case and paste
<programming> (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. This usually results in gross violation of the fundamental
programming tenet, Don't Repeat Yourself.
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, this is sometimes called "clone-and-hack" coding.
[Jargon File]
(1996-03-01)
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