Traditional Documentation vs Code As Documentation

Developers should learn and use traditional documentation when working on projects requiring regulatory compliance, long-term maintenance, or complex systems where detailed specifications are critical, such as in enterprise software, medical devices, or financial applications meets developers should adopt code as documentation when working on projects where documentation often becomes outdated or when team collaboration requires immediate clarity in the codebase. Here's our take.

Traditional Documentation

Nice Pick

Developers should learn and use traditional documentation when working on projects requiring regulatory compliance, long-term maintenance, or complex systems where detailed specifications are critical, such as in enterprise software, medical devices, or financial applications

Pros

• It is essential for onboarding new team members, ensuring consistency across large teams, and providing clear reference materials for external users or auditors, as it offers a stable and authoritative source of information that can be reviewed and approved formally
• Related to: technical-writing, markdown

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

Code As Documentation

Developers should adopt Code As Documentation when working on projects where documentation often becomes outdated or when team collaboration requires immediate clarity in the codebase

Pros

• It is particularly useful in agile environments, open-source projects, and teams with high turnover, as it ensures that the code remains accessible and maintainable over time
• Related to: clean-code, code-review

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

The Verdict

Use Traditional Documentation if: You want it is essential for onboarding new team members, ensuring consistency across large teams, and providing clear reference materials for external users or auditors, as it offers a stable and authoritative source of information that can be reviewed and approved formally and can live with specific tradeoffs depend on your use case.

Use Code As Documentation if: You prioritize it is particularly useful in agile environments, open-source projects, and teams with high turnover, as it ensures that the code remains accessible and maintainable over time over what Traditional Documentation offers.

The Bottom Line

Traditional Documentation wins

Developers should learn and use traditional documentation when working on projects requiring regulatory compliance, long-term maintenance, or complex systems where detailed specifications are critical, such as in enterprise software, medical devices, or financial applications