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(cds 9) Propagation of doc comments #1825

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(cds 9) Propagation of doc comments
stewsk May 9, 2025
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Merge branch 'main' into doc-comments
stewsk May 9, 2025
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Update cds/cdl.md
stewsk May 9, 2025
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45 changes: 30 additions & 15 deletions cds/cdl.md
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Expand Up @@ -304,19 +304,6 @@ entity Employees {
The text of a doc comment is stored in CSN in the property `doc`.
When generating OData EDM(X), it appears as value for the annotation `@Core.Description`.

When generating output for deployment to SAP HANA, the first paragraph of a doc comment is translated to the HANA `COMMENT` feature for tables, table columns, and for views (but not for view columns):

```sql
CREATE TABLE Employees (
ID INTEGER,
name NVARCHAR(...) COMMENT 'I am the description for "name"'
) COMMENT 'I am the description for "Employee"'
```

::: tip
Propagation of doc comments can be stopped via an empty one: `/** */`.
:::

In CAP Node.js, doc comments need to be switched on when calling the compiler:

::: code-group
Expand All @@ -331,13 +318,41 @@ cds.compile(..., { docs: true })

:::

::: tip Doc comments are enabled by default in CAP Java.
In CAP Java, doc comments are automatically enabled by the [CDS Maven Plugin](../java/developing-applications/building#cds-maven-plugin). In generated interfaces they are [converted to corresponding Javadoc comments](../java/assets/cds-maven-plugin-site/generate-mojo.html#documentation).
::: tip Doc comments are automatically enabled in CAP Java.
In CAP Java, doc comments are automatically enabled by the [CDS Maven Plugin](../java/developing-applications/building#cds-maven-plugin).
In generated interfaces they are [converted to corresponding Javadoc comments](../java/assets/cds-maven-plugin-site/generate-mojo.html#documentation).
:::


Doc comments are not propagated by default. For example, a doc comment defined for an entity
isn't automatically copied to projections of this entity. Propagation can be switched on:

__TODO__ verify option name

::: code-group

```sh [CLI]
cds compile foo.cds --docs --propagate-docs
```

```js [JavaScript]
cds.compile(..., { docs: true, propagateDocs: true })
```

:::

When switched on, propagation of doc comments can selectively be stopped via an empty one: `/** */`.


When generating output for deployment to SAP HANA, the first paragraph of a doc comment is translated
to the HANA `COMMENT` feature for tables, table columns, and for views (but not for view columns):

```sql
CREATE TABLE Employees (
ID INTEGER,
name NVARCHAR(...) COMMENT 'I am the description for "name"'
) COMMENT 'I am the description for "Employee"'
```


## Entities & Type Definitions
Expand Down