Here we have given the name of best documentation tools that make your code easy to maintain. This framework is not just for working on any platform but it also works with cloud computing. Documenting a framework can cause some confusion, therefore you need to follow this process to document your code. It is considered a good practice if you want to share the work between your team members in the development environment.
If you are a developer, you must be well aware of the importance of having good documentation. Choosing an appropriate documentation tool is not an easy job. There are a lot of things to take into account especially if you are planning to write production-quality documentation for your project.
Documentation is an important part of software projects. It helps new members to your project to understand the code base and structure. The best documentation allows users to understand most of the code and see how each part interacts with another.
Framework is great handcraft and very important part of application architecture, but when you move forward with it, without documentation (and without strong code conventions) you can kill your perfection in a blink of eye. Unfortunately, the most popular open-source web frameworks have not so good documentation.
What is Software Documentation?
Software documentation is any written document that explains how a piece of software is built, operates, or used. For more complex software, it typically includes a section on general use as well as sections about each of the software’s various functions and features. Documentation comes in many forms, including user tutorials that demonstrate how to perform tasks, printed manuals or books with step-by-step instructions, or knowledge bases and FAQ pages on a company’s website.
Software documentation varies depending on the complexity of the software and the technical knowledge of the audience. For example, it can walk end-users through the basics of a piece of consumer software, assist IT and system administrators with software installation, and help software developers build or update programs.
Types of Software Documentation
There are many types of software documentation, from internal documents only accessible to software developers to user manuals for those who use a piece of software regularly. Two main types of software documentation are developer documentation and software documentation targeted toward the end-user.
Developer Software Documentation
Developers use a specific type of documentation created as part of, or in conjunction with, the software development process. These documents can include release notes that describe features and updates, README files in text documents that offer a brief explanation of the software, system documentation that describes requirements for installation, and API documentation explaining how to integrate and work with an API.
End-User Software Documentation
End-user software documentation provides information about how to install, use, or configure a piece of software. This type of documentation helps people understand how to operate a product. End-user documentation can include user guides, tutorials, troubleshooting manuals, and knowledge bases.
There are areas where the lines blur between different types of software documentation, especially when it comes to technical documentation. An example of this is the minimum system requirements for installing a piece of software. Even though it’s considered a technical document, it falls under end-user documentation because it’s written for software users.
1. Whatfix
Whatfix is a Digital Adoption Platform that allows you to create step-by-step walkthroughs that act as real-time software documentation by guiding employees through your software. If you already have a knowledge base, you can display your documentation in a self-help widget.
Whatfix is redefining how software documentation is displayed and consumed, with new content embedded directly within your software applications in forms such as interactive guidance, contextual walkthroughs, self-help FAQs, popup notifications and beacons, and more. The platform also allows you to measure the usage and effectiveness of your documentation with user analytics.
2. Bit.ai
Bit.ai is a documentation collaboration platform that allows you to manage all of your documents in one place. It allows you to create notes, documents, and wikis, and you can manage your company’s documentation across teams or departments.
3. ProProfs
ProProfs knowledge base software is a knowledge management tool that lets you create searchable online FAQs and help docs. In addition, you can add videos, audio, images, and infographics to your documentation to make your software documentation more interactive and compelling.
4. Dropbox Paper
Dropbox Paper is an online document workspace that lets you organize and display text, media, and files all in one place. It’s a web-based tool, so it’s accessible as long as you have an internet connection. If you’re already a Dropbox user, you can create and edit documents without leaving Dropbox.
5. Tettra
Tettra is a tool for internal company use. It’s a wiki and knowledge management system that lets teams create content other employees can read and comment on. This tool is specifically built to work with Slack and features integrations with several other tools, including GSuite, Microsoft Teams, GitHub, and Zapier.
6. Tallyfy
Tallyfy is workflow and process management software that lets you capture and automate your company’s knowledge. This software offers the ability to see the status of your tasks, and it is built to integrate into many other systems like Slack or Gmail. It also automates the process of tracking document changes.
7. Scribe
Scribe is tool that automatically creates software documentation. It’s a Chrome extension and desktop application that captures a process you complete in a software tool, then turns your actions into instructions and screenshots in seconds.
Users can then modify instructions, edit screenshots, redact sensitive information, and more. Scribes can be shared to select people or teams, or be made available publicly. They can be embedded in a CMS, knowledge base, wiki, help center, or other platforms.
BEST DEVELOPER DOCUMENTATION TOOLS
8. GitHub
GitHub is a cloud-based website and service that stores code and helps developers control and track changes through a version control system called GIT to host and review code. In addition to their repository, they offer GitHub Pages, a website hosting service that takes files directly from a GitHub repository and runs the files through a process that creates a website. This feature gives developers an easy way to create software documentation in plain text or Markdown.
