Comments

<BODY LANG="EN"> <HR><center> <table border=1> <td><A NAME="tex2html21" HREF="c07.shtml"><img height=36 width=36 alt="PREVIOUS" src="http://www.cs.utah.edu/icons/latex2html/previous.gif"></A></td> <td><A NAME="tex2html27" HREF="c07.shtml"><img height=36 width=36 alt="UP" src="http://www.cs.utah.edu/icons/latex2html/up.gif"></A></td> <td><A NAME="tex2html29" HREF="node2.shtml"><img height=36 width=36 alt="NEXT" src="http://www.cs.utah.edu/icons/latex2html/next.gif"></A></td> <td><a href="contents-node1.shtml"><img height=36 width=36 alt="CONTENTS" src="http://www.cs.utah.edu/icons/latex2html/toc.gif"></a></td> <td><a href="reset.hamlet"><img height=36 width=36 alt="RESET" src="http://www.cs.utah.edu/icons/latex2html/stop.gif"></a></td> <td><a href="copyright.html"><img height=36 width=36 alt="COPYRIGHT" src="http://www.cs.utah.edu/icons/latex2html/copyright.gif"></a></td> <td><a href="mailto:hamlet@cs.utah.edu"><img height=36 width=36 alt="FEEDBACK" src="http://www.cs.utah.edu/icons/latex2html/feedback.gif"></a></td> <td>     <a href="http://www.cs.utah.edu/%7Ehamlet/icons.html"><img height=36 width=36 alt=ABOUT src=http://www.cs.utah.edu/icons/latex2html/about.gif></a>  </td> </table> </center> <HR><H1><A NAME="SECTION00010000000000000000">Comments</A></H1> <P> All of our example programs have contained the kinds of comments that we expect you to use in your programs. But just to be sure that you understand, take a look at ``comments.c'' (or <A HREF="../examples/comments.c#commentsc">view it directly</A>). <P> Each program file should contain a comment header with the following information: <P> <OL> <LI> What the file contains. In this case, the comment tells us that it contains a program, and tells us what the program does. <LI> Who originally created the program, and when. This is helpful if we need to find someone to ask questions. <LI> A history of when modifications were made, who made them, and what the modifications were. Again, especially in large projects with more than one programmer, this helps let the reader know who might know more about the program. <P> </OL> <P> So far, all of our programs have consisted of a single main function. We will shortly begin to study larger programs composed of multiple functions. At that time you will notice a change in the comment conventions of our programs. In addition to a header comment explaining the contents of the file, you will see a comment before each function explaining what the function does. You should also adopt this convention when the time comes. Just follow our example. <P> It is not usually necessary to use comments to explain <B>how</B> a function works. Given a well-written function and a comment explaining <B>what</B> the function does, it is usually not too difficult for a reader to figure out how it is done. We'll have more to say about this point when we study functions. <P> <HR><center> <table border=1> <td><A NAME="tex2html21" HREF="c07.shtml"><img height=36 width=36 alt="PREVIOUS" src="http://www.cs.utah.edu/icons/latex2html/previous.gif"></A></td> <td><A NAME="tex2html27" HREF="c07.shtml"><img height=36 width=36 alt="UP" src="http://www.cs.utah.edu/icons/latex2html/up.gif"></A></td> <td><A NAME="tex2html29" HREF="node2.shtml"><img height=36 width=36 alt="NEXT" src="http://www.cs.utah.edu/icons/latex2html/next.gif"></A></td> <td><a href="contents-node1.shtml"><img height=36 width=36 alt="CONTENTS" src="http://www.cs.utah.edu/icons/latex2html/toc.gif"></a></td> <td><a href="reset.hamlet"><img height=36 width=36 alt="RESET" src="http://www.cs.utah.edu/icons/latex2html/stop.gif"></a></td> <td><a href="copyright.html"><img height=36 width=36 alt="COPYRIGHT" src="http://www.cs.utah.edu/icons/latex2html/copyright.gif"></a></td> <td><a href="mailto:hamlet@cs.utah.edu"><img height=36 width=36 alt="FEEDBACK" src="http://www.cs.utah.edu/icons/latex2html/feedback.gif"></a></td> <td>     <a href="http://www.cs.utah.edu/%7Ehamlet/icons.html"><img height=36 width=36 alt=ABOUT src=http://www.cs.utah.edu/icons/latex2html/about.gif></a>  </td> </table> </center> <HR><P><ADDRESS> <I><A NAME="tex2html1" HREF="http://www.cs.utah.edu/~hamlet/">Hamlet Project</A> <BR> <A NAME="tex2html2" HREF="mailto:hamlet@cs.utah.edu">hamlet@cs.utah.edu</A></I> </ADDRESS> </BODY>