What is the difference between API and help in Java?
A Java Application Programming Interface (API) is a packaged set of classes, interfaces, variables and methods that a programmer can use to write their own Java programs. The Java language has a syntax to include documentation comments amongst the code of a program to explain its purpose, example usage and advisory notes. The Java Software Development Kit (SDK) includes a JavaDoc tool to automatically generate HTML format API documentation from these embedded documentation comments, which are a form of online help. Many Java Integrated Development Environments (IDE) also include code completion as you type, based on the API packages used in a project. When the IDE recognises the start of a method name associated with a known Java type it may prompt to complete the statement. This type of context-aware help is based on the contents of a Java API but is not part of the API itself. Actions: Follow-up, clarify or correct this answer. Submit a new question.
A Java Application Programming Interface (API) is a packaged set of classes, interfaces, variables and methods that a programmer can use to write their own Java programs. The Java language has a syntax to include documentation comments amongst the code of a program to explain its purpose, example usage and advisory notes. The Java Software Development Kit (SDK) includes a JavaDoc tool to automatically generate HTML format API documentation from these embedded documentation comments, which are a form of online help. Many Java Integrated Development Environments (IDE) also include code completion as you type, based on the API packages used in a project. When the IDE recognises the start of a method name associated with a known Java type it may prompt to complete the statement. This type of context-aware help is based on the contents of a Java API but is not part of the API itself. Actions: Follow-up or correct this answer. Submit a new question.
