Documentation

ALSO CALLED: Technical Documentation, User Aids, User Manuals, User Guides, Product Documentation, Technical Manuals, End-User Documentation, Developer Documentation, and User Documentation
DEFINITION: In computer hardware and software product development, documentation is the information that describes the product to its users. It consists of the product technical manuals and online information (including online versions of the technical manuals and help facility descriptions). The term is also  … 
Definition continues below.

DOCUMENTATION DEFINITION (continued): …  sometimes used to mean the source information about the product contained in design documents, detailed code comments, white papers, and blackboard session notes.

The term is derived from the idea that engineers and programmers "document" their products in formal writing. The earliest computer users were sometimes simply handed the engineers' or programmers' "documentation." As the product audience grew, it became necessary to add professional technical writers and editors to the process. … 
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