What is the purpose of using comments in code?

Comments in code serve the essential purpose of documenting the code, enhancing its clarity and readability. They allow developers to explain the functionality, logic, and purpose of sections of the code, making it easier for others (or even themselves) to understand what the code is doing at a later time. This is especially important in collaborative environments, where multiple programmers may work on the same codebase or when revisiting old code after some time.

Writing clear comments helps convey the intent behind specific implementations, making maintenance and updates more manageable. It assists in onboarding new team members who may not be familiar with the codebase, providing context and rationale that would not be apparent from the code alone.

While compiling, execution speed, and variable naming are critical to programming, they are not related to the role comments play in a codebase. Comments do not affect program compilation or execution speed, nor do they participate in defining variable names. Therefore, the focus on using comments to document and explain code highlights their crucial role in programming best practices.