C Basics

#1. C Comments

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The comments in C are human-readable explanations or notes in the source code of a C program. A comment makes the program easier to read and understand. These are the statements that are not executed by the compiler or an interpreter.

It is considered to be a good practice to document our code using comments.

In programming, comments are hints that a programmer can add to make their code easier to read and understand. For example,

#include <stdio.h>

int main() {

  // print Hello World to the screen
  printf("Hello World");
  return 0;
}

Output

Hello World

Here, // print Hello World to the screen is a comment in C programming. Comments are completely ignored by C compilers.

When and Why to use Comments in C programming?

1. A person reading a large code will be bemused if comments are not provided about details of the program.
2. C Comments are a way to make a code more readable by providing more descriptions.
3. C Comments can include a description of an algorithm to make code understandable.
4. C Comments can be used to prevent the execution of some parts of the code.

Types of comments in C

In C there are two types of comments in C language:

• Single-line comment
• Multi-line comment

1. Single-line Comment in C

A single-line comment in C starts with ( // ) double forward slash. It extends till the end of the line and we don’t need to specify its end.

Syntax of Single Line C Comment

// This is a single line comment

2. Multi-line Comment in C

The Multi-line comment in C starts with a forward slash and asterisk ( /* ) and ends with an asterisk and forward slash ( */ ). Any text between /* and */ is treated as a comment and is ignored by the compiler.

It can apply comments to multiple lines in the program.

Syntax of Multi-Line C Comment

/*Comment starts
    continues
    continues
    .
    .
    .
Comment ends*/

Upcoming C Basics: Compiling the First C Program

C Basics

Feel free to look back on C Introduction: “Hello, World!”

C Introduction