Programming Jargon

These are inventive words or phrases that a programmer will often say to each other while they're programming.

• boilerplate: source code that must be repeated in a standard manner.
• bookkeeping/or accounting: the act of maintaining program state in multiple locations. to add, replace, update or delete a record.
• code rot/or bit rot: a codebase will naturally errode over time--to acquire more defects when it is not maintained.
• code smell: an intuitive sense that source code is poorly written.
• code freeze: a software release phase where modifications to the source code are either not allowed or limited.
• copy-pasta: a block of source code copied into another function or module with little to no thought. see: boilerplate.
• cut new code: to write source code.
• critical path: a path in a program that executes the slowest--is the longest.
• early-exit: to stop execution earlier than later because a result is no longer feasible or necessary. can often be a performance improvement.
• fast path: a path in a program that executes faster than normal--is shorter.
• fudge factor/or magic value: a number that helps a program to sovle a problem and has little to no explaination--"it just works".
• gem: a programming tip or trick.
• guard: a conditional to block program execution.
• gold platting/or bullet proofing: to improve program robustness often to a point that is unecessary--"over engineering".
• hack: a fix to an exceptional case that was not forseen. is quick to write, but hard to remove. is often a product of a time constraint or a complex system.
• human-in-the-loop: a human is required to complete or review a task in an otherwise automated process.
• into the weeds: more detail than neccessary is given--often to help build context and to help assist decision making.
• low/or high-level: a measure of abstraction between the program and the machine.
• off by one: a common program defect where a number is 1 step away from the intended solution--an array index, or otherwise.
• refactor: to decompose a fuction to compress the amount of source code written.
• rubber ducking: to explain a problem to someone unfamiliar with the nature of it. can help to improve understanding, and lead to new observations and solutions.
• rats nest: source code that difficult to decipher--has little structure, or "i didn't write it".
• short-circuit: a path in a program to temporarily test a feature that is not easily accessible. to build program state quicker.
• state soup: a program model that is not very cohesive or has little structure to it. like, a bunch of variables in a class or structure.
• smoke test: a quick test to determine whether a program is critically flawed or not.
• spinning on a problem: working on a problem but not making progress towards a solution. is a good time to find a rubber duck.
• and so on, ...