this post was submitted on 28 Sep 2024
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[–] [email protected] 24 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (25 children)

Asking as a newbie programmer: how do you suggest we write comments that explain the 'why' part of the code? I understand writing comments explaining the 'what' part makes them redundant, but I feel like writing it the former way isn't adding much help either. I mean, if I created code for a clock, is writing "It helps tell what time it is" better than writing "It is a clock" ?

It would really help if someone could give a code snippet that clearly demonstrates how commenting the 'correct' way is clearly better than the way we are used to.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Not everything needs a comment - knowing when comments add value is the key... "what" vs "why" is usually a good indicator but some code just doesn't need a comment.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago

Doesn't need any comment:

int getCount() { return count; }

Absolutely needs a very extensive comment:

double getBojangleFlux { return fubar * .42; }

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