What is the difference between comments /*...*/ and /**...*/ in JavaScript?

In JavaScript, both /*...*/ and /**...*/ create multi-line comments, but they serve different purposes. The key difference is that /**...*/ is specifically used for documentation comments (JSDoc), while /*...*/ is for regular multi-line comments.

Regular Multi-line Comments (/*...*/)

Standard multi-line comments are used for general code documentation and explanations:

/*
 * This is a regular multi-line comment
 * Used for general code explanations
 * Similar to C-style comments
 */
function calculateArea(width, height) {
    return width * height;
}

JSDoc Documentation Comments (/**...*/)

JSDoc comments start with /** and are used to generate automatic documentation. They include special tags like @param, @returns, and @description:

/**
 * Calculates the area of a rectangle
 * @param {number} width - The width of the rectangle
 * @param {number} height - The height of the rectangle
 * @returns {number} The calculated area
 */
function calculateArea(width, height) {
    return width * height;
}

console.log(calculateArea(5, 3));

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Example in HTML Context

<script>
    /*
     * Regular comment for internal notes
     * Not used for documentation generation
     */
    
    /**
     * JSDoc comment for API documentation
     * @function greetUser
     * @param {string} name - User's name
     */
    function greetUser(name) {
        alert("Hello, " + name + "!");
    }
    
    greetUser("JavaScript Developer");
</script>

Comparison

Conclusion

Use /*...*/ for regular code comments and /**...*/ for JSDoc documentation that can be processed by documentation tools. JSDoc comments help create professional API documentation automatically.