The description command in Darwin provides a means of documenting a procedure.
> SetAverage := proc(s : set)
> local total;
> description 'This procedure takes a set as an argument and
> calculates the average value in the set';
> total := 0:
> for i from 1 to length(s) do
> total := total + s[i];
> od;
> print('The average is ', total/length(s));
> end:
If we type> print(SetAverage);the text surrounded by the single quote symbols (
') following the description command is echoed to the terminal. SetAverage: Usage: SetAverage( s:set ) This procedure takes a set as an argument and calculates the average value in the set
The description command must follow any local or global declarations and any option commands.
> example := proc( ... )
> local x, y, z;
> global a, b, c,;
> option polymorphic;
> description 'The following text is displayed by the print command';
. . .
>end:
Computer science wisdom says that writing clear meaningful comments in your routines makes for easier to understand and debug code. However, the description command is optional.