Best Practices for Commenting Code

Sandeep Bhandari

Apr. 10, 12 · Interview

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Adding comments to code is an important part of writing Java programs. Though it is recommended to add as many comments as possible in your code but still there are some best practices which if followed really make code commenting a useful affair not only for the developer himself but also fellow developers.

Here in this tutorial, I will list down some tips and guidelines for writing the code comments in a Java program:

Add comments for each ending block so that it is clear which code block is going to end.
```
    While(...){

if (abc==xyz)
{
for(...) {
} //for
} //if
} //while
```
Format the comments so that they are properly aligned and break to next line if exceed the viewable area. This helps in getting rid of extra scrolling just to view the comments.

Use proper language and avoid frustating comments like:

    //Finally got it

   //hahahaha
 
   //you can't escape from me

Comment out the code which could be reused in future but could not be implemented this time.
Focus on why part of the code and explain the need of code you are going to write.
Usually the bug id is also added when you are working on some enhancement/bug so that other developers can get the need for the code.

code style

Published at DZone with permission of Sandeep Bhandari. See the original article here.

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Best Practices for Commenting Code

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