Are you tired of writing code that looks like a spaghetti mess? Do your coworkers struggle to understand what the ***** is going on in your scripts? Well, my friend, it’s time for some comment action.

In this guide, we’re gonna talk about how to write comments in Python that are clean and concise. We’ll also cover when you might not need any comments at all (spoiler: more often than you think). And finally, we’ll discuss the types of comments you should avoid like the plague.

First things first, why is commenting so important? Well, for starters, it makes your code easier to understand. When someone else reads your script, they can quickly skim through the comments and get a sense of what each section does without having to dive into every line of code. This saves time and reduces frustration.

But that’s not all! Commenting also helps you remember what your code is doing. Have you ever written some code, only to forget why you wrote it in the first place? Well, comments can help jog your memory and keep you from making silly mistakes.

Now best practices for writing comments in Python. First off, make sure they are clean and concise. Don’t write a novel explaining what each line of code does.

Here’s an example:

# This script calculates the sum of all numbers in a given list.

# Define a variable 'total' and set it to 0 to store the sum of all numbers
total = 0

# Use a for loop to iterate through each number in the list 'numbers'
for num in numbers:
    # Add the current number to the total sum
    total += num

# Print the final sum using string formatting
print(f"The sum is {total}")

In this case, we don’t need a comment for each line. The first one explains what the entire block of code does, and the others are self-explanatory.

But sometimes you might want to add comments to explain why certain decisions were made or to provide context. For example:

# This variable 'num' is used as a temporary holder for each number in 'numbers'
for num in numbers:
    # If the current number is greater than 10, we skip it and move on to the next one
    if num > 10:
        continue # Skips the current iteration and moves on to the next one
    total += num # Adds the current number to the total sum

In this case, we added a comment for ‘num’ to explain what its purpose is. And we also added a comment inside the loop to provide context for why we’re using the `continue` statement.

Now when you might not need any comments at all. Sometimes your code speaks for itself and doesn’t require any additional explanation. For example:

# This line of code initializes a variable 'num' with a value of 0
num = 0

# This loop will iterate through the range of numbers from 0 to 10
for num in range(0, 10):
    # This line checks if the current value of 'num' is equal to 5
    if num == 5:
        # This line prints a message if the condition is met
        print("Skipping 5")
        # This line uses the 'continue' statement to skip the rest of the loop and move on to the next iteration
        continue
    # This line prints the current value of 'num'
    print(num)

# This line of code converts a string to lowercase
string = "HELLO".lower()
# This line prints the lowercase version of the string
print(string)

In this case, the comment is redundant because it explains what the `lower()` function does. Instead, we can just remove the comment and let the code do its thing:

# Define a variable "string" and assign it the string "HELLO"
string = "HELLO"

# Use the "lower()" function to convert the string to lowercase and reassign it to the variable "string"
string = string.lower()

# Print the lowercase string
print(string)

# The purpose of this script is to convert a string to lowercase and print it.

Finally, types of comments you should avoid like the plague. These are comments that don’t add any value to your code and can actually make it harder to understand:

– Comments that explain what a variable is doing (unless there’s some ambiguity)
– Comments that repeat information already in the code
– Comments that use overly complex language or jargon

Here are some examples of comments you should avoid:

# This line of code initializes a variable 'total' with a value of 0
total = 0

# This line of code creates a for loop that iterates through each element in the list 'numbers'
for num in numbers:
    # This line of code adds the current element to the variable 'total'
    total += num

# This line of code prints the sum of all numbers in the list 'numbers'
print(f"The sum is {total}")

In this case, we can remove the first comment because it repeats information already in the code. The variable names and function calls provide enough context for what each line of code does.

Now that you know how to write clean comments in Python, let’s practice! Take a script or command you’ve written recently and add some comments to explain what each section is doing. Then share it with your coworkers (or your cat) and see if they can understand it without any additional explanation.

Remember, commenting isn’t just about making your code more readable for others. It’s also a great way to improve your own understanding of what you’re writing! So go ahead and start adding some comments to your Python scripts today. Your future self (and your coworkers) will thank you.

Later!