diff --git a/tools/cache/controller.go b/tools/cache/controller.go
index 27a1c52c..f1a7989c 100644
--- a/tools/cache/controller.go
+++ b/tools/cache/controller.go
@@ -26,7 +26,16 @@ import (
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/wait"
 )
 
-// Config contains all the settings for a Controller.
+// This file implements a low-level controller that is used in
+// sharedIndexInformer, which is an implementation of
+// SharedIndexInformer.  Such informers, in turn, are key components
+// in the high level controllers that form the backbone of the
+// Kubernetes control plane.  Look at those for examples, or the
+// example in
+// https://github.com/kubernetes/client-go/tree/master/examples/workqueue
+// .
+
+// Config contains all the settings for one of these low-level controllers.
 type Config struct {
 	// The queue for your objects - has to be a DeltaFIFO due to
 	// assumptions in the implementation. Your Process() function
@@ -36,30 +45,29 @@ type Config struct {
 	// Something that can list and watch your objects.
 	ListerWatcher
 
-	// Something that can process your objects.
+	// Something that can process a popped Deltas.
 	Process ProcessFunc
 
-	// The type of your objects.
+	// ObjectType is an example object of the type this controller is
+	// expected to handle.  Only the type needs to be right, except
+	// that when that is `unstructured.Unstructured` the object's
+	// `"apiVersion"` and `"kind"` must also be right.
 	ObjectType runtime.Object
 
-	// Reprocess everything at least this often.
-	// Note that if it takes longer for you to clear the queue than this
-	// period, you will end up processing items in the order determined
-	// by FIFO.Replace(). Currently, this is random. If this is a
-	// problem, we can change that replacement policy to append new
-	// things to the end of the queue instead of replacing the entire
-	// queue.
+	// FullResyncPeriod is the period at which ShouldResync is considered.
 	FullResyncPeriod time.Duration
 
-	// ShouldResync, if specified, is invoked when the controller's reflector determines the next
-	// periodic sync should occur. If this returns true, it means the reflector should proceed with
-	// the resync.
+	// ShouldResync is periodically used by the reflector to determine
+	// whether to Resync the Queue. If ShouldResync is `nil` or
+	// returns true, it means the reflector should proceed with the
+	// resync.
 	ShouldResync ShouldResyncFunc
 
 	// If true, when Process() returns an error, re-enqueue the object.
 	// TODO: add interface to let you inject a delay/backoff or drop
 	//       the object completely if desired. Pass the object in
-	//       question to this interface as a parameter.
+	//       question to this interface as a parameter.  This is probably moot
+	//       now that this functionality appears at a higher level.
 	RetryOnError bool
 }
 
@@ -71,7 +79,7 @@ type ShouldResyncFunc func() bool
 // ProcessFunc processes a single object.
 type ProcessFunc func(obj interface{}) error
 
-// Controller is a generic controller framework.
+// `*controller` implements Controller
 type controller struct {
 	config         Config
 	reflector      *Reflector
@@ -79,10 +87,22 @@ type controller struct {
 	clock          clock.Clock
 }
 
-// Controller is a generic controller framework.
+// Controller is a low-level controller that is parameterized by a
+// Config and used in sharedIndexInformer.
 type Controller interface {
+	// Run does two things.  One is to construct and run a Reflector
+	// to pump objects/notifications from the Config's ListerWatcher
+	// to the Config's Queue and possibly invoke the occasional Resync
+	// on that Queue.  The other is to repeatedly Pop from the Queue
+	// and process with the Config's ProcessFunc.  Both of these
+	// continue until `stopCh` is closed.
 	Run(stopCh <-chan struct{})
+
+	// HasSynced delegates to the Config's Queue
 	HasSynced() bool
+
+	// LastSyncResourceVersion delegates to the Reflector when there
+	// is one, otherwise returns the empty string
 	LastSyncResourceVersion() string
 }
 
@@ -95,7 +115,7 @@ func New(c *Config) Controller {
 	return ctlr
 }
 
-// Run begins processing items, and will continue until a value is sent down stopCh.
+// Run begins processing items, and will continue until a value is sent down stopCh or it is closed.
 // It's an error to call Run more than once.
 // Run blocks; call via go.
 func (c *controller) Run(stopCh <-chan struct{}) {
diff --git a/tools/cache/delta_fifo.go b/tools/cache/delta_fifo.go
index 55ecdcdf..90ed63c3 100644
--- a/tools/cache/delta_fifo.go
+++ b/tools/cache/delta_fifo.go
@@ -26,15 +26,15 @@ import (
 	"k8s.io/klog"
 )
 
-// NewDeltaFIFO returns a Store which can be used process changes to items.
+// NewDeltaFIFO returns a Queue which can be used to process changes to items.
 //
-// keyFunc is used to figure out what key an object should have. (It's
+// keyFunc is used to figure out what key an object should have. (It is
 // exposed in the returned DeltaFIFO's KeyOf() method, with bonus features.)
 //
-// 'keyLister' is expected to return a list of keys that the consumer of
-// this queue "knows about". It is used to decide which items are missing
-// when Replace() is called; 'Deleted' deltas are produced for these items.
-// It may be nil if you don't need to detect all deletions.
+// 'knownObjects' may be supplied to modify the behavior of Delete,
+// Replace, and Resync.  It may be nil if you do not need those
+// modifications.
+//
 // TODO: consider merging keyLister with this object, tracking a list of
 //       "known" keys when Pop() is called. Have to think about how that
 //       affects error retrying.
@@ -67,7 +67,18 @@ func NewDeltaFIFO(keyFunc KeyFunc, knownObjects KeyListerGetter) *DeltaFIFO {
 	return f
 }
 
