Automating Code Comments

Introduction

In the automotive industry, where software defined vehicles continue their increase in popularity and where software plays a critical role in vehicle functionality and safety, well-documented code is essential. However, manually adding comments to code can be time-consuming and inconsistent. Automating this process can significantly enhance efficiency, maintainability, and compliance with industry standards such as ISO 26262 and ASPICE.

Why Automate Code Commenting?

Automotive software development involves complex algorithms controlling everything from engine management systems to autonomous driving features. Poorly documented code can lead to challenges in debugging, maintenance, and compliance with regulatory requirements. Automated commenting ensures:

• Consistency

  across different modules and teams,

• Faster code reviews

  with clear explanations of logic and function, and

• Improved compliance

  with industry regulations.

How to Automate Code Commenting

There are several different ways to automate code comments; this article classifies them into three categories:

Generic Code Comment Generators

Standard Natural Language Processing (NLP) models can analyze code and generate meaningful comments. Tools like OpenAI’s Codex or other AI-based systems can be integrated into development workflows to provide real-time documentation suggestions. But it’s important to know that these tools were not specifically designed for the automotive industry and may not be trained on company-specific specifications.

Static analysis tools such as SonarQube and CodeRush can be configured to provide auto-generated comments based on code patterns, but these tools – unless highly customized – also do not cater specifically to the automotive industry.

Custom Scripts

Of course, you can write your own programs or scripts to automate the comment generation. Most organizations cannot afford to task a software engineer to work on a custom project like code generation because it takes them away from their usual duties. However, for those organizations who have extra resources, custom scripts using Python or other scripting languages can scan for predefined code structures and automatically insert comments. For example, a script could detect function definitions and insert a standard comment format explaining the function’s purpose, inputs, and outputs. Automated commenting tools can also be integrated into CI/CD pipelines to ensure every new commit includes well-structured comments. This helps maintain a high standard of documentation throughout the software development lifecycle.

Automotive-Specific Comment Generators

Perhaps pre-built comment generators like the ones Humaxa has built aim to be the best of both worlds: They were trained with automotive-specific data, are already built and less expensive that paying an engineer to build one from scratch, and they are quick and easy to implement.

Best Practices for Automated Code Commenting

Regardless of which methods you use to automate code commenting, it’s important to keep the following in mind:

• Ensure relevance

  Automated comments should provide meaningful, industry-specific insights rather than generic descriptions. If you are using a generic LLM, you can add your own knowledge into the system using a methodology like RAG.

• Use industry-standard formats

   Comments should align with standards like Doxygen or Javadoc for consistency.

• Combine automation with manual oversight

   While automation improves efficiency, human review ensures accuracy and clarity. It’s always good to have a real human being both train the system and check it periodically for validity.

Conclusion

Very few software engineers look forward to writing all of their code comments manually. Typically they like to focus more on problem solving or implementing new technologies. As automotive software continues to evolve, automation will play an increasingly vital role in improving code reliability and maintainability.

If you’d like to discuss automation in code commenting specifically for the automotive industry, please let us know.

Carolyn Peer

CEO/Co-founder, Humaxa

[email protected]