Automatic Code API Documentation Software

[Jdo300]

Hello All,

I have been designing some code libraries for an embedded system that I plan to release soon as an Open-Source software solution for an AVR development board. After finishing the code development (which will probably continue on and on as I add more features), I wanted to start working on documenting the code in some kind of simple help file format that can be sent out with the source code for reference. However, I don't want to have to manually create and maintain the documentation since the code will constantly be updated with new features and so on.

So I started doing some googling around to see what is out there in the way of automatic documentation generators. I have read about quite a few different options but I wanted to know if anyone here has had any experience with such software and if anyone may have any recommendations. Ideally, I was looking to make something that could be compiled into a standard HTML help file with links to different functions and so on. What do you all think?

Thanks,
Jason O

[zacs7]

Certainly, try doxygen.

And documenting the code after you've written it is very poor, in any fashion.

[Jdo300]

Yes I agree. it is always better to do the planning prior to any coding. However, this was a unique case where the resulting application was composed of a hodge-podge of existing code from other odd and end projects. Thanks for the tip.

[jeffcobb]

I second Doxygen. It won't do the whole job "automagically" but it will meet you half-way and turn out pretty decent docs. Basically you have to add file, class, variable and function comments in a certain way and then Doxygen uses that to write docs. That said, it you are on a Linux box, Umbrello can suck in C/C++ source and gen UML diagrams and class relationships of different types...and its free.