Reference

Reference guides are technical descriptions of the machinery and how to operate it. Reference material is information-oriented.

Reference material contains propositional or theoretical knowledge that a user looks to in their work.

The only purpose of a reference guide is to describe, as succinctly as possible, and in an orderly way. Whereas the content of tutorials and how-to guides are led by needs of the user, reference material is led by the product it describes.

Diátaxis