C# Comments

Introduction

In any programming language, comments are the pieces of text that we add in programs to make it more readable and easier to understand and communicate something to a human reader.

You might think that these comments will slow down the performance of your code, but it's not true because the compiler ignores comments. Comments do contribute to the size of the source code, but this isn't our concern as disk space gets cheaper each year.

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C# comments 

In C#, comments can explain your C# code and make it more readable and easier to understand. And comments in C# can also prevent the execution by commenting on the code when testing alternative code.

Types of comments in C#

There are three types of comments in C#, which are as follows:

• Single-Line Comments
• Multiple Line Comments 
• XML Tag Comments

Now, we will discuss these three types of comments in C#.

Single-Line Comments

As the name suggests single-line comments are used to comment a single line in your C# code. In Single-line comments, any text between the start of the comment and the end of the line is ignored by the compiler in C#. Single-line comments start with two forward slashes (//)

Always use the comment in a separate line for better understanding. Now we will learn the syntax and examples of single-line comments in C#.

Syntax

Example 1

using System;
class TestComments 
{
  static void Main ()
  {
    // This is a single-line comment in C#
    Console.WriteLine ("Comment before any line of code");
  }
}

Output

Example 2

using System;
class TestComments
{
  static void Main ()
  {
    Console.WriteLine("Comment at the end of a line of code"); // Single-line comment in C#
  }
}

Output

Multi-Line Comments

As the name suggests, multi-line comments are used to comment multiple lines(more than one line). Generally, multi-line comments are used to comment out the entire code block.

These comments start with /* and end with */, and any text between them is ignored by the compiler. Let's see the syntax of multi-line comments in C#.

Syntax

Example 1

using System;
class TestComments
{
  static void Main ()
  {
    /*This is a multi-line comment in C#
    And this can comment out multiple lines */
    Console.WriteLine ("Multi-line comments are amazing.");
  }
}

Output

Example 2

using System;
class TestComments
{
  static void Main ()
  {
    /* The following line of code will be ignored:  */
    /* Console.WriteLine("Preparing to say Hello"); */
    Console.WriteLine ("Hello there!"); /* This line of code will be printed */
  }
}

Output

XML tag comments

These comments are also known as XML Documentation comments. These comments start with ///, and any text between the start of the comment and the end of the line is ignored by the compiler in C#.

Syntax

Refer here to know more about XML tag comments.

Important tips while using comments in code

• Always use comments only for that portions of code which is difficult to understand.
• Always try to keep the comments direct and straightforward. For example, avoid ASCII art, poetry, jokes.
• Always make sure the comments are up to date.
• Try to align comments in consecutive lines.
• Use paragraph comments; that is, if the comment is very long, then break it into paragraphs as shown below:

Break it into lines:

• Don't insult the reader's intelligence which means avoiding obvious comments in your code. 
• Comments can be used as reminders; coders will often use comments to leave reminders in the code itself for themselves and others.
• Always write a comment in a polite manner avoid harsh and rude comments.
• The golden rule for comments is “Let the code speak for itself”, which means your code should be written in such a way that everyone should easily understand it.

FAQs

1. What are the comments?
   Comments are the pieces of text that we add in programs to make it more readable. In C#, comments can explain your C# code and make it more readable and easier to understand.
2. How many types of comments are there in C#? Name them.
   There are three types of comments in C#:
   Single-line comments (// )
   Multi-line comments (/*  */)
   XML Documentation comments (/// )
3. Do comments slow down the performance of your code?
   No, comments do not affect the performance of your code as the compiler ignores the comments( does not execute them).
4. What are multi-line comments in C#?
   Multi-line comments are used to comment multiple lines(more than one line). They start with /* and end with */. Generally, multi-line comments are used to comment out the entire code block.
5. What is the golden rule for comments?
   The golden rule for comments is “Let the code speak for itself”, which means your code should be written in such a way that everyone should easily understand it.