Comments

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There are two ways to put comments in C++ code:

Single-Line Comments

// starts a single-line comment which ends at newline:

int main()
{
   // This is a single-line comment
   int a;  // this also is a single-line comment
   int i;  // this is another single-line comment
}

Block Comments

Block comments can span multiple lines. They start with /* and end with */.

int main()
{
   /*
      This is a block comment.
    */
   int a;
}

Block comments can also start and end within a single line. For example:

void SomeFunction(/* argument 1 */ int a, /* argument 2 */ int b);

Importance of Comments

As with all programming languages, comments provide several benefits:

However, comments also have their downsides:

The need for comments can be reduced by writing clear, self-documenting code. A simple example is the use of explanatory names for variables, functions, and types. Factoring out logically related tasks into discrete functions goes hand-in-hand with this.

Comment markers used to disable code

During development, comments can also be used to quickly disable portions of code without deleting it. This is often useful for testing or debugging purposes, but is not good style for anything other than temporary edits. This is often referred to as “commenting out”.

Similarly, keeping old versions of a piece of code in a comment for reference purposes is frowned upon, as it clutters files while offering little value compared to exploring the code’s history via a versioning system.

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