[Documentation] Add code comment conventions to CONTRIBUTING.md

[Th0rgal]

Summary

Completes #86 by documenting code comment conventions to prevent future documentation drift.

Context

Issue #86 identified two problems:

1. Stale TODOs in completed proof files
2. Missing conventions to prevent recurrence

Recent cleanup commits already fixed problem #1:

• Commit 7fff141: Removed 151 lines of stale planning comments
• Commit 09e574f: Deleted dead reentrancy wrappers, cleaned stale proof comments
• Commit 1cea450: Fixed stale YulGeneration README

Current state:

$ grep -r "TODO\|STUB\|FIXME" DumbContracts/ Compiler/ --include="*.lean" | wc -l
0  # All cleaned up!

This PR addresses problem #2: Documenting conventions to prevent future issues.

What's New

Added comprehensive "Code Comment Conventions" section (130 lines) to CONTRIBUTING.md covering:

1. Proof Status Markers

-- ✅ GOOD: Complete proof, no marker
theorem my_theorem : ... := by
  unfold ...

-- ❌ BAD: Misleading TODO
theorem my_theorem : ... := by
  -- TODO: This works fine
  unfold ...

2. Module Documentation Standards

/-! ## Module Name

**Status**: Complete | Partial | Draft
**Dependencies**: List axioms/external dependencies
-/

3. Future Work Comments

• Use FUTURE: instead of TODO:
• Always link to tracking issue
• Avoid FIXME/HACK

4. Implementation Notes

• Use NOTE: for non-obvious design choices
• Explain why, not just what

5. Axiom Documentation

• Inline comment + AXIOMS.md entry required
• Consistent format enforced by CI

6. Property Test Tags

• Must match Lean theorem names exactly
• Format: /// Property: exact_theorem_name

7. What NOT to Include

❌ Stale TODOs in completed code
❌ Difficulty estimates after completion
❌ Verbose explanations of obvious code
❌ Inaccurate status claims

Impact

Before:

• ❌ No documented comment conventions
• ❌ Inconsistent status markers
• ❌ No guidance for contributors
• ❌ Documentation drift inevitable

After:

• ✅ Clear conventions documented
• ✅ Examples of good/bad patterns
• ✅ Prevents future documentation drift
• ✅ Consistent style across codebase
• ✅ Easier for new contributors

Why This Matters

For Maintainers:

• Prevents accumulation of stale comments
• Provides objective criteria for code review
• Reduces back-and-forth in PRs

For Contributors:

• Clear expectations upfront
• Examples to follow
• Less guesswork about conventions

For Auditors:

• Accurate documentation they can trust
• Clear distinction between draft and complete work
• No misleading status claims

Related Work

This PR complements recent documentation improvements:

• [Documentation] Document trust assumptions and verification boundaries #89: TRUST_ASSUMPTIONS.md (trust boundaries)
• [Documentation] Create 'Adding Your First Contract' tutorial #90: First contract tutorial (onboarding)
• [Critical] Add CI validation for axiom usage in proof files #82: AXIOMS.md + CI validation (axiom conventions)

Together, these establish comprehensive documentation standards for DumbContracts.

Test Plan

• ✅ All examples in new section are syntactically valid Lean
• ✅ Conventions match actual codebase practices
• ✅ No CI changes needed (documentation only)
• ✅ File renders correctly on GitHub

Manual Verification

# Check current state is clean
grep -r "TODO\|STUB\|FIXME" DumbContracts/ Compiler/ --include="*.lean"
# Output: (empty) ✅

# Verify conventions are documented
grep -A 10 "Code Comment Conventions" CONTRIBUTING.md
# Output: Shows new section ✅

Related Issues

• Closes [Documentation] Clean up TODO comments and update completion status #86
• Complements [Critical] Add CI validation for axiom usage in proof files #82 (AXIOMS.md conventions)
• Supports [Documentation] Create 'Adding Your First Contract' tutorial #66 (tutorial references these conventions)
• Related to [Documentation] Create proof debugging handbook #70 (debugging handbook will reference these)

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🤖 Generated with Claude Code

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Note

Low Risk
Documentation-only change with no impact on runtime behavior or proof/CI logic.

Overview
Adds a new "Code Comment Conventions" section to CONTRIBUTING.md to standardize how contributors document Lean proofs and related code.

The guidelines define acceptable proof status markers (sorry only for incomplete proofs), module header status conventions, preferred tags for future work (FUTURE:) and implementation notes (NOTE:), requirements for documenting axioms (inline + AXIOMS.md), and a naming convention for Solidity property-test tags that match Lean theorem names.

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Project	Deployment	Actions	Updated (UTC)
dumbcontracts	Ready	Preview, Comment	Feb 14, 2026 11:43pm