This is why […] better

Sorry, what’s the subject of that?

I was just referring to my original question i.e. how I should write comments in my code to explain its working if I have already done so in the code itself

Interesting to see your opinion on how commenting shouldn’t be mandatory. I specifically go the extra mile to ensure my code is readable for everyone, by naming my variables and functions to be as self-explanatory as possible and breaking down long expressions to store chunks in variables. This is why I was feeling confused as to what more I could add to explain my code better, though I must admit there are still considerable complex portions in some of my projects that would appreciate similar simplification.

I believe you confused the ‘how’ of commenting the ‘why’ with ‘why’ of commenting the ‘why’, if that makes sense.

I am already aware of and totally agree with the need to document your code in this fashion for the convenience of others and self. What I am troubled about is its implementation in real life. How does one write comment that explains the ‘why’ of the code? How would I know if I haven’t accidentally written something that explains the ‘what’ instead or anything that is simply redundant? It seems like this portion is left out ‘as an exercise for the reader’.

Asking as a newbie programmer: how do you suggest we write comments that explain the ‘why’ part of the code? I understand writing comments explaining the ‘what’ part makes them redundant, but I feel like writing it the former way isn’t adding much help either. I mean, if I created code for a clock, is writing “It helps tell what time it is” better than writing “It is a clock” ?

It would really help if someone could give a code snippet that clearly demonstrates how commenting the ‘correct’ way is clearly better than the way we are used to.

1. For Linux enthusiasts, how do you decide which distro you would like to try out next among the plethora of options that are available? The difference I perceive between majority of distros gets smaller the more I try to understand about them.

2. What are the minimum issues I am likely to face using the most beginner friendly distro like Mint for programming and light gaming?

3. How customizable is the GUI in Linux Mint specifically? What if I want a start menu like Windows 10 with the app list and the blocky app tiles? What about those custom widgets I see in hardcore Linux users’ desktops?

4. I heard there is no concept of file extensions in Linux. How am I supposed to work on my projects that I imported from my Windows machine that do contain extensions?

Bonus: Who creates those distro icons in color coded ASCII in the system info command in the terminal?

A for effort

I need more blog posts like these…

Though I know very little of enum and never used it before, I think this is what I needed. I couldnt imagine there would exist a type exactly for this purpose since I could consider adding or deprecating data later in time. I would need time understanding how I need to restructure the current JSON object to accomodate enums, but I think it will be worth it. Thanks for you time!

Ive heard about enums before, but I never really paid attention to them since I never got a need to use them in any of my projects till now. I think this is exactly what I need. Ill research more on it

Thank you so much for your help

Wait, is an old laptop also good enough for setting up a home server? I thought you would require a completely separated and dedicated PC box like the ones you can see in studios or offices. That’s new to me!

That is a great analogy of explaining the broadness of the concept of self hosting that I wasnt able to understand from the other comments.

As a beginner, I would like to start out with a storage provider like Google Drive (& Google Photos). I currently don’t have any hardware for a home server but I can get one as per my requirements.

The biggest issue for me would be the OS running in the home server. I would preferably want something compatible with Windows since I have worked with Windows for my whole life. I am also fine with working with Linux, however I don’t want to spend weeks banging my head on setting up and using Linux before I even start configuring it for my home server. I will be able to handle learning about networkings of the server on the go and troubleshoot problems as long as the OS does not bother me. As with self hosting, I am a beginner in the field of Linux so I don’t know what ‘distro’ would be best for me for this purpose, but nonetheless I will research more about it thanks to your headstart.