| This study investigates the social-rhetorical aspects of computer program source-code comments---textual elements similar to footnotes inserted into a computer program's source code. Specifically, I study the way comments are created, utilized and structured by programmers at an organization in the southwestern United States. Through a variety of data gathering methods, including interviews, observations and content analysis, I identify influences on the way that programmers utilize---as authors---the commenting feature of programming languages, and the way, as readers, they respond to these comments.;Findings suggest that the utilization of comments---for an author and for a reader---is complex and related to a series of interrelated factors, such as collaboration, and audience. While programmers utilized one another's code, they did not seem to recognize the potential for better collaboration through the code. Instead of using them to their collaborative potential, programmers utilized comments to help them solve problems within their own programs, or to help them learn and understand new methods. And though programmers reported to be aware of an audience outside of themselves, in practice they did not seem to think about ways they could help that audience better understand the programs. Other factors affecting the utilization of comments included the programmers' styles and philosophies, their different learning styles, their composing strategies, and their opinions about the purpose for comments.;The investigation is important because studies of computer programs from within the field of professional communication have yet to be undertaken. This study, therefore, begins the conversation between these two disciplines. More practically, this investigation identifies ways that maintenance practices in computer programming can be improved, especially by making programmers more sensitive to subjects such as collaboration and audience. With regards to teaching, this study highlights the need for instruction in issues like audience, collaboration, and composing. |
