> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.syntblaze.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Kotlin Block Comment
A block comment in Kotlin is a lexical construct used to instruct the compiler to ignore a specific span of text. It is delimited by the `/*` character sequence at the beginning and the `*/` character sequence at the end. The enclosed text can span multiple lines or be placed inline within a single statement.
**Standard Syntax**
```kotlin theme={"dark"}
/*
This text is ignored by the Kotlin compiler.
It can span multiple lines.
*/
val result = 100 + /* inline block comment */ 50
```
**Nested Block Comments**
Unlike Java and C++, Kotlin's lexical analyzer supports nested block comments. When the compiler encounters a nested `/*`, it increments an internal depth counter and requires a corresponding `*/` to decrement it before terminating the outer comment. This prevents premature termination errors when commenting out large sections of code that already contain existing block comments.
```kotlin theme={"dark"}
/*
Outer comment begins.
/*
Inner nested comment.
The compiler tracks this depth.
*/
Outer comment concludes.
*/
```
**KDoc Distinction**
A block comment that begins with an extra asterisk (`/**`) is structurally distinct and treated as a KDoc comment. While it shares the same termination syntax (`*/`) and nesting capabilities as a standard block comment, its contents are parsed into an Abstract Syntax Tree (AST) by the Kotlin documentation engine (Dokka) to generate API references.
```kotlin theme={"dark"}
/**
* KDoc block comment.
* Parsed for structural documentation rather than strictly ignored.
*/
```
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