copy-paste coding

noun

UK /ˈkɒpi peɪst ˈkəʊdɪŋ/

US /ˈkɑːpi peɪst ˈkoʊdɪŋ/

Copy-paste coding is when you make a program by copying code from somewhere else and pasting it in without really understanding it.

The teacher could tell it was copy-paste coding because the student couldn't explain how the loop worked.

SYNONYMS

code cloning copy-and-paste programming snippet reuse clipboard coding

RELATED WORDS

Stack Overflow snippet plagiarism refactoring code reuse

OTHER MEANINGS

2. A quick way to build a project by reusing existing code blocks instead of writing everything from scratch.

For the hackathon, copy-paste coding got the prototype running in an hour.

3. A learning shortcut where beginners paste examples to see how they work before studying them.

His first website was copy-paste coding, but he slowly learned what each line did.

4. A risky practice that can spread bugs or security flaws when code is pasted without checking.

The audit flagged copy-paste coding as the source of the repeated vulnerability.