I want to start using XML-Documentation of my code and am desperately searching for an up-to-date (meaning .NET-3.5 SP1) to do so.
I found NDoc, but it only supports .NET-1.1 and that a little bit far away ;-)
Any suggestions?
I really like Doxygen! Nice, clean design, easy to use, not too much overhead. Very nice suggestion, thanks for that!
ApoY2k
2009-11-20 10:25:04
The difference to Sandcastle is that Doxygen reads the source code for documentation, while SandCastle reads the XML generated by the C# compiler (i.e. the C# compiler has already checked the documentation for inconsistencies). Because of that, I don't like Doxygen for .NET, but use it always for C++. However, if you use Doxygen for C#, I still suggest using C# XML document syntax, which is supported fine in Doxygen, just to stay compatible. It may be hard though to get a documentation that resembles VS2008 docs.
OregonGhost
2009-11-20 10:32:17
For now, as I'm only playing around with XML-Docs I think Doxygen is fine for that, as I don't document projects that really need it. As soon as things get commercial and I'm doing projects for customers or internal affairs, I will sure stick to a more "professional" approach. But for now, I just want to see *fast* and *clear* what XML-Doc does what in the end. I'll keep all yous answers in mind though :)
ApoY2k
2009-11-20 10:48:57
There's nothing unprofessional in Doxygen. It's even way faster than Sandcastle, and needs much less memory. Sandcastle is just the intuitive choice for .NET, since it's what Microsoft uses to build the .NET docs :) The HTML Help 2 (not CHM) output, on the other hand, is a must if you ever need to merge your docs with the Visual Studio docs, like many developer products do.
OregonGhost
2009-11-20 10:57:13
I looked into Sandcastle once, saw it and fell back over my chair from complexity... What I mean is that it's not worth it if you're just beginning to learn XML-Doc as such. I don't even understand how to start creating a Doc with Sandcastle...
ApoY2k
2009-11-20 10:58:21
I agree, I thought Sandcastle was overly complex and I ran to Doxygen immediately. But... that was Sandcastle SDK Sandcastle Help File builder is much closer to the Doxygen interface, still not quite as easy but easy enough to use. Just add a source select the output type and click build.
vfilby
2010-01-19 16:44:51
A:
NDOc is available for other versions as well:
see here --> http://www.kynosarges.de/NDoc.html
Bhaskar
2009-11-20 09:38:58
+2
A:
SandCastle is the way to go as Konamiman already suggested, but I suggest using DocProject to do the dirty work (you know, someone has to get dirty typically to build a sand castle). It has VS integration as well.
OregonGhost
2009-11-20 09:41:06