21 Mar
2018
21 Mar
'18
6:28 p.m.
On 3/21/18, Arthur Krewat <krewat(a)kilonet.net> wrote:
It was instilled in me early on by my one and only mentor that someone
that comes along later may have no idea what my code is doing. So
comment. Even when it might be self-explanitory, comment anyway.
In my 40-year career as a programmer, I've more than once had that
someone who comes along later be myself.
I also apply what I call the Bus Principle. If you get hit by a bus
and killed, one of your colleagues is going to have to take over your
work. Give them a fighting chance with code comments, and maybe even
a design document for large or complex things.
I have noticed a lot of newer programmers these days
that say
(paraphrased): "Good code will explain itself" as a reason not to
comment. Mostly C++ and Java programmers.
I call bullshit on that. Not commenting is lazy. There's no reason NOT
to comment.
Amen to that! Good comments are one of the things that distinguishes
Software Engineering from mere programming.
-Paul W.