-// DeltaFIFO is like FIFO, but allows you to process deletes.
+// DeltaFIFO is like FIFO, but differs in two ways.  One is that the
+// accumulator associated with a given object's key is not that object
+// but rather a Deltas, which is a slice of Delta values for that
+// object.  Applying an object to a Deltas means to append a Delta
+// except when the potentially appended Delta is a Deleted and the
+// Deltas already ends with a Deleted.  In that case the Deltas does
+// not grow, although the terminal Deleted will be replaced by the new
+// Deleted if the older Deleted's object is a
+// DeletedFinalStateUnknown.
+//
+// The other difference is that DeltaFIFO has an additional way that
+// an object can be applied to an accumulator, called Sync.
 //
 // DeltaFIFO is a producer-consumer queue, where a Reflector is
 // intended to be the producer, and the consumer is whatever calls
@@ -77,22 +88,22 @@ func NewDeltaFIFO(keyFunc KeyFunc, knownObjects KeyListerGetter) *DeltaFIFO {
 //  * You want to process every object change (delta) at most once.
 //  * When you process an object, you want to see everything
 //    that's happened to it since you last processed it.
-//  * You want to process the deletion of objects.
+//  * You want to process the deletion of some of the objects.
 //  * You might want to periodically reprocess objects.
 //
 // DeltaFIFO's Pop(), Get(), and GetByKey() methods return
-// interface{} to satisfy the Store/Queue interfaces, but it
+// interface{} to satisfy the Store/Queue interfaces, but they
 // will always return an object of type Deltas.
 //
+// A DeltaFIFO's knownObjects KeyListerGetter provides the abilities
+// to list Store keys and to get objects by Store key.  The objects in
+// question are called "known objects" and this set of objects
+// modifies the behavior of the Delete, Replace, and Resync methods
+// (each in a different way).
+//
 // A note on threading: If you call Pop() in parallel from multiple
 // threads, you could end up with multiple threads processing slightly
 // different versions of the same object.
-//
-// A note on the KeyLister used by the DeltaFIFO: It's main purpose is
-// to list keys that are "known", for the purpose of figuring out which
-// items have been deleted when Replace() or Delete() are called. The deleted
-// object will be included in the DeleteFinalStateUnknown markers. These objects
-// could be stale.
 type DeltaFIFO struct {
 	// lock/cond protects access to 'items' and 'queue'.
 	lock sync.RWMutex
@@ -114,9 +125,8 @@ type DeltaFIFO struct {
 	// insertion and retrieval, and should be deterministic.
 	keyFunc KeyFunc
 
-	// knownObjects list keys that are "known", for the
-	// purpose of figuring out which items have been deleted
-	// when Replace() or Delete() is called.
+	// knownObjects list keys that are "known" --- affecting Delete(),
+	// Replace(), and Resync()
 	knownObjects KeyListerGetter
 
 	// Indication the queue is closed.
@@ -185,9 +195,11 @@ func (f *DeltaFIFO) Update(obj interface{}) error {
 	return f.queueActionLocked(Updated, obj)
 }
 
-// Delete is just like Add, but makes an Deleted Delta. If the item does not
-// already exist, it will be ignored. (It may have already been deleted by a
-// Replace (re-list), for example.
+// Delete is just like Add, but makes a Deleted Delta. If the given
+// object does not already exist, it will be ignored. (It may have
+// already been deleted by a Replace (re-list), for example.)  In this
+// method `f.knownObjects`, if not nil, provides (via GetByKey)
+// _additional_ objects that are considered to already exist.
 func (f *DeltaFIFO) Delete(obj interface{}) error {
 	id, err := f.KeyOf(obj)
 	if err != nil {
@@ -313,6 +325,9 @@ func (f *DeltaFIFO) queueActionLocked(actionType DeltaType, obj interface{}) err
 		f.items[id] = newDeltas
 		f.cond.Broadcast()
 	} else {
+		// This never happens, because dedupDeltas never returns an empty list
+		// when given a non-empty list (as it is here).
+		// But if somehow it ever does return an empty list, then
 		// We need to remove this from our map (extra items in the queue are
 		// ignored if they are not in the map).
 		delete(f.items, id)
@@ -430,10 +445,16 @@ func (f *DeltaFIFO) Pop(process PopProcessFunc) (interface{}, error) {
 	}
 }
 
-// Replace will delete the contents of 'f', using instead the given map.
-// 'f' takes ownership of the map, you should not reference the map again
-// after calling this function. f's queue is reset, too; upon return, it
-// will contain the items in the map, in no particular order.
+// Replace atomically does two things: (1) it adds the given objects
+// using the Sync type of Delta and then (2) it does some deletions.
+// In particular: for every pre-existing key K that is not the key of
+// an object in `list` there is the effect of
+// `Delete(DeletedFinalStateUnknown{K, O})` where O is current object
+// of K.  If `f.knownObjects == nil` then the pre-existing keys are
+// those in `f.items` and the current object of K is the `.Newest()`
+// of the Deltas associated with K.  Otherwise the pre-existing keys
+// are those listed by `f.knownObjects` and the current object of K is
+// what `f.knownObjects.GetByKey(K)` returns.
 func (f *DeltaFIFO) Replace(list []interface{}, resourceVersion string) error {
 	f.lock.Lock()
 	defer f.lock.Unlock()
@@ -507,7 +528,9 @@ func (f *DeltaFIFO) Replace(list []interface{}, resourceVersion string) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
-// Resync will send a sync event for each item
+// Resync adds, with a Sync type of Delta, every object listed by
+// `f.knownObjects` whose key is not already queued for processing.
+// If `f.knownObjects` is `nil` then Resync does nothing.
 func (f *DeltaFIFO) Resync() error {
 	f.lock.Lock()
 	defer f.lock.Unlock()
diff --git a/tools/cache/delta_fifo_test.go b/tools/cache/delta_fifo_test.go
index fc8235b4..65e7922b 100644
--- a/tools/cache/delta_fifo_test.go
+++ b/tools/cache/delta_fifo_test.go
@@ -28,11 +28,15 @@ func testPop(f *DeltaFIFO) testFifoObject {
 	return Pop(f).(Deltas).Newest().Object.(testFifoObject)
 }
 
