I like D modules and it's a major point in the list of major
points why I like D (there is also the second not so nice
wft-list but it's for another post). I'm annoyed with C++
includes and I'm tired to create 2 files every time when I need
to add something new to the project...  But I must admit that one
thing I like in header files is that it is a convenient way to
read public interfaces.

In D we have interface specification and implementation in a
single file and also one approach with unit testing is to put
them immediately after functions which makes writing unit tests
even more easy task (and I like it very much) but again it makes
the gaps between declarations even wider.

So, what are the common approaches for reading public interfaces
in D programs? Especially it would be great to see the answers of
developers who work with more or less big codebases.

The few possible solution I'm thinking about at the moment:

a) Provide D interfaces for corresponding classes (but probably
it's only for more or less complex abstractions and also I won't
use it for Vector3D, also very often I use just regular
functions).

b) Write DDocs and read documentation. The problem here is that
I'm going to use D only for my own projects and in the last time
I tend to write less documentation, for example I do not write it
for the most methods of Vector3D.

c) Do nothing special, just write D modules and try to figure out
public interfaces reading its code. Maybe it works in practice.

Thanks,
Artem.

On Saturday, 21 February 2015 at 20:46:09 UTC, Kenny wrote:
> b) Write DDocs and read documentation. The problem here is that
> I'm going to use D only for my own projects and in the last time
> I tend to write less documentation, for example I do not write it
> for the most methods of Vector3D.

If you're only interested in the signatures, empty documentation comments give you that.

On Saturday, 21 February 2015 at 20:46:09 UTC, Kenny wrote:
> I like D modules and it's a major point in the list of major
> points why I like D (there is also the second not so nice
> wft-list but it's for another post). I'm annoyed with C++
> includes and I'm tired to create 2 files every time when I need
> to add something new to the project...  But I must admit that one
> thing I like in header files is that it is a convenient way to
> read public interfaces.
>
> In D we have interface specification and implementation in a
> single file and also one approach with unit testing is to put
> them immediately after functions which makes writing unit tests
> even more easy task (and I like it very much) but again it makes
> the gaps between declarations even wider.
>
> So, what are the common approaches for reading public interfaces
> in D programs? Especially it would be great to see the answers of
> developers who work with more or less big codebases.
>
> The few possible solution I'm thinking about at the moment:
>
> a) Provide D interfaces for corresponding classes (but probably
> it's only for more or less complex abstractions and also I won't
> use it for Vector3D, also very often I use just regular
> functions).
>
> b) Write DDocs and read documentation. The problem here is that
> I'm going to use D only for my own projects and in the last time
> I tend to write less documentation, for example I do not write it
> for the most methods of Vector3D.
>
> c) Do nothing special, just write D modules and try to figure out
> public interfaces reading its code. Maybe it works in practice.
>
> Thanks,
> Artem.

You can also fold all the function bodies in your editor, this helps me to read massive sources.

On Saturday, 21 February 2015 at 20:56:26 UTC, anonymous wrote:
> On Saturday, 21 February 2015 at 20:46:09 UTC, Kenny wrote:
>> b) Write DDocs and read documentation. The problem here is that
>> I'm going to use D only for my own projects and in the last time
>> I tend to write less documentation, for example I do not write it
>> for the most methods of Vector3D.
>
> If you're only interested in the signatures, empty documentation comments give you that.

Is is possible to generate signatures without modifying source code?

On Sunday, 22 February 2015 at 12:13:02 UTC, MrSmith wrote:
>
> You can also fold all the function bodies in your editor, this helps me to read massive sources.

Oh, I almost forgot about this feature, never used it in C++ but for D it looks promising. Thanks!

On Sun, 22 Feb 2015 16:12:49 +0000, Kenny wrote:

> On Saturday, 21 February 2015 at 20:56:26 UTC, anonymous wrote:
>> On Saturday, 21 February 2015 at 20:46:09 UTC, Kenny wrote:
>>> b) Write DDocs and read documentation. The problem here is that I'm going to use D only for my own projects and in the last time I tend to write less documentation, for example I do not write it for the most methods of Vector3D.
>>
>> If you're only interested in the signatures, empty documentation comments give you that.
> 
> Is is possible to generate signatures without modifying source code?

generating .di file will strip out all non-template code. maybe we need a cli switch to strip out templates too -- you could fill ER.