Code documentation is like a road map for a software project. It describes what the code does, how it does it, and why it does it that way. It helps developers understand the code, its dependencies, and its workflow.
When we talk about code documentation, we don’t just mean comments in the code. It also includes administrator and developer guides, API documentation, and system documentation. It can be both internal (for the team) and external (for the end users). Documentation is an essential part of the software development cycle, and yet it’s often neglected or seen as a burden.
The primary purpose of code documentation is to explain the purpose and functionality of the code to other developers. It also serves as a reference for future development and maintenance, both for your future self and for other developers who will work on the code.
One of the main benefits of code documentation is that it makes onboarding new team members easier. When a new developer joins a project, they can spend days or even weeks trying to understand the codebase. Good documentation can cut this time down dramatically.
New team members can quickly get up to speed with the project’s structure, design decisions, and coding standards. It also helps them understand their roles and responsibilities in the project. Code documentation provides a quick and easy way for them to familiarize themselves with the project and start contributing faster.
Code documentation is also crucial for maintaining and debugging the software. It’s not uncommon for a developer to spend hours debugging a problem that could have been solved in minutes with better documentation.
Well-documented code provides clear and concise explanations of the code’s functionality, making it easier to locate and fix bugs. It also helps to prevent the introduction of new bugs during maintenance. By understanding the code’s inner workings, developers can make changes without disrupting existing functionality.
In an agile environment, where changes are frequent and a codebase evolves continuously, documentation plays a key role. It helps keep track of changes and ensure that everyone on the team is on the same page.
Documentation in an agile environment needs to be concise, clear, and up-to-date. It should provide a quick overview of the code’s functionality, its dependencies, and any changes made in recent iterations. This allows the team to work in sync and move forward at a rapid pace.
Code documentation is not just about explaining the code; it’s also about enhancing collaboration between developers. It provides a common language for discussing the code and making collective decisions and fosters knowledge sharing.
Here are the main types of code documentation:
Here’s how code documentation is typically done in some of the most popular programming languages:
Java is one of the most widely used programming languages and follows a strict syntax that lends itself well to detailed documentation. The JavaDoc Tool is commonly used for generating API documentation in HTML format from Java source code. JavaDoc comments, beginning with /** and ending with */, are used to document classes, methods, and fields.
Java documentation also includes annotations, which provide metadata about the code. These annotations can be used by the compiler or other tools to generate additional code, perform validations, or produce documentation. JavaDoc tags like@param, @return, and @throws are used to describe method parameters, return values, and exceptions respectively.
Python developers enjoy the simplicity and readability of the language. The Python community believes in making code highly readable, and even self-explanatory. Python uses docstrings for documentation that are written within triple quotes ”’ enabling multiline comments.
Python docstrings can be written in various formats such as the reStructuredText (reST) and Google style. Docstrings are not only used for documentation but also for automated testing and API documentation. Tools like Sphinx can extract these docstrings to create comprehensive documentation.
In the world of JavaScript, JSDoc is a popular tool for generating API documentation. Similar to JavaDoc in Java, JSDoc uses tags and type annotations in comments to document functions, variables, classes, and more.
The main advantage of JSDoc is its flexibility. It supports custom tags, allowing developers to adapt the documentation to the specific needs of their project. Additionally, modern JavaScript frameworks like Vue and React have their own ways of documenting components, making it easier for developers to maintain and refactor code.
C# uses XML documentation comments, which start with /// or /**. These comments are used to generate XML files that can be used by the compiler, the integrated development environment (IDE), or other tools to provide IntelliSense or to generate API documentation.
C# documentation comments also support various tags for describing different parts of the code. For instance, the summarytag provides a brief description of a type or a member, the paramtag describes a method parameter, and the returnstag describes the return value of a method.
Here are a few key features of modern documentation tools:
Language support is the most basic requirement for a code documentation tool. The tool should understand the syntax and semantics of the programming language you are using. It should also support the specific features of the language, such as annotations in Java or decorators in Python.
Automatic documentation generation can save a lot of time and effort. The tool should be able to parse the source code and generate documentation based on comments, annotations, and other metadata. It should also be able to update the documentation automatically when the source code changes.
Every project has unique documentation needs. Therefore, the tool should be customizable and extensible. It should allow you to define custom tags, formats, and templates. It should also support plugins or extensions to add additional functionality.
