A well-documented program is a good practice as a programmer. It makes a program more readable and error finding become easier. One important part of good documentation is Comments.
- In computer programming, a comment is a programmer-readable explanation or annotation in the source code of a computer program
- Comments are statements that are not executed by the compiler and interpreter.
In C/C++ there are two types of comments :
- Single line comment
- Multi-line comment
Single line Comment
Represented as // double forward slash
It is used to denote a single line comment. It applies comment to a single line only. It is referred to as C++-style comments as it is originally part of C++ programming.
for example:
// single line comment
Example: This example goes same for C and C++ as the style of commenting remains same for both the language.
// C program to illustrate // use of multi-line comment #include <stdio.h> int main( void ) { // Single line Welcome user comment printf ( "Welcome to GeeksforGeeks" ); return 0; } |
Welcome to GeeksforGeeks
Multi-line comment
Represented as /* any_text */ start with forward slash and asterisk (/*) and end with asterisk and forward slash (*/).
It is used to denote multi-line comment. It can apply comment to more than a single line. It is referred to as C-Style comment as it was introduced in C programming.
/*Comment starts continues continues . . . Comment ends*/
Example: This example goes same for C and C++ as the style of commenting remains same for both the language.
/* C program to illustrate use of multi-line comment */ #include <stdio.h> int main( void ) { /* Multi-line Welcome user comment written to demonstrate comments in C/C++ */ printf ( "Welcome to GeeksforGeeks" ); return 0; } |
Welcome to GeeksforGeeks
Comment at End of Code Line
You can also create a comment that displays at the end of a line of code. But generally its a better practice to put code before the line of code.
Example: This example goes same for C and C++ as the style of commenting remains same for both the language.
int age; // age of the person
When and Why to use Comments in programming?
- A person reading a large code will be bemused if comments are not provided about details of the program.
- Comments are a way to make a code more readable by providing more description.
- Comments can include a description of an algorithm to make code understandable.
- Comments can be helpful for one’s own self too if code is to be reused after a long gap.
Attention reader! Don’t stop learning now. Get hold of all the important DSA concepts with the DSA Self Paced Course at a student-friendly price and become industry ready.