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Compodoc VS Javadoc

Compare Compodoc VS Javadoc and see what are their differences

Compodoc logo Compodoc

The missing documentation tool for your Angular application

Javadoc logo Javadoc

Oracle Technology Network is the ultimate, complete, and authoritative source of technical information and learning about Java.
  • Compodoc Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-11-02
  • Javadoc Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-02-05

Compodoc features and specs

  • Comprehensive Documentation
    Compodoc generates a full-featured documentation for Angular applications, including interactive diagrams for modules and relationships, which help developers easily understand the project structure.
  • Automatic Updates
    With Compodoc, the documentation stays up-to-date as it automatically regenerates every time the codebase changes, reducing manual effort in maintaining documentation.
  • Markdown Integration
    Developers can enhance documentation by incorporating custom markdown files, allowing for extra content and examples to be added to the generated documentation.
  • Easy Integration
    Compodoc is easy to integrate into existing Angular projects and can be run as part of a continuous integration pipeline to ensure documentation is always current.
  • Search Functionality
    It includes a powerful search feature that allows developers to quickly find specific information within the documentation, improving efficiency when navigating large codebases.
  • Support for Multiple Themes
    Compodoc offers support for different themes, allowing developers to customize the look and feel of the documentation to match project needs or personal preference.

Possible disadvantages of Compodoc

  • Angular-Specific
    Compodoc is tailored specifically for Angular applications, which limits its use case to developers working with the Angular framework and not others like React or Vue.
  • Potential Performance Issues
    For very large Angular projects, Compodoc might become slow in generating documentation, particularly if the project has extensive comments and documentation files.
  • Dependency Management
    As with any tool that requires integration, Compodoc can add additional complexity to a project's dependency management, requiring updates and compatibility checks over time.
  • Limited Customization
    While it supports customization through themes and markdown, some users may find the extent of customization insufficient for certain complex or highly customized documentation needs.

Javadoc features and specs

  • Standardization
    Javadoc is a standardized way of generating API documentation for Java code, ensuring consistency across different projects.
  • Integration
    It integrates seamlessly with Java development, allowing developers to embed documentation directly within their source code.
  • Comprehensive
    Supports various HTML tags and custom tags to create detailed and structured documentation.
  • Ease of Use
    Once set up, generating documentation is straightforward and can be automated as part of the build process.
  • Wide Adoption
    Being widely adopted in the Java community, many developers are familiar with Javadoc conventions and best practices.
  • Linking Features
    Javadoc supports linking to other classes or external documentation, enhancing the usability of the generated docs.
  • Tools Support
    Supported by many development tools and IDEs, which can offer features like previewing Javadocs as you write them.

Possible disadvantages of Javadoc

  • HTML Limitations
    While Javadoc supports HTML, the layout is often basic and not as flexible as modern documentation tools that support markdown or other markup languages.
  • Verbose Annotations
    For large projects, the sheer volume of annotations can make source files verbose and harder to read.
  • Limited Design
    The default presentation style is quite simple and may not meet the design needs of all projects without significant customization.
  • Learning Curve
    New developers may require time to get used to writing comprehensive and effective Javadoc comments.
  • Outdated References
    The generated documentation can become obsolete if not maintained alongside code updates, leading to discrepancies.
  • Static Generation
    Javadoc produces static documentation, which lacks the interactivity found in some dynamic documentation systems.
  • Java Only
    Primarily useful only for Java projects, limiting its use for developers working with multiple programming languages.

Compodoc videos

NestJS Crash Course 05 | Documenting our REST API with Swagger and Compodoc

Javadoc videos

If Hemingway Wrote JavaDocs

More videos:

  • Review - Learn Programming in Java - Lesson 07 : JavaDoc and Unit Tests

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Compodoc and Javadoc)
Documentation
79 79%
21% 21
Documentation As A Service & Tools
Knowledge Base
74 74%
26% 26
Developer Tools
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Compodoc seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 11 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Compodoc mentions (11)

  • πŸš€ Angular 18 + Cypress, Material + Transloco + Jest, EsLint + Docker + Prettier πŸš€
    βœ… Angular 18 βœ… Angular Material βœ… Unit Testing with Jest βœ… End-to-End Testing with Cypress βœ… Internationalization with Transloco βœ… Auto documentation with Compodoc βœ… Provide component examples with Storybook βœ… Analyse your project with source-map-explorer βœ… Docker βœ… ESLint βœ… Prettier βœ… Commit Linting βœ… AuditJS Audit this application using Sonatype OSS Index βœ… Auto-generate a CHANGELOG with... - Source: dev.to / 9 months ago
  • Documentation culture
    Properly written code, there are documentation tool like this for Angular and others. Https://compodoc.app/. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Are there any Angular Modules, components, services relationship Mapping tools? Apart from Angular Augury.
    Compodoc is a good tool for generating docs for an angular project. The documents generated also includes visual maps of dependencies. Source: over 2 years ago
  • I write more documents than code, but it comes with its struggles. Do you feel the same?
    App documentation, here is compodoc (https://compodoc.app/) It is generated when the dev does a git commit and build in the pipeline. Source: over 2 years ago
  • πŸš€ Angular 14 + ESLint, Material + Transloco + Jest, TestCafe + Docker + Prettier πŸš€
    βœ… Angular 14 βœ… Angular Material βœ… Unit Testing with Jest βœ… End-to-End Testing with TestCafΓ© βœ… Internationalization with Transloco βœ… Auto documentation with Compodoc βœ… Analyse your project with source-map-explorer βœ… Docker βœ… ESLint βœ… Prettier βœ… Commit Linting. - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
View more

Javadoc mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of Javadoc yet. Tracking of Javadoc recommendations started around Mar 2021.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Compodoc and Javadoc, you can also consider the following products

TypeDoc - A documentation generator for TypeScript projects

Doxygen - Generate documentation from source code

Sandcastle - Sandcastle produces accurate, MSDN style, comprehensive documentation by reflecting over the source...

swagger.io - Swagger is an open source RESTapi Documentation Tool.

CppDoc - CppDoc generates HTML documentation for C++ classes, based on your source code and special comments...

Slate API Docs Generator - Create beautiful, intelligent, responsive API documentation.