alt Hacker News> A comment "this CANNOT happen" has no value on itself.
I think it does have some value: it makes clear an assumption the programmer made. I always appreciate it when I encounter comments that clarify assumptions made.
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dllthomas • yesterday at 8:06 PM
Importantly, specifying reasoning can have communicative value while falling very far short of formal verification. Personally, I also try to include a cross reference to the things that could allow "this" to happen were they to change.
skydhash • yesterday at 5:31 PM
Such comments rot so rapidly that they're an antipattern. Such assumptions are dangerous and I would point it out in a PR.
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But if you spell that `assert(false)` instead of as a comment, the intent is equally clear, but the behavior when you're wrong is well-defined.