Automatically connecting documentation to code with rose

One of the most common problems with program documentation is keeping it synchronized with the source code it purports to explain. One solution to this problem is to automate the documentation process using reverse engineering technology. Reverse engineering is an emerging branch of software engineering that focuses on recreating high-level information (such as program documentation) from low-level artifacts (such as source code). This paper describes an automated approach to maintaining the connection between documentation and code by leveraging the reverse engineering capabilities built-in to Rational Rose. The approach produces application programming interface documentation for component object model-based (COM) dynamic link libraries (DLLs), C++ source code, and Java archive files. The documentation is always accurate and up-to-date. A primary advantage of the approach is its reliance on an industry-standard tool, thereby addressing one of the main concerns with facilitating wide-spread tool adoption: commercial-level support of deployed products.