How to comment large sections in Python

How to comment large sections in Python

In Python, there are several ways to comment out a large section of code, including:

    # This is a multiline comment
"""
This is a very long piece of code that you don't want to execute.
It might be an error message or some debug code.
You can comment it out like this and then delete it later.
"""

    # This is a block comment

This is the first line of the block comment
You can put as many lines as you want here

And this is the last line of the block comment

    # This is the start of the code block
if 1:
pass
rest of the code

    unused_variable = """
This code won't be run.
It will be ignored by the compiler."""

    comment_text: str = f"""
{comment_text}
This is a very long piece of code that you don't want to execute.
It might be an error message or some debug code.
You can comment it out like this and then delete it later.
"""

When commenting out large sections of code, make sure that the comments are clear and descriptive so that anyone reading the code in the future knows what was commented out.

How to temporarily disable code in Python?

I'm glad you asked!

In Python, there are several ways to temporarily disable code execution. Here are a few methods:

1. Using if __name__ == "__main__":

When you run a Python script directly (i.e., without using the -m option or importing it), the value of __name__ is "__main__". This allows you to wrap your main code in an if statement, like this:

if __name__ == "__main__":
Your temporary disabled code goes here
print("Hello!")

In this case, when the script is run directly (i.e., without being imported), the code inside the if block will execute. However, if you import the script into another Python file or use the -m option, the code won't be executed.

2. Using a Conditional Import

You can use a conditional import to load a module only when you want it to. For example:

try:
from disabled_code import disable_me
except ImportError:
pass
if disable_me:
Your temporary disabled code goes here
print("Hello!")

In this case, disabled_code is a hypothetical module that contains the code you want to temporarily disable. When you run the script directly, Python will try to import the disable_me function from that module. If it can't find it (because the module doesn't exist), it'll simply ignore the exception and continue executing the code.

3. Using a Flag Variable

You can define a flag variable in your main code and set its value based on some condition. Then, you can use an if statement to control the execution of your temporary disabled code:

DISABLED = False
... other code ...
if DISABLED:
Your temporary disabled code goes here
print("Hello!")

In this case, you would set DISABLED to True when you want to temporarily disable the code.

4. Using a Context Manager

Python has a wonderful feature called context managers (introduced in Python 3). You can use it to temporarily disable your code by creating a special class that sets up and tears down some context:

class DisableCodeContext:
def enter(self):
Set up the disabling logic here
print("Disabling code...")
def exit(self, *args):
Tear down the disabling logic here
print("Enabling code again...")
with DisableCodeContext():
Your temporary disabled code goes here
print("Hello!")

In this case, when you run the script directly, Python will execute the __enter__ method to set up the context. Then, it'll execute your temporary disabled code inside the with block. Finally, it'll execute the __exit__ method to tear down the context.

These are just a few ways to temporarily disable code execution in Python. Choose the one that best fits your use case!