Learning how to comment in Python is essential because comments are useful for explaining the purpose of your code, making it more readable and easier to maintain.
Comments can be used to document the logic behind your code, and its structure, or to disable specific lines of code for testing purposes. This tutorial will break down how to use comments in Python using single-line, multi-line, and a convenient keyboard shortcut.
Step 1: Commenting with the Hash Symbol (#)
Single-line comments in Python begin with a hash symbol (#). Any text that follows the hash symbol until the end of the line is considered a comment and ignored by the Python interpreter. For example:
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# This is a single-line comment print("Hello, World") # This is an inline comment |
Step 2: Commenting with Triple Quotes (”’ ”’)
Multi-line comments, also known as block comments, can be created using triple quotes (either single or double). These triple quotes are also used for docstrings, which provide documentation for functions, classes, and modules in Python.
Note that multi-line comments are not supported natively in Python, but using triple quotes is a common convention. In the following example, a block comment spanning multiple lines is created:
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''' This is a multi-line comment. You can write as many lines as needed. ''' print("Hello, World") |
Step 3: Using a Keyboard Shortcut to Comment in Python
If you work in an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) like Visual Studio Code or PyCharm, you can take advantage of the built-in keyboard shortcut for quickly commenting/uncommenting code. This can save time when working on your projects.
For most IDEs, the keyboard shortcut is ‘Ctrl + /’ (or ‘CMD + /’ on macOS). This command will either comment or uncomment the currently selected line or block of code.
If you want to comment on a block of code, simply highlight the lines and press ‘Ctrl + /’ (or ‘CMD + /’ on macOS). You can also uncomment those lines using the same shortcut.
Full Code Examples
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# Example 1: Single-line comment # This is a single-line comment print("Hello, World") # This is an inline comment # Example 2: Multi-line comment ''' This is a multi-line comment. You can write as many lines as needed. ''' print("Hello, World") |
Conclusion
Now you know how to comment in Python using both single-line and multi-line comments, making your code more readable and easier to maintain. Additionally, you’ve learned about the convenient keyboard shortcut for commenting/uncommenting code in most Python IDEs.
Keep these tips handy while working on your projects, as using comments effectively will help you better understand your code and make it easier for others to work with.