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  • L Lost User

    "My code doesn't need comments because it is self documenting, all methods are small and have single functionality, and any business documentation should be provided by the specification and not the code." Discuss.

    MVVM# - See how I did MVVM my way ___________________________________________ Man, you're a god. - walterhevedeich 26/05/2011 .\\axxx (That's an 'M')

    X Offline
    X Offline
    Xittenn
    wrote on last edited by
    #38

    I see nothing wrong with this approach. I work in scientific computing and rarely see commented code. I do not comment my own code. I used to work with Microsoft Dynamics, nothing was commented. IIRC when working with the Source Engine or UT2004 in GD none of the source code had comments. Any comments I have ever seen have simply reflected what was obvious from the function name. If you can't read code how are you doing your job? Naming convention is far more important and far less intrusive. Good documentation in my opinion is far more helpful. If you want to comment use hyperlinks to electronic documentation.

    R 1 Reply Last reply
    0
    • T TheGreatAndPowerfulOz

      AspDotNetDev wrote:

      even for private members

      So you tatoo your privates?

      If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.-John Q. Adams
      You must accept one of two basic premises: Either we are alone in the universe, or we are not alone in the universe. And either way, the implications are staggering.-Wernher von Braun
      Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.-Albert Einstein

      H Offline
      H Offline
      Harry Neethling
      wrote on last edited by
      #39

      :wtf: Can't talk out of experience but that must hurt like there is no tomorrow. :laugh:

      1 Reply Last reply
      0
      • L Lost User

        "My code doesn't need comments because it is self documenting, all methods are small and have single functionality, and any business documentation should be provided by the specification and not the code." Discuss.

        MVVM# - See how I did MVVM my way ___________________________________________ Man, you're a god. - walterhevedeich 26/05/2011 .\\axxx (That's an 'M')

        M Offline
        M Offline
        Mark Hurd
        wrote on last edited by
        #40

        In-line comments are debatable: it depends upon how "self-documenting" your names and language are. Pre-ambles are a must, especially when your IDE will give you intellisense when they're present.

        Regards, Mark Hurd, B.Sc.(Ma.) (Hons.)

        1 Reply Last reply
        0
        • L Lost User

          "My code doesn't need comments because it is self documenting, all methods are small and have single functionality, and any business documentation should be provided by the specification and not the code." Discuss.

          MVVM# - See how I did MVVM my way ___________________________________________ Man, you're a god. - walterhevedeich 26/05/2011 .\\axxx (That's an 'M')

          Sander RosselS Offline
          Sander RosselS Offline
          Sander Rossel
          wrote on last edited by
          #41

          Comments are great when done well. Unfortunately this is rarely the case... The following is a real world example...

          // Save the customer.
          product.Save();

          Another one:

          // i is the index.
          int i = 0;

          Just call the friggin variable 'index' and drop the comment!

          // See mail QQ (it wasn't actually QQ, they were two other initials).
          this.DoSomething();

          Who the hell is QQ and what mail did he send? It's also nice to find change logs in code, comments just for the sake of commenting, comments that describe code that isn't there anymore, a piece of comment that's littered all over your codebase... Comments are lines of code that should be maintained like any other line of code. I hate it when it's perfectly clear to me what a piece of code does, but someone thought it would be nice to still comment it. Now I have to read/adjust the code AND the comment... Comments get out of date, comments lie, comments can be as obscured and unclear as the code itself and comments can be an excuse to write bad code (the code is commented, so it's clear what the code does, right?)... In my opinion comments are a necessary evil at best. The code should speak for itself. Code does not lie and is never outdated. Now it's up to the programmer to make it as clear and readable as possible (unfortunately this is not easy and just straight impossible for some programmers...). But then again, writing good comments is not easy either. I always imagine a writer writing a book. Would he have to comment his paragraphs?

