Custom tags with Doxygen

Question

I am trying to figure out if there is a way to create a custom tag using Doxygen. I did find the ALIAS configuration file option but that does not do exactly what I need. Basically in my code I want to be able to write something like

/// \req Requirement #322 - blah blah

And then have Doxygen create a list like it does for \bug and \todo commands for lines that have this custom tag. Is this possible with Doxygen?

Answer 1

The generalization of \bug and \todo is \xrefitem.

The solution I suggest is:

• in Doxyfile:

  ALIASES += "req=\xrefitem req \"Requirement\" \"Requirements\" "
  

• in documented code:

  /// \req #42 - The system shall work in any situation
  

Answer 2

Thanks mouviciel! I have adopted your solution and extended it for my purposes.

The text below goes into my Doxyfile:

ALIASES += req{1}="\ref SRTX_\1 \"SRTX-\1\" "
ALIASES += satisfy{1}="\xrefitem satisfy \"Satisfies requirement\" \"Requirement Implementation\" \1"
ALIASES += verify{1}="\xrefitem verify \"Verifies requirement\" \"Requirement Verification\" \1"

Where SRTX is the name of my project and is used as a prefix to requirements.

Then I create a file called Requirements.dox that provides a link between the requirement id and a URL for the requirement in my requirements management tool (an issue tracker in my case).

/**
@page Requirements

@section Build1

@anchor SRTX_1113
<a href="https://foo.bar.com/mantis/view.php?id=1113">SRTX-1113</a>

@anchor SRTX_1114
<a href="https://foo.bar.com/mantis/view.php?id=1114">SRTX-1114</a>

*/

One could also put the text of the requirement in the anchor tag if you didn't need to link to an external source.

In my code I have:

/**
 * This is the basic executive that schedules processes.
 * @satisfy{@req{1114}}
 */
class Scheduler: public Process
{
    ...
}

And in my tests I put:

/**
 * Provide a number of tests for process scheduling.
 * @verify{@req{1114}}
 */
class Scheduler_ut : public CppUnit::TestFixture
{
    ...
}

This gives me related pages for Requirements, Requirements Implementation, and Requirements Verification. It also provides Satisfies requirement and Verifies requirements sections in the class description (or function -- wherever you put the tag).

Answer 3

Combining the two answers above, you can have a single clean requirement tag that will build a cross-reference table, and, also provide a direct link to the requirement repo in your docs:

Doxygen CONFIG file:

ALIASES = "requirement{1}=@xrefitem requirement \"Requirements\" \"Requirements Traceability\" <a href=\"http://your.requirementtool.com/browse/\1\">\1</a>"

Source code:

@requirement{REQ-123} Brief textual summary of this requirement item

This will render in the documentation as:

Requirements:

• REQ-123 Brief textual summary of this requirement item