Caution: The documentation you are viewing is
for an older version of Zend Framework.
You can find the documentation of the current version at:
https://docs.zendframework.com/
Documentation File Formatting - Zend Framework Documentation Standard
Each manual file must include the following XML declarations at the top of the file:
XML files from translated languages must also include a revision tag containing the revision of the corresponding English-language file the translation was based on.
The maximum line length, including tags, attributes, and indentation, is not to exceed 100 characters. There is only one exception to this rule: attribute and value pairs are allowed to exceed the 100 chars as they are not allowed to be separated.
Indentation should consist of 4 spaces. Tabs are not allowed.
Tags which are at the same level must have the same indentation.
Tags which are one level under the previous tag must be indented with 4 additional spaces.
Multiple block tags within the same line are not allowed; multiple inline tags are allowed, however.
Line termination follows the Unix text file convention. Lines must end with a single linefeed (LF) character. Linefeed characters are represented as ordinal 10, or hexadecimal 0x0A.
Note: Do not use carriage returns (CR) as is the convention in Apple OS's (0x0D) or the carriage return - linefeed combination (CRLF) as is standard for the Windows OS (0x0D, 0x0A).
Empty tags are not allowed; all tags must contain text or child tags.
Opening block tags should have no whitespace immediately following them other than line breaks (and indentation on the following line).
Opening inline tags should have no whitespace immediately following them.
Closing block tags may be preceded by whitespace equivalent to the current indentation level, but no more than that amount.
Closing inline tags must not be preceded by any whitespace.
Multiple line breaks within or between tags are not allowed.
Tags at the same level must be separated by an empty line to improve readability.
The first child tag should open directly below its parent, with no empty line between them; the last child tag should close directly before the closing tag of its parent.
The opening <programlisting> tag must indicate the appropriate "language" attribute and be indented at the same level as its sibling blocks.
CDATA should be used around all program listings.
<programlisting> sections must not add linebreaks or whitespace at the beginning or end of the section, as these are then represented in the final output.
Ending CDATA and <programlisting> tags should be on the same line, without any indentation.
The <programlisting> tag should contain the "language" attribute with a value appropriate to the contents of the program listing. Typical values include "css", "html", "ini", "javascript", "php", "text", and "xml".
For program listings containing only PHP code, PHP tags (e.g., "<?php", "?>") are not required, and should not be used. They simply clutter the narrative, and are implied by the use of the <programlisting> tag.
Line lengths within program listings should follow the coding standards recommendations.
Refrain from using require_once(), require(), include_once(), and include() calls within PHP listings. They simply clutter the narrative, and are largely obviated when using an autoloader. Use them only when they are essential to the example.
Note: Never use short tags
Short tags (e.g., "<?", "<?=") should never be used within programlisting or the narrative of a document.
The tag <classname> must be used each time a class name is represented by itself; it should not be used when combined with a method name, variable name, or constant, and no other content is allowed within the tag.
Variables must be wrapped in the <varname> tag. Variables must be written using the "$" sigil. No other content is allowed within this tag, unless a class name is used, which indicates a class variable.
Methods must be wrapped in the <methodname> tag. Methods must either include the full method signature or at the least a pair of closing parentheses (e.g., "()"). No other content is allowed within this tag, unless a class name is used, which indicates a class method.
Use the <constant> tag when denoting constants. Constants must be written in UPPERCASE. No other content is allowed within this tag, unless a class name is used, which indicates a class constant.
Filenames and paths must be wrapped in the <filename> tag. No other content is allowed in this tag.
Commands, shell scripts, and program calls must be wrapped in the <command> tag. If the command includes arguments, these should also be included within the tag.
Usage of the <code> tag is discouraged, in favor of the other inline tasks discussed previously.
The <title> tag is not allowed to hold other tags.
