Technique for Developers: Commenting Out Code

Commenting out code is a technique that can be used by developers when they want to disable certain sections of code temporarily without completely erasing it. This technique can help in debugging, testing, as well as in reviewing code changes to ensure that proper analysis is conducted. Visual Studio is an integrated development environment (IDE) that is widely used by developers for coding. Follow these steps to comment out multiple lines of code in Visual Studio.

Step 1: Select the code to be commented out

Before commenting out multiple lines of code, you must first select the code block you intend to disable. Follow the steps to do this:

1. Click and hold down the mouse button at the beginning of the first line of code you want to comment out.
2. Drag the mouse pointer to the end of the last line of code you want to comment out.
3. Release the mouse button.
4. Note: Alternatively, you can also use the keyboard shortcut “Ctrl” + “Shift” + “End” to select all lines of code from the cursor’s current position to the end of the document.

Step 2: Comment out the selected code

Once you have selected the code block you want to comment out, you can use one of the following methods to comment it out:

1. Method 1: Using keyboard shortcut
• Press “Ctrl” + “K” followed by “Ctrl” + “C” to comment out the selected code block.
2. Method 2: Using context menu
• Right-click on the selected code block.
• Select “Comment Selection” from the context menu.
3. Method 3: Using the toolbar
• Go to the “Edit” menu.
• Select “Advanced” -> “Comment Selection” from the toolbar.

Step 3: Verify that the code is commented out

To verify that the code block has been successfully commented out, check whether each line has the comment character “//” at the beginning. If it does, the line is commented out, and the compiler will ignore the code.

Step 4: Uncomment the code when needed

When you need to reactivate the code block, use one of the following methods to uncomment it:

• Press “Ctrl” + “K” followed by “Ctrl” + “U” to uncomment the selected code block.
• Right-click on the selected code block and select “Uncomment Selection” from the context menu.
• Go to the “Edit” menu, select “Advanced” -> “Uncomment Selection” from the toolbar.

In conclusion, commenting out code is a useful technique for developers, and Visual Studio provides several ways to comment and uncomment multiple lines of code quickly. Through this article, you have learned how to do this using keyboard shortcuts, context menus, and the toolbar. Happy coding!