| Abstract: | Three kinds of documentation are examined: summary documentation describes the intent and nature of the program; detail documentation gives all the information the user needs to put the program to work; intraprogram documentation is information written into the program to inform the user or programmer. The need for intraprogram documentation occurs at four different times: in the initial design period; during debugging; as the program and system evolve; when it is necessary to adapt the program to other systems There are several means for providing intraprogram documentation. There are comments which can be placed in the header, on each line, at the beginning and end of a subroutine. Also noted is the important use of space for making the comments easier to read and for separating chunks of the program. Special symbols serve the same purpose. Examples are provided to bring home these points. |
