Help using Doclet API to create Stubs

[Michael K. Wilson]

Hello fellow Ranchers,

Need a way to create a source code stub (a new Java source file from a pre-existing Java source file) which includes JavaDoc (but does not contain any implementation specifics or private properties / private members). Read that the best way to go about doing this is by using the Doclet API located in the JVM's tools.jar archive.

Basically, need to write a Java program which does the following:

(1) Reads a top-level source directory (containing multiple source files) or a single Java source file.

(2) Parses a Java file and and then outputs a new Java file to a different directory.

(3) The newly created Java file, is the same as the first, but does not include implementation / details of the code, inside the methods. Also, it doesn't contain the private members and private fields from the original, but does contain public and protected properties and methods. It does need to include the JavaDoc comments from the original.

Here's an example:

e.g. Original .java source file:

/**
 * The Inventory class contains the amounts of all the
 * inventory in the system. The types of 
 * inventory in the system include coffee, milk, sugar
 * and chocolate.
 */
public class Inventory { 
   
   /**
    * Inventory for coffee
    */
   private int amtCoffee;
 
   /**
    * Default constructor for Inventory
    * Sets all ingredients to 15 units
    */
   public Inventory() {
      this.coffee = 15;
   }
 
   /**
    * Returns the units of coffee in the Inventory
    *
    * @return int
    */
   public int getAmtCoffee() {
      return coffee;
   }
 
   /**
    * Sets the units of coffee in the Inventory
    *
    * @param int new units coffee
    */
   public void setAmtCoffee(int newCoffee) {
      this.coffee = newCoffee;
   }
}

The newly "stubbed" file still has the same name: Inventory.java (but is placed in a different directory):

/**
 * The Inventory class contains the amounts of all the
 * inventory in the system. The types of 
 * inventory in the system include coffee, milk, sugar
 * and chocolate.
 */
public class Inventory { 
 
   /**
    * Default constructor for Inventory
    * Sets all ingredients to 15 units
    */
   public Inventory() {
   }
 
   /**
    * Returns the units of coffee in the Inventory
    *
    * @return int
    */
   public int getAmtCoffee() {
   }
 
   /**
    * Sets the units of coffee in the Inventory
    *
    * @param int new units coffee
    */
   public void setAmtCoffee(int newCoffee) {
   }
}

Question(s):

(1) Is the Doclet API the best way to go about doing this?

(2) Are there any 3rd party tools that do this for a developer?

Happy coding to all,

Mike
[ July 18, 2008: Message edited by: Michael K. Wilson ]

[Campbell Ritchie]

Hardly a beginner's question. Difficult to be sure where the best place to move it is, however.