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Dictionary:

documentation

  (dŏk'yə-mĕn-tā'shən) pronunciation
n.
    1. The act or an instance of the supplying of documents or supporting references or records.
    2. The documents or references so supplied.
  1. The collation, synopsizing, and coding of printed material for future reference.
  2. Computer Science. The organized collection of records that describe the structure, purpose, operation, maintenance, and data requirements for a computer program, operating system, or hardware device.
documentational doc'u·men·ta'tion·al adj.
 
 

The narrative and graphical description of a system. Following are the kinds of documentation required to describe an information system for both users and systems staff. See self-documenting code, technical writer and RTFM.

Operating Procedures

1. Instructions for turning the system on and getting the programs initiated (loaded).

2. Instructions for obtaining source documents for data entry.

3. Instructions for entering data at the terminal, which includes a picture of each screen layout the user will encounter.

4. A description of error messages that can occur and the alternative methods for handling them.

5. A description of the defaults taken in the programs and the instructions for changing them.

6. Instructions for distributing the computer's output, which includes sample pages for each type of report.

System Documentation

1. Data dictionary - Description of the files and databases.

2. System flow chart - Description of the data as it flows from source document to report.

3. Application program documentation - Description of the inputs, processing and outputs for each data entry, query, update and report program in the system.

Technical Documentation

1. File structures and access methods

2. Program flow charts

3. Program source code listings

4. Machine procedures (JCL)



 
Business Dictionary: Documentation

Written description of a Computer Program. It falls into several categories: (1) internal documentation, consisting of comments within the program; (2) on-line documentation, displayed as the program runs or called up with a Command such as Help; (3) reference cards, containing easily forgotten details for quick reference; (4) reference manuals, setting out complete instructions for the program in a systematic way; and (5) tutorials, serving as introduction for new users.

 
Hacker Slang: documentation

The multiple kilograms of macerated, pounded, steamed, bleached, and pressed trees that accompany most modern software or hardware products (see also tree-killer). Hackers seldom read paper documentation and (too) often resist writing it; they prefer theirs to be terse and on-line. A common comment on this predilection is “You can't grep dead trees”. See drool-proof paper, verbiage, treeware.


 
Dental Dictionary: documentation

n

The permanent recording of information properly identified as to time, place, circumstances, and attribution.

 
Word Tutor: documentation
pronunciation

IN BRIEF: Proof in the form of written information.

pronunciation The winners of the trial provided the best documentation.

 
Wikipedia: documentation

In general terms, documentation is any communicable material (such as text, video, audio, etc., or combinations thereof) used to explain some attributes of an object, system or procedure. It is often used to mean engineering or software documentation, which is usually paper books or computer readable files (such as HTML pages) that describe the structure and components, or on the other hand, operation, of a system/product.

A professional whose field and work is more or less exclusively to write documentation is called a documenter. Normally, documenters are trained or have a background in technical writing, along with some knowledge of the subject(s) they are documenting. Often, though, some part or all of the documentation process is done by the engineers responsible for the system/product to be documented.

By engineers, perhaps among software engineers in particular, documentation is often referred to as the "boring side" of engineering, or considered a necessary evil. This is largely unavoidable since most engineers prefer building things to documenting them, and being implicit experts in what they have built, they may have little motivation in documenting their creations so that others may understand them.

Common types of computer hardware/software documentation include online help, FAQs, HowTos, and user guide s. The term RTFM is often used in regard to such documentation, especially to computer hardware and software user guides.

A common type of software document frequently written by software engineers in the simulation industry is the SDF (software documentation folder). While developing the software for a simulator, which can range from embedded avionics devices to 3D terrain databases to full motion control systems, the engineer keeps a notebook detailing the development lifecycle of the project. The notebook can contain a requirements section, an interface section detailing the communication interface of the software, a notes section to detail the proof of concept attempts to track what worked or didn't work in solving certain problems, and a testing section to detail how the software will be tested to prove conformance to the requirements of the contract. The end result is a detailed description of how the software is designed, how to build and install the software on the target device, and any known weaknesses in the design of the software. This document will allow future developers and maintainers of the trainer to come up to speed on the software design in as short a time as possible and have a documented reference when modifying code or searching for bugs.

In some European countries, documentation in an academic context is an obsolete term for the field of study that is now known as library science or information science.

See also

External Links


 
Translations: Translations for: Documentation

Dansk (Danish)
n. - dokumentation, dokumentationsmateriale, programbeskrivelse, manual

Nederlands (Dutch)
bewijsmateriaal, documentatie

Français (French)
n. - documentation, (Comm) documents (à fournir)

Deutsch (German)
n. - Dokumentation, dokumentarischer Beleg

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - τεκμηρίωση

Italiano (Italian)
documentazione

Português (Portuguese)
n. - documentação (f)

Русский (Russian)
документация

Español (Spanish)
n. - documentación

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - dokumentation

中文(简体) (Chinese (Simplified))
文件

中文(繁體) (Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 文件

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 문서 조사, 증거가 되는 자료

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 文書調べ, 証拠書類, ドキュメンテーション

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) التوثيق, التزويد أو الدعم بالوثائق, الاستناد الى الوثائق التاريخيه ( في عمل شئ)‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮תיעוד, מסמכים, הוראות והגדרות בתוך תוכנית מחשב‬


 
Best of the Web: documentation

Some good "documentation" pages on the web:


American Sign Language
commtechlab.msu.edu
 
 
 

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Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Computer Desktop Encyclopedia. THIS COPYRIGHTED DEFINITION IS FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY.
All other reproduction is strictly prohibited without permission from the publisher.
© 1981-2008 Computer Language Company Inc.  All rights reserved.  Read more
Business Dictionary. Dictionary of Business Terms. Copyright © 2000 by Barron's Educational Series, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Hacker Slang. The Jargon File. Copyright © 2007.  Read more
Dental Dictionary. Mosby's Dental Dictionary. Copyright © 2004 by Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
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