"this" question

[Alexander Dong Back Kim]

Dear all,

I used to use C++ programming language at all time but moved to C# and
Java. Few days ago, I restarted studying about C++ with a very
beginner's mind. I wrote a simple class and gcc couldn't compile the
class. Any hints that I'm missing?

Header File:

#ifndef __Calc_h__
#define __Calc_h__

class Calc
{
private:
int a;
int b;
public:
Calc();
Calc(int a, int b);

~Calc();

int plus();
int minus();
int multi();
int divide();
};

#endif

Source File:

#include "Calc.h"

Calc::Calc()
{
this.a = 0;
this.b = 0;
}

Calc::Calc(int a, int b)
{
this.a = a;
this.b = b;
}

Calc::~Calc()
{
this.a = 0;
this.b = 0;
}

int Calc::plus()
{
return this.a + this.b;
}

int Calc::minus()
{
return this.a - this.b;
}

int Calc::multi()
{
return this.a * this.b;
}

int Calc::divide()
{
if (this.b != 0)
{
return this.a / this.b;
}
else if (a != 0)
{
return this.b / this.a;
}
else
{
return 0;
}
}
GCC command:

$gcc Calc.cpp -lstdc++

Error Message:

Calc.cpp: In constructor 'Calc::Calc()':
Calc.cpp:6: error: request for member 'a' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp:7: error: request for member 'b' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp: In constructor 'Calc::Calc(int , int)':
Calc.cpp:12: error: request for member 'a' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp:13: error: request for member 'b' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp: In destructor 'Calc::~Calc()' :
Calc.cpp:18: error: request for member 'a' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp:19: error: request for member 'b' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp: In member function 'int Calc::plus()':
Calc.cpp:24: error: request for member 'a' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp:24: error: request for member 'b' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp: In member function 'int Calc::minus()':
Calc.cpp:29: error: request for member 'a' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp:29: error: request for member 'b' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp: In member function 'int Calc::multi()':
Calc.cpp:34: error: request for member 'a' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp:34: error: request for member 'b' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp: In member function 'int Calc::divide()' :
Calc.cpp:39: error: request for member 'b' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp:41: error: request for member 'a' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp:41: error: request for member 'b' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp:45: error: request for member 'b' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp:45: error: request for member 'a' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'

I think those error messages mean 'a' and 'b' are not members of Calc
class. Why is that?

Thanks,

[Mark P]

Alexander Dong Back Kim wrote:

Dear all,

I used to use C++ programming language at all time but moved to C# and
Java. Few days ago, I restarted studying about C++ with a very
beginner's mind. I wrote a simple class and gcc couldn't compile the
class. Any hints that I'm missing?

Look at the compiler message. "this" is of type Calc* const, notably a
pointer. Where you have "this." you should have "this->". But "should"
is the wrong word here since you don't need to use "this" at all here.
Rather than "this->a = 0" simply write "a = 0".

>
Header File:

#ifndef __Calc_h__
#define __Calc_h__

class Calc
{
private:
int a;
int b;
public:
Calc();
Calc(int a, int b);

~Calc();

int plus();
int minus();
int multi();
int divide();
};

#endif

Source File:

#include "Calc.h"

Calc::Calc()
{
this.a = 0;
this.b = 0;
}

Calc::Calc(int a, int b)
{
this.a = a;
this.b = b;
}

Calc::~Calc()
{
this.a = 0;
this.b = 0;
}

int Calc::plus()
{
return this.a + this.b;
}

int Calc::minus()
{
return this.a - this.b;
}

int Calc::multi()
{
return this.a * this.b;
}

int Calc::divide()
{
if (this.b != 0)
{
return this.a / this.b;
}
else if (a != 0)
{
return this.b / this.a;
}
else
{
return 0;
}
}
GCC command:

$gcc Calc.cpp -lstdc++

Error Message:

