documentationfor

Documentationfor is a shorthand label used in some software documentation practices to identify the intended target of a documentation entry. It serves as metadata that links a doc block, page, or artifact to the component, module, or API it describes. The term is not tied to a single standard and is not universally adopted; usage varies by organization and tooling.

In practice, documentationfor may appear as a field in structured documents, or as a tag in code comments. Examples include a JSON snippet like {"documentationFor": "AuthenticationService.login"} or YAML like documentationFor: AuthenticationService.login. In source code, developers may annotate docs with a corresponding value to enable tooling to assemble navigable docs or to generate per-component documentation pages.

It interacts with documentation ecosystems by enabling cross-references, search indexing, and component catalogs. It can be part of a broader metadata scheme alongside fields such as title, summary, version, and author. Variants include documentationFor, documentation_for, or documentFor, with naming conventions typically reflecting project style guides. Consistency is important to ensure reliable linking.

Limitations include the lack of a formal standard, potential ambiguity across large codebases, and maintenance overhead as components evolve. Good governance involves documenting the meaning of the value, versioning, and establishing guidelines for when and how to update the field.