path: root/doc/src/guide/edoc.asciidoc

[[edoc]]
== EDoc comments

Erlang.mk provides a thin wrapper on top of EDoc, an application
that generates documentation based on comments found in modules.

=== Writing EDoc comments

The http://www.erlang.org/doc/apps/edoc/chapter.html[EDoc user guide]
explains everything you need to know about EDoc comments.

=== Configuration

The `EDOC_OPTS` variable allows you to specify additional
EDoc options. Options are documented in the
http://www.erlang.org/doc/man/edoc.html#run-2[EDoc manual].

A common use for this variable is to enable Markdown in doc
comments, using the `edown` application:

[source,make]
DOC_DEPS = edown
EDOC_OPTS = {doclet, edown_doclet}

=== Usage

To build all documentation, you would typically use:

[source,bash]
$ make docs

Do note, however, that EDoc comments will only be generated
automatically if the 'doc/overview.edoc' file exists. If you
do not want that file and still want to generate doc comments,
two solutions are available.

You can generate EDoc documentation directly:

[source,bash]
$ make edoc

You can enable automatic generation on `make docs` by adding
the following to your Makefile:

[source,make]
----
docs:: edoc
----