Documentable PHP Elements
Elements of PHP source that phpDocumentor can automatically document
Joshua Eichorn
{@link mailto:jeichorn@phpdoc.org jeichorn@phpdoc.org}
Gregory Beaver
{@link mailto:cellog@php.net cellog@php.net}
{@toc}
Introduction to Documentable Elements
phpDocumentor is capable of automatically documenting include statements, define statements, functions, procedural pages, classes, class variables, and class methods.
Procedural Elements
From phpDocumentor's perspective, the basic container for procedural elements (as in real life) is the file that contains them. To reflect this, it is possible to document information about the entire contents of a file. This is accomplished through the use of a page-level DocBlock (see {@tutorial phpDocumentor.howto.pkg#basics.docblock} for basic information on what a DocBlock is). A page-level DocBlock is the only DocBlock that cannot precede the element that it is documenting, as there is no way to precede a file. To solve this issue, the way phpDocumentor finds a page-level DocBlock is to parse the first DocBlock in a file as the page-level DocBlock, with certain conditions.
]]>
This last example has one DocBlock, and it is the first DocBlock in a file, but it is not a Page-level DocBlock. How can phpDocumentor tell the difference between a Page-level DocBlock and any other DocBlock? Simple:
]]>
In phpDocumentor version 1.2.2, a Page-level DocBlock is the first DocBlock in a file if it contains a {@tutorial tags.package.pkg} tag. However, this example will raise a warning like WARNING in test.php on line 8: Page-level DocBlock precedes "define almost", use another DocBlock to document the source element. You can eliminate the warning by adding documentation to the define as follows:
]]>
Now, the page has its documentation, and the define has its own documentation.
So, a DocBlock is a page-level DocBlock IF AND ONLY IF it is both:
The first DocBlock in a file
One of:
Contains a {@tutorial tags.package.pkg} tag
Immediately followed by another DocBlock for any documentable PHP element this is deprecated, always use a @package tag
A Page-level DocBlock may have any of the standard phpDocumentor Tags (see {@tutorial tags.pkg#manual.standard}) plus the following tags:
{@tutorial tags.package.pkg}
{@tutorial tags.subpackage.pkg}
phpDocumentor will not document a file like the first example, there must be at least one documentable PHP element in the file.
include/require/include_once/require_once statements
phpDocumentor extracts the filename and attempts to link to documentation for that filename if possible. Include statements may only have any of the {@tutorial tags.pkg#manual.standard}
phpDocumentor will attempt to locate the included file in the list of files parsed, and if found will make a link to that file's documentation.
define statements
A define statement's DocBlock may have any of the standard phpDocumentor Tags (see {@tutorial tags.pkg#manual.standard}) plus the following tag:
{@tutorial tags.name.pkg}
function declarations
A function's DocBlock may have any of the standard phpDocumentor Tags (see {@tutorial tags.pkg#manual.standard}) plus the following tags:
{@tutorial tags.global.pkg}
{@tutorial tags.param.pkg}
{@tutorial tags.return.pkg}
{@tutorial tags.staticvar.pkg}
{@tutorial tags.inlinesource.pkg}
global variables
A global variable's DocBlock may have any of the standard phpDocumentor Tags (see {@tutorial tags.pkg#manual.standard}) plus the following tag:
{@tutorial tags.name.pkg}
In addition, the global variable's DocBlock must contain the {@tutorial tags.global.pkg} tag.
Class Elements
A class's DocBlock may have any of the standard phpDocumentor Tags (see {@tutorial tags.pkg#manual.standard}) plus the following tags:
{@tutorial tags.package.pkg}
{@tutorial tags.subpackage.pkg}
{@tutorial tags.static.pkg}
DocBlock inheritance
New in version 1.2.0, DocBlock's are inherited by child classes, variables, and methods. There are a few simple rules for inheritance:
tags {@tutorial tags.author.pkg}, {@tutorial tags.version.pkg}, and {@tutorial tags.copyright.pkg} are automatically inherited unless explicitly specified in the DocBlock
As in previous versions, {@tutorial tags.package.pkg} and {@tutorial tags.subpackage.pkg} are inherited unless explicitly specified in the DocBlock. We recommend that you explicitly use @package and @subpackage for every class to avoid problems with name conflicts that may arise
If there is no short description, the short description will be inherited.
If there is no long description, the long description will be inherited.
If there is a long description, and you still want to inherit the parent's description, use {@tutorial tags.inlineinheritdoc.pkg}
class variables
A class variable's DocBlock may have any of the standard phpDocumentor Tags (see {@tutorial tags.pkg#manual.standard}) plus the following tag:
{@tutorial tags.var.pkg}
class methods
A method's DocBlock may have any of the standard phpDocumentor Tags (see {@tutorial tags.pkg#manual.standard}) plus the following tags:
{@tutorial tags.global.pkg}
{@tutorial tags.param.pkg}
{@tutorial tags.return.pkg}
{@tutorial tags.static.pkg}
{@tutorial tags.staticvar.pkg}
{@tutorial tags.inlinesource.pkg}