Developer Documentation¶

Developer documentation helps programmers understand and use your software. Unlike end-user documentation, it assumes technical knowledge and focuses on implementation details.

Understanding Developer Audiences¶

Developer Personas¶

Evaluators:

• Deciding whether to use your product
• Need quick understanding of capabilities
• Want to see code samples immediately

Learners:

• New to your product
• Need conceptual explanations
• Require step-by-step guidance

Practitioners:

• Building with your product daily
• Need reference documentation
• Value accuracy and completeness

Troubleshooters:

• Debugging issues
• Need error explanations
• Want solutions quickly

Essential Documentation Types¶

Getting Started Guide¶

The first experience most developers have:

# Getting Started

## Prerequisites
- Node.js 18 or higher
- npm or yarn

## Installation

npm install @company/sdk

## Quick Example

const client = new Client({ apiKey: 'your-key' });
const result = await client.analyze('Hello world');
console.log(result);

Conceptual Documentation¶

Explain how things work:

• Architecture overviews
• Core concepts
• Design decisions
• Mental models

Reference Documentation¶

Complete, detailed specifications:

• Every parameter documented
• Return types specified
• Error conditions listed
• Code examples included

Tutorials¶

Guided learning experiences:

• Clear learning objectives
• Progressive complexity
• Working code at each step
• Real-world scenarios

Writing for Developers¶

Be Direct¶

Developers value efficiency:

Show Code First¶

Lead with examples:

# Authentication

client = Client(api_key="your-key")

The `Client` class handles authentication automatically...

Document Errors¶

Developers spend significant time debugging:

## Common Errors

### AuthenticationError
**Cause:** Invalid or expired API key.
**Solution:** Verify your API key in the dashboard.

### RateLimitError
**Cause:** Too many requests.
**Solution:** Implement exponential backoff.

Documentation Structure¶

Information Architecture¶

docs/
├── getting-started/
│   ├── installation.md
│   ├── quickstart.md
│   └── authentication.md
├── guides/
│   ├── basic-usage.md
│   ├── advanced-features.md
│   └── best-practices.md
├── reference/
│   ├── api/
│   ├── sdk/
│   └── errors.md
└── tutorials/
    ├── build-first-app.md
    └── integrate-with-x.md

Navigation Principles¶

• Group by task, not by feature
• Most common tasks first
• Clear hierarchy
• Searchable content

Code Samples¶

Quality Standards¶

Good code samples are:

• Complete: Run without modification
• Correct: Actually work
• Current: Use latest APIs
• Clear: Easy to understand
• Commented: Explain key parts

Example Structure¶

# Initialize the client with your API key
client = Client(api_key=os.environ["API_KEY"])

# Create a new document
document = client.documents.create(
    title="My Document",
    content="Document content here",
    tags=["example", "tutorial"]
)

# Print the document ID for reference
print(f"Created document: {document.id}")

Keeping Documentation Current¶

Version Documentation¶

• Document each version
• Mark deprecated features
• Provide migration guides
• Maintain changelogs

Testing Documentation¶

• Test code samples in CI
• Validate links automatically
• Review after each release
• Gather developer feedback

Summary¶

Effective developer documentation:

• Understands developer needs and contexts
• Leads with code examples
• Provides complete reference material
• Stays accurate and current
• Organizes information logically

Developers judge products by their documentation. Good docs reduce friction and accelerate adoption.