Integration with development environments can significantly improve the documentation workflow. The tool should integrate seamlessly with your preferred IDE or text editor. It should provide features such as syntax highlighting, autocompletion, and error checking for documentation comments.
Collaboration features are important for team projects. The tool should support version control systems, allow multiple authors, and provide features for reviewing and approving changes. It should also support different output formats for sharing the documentation with other stakeholders.
The concept of documentation as code is becoming increasingly popular in the software development community. It treats documentation with the same level of importance as code. The documentation resides in the source code repository, undergoes the same version control processes, and is subject to code reviews. This approach ensures that the documentation is always up-to-date with the code and that all team members are involved in maintaining it.
Despite the importance of code documentation, it’s often neglected and raises serious challenges for many development teams.
In software development teams, time is a precious commodity. Traditional code documentation is a time-consuming process, requiring developers to meticulously write down the functionality of their code. This process takes away valuable development time that could otherwise be used to write new code or improve existing code.
Moreover, the task of documentation isn’t a one-time process. Every time the code is modified, the corresponding document must also be updated. This constant cycle of writing and rewriting documentation puts a significant strain on the development resources, both in terms of time and manpower.
Code documentation isn’t static — it grows and evolves with the code. Every change, every bug fix, and every feature addition must be reflected in the documentation. Ignoring these updates can lead to outdated or misleading documentation, which can confuse future developers who might rely on it to understand the code’s functionality.
However, keeping up with these changes is easier said than done. In a fast-paced environment where code changes on a daily basis, updating documentation consistently can be a daunting task.
Despite the considerable time and effort invested in traditional code documentation, it seldom provides a comprehensive understanding of the code. It’s difficult, if not impossible, to capture
every nuance and every decision behind the codebase, and some of these nuances might be critical for future work on the code.
Furthermore, code documentation often focuses solely on the what aspect (i.e., what a specific piece of code does). The why aspect (i.e., why a certain approach was chosen over others, or why a specific bug fix was implemented in a certain way) often gets lost in the documentation process. This lack of comprehensive knowledge can pose significant challenges during code refactoring.
Large development teams can’t function effectively unless everyone commits to writing thorough documentation. The problem is that most developers would rather be writing code than documenting it.
Tabnine is an AI coding assistant that makes generating documentation easy. Simply highlight the code you want to document, and then ask Tabnine through the chat window to create documentation. With local and global context awareness enabled, Tabnine will generate documentation that’s in alignment with your coding standards and formatting.
Tabnine utilizes a large language model (LLM) trained on reputable open source code with permissive licenses, StackOverflow Q&A, and even your entire codebase (Enterprise feature), while ensuring all of your intellectual property remains protected and private. This means it generates more relevant, higher quality, and more secure code than other tools on the market.
Tabnine Chat, offered as part of the Tabnine platform, integrates with your IDE and can help you generate comprehensive and accurate code documentation with low effort.
Get a 90-day free trial of Tabnine Pro today, or talk to a product expert.
Code documentation tools enable developers to generate and maintain documentation. They’re an indispensable part of the software development process, providing clear explanations of a codebase and its functionality. These tools are designed to streamline the process of documenting code, saving time, reducing errors, and enhancing the maintainability of software projects.
Good code documentation outlines what the code does, how it does it, and why it was programmed in a particular way. Documenting large codebases can be a challenging task, and code documentation tools help by standardizing and automating many parts of the process.
Tabnine is the AI coding assistant tailored to you and your teams, and that works within the IDEs you already use. Tabnine eliminates mundane tasks so you can focus on the things on more interesting and more valuable work. Beyond code generation, Tabnine also helps developers by answering coding questions, explaining syntax and structure, and can even be used to teach new languages. Tabnine can automatically generate documentation for selected pieces of code, saving time for developers and improving the maintainability of the code in the future.
Tabnine integrates with your integrated development environment (IDE). As you type in your IDE, Tabnine analyzes the code and comments, predicting the most likely next steps and offering them as suggestions for you to accept or reject.
Tabnine utilizes an LLM trained on reputable open source code with permissive licenses, StackOverflow Q&A, and even your entire codebase (Enterprise feature). This means it generates more relevant, higher quality, and more secure code than other tools on the market.