          // What I mean to say in the following section is that Frodo takes his ring to Mount Doom to destroy it, but is attacked by the creature we know as Gollum.
          (actual text) jkfhadj.kbvadulvkb;jlbn av,lnvaduk aa;vn ;ub jb kgbfleukg vbvs
          dfgg afgh;a jafhuhg jdbakjbfjgdfgbukfha afdgfhfdh g fdgfadfgafg fgafdgarerthgaer9df/d.kj fgjdakh
          adfg f8oyfagh ahg hgafoihlawr;ahbnfbjn afad;jkh gfnadjkh89fadyg

          Unfortunately that is what a lot of code really looks like... :sigh:

          It's an OO world.

          public class Naerling : Lazy<Person>{
          public void DoWork(){ throw new NotImplementedException(); }
          }

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          • L Lost User

            I think comments are worth their weight so ling as they are written well - describing the business reasons not the technology (unless the tech is crafty, unusual or complex) when I sit down to write a method, I start by calling it something

            public double CalculateTax(double fine)
            {
            }

            Then I comment it

            ///
            /// Calculate the tax, taking into account the fine passed.
            /// Requires that the tax rate is retrievable from the TaxService
            ///

            Then I might write some test code just to get it building

            ///
            /// Calculate the tax, taking into account the fine passed.
            /// Requires that the tax rate is retrievable from the TaxService
            ///
            public double CalculateTax(double fine)
            {
            // TODO: Perform the tax calculation
            return 34567.89;
            }

            Then I start to flesh out the method by way of comments

            ///
            /// Calculate the tax, taking into account the fine passed.
            /// Requires that the tax rate is retrievable from the TaxService
            ///
            public double CalculateTax(double fine)
            {
            // Get the tax rate using the appropriate service
            // calculate the fine (I think it is just fine * tax rate but need to check with spec!)
            }

            Then, finally, I write the code

            ///
            /// Calculate the tax, taking into account the fine passed.
            /// Requires that the tax rate is retrievable from the TaxService
            ///
            public double CalculateTax(double fine)
            {
            // Get the tax rate using the appropriate service
            double taxRate = GetTaxRate();
            // calculate the fine
            tax = taxRate * fine;

            return tax ;
            

            }

            That way, I can remember where I was if I get interrupted, the comments aren't an afterthought, they are a part of the process and, if I get hit by the Programmer bus, someone else should be able to see what I was doing. Obv. the example is small and trivial, but that's how I work and I fail to understand the 'don't need comments' brigade. What I do hate is/...

            // Multiply the rate by the amount
            return rate * amount;

            which is simply a case of bad commenting in my book - it is not necessary to comment every step

            MVVM# - See how I did MVVM my way ___________________________________________ Man, you're a god. - walterhevedeich 26/05/2011 .\\axxx (That's an 'M')

            M Offline
            M Offline
            M Towler
            wrote on last edited by
            #42

            I am more of an adherent to the "comments are bad" brigade, so will offer a counter view. To be more precise I agree more with the statement that "all comments are apologies [for not making the code self documenting]". I do like statements of intent, not implementation. In the example given, I like the function comment, it states the intent and required preconditions.

            ///
            /// Calculate the tax, taking into account the fine passed.
            /// Requires that the tax rate is retrievable from the TaxService
            ///

            Whereas the following two appear to me to be worthless and merely clutter up the code. I can tell the first line is getting the tax rate, by the call to the self documenting function, and I know the rest is calculating the value because it is obviously a calculation and it corresponds with what the statement of intent in the function documentation was.

            // Get the tax rate using the appropriate service
            double taxRate = GetTaxRate();
            // calculate the fine

            Comments like the above make code harder to read IMO just due to volume of text. More importantly they are often not updated perfectly when code is maintained, especially when scripted edits are performed; I have been misled in the past by reading the comments and the two not corresponding and this has cost me time, so I would prefer to just read the code and not be distracted. Also where they are a repeat of the code they fail the DRY principle. Like yourself I do write comments during the process of implementation, if I want to sketch out some pseudo code in a comment then slowly turn it into code (just in case I win the lottery and someone else has to finish it off). The difference for me is that once I have finished the code, the comments will have been almost entirely replaced by the code.

