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Quoting TechComm Dood <techcommdood -at- gmail -dot- com>:
> Wrapping in documentation at the source code level requires a slightly
> different practice, but the fundamentals are all the same. This
> practice is no more hideously inefficient than any other practice,
> it's just different.
Good point. And to add to it:
- Given that you're dealing with plain text files, the concern about bloated
code seems misplaced. In this day of multi-megabyte executables, you'd have to
include tens of thousands of words to increase the size appreciably.
- The insistence on separating documentation from code seems likely to
perpetuate divisions between writers and programmers. There's nothing special
about documentation. It's just another part of a product. If anything, including
documentation in the code tends to make both writers and programmers remember
that they are working together on a common project - an attitude that tends to
improve both documentation and code.
> I also have issues with the blanket assumption that developers hate to
> document/comment their code. I've met some that dislike to do it, and
> I've met others that deem it a critical aspect of their profession.
It also depends on company policy. At some places I've worked, programmers have
had a style guide defining such things as tabs, when they are used, and how and
when code is commented.
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