Calc.cpp: In constructor 'Calc::Calc()':
Calc.cpp:6: error: request for member 'a' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp:7: error: request for member 'b' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp: In constructor 'Calc::Calc(int , int)':
Calc.cpp:12: error: request for member 'a' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp:13: error: request for member 'b' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp: In destructor 'Calc::~Calc()' :
Calc.cpp:18: error: request for member 'a' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp:19: error: request for member 'b' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp: In member function 'int Calc::plus()':
Calc.cpp:24: error: request for member 'a' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp:24: error: request for member 'b' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp: In member function 'int Calc::minus()':
Calc.cpp:29: error: request for member 'a' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp:29: error: request for member 'b' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp: In member function 'int Calc::multi()':
Calc.cpp:34: error: request for member 'a' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp:34: error: request for member 'b' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp: In member function 'int Calc::divide()' :
Calc.cpp:39: error: request for member 'b' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp:41: error: request for member 'a' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp:41: error: request for member 'b' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp:45: error: request for member 'b' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp:45: error: request for member 'a' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'

I think those error messages mean 'a' and 'b' are not members of Calc
class. Why is that?

Thanks,

[red floyd]

Alexander Dong Back Kim wrote:

Dear all,

I used to use C++ programming language at all time but moved to C# and
Java. Few days ago, I restarted studying about C++ with a very
beginner's mind. I wrote a simple class and gcc couldn't compile the
class. Any hints that I'm missing?

Header File:

#ifndef __Calc_h__
#define __Calc_h__

Other than the fact that "this" is a pointer, and you should use
"this->" instead of "this.", or just drop the "this" completely, your
include guard is also incorrect.

ISO/IEC 14882:2003 17.4.3.1.2/1 specifies that identifiers containing a
double underscore are reserved to the implementation. Also, don't
change it to _Calc_h_, since identifiers with a leading underscore
followed by an uppercase letter are reserved to the implementation in
the global namespace.

class Calc
{
private:
int a;
int b;
public:
Calc();
Calc(int a, int b);

~Calc();

int plus();
int minus();
int multi();
int divide();
};

#endif

Source File:

#include "Calc.h"

Calc::Calc()
{
this.a = 0;
this.b = 0;
}

Calc::Calc(int a, int b)
{
this.a = a;
this.b = b;
}

Calc::~Calc()
{
this.a = 0;
this.b = 0;
}

int Calc::plus()
{
return this.a + this.b;
}

int Calc::minus()
{
return this.a - this.b;
}

int Calc::multi()
{
return this.a * this.b;
}

int Calc::divide()
{
if (this.b != 0)
{
return this.a / this.b;
}
else if (a != 0)
{
return this.b / this.a;
}
else
{
return 0;
}
}
GCC command:

$gcc Calc.cpp -lstdc++

Error Message:

Calc.cpp: In constructor 'Calc::Calc()':
Calc.cpp:6: error: request for member 'a' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp:7: error: request for member 'b' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp: In constructor 'Calc::Calc(int , int)':
Calc.cpp:12: error: request for member 'a' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp:13: error: request for member 'b' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp: In destructor 'Calc::~Calc()' :
Calc.cpp:18: error: request for member 'a' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp:19: error: request for member 'b' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp: In member function 'int Calc::plus()':
Calc.cpp:24: error: request for member 'a' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp:24: error: request for member 'b' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp: In member function 'int Calc::minus()':
Calc.cpp:29: error: request for member 'a' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp:29: error: request for member 'b' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp: In member function 'int Calc::multi()':
Calc.cpp:34: error: request for member 'a' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp:34: error: request for member 'b' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp: In member function 'int Calc::divide()' :
Calc.cpp:39: error: request for member 'b' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp:41: error: request for member 'a' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp:41: error: request for member 'b' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp:45: error: request for member 'b' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp:45: error: request for member 'a' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'

I think those error messages mean 'a' and 'b' are not members of Calc
class. Why is that?

Thanks,

[wxghust]

On 9 21 , 7 51 , red floyd <no.s...@here.d udewrote:

Alexander Dong Back Kim wrote:

Dear all,

I used to use C++ programming language at all time but moved to C# and
Java. Few days ago, I restarted studying about C++ with a very
beginner's mind. I wrote a simple class and gcc couldn't compile the
class. Any hints that I'm missing?

Header File:

#ifndef __Calc_h__
#define __Calc_h__

Other than the fact that "this" is a pointer, and you should use
"this->" instead of "this.", or just drop the "this" completely, your
include guard is also incorrect.