Tabnine has recently released Tabnine Chat, which is an AI assistant trained on your entire codebase, safe open source code, and every StackOverflow Q&A, while ensuring all of your intellectual property remains protected and private. Tabnine Chat integrates with your IDE and can help you generate comprehensive and accurate code documentation with low effort.
In addition, Tabnine offers Enterprise-grade security, privacy, hosting, and additional capabilities. Get Tabnine today for free.
Nuclino is a collaborative workspace that allows you to create, share, and organize code documentation with ease.
Nuclino lets you invite your team members to collaborate on a document, and any changes they make will be immediately visible to everyone. It has an intuitive interface with a minimal learning curve.
Source: Nuclino
Nuclino lets you create and organize your documents visually and easily link related documents together for easy navigation. Lastly, it offers a powerful full-text search function that allows developers to quickly find the information they need.
Document360 is another excellent tool for code documentation. It’s a knowledge base platform that can manage the full process of creating, managing, and sharing code documentation.
Source: Document360
Document360 provides an editor that supports Markdown, which is a straightforward and efficient way of writing code documentation. It also offers a rich text editor. All documents have a full version history, meaning you can easily track changes made to your code documentation, which is a crucial feature when you’re working with a team.
In addition, Document360 provides a robust search function, allowing developers to find the information you need. It searches both the content of your documents and their metadata.
Confluence is a collaboration tool developed by Atlassian. It’s designed to help teams work together more efficiently and is often used for code documentation.
Source: Atlassian
Confluence is often used as part of a DevOps toolset, and integrates with other Atlassian products like JIRA, which can be a significant advantage if these tools are already part of your workflow.
Confluence also offers a wide range of templates that can help you get started with your code documentation. It also supports Wiki Markup, a text-based format that’s similar to Markdown. Another key feature is the use of labels, which can help you organize your code documentation in a way that makes sense to you.
GitBook is a documentation tool that’s been designed with developers in mind. GitBook features a Markdown editor, which is useful for code documentation. It also supports the use of diagrams, which can be a great way to visually represent complex concepts or processes.
Source: GitBook
An important feature of GitBook is its versioning capabilities, which let you track changes made to your code documentation. It also integrates seamlessly with GitHub, GitLab, and other development tools so you can sync your documentation with your code, ensuring that they remain consistent with each other.
Apiary is a code documentation tool that’s specifically designed for API documentation. It has a powerful editor that supports both Markdown and API Blueprint, a high-level API description language.
Source: Apiary
A unique feature of Apiary is interactive documentation. It allows you to interact with an API directly from your documentation, which can be a great way to demonstrate how your API works. Apiary also provides collaboration features — you can invite your team members to collaborate on your documentation, and their changes are immediately visible.
Scribe makes it easy to document code by generating helpful, human-readable documentation automatically from comments in your codebase. You only need to write your comments in a specific format, and Scribe will do the rest. Scribe supports a variety of languages, including PHP, Python, and Java.
Source: Scribe
Like Apiary, Scribe lets you generate interactive documentation. Users can not only read your documentation but also try out your API directly from the generated documentation.
Read the Docs is another popular choice for code documentation. This tool is particularly well-suited for teams working on open source projects, thanks to its integration with version control systems like Git, Mercurial, and Subversion.
Source: Read The Docs
Read the Docs is more than a documentation generator — it’s a complete platform that hosts your documentation, making it accessible for anyone on the internet. It also supports multiple versions of your documentation, allowing users to switch between different versions of your project effortlessly.
An important feature of Read the Docs is its support for Sphinx and reStructuredText. These tools allow you to create complex, professional-looking documentation. In addition, it supports standard Markdown format.
Given the challenges of traditional code documentation, recent advances in generative AI can be a big help to development teams. Tabnine is an AI coding assistant that can predict and generate code completions in real time, and can also automatically generate relevant, context-sensitive documentation.
Large development teams can’t function effectively unless everyone commits to writing thorough documentation, the thing is most developers would rather be writing code than documenting it. Tabnine makes generating documentation easy. Simply highlight the code you want to document, and then ask Tabnine through your chat window to create documentation. With local and global context awareness enabled Tabnine will generate documentation that’s in alignment with your coding standards and formatting.
Get a 90-day free trial of Tabnine Pro today or talk to a product expert.
