I once was a writer for a software company that used a code generator to produce its application code. For some reason the president of the company got it into his head that since the code was automatic, all I had to do to produce the documentation was press a button and it too would magically generate. Wouldn’t that be nice?
It’s funny how we develop such misconceptions about what tools can and can not do. How many of us have spent a small fortune on some software package thinking it would end world hunger, only to find it missing features so blindingly obvious that we started to wonder if the product designers were from the same galaxy as us.
At Pinched Head, we’re still looking for that one tool to rule them all — we might have to develop it ourselves. In the mean time, we use lots and lots and lots of different tools to get our projects done and would like to share some of our findings with you.
We’ve developed a highly scientific 12 monkey rating system which we’ll rigourously apply to all the reviews. Why 12 monkeys you ask? Why not, we say.
Stay posted. My first review will be Articulate Engage.
Now I’m on the edge of my seat…. bring on the reviews!
There are tools that automatically generate API documentation, such as Doxygen and Sandcastle. However, just like the code generator your former company was using, they require a human to configure them and provide them with meaningful input (eg a writer).
Hi Drew, you are right. The tool my company used was Synon for the AS/400. It did generate some form of documentation, but it wasn’t anything I could use for the end user guides I was writing.
Great work on the Articulate review (and I’ve seen a recent news release that they are working on some of your pet peeves).
I hope you can work your monkey business on Raptivity and SuddenlySmart’s product, SmartBuilder. I can’t get a clue on pricing for SmartBuilder from their site.
Hi Art, thanks for your kind words. I’m thinking about doing a review of Dropbox next. It is a file sharing application that we just love here at Pinched Head. Oh and I did check out the SmartBuilder site, no pricing anywhere.