There are three kinds of program comments in Java.
// This is a single-line comment.
// Everything after the double slashes is ignored by Java.
/* This is a multi-line comment.
Everything between the slash stars is ignored by Java.
Note the reversal of slash-STAR then STAR-slash.
*/
/** This is a Javadoc comment.
Javadoc comments have additional formatting and are used to create APIs.
You will learn about them in Lesson 6.
*/
Comments are used to add clarity to programs.
It’s not obvious what this code does:
pen.up();
pen.move(-1020Math.cos(Math.toRadians(60)), -150);
pen.down();
for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++) {
pen.setDirection(90);
pen.forward(100);
pen.turnRight(30);
pen.forward(20);
pen.turnRight(120);
pen.forward(20);
pen.turnRight(30);
pen.forward(100);
pen.turnRight(90);
pen.forward(220Math.cos(Math.toRadians(60)));
pen.setDirection(0);
pen.forward(220Math.cos(Math.toRadians(60)));
}
Here is the same code but much easier to understand:
/* This program draws a row of 10 fenceposts by
using a for-loop to repeatly draw one post and
moving over to the next post location.
*/
// Move the pen's starting location so the fence is centered horizontally
pen.up();
pen.move(-10*20*Math.cos(Math.toRadians(60)), -150);
pen.down();
// Draw 10 fenceposts by repeating one post 10 times
for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++) {
pen.setDirection(90); // Left side
pen.forward(100);
pen.turnRight(30); // Triangle top
pen.forward(20);
pen.turnRight(120);
pen.forward(20);
pen.turnRight(30);
pen.forward(100); // Right side
pen.turnRight(90);
// Base
pen.forward(2*20*Math.cos(Math.toRadians(60)));
pen.setDirection(0);
// Move to next starting location
pen.forward(2*20*Math.cos(Math.toRadians(60)));
}
Remember:
Comment every program you write!
Last modified: December 12, 2022
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