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:- Javadoc Tool Reference Page (Solaris, Linux, or Mac OS X)
- Javadoc Tool Reference Page (Microsoft Windows)
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:
- Enhancements in Javadoc, Java SE 8
- Enhancements in Javadoc, Java SE 7
- Enhancements in Javadoc, Java SE 5.0
- Enhancements in Javadoc, Java SE 1.4.2
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.