A model for structuring user documentation of object-oriented frameworks using patterns and hypertext

Adequate documentation of an object-oriented framework is the prerequisite to its success as a reusable component. The overall design of a framework and its intended method of reuse are not obvious from the source code and thus have to be addressed in the documentation. Most importantly, the documentation of a framework has to be structured in such a way that it guarantees the adequate support of three major audiences: users selecting a framework, users learning to develop typical applications based on the selected framework, and users intending to modify its architecture. This paper presents a model for structuring the documentation of an object-oriented framework. The model integrates existing approaches such as patterns, hypertext, program-understanding tools, and formal approaches into a single structure that is geared towards supporting the three audiences. The model will be illustrated using HotDraw, a Smalltalk framework for drawing editors, as an example. We also give a preliminary evaluation of the model.