Comments within your code should provide useful information, but remember, too much of a good thing can be a problem. Over-commenting can distract from the code itself and, more often than not, it's a sign the code isn't clear enough.
Consider this revised method, which calculates the area of a triangle, now with comments:
<?php
class Triangle
{
public static function calculateTriangleArea($baseValue, $height)
{
// Calculate the area of a triangle
// Formula: 0.5 * base * height
$area = 0.5 * $baseValue * $height; // Area calculation
return $area; // Return the result
}
}
While comments explaining the formula might be helpful for some, the code itself is quite straightforward, and the comments on the calculation itself might be seen as unnecessary. If the method's name and parameters are clear, the need for additional comments can be minimized.
Here is how we could change this:
<?php
class Triangle
{
// Calculates the area of a triangle using the given base and height.
public static function calculateTriangleArea($baseValue, $height)
{
$area = 0.5 * $baseValue * $height;
return $area;
}
}
In this version, a single comment placed at the method level provides a high-level overview of what the method does, which is sufficient given the clarity of the method name and parameters. Comments within the method have been removed as they were unnecessary.
