I usually see these two words especially in the context of programming.
I see both words being used in similar situations.
Can any one tell me the difference?
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4 Answers
The word 'document' is a countable noun which means paper or some report. It is also as a verb ('Documentation' is not).
"The scientists documented the lab experiments to prove the herb's medicinal properties."
The word 'documentation' is an uncountable noun and is a collection of or body of material of any subject/topic.
"This is just one report, where is the documentation for the whole project?"
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3The example for "document" is actually using the verb "document".Nico– Nico2014-03-25 21:38:13 +00:00Commented Mar 25, 2014 at 21:38
Document is a form of information that means record,or a capture of things and events so information will not be lost.
But the process of to save, to improve and make essential is documentation.
In IT especially we tend to use documentation as a plural for document. In the above example, "This is just one report, where is the documentation for the whole project?" we could have very well asked "...where are the documents for the whole project?" We don't usually say this in other contexts "Where are the documents for the sale of property?" or "I have misplaced the documents for the adoption" is more common.
As the first remark noted, documentation is also the activity of creating documents. So a timesheet could have activities like coding, testing and documentation. (Where I work we spend most time on the last!)
For example other than IT: When you apply for a loan, you must submit the required documents or documentation?
I would opt for documentation rather than documents.
