Natural Docs Natural Docs - Open-source, extensible, multi-language documentation generator
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Natural Docs Description

Natural Docs - Open-source, extensible, multi-language documentation generator Natural Docs is an open-source, extensible, multi-language documentation generator. You just have to document your code in a natural syntax that reads like plain English. Natural Docs will then scan your code and build a high-quality HTML documentation out of it.Here are some key features of "Natural Docs":Source Documentation Natural, Readable Syntax:· Natural Docs' syntax is designed to be very natural looking, almost transparent. The comments in the source code read just as easily as the generated documentation. There's virtually no tags littered about. Multiple Languages:· Natural Docs supports nineteen programming languages out of the box, even within the same project. It supports CGI and extensionless files because it can determine their language by their shebang lines. Add Your Own Language:· If your programming language isn't already included with Natural Docs, you can add support for it just by editing a configuration file. Even the most obscure language can have a powerful documentation generator. All or Just Explicit Documentation:· Depending on your level of language support, you can choose between having Natural Docs document everything or only what you documented, which makes it suitable for generating API references. Flexible Keywords:· Natural Docs has many keywords for each of its topic types so you can use whatever's most natural to you. You can also customize the existing ones or add your own. Custom Topics and Indexes:· If you'd like to document some facet of your code that Natural Docs doesn't know about - maybe it's something particular to your language or project - you can create your own topic type and keywords for it. Natural Docs will even build it it's own index. Lists:· Natural Docs offers an abbreviated syntax for documenting large groups of small items, like constants. Each one becomes a linkable symbol as if it had its own topic. Generated OutputAttractive Documentation:· Unlike most generated documentation, Natural Docs' output looks professional by default. There are different styles to choose from, or you can make one yourself. Powerful CSS Structure:· Natural Docs has a powerful, well documented CSS structure that allows full customization. Although the default styles don't always show it off, you can do things like have links to functions be one style and links to classes be another. You can even have browser-specific styles in a single CSS file to work around rendering quirks. Transparently Munged E-Mail Addresses:· E-mail addresses appearing in the documentation look and act like regular e-mail links, but they're transparently munged to avoid spam crawlers. Tooltips Everywhere:· Every link to every documented topic has its summary as a tooltip. Links to functions and variables have their fully formatted protoypes in the tooltips as well. Framed or Unframed HTML:· It's your documentation so it's your choice. You can keep every page be independent and easily linkable, or you can keep the menu in a separate frame for easier navigation. Ignore Prefixes in the Index:· Common prefixes don't have to ruin your indexes. If all your classes start with C, or if you have a bunch of functions that start with COM_, you can have Natural Docs ignore them so CCat, CDog, and CMouse appear in C, D, and M instead of all under C. Program Highly Automated:· Natural Docs detects what parts of your source tree change and will adjust the documentation accordingly. It will automatically maintain and organize the menu if you don't do it yourself. It will automatically rebuild the documentation if command line or configuration file changes require it. Differential Build Process:· Natural Docs only builds the files that have been changed or added since its last run and the files that depend on them, dramatically reducing run time and making it suitable for larger projects. Extensible Architecture:· Natural Docs is designed to be easily extended for different programming languages, topics, and CSS styles, all of which are documented on this site. Intelligent Configuration Files:· Natural Docs detects changes you make to the configuration files and will handle the smaller details itself. They automatically reformat so you can make quick-and-dirty edits and still maintain readability. Project configuration files keep an up-to-date list of the things defined in the main files so you know what you can override without consulting them. Portable:· Natural Docs runs anywhere Perl runs, and that's quite a lot of places. Free and Open:· Natural Docs is licensed under the GPL, so there's no charge and you can fiddle with the source to your heart's delight.

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