Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

DocFX VS NDoc

Compare DocFX VS NDoc and see what are their differences

DocFX logo DocFX

A documentation generation tool for API reference and Markdown files!

NDoc logo NDoc

NDoc generates class library documentation from .
  • DocFX Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-05-11
  • NDoc Landing page
    Landing page //
    2019-02-20

DocFX features and specs

  • Open Source
    DocFX is an open-source project, which allows for community contributions and transparency in development.
  • Multi-platform Support
    It supports generating documentation for .NET projects across different operating systems, including Windows, Linux, and macOS.
  • Comprehensive Documentation
    DocFX can generate documentation from source code files as well as markdown files, making it versatile for different types of documentation needs.
  • Customization and Extensibility
    The tool allows for customization of templates and supports plugins, enabling users to tailor the output to their specific requirements.
  • Static Site Generation
    DocFX can generate a full static website from the documentation, which can be easily hosted on platforms like GitHub Pages.
  • Integration with .NET Core
    DocFX integrates well with .NET ecosystem, making it a convenient choice for .NET developers for both code and conceptual documentation.

Possible disadvantages of DocFX

  • Complex Setup
    The initial configuration and setup might be complex for users who are not familiar with the tooling, requiring careful reading of the documentation.
  • Performance Issues
    For large projects, DocFX can be slow during the documentation generation process, which may affect productivity for large-scale documentation.
  • Limited Non-.NET Language Support
    While it is excellent for .NET projects, DocFX offers limited features when applied to projects in other programming languages.
  • Documentation Quality
    Some users might find that the generated documentation lacks polish out-of-the-box, requiring additional effort to meet professional publishing standards.
  • Learning Curve
    There can be a learning curve for new users in understanding how to use DocFX effectively, especially in customizing templates and themes.

NDoc features and specs

  • Open Source
    NDoc is open source, allowing developers to freely use, modify, and distribute the software according to their needs without any cost.
  • C# and .NET Support
    Specifically designed for generating documentation from C# and other .NET languages, making it a good fit for projects using these technologies.
  • Documentation Generation
    Automates the generation of code documentation from source code comments and XML documentation files, improving efficiency in maintaining code documentation.
  • Customizable Output
    Provides options to customize the appearance and content of the output documentation, allowing for more tailored documentation to project needs.

Possible disadvantages of NDoc

  • Maintenance Status
    The project is no longer actively maintained, which can lead to compatibility issues with newer versions of development environments and frameworks.
  • Feature Set Limitations
    Lacks some advanced features found in more modern documentation generation tools, limiting its capability to handle complex documentation needs.
  • Outdated User Interface
    The user interface and general usability of the software may feel outdated, affecting user experience and productivity.
  • Community Support
    With limited active community engagement, finding support and resources for troubleshooting and advanced configuration may be challenging.

DocFX videos

Generate Java documentation with DocFX

NDoc videos

2019 12 16 19 03 NDoc Review

More videos:

  • Review - Not Documented, Not Done (NDOC)

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to DocFX and NDoc)
Documentation
67 67%
33% 33
Documentation As A Service & Tools
Knowledge Base
71 71%
29% 29
Tool
56 56%
44% 44

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, DocFX seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 7 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

DocFX mentions (7)

  • TSDocs.dev: type docs for any JavaScript library
    This is a better looking version of what Java and C# have had for a long time (kudos to the author for that!), is that the inspiration for this tool? https://docs.oracle.com/javase/8/docs/technotes/tools/windows/javadoc.html https://dotnet.github.io/docfx/ I saw the author mentioned in another comment that they found themselves peeping inside type declaration files "too often". While I do often use sites generated... - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • What Does Microsoft Use to Create their KB Articles?
    Actually, we use it for OptiTune, it's called "docfx" https://dotnet.github.io/docfx/. Source: over 3 years ago
  • Library / Codebase Documentation - Multiple aggregated libraries - How to create? DocFx does not support this?
    We would really prefer to use a somewhat generic pre-made tool for this (such as DocFX) compared to rolling our own solution. We can roll our own solution... But would prefer not to so that we can minimize development and maintenance overhead. Source: over 3 years ago
  • CSharp Docuementation Site
    I use docfx from microsoft to generate documentation for all my oss libraries. Source: over 3 years ago
  • What platform is Microsoft Docs hosted on?
    My best guess would be that there's a CI/CD pipeline in GitHub that utilizes DocFX to convert the Markdown files to HTML. The constructed HTML files are then placed in an Azure Storage account that configured for Static Website Hosting combined with Azure CDN. Source: almost 4 years ago
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NDoc mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of NDoc yet. Tracking of NDoc recommendations started around Mar 2021.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing DocFX and NDoc, you can also consider the following products

Doxygen - Generate documentation from source code

JSDoc - An API documentation generator for JavaScript.

Daux.io - Daux.io is a documentation generator that uses a simple folder structure and Markdown files to...

Natural Docs - Natural Docs is an open-source documentation generator for multiple programming languages.

Docsify.js - A magical documentation site generator.

Outline Wiki - A modern team knowledge base for your documentation, support answers, sales process, meeting notes, & more…

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