Re: Easily-Read C++?

[kst@alsys.com (Keith Thompson @pulsar)]

In <124377@cup.portal.com> R_Tim_Coslet@cup.portal.com writes:
> In article: 36v90m$9r4@cmcl2.NYU.EDU> 
> 	kenner@lab.ultra.nyu.edu (Richard Kenner) wrote:
> >There are actually times when it can!  Consider the following fragment
> >of an assembler language program for the PDP-11 written by someone who
> >was told to write a comment on every line:
> >
> >	ADD	#1,R0		;Add one to R0.
> >
> >That actually *does* slow down reading!
> >
> >One company, either DEC (I think) or CDC (less likely) actively
> >discouraged this sort of thing in their coding standard.
> 
> Useless comments like that should be BANNED.

I agree, but only 99% of the time.

Comments should be designed for the enlightenment of the intended
audience.  In most cases, the intended audience is the person maintaining
the code (possibly the original author, possibly someone else), who
presumably is fluent in the language being used.  If the line appears
in chapter 1 of an introduction to PDP-11 assembly language, the comment
"Add one to R0" is perfectly appropriate.

-- 
Keith Thompson (The_Other_Keith)  kst@alsys.com
TeleSoft^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H Alsys, Inc.
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