ISO/IEC 14882:2003 17.4.3.1.2/1 specifies that identifiers containing a
double underscore are reserved to the implementation. Also, don't
change it to _Calc_h_, since identifiers with a leading underscore
followed by an uppercase letter are reserved to the implementation in
the global namespace.

class Calc
{
private:
int a;
int b;
public:
Calc();
Calc(int a, int b);

~Calc();

int plus();
int minus();
int multi();
int divide();
};

#endif

Source File:

#include "Calc.h"

Calc::Calc()
{
this.a = 0;
this.b = 0;
}

Calc::Calc(int a, int b)
{
this.a = a;
this.b = b;
}

Calc::~Calc()
{
this.a = 0;
this.b = 0;
}

int Calc::plus()
{
return this.a + this.b;
}

int Calc::minus()
{
return this.a - this.b;
}

int Calc::multi()
{
return this.a * this.b;
}

int Calc::divide()
{
if (this.b != 0)
{
return this.a / this.b;
}
else if (a != 0)
{
return this.b / this.a;
}
else
{
return 0;
}
}

GCC command:

$gcc Calc.cpp -lstdc++

Error Message:

Calc.cpp: In constructor 'Calc::Calc()':
Calc.cpp:6: error: request for member 'a' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp:7: error: request for member 'b' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp: In constructor 'Calc::Calc(int , int)':
Calc.cpp:12: error: request for member 'a' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp:13: error: request for member 'b' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp: In destructor 'Calc::~Calc()' :
Calc.cpp:18: error: request for member 'a' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp:19: error: request for member 'b' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp: In member function 'int Calc::plus()':
Calc.cpp:24: error: request for member 'a' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp:24: error: request for member 'b' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp: In member function 'int Calc::minus()':
Calc.cpp:29: error: request for member 'a' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp:29: error: request for member 'b' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp: In member function 'int Calc::multi()':
Calc.cpp:34: error: request for member 'a' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp:34: error: request for member 'b' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp: In member function 'int Calc::divide()' :
Calc.cpp:39: error: request for member 'b' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp:41: error: request for member 'a' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp:41: error: request for member 'b' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp:45: error: request for member 'b' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp:45: error: request for member 'a' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'

I think those error messages mean 'a' and 'b' are not members of Calc
class. Why is that?

Thanks,- -

- -

^_^, "this" is a pointer.

[Alexander Dong Back Kim]

On Sep 21, 11:32 am, wxghust <wxgh...@gmail. comwrote:

On 9 21 , 7 51 , red floyd <no.s...@here.d udewrote:

Alexander Dong Back Kim wrote:

Dear all,

I used to use C++ programming language at all time but moved to C# and
Java. Few days ago, I restarted studying about C++ with a very
beginner's mind. I wrote a simple class and gcc couldn't compile the
class. Any hints that I'm missing?

Header File:

#ifndef __Calc_h__
#define __Calc_h__

Other than the fact that "this" is a pointer, and you should use
"this->" instead of "this.", or just drop the "this" completely, your
include guard is also incorrect.

ISO/IEC 14882:2003 17.4.3.1.2/1 specifies that identifiers containing a
double underscore are reserved to the implementation. Also, don't
change it to _Calc_h_, since identifiers with a leading underscore
followed by an uppercase letter are reserved to the implementation in
the global namespace.

class Calc
{
private:
int a;
int b;
public:
Calc();
Calc(int a, int b);

~Calc();

int plus();
int minus();
int multi();
int divide();
};

#endif

Source File:

#include "Calc.h"

Calc::Calc()
{
this.a = 0;
this.b = 0;
}

Calc::Calc(int a, int b)
{
this.a = a;
this.b = b;
}

Calc::~Calc()
{
this.a = 0;
this.b = 0;
}

int Calc::plus()
{
return this.a + this.b;
}

int Calc::minus()
{
return this.a - this.b;
}

int Calc::multi()
{
return this.a * this.b;
}

int Calc::divide()
{
if (this.b != 0)
{
return this.a / this.b;
}
else if (a != 0)
{
return this.b / this.a;
}
else
{
return 0;
}
}

GCC command:

$gcc Calc.cpp -lstdc++

Error Message:

