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An API writer is a technical writer who writes documents that describe an application programming interface (API). The primary audience includes programmers, developers, system architects, and system designers.
An API is a library consisting of interfaces, functions, classes, structures, enumerations, etc. for building a software application. It is used by developers to interact with and extend the software. An API for a given programming language or system may consist of system-defined and user-defined constructs. As the number and complexity of these constructs increases, it becomes very tedious for developers to remember all of the functions and the parameters defined. Hence, the API writers play a key role in building software applications.
Due to the technical subject matter, API writers must understand application source code enough to extract the information that API documents require. API writers often use tooling that extracts software documentation placed by programmers in the source code in a structured manner, preserving the relationships between the comments and the programming constructs they document.
API writers must also understand the software product and document the new features or changes as part of the new software release. The schedule of software releases varies from organization to organization. API writers need to understand the software life cycle well and integrate themselves into the systems development life cycle (SDLC).
API writers in the United States generally follow The Chicago Manual of Style for grammar and punctuation.[ citation needed ]
API writers typically possess a mix of programming and language skills; many API writers have backgrounds in programming or technical writing.
Expert API/software development kit (SDK) writers can easily become programming writers.
The API writing process is typically split between analyzing and understanding the source code, planning, writing, and reviewing. It is often the case that the analytical, planning, and writing stages do not occur in a strictly linear fashion.
The writing and evaluation criteria vary between organizations. Some of the most effective API documents are written by those who are adequately capable of understanding the workings of a particular application, so that they can relate the software to the users or the various component constructs to the overall purpose of the program. API writers may also be responsible for authoring end-user product documentation.
While reference documentation may be auto-generated to ensure completeness, documentation that helps developers get started should be written by a professional API writer and reviewed by subject matter experts. [1] This helps ensure that developers understand key concepts and can get started quickly.
API writers produce documents that include:
Software documentation is written text or illustration that accompanies computer software or is embedded in the source code. The documentation either explains how the software operates or how to use it, and may mean different things to people in different roles.
In computer software, an application binary interface (ABI) is an interface between two binary program modules. Often, one of these modules is a library or operating system facility, and the other is a program that is being run by a user.
Documentation is any communicable material that is used to describe, explain or instruct regarding some attributes of an object, system or procedure, such as its parts, assembly, installation, maintenance, and use. As a form of knowledge management and knowledge organization, documentation can be provided on paper, online, or on digital or analog media, such as audio tape or CDs. Examples are user guides, white papers, online help, and quick-reference guides. Paper or hard-copy documentation has become less common. Documentation is often distributed via websites, software products, and other online applications.
A software company is an organisation — owned either by the state or private — established for profit whose primary products are various forms of software, software technology, distribution, and software product development. They make up the software industry.
Software development is the process of designing and implementing a software solution to satisfy a user. The process is more encompassing than programming, writing code, in that it includes conceiving the goal, evaluating feasibility, analyzing requirements, design, testing and release. The process is part of software engineering which also includes organizational management, project management, configuration management and other aspects.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to software engineering:
A technical writer is a professional communicator whose task is to convey complex information in simple terms to an audience of the general public or a very select group of readers. Technical writers research and create information through a variety of delivery media. Example types of information include online help, manuals, white papers, design specifications, project plans, and software test plans. With the rise of e-learning, technical writers are increasingly hired to develop online training material.
In systems engineering and software engineering, requirements analysis focuses on the tasks that determine the needs or conditions to meet the new or altered product or project, taking account of the possibly conflicting requirements of the various stakeholders, analyzing, documenting, validating, and managing software or system requirements.
Web development is the work involved in developing a website for the Internet or an intranet. Web development can range from developing a simple single static page of plain text to complex web applications, electronic businesses, and social network services. A more comprehensive list of tasks to which Web development commonly refers, may include Web engineering, Web design, Web content development, client liaison, client-side/server-side scripting, Web server and network security configuration, and e-commerce development.
Technical writing is a specialized form of communication used by many of today's industrial and scientific organizations to clearly and accurately convey complex information to a user. An organization's customers, employees, assembly workers, engineers, and scientists are some of the most common users who reference this form of content to complete a task or research a subject. Most technical writing relies on simplified grammar, supported by easy-to-understand visual communication to clearly and accurately explain complex information.
Technical communication is communication of technical subject matter such as engineering, science, or technology content. The largest part of it tends to be technical writing, though importantly it often requires aspects of visual communication. Technical communication also encompasses oral delivery modes such as presentations involving technical material. When technical communication occurs in workplace settings, it's considered a major branch of professional communication. In research or R&D contexts, it can overlap with scientific writing.
A subject-matter expert (SME) is a person who has accumulated great knowledge in a particular field or topic and this level of knowledge is demonstrated by the person's degree, licensure, and/or through years of professional experience with the subject. For example, a PhD in chemistry could be easily declared as a SME in chemistry, or a person with a Second Class Radiotelegraph License or equivalent issued by the national licensing body could be considered a SME in radiotelegraphy. A person with a master's degree in electronic engineering could be considered a subject-matter expert in electronics, or a person with many years of experience in machining could be considered a SME in machining.
A web API is an application programming interface (API) for either a web server or a web browser. As a web development concept, it can be related to a web application's client side. A server-side web API consists of one or more publicly exposed endpoints to a defined request–response message system, typically expressed in JSON or XML by means of an HTTP-based web server. A server API (SAPI) is not considered a server-side web API, unless it is publicly accessible by a remote web application.
A software factory is a structured collection of related software assets that aids in producing computer software applications or software components according to specific, externally defined end-user requirements through an assembly process. A software factory applies manufacturing techniques and principles to software development to mimic the benefits of traditional manufacturing. Software factories are generally involved with outsourced software creation.
End-user computing (EUC) refers to systems in which non-programmers can create working applications. EUC is a group of approaches to computing that aim to better integrate end users into the computing environment. These approaches attempt to realize the potential for high-end computing to perform problem-solving in a trustworthy manner.
Platform Invocation Services, commonly referred to as P/Invoke, is a feature of Common Language Infrastructure implementations, like Microsoft's Common Language Runtime, that enables managed code to call native code.
An application programming interface (API) is a connection between computers or between computer programs. It is a type of software interface, offering a service to other pieces of software. A document or standard that describes how to build such a connection or interface is called an API specification. A computer system that meets this standard is said to implement or expose an API. The term API may refer either to the specification or to the implementation.
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XMC is a family of microcontroller ICs by Infineon. The XMC microcontrollers use the 32-bit RISC ARM processor cores from ARM Holdings, such as Cortex-M4F and Cortex-M0. XMC stands for "cross-market microcontrollers", meaning that this family can cover due to compatibility and configuration options, a wide range in industrial applications. The family supports three essential trends in the industry: It increases the energy efficiency of the systems, supports a variety of communication standards and reduces software complexity in the development of the application's software environment with the parallel released eclipse-based software tool DAVE.
Example-centric programming is an approach to software development that helps the user to create software by locating and modifying small examples into a larger whole. That approach can be helped by tools that allow an integrated development environment (IDE) to show code examples or API documentation related to coding behaviors occurring in the IDE. “Borrow” tactics are often employed from online sources, by programmers leaving the IDE to troubleshoot. The purpose of example-centric programming is to reduce the time spent by developers searching online. Ideally, in example-centric programming, the user interface integrates with help module examples for assistance without programmers leaving the IDE. The idea for this type of “instant documentation” is to reduce programming interruptions. The usage of this feature is not limited to experts, as some novices reap the benefits of an integrated knowledge base, without resorting to frequent web searches or browsing.