What is the best comment in source code you have ever encountered? • Hacker News Board

Re: What is the best comment in source code you have ever encountered?

#21

Post by edw519 » Fri, Sep 17, 2010, 12:40 PM UTC

  loop
    ...
    ...
    // sleep 10
    sleep 7 // Changed from "sleep 10" on 11-19-05
            // by jvj because Bruce in Buffalo bitched
            // that it ran too long.  Now he's happy.
            // The next time he bitches, change it to
            // "sleep 5".  That oughta buy us another
            // year before we have to rewrite it.
    ...
    ...
  until done do repeat

Re: What is the best comment in source code you have ever encountered?

#22

Post by jsvaughan » Fri, Sep 17, 2010, 12:46 PM UTC

neilc wrote: post #7

Not to be a grouch, but most of this seems puerile and borderline irresponsible to me. Source code should be concise and beautiful, not a repository for unfunny attempts at humor by programmers.

I agree.

Re: What is the best comment in source code you have ever encountered?

#23

Post by run4yourlives » Fri, Sep 17, 2010, 1:09 PM UTC

nivertech wrote: post #18

/** * Today I'm getting discharged from the Army * Don't have time to properly comment the code * Call me if you have any questions: Name,054-XXXXXXX */

Now that is dedication!

Re: What is the best comment in source code you have ever encountered?

#24

Post by jeebusroxors » Fri, Sep 17, 2010, 1:24 PM UTC

edw519 wrote: post #21

loop ... ... // sleep 10 sleep 7 // Changed from "sleep 10" on 11-19-05 // by jvj because Bruce in Buffalo bitched // that it ran too long. Now he's happy. // The next time he bitches, change it to // "sleep 5". That oughta buy us another // year before we have to rewrite it. ... ... until done do repeat

The speed up loop: http://thedailywtf.com/Articles/The-Speedup-Loop.aspx

Although I guess the punchline has come before the "joke"...

Re: What is the best comment in source code you have ever encountered?

#25

Post by tariq » Fri, Sep 17, 2010, 1:36 PM UTC

# Do this twice because its stupid and won't work once

# I apologize for how messy this is. Blame it on an inconsistent database structure. I did the best I could.

Re: What is the best comment in source code you have ever encountered?

#26

Post by amalcon » Fri, Sep 17, 2010, 2:10 PM UTC

  // I got this code from [Bob] of [Some other group].
  // I don't know how it works; ask him.

[Bob] happened to be my manager at the time, and hadn't worked for [Some other group] for around five years.

Re: What is the best comment in source code you have ever encountered?

#27

Post by felideon » Fri, Sep 17, 2010, 2:24 PM UTC

10ren wrote: post #17

I hate the way SO only remembers you for a week or two, so when you return, you have to login, going to a separate screen and so on. Why do they have to make it so hard? What's the advantage in forcing frequent logins? Yeah, I know I should find some other StackExchange site, go there, create an account there, login there, and post this complaint there - but you know, that's just more of the same problem.

Yes, and when you log in it "forgets" where you wanted to go in the first place.

(They may have fixed this recently, but it was like that for the longest time.)

Re: What is the best comment in source code you have ever encountered?

#28

Post by jacquesm » Fri, Sep 17, 2010, 2:31 PM UTC

/* Does your mother know you're reading this stuff? */

Re: What is the best comment in source code you have ever encountered?

#29

Post by jrockway » Fri, Sep 17, 2010, 3:23 PM UTC

You are not expected to understand this.

Re: What is the best comment in source code you have ever encountered?

#30

Post by zyfo » Fri, Sep 17, 2010, 3:29 PM UTC

10ren wrote: post #17

I hate the way SO only remembers you for a week or two, so when you return, you have to login, going to a separate screen and so on. Why do they have to make it so hard? What's the advantage in forcing frequent logins? Yeah, I know I should find some other StackExchange site, go there, create an account there, login there, and post this complaint there - but you know, that's just more of the same problem.

For a puzzled second there I thought you referred SO to significant other. I thought I was reading some obscure head-in-the-code-24/7 programmer joke.