[racket] Why experienced programmers don’t use comments?

We continue to edit, comment, and document code as if it will be printed on paper and read from top to bottom. Instead, editors should manage templates for comments and documentation that can instantly be controlled (clutter switches, arguably). The software leads need a way of affecting the requirements that these aids impose.

I am an experienced programmer and believer in the teachings of HtDP, but it is impractical to convince others of the benefits of taking the time to (for example) describe inputs and outputs... as schedules are gradually morphing into nonsense. Furthermore, changing arguments as code evolves screws up whatever comments and documentation have already been made. Development environments that aid programmers in maintaining such non-compiled portions of programs have been attempted, but they are hardly good enough or universally accepted.

I suppose that was a long way of saying that it is too difficult maintain thorough comments, so experienced programmers instead use their heads to minimize them.

rac



On Jul 8, 2013, at 3:41 PM, Ben Duan wrote:

> Dear All,
> 
> I have a question here. There’s an extensive use of comments in HtDP. But there are few comments in experienced programmers’ code, for example in racket’s source code. Why is that?
> 
> Thanks,
> Ben
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