Uncommenting

Uncommenting is the process of removing comment markers from a section of code, thereby making that code active and executable. In programming, comments are lines of text within source code that are ignored by the compiler or interpreter. They are typically used to explain the code, provide documentation, or temporarily disable a block of code.

To uncomment code, a programmer identifies the lines that have been commented out and deletes or modifies the comment syntax. The specific syntax for comments varies between programming languages. For instance, in Python, a single line comment starts with a hash symbol (#), while multi-line comments can be enclosed in triple quotes (""" or '''). In C++, Java, and JavaScript, single-line comments typically start with two forward slashes (//), and multi-line comments are enclosed by /* and */.

Uncommenting is a common task when debugging or developing software. Developers might comment out code to test specific features or to isolate problems. Later, they will uncomment the relevant sections to re-integrate them into the active codebase. It's also used when reactivating previously disabled functionality. The reverse process of commenting out code is also a fundamental development practice.