Live Documentation vs Manual Documentation
Developers should use live documentation when working on projects with frequent code changes, large codebases, or APIs where manual documentation becomes error-prone and time-consuming meets developers should learn manual documentation to improve communication, facilitate onboarding, and maintain project knowledge, especially in complex or legacy systems where automated tools may not capture nuanced details. Here's our take.
Live Documentation
Developers should use live documentation when working on projects with frequent code changes, large codebases, or APIs where manual documentation becomes error-prone and time-consuming
Live Documentation
Nice PickDevelopers should use live documentation when working on projects with frequent code changes, large codebases, or APIs where manual documentation becomes error-prone and time-consuming
Pros
- +It is particularly valuable in agile environments, for public APIs, or in teams where onboarding new members requires reliable, current documentation
- +Related to: api-documentation, code-comments
Cons
- -Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case
Manual Documentation
Developers should learn manual documentation to improve communication, facilitate onboarding, and maintain project knowledge, especially in complex or legacy systems where automated tools may not capture nuanced details
Pros
- +It is crucial for creating user-facing documentation, API references, and design documents that require human interpretation and storytelling, such as in open-source projects or enterprise software with diverse stakeholders
- +Related to: technical-writing, markdown
Cons
- -Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case
The Verdict
Use Live Documentation if: You want it is particularly valuable in agile environments, for public apis, or in teams where onboarding new members requires reliable, current documentation and can live with specific tradeoffs depend on your use case.
Use Manual Documentation if: You prioritize it is crucial for creating user-facing documentation, api references, and design documents that require human interpretation and storytelling, such as in open-source projects or enterprise software with diverse stakeholders over what Live Documentation offers.
Developers should use live documentation when working on projects with frequent code changes, large codebases, or APIs where manual documentation becomes error-prone and time-consuming
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