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  • Sandcastle: Generate .NET API Documentation

    Sandcastle is a Microsoft tool used to create MSDN like API documentation by reflecting over the source code assemblies and adding the XML comments included in the code. A new version of Sandcastle has just been released on CodePlex.

  • Rails 2.0 - What's a Newbie to Do?

    Rails 2.0 is out - but some of the standard books and tutorials haven't been updated to this version yet. Trying to learn about Rails with a Rails 1.2 book or tutorial, but running Rails 2.0 is bound to cause some frustration. We look at the best approach to tackle this.

  • Ruby 1.9 released

    Ruby 1.9 has just been released, bringing a host of new features and improvements. Speed improvements come from the new YARV VM, concurrency features were updates with native threading and Fibers, and language changes such as a new Hash literal syntax tighten the language. We take a look at some of the features and where to find information about Ruby 1.9.

  • Why API design matters

    API design affects all developers. Some APIs are a pleasure to work with, others are annoying and yet others are downright frustrating. But what's makes the difference? Which qualities make one API easy to use and another hard? The ACM Queue recently published an article by Michi Henning about API design; an article that analyzes these aspects.

  • Do Agile Methods Require Documentation?

    Some believe that agile methods do not require (or cannot support) documentation of any kind. Ian Cooper examines this belief against the Agile manifesto and against specific agile methods.

  • Writing Maintainable Code

    Sam Gentile, Oren Eini (aka Ayende), and Frans Bouma have an ongoing debate in the .NET community about how to write maintainable code, which several others have joined. The debate mainly focuses on the question, if Test-Driven-Development (TDD), O/R-Mappers (ORM), Model-View-Presenter/Controller (MVP/MVC), and other best-practices help to improve the maintainability of software.

  • Google SoC Series: dcov - Ruby documentation coverage analyzer

    Ruby gains another tool to ensure code quality: dcov analyses Ruby code and determines the documentation coverage. We caught up with dcov developer Jeremy McAnally to talk about his plans.

  • Google SoC Series: Creating RSpec specs for Ruby runtimes

    The number of Ruby implementations grows steadily, but something is missing: a Ruby specification. The behavior of the Ruby language and its standard libraries is defined in the code of the main Ruby implementation. Two Google SoC projects aim to fix this by creating executable RSpec specifications for Ruby. We caught up with Pedro Del Gallego who works on one of these projects.

  • Data Dictionary Creator - Rapid Database Documentation for SQL Server 2005

    Data Dictionary Creator by Jon Galloway allows developers to quickly generate documentation for SQL Server databases.

  • XPe SP2 Feature Pack Whitepaper

    Lynda Allen outlines the components of XPe SP2 Feature Pack. This is the first in a series of whitepapers leading up to the Nov. 1 launch of the Feature Pack.

  • Microsoft Releases MSDN Library as Free Download

    Microsoft has released the MSDN Library as a free public download. The library was previously only available to MSDN subscribers, though most of the information was already available through the MSDN website. The Library is current as of May 2006, and will be updated with future versions for free download.

  • Microsoft to Release NDoc Killer

    According to an MSDN Forums post, Microsft is preparing to release a Community Tech Preview (CTP) of Sandcastle (Documentation Compiler), its answer to NDoc, the open-source generator for documentation from XML code comments.

  • JavaRef.com Ajax-driven Javadoc browsing

    Javaref.com is a new Ajax-driven Javadoc repository the currently includes packages from 85 projects. Java API documentation is displayed in a style that is radically different from the classic javadoc style that generated with JDK. The site itself is built with Tapestry.

  • Minimalism: Creating Manuals People Can Use

    Yes, documentation is not "working software". That being said, a certain amount of documentation is often necessary. But where do we start, to lighten up our documentation processes? JoAnn Hackos' workshop on July 11/12 teaches a disiplined minimalism, allowing teams to leverage structured writing, etc. to create just enough documentation - the right documentation. Almost sounds agile :-)

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