Comments in Python Code

Comments in Python Code

Comments in Python code are the lines of code which are not interpreted by the python interpreter at all. They are in fact ignored by it. The main purpose of comments in any programming or scripting language like python is to make pieces of code more understandable by the programmers. They also enhance the readability of the code very effectively.

Comments are used in any program for the following reasons:

• • To make the code more readable.
  • Provides explanation of the code or metadata of the project.
  • To prevent execution of some code while you are trying to see a problem in you python code.

 

Types of Comments in Python Code

In Python, there are three types of comments, which are:

• Single-Line Comments
• Multi-Line Comments
• Python Docstring

 

 

Single-Line Comments in Python Code

Single-line comments as the name suggests are comments that span a single line, so they are basically used when you want to write short and sweet comments related to your code such as comments on variable declaration, function definition, function calling and many more. They start with a hash symbol (#) and anything written beyond that but before the next line is neglected or simply ignored by the interpreter.

Syntax of Single-line Comments:

# This is a single-line comment in python

Example of Single-line Comments:

#prints "StudyExperts" to the console
print("StudyExperts")

Output:

StudyExperts

 

 

Multi-Line Comments in Python Code

Multi-line comments as the name suggests are the comments that span more than a line, so they are basically used when you want to provide thorough details or explanation regarding your code so that it can be easily understood in the future when the code is being reviewed or has been given to some other programmer to do the coding. Python does not really have multi-line comments but there are ways with which we can create them. They are:

• Using multiple hashtags(#)
• Using string literals

Using Multiple Hashtags(#) in Python Code

You can just write the comments in multiple lines and prefix them with a hashtag.

Syntax of Multi-line Comments using multiple Hashtags:

# This is a 
# multi-line comment
# using multiple
# hashtags(#)
# tada!!

Example of Multi-line Comments using multiple Hashtags:

# This is an example to show how 
# multiple hastags can be used to
# make multi-line comments in Python
#prints "StudyExperts" to the console
print("StudyExperts")

Output:

StudyExperts

Using String Literals in Python Code

In python, string literals are ignored if not assigned to a variable, so they can be used to make multi-line comments. triple quotes are used to make them.

Syntax of Multi-line Comments using String Literals:

''' Multi-line comment
using string literal with
three single quotes at the 
start of the first line and
end of the last line '''

""" Multi-line comment
using string literal with
three double quotes at the 
start of the first line and
end of the last line """

Example of Multi-line Comments using String Literals:

'''This is an example to show how 
string literals can be used to
make multi-line comments in Python
prints "StudyExperts" to the console'''

"""This is an example to show how 
string literals can be used to
make multi-line comments in Python
prints "StudyExperts" to the console"""

print("StudyExperts")

Output:

StudyExperts

 

 

Python Docstring

It is a string literal with triple quotes and is used to link documentation with functions, modules, or classes to explain what they do. It can be made available by the __doc__ attribute.

Syntax of Python Docstring:

""" This is a docstring """

Example of Python Docstring:

def add(a,b):
    """ adds value of a and b """
    return a+b

#prints docstring of add function defined above
print(add.__doc__)

Output:

adds value of a and b