9. Apiary
Apiary by Oracle is a dedicated host for Application Programming Interface (API) documentation that lets you design, prototype, document, and test APIs. One helpful feature is the ability to prototype an API without written code.
10. Read the Docs
Read the Docs is open-source documentation software that helps developers build and host documents. It can also build multiple versions of your documents by creating a separate branch or tag in your version control system, which is helpful for making sure your documents stay up to date.
11. MarkdownPad
MarkdownPad is a full-featured Markdown editor for Windows. This tool allows you to create text-based web content, blog posts, websites, articles, READMEs, and software documentation.
12. Typora
Typora is a simple document reader and writer that provides support for Markdown — a plain text format that’s easy to read and write. This software appeals to developers who want to remove distractions by hiding unwanted elements, like preview windows. It also has a live preview feature to allow you to focus on your content.
13. Doxygen
Doxygen is a top-rated tool for generating documentation from annotated C++ sources, and it supports other programming languages. It can generate online documentation and offline reference manuals from specific source files by extracting information directly from the source, creating continuity between your documentation and source code.
14. ClickUp
Key Features:
- ClickUp provides the features for creating docs, wikis, knowledge bases, etc.
- It has text editing capabilities.
- It allows collaborating with multiplayer editing.
- It provides features for sharing the document and setting the custom permissions.
- To add the comment in the document it has features of highlighting the text.
15. Smartsheet
Key Features:
- With Smartsheet, you get a document management platform that is custom-designed to best cater to your business’s specific needs and demands
- The platform helps users plan, manage, capture and report on work, regardless of where they are.
- The platform provides business teams with a live visual dashboard where they can collaborate with each other on a particular task remotely.
- Users get to report on key metrics and get real-time visibility into their tasks.
- Smartsheet efficiently automates workflows to keep each and every member of the team informed and connected throughout as they work towards completing their tasks on the platform.
16. Teamwork
Key Features:
- Teamwork Spaces offers document management software that comes jam-packed with features that simplify the process of task management.
- The software allows you to edit your tasks in a real-time collaborative environment alongside your team.
- The platform allows you to integrate videos, images, and charts into your documents to make them more engaging.
- You can manage who has access to what parts of the document with the help of advanced permission and user management features.
- The platform also offers a plethora of tools to help users seamlessly collaborate across teams and receive feedback from clients.
17. monday.com
Key Features:
- monday.com is a cloud-based document management software that arms you with all the tools you need to centralize and plan your project from its inception to its eventual conclusion.
- The platform provides you with customizable forms, which you can use to create items in a short span of time.
- It is also very easy to automate project approvals and tasks using monday.com
- The platform also allows you to collaborate with your team members on a document online in real-time. You can chat, assign changes, and tag people or groups onto a document.
- The project dashboard gives you clear insights into your tasks with comprehensive stats, metrics, and insights.
- Also, the data monday.com provides you with about your work in real-time can be leveraged to track, monitor, and eliminate project risks.
18. HubSpot
Features:
- HubSpot Sales Document Management and Sales Tracking Software will be helpful for building a library of sales content for the entire team.
- You will be able to share documents from your Gmail or Outlook inbox.
- It will alert you when the prospects will get engaged with the content sent by you.
- It will provide insights on how the sales content is helpful to move your sales process forward, how often the content is used by the team.
- HubSpot has all-in-one Sales Software with a lot of features like Email Tracking, Email Scheduling, Sales automation, live chat, reporting, etc.
Types of Software Documentation
There are many types of software documentation, from internal documents only accessible to software developers to user manuals for those who use a piece of software regularly. Two main types of software documentation are developer documentation and software documentation targeted toward the end-user.
Developer Software Documentation
Developers use a specific type of documentation created as part of, or in conjunction with, the software development process. These documents can include release notes that describe features and updates, README files in text documents that offer a brief explanation of the software, system documentation that describes requirements for installation, and API documentation explaining how to integrate and work with an API.
End-User Software Documentation
End-user software documentation provides information about how to install, use, or configure a piece of software. This type of documentation helps people understand how to operate a product. End-user documentation can include user guides, tutorials, troubleshooting manuals, and knowledge bases.
There are areas where the lines blur between different types of software documentation, especially when it comes to technical documentation. An example of this is the minimum system requirements for installing a piece of software. Even though it’s considered a technical document, it falls under end-user documentation because it’s written for software users.
Conclusion
Documentation for the framework has the potential to make or break the developer experience. It needs to be clear enough that a developer who has never seen your code before can understand how to use it, but also detailed enough that a seasoned veteran can return to reference a specific concept.
Framework documentation is the most important thing for each and every developer. Framework developers are spending a lot of time on coding rather than writing official documentation so that framework users should be able to understand it properly. However, in reality, framework documents tend to be not helpful enough to learn a framework.