-// keyLookupFunc adapts a raw function to be a KeyLookup.
-type keyLookupFunc func() []testFifoObject
+// literalListerGetter is a KeyListerGetter that is based on a
+// function that returns a slice of objects to list and get.
+// The function must list the same objects every time.
+type literalListerGetter func() []testFifoObject
+
+var _ KeyListerGetter = literalListerGetter(nil)
 
 // ListKeys just calls kl.
-func (kl keyLookupFunc) ListKeys() []string {
+func (kl literalListerGetter) ListKeys() []string {
 	result := []string{}
 	for _, fifoObj := range kl() {
 		result = append(result, fifoObj.name)
@@ -41,7 +45,7 @@ func (kl keyLookupFunc) ListKeys() []string {
 }
 
 // GetByKey returns the key if it exists in the list returned by kl.
-func (kl keyLookupFunc) GetByKey(key string) (interface{}, bool, error) {
+func (kl literalListerGetter) GetByKey(key string) (interface{}, bool, error) {
 	for _, v := range kl() {
 		if v.name == key {
 			return v, true, nil
@@ -95,7 +99,7 @@ func TestDeltaFIFO_replaceWithDeleteDeltaIn(t *testing.T) {
 	oldObj := mkFifoObj("foo", 1)
 	newObj := mkFifoObj("foo", 2)
 
-	f := NewDeltaFIFO(testFifoObjectKeyFunc, keyLookupFunc(func() []testFifoObject {
+	f := NewDeltaFIFO(testFifoObjectKeyFunc, literalListerGetter(func() []testFifoObject {
 		return []testFifoObject{oldObj}
 	}))
 
@@ -218,7 +222,7 @@ func TestDeltaFIFO_enqueueingNoLister(t *testing.T) {
 func TestDeltaFIFO_enqueueingWithLister(t *testing.T) {
 	f := NewDeltaFIFO(
 		testFifoObjectKeyFunc,
-		keyLookupFunc(func() []testFifoObject {
+		literalListerGetter(func() []testFifoObject {
 			return []testFifoObject{mkFifoObj("foo", 5), mkFifoObj("bar", 6), mkFifoObj("baz", 7)}
 		}),
 	)
@@ -268,7 +272,7 @@ func TestDeltaFIFO_addReplace(t *testing.T) {
 func TestDeltaFIFO_ResyncNonExisting(t *testing.T) {
 	f := NewDeltaFIFO(
 		testFifoObjectKeyFunc,
-		keyLookupFunc(func() []testFifoObject {
+		literalListerGetter(func() []testFifoObject {
 			return []testFifoObject{mkFifoObj("foo", 5)}
 		}),
 	)
@@ -287,7 +291,7 @@ func TestDeltaFIFO_ResyncNonExisting(t *testing.T) {
 func TestDeltaFIFO_DeleteExistingNonPropagated(t *testing.T) {
 	f := NewDeltaFIFO(
 		testFifoObjectKeyFunc,
-		keyLookupFunc(func() []testFifoObject {
+		literalListerGetter(func() []testFifoObject {
 			return []testFifoObject{}
 		}),
 	)
@@ -304,9 +308,13 @@ func TestDeltaFIFO_DeleteExistingNonPropagated(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestDeltaFIFO_ReplaceMakesDeletions(t *testing.T) {
+	// We test with only one pre-existing object because there is no
+	// promise about how their deletes are ordered.
+
+	// Try it with a pre-existing Delete
 	f := NewDeltaFIFO(
 		testFifoObjectKeyFunc,
-		keyLookupFunc(func() []testFifoObject {
+		literalListerGetter(func() []testFifoObject {
 			return []testFifoObject{mkFifoObj("foo", 5), mkFifoObj("bar", 6), mkFifoObj("baz", 7)}
 		}),
 	)
@@ -327,12 +335,59 @@ func TestDeltaFIFO_ReplaceMakesDeletions(t *testing.T) {
 			t.Errorf("Expected %#v, got %#v", e, a)
 		}
 	}
+
+	// Now try starting with an Add instead of a Delete
+	f = NewDeltaFIFO(
+		testFifoObjectKeyFunc,
+		literalListerGetter(func() []testFifoObject {
+			return []testFifoObject{mkFifoObj("foo", 5), mkFifoObj("bar", 6), mkFifoObj("baz", 7)}
+		}),
+	)
+	f.Add(mkFifoObj("baz", 10))
+	f.Replace([]interface{}{mkFifoObj("foo", 5)}, "0")
+
+	expectedList = []Deltas{
+		{{Added, mkFifoObj("baz", 10)},
+			{Deleted, DeletedFinalStateUnknown{Key: "baz", Obj: mkFifoObj("baz", 7)}}},
+		{{Sync, mkFifoObj("foo", 5)}},
+		// Since "bar" didn't have a delete event and wasn't in the Replace list
+		// it should get a tombstone key with the right Obj.
+		{{Deleted, DeletedFinalStateUnknown{Key: "bar", Obj: mkFifoObj("bar", 6)}}},
+	}
+
+	for _, expected := range expectedList {
+		cur := Pop(f).(Deltas)
+		if e, a := expected, cur; !reflect.DeepEqual(e, a) {
+			t.Errorf("Expected %#v, got %#v", e, a)
+		}
+	}
+
+	// Now try starting without an explicit KeyListerGetter
+	f = NewDeltaFIFO(
+		testFifoObjectKeyFunc,
+		nil,
+	)
+	f.Add(mkFifoObj("baz", 10))
+	f.Replace([]interface{}{mkFifoObj("foo", 5)}, "0")
+
+	expectedList = []Deltas{
+		{{Added, mkFifoObj("baz", 10)},
+			{Deleted, DeletedFinalStateUnknown{Key: "baz", Obj: mkFifoObj("baz", 10)}}},
+		{{Sync, mkFifoObj("foo", 5)}},
+	}
+
+	for _, expected := range expectedList {
+		cur := Pop(f).(Deltas)
+		if e, a := expected, cur; !reflect.DeepEqual(e, a) {
+			t.Errorf("Expected %#v, got %#v", e, a)
+		}
+	}
 }
 
