Clarifying Pull Requests and Code Comments
Experienced Microsoft engineer Raymond Chen has shared his insights on the distinction between a pull request description and inline comments within the code. Both are important, yet they fulfill significantly different roles. As Chen expressed on his The Old New Thing development blog: “The PR description serves as a snapshot statement, offering details pertinent to the code review itself.
PR Descriptions: Mastering Persuasive Composition
“It’s a practice in persuasive composition: Your aim is to persuade the reviewer that your modification should be approved.” On the other hand, inserting text into the source? “Comments within the code are meant for discussing the code itself. What is the proper way to invoke this function? Are there certain prerequisites? This information is enduring: It remains valuable even after the pull request is concluded.”
Commit Messages: Also Worth Considering
We contend that commit messages should not be overlooked either, but the differentiation between PR descriptions and code comments is timely, especially with the surge of pull requests generated by AI coding tools along with some occasionally “curious” notes.
Past Commenting Challenges
However, anyone lamenting comments in AI-generated code would do well to review those penned years ago by one of this author’s previous coworkers. They included pages of apologies to the future programmer tasked with untangling the C++ spaghetti entwined through a labyrinth of modules. Another colleague absolutely refused to annotate their code, claiming it was “self-documenting.” Nowadays, a candid comment might state: “This was coded by , and I am completely clueless about how any of it operates.”
Tabs vs Spaces: The Ongoing Debate
This harkens back to another enduring debate among developers: whether to indent code using tabs or spaces. In 2024, another Microsoft veteran, Larry Osterman, adopted a notably neutral stance: tabs were suitable when storage was scarce, but spaces now seem more logical “as they always function correctly and are consistently applied.”
Raymond Chen’s View on Code Formatting
Chen’s stance on tabs compared to spaces isn’t well-known, yet his general perspective on code formatting was clear: “I don’t mind how you arrange your source code. It’s your source code.” He recommended making any comprehensive changes in layout or formatting a separate check-in, to prevent maintainers from encountering a massive diff dominated by a new style guideline.
Conclusion
This leads us back to Chen’s differentiation: the PR description clarifies why maintainers should approve a modification, while comments ensure future programmers have the necessary context to comprehend the code.
Conclusion: It’s All About Effective Communication!
Ultimately, it’s all about engaging in a meaningful exchange between developers and ensuring everyone understands what’s happening, preventing anyone from facing a substantial mess later on. Maintain clarity, keep it concise, and we may just unravel this coding conundrum!
