On Sun, Sep 4, 2016 at 7:42 AM, Nico Huber <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi folks, > > I think we kind of agreed that the wiki text about "Commenting" should > change. So here is my proposal, feel free to edit, add something or just > ack or complain about it. > > > == Commenting == > > > > Comments are good, but there is also a danger of over-commenting. NEVER > > try to explain HOW your code works in a comment: it's much better to > > write the code so that the _working_ is obvious, and it's a waste of > > time to explain badly written code. > > > > Generally, you want your comments to tell WHAT your code does, not HOW. > > Also, try to avoid complex comments inside a function body: if the > > function is so complex that you need to separately comment parts of it, > > you should probably go back to chapter 6 for a while. You can make > > small comments to note or warn about something particularly clever (or > > ugly), but try to avoid excess. Instead, put the comments at the head > > of the function, telling people what it does, and possibly WHY it does > > it. > > > > coreboot style for comments is the C89 "/* ... */" style. You may also > > use C99-style "// ..." comments. > > > > The preferred style for concise multi-line comments that explain a > > single piece of code is: > > > > /* This is the preferred style for > > shorter multi-line comments that > > avoids excessive blank lines. */ >
why does the concise style have to be so different from the verbose style? Lines starting with '* ' are easier identifiable as comments. --vb > > > > Note that there shouldn't be leading asterisks on new lines in the > > concise style. > > > > The preferred style for long multi-line comments is: > > > > /* > > * This is the preferred style for multi-line > > * comments in the coreboot source code. > > * > > * Description: A column of asterisks on the left side, > > * with beginning and ending almost-blank lines. > > */ > > > > Some rules of thumb to decide which style to use: > > * If you are commenting a whole function (indentation level 0) or > > something high level (indentation level 1), use the long style. > > * If you want to explain a single piece of code and your comment > > doesn't span multiple paragraphs, use the concise style. > > * Otherwise you might want to ask yourself why what you're going to > > explain doesn't deserve an own function. > > > > It's also important to comment data, whether they are basic types or > > derived types. To this end, use just one data declaration per line (no > > commas for multiple data declarations). This leaves you room for a > > small comment on each item, explaining its use. > > > > In case of doubt, the author of the code shall have the last word on > > comment styles. He should know best which style makes his code most > > readable. > > Nico >
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