Automating ASP MVC.NET Web api documentation on the /Help page

Question

I've been following the instructions that talk about creating help pages for the Web API, one example being http://www.asp.net/web-api/overview/getting-started-with-aspnet-web-api/creating-api-help-pages

I know that to get descriptions for REST paths, you place these xml comments above the respective methods.

/// <summary>
/// Looks up some data by ID.
/// </summary>
/// <param name="id">The ID of the data.</param>

But say I have many paths or many Web API projects and I want to make this process a little faster. Where could I start if I wanted even simple 1 sentence descriptions to be automated. I would be ok, with simple description, maybe pulled from the name or convention of the method name and a mention of the parameter types that it expect. Just very simple stuff to build off of.

I was thinking initially that this automation project would reside in the same solution as the Web API that you're targeting, it would just be another separate project. Thanks.

@MaxBrodin I think there is definitely potential in this product. I'll take a look, thank you so much! — Ramin
– Ramin, Commented Nov 3, 2014 at 22:13

Leon Cullens · Accepted Answer · 2014-11-03 22:26:25Z

1

If you install GhostDoc you can click on a method and press Ctrl + Shift + D. That will add all the basic XML doc elements, but it will also try to come up with a simple description of what the method does, what the parameters are and what will be returned by looking at the names, and figuring something out convention-wise. The descriptions are often not very useful, but sometimes they can be. I guess you just have to adapt to their conventions a little bit.

answered Nov 3, 2014 at 22:26

Leon Cullens

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