Using Comments in Python: Enhancing Code Readability and Debugging

Learn how to use comments in Python to explain code, improve readability, and prevent code execution during testing. Discover how to create comments by starting a line with a # and how this practice can aid in maintaining and debugging your code.

Using Comments in Python

Comments in Python serve several purposes:

• They help explain the code.
• They make the code more readable.
• They can be used to prevent the execution of code when testing.

Creating a Comment

To create a comment in Python, start the line with a #. Python will ignore any text that follows:

    # This is a comment
    print("Hello, World!")    
    

Comments can also be placed at the end of a line, and Python will ignore the rest of the line:

            print("Hello, World!") # This is a comment      
        

Additionally, comments can be used to prevent a line of code from executing:

        # print("Hello, World!")
        print("Cheers, Mate!") 
    

Multiline Comments

Python does not have a specific syntax for multiline comments. However, you can achieve this by placing a # at the beginning of each line:

# This is a comment
# written in
# more than just one line
print("Hello, World!")        
    

Alternatively, you can use a multiline string (triple quotes). If the string is not assigned to a variable, Python will read the code but ignore it, effectively making it a comment:

        """
        This is a comment
        written in
        more than just one line
        """
        print("Hello, World!")