Thomas,

> I document everything I do with inline comments and seperate documents.
> Some developers I have worked with joke that sometimes my comments are
> longer than the code I write! :)
I write my comments in my class/function/procedure header before I write any code. The clarity of my comments tell me if I know exactly what I am trying to accomplish. I consider refactoring anything that is not clear before I write any code. It may take me an extra 20% more time to develop new modules but my reuse rate has increased and my defect rate has gone down. I am happier and so are my clients.

> Most developers I have worked with do not comment anything. They have the
> attitued, "I will go back and comment my code later".
And they would last less than a month with my current client and less than that if I had my way. I will never guess at another undocumented program's intent if I have my way.

> If you do not document and comment as you create your code you will not
> have time to go back. The "boss" always has something for you to do when
> you are "finished"! :)
True because most firms believe in the good enough to ship adage. I generally contract to do difficult things and I document the solution before I ask the client to fund the development efforts. I also participate in dangereous sports and I rest better at night knowing that some developers will be able to continue my project if something ever happens to me.

Daniel