Using Caché ObjectScript - InterSystems Documentation

Syntax Rules
• The // comment specifies that the remainder of the line is a comment; it can be the first element on the line or follow
other elements.
• The ; comment specifies that the remainder of the line is a comment; it can be the first element on the line or can follow
other elements.
• The ;; comment — a special case of the ; comment type — makes the comment available to the $TEXT function
when the routine is distributed as object code only; the comment is only available to $TEXT if no commands precede
it on the line.
Note:
Because Caché retains ;; comments in the object code (the code that is actually interpreted and executed),
there is a performance penalty for including them and they should not appear in loops.
A multiline comment (/* comment */) can be placed between command or function arguments, either before or after
a comma separator. A multiline comment cannot be placed within an argument, or be placed between a command keyword
and its first argument or a function keyword and its opening parenthesis. It can be placed between two commands on the
same line, in which case it functions as the single space needed to separate the commands. You can immediately follow
the end of a multiline comment (*/) with a command on the same line, or follow it with a single line comment on the same
line. The following example shows these insertions of /* comment */ within a line:
WRITE $PIECE("Fred&Ginger"/* WRITE "world" */,"&",2),!
WRITE "hello",/* WRITE "world" */" sailor",!
SET x="Fred"/* WRITE "world" */WRITE x,!
WRITE "hello"/* WRITE "world" */// WRITE " sailor"
2.4.2 Comments in MAC Code for Routines and Methods
All comment types that are valid for INT code are also valid for MAC code and behave in MAC code just as they do in
INT code. Two other comment types are also available:
• The #; comment can start in any column but must be the first element on the line; #: comments do not appear in INT
code.
• The ##; comment can start in any column. It can be the first element on the line or can follow other elements. ##;
comments do not appear in INT code. ##: can be used in ObjectScript code or in Embedded SQL code.
• The /// comment can start in any column but must be the first element on the line. If /// starts in column 1, it does
not appear in INT code; if /// starts in column 2 or greater, it appears in INT code and is treated as if it were a //
comment.
2.4.3 Comments in Class Definitions Outside of Method Code
Within class definitions, but outside of method definitions, several comment types are available, all of which can start in
any column:
• The // and /* */ comments are for comments within the class definition.
• The /// comment serves as class reference content for the class or class member that immediately follows it. For
classes themselves, the /// comment preceding the beginning of the class definition provides the description of the
class for the class reference content which is also the value of description keyword for the class). Within classes, all
/// comments immediately preceding a member (either from the beginning of the class definition or after the previous
member) provide the class reference content for that member, where multiple lines of content are treated as a single
block of HTML. For more information on the rules for /// comments and the class reference, see either “Extending
the Class Reference” in Using InterSystems Documentation or the %CSP.Documatic entry in the InterSystems Class
Reference.
10 Using Caché ObjectScript