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To me, comments in code are like descriptions in a novel. I would agree that comments which unnecessarily describe what is to come are bad, in the same way tha
by tpoacher 5y ago
To me, comments in code are like descriptions in a novel.
I would agree that comments which unnecessarily describe what is to come are bad, in the same way that a novelist should prefer to show, not tell, unless there is a compelling reason for the reader to keep that description in mind as the immediate events unfold.
But to require almost all comments gone in favour of well-named code and external docs feels wrong too, in the same way that one would probably not like to read a book with no chapter headings, no visuals, simply describing the story in a dry (but informative) language, and relying on cliffnotes for actual context.
And if you say code is more like a technical report than a novel, I will disagree. Good code is always a pleasure to read, and typically for similar reasons that a good novel is pleasurable.