cognitive/docs/guides/documentation_standards.md

title	type	status	created	tags	semantic_relations
Documentation Standards	guide	draft	2024-02-12	documentation standards guidelines	type links implements ai_documentation_style type links relates package_documentation implementation_guides

Documentation Standards

Overview

This guide establishes documentation standards for the cognitive modeling framework, ensuring consistency, clarity, and completeness across all documentation.

Documentation Types

1. Code Documentation

• Docstrings
• Comments
• Type hints
• Examples

2. API Documentation

• Function signatures
• Class interfaces
• Module descriptions
• Usage examples

3. Guides and Tutorials

• Getting started
• How-to guides
• Best practices
• Advanced topics

4. Knowledge Base

• Theoretical foundations
• Implementation details
• Design decisions
• Research connections

File Organization

Directory Structure

docs/
├── api/              # API documentation
├── guides/           # User guides
├── tutorials/        # Step-by-step tutorials
├── examples/         # Code examples
└── templates/        # Documentation templates

File Naming

• Use lowercase
• Separate words with underscores
• Be descriptive and specific
• Include category prefixes

Documentation Format

Markdown Standards

# Title

## Overview
Brief description of the topic.

## Section
Detailed content with:
- Bullet points
- Code examples
- Diagrams
- Links

### Subsection
More specific details.

Code Examples

def example_function():
    """Example function demonstrating documentation.
    
    This function shows how to document code with:
    - Clear descriptions
    - Usage examples
    - Parameter details
    - Return value specifications
    
    Returns:
        str: A description of the example
    """
    return "Example documentation"

Style Guidelines

Writing Style

• Be clear and concise
• Use active voice
• Maintain technical accuracy
• Include examples

Formatting

• Consistent headers
• Clear hierarchy
• Proper spacing
• Code highlighting

Links and References

• Use relative links
• Include section anchors
• Cross-reference related docs
• Cite external sources

Documentation Components

Headers

• Title
• Overview
• Prerequisites
• Main content
• Related topics

Metadata

---
title: Document Title
type: documentation_type
status: draft/stable
created: YYYY-MM-DD
tags:
  - relevant
  - tags
---

Code Blocks

• Include language
• Show output
• Highlight important parts
• Explain complex sections

Best Practices

Content

• Keep it up to date
• Be comprehensive
• Include examples
• Explain why, not just how

Structure

• Logical organization
• Clear hierarchy
• Consistent formatting
• Easy navigation

Maintenance

• Regular reviews
• Version updates
• Link checking
• Content validation

Tools and Automation

Documentation Tools

• MkDocs
• Sphinx
• Docusaurus
• Custom generators

Quality Checks

• Link validation
• Style checking
• Spell checking
• Format verification

Generation Tools

• API doc generators
• Diagram generators
• Code example runners
• Test documentation

Review Process

Documentation Review

• Technical accuracy
• Completeness
• Clarity
• Style compliance

Update Process

• Version tracking
• Change logging
• Review cycles
• Publication workflow

Related Documentation

• ai_documentation_style
• package_documentation
• implementation_guides