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
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.
(1996-03-01)