QuickBook is an add-on for BoostBook. This utility started as someone’s weekend project. Originally, QuickBook outputted simple HTML documents. However, now it outputs XML in BoostBook format so that you can quickly generate documentation that links with the rest of the documentation for your project. QuickBook is a WikiWiki style documentation tool.
It’s important to note that some people simply call it a Wiki or Wiki-Wiki or even Wiki Wiki. All the terms mean the same thing.
Before you use QuickBook, you generate a documentation file. Check out this complete syntax summary for QuickBook.
At this point, you’re probably wondering why you should use QuickBook at all, since you have to generate a document file for it anyway. Here are the reasons why many developers use QuickBook instead of relying on BoostBook directly:
The QuickBook syntax is easier to read and use than writing XML.
You can use QuickBook to generate non-Boost documentation.
It’s relatively easy to convert other documentation formats into QuickBook syntax.
QuickBook is a command-line utility. You find it in the CodeBlocksboost_1_55_0distbin directory after generating the Boost tools. Here are the command-line switches you can access when working with QuickBook:
--help: Displays a help message showing all the command-line switches, as well as the command-line syntax.
--version: Displays version information about QuickBook.
--no-pretty-print: Disables XML printing and uses plain text instead.
--indent arg: Defines the number of spaces to use for indents (as specified by arg).
--linewidth arg: Defines the number of characters in a single line.
--input-file arg: Specifies the name of the input file.
--output-file arg: Specifies the name of the output file.
--debug: Places QuickBook in debug mode (useful only for developers who want to tinker with the executable).
--ms-errors: Specifies that QuickBook should use the Microsoft Visual Studio style of errors and warnings in the output message format. This option can make QuickBook easier for Microsoft Visual Studio developers to use and understand.
