Comments are an essential part of any programming language, as they allow developers to add explanations and notes to their code. In C++, comments are used to add information about the code, and they are ignored by the compiler. This means that comments do not affect the execution of the program.
Single Line Comments
Single-line comments in C++ start with the // characters. Everything on the same line after the // characters is ignored by the compiler. Single-line comments are useful for adding brief explanations or notes to specific lines of code.
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
int main() {
int x = 5; // Declare and initialize x
cout << x << endl; // Print x
return 0;
}
Multi-Line Comments
Multi-line comments in C++ start with the /* characters and end with the */ characters. Everything between these characters is ignored by the compiler. Multi-line comments are useful for adding more detailed explanations or notes to multiple lines of code.
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
int main() {
/* Declare and initialize x
int x = 5;
*/
cout << x << endl; // Print x
return 0;
}
Documentation Comments (Doxygen)
Doxygen is a documentation generator that can be used to generate documentation for C++ code. It uses a special syntax for comments that starts with /** or /*!. These comments are similar to multi-line comments, but they include additional information that can be used to generate documentation.
For example, the following comment will be used to generate documentation for a function called add:
/**
* Adds two integers together
* @param a first integer
* @param b second integer
* @return sum of a and b
*/
int add(int a, int b) {
return a + b;
}
Conclusion
In this article, we have discussed the different types of comments that can be used in C++. Single-line comments are useful for adding brief explanations or notes to specific lines of code, while multi-line comments are useful for adding more detailed explanations or notes to multiple lines of code. Doxygen comments are a special type of comment that can be used to generate documentation for C++ code. Comments are an important part of any programming language as they allow developers to add explanations and notes to their code, making it easier to understand and maintain.
