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Contents

API Documentation

APIdoc is an index of API documentation. On this site you can access documentation from a wide variety of sources including Javadocs for J2SE, J2EE and other popular libaries, .Net, PHP, MySQL, HTML, CSS, etc.

The principle idea behind the site is being able to access and browse documentation quickly. You can jump to a particular item by typing its name (either in full or a recognized shortened form). APIdoc also provides the following facilities:

APIdoc was developed by Philip Ross.

Sources

Each source or set of documentation is known as a docset. A list of the available docsets is available.

Currently, docsets must be configured for the whole system. Eventually, you will be able to upload your own.

If there is a docset you'd be interested in seeing on the site, please contact us.

Searching

If you type a word into the search box on the home page or around the site, by default you will search across all documentation in the system. Press Search to return a list of matching results, or Goto to take you directly to the first match.

Searching is performed on the full names of items. To find the JavaDoc page for java.lang.String, you could either enter java.lang.String or just string. Searching is not case-sensitive.

To restrict a search to a particular docset, you can prefix the search with its alias and a colon. For example, you might enter j2se:string to search the J2SE documentation for string. Some default aliases are configured for you. You can also define your own aliases and override the system ones on the alias configuration page.

You can pick one alias as a default. If you select a default, any searches without a prefix will search the default alias rather than all the docsets in the system. To select a default alias, use the Account Details page.

Docsets can also be collected into groups. Each group can be given aliases so that it can be used in searches. A search on a group will be performed on all the docsets that the group contains. Again, some default groups are defined for you. You can define your own groups from the group configuration page.

Comments

As a user of APIdoc, you can comment on items of documentation to assist others (particularly useful where documentation is inaccurate or incomplete). Each item in a docset has its own threaded comments section.

History

If you are logged in, a history of the searches you've made and items you've viewed is recorded. The history is displayed alongside documentation pages.

Mirrors

APIdoc serves as an index for API documentation. When viewing documentation you are directed to its source, or a mirror of the source. We do a lookup on your IP address to determine where in the world you are located. This helps select an appropriate mirror.

You can also configure your own mirrors for docsets, for example, pointing at a local hard drive copy or mirror on your local network. You can configure mirrors to only be used at certain locations (based on IP address), so that you only see your local mirror when it is available.

Browser Search Plugins

If you are using Firefox, Mozilla, Netscape or other Mozilla-based browsers you can install two APIdoc search plugins. In Firefox, a drop down selection of search providers is available to the right of the URL entry bar.

The first allows you to do a normal APIdoc search. Click here to install it.

The second allows you to go directly to the first APIdoc search result. Click here to install it.

IntelliJ IDEA Plugin

A plugin is available that allows you to search from IntelliJ IDEA.

To install the plugin, open IDE Settings in IDEA and select the Plugins section. Select APIdoc Search from the list of available plugins and choose Download and Install.

The plugin adds options to the Tools menu and editor right click menu. You can also search by pressing Alt-A (configurable through IDEA's keymap settings) from within the editor.

To link the plugin up with your APIdoc account, go to the APIdoc section of the IDE settings and press the Set button in the User Key section to log in. Logging the plugin in allows you to search using any aliases you have defined and means that searches performed using the plugin will be recorded against your account. If you change your password on the site at any point, you will have to log the plugin in again.

You can configure the plugin from the APIdoc section in IDE settings. The plugin uses IDEA's proxy settings, which can be configured in the General section of IDE settings.

XML Interface

An XML interface exists to allow programmatic access to certain featurs of the site. Documentation for this interface is available.

Many pages (comments, history, etc) have Atom feeds. Look for the XML icons.

Hosting

Dreamhost

APIdoc is hosted by DreamHost. With the basic account, Dreamhost provide:

All this costs just $9.95 per month (or $7.95 per month if you sign up for two years in advance). Accounts with higher limits are also available. You can also get hosting on dedicated servers.

When signing up, use the the promotional code APIDOC50 to receive a discount of $50 off your first payment.

Amazon

In association with Amazon (Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk), on many of the documentation pages you may find links to recommended books.