Editing Documentation (section)

{{Short description|Set of documents providing knowledge to explain a system}}
{{for|a guide on using the documentation in Wikipedia templates|Template:Documentation|selfref=y}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}

'''Documentation''' is any communicable material that is used to describe, explain or instruct regarding some attributes of an object, system or procedure, such as its parts, assembly, installation, maintenance, and use.<ref>{{cite web |title=Documentation definition by The Linux Information Project |url=http://www.linfo.org/documentation.html |website=www.linfo.org |access-date=9 August 2020}}</ref> As a form of [[knowledge management]] and [[knowledge organization]], documentation can be provided on paper, online, or on [[Digital media|digital]] or [[analog media]], such as [[Tape recorder|audio tape]] or [[Compact disc|CDs]]. Examples are [[User guide|user guides]], [[white papers]], [[online help]], and quick-reference guides. Paper or hard-copy documentation has become less common.{{Citation needed|date=August 2020}} Documentation is often distributed via websites, software products, and other online applications.

Documentation as a set of instructional materials shouldn't be confused with [[documentation science]], the study of the recording and retrieval of information.