No more so
than a C++ browser. Someone still has to type in descriptions at some point.
Quibble quibble.
>Do any tools i.e."literate programming tools" exist for the C++ =
>language?
If this is a separate question, I'm not sure what it means.
Michael Priestley
mpriestley -at- vnet -dot- ibm -dot- com
IBM Open Class - Lead Writer
Disclaimer: speaking on my own behalf, not IBM's.
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