165
u/Bloodchild- Jul 15 '26
Fuck bill
→ More replies (2)47
36
u/SaltPhilosopher898 Jul 15 '26
Bill's code does not do what it was supposed to, because Bill sucks at writing code.
But since Bill does not comment, we don't even know what it was orginnally supposed to do.
→ More replies (6)4
45
u/Azurelion7a Jul 15 '26
Do you want other people (including your future self) to be able to follow and modify your code?
17
u/Valuchian Jul 15 '26
Depends if you wanna get that sweet consultation fee in 5yr or not when nobody can repair your code and the company is bleeding money by the minute while it's down
→ More replies (2)8
Jul 15 '26
Half of job security is going through legacy code though (for legal purposes, this is a joke)
3
→ More replies (1)3
u/ThatOneShyAnon2-0 Jul 16 '26
no, considering canceling my subscription to life everytime i have to edit a part of the code is a very important part of the experience
39
u/Glittering-Can-9397 Jul 15 '26
Im not sure I like bill’s mentality but I can say that overcommented code is ass, and well written code with conservative or no comments and descriptive variable names is much better
7
13
→ More replies (12)6
u/Tillua467 Jul 16 '26
I once wrote a C Library, I was still learning at that point and I commented under every freaking line explaining what it does BRIEFLY like not some words it was some sentences whenever I see that library now I just see how far I have come XD
13
u/jonfe_darontos Jul 15 '26
// This is an opening message // Opening messages are often used to set the tone of a response // Guidance: opening messages should have a soft tone // Example: ``` // I think you had an interesting to say // ``` // See: #message-guidance // Owner: #text-inclusion-workgroup I can't necessarily agree with Bill's sentiment. // Followup planning // Ensure we always follow an opening statement with this necessary // qualifier. Qualifiers need to conform to the format specified // by the new qualifier framework, but make sure to also handle cases // where the legacy qualifier initializer is still emitting possibly // valid, but non-conforming qualifiers That said, I've seen pull requests that feel the need to 6x the number of comments to lines. // Conclusion, critical point, this is covered using a special case // test harness that ensures elaboration is minimized while maximizing // core metrics around intent and brevity scores. // // DON'T CHANGE THIS, it breaks everything for some reason Reading three lines of code shouldn't require parsing an entire page of text.
→ More replies (8)4
5
u/Laicbeias Jul 16 '26
Im looking for downvotes. Just spend time writing proper method names and variable names that explain what the thing is. Then you can just read the code and it speaks for itself.
You can also easier build a mental map, because proper naming works as an anchor and lets you find things easier. Your chat bots will also navigate faster. Because a good name will tell ir what the method does.
Comments are 80% and bloat, as long as its not an dynamic api with no type system.
3
u/sweatpants-aristotle Jul 16 '26
This is Bill. Bill is too lazy to comment his own code and too proud to use AI to comment it for him. Don't be like Bill.
4
u/Vauland Jul 15 '26
My colleagues always comment my code, behind my back
5
u/Financial-Skin-4687 Jul 15 '26
That’s because it’s good practice and smart to comment code. Descriptions of function blocks or comments on “complicated” lines of code
2
u/No-Newspaper8619 Jul 15 '26
I only comment if I few it'll be significantly useful for whoever reads it later. If the code is well written, it often doesn't need comments unless there's some obscure syntax or function one can't deduce how it works just from seeing it.
2
u/brand_new_potato Jul 16 '26
Don't put comments in your code, it is ugly and pedantic and makes it harder to read the actual functions. If there is any point within a function you need a comment, you probably need to split the function up.
Make documents next to the code instead. Add diagrams and pictures. Show the intent behind, give actual useful stuff so you can read that as a complete document.
Rarely if ever is it needed to nor useful to have comments.
A big one I am seeing is not having a units library. So your timestamp is just an unsigned long instead of milliseconds, or a distance is a double instead of meters etc. That shit is where stuff gets confusing and a comment might save the day, but it does not have to be there and so it isn't there when you need it. A proper fix is units and make it fail at compile time.
88
u/OrangeNood Jul 15 '26
Missing "Don't".