Is there an equivalent for java doc in c++ , to view the methods and constants of header files?

Answer 1

Doxygen is what you are looking for:
http://www.stack.nl/~dimitri/doxygen/

It isn't exactly like Javadoc, but it does scan your source code and generates nicely formatted documentation, including class hiearchies. It supports many languages and could actually serve as a standard if your project incorporates a blend of Java, C++, and CORBA (IDL), for example!

Answer 2

I use java almost on a daily basis and I have used c++ in the past, and I don't think I ever saw anything that closely resemble "java doc" for c++. However, I might be wrong.

From your question though, it seems you are only interested in viewing the hyrearchy of your program. And for this I know that any flavor of Microsoft Visual Studio will do. If you are interested in a certain function you click on the name and it will take you to the definition of that function. This can be either in header file or in a c++ file. If you are documenting everyone of your methods then this will probably take you to the specific documentation for your method - kind of like java doc. Also, I believe that if you right click in the name of a function, constant, or variable you can select something along the lines of "Go to declaration." This will also probably get you to where your code is.

Hope that helps. If there is something such as java doc or anything that is close to it in Visual Studio I will also like to know how to use it.

Update: Since this kind of tool would be really useful I couldn't help myself but to look in the internet for this thing. Apparently, there is not a standard for all the c++ compiler vendors to follow, but if you go to sun's website and search for javadoc they themselves list tools for other languages that accomplish kind of the same thing as javadoc. Here is a couple that I believe are free.

http://docpp.sourceforge.net/
http://www.stack.nl/~dimitri/doxygen/

I will be giving them a try in my next c++ coding session.

Answer 3

Unfortunately, as the other answerer said, there is nothing like java docs for c++. You will have to read the individual headers themselves to find out what is in them. Some headers will not contain the information that you are seeking though. The headers are usually in an 'include' folder where your compiler is.