What are the two general types of comments that programmers write in a program's code? Describe each.

Short Answer

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Answer: The two common types of comments found in programming code are single-line comments and multi-line comments. Single-line comments are used for short explanations and annotations, while multi-line comments are used for longer explanations or commenting out blocks of code for testing or debugging purposes.

Step by step solution

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Type 1: Single-Line Comments

Single-Line comments are used to provide short explanations or annotations to specific lines of code. They typically begin with a specific marker that indicates to the programming language that the rest of the line should be ignored during code execution. In many languages, single-line comments are denoted by the double forward slash (//) or, in some cases, the hash symbol (#). For example: ```javascript // This is a single-line comment in JavaScript ``` ```python # This is a single-line comment in Python ```
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Type 2: Multi-Line Comments

Multi-Line comments are used to provide longer explanations or when commenting out a block of code for testing or debugging purposes. They use a different marker to indicate the beginning and end of the comment block, which allows the programmer to insert comments spanning multiple lines of text. In many languages, multi-line comments are denoted by a pair of markers: an opening marker and a closing marker. For example, in both Java and JavaScript, multi-line comments begin with a slash and an asterisk (/*) and end with an asterisk and a slash (*/). In the Python language, multiline comments are written using triple quotes for both the beginning and the end of the comment. Here are some examples of multi-line comments in different languages: ```javascript /* This is a multi-line comment in JavaScript */ ``` ```python """ This is a multi-line comment in Python """ ``` In conclusion, there are two general types of comments found in programming code: single-line comments and multi-line comments. They serve to provide explanations, annotations, or to temporarily disable sections of code during development or debugging. These comments make it easier for other programmers to understand the code or for the original developer to recall their thought process at the time of writing the program.

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