cweb ☆

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Description:
Literate documentation system for C, C++, and Java

Type: Formula | Latest Version: 4.12.2@0 | Tracked Since: Dec 17, 2025

Links: Homepage | formulae.brew.sh

Category: Developer tools

Tags: literate-programming documentation c cpp java knuth

Install: brew install cweb

About:
CWEB is a literate programming system that allows developers to interleave source code with explanatory text in a single document. It processes these documents to generate both compilable source code and high-quality documentation, typically in TeX format. This tool enables programmers to create programs that are readable and maintainable by humans, not just machines.

Key Features:

Generates both C/C++/Java source code and TeX documentation from a single source
Supports the literate programming paradigm pioneered by Donald Knuth
Enables embedding of narrative and explanatory text alongside code
Produces clean, well-documented code and professional documentation

Use Cases:

Creating comprehensive documentation for complex algorithms alongside their implementation
Developing maintainable codebases where the logic is explained in a human-readable narrative
Academic and research software development requiring detailed documentation

Alternatives:

Doxygen – Doxygen generates documentation from code comments, while CWEB weaves code and documentation together from the start
noweb – noweb is another literate programming tool that is language-agnostic, whereas CWEB is specifically designed for C, C++, and Java

License: LicenseRef-Homebrew-cannot-represent

Bottles available for: arm64_tahoe, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_ventura, sonoma, ventura, arm64_linux, x86_64_linux

Version History

Detected	Version	Rev	Change	Commit
Jan 1, 2025 1:53pm		0	VERSION_BUMP	7f382b2e