Comments in PHP
In PHP, comments are used to add explanatory notes or annotations to the code. Comments are ignored by the PHP parser and are not executed as part of the program. PHP supports two types of comments: single-line comments and multi-line comments.
Single-line comments start with // or # and continue until the end of the line. Here’s an example:
// This is a single-line comment in PHP # This is also a single-line comment in PHP /* This is a multi-line comment in PHP. It can span multiple lines and is often used to provide more detailed descriptions of code blocks. */
It’s important to note that comments should be used sparingly and only for relevant information. Overuse of comments can make code harder to read and maintain, and can also make it harder to identify actual issues with the code.
In addition to regular comments, PHP also supports documentation comments, which are used to generate API documentation for functions and classes. Documentation comments start with /* and end with */ , and use special tags to provide information about the code. Here’s an example:
/**
* This function adds two numbers and returns the result.
*
* @param int $num1 The first number to add
* @param int $num2 The second number to add
* @return int The sum of $num1 and $num2
*/
function add_numbers($num1, $num2) {
return $num1 + $num2;
}
/**
* This function adds two numbers and returns the result.
*
* @param int $num1 The first number to add
* @param int $num2 The second number to add
* @return int The sum of $num1 and $num2
*/
function add_numbers($num1, $num2) {
return $num1 + $num2;
}In this example, the @param tag is used to specify the parameters of the add_numbers function, and the @return tag is used to specify the return value. Documentation comments can be used to generate API documentation using tools like PHPDoc.