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            • M M Towler

              I am more of an adherent to the "comments are bad" brigade, so will offer a counter view. To be more precise I agree more with the statement that "all comments are apologies [for not making the code self documenting]". I do like statements of intent, not implementation. In the example given, I like the function comment, it states the intent and required preconditions.

              ///
              /// Calculate the tax, taking into account the fine passed.
              /// Requires that the tax rate is retrievable from the TaxService
              ///

              Whereas the following two appear to me to be worthless and merely clutter up the code. I can tell the first line is getting the tax rate, by the call to the self documenting function, and I know the rest is calculating the value because it is obviously a calculation and it corresponds with what the statement of intent in the function documentation was.

              // Get the tax rate using the appropriate service
              double taxRate = GetTaxRate();
              // calculate the fine

              Comments like the above make code harder to read IMO just due to volume of text. More importantly they are often not updated perfectly when code is maintained, especially when scripted edits are performed; I have been misled in the past by reading the comments and the two not corresponding and this has cost me time, so I would prefer to just read the code and not be distracted. Also where they are a repeat of the code they fail the DRY principle. Like yourself I do write comments during the process of implementation, if I want to sketch out some pseudo code in a comment then slowly turn it into code (just in case I win the lottery and someone else has to finish it off). The difference for me is that once I have finished the code, the comments will have been almost entirely replaced by the code.

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              G Offline
              greldak
              wrote on last edited by
              #43

              M Towler wrote:

              Whereas the following two appear to me to be worthless and merely clutter up the code. I can tell the first line is getting the tax rate, by the call to the self documenting function, and I know the rest is calculating the value because it is obviously a calculation and it corresponds with what the statement of intent in the function documentation was. // Get the tax rate using the appropriate service double taxRate = GetTaxRate(); // calculate the fine

              That comment adds meaning to the code - it tells me that the rate is obtained from a service as opposed to being determined within the function. Your argument would have more vilidity if the function was renamed from GetTaxRate to GetTaxRateFromAppropriateService although even then I would expect some comment within the function to define what "Approprate" means

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              • L Lost User

                "My code doesn't need comments because it is self documenting, all methods are small and have single functionality, and any business documentation should be provided by the specification and not the code." Discuss.

                MVVM# - See how I did MVVM my way ___________________________________________ Man, you're a god. - walterhevedeich 26/05/2011 .\\axxx (That's an 'M')

                7 Offline
                7 Offline
                77465
                wrote on last edited by
                #44

                Code can and should to be self documenting, thus the comments explaining what it does are both unnecessary and harmful. The problem is that claiming that does not automatically make the code self documenting. However, comments explaining why the code does what it does are absolutely necessary. The code itself is not the best place for such comments, they are easier to use when placed into a separate document. Thus, if nothing but "code is self documenting" is said about comments, it is likely the coder does not understand the job. The "provided by specification" part makes me think that is the fact here since specification cannot answer the why. The big WHY is being understood while coding.

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                • G greldak

                  M Towler wrote:

                  Whereas the following two appear to me to be worthless and merely clutter up the code. I can tell the first line is getting the tax rate, by the call to the self documenting function, and I know the rest is calculating the value because it is obviously a calculation and it corresponds with what the statement of intent in the function documentation was. // Get the tax rate using the appropriate service double taxRate = GetTaxRate(); // calculate the fine

                  That comment adds meaning to the code - it tells me that the rate is obtained from a service as opposed to being determined within the function. Your argument would have more vilidity if the function was renamed from GetTaxRate to GetTaxRateFromAppropriateService although even then I would expect some comment within the function to define what "Approprate" means

                  M Offline
                  M Offline
                  M Towler
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #45

