Document tags that begin with an @ are called stand-alone tags.
They must be used on their own line.
Tags that begin with a brace, such as {@code}, are called in-line tags, and they can be used within a larger description.
You may also use other, standard HTML tags in a documentation comment.
The javadoc utility recognizes the following tags:
| Tag | Meaning |
|---|---|
| @author | Identifies the author. |
| {@code} | Displays information as-is, without processing HTML styles, in code font. |
| @deprecated | Specifies that a program element is deprecated. |
| {@docRoot} | Specifies the path to the root directory of the current documentation. |
| @exception | Identifies an exception thrown by a method or constructor. |
| {@inheritDoc} | Inherits a comment from the immediate superclass. |
| {@link} | Inserts an in-line link to another topic. |
| {@linkplain} | Inserts an in-line link to another topic, but the link is displayed in a plain-text font. |
| {@literal} | Displays information as-is, without processing HTML styles. |
| @param | Documents a parameter. |
| @return | Documents a method's return value. |
| @see | Specifies a link to another topic. |
| @serial | Documents a default serializable field. |
| @serialData | Documents the data written by the writeObject() or writeExternal() methods. |
| @serialField | Documents an ObjectStreamField component. |
| @since | States the release when a specific change was introduced. |
| @throws | Same as @exception. |
| {@value} | Displays the value of a constant, which must be a static field. |
| @version | Specifies the version of a class. |
The @author tag documents the author of a class or interface.
It has the following syntax:
@author description
Here, description is the name of the author.
You will need to specify the -author option when executing javadoc in order for the @author field to be included in the HTML documentation.
The {@code} tag can embed a snippet of code into a comment.
That text is displayed as-is in code font, without any further processing.
It has the following syntax:
{@code code-snippet}
The @deprecated tag marks that a program element is deprecated.
It is recommended that you include @see or {@link} tags to inform the programmer about available alternatives.
The syntax is the following:
@deprecated description
Here, description is the message that describes the deprecation.
The @deprecated tag can be used in documentation for fields, methods, constructors, classes, and interfaces.
{@docRoot} sets the path to the root directory of the current documentation.
The @exception tag marks an exception to a method.
It has the following syntax:
@exception exception-name explanation
Here, the fully qualified name of the exception is marked by exception-name.
explanation is a string that describes how the exception can occur.
The @exception tag can only be used in documentation for a method or constructor.
{@inheritDoc} tag inherits a comment from the immediate superclass.
The {@link} tag sets an in-line link to additional information.
It has the following syntax:
{@link pkg.class#member text}
Here, pkg.class#member specifies the name of a class or method to which a link is added, and text is the string that is displayed.
Inserts an in-line link to another topic.
The link is displayed in plain-text font. Otherwise, it is similar to {@link}.
The {@literal} tag can embed text into a comment.
That text is then displayed as-is, without any further processing.
It has the following syntax:
{@literal description}
Here, description is the text that is embedded.
The @param tag documents a parameter.
It has the following syntax:
@param parameter-name explanation
Here, parameter-name specifies the name of a parameter.
The meaning of that parameter is described by explanation.
The @param tag can be used only in documentation for a method or constructor, or a generic class or interface.
The @return tag describes the return value of a method.
It has the following syntax:
@return explanation
Here, explanation describes the type and meaning of the value returned by a method.
The @return tag can be used only in documentation for a method.
The @see tag provides a reference to additional information.
Two commonly used forms are shown here:
@see anchor
@see pkg.class#member text
anchor is a link to an absolute or relative URL.
pkg.class#member sets the name of the item, and text is the text displayed for that item.
The @serial tag defines the comment for a default serializable field.
It has the following syntax:
@serial description
Here, description is the comment for that field.
The @serialData tag documents the data written by the writeObject() and writeExternal() methods.
It has the following syntax:
@serialData description
Here, description is the comment for that data.
For a class that implements Serializable, the @serialField tag provides comments for an ObjectStreamField component.
It has the following syntax:
@serialField name type description
Here, name is the name of the field, type is its type, and description is the comment for that field.
The @since tag states that an element was introduced in a specific release.
It has the following syntax:
@since release
Here, release is a string that designates the release or version in which this feature became available.
The @throws tag has the same meaning as the @exception tag.
{@value} has two forms.
The first displays the value of the constant.
It has this form:
{@value}
The second form displays the value of a specified static field.
It has this form:
{@value pkg.class#field}
Here, pkg.class#field specifies the name of the static field.
The @version tag specifies the version of a class or interface.
It has the following syntax:
@version info
Here, info is a string that contains version information, typically a version number, such as 1.0.
To include the version number in the HTML documentation, specify the -version option in command line when executing javadoc.