[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.
[glossary]
[Reference(s) to this entry by made by: {clone-and-hack coding}]