                  I feel that level of commenting or descriptive naming would be breaking encapsulation, by exposing the implementation of GetTaxRate. I will go further and say that it would be repeating some of the documentation of GetTaxRate, so fails DRY. This piece of code is simply doing a calculation, so it calls a function to get the rate. It does not really need to have knowledge of where the rate came from to do its task, so it is best not to give it this knowledge. Having minimal information in this function means it will not become out of date when the implementation of GetTaxRate changes, such as to add a local cache of the value obtained from the service, using a database of rates or some other alteration. In summary, what I am really saying is that comments of this type raise the cost of maintenance, as each later change will have to find and change multiple comments in addition to the code itself, or else risk misleading future maintainers.

                  L 1 Reply Last reply
                  0
                  • L Lost User

                    "My code doesn't need comments because it is self documenting, all methods are small and have single functionality, and any business documentation should be provided by the specification and not the code." Discuss.

                    MVVM# - See how I did MVVM my way ___________________________________________ Man, you're a god. - walterhevedeich 26/05/2011 .\\axxx (That's an 'M')

                    F Offline
                    F Offline
                    Fran Porretto
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #46

                    There are a number of interesting aspects to the "comment / don't comment" debate. Let's dispose of the easy ones first:

                    1. Trivial comments. Lord, let me never again see:

                    i++; // Increment I by one.

                    ...in a subordinate's code.

                    2. Comments about technique or mechanics. If your code comments are about technology rather than "business logic," they're probably unnecessary. Yes, it's interesting beyond words that you chose a Shell-Metzner sort over the easier to use Quicksort, but "beyond words" is probably where it belongs. Matters of programming technique are easily looked up online or in reference books.

                    3. Drift, Type 1. As with external documentation, comments can drift away from the code to which they're attached. That doesn't mean the code shouldn't be commented; it merely means that the comments should be maintained along with the code -- and to fail to do so is to fail as a programmer.

                    Now for the not-so-easy ones:

                    4. Drift, Type 2. If there has been a significant alteration in the application, such that the earlier "business logic" no longer applies, it will probably -- let's hope, anyway -- have been captured in a revision of a requirements specification. That, of course, will compel significant alterations to the code...but the new "business logic," as instantiated in the code, should still be annotated in comments unless that logic is so trivial as to require no comment whatsoever (e.g., profit = price - aggregate cost of production).

                    5. Posterity. You, the developer, are prone to think only of your own needs and desires while you're in the process of developing your application. But it's even money or better that you won't be the last programmer to work on that program -- and it's six-five and pick 'em that your successor:

                    • Won't be nearly as conversant with the application's "business logic" as you've come to be;
                    • Won't agree with your technique or your coding style in all particulars;
                    • Will be under serious deadline pressure and could use all the help he can get!

                    Actually, it can be even worse than that: the guy who picks up your program and tries to fix or modify it could well be very, very junior, and thus exposed to all sorts of hazards you, the senior developer, are (relatively) well protected from. Uncommented code can be a nightmare for such a maintenance programmer, especially as the most junior sorts typically get the dirtiest jobs and are ut

                    B 1 Reply Last reply
                    0
                    • L Lost User

                      I think comments are worth their weight so ling as they are written well - describing the business reasons not the technology (unless the tech is crafty, unusual or complex) when I sit down to write a method, I start by calling it something

                      public double CalculateTax(double fine)
                      {
                      }

                      Then I comment it

                      ///
                      /// Calculate the tax, taking into account the fine passed.
                      /// Requires that the tax rate is retrievable from the TaxService
                      ///

                      Then I might write some test code just to get it building

                      ///
                      /// Calculate the tax, taking into account the fine passed.
                      /// Requires that the tax rate is retrievable from the TaxService
                      ///
                      public double CalculateTax(double fine)
                      {
                      // TODO: Perform the tax calculation
                      return 34567.89;
                      }