Calc.cpp: In constructor 'Calc::Calc()':
Calc.cpp:6: error: request for member 'a' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp:7: error: request for member 'b' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp: In constructor 'Calc::Calc(int , int)':
Calc.cpp:12: error: request for member 'a' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp:13: error: request for member 'b' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp: In destructor 'Calc::~Calc()' :
Calc.cpp:18: error: request for member 'a' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp:19: error: request for member 'b' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp: In member function 'int Calc::plus()':
Calc.cpp:24: error: request for member 'a' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp:24: error: request for member 'b' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp: In member function 'int Calc::minus()':
Calc.cpp:29: error: request for member 'a' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp:29: error: request for member 'b' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp: In member function 'int Calc::multi()':
Calc.cpp:34: error: request for member 'a' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp:34: error: request for member 'b' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp: In member function 'int Calc::divide()' :
Calc.cpp:39: error: request for member 'b' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp:41: error: request for member 'a' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp:41: error: request for member 'b' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp:45: error: request for member 'b' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp:45: error: request for member 'a' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'

I think those error messages mean 'a' and 'b' are not members of Calc
class. Why is that?

Thanks,- -

- -

^_^, "this" is a pointer.

On Sep 21, 11:32 am, wxghust <wxgh...@gmail. comwrote:

On 9 21 , 7 51 , red floyd <no.s...@here.d udewrote:

Alexander Dong Back Kim wrote:

Dear all,

I used to use C++ programming language at all time but moved to C# and
Java. Few days ago, I restarted studying about C++ with a very
beginner's mind. I wrote a simple class and gcc couldn't compile the
class. Any hints that I'm missing?

Header File:

#ifndef __Calc_h__
#define __Calc_h__

Other than the fact that "this" is a pointer, and you should use
"this->" instead of "this.", or just drop the "this" completely, your
include guard is also incorrect.

ISO/IEC 14882:2003 17.4.3.1.2/1 specifies that identifiers containing a
double underscore are reserved to the implementation. Also, don't
change it to _Calc_h_, since identifiers with a leading underscore
followed by an uppercase letter are reserved to the implementation in
the global namespace.

class Calc
{
private:
int a;
int b;
public:
Calc();
Calc(int a, int b);

~Calc();

int plus();
int minus();
int multi();
int divide();
};

#endif

Source File:

#include "Calc.h"

Calc::Calc()
{
this.a = 0;
this.b = 0;
}

Calc::Calc(int a, int b)
{
this.a = a;
this.b = b;
}

Calc::~Calc()
{
this.a = 0;
this.b = 0;
}

int Calc::plus()
{
return this.a + this.b;
}

int Calc::minus()
{
return this.a - this.b;
}

int Calc::multi()
{
return this.a * this.b;
}

int Calc::divide()
{
if (this.b != 0)
{
return this.a / this.b;
}
else if (a != 0)
{
return this.b / this.a;
}
else
{
return 0;
}
}

GCC command:

$gcc Calc.cpp -lstdc++

Error Message:

Calc.cpp: In constructor 'Calc::Calc()':
Calc.cpp:6: error: request for member 'a' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp:7: error: request for member 'b' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp: In constructor 'Calc::Calc(int , int)':
Calc.cpp:12: error: request for member 'a' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp:13: error: request for member 'b' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp: In destructor 'Calc::~Calc()' :
Calc.cpp:18: error: request for member 'a' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp:19: error: request for member 'b' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp: In member function 'int Calc::plus()':
Calc.cpp:24: error: request for member 'a' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp:24: error: request for member 'b' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp: In member function 'int Calc::minus()':
Calc.cpp:29: error: request for member 'a' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp:29: error: request for member 'b' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp: In member function 'int Calc::multi()':
Calc.cpp:34: error: request for member 'a' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp:34: error: request for member 'b' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp: In member function 'int Calc::divide()' :
Calc.cpp:39: error: request for member 'b' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp:41: error: request for member 'a' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp:41: error: request for member 'b' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp:45: error: request for member 'b' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'
Calc.cpp:45: error: request for member 'a' in 'this', which is of non-
class type 'Calc* const'

I think those error messages mean 'a' and 'b' are not members of Calc
class. Why is that?

Thanks,- -

- -

^_^, "this" is a pointer.

Far out!!!

