How can I use "<" and ">" in javadoc without formatting?

Java Problem Overview

If I write <xmlElement> in a javadoc, it does not appear, because tags have special functions on formatting texts.

How can I show this chars in a javadoc?

Java Solutions

Solution 1 - Java

You can use < for < and > for > .

Solution 2 - Java

Recent versions of JavaDoc support {@literal AC}; this outputs the content correctly (escaping the '<' and '>' in the generated HTML).

See http://download.oracle.com/javase/1.5.0/docs/guide/javadoc/whatsnew-1.5.0.html

Solution 3 - Java

Considering XML is actual code, I believe XML snippets in Javadoc are better suited for the {@code AC} tag rather than the {@literal AC} tag.

The {@code } tag uses a fixed-width font which makes its content standout as actual code.

Solution 4 - Java

Escape them as HTML: < and >

Solution 5 - Java

You only need to use the HTML equivalent for one of the angle brackets. The < can be represented as either < or <. Here's a sample taken from real Javadoc:

<pre>
&lt;complexType>
&lt;complexContent>
&lt;restriction base="{http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema}anyType">
&lt;sequence>
[...]

This displays as:

<complexType>
   <complexContent>
     <restriction base="{http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema}anyType">
       <sequence>

Solution 6 - Java

Interposition of <pre> and {@code} saves angle brackets and empty lines in javadocs and is widely used, see java.util.Stream for example.

<pre>{@code
   A<B>C

   D<E>F
}</pre>

Solution 7 - Java

Just surround it with {@code} like this:

{@code <xmlElement>}

Solution 8 - Java

If you set maven up to use markdown, you can just surround it with backticks.

`AC` reads a bit nicer than {@code AC}

Solution 9 - Java

In my case where I wanted to put in my javadocs List<SomeClass>...

I added an even more specific information by giving the link to my SomeClass, so here is my solution :

List<{@link SomeClass}>

Which resulted to a clean :

List<SomeClass>

With underlined 'SomeClass' directing to the specified class.

(of course if the SomeClass is not in same package, the complete path should be referenced)

Content Type	Original Author	Original Content on Stackoverflow
Question	The Student	View Question on Stackoverflow
Solution 1 - Java	Pavitar Singh	View Answer on Stackoverflow
Solution 2 - Java	Howard M. Lewis Ship	View Answer on Stackoverflow
Solution 3 - Java	Etienne Delavennat	View Answer on Stackoverflow
Solution 4 - Java	duffymo	View Answer on Stackoverflow
Solution 5 - Java	Pops	View Answer on Stackoverflow
Solution 6 - Java	Serg	View Answer on Stackoverflow
Solution 7 - Java	ivanjermakov	View Answer on Stackoverflow
Solution 8 - Java	Owen	View Answer on Stackoverflow
Solution 9 - Java	Daric	View Answer on Stackoverflow