Written Comments vs External Documentation

Developers should use written comments to clarify complex algorithms, document assumptions, explain non-obvious code, and provide context for future maintainers, especially in team environments or large projects meets developers should learn and use external documentation to improve software usability, maintainability, and collaboration, especially in team environments or for public-facing projects. Here's our take.

Written Comments

Nice Pick

Developers should use written comments to clarify complex algorithms, document assumptions, explain non-obvious code, and provide context for future maintainers, especially in team environments or large projects

Pros

• They are essential for onboarding new team members, reducing technical debt, and ensuring code quality over time, as seen in use cases like open-source contributions, legacy system maintenance, and regulatory compliance in industries like finance or healthcare
• Related to: code-documentation, clean-code

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

External Documentation

Developers should learn and use external documentation to improve software usability, maintainability, and collaboration, especially in team environments or for public-facing projects

Pros

• It is essential when building APIs, libraries, or complex systems where users need clear instructions beyond code, such as in open-source contributions, enterprise software, or regulatory compliance scenarios
• Related to: technical-writing, api-documentation

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

The Verdict

These tools serve different purposes. Written Comments is a concept while External Documentation is a methodology. We picked Written Comments based on overall popularity, but your choice depends on what you're building.

The Bottom Line

Written Comments wins

Based on overall popularity. Written Comments is more widely used, but External Documentation excels in its own space.