What is documentation as code?
Documentation as code (DaC) is a development philosophy that treats software documentation with the same respect and attention as software code. Just like code, documentation is written in plain text, stored in version control systems, and subject to the same rigorous review and testing processes.
DaC leverages the same tools and workflows that developers use for writing and maintaining software code. The goal is to improve the quality, accuracy, and usability of documentation by adopting the principles of modern software development. In essence, it’s about bringing the power of version control, automated testing, and continuous integration to the realm of software documentation.
This is part of a series of articles about code documentation.
Treating documentation with the same rigor as code
Documentation as code places documentation at the same level of importance as the code itself. This means that documentation should be written, reviewed, updated, and maintained with the same intensity and commitment as the software code. Just like code, documentation errors can lead to misinformation, confusion, and ultimately, lower product quality.
Storing documentation in version control
One of the key principles of documentation as code is the storage of documentation in version control systems, just like code. This allows for tracking changes over time, easy collaboration among team members, and the ability to revert to previous versions of the documentation if needed. Storing documentation in version control also ensures that the documentation always reflects the current state of the project.
Automation of documentation generation and deployment
Automation is a cornerstone of modern software development, and documentation should be no exception. By automating the process of documentation generation and deployment, teams can ensure that the documentation is always up-to-date and available for users. This not only reduces the manual effort required to maintain the documentation, but also ensures that users always have access to the latest information.
Peer review processes for documentation updates
Just like code, updates to the documentation should be subject to peer review. This ensures that the documentation is accurate, consistent, and easy to understand. It also helps to catch errors and inconsistencies before they make their way into the final product.
Learn more in our detailed guide to code documentation tools (coming soon).
Here are the key benefits of DaC for development organizations:
Improved consistency and accuracy
By treating documentation with the same rigor as code, teams can ensure that their documentation is consistent and accurate. This means that users can trust the documentation to provide reliable and up-to-date information about the software.
Collaboration and iterative improvement
DaC promotes collaboration among team members. By storing documentation in version control systems, teams can easily collaborate on the creation and maintenance of documentation. This fosters an environment of iterative improvement, where the documentation is continuously updated and refined based on feedback and changes in the software.
Flexibility in documentation formats and platforms
One of the key benefits of DaC is its flexibility in terms of documentation formats and platforms. Because the documentation is written in plain text, it can easily be converted into various formats such as HTML, PDF, or Markdown. This also allows for easy integration with various documentation platforms.
Integration with CI/CD pipelines
DaC fits seamlessly into modern CI/CD pipelines. With automation in place, documentation can be generated and deployed automatically as part of the software release process. This ensures that the documentation is always in sync with the latest version of the software.
Here are the main stages of the DaC workflow:
Plain text authoring
DaC starts with transitioning documentation to a simple, plain text format. This way, you can use any text editor to create or modify the documentation. Plain text is universal and doesn’t require any specific software to read or write, making it accessible to everyone.
Plain text files can be easily version controlled, diffed, and merged. They’re also platform independent and can be opened on any operating system without worrying about compatibility issues.
Using markup languages like Markdown or reStructuredText is beneficial. These languages allow you to format your text, making it more readable and organized. They also support conversion to other formats like HTML or PDF, allowing you to publish your documentation in various formats.
Source control
The use of source control systems like Git for documentation provides numerous benefits including versioning, collaboration, and traceability.
Version control allows you to track changes, maintain multiple versions, and even revert changes if necessary. This is particularly useful when you are working with a team of developers, as it allows everyone to work on the documentation simultaneously without any conflicts.
Moreover, traceability is another critical benefit that source control provides. With it, you can link your documentation to your code, making it easier to understand the relationship and dependencies between them.
Publishing
Once your documentation is written and versioned, it needs to be published so that it can be accessed by your users. This can be done through various channels like a dedicated documentation website, GitHub wiki, or even directly from your source code repository.
Publishing your documentation is not just about making it accessible, but also about making it easy to navigate and search. A well-structured documentation site allows your users to find the information they need quickly and easily. It also provides a platform for feedback, enabling you to continuously improve your documentation based on your users’ needs and experiences.
Automation
The final stage in the workflow of documentation as code is automation. Automation involves using tools to automatically generate, update, and publish your documentation. This not only saves you time and effort but also ensures consistency and accuracy.
