These notes are based in part on private communication with Peter DePasquale.

Comments

Why comment your code?

Explain the intent of the code
Describe the purpose of classes and methods, and how they are meant to be used

Kinds of comments

Java has three kinds of comments.

End-of-line comments: start with //, continue to end of line. Example:

// Temporarily block the editor's onChange handler from
// adding changes to the ChangeList.
mode = Mode.LOADING;

Block comments: start with /*, end with */, and may span multiple lines. These are not used very often. Here is the comment above as a block comment:

Javadoc comments: a Javadoc comment describes a class, method, or field. Javadoc comments begin with /** and end with */, and (like block comments) may span multiple lines. Each javadoc comment should begin with a description of the class, method, or field.

Javadoc comments can use tags to describe features of the class, method, or field. For example, a javadoc method comment can use @param tags to describe method parameters and a @return tag to describe the method's return value. Example javadoc method comment:

/**
 * Factory method to create an error status message.
 *
 * @param message the message text
 * @return the error status message
 */
public static StatusMessage error(String message) {
        return new StatusMessage(Category.ERROR, message);
}

Example javadoc class comment:

/**
 * A status message describing the outcome of an operation
 * or other interesting piece of information the user should
 * know about.
 *
 * Use the factory methods goodNews(String),
 * error(String), pending(String), and
 * information(String) to create StatusMessage objects.
 *
 * @author David Hovemeyer
 */
public class StatusMessage {
        // ...fields and methods...

Here are the most commonly-used tags:

Tag Used with What it does

@param methods specifies name of parameters, brief description of parameter; there should be one @param tag per parameter

@return methods describes the return value of a method

@author classes specifies the name of the author of a class; multiple @author tags can be used if there are multiple authors

Tag	Used with	What it does
@param	methods	specifies name of parameters, brief description of parameter; there should be one @param tag per parameter
@return	methods	describes the return value of a method
@author	classes	specifies the name of the author of a class; multiple @author tags can be used if there are multiple authors

What Javadoc comments are for

Javadoc comments can be used to produce API documentation. A tool that comes with Java, called javadoc, reads the javadoc comments from your code and generates a website where each class and method in your program is documented.

For example, here is the API documentation website for the built-in Java libraries:

http://docs.oracle.com/javase/6/docs/api/

You can generate similar documentation for your own programs.

IDEs such as Eclipse will also show you Javadoc documentation when you hover the mouse over a class or method name. This is very useful as a reminder of how each class and method is intended to be used.

Best Practices

Professionalism

You should strive to make your comments clear and professional. Don't use vulgar language. Some humor is fine, but keep it tasteful. Here's the thing to remember: other people (e.g., potential future employers) will be reading your code! In fact, making your code available online is a great way to build a portfolio of your work.

Code comments

In comments explaining code (specific statements), describe the "why" rather than the "what". For example:

How many code comments should be added to a program is a matter of judgment. Here are some guidelines:

Any code whose purpose is not obvious should have a comment. Always use comments to describe code that is complex or subtle.
Too many comments or excessively verbose comments can make the code difficult to read. Strive to be concise.
Well-written code without comments is better than poorly-written code with comments. (But well-written code with comments is better than either!) Always use meaningful names, consistent indentation, and consistent formatting.

Javadoc comments

Every class and public method should have a javadoc comment. It is not a bad idea to add javadoc comments to private methods as well.

Javadoc comments for methods should have @param tags for every method and, if the method is not void, should have a @return tag to describe the return value.

Javadoc comments for classes should have an @author tag.

CS 201: Lecture 12a: Code Comments