Technologies

Javadoc

Javadoc is a tool provided by Oracle Corporation for generating API documentation in HTML format from Java source code. It is widely used by Java developers to create documentation for their code, making it easier for other developers to understand how to use their classes, methods, and variables.

The primary purpose of Javadoc is to provide a standardized way to document Java code so that it can be easily understood by other developers. Javadoc comments are written in a specific format that includes special tags to describe various aspects of the code, such as the purpose of a class or method, the parameters it accepts, and the values it returns.

One of the key features of Javadoc is its ability to generate documentation automatically from source code. Developers simply need to add Javadoc comments to their code using the correct format, and then run the Javadoc tool to generate HTML documentation. The resulting documentation includes a detailed description of each class, method, and variable, as well as any special annotations or tags that were used in the Javadoc comments.

Javadoc also supports a number of standard tags that can be used to provide additional information in the documentation. For example, the @param tag is used to describe the parameters of a method, the @return tag is used to describe the value that a method returns, and the @throws tag is used to describe the exceptions that a method can throw.

In addition to generating HTML documentation, Javadoc can also be used to generate other types of documentation, such as PDF files or plain text files. This makes it a flexible tool that can be used to create documentation in a variety of formats.

Overall, Javadoc is a powerful tool for documenting Java code. Its ability to automatically generate documentation from source code, along with its support for standard tags and annotations, makes it an invaluable tool for Java developers looking to create clear and concise documentation for their code.