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From: jr@fortune.UUCP (John A. Rogers)
Newsgroups: net.lang
Subject: Re: Forced Commenting
Message-ID: <2179@fortune.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 5-Jan-84 16:29:06 EST
Article-I.D.: fortune.2179
Posted: Thu Jan  5 16:29:06 1984
Date-Received: Sat, 7-Jan-84 01:43:31 EST
References: <319@houxj.UUCP>
Organization: Fortune Systems, Redwood City, CA
Lines: 20

I used to use an assembler (ASSIST), which had an option to require comments.
(ASSIST was written for the IBM 360/370 series, by the University of
Pennsylvania, if I remember correctly).  You could install the assembler on
the system, and define what percentage of the instructions should have non-
blank comments.  We didn't have it installed with that option, so I don't know
how smart it was, and I don't have the documentation any more.

I'm not sure that just checking for the existence of comments is very useful...
For instance, I've seen code from IBM (e.g. parts of OS, HASP, and an
air-traffic control system), where lots of lines have comments, but they tend
to be of the form "PTF12345-99"...  I.e., whenever they change the code, they
"gang-punch" (or whatever) a code number which indicates why the fix was made
(where PTF stands for "Program Temporary Fix").  This is a comment, but it's
not what I would call a "useful" comment.  I'd like to see the PTF number (or
whatever), but I'd also like to see DESCRIPTIVE comments, and I don't know how
you'd write a program to check for them.

I hope this helps...
-- 
John Rogers - CompuServe: 70140,213 - UUCP: fortune!jr - MCI Mail: jrhpp