Routines that can never be accessed because all calls to them have
been removed, or code that cannot be reached because it is guarded by
a control structure that provably must always transfer control
somewhere else. The presence of dead code may reveal either logical
errors due to alterations in the program or significant changes in
the assumptions and environment of the program (see also {software
rot}); a good compiler should report dead code so a maintainer can
think about what it means. (Sometimes it simply means that an
extremely defensive programmer has inserted {can't happen} tests
which really can't happen -- yet.) Syn. {grunge}. See also {dead},
and The Story of Mel'.
[glossary]
[Reference(s) to this entry by made by: {dead}{grunge}]