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Code Health: To Comment or Not to Comment?

Monday, July 17, 2017
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Labels: Code Health , Dori Reuveni , Kevin Bourrillion , TotT

10 comments :

  1. JayJuly 17, 2017 at 3:26:00 PM PDT

    Same as the `widthInPixels` example really, but my pet peeve is always around units of time. Don't comment that `timeout` variable, just rename it `timeoutMillis`, `timeoutSecs`, or whatever it is.

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    1. UnknownJuly 19, 2017 at 8:01:00 AM PDT

      And using the correct type. Why using an int for timeout if you could use a TimeSpan? It exposes the unit of time directly at the moment you use it.

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  2. renoXJuly 19, 2017 at 6:44:00 AM PDT

    If possible in your language, I'd say that you should also replace name by types:
    using the name widthInPixels won't help you if you do widthInPixels = widthInMilimeter, but a strong type would prevent this.

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    1. ДмитрийJuly 26, 2017 at 11:14:00 AM PDT

      A good point, but I'd like to add that the bigger the visibility scope of a variable, the more relevant this advice is. In method scope you will be perfectly fine with a primitive type and a descriptive name. In a bigger scope you might consider hiding the type as the implementation detail.

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  3. UnknownJuly 19, 2017 at 6:46:00 AM PDT

    Amen, Jay. Timeouts should be described in their units and this should extend all the way to the user interface/command line.

    All real-world physical quantities should be described or typed with their units.

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    1. UnknownJuly 24, 2017 at 8:46:00 AM PDT

      Even better if you are using something like F#, which has the concept of units built into the language, so you can't mistakenly add feet and centimeters together without converting first.

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  4. MykaelosJuly 25, 2017 at 8:19:00 AM PDT

    Great advice! It's all about explaining the why, because code can often hide that.
    Thanks for the excellent blog post.

    Also, could you add the Code Health label to this? So it shows up with the other Code Health posts? Seriously loving this series.

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  5. Google Testing BloggersJuly 25, 2017 at 12:59:00 PM PDT

    Done! Thanks for the heads up!

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  6. SucccessOctober 12, 2017 at 7:14:00 AM PDT

    i think the timeoutMillis`will be more perfect .

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  7. DIMPYMarch 2, 2018 at 8:46:00 AM PST

    This is really helpful and awesome practice to comment only when it is really required.

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