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Everything about Copy-and-paste programming

Pejorative term for highly repetitive programming

Copy-and-paste programming, sometimes referred to as just pasting, is the production of highly repetitive computer programming code, as produced by copy and paste operations. It is primarily a pejorative term; those who use the term are often implying a lack of programming competence and ability to create abstractions. It may also be the result of technology limitations as subroutines or libraries would normally be used instead. However, there are occasions when copy-and-paste programming is considered acceptable or necessary, such as for boilerplate, loop unrolling, languages with limited metaprogramming facilities, or certain programming idioms, and it is supported by some source code editors in the form of snippets. Wikipedia →

đź§­ Start here: a 6-step reading path

  1. Read the overview: Copy-and-paste programmingA 5-minute orientation
  2. Skim a recent paper: THE PHENOMENON OF COUNSELOR DOING COPY-PASTE IN DESIGNING GUIDANCE AND COUNSELING PROGRAMSInfluential work since 2022
  3. Pick up a classic book: American FilmThe most-reprinted book on the subject
  4. Go sideways: Code reuseA closely related topic
  5. Go sideways: Code bloatA closely related topic

đź“– Definitions

No dictionary entry for this exact phrase.

🗂️ The subject at a glance

  1. Origins
  2. Duplication
  3. Deliberate design choice

🏆 Landmark papers (most cited)

🆕 Influential since 2022

📚 Books worth reading

Ranked by number of editions on Open Library, a rough measure of how lasting a book is.

đź”— Related topics