C Comments
In this tutorial, we will learn about C comments, types of Comments, why we use them, and how to use them with the help of examples.
Comments
- A well-documented program is a good practice as a programmer. It makes a program more readable and error finding became easier.
- C comments are hints that a programmer can add to make their code easier to read and understand.
- Comments are statements that are not executed by the compiler and interpreter.
- Comments are One of the important part of good documentation.
Types of Comments
There are two ways to add comments to code:
1. Single Line Comments –Â //
2. Multi-line Comments –Â /* */
1. Single Line Comments
- It is used to denote a single line comment.
- In C, any line that starts withÂ
//
 is a Single-line comment. - It is referred to as C style comments as it is originally part of C Programming.
For example,
// declaring a variable
char a;
// initializing the variable 'a' with the value 2
a = 2;
Here, we have used two single-line comments:
// declaring a variable
// initializing the variable 'a' with the value 2
We can also use single line comment like this:
char a; // declaring a variable
2. Multi-line comments
- In C, any line betweenÂ
/*
 andÂ*/
 is also a comment. - It is used to denote Multi-line Comment.
- It can apply comment to more than a single line.
For example,
/* declaring a variable to store Name */
int salary = Algbly;
This syntax can be used to write both single-line and multi-line comments.
Using Comments for Debugging
Comments can also be used to disable code to prevent it from being executed. For example,
#include <stdio.h>
int main() {
printf << "some code";
printf << ''error code;
printf <<"some other code";
return 0;
}
- If we get an error while running the program, instead of removing the error-prone code, we can use comments to disable it from being executed;
- this can be a valuable debugging tool.
Let’s see next example to use comments as debugging tool.
#include <stdio.h>
int main() {
printf << "some code";
// printf << ''error code;
printf << "some other code";
return 0;
}
Pro Tip: Remember the shortcut for using comments; it can be really helpful. For most code editors, it’s Ctrl + /
 for Windows and Cmd + /
 for Mac.
Why use Comments?
- Comments can include a description of an algorithm to make code understandable.
- If we write comments on our code, it will be easier for us to understand the code in the future.
- Also, it will be easier for your fellow developers to understand the code.
Note:Â Comments shouldn’t be the substitute for a way to explain poorly written code in English. We should always write well-structured and self-explanatory code. And, then use comments.
As a general rule of thumb, use comments to explain Why you did something rather than How you did something, and you are good.