Java source code documentation is represented by JavaDoc projects, which are a collection of HTML pages describing the classes and methods in the code. To generate Javadoc documentation you need a tool from the JDK, javadoc.exe , and comments in the source code written according to strict rules (  ). Because it is more efficient to develop Java projects in a IDE (Integrated Development Environment) as NetBeans or Eclipse , JavaDoc documentation can be automatically generated in all of these development environments.

This topic is part of a Java 6 tutorial accessible from Java 6 Tutorial – Contents.

To show you how to create a JavaDoc documentation in the two IDEs, NetBeans and Eclipse, we consider the following example of a Java class with Javadoc comments:

/**
 * Java class example
 * The class illustrates how to write comments used
 * to generate JavaDoc documentation
 *
 * @author Catalin
 * @version 2.00, 23 Dec 2010
 */
public class MyClass {
    /**
     *
     * Simple method.
     *
     * The method prints a received message on the Console
     *
     * @param message String variable to be printed
     * @see MyClass
     * @deprecated
     * @since version 1.00
     */
    public void MyMethod(String message)
    {
        System.out.printf(message);
    }
 
        /**
     *
     * Simple method example.
     * The method prints a received message on the Console
     *
     * @param message String variable to be printed
     * @since version 1.00
     */
    public void printMessage(String message)
    {
        System.out.printf(message);
    }
     /**
     *
     * Simple method example.
     *
     * The methods adds 2 numbers and return the result
     *
     * @param val1 the first value
     * @param val2 the second value
     * @return sum between val1 and val2
     * @since version 2.00
     */
    public int add(int val1, int val2)
    {
       return val1+val2;
    }
}

How to generate JavaDoc in Netbeans

1. Open the project in NetBeans

2. In Projects panel, open the contextual menu with right-click on project name and select Generate JavaDoc; another solution is to use the menu option Run –> Generate JavaDoc

Generate JavaDoc in NetBeans

3. JavaDoc documentation for this project is automatically generated in the project subfolder dist/javadoc and will look like this Javadoc documentation for the sample Java source code.

How to generate JavaDoc in Eclipse Helios

1. Open the Eclipse project

2. Select Project –> Generate JavaDoc

Generate JavaDoc in Eclipse

3. At first step of the wizard, you can define settings for:

3.1 path for the javadoc.exe tool from the JDK;

3.2 project resources for which to generate JavaDoc;

3.3 classes and methods for which to generate JavaDoc based on their visibility;

3.4 location of the JavaDoc (by default it will be placed in the doc folder in the project location)

Generate JavaDoc in Eclipse - Step 1

4. At second step you can make settings regarding:

4.1 documentation structure;

4.2 JavaDoc tags to be processed;

4.3 other resources(archives, projects) used in project to be included in the documentation;

4.4 another CSS style sheet for the documentation;

Generate JavaDoc in Eclipse - Step 2

5. At the last step you can save the settings in an Ant script for future use.

Generate JavaDoc in Eclipse - Step 3

6. After these setting, the documentation is automatically generated and will have this form: Javadoc documentation for the sample Java source code.

This topic is part of a Java tutorial accessible from Tutorial Java 6 – Contents.