Automation can be achieved through various tools and frameworks like Jekyll, Sphinx, or MkDocs. These tools integrate with your source control and can automatically generate your documentation every time you commit changes to your repository.
Here are a few best practices that can help you make the most of DaC workflows.
Maintaining documentation modularity
Modularity involves breaking down your documentation into smaller, self-contained units. This makes it easier to write, maintain, and navigate your documentation.
Modularity also aids in collaboration. Different team members can work on different modules without stepping on each other’s toes. It also makes it easier to track changes and understand the impact of a change in one module on the rest of the documentation.
Continuous integration of documentation
Continuous integration (CI) of documentation involves integrating your documentation with your CI pipeline, ensuring that it is always up-to-date with your code.
CI of documentation helps prevent outdated or inaccurate documentation. It ensures that your documentation is always in sync with your code, providing your users with the most accurate and current information.
Frequent updates and reviews
Just like code, documentation needs to be continually updated and reviewed to ensure accuracy and relevance. Regularly updating your documentation ensures that it reflects the current state of your code. Regular reviews, on the other hand, help catch errors, inconsistencies, and areas of improvement.
While DaC practices can be very beneficial, the documentation as code pattern does not solve the major problem of code documentation — it takes time. Even if documentation is stored in plain text files and efficiently managed, someone still needs to write it. Let’s review some of the key challenges of code documentation, which are not alleviated by DaC workflows.
Code documentation uses valuable development resources
The first challenge that many developers encounter with traditional code documentation is the significant amount of time and resources it consumes. In most cases, code documentation is a manual process that requires developers to pause their coding activities and dedicate substantial time to write, structure, and review their code documentation.
This process is not only time-consuming but also diverts attention away from the core development activities. It’s like asking a chef to stop cooking and start documenting each ingredient, cooking step, and the rationale behind their culinary choices. This would waste time chefs could use on their creative work.
Code documentation must be frequently updated
As the codebase evolves, changes must be reflected in the documentation. However, with the rapid pace of software development, keeping documentation up-to-date can be a daunting task.
As development teams implement new features, fix bugs, and refactor code, the associated documentation must be updated accordingly. This constant need for updates can quickly turn into a documentation nightmare, either wasting resources or leading to outdated or incorrect information that can mislead stakeholders.
Code documentation is rarely comprehensive
Finally, traditional code documentation is often incomplete or lacks depth. This issue arises because, in the rush of agile development pipelines, documentation is often deprioritized or hastily written. As a result, crucial details might be omitted, and entire components might lack documentation, leading to a lack of clarity and understanding for anyone trying to comprehend the codebase.
Moreover, not all developers are good at or enjoy writing extensive documentation. Sometimes, developers might write a brief, cryptic explanation that makes sense to them but may be difficult for others to understand. Consequently, the code documentation fails to serve its purpose of enhancing code readability and maintainability.
Given the challenges of traditional code documentation, recent advances in generative AI can be a big help to development teams. Tabnine is an AI coding assistant that can predict and generate code completions in real time, and can also automatically generate relevant, context-sensitive documentation.
Tabnine integrates with your integrated development environment (IDE). As you type in your IDE, Tabnine analyzes the code and comments, predicting the most likely next steps and offering them as suggestions for you to accept or reject.
Tabnine utilizes a large language model (LLM) trained on reputable open source code with permissive licenses, StackOverflow Q&A, and even your entire codebase (Enterprise feature). This means it generates more relevant, higher quality, and more secure code than other tools on the market.
Tabnine has recently released Tabnine Chat, which is an AI coding assistant trained on your entire codebase, safe open source code, and every StackOverflow Q&A, while ensuring all of your intellectual property remains protected and private. Tabnine Chat integrates with your IDE and can help you generate comprehensive and accurate code documentation with low effort.
Here are a few examples showing how Tabnine can be used to generate code documentation:
Large development teams can’t function effectively unless everyone commits to writing thorough documentation, the thing is most developers would rather be writing code than documenting it. Tabnine makes generating documentation easy. Simply highlight the code you want to document, and then ask Tabnine through your chat window to create documentation. With local and global context awareness enabled Tabnine will generate documentation that’s in alignment with your coding standards and formatting.
Get a 90-day free trial of Tabnine Pro today or talk to a product expert.
