Motivational Quote by Peter Seibel
““I always wish people would comment more, though the thing that makes me cringe is when the comment is the name of the function rephrased. Function's called push_stack and the comment says, “This pushes to the stack.” Thank you.””
About This Quote
Source Book: Coders at Work, Peter Seibel, 2009
Clear, specific comments add value; generic comments that restate code intent are redundant and waste time.
In simple terms: Avoid redundant comments.
Key Takeaway
Write comments that explain why, not what.
Themes
communication
code clarity
software engineering
Mood
reflective
critical
Type
educational
technical
When to use this quote
- code reviews
- team programming
- open source contributions
- learning programming
Key Concepts
documentation
human factors
information overload
Questions to Reflect On
- When should a comment be added?
- How can you make comments more insightful?
A Different Perspective
Over‑commenting can clutter code and obscure logic.
