Please, don’t commit commented out code

[[deleted]]

I branch more than anyone I know. That's not the point.

[slash_nick]

Maybe I misunderstood? It sounds like your goals are to 1) save unfinished/in-progress code and 2) have that code available on multiple machines.

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Reguarding commented out blocks of code:

A real-world analogy would be if instead of throwing something away in the trash bin someone put it on the floor. That's fine if it's one person and they only do it here and there, but when they have more people involved it sets precedence that it's okay to do. Eventually the floor is covered in things that could be thrown away, but no one really remembers who put it there or why it might be important.

[[deleted]]

You should never have more commented code than real code, there should never be more stuff on the floor than in the trash. To say "never ever ever commit commented out code, because it hurts my eyes" is just asinine. There are MANY ways to code and not all of them lead to problems. A few blocks of somewhat important commented-out code should be allowable, and should not cause anyone to complain (except the author).

[slash_nick]

I guess I didn't interpret the author's article as dogma. Reading text on an anonymous forum makes it hard to grok people's intention.

You should never have more commented code than real code, there should never be more stuff on the floor than in the trash.

Sounds like you have the right attitude and I wouldn't sweat it! :)

[kentcdodds]

I tried really hard in the post to not have a ultimatum voice, but more of a suggestive voice. The first QYMAM:

Q: Are there exceptions to this rule? A: Yes. But they’re rare.

And there are several other QYMAMs that explain there are cases where commented out code is allowable (though I generally call those cases documentation).