PyCharm 2016.3 Help

Creating Documentation Comments

In this section:

Creating documentation comments for a method or function

Please note the following:

  • PyCharm checks syntax in the documentation comments and treats it according to the Error settings.
  • If the entered text contains HTML tags, the closing tag will be automatically added after typing >, provided that this behavior is enabled in the editor settings.
  • When typing in a documentation comment, the caret automatically moves to an expected position. For example:
    /help/img/idea/2016.3/javadoc_smart_enter.png

Creating tags

To create tags in a documentation comment block

  1. In a comment block, select the desired empty line and type @ or : character.
  2. Press Ctrl+Space, or just wait for Code Completion to display the suggestion list:
    /help/img/idea/2016.3/py_doc_comment_tags.png
  3. Select a tag from the suggestion list. For example, you can specify the parameters type, or return type.
  4. If a certain tag has several values, press Ctrl+Space after the tag, and select the desired value from the suggestion list. For example, PyCharm suggests to select the desired parameter name.
    /help/img/idea/2016.3/py_param_completion.png

Creating and fixing doc comments

Documentation comment can be created with the dedicated action Fix Doc Comment. It can be invoked by means of Find Action command.

Press Ctrl+Shift+A, with the caret somewhere within a class, method, function, or field, which should be documented, and enter the action name Fix Doc String. The missing documentation stub with the corresponding tags is added. For example:

function loadDocs(myParam1, myParam2){}

Type the opening documentation comment and press Enter to generate the documentation comment stub:

/** * @param myParam1 * @param myParam2 */

The next case lays with fixing problems in the existing documentation comments.

For example, if a method signature has been changed, PyCharm highlights a tag that doesn't match the method signature, and suggests a quick fix.

For Python, PyCharm suggests an inspection Ignore unresolved reference:

/help/img/idea/2016.3/py_fix_doc_comment.png

For JavaScript, PyCharm suggests an intention action UpdateJSDoc comment. You can also press Ctrl+Shift+A, and type the action name:

/help/img/idea/2016.3/fix_doc_comment_js.png

Creating documentation comments for Python functions

To create documentation comment for a Python function

  1. Place the caret after the declaration of a function you want to document.
  2. Type opening triple quotes, and press Enter, or Space.
  3. Add meaningful description of parameters and return values.

To create documentation comment for a Python function using intention action

  1. Place the caret somewhere within the function you want to document.
  2. Press Alt+Enter to show the available intention actions.
  3. Choose Insert documentation string stub:
    /help/img/idea/2016.3/docstring_example_2.png

    PyCharm generates documentation comment stub according to docstring format, selected in the Python Integrated Tools page.

Example of Python comment

Consider the following function:

def handle(self, myParam1, myParam2):

In the Python Integrated Tools page, select Epytext. Then type the opening triple quotes and press Enter or Space. PyCharm generates documentation comment stub:

''' @param self: @param myParam1: @param myParam2: @return: '''

Then select reStructuredText, type the opening triple quotes and press Enter or Space. PyCharm generates documentation comment stub:

''' :param self: :param myParam1: :param myParam2: :return: '''

See Also

Last modified: 23 December 2016