Doxygen – generate documentation from source code

Doxygen is a documentation system for C, C++, Java, Objective-C, Python, IDL and to some extent PHP, C#, and D.

It can generate an on-line class browser (in HTML) and/or an off-line reference manual (in LaTeX) from a set of documented source files.

There is also support for generating man pages and for converting the generated output into Postscript, hyperlinked PDF or compressed HTML. The documentation is extracted directly from the sources.

Key Features

• Supports documentation of files, namespaces, packages, classes, structs, unions, templates, variables, functions, typedefs, enums and defines.
• JavaDoc (1.1), Qt-Doc, and ECMA-334 (C# spec.) compatible.
• Automatically generates class and collaboration diagrams in HTML (as clickable image maps) and LaTeX (as Encapsulated PostScript images).
• Uses the dot tool of the Graphviz tool kit to generate include dependency graphs, collaboration diagrams, call graphs, directory structure graphs, and graphical class hierarchy graphs.
• Flexible comment placement: Put documentation in the header file (before the declaration of an entity), source file (before the definition of an entity) or in a separate file.
• Generates a list of all members of a class (including any inherited members) along with their protection level.
• Outputs documentation in on-line format (HTML and UNIX man page) and off-line format LaTeX and RTF) simultaneously (any of these can be disabled if desired). All formats are optimized for ease of reading.
• Includes a full C preprocessor to allow proper parsing of conditional code fragments and to allow expansion of all or part of macros definitions.
• Automatically detects public, protected and private sections, as well as the Qt specific signal and slots sections. Extraction of private class members is optional.
• Automatically generates references to documented classes, files, namespaces and members. Documentation of global functions, globals variables, typedefs, defines and enumerations is also supported.
• References to base/super classes and inherited/overridden members are generated automatically.
• Includes a fast, rank based search engine to search for strings or words in the class and member documentation.
• Type normal HTML tags in your documentation. Doxygen will convert them to their equivalent LaTeX, RTF, and man-page counterparts automatically.
• Allows references to documentation generated for other projects (or another part of the same project) in a location independent way.
• Allows inclusion of source code examples that are automatically cross-referenced with the documentation.
• Inclusion of undocumented classes is also supported, allowing to quickly learn the structure and interfaces of a (large) piece of code without looking into the implementation details.
• Allows automatic cross-referencing of (documented) entities with their definition in the source code.
• All source code fragments are syntax highlighted for ease of reading.
• Allows inclusion of function/member/class definitions in the documentation.
• Options are read from an easy to edit and (optionally) annotated configuration file.
• Documentation and search engine can be transferred to another location or machine without regenerating the documentation.
• Copes with large projects.

Website: www.doxygen.nl
Support: Documentation
Developer: Dimitri van Heesch
License: GNU General Public License v2.0

Doxygen is written in C++. Learn C++ with our recommended free books and free tutorials.

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