Note

YAML – Comments

YAML is a lightweight data interchange format that's highly readable and writable. Its syntax rules are straightforward, and it comes with a range of practical features. Among these, comments are an especially useful feature in YAML, enabling better maintenance and comprehension of configuration files.

Comment Rules: In YAML, there are two ways to express comments: inline comments and block comments.

Inline Comments: Inline comments are indicated using the # symbol, and anything after the # symbol is ignored by the parser. Example:

# This is an inline comment
key1: value1 # This is the value for key1

In the above example, the inline comment is marked using the # symbol, and whatever follows it is ignored by the parser. We can also add comments at the end of lines, which can be quite useful when maintaining large YAML files.

Block Comments: Block comments are multi-line comments and are relatively simple to use. They must start on a new line and follow the syntax of # or space followed by * or -, then the comment content. Both the content before and after the comment must be on separate lines. Example:

# This is a block comment
# 
# Here are some items
- Vegetables
- Fruits
# We can also nest
# - Food

In the example above, the # symbol is used to indicate comments, and comment content can be written after the # symbol anywhere until a line break or the end of the file.

Comment Considerations: In YAML, comment syntax is similar to most other programming languages, with a few points to consider:

• Inline comments must start with the # symbol.

• Block comments use the # symbol and either * or -.

• There must be a space before the comment; otherwise, the comment content could be misinterpreted.

• In YAML, comments can appear anywhere but not within strings.

• Comments can be nested, but it's not recommended to do so.

Example: Here's an example of a YAML file with comments:

# Configuration file
# 
# Below are some basic settings
app.name: "demo" # Application name
app.host: "localhost" # Application hostname
app.port: 8080 # Application port
app.debug: true # Output debugging information

# Database configuration
# 
# Database host
db.host: "localhost"
# Database port
db.port: 3306
# Database name
db.name: "database"
# Database username
db.user: "root"
# Database password
db.password: "password"

Conclusion: Through this explanation, we've gained an understanding of the rules and considerations for comments in YAML. Example code has been provided for reference. The commenting feature in YAML significantly eases the process of maintaining large configuration files, making it a tool worth fully utilizing in practical applications.