2014-04-26 10:52:28 -04:00
|
|
|
case and paste
|
|
|
|
|
|
2014-04-26 11:54:15 -04:00
|
|
|
n. [from cut and paste ] The addition of a new feature to an existing system
|
|
|
|
|
by selecting the code from an existing feature and pasting it in with minor
|
|
|
|
|
changes. Common in telephony circles because most operations in a telephone
|
|
|
|
|
switch are selected using case statements. Leads to software bloat. In some
|
|
|
|
|
circles of EMACS users this is called programming by Meta-W , because Meta-W
|
|
|
|
|
is the EMACS command for copying a block of text to a kill buffer in
|
|
|
|
|
preparation to pasting it in elsewhere. The term is condescending, implying
|
|
|
|
|
that the programmer is acting mindlessly rather than thinking carefully
|
|
|
|
|
about what is required to integrate the code for two similar cases. At DEC
|
|
|
|
|
(now HP), this is sometimes called clone-and-hack coding.
|
|
|
|
|
|
