The docJGenerator project allows to generate a html site with a list of XML files defining a documentation in a custom XML syntax. It allows to produce an offline wiki-like site. It is also possible to configure the tool to parse files with the mediawiki syntax or the markdown syntax. You can also see the features overview of this tool.

The tool also proposes two related features:

• It allows to generate a DocGenerator Help, which provide a help system in any Swing or JavaFX application, with the same definition. Note that the generated format, and the API, have no relationship at all with the original JavaHelp system. For more information on how the docJGenerator compares to JavaHelp, see Comparison with JavaHelp
• The docJGenerator library can also be used as an API to generate a wiki in another Java application

Wiki source format

The wiki generator supports three formats for generating wiki articles:

• The default custom XML format, which provides the greatest flexibility
• The mediawiki markup which is used on Wikipedia and more generally on all Mediawiki wikis
• The markdown markup

Editing the wiki

You can edit the wiki using any source editor (or even text editor), but the tool provides an associated editor to edit the wiki.

Wiki output format

The default output is a html site. However, it is also possible to generate the wiki in the following formats:

• The PDF format
• The DOCX format
• The Epub format

Distribution

See distribution for how to install the tool.

Prerequisites

The tool can work on both Windows and Unix-like platforms, and on JRE version greater or equal to Java 8.

Usage

Just double-click on the Jar file of the application (or perform java -jar docGenerator.jar if you did not associate the Java application to jar files), and configure the generator:

• The input directory or directories where the input XML files and image resources are to be found. See root directories and packages if you want an explanation on how to use the generator with more than one root directory
• The output directory where the output web site must be generated
• (optional): an alternate index file to use if there are more than one input directory
• (optional): a configuration file (see configuration file)
• It is possible to define a properties file defining key/value string replacements in the text
• The value for the maximum number of files to be generated in one directory

The application will generate a web site with an index file (wiki-like). It is also possible to generate a PDF file, Word file, or even an Epub file rather than a web site.

For more information how the tool works, see Algorithm. To know how to configure the tool, see configuration.

GUI interface

Double clicking on the Jar file of the application without specifying any command-line parameter will open the GUI of the application.

Command-line starting

It is possible to execute the application by the command-line without showing the UI.

Examples:

      java -jar docGenerator.jar -input=wiki/input -output=wiki/output
      java -jar docGenerator.jar -input=wiki/input -output=wiki/output -$version=0.6
      java -jar docGenerator.jar -input=wiki/input -output=wiki/output -cleaned=true -limit=500
      java -jar docGenerator.jar -input=wiki/input;wiki2/input -index=myIndex.xml -output=wiki/output

Usage in ant build files

It is possible to use it in an ant build file, such as for example: In this basic example:

• The input directory is "wiki/input", which is in the same directory as the ant file
• The output directory is "wiki/output", which is in the same directory as the ant file
• The application jar is also in the same directory as the ant file

  <java classname="org.docgene.main.DocGenerator">
     <arg value="-input=wiki/input"/>
     <arg value="-output=wiki/output"/>
     <classpath>
        <pathelement path="docGenerator.jar"/>
        <pathelement path="plugins/scripts.jar"/>
     </classpath>
  </java>

See ant integration.

Specification syntax

The input directory can contain several types of files:

• Image Files (as png, jpg, etc...) and XML definition files for wiki image resources
• Resource Files and XML definition files for wiki resources
• XML definition files for wiki articles and their syntax. See also syntax for the detailed XML syntax specification
• XML definition files for categories description
• XML definition files for the glossary
• The optional XML definition file for the header and the footer which can be presented for each article

Note that contrary to wikipedia, DocJGenerator uses an XML-based syntax. See the comparison with wikipedia syntax for more information on the differences between the two syntaxes.

How to

See how to to see how to do things using the syntax.

Customizing the wiki content

See customizing the wiki.

Dependencies

See dependencies.

Tutorial

See tutorials for a list of tutorials on how to use this tool. The first tutorial is a step-by-step tutorial to create your first wiki.

History

This article explains the major updates of the tool.

Projects using docJGenerator

See Projects using docJGenerator for a list of projects which use this tool.

Troubleshooting

See Troubleshooting.

Developing the Library

See developing the Library for how to develop the library itself.