DOC

dOc is an acronym that appears in several contexts, but in technology discussions it is often associated with Documentation Object Container, a proposed packaging format for software documentation. The term is used primarily in informal discussions and does not correspond to a formal, universally adopted standard.

Overview: A dOc package is intended to bundle code samples, API references, tutorials, and project metadata into a single distributable artifact. It is designed to support multiple renderers (HTML, PDF, offline in-app views) and to preserve the relationships between documentation and the software it describes, such as version alignment and dependency notes.

History: The concept originated in open-source and developer tooling conversations in the 2010s. While several projects experimented with packaging documentation using a dOc-like approach, no widely accepted specification emerged, and many teams settled on established tools such as Markdown with static site generators or DocBook-based workflows.

Architecture and features: Core elements typically include a manifest file listing contents and metadata, a content directory tree, and pluggable renderers. A dOc container may include version metadata, licensing, authorship, and optional signed artifacts. Extensibility is a common goal, enabling custom metadata schemas and renderer templates.

See also: DocBook, Markdown, Sphinx, Javadoc.