documentation
1. the furnishing and use of documentary evidence, as in a court of law
2. Computing the written comments, graphical illustrations, flowcharts, manuals, etc., supplied with a program or software system
Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
Documentation
Any information that records the prior history of an existing building or site; such as maps, site plans, drawings or photographs, or written historic references as to its physical appearance.
Illustrated Dictionary of Architecture Copyright © 2012, 2002, 1998 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved
documentation
[‚däk·yə·mən′tā·shən] (computer science)
The collection, organized and stored, of records that describe the purpose, use, structure, details, and operational requirements of a program, for the purpose of making this information easily accessible to the user.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
documentation
(programming)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.
This article is provided by FOLDOC - Free Online Dictionary of Computing (foldoc.org)
documentation
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, online help and RTFM.
Operating Procedures
1. Instructions for turning system on and initiating the programs (see load).
2. Instructions for entering data, which includes screenshots for every scenario the user encounters.
3. Description of error messages that can occur and methods for handling them.
4. Description of the defaults in the programs and the instructions for changing them (see default).
5. If printed reports are used, instructions for distribution.
System Documentation
1. Data dictionary - Description of files and databases (see data dictionary).
2. System flowchart - Description of data flowing flow from source document to report (see flowchart).
3. Application programs - Description of inputs, processing and outputs for each data entry, query, update and report function in the system (see information system).
Technical Documentation
1. File structures (see file manager and access method).
2. Program logic (see flowchart).
3. Source code (see program documentation).
4. Machine procedures (see batch file and JCL).Copyright © 1981-2025 by The Computer Language Company Inc. All Rights reserved. THIS DEFINITION IS FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY. All other reproduction is strictly prohibited without permission from the publisher.