Javadoc Technology

Javadoc is a tool that parses the declarations and documentation comments in a set of source files and produces a set of HTML pages describing the classes, interfaces, constructors, methods, and fields.

You can use a Javadoc doclet to customize Javadoc output. A doclet is a program written with the Doclet API that specifies the content and format of the output to be generated by the tool. You can write a doclet to generate any kind of text file output, such as HTML, SGML, XML, RTF, and MIF. Oracle provides a standard doclet for generating HTML-format API documentation. Doclets can also be used to perform special tasks not related to producing API documentation.

A taglet is a program that allows you to create and use custom tags that are more flexible than custom tags created with the -tag option. A custom tag is used by a doclet to format and display text from a Javadoc tag. A taglet must implement the taglet interface.

API Specifications

The following are APIs related to Javadocs:

  • Doclet API - The com.sun.javadoc package contains the Doclet API.
  • Taglet API - The com.sun.tools.doclets.Taglet class contains the Taglet API.
  • Doctree API - The package com.sun.source.doctree contains the Doctree API. This API enables you to traverse Javadoc comments as abstract syntax trees.
  • Javadoc Access API - The package javax.tools contains the Javadoc Access API. This API enables you to invoke the Javadoc tool directly from a Java application without executing a new process.

Tools

The following pages list all Javadoc tags and command-line options for running the Javadoc tool, with examples for the Solaris and Microsoft Windows operating systems:

Tutorials and Programmer's Guides

This section contains tutorials and guides for Javadoc APIs:

  • Doclet Overview - This introduction to standard doclets includes simple examples that illustrate the Doclet API.
  • Running the Standard Doclet - This doclet produces the default HTML-formatted API documentation. Javadoc uses the standard doclet if no other doclet is specified with the Javadoc -doclet option.
  • Transitioning to the 5.0 Doclet API - This document provides tips to extend legacy doclets to support 5.0 new language features.
  • Taglet Overview - This introduction to taglets includes simple examples that illustrate the Taglet API.

API Enhancements

The following lists features and enhancements for Javadoc in given releases:

More Information

For more information visit the following:

  • Deprecation in an API - Learn what deprecated APIs are and how to deprecate APIs in the documentation generated by the Javadoc tool.
  • Javadoc FAQ - Review important tips and workarounds for bugs.
  • Javadoc Forum - Enter into discussions with fellow developers. This forum is monitored only occasionally by the Javadoc team.
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