 func TestDeltaFIFO_UpdateResyncRace(t *testing.T) {
 	f := NewDeltaFIFO(
 		testFifoObjectKeyFunc,
-		keyLookupFunc(func() []testFifoObject {
+		literalListerGetter(func() []testFifoObject {
 			return []testFifoObject{mkFifoObj("foo", 5)}
 		}),
 	)
@@ -354,7 +409,7 @@ func TestDeltaFIFO_UpdateResyncRace(t *testing.T) {
 func TestDeltaFIFO_HasSyncedCorrectOnDeletion(t *testing.T) {
 	f := NewDeltaFIFO(
 		testFifoObjectKeyFunc,
-		keyLookupFunc(func() []testFifoObject {
+		literalListerGetter(func() []testFifoObject {
 			return []testFifoObject{mkFifoObj("foo", 5), mkFifoObj("bar", 6), mkFifoObj("baz", 7)}
 		}),
 	)
diff --git a/tools/cache/expiration_cache.go b/tools/cache/expiration_cache.go
index 14ad492e..e687593f 100644
--- a/tools/cache/expiration_cache.go
+++ b/tools/cache/expiration_cache.go
@@ -194,9 +194,9 @@ func (c *ExpirationCache) Replace(list []interface{}, resourceVersion string) er
 	return nil
 }
 
-// Resync will touch all objects to put them into the processing queue
+// Resync is a no-op for one of these
 func (c *ExpirationCache) Resync() error {
-	return c.cacheStorage.Resync()
+	return nil
 }
 
 // NewTTLStore creates and returns a ExpirationCache with a TTLPolicy
diff --git a/tools/cache/fifo.go b/tools/cache/fifo.go
index 7a3bc3d3..67bb1cba 100644
--- a/tools/cache/fifo.go
+++ b/tools/cache/fifo.go
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ import (
 )
 
 // PopProcessFunc is passed to Pop() method of Queue interface.
-// It is supposed to process the element popped from the queue.
+// It is supposed to process the accumulator popped from the queue.
 type PopProcessFunc func(interface{}) error
 
 // ErrRequeue may be returned by a PopProcessFunc to safely requeue
@@ -44,26 +44,38 @@ func (e ErrRequeue) Error() string {
 	return e.Err.Error()
 }
 
-// Queue is exactly like a Store, but has a Pop() method too.
+// Queue extends Store with a collection of Store keys to "process".
+// Every Add, Update, or Delete may put the object's key in that collection.
+// A Queue has a way to derive the corresponding key given an accumulator.
+// A Queue can be accessed concurrently from multiple goroutines.
+// A Queue can be "closed", after which Pop operations return an error.
 type Queue interface {
 	Store
 
-	// Pop blocks until it has something to process.
-	// It returns the object that was process and the result of processing.
-	// The PopProcessFunc may return an ErrRequeue{...} to indicate the item
-	// should be requeued before releasing the lock on the queue.
+	// Pop blocks until there is at least one key to process or the
+	// Queue is closed.  In the latter case Pop returns with an error.
+	// In the former case Pop atomically picks one key to process,
+	// removes that (key, accumulator) association from the Store, and
+	// processes the accumulator.  Pop returns the accumulator that
+	// was processed and the result of processing.  The PopProcessFunc
+	// may return an ErrRequeue{inner} and in this case Pop will (a)
+	// return that (key, accumulator) association to the Queue as part
+	// of the atomic processing and (b) return the inner error from
+	// Pop.
 	Pop(PopProcessFunc) (interface{}, error)
 
-	// AddIfNotPresent adds a value previously
-	// returned by Pop back into the queue as long
-	// as nothing else (presumably more recent)
-	// has since been added.
+	// AddIfNotPresent puts the given accumulator into the Queue (in
+	// association with the accumulator's key) if and only if that key
+	// is not already associated with a non-empty accumulator.
 	AddIfNotPresent(interface{}) error
 
-	// HasSynced returns true if the first batch of items has been popped
+	// HasSynced returns true if the first batch of keys have all been
+	// popped.  The first batch of keys are those of the first Replace
+	// operation if that happened before any Add, Update, or Delete;
+	// otherwise the first batch is empty.
 	HasSynced() bool
 
