PHPDocumentor

PHPDocumentor, often styled as phpDocumentor, is a documentation generator for [[PHP]]. It is akin to [[Javadoc]] for [[Java]] or [[Doxygen]] for [[C++]], providing a way to create comprehensive documentation from the source code itself. PHPDocumentor analyzes PHP source code and generates human-readable documentation in various formats, including [[HTML]], PDF, and others.

PHPDocumentor reads specially formatted docblocks (comments) in the PHP source code and generates documentation from these comments. This means that the documentation lives close to the code it describes. It understands and can parse different styles of docblocks, including those used by PHPDoc, Javadoc, and QtDoc.

It automatically generates a complete API documentation of the classes, methods, functions, parameters, and more, in the PHP code. The output of the documentation can be customized using templates, allowing for flexibility in how the documentation is presented. PHPDocumentor supports a wide range of tags within docblocks, allowing developers to add structured information about parameters, return values, exceptions, and more.

It is primarily used by PHP developers to document their code bases, making it easier for others (and themselves in the future) to understand how the code works and how to use it. For libraries and frameworks, PHPDocumentor can generate comprehensive API manuals that are useful for developers who use these libraries and frameworks.

A PHP function with a docblock might look like this:

/**
 * Calculates the sum of two numbers.
 *
 * @param int $a The first number.
 * @param int $b The second number.
 * @return int The sum of the two numbers.
 */
function sum($a, $b) {
    return $a + $b;
}

PHPDocumentor would read this docblock and generate documentation indicating that sum is a function that takes two integers as parameters and returns their sum, also an integer.