Understanding Comments in JavaScript

In the context of programming, comments are useful lines of text that are ignored by the interpreter, making them functionally irrelevant in terms of the code’s execution. However, they serve a vital purpose in making the code more understandable for humans who may need to review or modify it later.

In JavaScript, the correct way to write a comment is by preceding the text with two forward slash characters (//). Anything that follows this symbol, up to the end of the line, is considered part of the comment and is ignored by the JavaScript interpreter.

For instance, look at the example below:

// This is a simple comment in JavaScript

The // symbols indicate the beginning of a comment, and the rest of the line (This is a simple comment in JavaScript) will not affect how the code runs. You can write whatever you want following the // symbols to describe what the code does, leave notes for other developers, or to temporarily disable a line of code.

Also worth noting is that JavaScript supports multi-line comments as well, which are written by wrapping the comment text between /* and */.

Here is an example:

/*
This is a multi-line comment in JavaScript.
You can use this to write longer descriptions;
it is particularly useful when documenting functions or classes.
*/

Whether you use single-line or multi-line comments, it is considered a good practice to use comments abundantly throughout your JavaScript code. They help not only other developers who might get to work with your code later, but they can also be beneficial for you, especially when revisiting older code that you might've forgotten the mechanics of. Remember, clarity and communication are key in software development, and tools like comments are readily available to help facilitate these.