                      Then I start to flesh out the method by way of comments

                      ///
                      /// Calculate the tax, taking into account the fine passed.
                      /// Requires that the tax rate is retrievable from the TaxService
                      ///
                      public double CalculateTax(double fine)
                      {
                      // Get the tax rate using the appropriate service
                      // calculate the fine (I think it is just fine * tax rate but need to check with spec!)
                      }

                      Then, finally, I write the code

                      ///
                      /// Calculate the tax, taking into account the fine passed.
                      /// Requires that the tax rate is retrievable from the TaxService
                      ///
                      public double CalculateTax(double fine)
                      {
                      // Get the tax rate using the appropriate service
                      double taxRate = GetTaxRate();
                      // calculate the fine
                      tax = taxRate * fine;

                      return tax ;
                      

                      }

                      That way, I can remember where I was if I get interrupted, the comments aren't an afterthought, they are a part of the process and, if I get hit by the Programmer bus, someone else should be able to see what I was doing. Obv. the example is small and trivial, but that's how I work and I fail to understand the 'don't need comments' brigade. What I do hate is/...

                      // Multiply the rate by the amount
                      return rate * amount;

                      which is simply a case of bad commenting in my book - it is not necessary to comment every step

                      MVVM# - See how I did MVVM my way ___________________________________________ Man, you're a god. - walterhevedeich 26/05/2011 .\\axxx (That's an 'M')

                      C Offline
                      C Offline
                      CHill60
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #47

                      Yay hay!!! I KNEW I wasn't the only one out there! I'll sometimes throw in comments like //Use of array[1] is deliberate and correct or whatever when there's any risk that someone may refactor / fix a "bug" without really thinking it through - apparently there are developers like that ;P

                      J 1 Reply Last reply
                      0
                      • M M Towler

                        I feel that level of commenting or descriptive naming would be breaking encapsulation, by exposing the implementation of GetTaxRate. I will go further and say that it would be repeating some of the documentation of GetTaxRate, so fails DRY. This piece of code is simply doing a calculation, so it calls a function to get the rate. It does not really need to have knowledge of where the rate came from to do its task, so it is best not to give it this knowledge. Having minimal information in this function means it will not become out of date when the implementation of GetTaxRate changes, such as to add a local cache of the value obtained from the service, using a database of rates or some other alteration. In summary, what I am really saying is that comments of this type raise the cost of maintenance, as each later change will have to find and change multiple comments in addition to the code itself, or else risk misleading future maintainers.

                        L Offline
                        L Offline
                        liordino
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #48

                        Agreed. It's just my way of viewing this, but I think that simpler is better when writing (and later reading) code, so adding comments that just repeat what the code is already saying or expose some behavior that whoever is using it just don't need to know is failing this principle. That's not to say that any comment is bad either, and I really liked the "comment first and them code and remove the comment" approach!

                        1 Reply Last reply
                        0
                        • C CHill60

                          Yay hay!!! I KNEW I wasn't the only one out there! I'll sometimes throw in comments like //Use of array[1] is deliberate and correct or whatever when there's any risk that someone may refactor / fix a "bug" without really thinking it through - apparently there are developers like that ;P

                          J Offline
                          J Offline
                          John Atten
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #49

                          Truly. When I am doing somethings that either is hard to figure out, not intuitive, or appears at first to be solutions in search of refactoring (but in reality is not), I like a comment to remind me why I did it the way I did, and to let others know there is a reason for the funky implementation.

                          1 Reply Last reply
                          0
                          • L Lost User

                            "My code doesn't need comments because it is self documenting, all methods are small and have single functionality, and any business documentation should be provided by the specification and not the code." Discuss.

                            MVVM# - See how I did MVVM my way ___________________________________________ Man, you're a god. - walterhevedeich 26/05/2011 .\\axxx (That's an 'M')

                            A Offline
                            A Offline
                            agolddog
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #50

                            Yes, because it's a lot easier to go to some unrelated business documentation and try to find the requirement which ties to this piece of code than it is to write a line or two in the file already being read about why this method exists. Sigh. I hope you're able to get this person educated/fired.

