cognitive/docs/guides/documentation_standards.md

---
title: Documentation Standards
type: guide
status: draft
created: 2024-02-12
tags:
  - documentation
  - standards
  - guidelines
semantic_relations:
  - type: implements
    links: [[ai_documentation_style]]
  - type: relates
    links:
      - [[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
```markdown
# Title

## Overview
Brief description of the topic.

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

### Subsection
More specific details.
```

### Code Examples
```python
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
```yaml
---
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]]