-	// Close queue
+	// Close the queue
 	Close()
 }
 
@@ -79,11 +91,16 @@ func Pop(queue Queue) interface{} {
 	return result
 }
 
-// FIFO receives adds and updates from a Reflector, and puts them in a queue for
-// FIFO order processing. If multiple adds/updates of a single item happen while
-// an item is in the queue before it has been processed, it will only be
-// processed once, and when it is processed, the most recent version will be
-// processed. This can't be done with a channel.
+// FIFO is a Queue in which (a) each accumulator is simply the most
+// recently provided object and (b) the collection of keys to process
+// is a FIFO.  The accumulators all start out empty, and deleting an
+// object from its accumulator empties the accumulator.  The Resync
+// operation is a no-op.
+//
+// Thus: if multiple adds/updates of a single object happen while that
+// object's key is in the queue before it has been processed then it
+// will only be processed once, and when it is processed the most
+// recent version will be processed. This can't be done with a channel
 //
 // FIFO solves this use case:
 //  * You want to process every object (exactly) once.
@@ -94,7 +111,7 @@ func Pop(queue Queue) interface{} {
 type FIFO struct {
 	lock sync.RWMutex
 	cond sync.Cond
-	// We depend on the property that items in the set are in the queue and vice versa.
+	// We depend on the property that every key in `items` is also in `queue`
 	items map[string]interface{}
 	queue []string
 
@@ -326,7 +343,8 @@ func (f *FIFO) Replace(list []interface{}, resourceVersion string) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
-// Resync will touch all objects to put them into the processing queue
+// Resync will ensure that every object in the Store has its key in the queue.
+// This should be a no-op, because that property is maintained by all operations.
 func (f *FIFO) Resync() error {
 	f.lock.Lock()
 	defer f.lock.Unlock()
diff --git a/tools/cache/index.go b/tools/cache/index.go
index bbfb3b55..fa29e6a7 100644
--- a/tools/cache/index.go
+++ b/tools/cache/index.go
@@ -23,12 +23,15 @@ import (
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/sets"
 )
 
-// Indexer is a storage interface that lets you list objects using multiple indexing functions.
-// There are three kinds of strings here.
-// One is a storage key, as defined in the Store interface.
-// Another kind is a name of an index.
-// The third kind of string is an "indexed value", which is produced by an
-// IndexFunc and can be a field value or any other string computed from the object.
+// Indexer extends Store with multiple indices and restricts each
+// accumulator to simply hold the current object (and be empty after
+// Delete).
+//
+// There are three kinds of strings here:
+// 1. a storage key, as defined in the Store interface,
+// 2. a name of an index, and
+// 3. an "indexed value", which is produced by an IndexFunc and
+//    can be a field value or any other string computed from the object.
 type Indexer interface {
 	Store
 	// Index returns the stored objects whose set of indexed values
diff --git a/tools/cache/mutation_detector.go b/tools/cache/mutation_detector.go
index fa6acab3..885c1ebc 100644
--- a/tools/cache/mutation_detector.go
+++ b/tools/cache/mutation_detector.go
@@ -36,9 +36,12 @@ func init() {
 	mutationDetectionEnabled, _ = strconv.ParseBool(os.Getenv("KUBE_CACHE_MUTATION_DETECTOR"))
 }
 
-// MutationDetector is able to monitor if the object be modified outside.
+// MutationDetector is able to monitor objects for mutation within a limited window of time
 type MutationDetector interface {
+	// AddObject adds the given object to the set being monitored for a while from now
 	AddObject(obj interface{})
+
+	// Run starts the monitoring and does not return until the monitoring is stopped.
 	Run(stopCh <-chan struct{})
 }
 
diff --git a/tools/cache/reflector.go b/tools/cache/reflector.go
index fc785c2c..32ef798a 100644
--- a/tools/cache/reflector.go
+++ b/tools/cache/reflector.go
@@ -55,7 +55,10 @@ type Reflector struct {
 	// stringification of expectedType otherwise. It is for display
 	// only, and should not be used for parsing or comparison.
 	expectedTypeName string
-	// The type of object we expect to place in the store.
+	// An example object of the type we expect to place in the store.
+	// Only the type needs to be right, except that when that is
+	// `unstructured.Unstructured` the object's `"apiVersion"` and
+	// `"kind"` must also be right.
 	expectedType reflect.Type
 	// The GVK of the object we expect to place in the store if unstructured.
 	expectedGVK *schema.GroupVersionKind
@@ -63,10 +66,12 @@ type Reflector struct {
 	store Store
 	// listerWatcher is used to perform lists and watches.
 	listerWatcher ListerWatcher
-	// period controls timing between one watch ending and
-	// the beginning of the next one.
-	period       time.Duration
+	// period controls timing between an unsuccessful watch ending and
+	// the beginning of the next list.
+	period time.Duration
+	// The period at which ShouldResync is invoked
 	resyncPeriod time.Duration
+	// ShouldResync is invoked periodically and whenever it returns `true` the Store's Resync operation is invoked
 	ShouldResync func() bool
 	// clock allows tests to manipulate time
 	clock clock.Clock
@@ -98,12 +103,16 @@ func NewNamespaceKeyedIndexerAndReflector(lw ListerWatcher, expectedType interfa
 	return indexer, reflector
 }
 
-// NewReflector creates a new Reflector object which will keep the given store up to
-// date with the server's contents for the given resource. Reflector promises to
-// only put things in the store that have the type of expectedType, unless expectedType
-// is nil. If resyncPeriod is non-zero, then lists will be executed after every
-// resyncPeriod, so that you can use reflectors to periodically process everything as
-// well as incrementally processing the things that change.
+// NewReflector creates a new Reflector object which will keep the
+// given store up to date with the server's contents for the given
+// resource. Reflector promises to only put things in the store that
+// have the type of expectedType, unless expectedType is nil. If
+// resyncPeriod is non-zero, then the reflector will periodically
+// consult its ShouldResync function to determine whether to invoke
+// the Store's Resync operation; `ShouldResync==nil` means always
+// "yes".  This enables you to use reflectors to periodically process
+// everything as well as incrementally processing the things that
+// change.
 func NewReflector(lw ListerWatcher, expectedType interface{}, store Store, resyncPeriod time.Duration) *Reflector {
 	return NewNamedReflector(naming.GetNameFromCallsite(internalPackages...), lw, expectedType, store, resyncPeriod)
 }
@@ -147,7 +156,8 @@ func (r *Reflector) setExpectedType(expectedType interface{}) {
 // call chains to NewReflector, so they'd be low entropy names for reflectors
 var internalPackages = []string{"client-go/tools/cache/"}
 
