Olin Lathrop wrote: > >> However, I could see someone writing 20,000 lines of code > >> in a high-level language like C++ or Java without comments. > >> If you have good variable and class names, you could probably > >> get by and have a small chance of being able to maintain > >> it. (so-called "self-documenting" code. > >> It's not a good idea, by any means, but it would be possibble. > > > > I did it in VB6. (proper architecture of a solution, > > well-structured code, meaningful variable, class and subs names) > > But WHY?!! > > There is no such thing as self-documenting code. Useful symbol > names provide quick hints to what the symbols are about, but > they don't substitute for a real explanation. Not by a long > shot. And, they don't help much in documenting the bigger > picture. They are just one piece of a much larger solution. You are right: "bigger picture" has to be documented. And I had (and still have) rather advanced separate doc behind my code. But as I see the original post, the discussion was about commenting inside the code file itself. I do not advocate uncommented code at all. I just decided to open all the code to customers to lessen the debates: WHY does THIS floppy (CDR now) is priced so high - anybody can buy it at every corner for 25 cents. Without having comments they can't hack the code or at least they can't be sure they could. Mike. -- http://www.piclist.com hint: To leave the PICList mailto:piclist-unsubscribe-request@mitvma.mit.edu