Should code be self-documenting?
self-documenting code is a good practice and if done properly can easily convey the meaning of the code without reading too many comments. especially in situations where the domain is well understood by everyone in the team.
What are methods for self-documenting code?
There are three widely accepted methodologies of writing a self-documenting code. These include organized naming, structural clarity, and syntax correlation. These methodologies enable programmers to categorize the entire process and ensure the code is self-documenting.
Why do people not comment their code?
The most common reason must be that they have misunderstood the point of comments. You’re not supposed to explain what the code does because that’s already fully defined by the actual code. You’re supposed to explain why the code is implemented that way. If that’s obvious, there’s no need to add any comments.
Do programmers use documentation?
Documentation just does not help programmers, but it also helps users of that code(Application programmer/manager/ new learner). It helps to add new features to the code. It helps to debug the code.
Why should you make code self-documenting?
Commonly stated objectives for self-documenting systems include: Make source code easier to read and understand. Minimize the effort required to maintain or extend legacy systems. Reduce the need for users and developers of a system to consult secondary documentation sources such as code comments or software manuals.
What are the benefits of self-documenting code?
Self-documenting code is easy to read. It is understandable without additional documentation….The benefits are quite obvious:
- your codebase is easy to understand;
- improved readability of your code;
- make developers think of the only responsibility;
- a developer doesn’t have to think about leaving comments all the time.
Why we should never use HTML comments?
What are the negatives of HTML comments? worsens the UX – even not visible, the HTML comments are part of the DOM tree and increase the number of DOM elements. hurts SEO – an extensive use of HTML comments would increase the size of a page in bytes, which affects loading time, which is a ranking factor in SERP.
Are comments in code bad?
Commenting code is on the generally-recognized list of code smells. But unlike most of the others on the list, comments are not always bad. Generally speaking, you should strive to minimize comments and let the code speak for itself, but it is just as important to include comments when the code cannot.
Why have documents and documentation become very important?
The presence of documentation helps keep track of all aspects of an application and it improves on the quality of a software product. Its main focuses are development, maintenance and knowledge transfer to other developers.
What does self-documenting program mean?
A program whose function and working can be obtained from a reading of the program text, without additional documentation. Structured design, the use of a high-level language, careful choice of identifiers, and judicious use of comments all contribute to this end.
What does it mean for code to be documented?
Documentation is anything you write in addition to your code to help someone else understand how it works. You might not think of it this way, but a good example of code documentation is a README file.
What does it mean if a code is self-documenting?
It means that he’s probably not using “self-documenting” as an excuse for being too lazy to comment his code. Self-documenting code is code that does not require free-text comments for an informed reader to understand what it is doing. For example, this piece of code is self-documenting:
What are the objectives of self-documenting systems?
Commonly stated objectives for self-documenting systems include: Self-documenting code is ostensibly written using human-readable names, typically consisting of a phrase in a human language which reflects the symbol’s meaning, such as article.numberOfWords or TryOpen.
Should you include code comments in your documentation?
In the end, it comes down to a difference of opinion about whether or not to include code comments. Pro-comment folks tend to view claims of “self documenting code” to be exaggerated and often an excuse for not bothering to document. They think of their non-commenting counterparts as lazy or obstinate.
Is there a substitute for writing code documentation?
There’s no substitute for documentation. Instead of writing comments, which can become out of sync and misleading, you should strive to make comments unnecessary by writing so-called self documenting code. Everything about the code is clear from simply looking at it and the unit tests that exercise it.