-// Run starts a watch and handles watch events. Will restart the watch if it is closed.
+// Run repeatedly uses the reflector's ListAndWatch to fetch all the
+// objects and subsequent deltas.
 // Run will exit when stopCh is closed.
 func (r *Reflector) Run(stopCh <-chan struct{}) {
 	klog.V(3).Infof("Starting reflector %v (%s) from %s", r.expectedTypeName, r.resyncPeriod, r.name)
diff --git a/tools/cache/shared_informer.go b/tools/cache/shared_informer.go
index 44ddfdff..d355e848 100644
--- a/tools/cache/shared_informer.go
+++ b/tools/cache/shared_informer.go
@@ -144,7 +144,7 @@ type SharedInformer interface {
 	AddEventHandlerWithResyncPeriod(handler ResourceEventHandler, resyncPeriod time.Duration)
 	// GetStore returns the informer's local cache as a Store.
 	GetStore() Store
-	// GetController gives back a synthetic interface that "votes" to start the informer
+	// GetController is deprecated, it does nothing useful
 	GetController() Controller
 	// Run starts and runs the shared informer, returning after it stops.
 	// The informer will be stopped when stopCh is closed.
@@ -168,21 +168,21 @@ type SharedIndexInformer interface {
 }
 
 // NewSharedInformer creates a new instance for the listwatcher.
-func NewSharedInformer(lw ListerWatcher, objType runtime.Object, resyncPeriod time.Duration) SharedInformer {
-	return NewSharedIndexInformer(lw, objType, resyncPeriod, Indexers{})
+func NewSharedInformer(lw ListerWatcher, exampleObject runtime.Object, resyncPeriod time.Duration) SharedInformer {
+	return NewSharedIndexInformer(lw, exampleObject, resyncPeriod, Indexers{})
 }
 
 // NewSharedIndexInformer creates a new instance for the listwatcher.
-func NewSharedIndexInformer(lw ListerWatcher, objType runtime.Object, defaultEventHandlerResyncPeriod time.Duration, indexers Indexers) SharedIndexInformer {
+func NewSharedIndexInformer(lw ListerWatcher, exampleObject runtime.Object, defaultEventHandlerResyncPeriod time.Duration, indexers Indexers) SharedIndexInformer {
 	realClock := &clock.RealClock{}
 	sharedIndexInformer := &sharedIndexInformer{
 		processor:                       &sharedProcessor{clock: realClock},
 		indexer:                         NewIndexer(DeletionHandlingMetaNamespaceKeyFunc, indexers),
 		listerWatcher:                   lw,
-		objectType:                      objType,
+		objectType:                      exampleObject,
 		resyncCheckPeriod:               defaultEventHandlerResyncPeriod,
 		defaultEventHandlerResyncPeriod: defaultEventHandlerResyncPeriod,
-		cacheMutationDetector:           NewCacheMutationDetector(fmt.Sprintf("%T", objType)),
+		cacheMutationDetector:           NewCacheMutationDetector(fmt.Sprintf("%T", exampleObject)),
 		clock:                           realClock,
 	}
 	return sharedIndexInformer
@@ -237,6 +237,19 @@ func WaitForCacheSync(stopCh <-chan struct{}, cacheSyncs ...InformerSynced) bool
 	return true
 }
 
+// `*sharedIndexInformer` implements SharedIndexInformer and has three
+// main components.  One is an indexed local cache, `indexer Indexer`.
+// The second main component is a Controller that pulls
+// objects/notifications using the ListerWatcher and pushes them into
+// a DeltaFIFO --- whose knownObjects is the informer's local cache
+// --- while concurrently Popping Deltas values from that fifo and
+// processing them with `sharedIndexInformer::HandleDeltas`.  Each
+// invocation of HandleDeltas, which is done with the fifo's lock
+// held, processes each Delta in turn.  For each Delta this both
+// updates the local cache and stuffs the relevant notification into
+// the sharedProcessor.  The third main component is that
+// sharedProcessor, which is responsible for relaying those
+// notifications to each of the informer's clients.
 type sharedIndexInformer struct {
 	indexer    Indexer
 	controller Controller
@@ -244,9 +257,13 @@ type sharedIndexInformer struct {
 	processor             *sharedProcessor
 	cacheMutationDetector MutationDetector
 
-	// This block is tracked to handle late initialization of the controller
 	listerWatcher ListerWatcher
-	objectType    runtime.Object
+
+	// objectType is an example object of the type this informer is
+	// expected to handle.  Only the type needs to be right, except
+	// that when that is `unstructured.Unstructured` the object's
+	// `"apiVersion"` and `"kind"` must also be right.
+	objectType runtime.Object
 
