Eclipse Task Tags Meaning

TODO, along with FIXME and XXX, is known in Eclipse as a task tag, and is indexed by the IDE to let you find the spots marked with those tags easily. You can edit such tags in the Eclipse Preferences -> Java -> Compiler -> Task Tags.

This is the list for default Eclipse Task Tags and their meaning:

TODO

Comments that mark something for later work, later revision or at least later reconsideration. ODO comments should be considered a very useful technique, although like all good things on Earth, there’s certainly potential for abuse.

FIXME

A standard put in comments near a piece of code that is broken and needs work.

 XXX

A marker that attention is needed. Commonly used in program comments to indicate areas that are kluged up or need to be. Some hackers like `XXX’ to the notional heavy-porn movie rating. Use it to flag something that is bogus but works. Use FIXME to flag something that is bogus and broken.

ZZZ   /* This tag is mine!  ; ) */

Sometimes I like to use this marker for a stuff that was commented as deprecated just to remind me what happened there. However, when I’m sure, I delete it along with the code.

// TODO Need to optimize this before the end of the world.
// FIXME This won't work if the programmer is missing. 
// XXX This method badly needs refactoring: should be decaffeinated.
// ZZZ This was useful before the Y2K Millennium Bug.

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From Sun/Oracle's Java code conventions, section 10.5.4:

Tags: Eclipse, eclipse java, java code conventions, program comments, Programming