annotate DOCS/tech/code-documentation.txt @ 17147:ede872cdaaba

Remove some inactive maintainers.
author diego
date Fri, 09 Dec 2005 10:22:41 +0000
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1 Code documentation guidelines
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2 =============================
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3
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4 About this guide
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5 ----------------
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6
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7 Due to the ever increasing complexity and size of MPlayer it became quite hard
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8 to maintain the code and add new features. Part of this problem is the lack
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9 of proper documentation what the code in question does and how it is doing it.
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10 To tackle this problem every part of MPlayer should follow these guidelines
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11 on what and how code should be documented.
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12
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13
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14 Doxygen
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15 -------
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16
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17 MPlayer uses doxygen for its code documentation. It generates HTML files
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18 which contain specially tagged comment lines from the code including
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19 cross references. To generate it type `make doxygen` in the source root
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20 directory. It will generate the files in DOCS/tech/doxygen. To clear them
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21 again, you can use `make doxygen_clean`.
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22 For further information about doxygen and its sources please have a look
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23 at their website: http://doxygen.sf.net
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24
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25
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26 What should be documented?
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27 --------------------------
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28
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29 - every function, no matter whether it is globally or just locally used
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30 * what the function does
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31 * all parameters and return values of the function and their valid ranges
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32 * all side effects (to passed parameters, globals etc)
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33 * all assumptions made within the function
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34
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35 - global, file local and important variables
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36 * what it is used for
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37 * its valid range
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38 * where it is set (optional)
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39 * where validity checking is done (optional, mandatory for variables which
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40 are set by something external, eg user parameters, file information etc)
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41
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42 - #define, typedefs, structs
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43 * all global definitions
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44 * all local definitions whose use is not imediatly clear by their name
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45 (as a rule of thumb, it's better to document too much than not enough)
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46 * all dependencies
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47
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48 - non-trivial parts of the code
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49 * tricky parts
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50 * important parts
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51 * special side effects
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52 * assumptions of the code
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53 * string operations and why they are safe
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54
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55 - workarounds
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56 * why they are needed
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57 * how they work
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58 * what side effects they have
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59
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60 If you are unsure whether a comment is needed or not, add one.
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61
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62
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63 How should it be documented?
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64 ----------------------------
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65
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66 All comments should be in correct and clear English. Any other language is
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67 not allowed. The language used should be kept simple as the code will be
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68 read mostly by non-native speakers. For function and variable documentation,
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69 a style usable by doxygen should be used. See section 3 "Documenting the code"
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70 of the doxygen manual for an introduction. A very short overview follows:
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71
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72 Doxygen includes only special comments in the documentation, those are:
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73
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74 /// This is a line used by doxygen.
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75
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76 /** this one, too */
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77
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78 /** these
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79 here
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80 of
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81 course,
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82 too */
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83
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84 //! this form can be also used
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85
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86 // This line isn't included in doxygen documentation.
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87
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88 /* Neither is this. */
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89
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90 Doxygen comments should come before the definition:
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91
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92 /** description */
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93 int a_variable;
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94
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95 However, you can use '<' to describe things AFTER they are defined, like this:
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96
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97 int some_var; ///< description
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98 #define foo(x) (x + 2) /**< returns x plus 2 */
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99
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100 There are a couple of special tags for doxygen:
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101
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102 \brief <one line text>
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103 Gives a brief description of a function.
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104 \param <parameter> <text>
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105 Describes a specific <parameter>.
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106 \return <text>
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107 Describes the return value.
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108 \a <word>
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109 Mark next word as a reference to a parameter.
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110 \e <word>
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111 Use italic font for the next word.
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112 \b <word>
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113 Use bold font for the next word.
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114 \c <word>
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115 Use typewriter font for the next word.
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116 \sa <references>
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117 Adds a section with crossreferences.
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118 \bug <text>
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119 Describe a known bug.
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120 \todo <text>
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121 Add a todo list.
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122 \attention <text>
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123 Add a section for something that needs attention.
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124 \warning <text>
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125 Add a section for a warning.
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126 \anchor <refname>
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127 Set an invisible anchor which can be used to create a link with /ref.
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128 \ref <refname> [<text>]
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129 Add a link to <refname>.
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130
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131 For a complete list of tags please read section 20 "Special commands" of the
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132 doxygen manual.
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133
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134