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                            0
                            • C Chris Maunder

                              I already have[^]. I'm no longer willing to even entertain the discussion anymore. Every "good" example I've seen where commenting isn't needed is contrived. The real world is messy. Use comments.

                              cheers, Chris Maunder The Code Project | Co-founder Microsoft C++ MVP

                              G Offline
                              G Offline
                              gggustafson
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #51

                              I disagree Minimalist Comments[^] Further your statement is flame. Let the discussions continue. Let learning continue.

                              Gus Gustafson

                              C 1 Reply Last reply
                              0
                              • L Lost User

                                "My code doesn't need comments because it is self documenting, all methods are small and have single functionality, and any business documentation should be provided by the specification and not the code." Discuss.

                                MVVM# - See how I did MVVM my way ___________________________________________ Man, you're a god. - walterhevedeich 26/05/2011 .\\axxx (That's an 'M')

                                S Offline
                                S Offline
                                StatementTerminator
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #52

                                "any business documentation should be provided by the specification and not the code." LOL nope. Code gets updated, specs rarely do, and that's assuming that specs even exist and can be easily found. Business logic is exactly the kind of thing that should be commented, because the logic of the code won't tell you that and specs don't often go into the kind of detail that is needed when debugging a specific implementation. The code tells you what it does, good comments tell you why. The "why" is important, because you need to know what the code should do, not just what it does, because this is what a maintenance programmer really needs to know. I was a maintenance programmer for a long time, and believe me, commenting business logic is important. The alternative is usually running around asking all the other programmers if they remember why this code--written by someone who is no longer there--is doing what it does.

                                1 Reply Last reply
                                0
                                • L Lost User

                                  I think comments are worth their weight so ling as they are written well - describing the business reasons not the technology (unless the tech is crafty, unusual or complex) when I sit down to write a method, I start by calling it something

                                  public double CalculateTax(double fine)
                                  {
                                  }

                                  Then I comment it

                                  ///
                                  /// Calculate the tax, taking into account the fine passed.
                                  /// Requires that the tax rate is retrievable from the TaxService
                                  ///

                                  Then I might write some test code just to get it building

                                  ///
                                  /// Calculate the tax, taking into account the fine passed.
                                  /// Requires that the tax rate is retrievable from the TaxService
                                  ///
                                  public double CalculateTax(double fine)
                                  {
                                  // TODO: Perform the tax calculation
                                  return 34567.89;
                                  }

                                  Then I start to flesh out the method by way of comments

                                  ///
                                  /// Calculate the tax, taking into account the fine passed.
                                  /// Requires that the tax rate is retrievable from the TaxService
                                  ///
                                  public double CalculateTax(double fine)
                                  {
                                  // Get the tax rate using the appropriate service
                                  // calculate the fine (I think it is just fine * tax rate but need to check with spec!)
                                  }

                                  Then, finally, I write the code

                                  ///
                                  /// Calculate the tax, taking into account the fine passed.
                                  /// Requires that the tax rate is retrievable from the TaxService
                                  ///
                                  public double CalculateTax(double fine)
                                  {
                                  // Get the tax rate using the appropriate service
                                  double taxRate = GetTaxRate();
                                  // calculate the fine
                                  tax = taxRate * fine;

                                  return tax ;
                                  

                                  }

                                  That way, I can remember where I was if I get interrupted, the comments aren't an afterthought, they are a part of the process and, if I get hit by the Programmer bus, someone else should be able to see what I was doing. Obv. the example is small and trivial, but that's how I work and I fail to understand the 'don't need comments' brigade. What I do hate is/...

