AbstractIn this paper, we introduce a means for presenting fragmented documentation through a concept called documentation threads. A documentation thread presents a number of documentation fragments specified by the programmer and can guide a documentation reader through the fragmented documentation of modern object-oriented software. A tool, DocSewer, that support construction of documentation threads has been build and used to experiment with documentation threads. We have found that the documentation thread concept is promising because it can be used to combine independent documentation and documentation written in CASE tools into a meaningful presentation. Furthermore, we have found a potential use of documentation threads in interface documentation. Even though documentation threads have a conceptual problem, our experiments gives us reason to believe that this problem can be eased.
Categories and Subject Descriptors: D.2.7 [Software Engineering]: Distribution and Maintenance
Additional Key Words and Phrases: program documentation, documentation threads, documentation patterns
Selected references
- Norman Ramsey and Carla Marceau. Literate programming on a team project. Software -- Practice and Experience, 21(7):677-683, July 1991.