Chapter 32. Self-Documenting Code

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Contents

• External Documentation page 777

• Programming Style as Documentation page 778

• To Comment or Not to Comment page 781

• Keys to Effective Comments page 785

• Commenting Techniques page 792

• IEEE Standards page 813

Related Topics

• Layout: Chapter 31

• The Pseudocode Programming Process: Chapter 9

• Working classes: Chapter 6

• High-quality routines: Chapter 7

• Programming as communication: Sections 35.5 and 34.3

Most programmers enjoy writing documentation if the documentation standards aren't unreasonable. Like layout, good documentation is a sign of the professional pride a programmer puts into a program. Software documentation can take many forms, and, after describing the sweep of the documentation landscape, this chapter cultivates the specific patch of documentation known as "comments."

Code as if whoever maintains your program is a violent psychopath who knows where you live.

Anonymous