In coding, comments are one of the few ways to preserve thoughts for the future. They can help you skip over code snippets and can be useful to the next developer who will be trying to understand what you wrote days before. If you are using Visual Studio Code (VS Code), there is no need to tirelessly write comment delimiters every time. VS Code has a built-in shortcut feature that saves you seconds (and even minutes) of your time.
The Quick VS Code Comment Shortcut
For those who are in a hurry, here is your golden ticket:
- For a single-line comment, use the key combination Ctrl + / on Windows or Linux or Cmd + / on Mac.
, - For a block comment, use Shift + Alt + A on Windows or Linux or Shift + Option + A on a Mac. ,
- To comment out the code, you can press Ctrl + K + C on Windows or Cmd + K + U on Mac. ,
Most programmers comment a lot. And it’s not just about leaving real comments, but perhaps more importantly, you will comment and uncomment the code. This is viable for testing, experimenting and debugging.
There are shortcuts to make this more acceptable. They speed up browsing and editing, allowing you to cycle through comments without breaking the momentum of coding.
Comment beyond the basics
While the basic shortcuts are a real gift, there’s so much more to VS Code commenting. Let’s dig deeper:
Toggle comments
The best part about VS Code comment shortcuts is their toggle feature. You don’t have to play around and delete each comment marker manually if you change your mind (or while debugging). Instead, just use the same shortcuts. Using the same keybinds, you can quickly switch between commented and uncommented code to stay organized when you need it most.
Comment multiple lines
If you need to mute a long block of code or leave a long, detailed comment, you don’t want to waste time adding comments line by line. So instead, you can select the lines you want to disable and use the comments shortcut to allow VS Code to insert comments into each line.
Nested comments
Sometimes inserting comments into a block of code can lead to unexpected results and errors if the delimiters don’t match very well. This is where Visual Studio Code’s Intellisense can help you. It will adjust the formatting of comments even within an already commented block, so there will be no conflicts with nested comments.
Extensions to overload comments
VS Code is an open source editor that serves as a platform for developers to do their best extension work. The market is full of extensions to give you more power and utility when commenting:
Best comments
Comments may seem like a small, optional part of coding, but there are many creative ways to use comments. He Best comments The extension helps you add purpose and clarity to the comments you post by categorizing them into alerts, queries, TODO, and other categories. And all with the added benefit of color coding for improved visibility and organization. Your comments become guiding points and separators that make your code clearer and more accessible.
Comment anchors
Comment anchors will keep you connected to your code with dots that distinguish ps or essential points within. If you try this extension, it will allow you to quickly find accurate notes and comments. If your project is huge and your code becomes cluttered and difficult to follow, this could make it much more digestible.
polar code
polar code transforms your code and comments into visually interesting, easily readable and shareable images that are perfect for social media. It allows you to resize, color code, change the background, and more. You benefit from greater readability and any teammate can collaborate and share knowledge much more easily.
Why comment?
Commenting is not just a box to check or an optional task that long-winded people perform; It is an integral part of coding. These are some of the reasons for this:
Clarity
Codifiers seek to make the intractable intelligible. Writing code that works can sometimes be easier than writing code that is easy to understand and follow. Comments are the developer’s compass: an invaluable aid in navigating code extensions, whether light and young or dense and mature. You may be dealing with complicated algorithms or arcane business processes. In any case, the comments provide a familiar foothold in a sea of complexity.
Collaboration
Comments are useful when you are a solo developer. But they are necessary when working as a team if you want your project to move forward. Within a collaborative effort, comments allow multiple developers to work together seamlessly even when they are not interacting. Team members can explain the code and share their thought processes and reasoning behind their decisions. This serves as a bridge that allows everyone to be on the same page with both the project and each other.
Depuration
If you find yourself reviewing old code or trying to debug something that’s baffling you, comments become your salvation. They keep a record of your past logic and thought process that can point you to possible faulty logic and take you back to the origins of error. With this reminder of where you were in the past, you can revert problematic changes, optimize old code, and get back on track.
Tips for making effective comments
Now you know how to use comment shortcuts, have some convenient additional extensions, and understand scenarios in which commenting is most useful. All that’s left for you is to consider some feedback best practices and you’ll have graduated from the feedback coding course.
Be concise
There is an art to leaving concise, easily digestible comments. Leave enough to give your future self or your team members the right idea, but not so much that it becomes overwhelming. Every word of your comment should have a purpose and help develop the message you are trying to convey. If your comment is too short, you may not get your message across, but if it’s too long, you’re more likely to miss it or get confused in the future.
Avoid obvious comments
Relevance should be your primary concern when creating clear and understandable code. If you already write your code in a way that its meaning is obvious, there is no need to mention something that can be seen at first glance. Let the code do the talking whenever you can, and use comments to add additional context or provide new perspectives.
Use comments for “why”, not “what”
Your code states the facts of what is happening. But the comments can tell a deeper story. They convey the motivations and thought processes behind their decisions. Why did you choose this algorithm instead of another? What were the obstacles to take into account? Maybe you tried some code that many would recommend, but it didn’t work or didn’t work well. You can convey much more than mere instructions with well-crafted comments.
leaving a comment
VS Code’s comments feature could be more than a convenience. If you take full advantage of it, the difference in the navigability and understandability of your code base can be huge. Complemented by smart extensions and a thorough strategy, you’ll soon be creating well-documented code that reads like a masterpiece.
Do you leave a lot of comments to explain your code? Or do you primarily use comments to exclude experimental or broken code from the debugger? Tell us your story in the comments below. They are here to stay.