 	// resyncCheckPeriod is how often we want the reflector's resync timer to fire so it can call
 	// shouldResync to check if any of our listeners need a resync.
@@ -485,6 +502,12 @@ func (s *sharedIndexInformer) HandleDeltas(obj interface{}) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
+// sharedProcessor has a collection of processorListener and can
+// distribute a notification object to its listeners.  There are two
+// kinds of distribute operations.  The sync distributions go to a
+// subset of the listeners that (a) is recomputed in the occasional
+// calls to shouldResync and (b) every listener is initially put in.
+// The non-sync distributions go to every listener.
 type sharedProcessor struct {
 	listenersStarted bool
 	listenersLock    sync.RWMutex
@@ -576,6 +599,17 @@ func (p *sharedProcessor) resyncCheckPeriodChanged(resyncCheckPeriod time.Durati
 	}
 }
 
+// processorListener relays notifications from a sharedProcessor to
+// one ResourceEventHandler --- using two goroutines, two unbuffered
+// channels, and an unbounded ring buffer.  The `add(notification)`
+// function sends the given notification to `addCh`.  One goroutine
+// runs `pop()`, which pumps notifications from `addCh` to `nextCh`
+// using storage in the ring buffer while `nextCh` is not keeping up.
+// Another goroutine runs `run()`, which receives notifications from
+// `nextCh` and synchronously invokes the appropriate handler method.
+//
+// processorListener also keeps track of the adjusted requested resync
+// period of the listener.
 type processorListener struct {
 	nextCh chan interface{}
 	addCh  chan interface{}
@@ -589,11 +623,22 @@ type processorListener struct {
 	// we should try to do something better.
 	pendingNotifications buffer.RingGrowing
 
-	// requestedResyncPeriod is how frequently the listener wants a full resync from the shared informer
+	// requestedResyncPeriod is how frequently the listener wants a
+	// full resync from the shared informer, but modified by two
+	// adjustments.  One is imposing a lower bound,
+	// `minimumResyncPeriod`.  The other is another lower bound, the
+	// sharedProcessor's `resyncCheckPeriod`, that is imposed (a) only
+	// in AddEventHandlerWithResyncPeriod invocations made after the
+	// sharedProcessor starts and (b) only if the informer does
+	// resyncs at all.
 	requestedResyncPeriod time.Duration
-	// resyncPeriod is how frequently the listener wants a full resync from the shared informer. This
-	// value may differ from requestedResyncPeriod if the shared informer adjusts it to align with the
-	// informer's overall resync check period.
+	// resyncPeriod is the threshold that will be used in the logic
+	// for this listener.  This value differs from
+	// requestedResyncPeriod only when the sharedIndexInformer does
+	// not do resyncs, in which case the value here is zero.  The
+	// actual time between resyncs depends on when the
+	// sharedProcessor's `shouldResync` function is invoked and when
+	// the sharedIndexInformer processes `Sync` type Delta objects.
 	resyncPeriod time.Duration
 	// nextResync is the earliest time the listener should get a full resync
 	nextResync time.Time
@@ -652,7 +697,7 @@ func (p *processorListener) pop() {
 
 func (p *processorListener) run() {
 	// this call blocks until the channel is closed.  When a panic happens during the notification
-	// we will catch it, **the offending item will be skipped!**, and after a short delay (one second)
+	// we will catch it, **the offending item will be skipped!**, and after a short delay (one minute)
 	// the next notification will be attempted.  This is usually better than the alternative of never
 	// delivering again.
 	stopCh := make(chan struct{})
diff --git a/tools/cache/store.go b/tools/cache/store.go
index fc844efe..886e95d2 100644
--- a/tools/cache/store.go
+++ b/tools/cache/store.go
@@ -23,27 +23,50 @@ import (
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/meta"
 )
 
-// Store is a generic object storage interface. Reflector knows how to watch a server
-// and update a store. A generic store is provided, which allows Reflector to be used
-// as a local caching system, and an LRU store, which allows Reflector to work like a
-// queue of items yet to be processed.
+// Store is a generic object storage and processing interface.  A
+// Store holds a map from string keys to accumulators, and has
+// operations to add, update, and delete a given object to/from the
+// accumulator currently associated with a given key.  A Store also
+// knows how to extract the key from a given object, so many operations
+// are given only the object.
 //
-// Store makes no assumptions about stored object identity; it is the responsibility
-// of a Store implementation to provide a mechanism to correctly key objects and to
-// define the contract for obtaining objects by some arbitrary key type.
+// In the simplest Store implementations each accumulator is simply
+// the last given object, or empty after Delete, and thus the Store's
+// behavior is simple storage.
+//
+// Reflector knows how to watch a server and update a Store.  This
+// package provides a variety of implementations of Store.
 type Store interface {
+
+	// Add adds the given object to the accumulator associated with the given object's key
 	Add(obj interface{}) error
+
+	// Update updates the given object in the accumulator associated with the given object's key
 	Update(obj interface{}) error
+
+	// Delete deletes the given object from the accumulator associated with the given object's key
 	Delete(obj interface{}) error
+
+	// List returns a list of all the currently non-empty accumulators
 	List() []interface{}
+
+	// ListKeys returns a list of all the keys currently associated with non-empty accumulators
 	ListKeys() []string
+
+	// Get returns the accumulator associated with the given object's key
 	Get(obj interface{}) (item interface{}, exists bool, err error)
+
+	// GetByKey returns the accumulator associated with the given key
 	GetByKey(key string) (item interface{}, exists bool, err error)
 
 	// Replace will delete the contents of the store, using instead the
 	// given list. Store takes ownership of the list, you should not reference
 	// it after calling this function.
 	Replace([]interface{}, string) error
+
+	// Resync is meaningless in the terms appearing here but has
+	// meaning in some implementations that have non-trivial
+	// additional behavior (e.g., DeltaFIFO).
 	Resync() error
 }
 
@@ -106,9 +129,8 @@ func SplitMetaNamespaceKey(key string) (namespace, name string, err error) {
 	return "", "", fmt.Errorf("unexpected key format: %q", key)
 }
 
