YARD - Detailed Review

Here are some frequently asked questions about YARD, a Ruby documentation tool, along with detailed responses:

Q: What is YARD and what is it used for?

YARD is a documentation generation tool specifically for the Ruby programming language. It helps developers generate consistent, usable documentation that can be exported to various formats. YARD is designed to make documenting Ruby code more efficient and organized.

Q: How do I install YARD?

To install YARD, you can use RubyGems. Simply run the command $ gem install yard in your terminal. This will install YARD and make it available for use.

Q: What are some of the key features of YARD?

YARD has several notable features:

• Yardoc Meta-tag Formatting: YARD uses a ‘@tag’ style definition syntax for meta tags, similar to Python, Java, and Objective-C, to describe parameters, return types, exceptions, and more.
• RDoc Formatting Compatibility: YARD is compatible with RDoc formatting and does not process RDoc documentation strings, leaving the rendering to the output generation tool.
• Local Documentation Server: YARD can serve documentation for projects or installed gems with dynamic searching and live reloading, allowing for immediate preview of documentation changes.
• Custom Constructs and Extensibility: YARD can be extended to handle custom Ruby constructs and support new programming languages, data structures, and data storage methods.

Q: How do I generate documentation using YARD?

To generate documentation, you can use the yard command-line tool. For example, to generate documentation for a project in the current directory, run $ yard doc. You can view a list of available commands by running $ yard --help.

Q: Can YARD serve documentation for installed gems?

Yes, YARD can serve documentation for all installed RubyGems. To do this, run the command $ yard server --gems. This will build and serve the documentation for any gems that have not been previously scanned.

Q: Does YARD support live reloading of documentation?

Yes, YARD supports live reloading of documentation. When serving documentation for a project, you can use the --reload or -r option with the yard server command to reload any changed files on each request. This allows you to see the updated documentation immediately after making changes.

Q: How does YARD handle custom class level definitions and dynamic code?

YARD can be extended to handle custom class level definitions and dynamic code. For example, it can automatically document custom declarations like cattr_accessor by creating attributes on the class with associated documentation. This makes documenting external APIs and dynamic code more consistent and easier.

Q: Can YARD output documentation in raw data format?

Yes, YARD can output documented objects as raw data, which can be reloaded later for generation in different formats or for auditing purposes. This raw data can be used to generate documentation in formats like YAML, XML, or even to populate a database.

Q: Is YARD compatible with existing RDoc documentation?

Yes, YARD is compatible with RDoc formatting. It does not process RDoc documentation strings and leaves the rendering to the output generation tool, ensuring that existing RDoc documentation remains usable.

Q: How can I customize the templates in YARD?

YARD allows for template customization using a specially designed templating system. This system enables plugin developers to make modifications to templates without causing conflicts with other plugins. You can also make small changes, such as adding your own stylesheets, without altering the underlying markup.