                                  // Multiply the rate by the amount
                                  return rate * amount;

                                  which is simply a case of bad commenting in my book - it is not necessary to comment every step

                                  MVVM# - See how I did MVVM my way ___________________________________________ Man, you're a god. - walterhevedeich 26/05/2011 .\\axxx (That's an 'M')

                                  J Offline
                                  J Offline
                                  jrscherer
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #53

                                  Great comment! I do it pretty much the same way. While I am thinking what the comment should say to me in 5 years, I usually get good insight what the code-approach should be to work best. When I work on my 5 year old code, I many times wish I would have thought the same way 5 years ago. :(

                                  1 Reply Last reply
                                  0
                                  • L Lost User

                                    "My code doesn't need comments because it is self documenting, all methods are small and have single functionality, and any business documentation should be provided by the specification and not the code." Discuss.

                                    MVVM# - See how I did MVVM my way ___________________________________________ Man, you're a god. - walterhevedeich 26/05/2011 .\\axxx (That's an 'M')

                                    B Offline
                                    B Offline
                                    BrainiacV
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #54

                                    All I can say is B and S! But since you said in a later post that this is from a coworker, you can do want I did when I was once told not to bother with comments in my code... Wait a year and enjoy the puzzled and incredulous looks on their faces as they struggle to read their own code so they can modify it. Then sidle up to them, look over their shoulders and say, "Whatsa matter? Can't remember WHY you told the computer to perform that particular operation?" Be prepared to run or withstand murderous glares. I warned them. I learned my lesson when I had to throw out years of work because I didn't comment code and couldn't figure out how the programs worked, even though I wrote every one of them and they seemed logical at the time. That squishy thing in your head is leaky and given enough time, fine details will fade away.

                                    Psychosis at 10 Film at 11 Those who do not remember the past, are doomed to repeat it. Those who do not remember the past, cannot build upon it.

                                    1 Reply Last reply
                                    0
                                    • G gggustafson

                                      I disagree Minimalist Comments[^] Further your statement is flame. Let the discussions continue. Let learning continue.

                                      Gus Gustafson

                                      C Offline
                                      C Offline
                                      Chris Maunder
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #55

                                      My statement is "flame". You're kidding, right? You also provide an absolutely perfect example of why comments are important:

                                      average_ship_speed

                                      This name is very descriptive. Everyone in your team probably loves it and understands it. Your offsite developers in other states in the US get it too, and use it. Then you send the code to your cheap Canadian outsourcing company and something goes horribly wrong and you lose a Mars orbiter[^].

                                      cheers, Chris Maunder The Code Project | Co-founder Microsoft C++ MVP

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                                      • F Fran Porretto

                                        There are a number of interesting aspects to the "comment / don't comment" debate. Let's dispose of the easy ones first:

                                        1. Trivial comments. Lord, let me never again see:

                                        i++; // Increment I by one.

                                        ...in a subordinate's code.

                                        2. Comments about technique or mechanics. If your code comments are about technology rather than "business logic," they're probably unnecessary. Yes, it's interesting beyond words that you chose a Shell-Metzner sort over the easier to use Quicksort, but "beyond words" is probably where it belongs. Matters of programming technique are easily looked up online or in reference books.

                                        3. Drift, Type 1. As with external documentation, comments can drift away from the code to which they're attached. That doesn't mean the code shouldn't be commented; it merely means that the comments should be maintained along with the code -- and to fail to do so is to fail as a programmer.

                                        Now for the not-so-easy ones:

                                        4. Drift, Type 2. If there has been a significant alteration in the application, such that the earlier "business logic" no longer applies, it will probably -- let's hope, anyway -- have been captured in a revision of a requirements specification. That, of course, will compel significant alterations to the code...but the new "business logic," as instantiated in the code, should still be annotated in comments unless that logic is so trivial as to require no comment whatsoever (e.g., profit = price - aggregate cost of production).

