Documentation and Readability

7. Documentation and Readability#

This section focuses on best practices and tools that improve documentation and code clarity in research software.

Why Does Documentation Matter?

  • Clear documentation ensures reproducibility, collaboration, and long-term usability.

  • Readable code is easier to debug, extend, and validate - critical for research integrity.

7.1. Types of Documentation#

7.2. Code Readability Best Practices#

7.3. Tools and Practices#

7.4. Documentation in Research Context#

7.5. Mental Models for Readers#

7.6. Summary Checklist#

  • Docstrings on all public functions/classes

  • README explains purpose, usage, and setup

  • Style guide followed consistently

  • Notebook outputs cleared before commit

  • All dependencies documented

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