CodingGuidelines: document the API in *.h files

It makes it harder to let the API description and the reality drift
apart if the doc is kept close to the implementation or the header
of the API.  We have been slowly migrating API docs out of the
Documentation/technical/api-* to *.h files, and the development
community generally considers that how inline docs in strbuf.h is
done the best current practice.

We recommend documenting in the header over documenting near the
implementation to encourage people to write the docs that are
readable without peeking at the implemention.

Helped-by: Jeff King <peff@peff.net>
Signed-off-by: Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>

diff --git a/Documentation/CodingGuidelines b/Documentation/CodingGuidelines
index 48aa4edfbdd180e1c6d874b6bb61ea5fc8e32ef5..8dddb50a9df7100577aab159a3fc1f7db09953c3 100644 (file)
--- a/Documentation/CodingGuidelines
+++ b/Documentation/CodingGuidelines
@@ -358,7 +358,10 @@ For C programs:
    string_list for sorted string lists, a hash map (mapping struct
    objects) named "struct decorate", amongst other things.
 
- - When you come up with an API, document it.
+ - When you come up with an API, document its functions and structures
+   in the header file that exposes the API to its callers. Use what is
+   in "strbuf.h" as a model for the appropriate tone and level of
+   detail.
 
  - The first #include in C files, except in platform specific compat/
    implementations, must be either "git-compat-util.h", "cache.h" or