It seems I become really stupid because of C# and Java programming
languages which never use "->"!!! How can I possibly forget about "->"
operator!!! haha

Thanks guys who commented my question. =)

Thanks heaps,

[Juha Nieminen]

Alf P. Steinbach wrote:

It's generally redundant and just visual clutter.

In the same way as using variable names longer than one character is
redundant and visual clutter?
Why comment your code either? It's just clutter.

[werasm]

Juha Nieminen wrote:

Alf P. Steinbach wrote:

It's generally redundant and just visual clutter.

In the same way as using variable names longer than one character is
redundant and visual clutter?

No, naming variables well conveys intent and purpose.
e.g:
If I call a <Carobject EmpireState and a building
object <Mercedes>, then it is certainly not going
to help the maintainer. That is why one character
is not used.

OTOH, if you write a class and you know the name
of the member is x (and especially if you follow some
convention, like suffixing the member with _, or prefixing
it with m_), then (<this->) really does become redundant,
and in fact, I've never come across code where people
used (this->) if they did not need to, except maybe
when writing templates, and they are in doubt of whether
the member in question is dependent on T.

Why comment your code either? It's just clutter.

As far as comments go, if you name your functions and
variables well (so that the names convey intent), the
code becomes self-commenting, and commenting is
hardly needed. This has been discussed many times
in the past.

Regards,

Werner

[GameboyHippo]

On Sep 21, 11:56 am, werasm <wer...@gmail.c omwrote:

Juha Nieminen wrote:

Alf P. Steinbach wrote:

It's generally redundant and just visual clutter.

In the same way as using variable names longer than one character is
redundant and visual clutter?

No, naming variables well conveys intent and purpose.
e.g:
If I call a <Carobject EmpireState and a building
object <Mercedes>, then it is certainly not going
to help the maintainer. That is why one character
is not used.

OTOH, if you write a class and you know the name
of the member is x (and especially if you follow some
convention, like suffixing the member with _, or prefixing
it with m_), then (<this->) really does become redundant,
and in fact, I've never come across code where people
used (this->) if they did not need to, except maybe
when writing templates, and they are in doubt of whether
the member in question is dependent on T.

Why comment your code either? It's just clutter.

As far as comments go, if you name your functions and
variables well (so that the names convey intent), the
code becomes self-commenting, and commenting is
hardly needed. This has been discussed many times
in the past.

Regards,

Werner

Ideas like that make my job that much harder. I'm constantly porting
old code to new code. Comments are crucial. Maybe not a comment for
every line of code, but perhaps something at the beginning of each
code item that is public (such as functions and classes). Trust me,
I'm not a guru in every business out there so sometimes I need
comments to explain a business rule or two.

[werasm]

GameboyHippo wrote:

Ideas like that make my job that much harder. I'm constantly porting
old code to new code. Comments are crucial. Maybe not a comment for
every line of code, but perhaps something at the beginning of each
code item that is public (such as functions and classes). Trust me,
I'm not a guru in every business out there so sometimes I need
comments to explain a business rule or two.

BTW, I'm sure your member functions are riddled with:

this->andThat;

c'mon, admit it. Do you really use (this->). is the point the
previous
poster made really valid?

[Juha Nieminen]

werasm wrote:

As far as comments go, if you name your functions and
variables well (so that the names convey intent), the
code becomes self-commenting, and commenting is
hardly needed.

Personally I disagree with that. Comments are a good way
(even for the programmer itself) to visually separate logical
parts of the source code. When you later need to find a
specific part for whatever modification, good comments may
help you find it a lot faster than if there were no comments
at all.

Also it may not be immediately obvious what some part of the
code is doing from the variable names and code alone.

Personally I use this rule of thumb: If I coded something and
some time later I have to go back to that code and at some part
I have to stop for many seconds to try to remember what that part
is doing, I add the a comment explaining it when I do remember.
The rationale is: If to me, who created that code, it's not
immediately obvious what something is doing, it will be much
harder for someone else to understand it. Besides, it helps me
too, because in the future I don't have to once again try to
remember what something is doing.

Also if something uses a non-obvious technique or algorithm
I think it's good to explain it. Nothing is more irritating than
trying to reverse-engineer an ingenuous or complex algorithm from
someone else's source code, simply because he was too lazy to
explain it.