Doxygen usage example (for C)#

I have been using Doxygen for a while now, but I keep forgetting bit and pieces of it. For this reason, I put together one single C header file which contains some Doxygen code snippets. The idea is to accumulate examples in there and use it as a quick reference.

The example is focusing on documenting C files. I use it as a header prototype for the Box compiler, which I am currently developing.

The file doxygen_c.h is shown below. Once processed with Doxygen, it gives this output.

/****************************************************************************
 * Copyright (C) 2012 by Matteo Franchin                                    *
 *                                                                          *
 * This file is part of Box.                                                *
 *                                                                          *
 *   Box is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it         *
 *   under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License as published  *
 *   by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or   *
 *   (at your option) any later version.                                    *
 *                                                                          *
 *   Box is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,                 *
 *   but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of         *
 *   MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the          *
 *   GNU Lesser General Public License for more details.                    *
 *                                                                          *
 *   You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public       *
 *   License along with Box.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.   *
 ****************************************************************************/

/**
 * @file doxygen_c.h
 * @author My Self
 * @date 9 Sep 2012
 * @brief File containing example of doxygen usage for quick reference.
 *
 * Here typically goes a more extensive explanation of what the header
 * defines. Doxygens tags are words preceeded by either a backslash @\
 * or by an at symbol @@.
 * @see http://www.stack.nl/~dimitri/doxygen/docblocks.html
 * @see http://www.stack.nl/~dimitri/doxygen/commands.html
 */

#ifndef _BOX_PROTOTYPES_DOXYGEN_H
#  define _BOX_PROTOTYPES_DOXYGEN_H

#  include <systemheader1.h>
#  include <systemheader2.h>

#  include <box/header1.h>
#  include <box/header2.h>

#  include "local_header1.h"
#  include "local_header2.h"

/**
 * @brief Use brief, otherwise the index won't have a brief explanation.
 *
 * Detailed explanation.
 */
typedef enum BoxEnum_enum {
  BOXENUM_FIRST,  /**< Some documentation for first. */
  BOXENUM_SECOND, /**< Some documentation for second. */
  BOXENUM_ETC     /**< Etc. */
} BoxEnum;

/**
 * @brief Use brief, otherwise the index won't have a brief explanation.
 *
 * Detailed explanation.
 */
typedef struct BoxStruct_struct {
  int a;    /**< Some documentation for the member BoxStruct#a. */
  int b;    /**< Some documentation for the member BoxStruct#b. */
  double c; /**< Etc. */
} BoxStruct;

/**
 * @brief Example showing how to document a function with Doxygen.
 *
 * Description of what the function does. This part may refer to the parameters
 * of the function, like @p param1 or @p param2. A word of code can also be
 * inserted like @c this which is equivalent to <tt>this</tt> and can be useful
 * to say that the function returns a @c void or an @c int. If you want to have
 * more than one word in typewriter font, then just use @<tt@>.
 * We can also include text verbatim,
 * @verbatim like this@endverbatim
 * Sometimes it is also convenient to include an example of usage:
 * @code
 * BoxStruct *out = Box_The_Function_Name(param1, param2);
 * printf("something...\n");
 * @endcode
 * Or,
 * @code{.py}
 * pyval = python_func(arg1, arg2)
 * print pyval
 * @endcode
 * when the language is not the one used in the current source file (but
 * <b>be careful</b> as this may be supported only by recent versions
 * of Doxygen). By the way, <b>this is how you write bold text</b> or,
 * if it is just one word, then you can just do @b this.
 * @param param1 Description of the first parameter of the function.
 * @param param2 The second one, which follows @p param1.
 * @return Describe what the function returns.
 * @see Box_The_Second_Function
 * @see Box_The_Last_One
 * @see http://website/
 * @note Something to note.
 * @warning Warning.
 */
BOXEXPORT BoxStruct *
Box_The_Function_Name(BoxParamType1 param1, BoxParamType2 param2 /*, ...*/);

/**
 * @brief A simple stub function to show how links do work.
 *
 * Links are generated automatically for webpages (like http://www.google.co.uk)
 * and for structures, like BoxStruct_struct. For typedef-ed types use
 * #BoxStruct.
 * For functions, automatic links are generated when the parenthesis () follow
 * the name of the function, like Box_The_Function_Name().
 * Alternatively, you can use #Box_The_Function_Name.
 * @return @c NULL is always returned.
 */
BOXEXPORT void *
Box_The_Second_Function(void);

/**
 * Brief can be omitted. If you configure Doxygen with
 * <tt>JAVADOC_AUTOBRIEF=YES</tt>, then the first Line of the comment is used
 * instead. In this function this would be as if
 * @verbatim @brief Brief can be omitted. @endverbatim
 * was used instead.
 */
BOXEXPORT void
Box_The_Last_One(void);

#endif /* _BOX_PROTOTYPES_DOXYGEN_H */

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Doxygen usage example (for C)#