-// cache responsibilities are limited to:
-//	1. Computing keys for objects via keyFunc
-//  2. Invoking methods of a ThreadSafeStorage interface
+// `*cache` implements Indexer in terms of a ThreadSafeStore and an
+// associated KeyFunc.
 type cache struct {
 	// cacheStorage bears the burden of thread safety for the cache
 	cacheStorage ThreadSafeStore
@@ -222,9 +244,9 @@ func (c *cache) Replace(list []interface{}, resourceVersion string) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
-// Resync touches all items in the store to force processing
+// Resync is meaningless for one of these
 func (c *cache) Resync() error {
-	return c.cacheStorage.Resync()
+	return nil
 }
 
 // NewStore returns a Store implemented simply with a map and a lock.
diff --git a/tools/cache/thread_safe_store.go b/tools/cache/thread_safe_store.go
index e7232514..56251179 100644
--- a/tools/cache/thread_safe_store.go
+++ b/tools/cache/thread_safe_store.go
@@ -23,7 +23,11 @@ import (
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/sets"
 )
 
-// ThreadSafeStore is an interface that allows concurrent access to a storage backend.
+// ThreadSafeStore is an interface that allows concurrent indexed
+// access to a storage backend.  It is like Indexer but does not
+// (necessarily) know how to extract the Store key from a given
+// object.
+//
 // TL;DR caveats: you must not modify anything returned by Get or List as it will break
 // the indexing feature in addition to not being thread safe.
 //
@@ -51,6 +55,7 @@ type ThreadSafeStore interface {
 	// AddIndexers adds more indexers to this store.  If you call this after you already have data
 	// in the store, the results are undefined.
 	AddIndexers(newIndexers Indexers) error
+	// Resync is a no-op and is deprecated
 	Resync() error
 }
 
@@ -131,8 +136,8 @@ func (c *threadSafeMap) Replace(items map[string]interface{}, resourceVersion st
 	}
 }
 
-// Index returns a list of items that match on the index function
-// Index is thread-safe so long as you treat all items as immutable
+// Index returns a list of items that match the given object on the index function.
+// Index is thread-safe so long as you treat all items as immutable.
 func (c *threadSafeMap) Index(indexName string, obj interface{}) ([]interface{}, error) {
 	c.lock.RLock()
 	defer c.lock.RUnlock()
@@ -142,37 +147,37 @@ func (c *threadSafeMap) Index(indexName string, obj interface{}) ([]interface{},
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("Index with name %s does not exist", indexName)
 	}
 
-	indexKeys, err := indexFunc(obj)
+	indexedValues, err := indexFunc(obj)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
 	index := c.indices[indexName]
 
-	var returnKeySet sets.String
-	if len(indexKeys) == 1 {
+	var storeKeySet sets.String
+	if len(indexedValues) == 1 {
 		// In majority of cases, there is exactly one value matching.
 		// Optimize the most common path - deduping is not needed here.
-		returnKeySet = index[indexKeys[0]]
+		storeKeySet = index[indexedValues[0]]
 	} else {
 		// Need to de-dupe the return list.
 		// Since multiple keys are allowed, this can happen.
-		returnKeySet = sets.String{}
-		for _, indexKey := range indexKeys {
-			for key := range index[indexKey] {
-				returnKeySet.Insert(key)
+		storeKeySet = sets.String{}
+		for _, indexedValue := range indexedValues {
+			for key := range index[indexedValue] {
+				storeKeySet.Insert(key)
 			}
 		}
 	}
 
-	list := make([]interface{}, 0, returnKeySet.Len())
-	for absoluteKey := range returnKeySet {
-		list = append(list, c.items[absoluteKey])
+	list := make([]interface{}, 0, storeKeySet.Len())
+	for storeKey := range storeKeySet {
+		list = append(list, c.items[storeKey])
 	}
 	return list, nil
 }
 
-// ByIndex returns a list of items that match an exact value on the index function
-func (c *threadSafeMap) ByIndex(indexName, indexKey string) ([]interface{}, error) {
+// ByIndex returns a list of the items whose indexed values in the given index include the given indexed value
+func (c *threadSafeMap) ByIndex(indexName, indexedValue string) ([]interface{}, error) {
 	c.lock.RLock()
 	defer c.lock.RUnlock()
 
@@ -183,7 +188,7 @@ func (c *threadSafeMap) ByIndex(indexName, indexKey string) ([]interface{}, erro
 
 	index := c.indices[indexName]
 
-	set := index[indexKey]
+	set := index[indexedValue]
 	list := make([]interface{}, 0, set.Len())
 	for key := range set {
 		list = append(list, c.items[key])
@@ -192,9 +197,9 @@ func (c *threadSafeMap) ByIndex(indexName, indexKey string) ([]interface{}, erro
 	return list, nil
 }
 
-// IndexKeys returns a list of keys that match on the index function.
+// IndexKeys returns a list of the Store keys of the objects whose indexed values in the given index include the given indexed value.
 // IndexKeys is thread-safe so long as you treat all items as immutable.
-func (c *threadSafeMap) IndexKeys(indexName, indexKey string) ([]string, error) {
+func (c *threadSafeMap) IndexKeys(indexName, indexedValue string) ([]string, error) {
 	c.lock.RLock()
 	defer c.lock.RUnlock()
 
@@ -205,7 +210,7 @@ func (c *threadSafeMap) IndexKeys(indexName, indexKey string) ([]string, error)
 
 	index := c.indices[indexName]
 
-	set := index[indexKey]
+	set := index[indexedValue]
 	return set.List(), nil
 }