Automated Javadocs

Gone are the days of manually typing Javadoc comments for your methods! Automated Javadocs is a VSCode plugin that automates the process of writing Javadoc comments.

Comment

Number of people: 1 (solo)

GitHub repo link

Extension repo

https://github.com/Nav-Codes/Automated-Javadocs

Backend repo

https://github.com/Nav-Codes/Automated-Javadocs-Backend

Before using the extension

You must have the Java extension pack installed:

Extension Pack for Java

https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=vscjava.vscode-java-pack

This provides the language server used to detect methods and constructors.

Alternatatively, you can install just the official language support extension from RedHat if you don't want to install the entire Java extention pack

Java Language Support from RedHat

https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=redhat.java

How to Use

  1. Open a Java file in VS Code

  2. Wait until it says something like "Java: Ready" at the bottom left

    Initially, it will say something like "Java Activating"

    https://github.com/Nav-Codes/Automated-Javadocs/blob/main/images/java-activating-left.png

    Once it is done loading it will say "Java Ready"

    https://github.com/Nav-Codes/Automated-Javadocs/blob/main/images/java-ready-left.png

  3. Open the command palette:

    • Ctrl + Shift + P

  4. Run:

    • Automated Javadocs: Inject Javadocs
    • It takes about 30 to 50 seconds for it to actually populate with javadoc comments due to the backend being run on a free version of Render, which throttles back performance sometimes

Inspiration

Writing comments is tedious and painful. It can be hard to describe what certain methods do or what specific parameters are used for. I wanted to create something that alleviated this burden, so that I could just focus on creating awesome Java apps!

What it does

The extension detects methods, constructors, parameters, return values, declared exceptions in the Java file and generates documentation including:

  • method descriptions
  • @param descriptions
  • @return descriptions
  • @throws descriptions

Challenges we ran into

One main challenge was that understanding all the different functionalities of the VSCode dev library. There was so much documentation it was hard to know where to start. Using tools like ChatGPT, YouTube tutorials and reading through articles, I was able to put things together and make it functional.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

I was proud that I was able to fully finish this extension. I was especially proud that I was able to create a whole entire backend server that my extension connected to. This really showed me that if I dedicate myself to something, I can make something great.

What we learned

There is a lot of freedom in terms of what you can create for VSCode extensions. The libraries are very extensive and there are many things you can create. However, this does take a lot of patience to fully understand the different functions and features.

What's next for Automated Javadocs

  • More support for Java programs that use generics
  • Poorly formatted Java files
  • Extension into other languages like C++ or Python
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