                                        5. Posterity. You, the developer, are prone to think only of your own needs and desires while you're in the process of developing your application. But it's even money or better that you won't be the last programmer to work on that program -- and it's six-five and pick 'em that your successor:

                                        • Won't be nearly as conversant with the application's "business logic" as you've come to be;
                                        • Won't agree with your technique or your coding style in all particulars;
                                        • Will be under serious deadline pressure and could use all the help he can get!

                                        Actually, it can be even worse than that: the guy who picks up your program and tries to fix or modify it could well be very, very junior, and thus exposed to all sorts of hazards you, the senior developer, are (relatively) well protected from. Uncommented code can be a nightmare for such a maintenance programmer, especially as the most junior sorts typically get the dirtiest jobs and are ut

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                                        BrainiacV
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #56

                                        :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup: Been there, done that, have tooo many t-shirts. I used to work with S/370 Assembler programmers who would tell me it was a waste of time to comment the code since the instruction tells you what it is doing. I made the same argument that it doesn't tell you why. If they weren't telling me not to comment, they were griping the S/370 had too many instructions. As far as they were concerned, you only needed Load, Store, Add, and Branch. I suppose years later they were in nirvana when RISC was announced. Of course they didn't like going through my code since I used (shudder) MACROS and (horrors) symbolic register assignments instead of hardcoded numbers. That last part really blew there minds because I'd have code that read

                                        BALR RTN, PRINT

                                        instead of

                                        BALR 8, PRINT

                                        Psychosis at 10 Film at 11 Those who do not remember the past, are doomed to repeat it. Those who do not remember the past, cannot build upon it.

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                                        • L Lost User

                                          I think comments are worth their weight so ling as they are written well - describing the business reasons not the technology (unless the tech is crafty, unusual or complex) when I sit down to write a method, I start by calling it something

                                          public double CalculateTax(double fine)
                                          {
                                          }

                                          Then I comment it

                                          ///
                                          /// Calculate the tax, taking into account the fine passed.
                                          /// Requires that the tax rate is retrievable from the TaxService
                                          ///

                                          Then I might write some test code just to get it building

                                          ///
                                          /// Calculate the tax, taking into account the fine passed.
                                          /// Requires that the tax rate is retrievable from the TaxService
                                          ///
                                          public double CalculateTax(double fine)
                                          {
                                          // TODO: Perform the tax calculation
                                          return 34567.89;
                                          }

                                          Then I start to flesh out the method by way of comments

                                          ///
                                          /// Calculate the tax, taking into account the fine passed.
                                          /// Requires that the tax rate is retrievable from the TaxService
                                          ///
                                          public double CalculateTax(double fine)
                                          {
                                          // Get the tax rate using the appropriate service
                                          // calculate the fine (I think it is just fine * tax rate but need to check with spec!)
                                          }

                                          Then, finally, I write the code

                                          ///
                                          /// Calculate the tax, taking into account the fine passed.
                                          /// Requires that the tax rate is retrievable from the TaxService
                                          ///
                                          public double CalculateTax(double fine)
                                          {
                                          // Get the tax rate using the appropriate service
                                          double taxRate = GetTaxRate();
                                          // calculate the fine
                                          tax = taxRate * fine;

                                          return tax ;
                                          

                                          }

                                          That way, I can remember where I was if I get interrupted, the comments aren't an afterthought, they are a part of the process and, if I get hit by the Programmer bus, someone else should be able to see what I was doing. Obv. the example is small and trivial, but that's how I work and I fail to understand the 'don't need comments' brigade. What I do hate is/...

                                          // Multiply the rate by the amount
                                          return rate * amount;

                                          which is simply a case of bad commenting in my book - it is not necessary to comment every step

                                          MVVM# - See how I did MVVM my way ___________________________________________ Man, you're a god. - walterhevedeich 26/05/2011 .\\axxx (That's an 'M')

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                                          jharano
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #57

                                          Back in the day this used to be called pseudo code and was the only way we were allowed to get through the design process. If we couldn't describe what we wanted to do in comments how could we expect to code it?

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