phpDocumentor is a documentation generator for PHP applications and libraries. It examines PHP source code and produces API references that describe the structure, interfaces and relationships within a project.
The software extracts information directly from PHP declarations and supplements it with descriptions written in DocBlocks. These specially formatted comments let developers explain parameters, return types, exceptions and other aspects of their code. phpDocumentor can combine the resulting API reference with additional written documentation to provide a fuller account of how a project works.
The application is useful for library maintainers and development teams that need documentation to evolve alongside their PHP codebases. It provides a structured alternative to manually maintaining references for complex object-oriented projects and can be incorporated into automated documentation workflows.
This is free and open source software.
Key Features
- Analyses PHP classes, interfaces, traits, namespaces, methods, functions, properties and constants.
- Processes PHPDoc annotations describing parameters, return values, exceptions, inheritance and other code properties.
- Generates interconnected API references with navigation between related elements.
- Creates UML class diagrams through PlantUML or Graphviz.
- Provides full-text searching, including support for offline documentation.
- Customisable themes and templates provide control over documentation appearance.
- Supports manually written guides and references alongside automatically extracted API information.
- Can report markers such as deprecated functionality, errors and documentation issues.
- Integrates with continuous integration workflows for automated documentation generation.
- Extension mechanisms support additional documentation processing requirements.
Website: github.com/phpDocumentor/phpDocumentor
Support:
Developer: phpDocumentor contributors
License: MIT License
phpDocumentor is written in PHP. Learn PHP with our recommended free books and free tutorials.
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