diff --git a/hbase-hbtop/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/hbtop/terminal/impl/TerminalImpl.java b/hbase-hbtop/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/hbtop/terminal/impl/TerminalImpl.java
index ed7152335dc..c6b74afcbfa 100644
--- a/hbase-hbtop/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/hbtop/terminal/impl/TerminalImpl.java
+++ b/hbase-hbtop/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/hbtop/terminal/impl/TerminalImpl.java
@@ -42,9 +42,11 @@ import org.apache.yetus.audience.InterfaceAudience;
 import org.slf4j.Logger;
 import org.slf4j.LoggerFactory;
 
-
 /**
- * The implementation of the {@link Terminal} interface.
+ * An implementation of the {@link Terminal} interface for normal display mode.
+ *
+ * This implementation produces output intended for human viewing. In particular, it only displays
+ * one screenful of data. The output contains some escape sequences for formatting.
  */
 @InterfaceAudience.Private
 public class TerminalImpl implements Terminal {
diff --git a/hbase-hbtop/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/hbtop/terminal/impl/TerminalPrinterImpl.java b/hbase-hbtop/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/hbtop/terminal/impl/TerminalPrinterImpl.java
index 6ad7bdcd9e3..788d2679958 100644
--- a/hbase-hbtop/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/hbtop/terminal/impl/TerminalPrinterImpl.java
+++ b/hbase-hbtop/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/hbtop/terminal/impl/TerminalPrinterImpl.java
@@ -23,9 +23,8 @@ import org.apache.hadoop.hbase.hbtop.terminal.Color;
 import org.apache.hadoop.hbase.hbtop.terminal.TerminalPrinter;
 import org.apache.yetus.audience.InterfaceAudience;
 
-
 /**
- * The implementation of the {@link TerminalPrinter} interface.
+ * An implementation of the {@link TerminalPrinter} interface for normal display mode.
  */
 @InterfaceAudience.Private
 public class TerminalPrinterImpl implements TerminalPrinter {
diff --git a/hbase-hbtop/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/hbtop/terminal/impl/batch/BatchTerminal.java b/hbase-hbtop/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/hbtop/terminal/impl/batch/BatchTerminal.java
index 19d64260e22..60f550289e2 100644
--- a/hbase-hbtop/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/hbtop/terminal/impl/batch/BatchTerminal.java
+++ b/hbase-hbtop/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/hbtop/terminal/impl/batch/BatchTerminal.java
@@ -24,6 +24,13 @@ import org.apache.hadoop.hbase.hbtop.terminal.Terminal;
 import org.apache.hadoop.hbase.hbtop.terminal.TerminalPrinter;
 import org.apache.hadoop.hbase.hbtop.terminal.TerminalSize;
 
+/**
+ * An implementation of the {@link Terminal} interface for batch mode.
+ *
+ * This implementation produces output that's more sensible for collecting to a log file or for
+ * parsing. There is no limit on the number of output lines, and the output doesn't contain any
+ * escape sequences for formatting.
+ */
 public class BatchTerminal implements Terminal {
 
   private static final TerminalPrinter TERMINAL_PRINTER = new BatchTerminalPrinter();
diff --git a/hbase-hbtop/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/hbtop/terminal/impl/batch/BatchTerminalPrinter.java b/hbase-hbtop/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/hbtop/terminal/impl/batch/BatchTerminalPrinter.java
index db7a9e7e2d8..60316669daa 100644
--- a/hbase-hbtop/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/hbtop/terminal/impl/batch/BatchTerminalPrinter.java
+++ b/hbase-hbtop/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/hbtop/terminal/impl/batch/BatchTerminalPrinter.java
@@ -19,6 +19,9 @@ package org.apache.hadoop.hbase.hbtop.terminal.impl.batch;
 
 import org.apache.hadoop.hbase.hbtop.terminal.TerminalPrinter;
 
+/**
+ * An implementation of the {@link TerminalPrinter} interface for batch mode.
+ */
 public class BatchTerminalPrinter implements TerminalPrinter {
 
   @Override