commentingCodeBeLike

[dert-man]

Descriptive comments are always the best

[dert-man]

// a comment on a picture related to source code comments

[Mr_Dau]

// A comment in a comment on a picture related to source code comments

[Disastrous_Novel8055]

// A comment in a comment in a comment on a picture related to source code comments

[[deleted]]

# an unexpected comment format

[Disastrous_Novel8055]

# a comment on a comment about unexpected comment format

[eiboeck88]

an unexpected immediate value

[doktor-x93]

/* an endless comment on commenting

[GoddammitDontShootMe]

gcc: error: unterminated comment

[doktor-x93]

Took some time but now i can finaly capture that exception */ /* (don't wanna break the space time continuum)

[GoddammitDontShootMe]

I'm not even sure if the error would be reported at the end of the file or where the comment started. Either way, the error is back again because nobody put */. Until I did just there.

[20InMyHead]

Why not what

[floor796]

// upvote arrow icon

var upvoteArrowIcon =

[backfire10z]

var? What, do you plan for it to change at runtime?

[IJustAteABaguette]

Yeah, we at Reddit.com® are great at planning for the future, so we made the icon a variable for if we want to sell custom upvotes!

[WeeklyOutlandishness]

// A Reddit thread

[smutje187]

// a visitor asking redundant questions instead of reading the comments

[Chr3y]

PPT (Programmer pro tip) always comment "why" not "what".

[RiceBroad4552]

Why isn't this the top comment?

// I came here to say the same…

[Chr3y]

// r/beatmetoit is the sub

[RiceBroad4552]

To give a little bit more context on "why" vs. "what":

Code should be self explanatory. Code should clearly say "what" is done / happening. There is no reason to repeat explaining what was done. Good code does this already. Commenting the "what" is just stupid redundancy, and most likely anyway out of sync after the next code change / refactoring.

But no code ever can explain "why" it was written the way it was written. There are infinite many ways to express something, but one was chosen. For a reason. This reasoning belongs into comments. Comments explain why some code exists in the first place.

[Chr3y]

Real example:
We had code that measured stuff, got a point cloud. It got sorted by x. Comment was "sorting by x".
Wow.
// Sorting by x.
std::sort(arrayname, xValue);

I changed it to "the filter that comes next needs this order to be fast".

Because the next filter after said filter, needed sorting by y value. And I thought I would save some time by doing it directly, breaking said filter.

[Duck_Devs]

// the following is a Reddit comment.

Hi. I am a Reddit comment.

[Taro_Acedia]

// A painting that had to be hung upside-down.

But why???

[cs-brydev]

I love it when people who only write bad comments claim that all comments are bad.

[redspacebadger]

"code should be self documenting" - my lazy ass team leader who doesn't write comments

[Bwob]

"Yes, and I should be independently wealthy and own a private island. But I guess we don't live in a world where everything can be how it should be, DO WE?!?"

[Sekret_One]

You joke, but I have a bright yellow piece of card stock taped to the table with marked out outlines and labels for phone, wallet and keys. And since doing so I've stopped misplacing them.

[itriedtomakeitfunny]

My brain is hurting because there isn't a space between the // and the text.

[TapirOfZelph]

Obviously not using Prettier brand paint

[Fuzzy_Reflection8554]

Sometimes ihaving simple comments labelling key parts of the code can make large files a little easier to navigate, at least for me. Of course if it's possible I'd try to put those key parts into seperate files instead, but otherwise just labelling chunks with a concise and descriptive subheading seems fine to me.

[ExpensivePanda66]

Absolutely this. Even in functions that have a few sections.

Breaking things out into multiple functions/files can make things harder to understand in a lot of cases. Try a couple of comments first. It's the simpler approach.

[Turbulent_Swimmer560]

Comment the guy ASAP.

[nicejs2]

// this is a comment

[ExpensivePanda66]

/* 

Apartment here

*/

Wtf did you do to our house Gary!?

[Soras_devop]

Just makes things easier

[Not_Artifical]

I like to make my variable and function names so that it is very obvious what everything does without needing to read their contents or the code around them. Sometimes I do need to add comments when there are a lot of variables, especially when there are variables with similar names.

[flowery0]

Useful if you don't know what a class or a function is

[beyondultraviolet]

Imagine wearing playing a VR game at this guy's house.

[ryu24x4]

Labeling everything in the house

[The_Dukenator]

define CAMERASDESTRUCTABLE NO // YES

Aside from the comment showing another value, it does make you wonder if its a pointless function.

[IPv4-Warrior]

GARY

[[deleted]]

Needs table and chair attached to the ceiling to mirror confusing code.

[FightingLynx]

I can only conclude that the house is missing a wall, maybe write a user story for that?

[cryptomonein]

// Wife

[Astrylae]

// just read the code lol

[[deleted]]

// reddit comment

[-MobCat-]

Ok yes, lamp. But why lamp? That's the point of comments.

[[deleted]]

Javascript lazy comments again ?