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Code bloat

{{short description|Production of unnecessarily long, slow or wasteful program code}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2025}}

{{Refimprove|date=June 2014}}

In computer programming, code bloat is the production of program code (source code or machine code) that is perceived as unnecessarily long, slow, or otherwise wasteful of resources. Code bloat can be caused by inadequacies in the programming language in which the code is written, the compiler used to compile it, or the programmer writing it. Thus, while code bloat generally refers to source code size (as produced by the programmer), it can be used to refer instead to the generated code size or even the binary file size.

Examples

The following JavaScript algorithm has a large number of redundant variables, unnecessary logic and inefficient string concatenation.

// Complex

function TK2getImageHTML(size, zoom, sensor, markers) {

const strHTMLStart = 'The map';

var strFinalImage = "";

var strURL = "http://maps.google.com/maps/api/staticmap?center=";

var strSize = '&size='+ size;

var strZoom = '&zoom='+ zoom;

var strSensor = '&sensor='+ sensor;

strURL += markers[0].latitude;

strURL += ",";

strURL += markers[0].longitude;

strURL += strSize;

strURL += strZoom;

strURL += strSensor;

for (var i = 0; i < markers.length; i++) {

strURL += markers[i].addMarker();

}

strFinalImage = strHTMLStart + strURL + strHTMLEnd;

return strFinalImage;

};

The same logic can be stated more efficiently as follows:

// Simplified

const TK2getImageHTML = (size, zoom, sensor, markers) => {

const [ { latitude, longitude } ] = markers;

let url = `http://maps.google.com/maps/api/staticmap?center=${ latitude },${ longitude }&size=${ size }&zoom=${ zoom }&sensor=${ sensor }`;

markers.forEach(marker => url += marker.addMarker());

return `The map`;

};

Code density of different languages

{{Unreferenced section|date=August 2013}}

The difference in code density between various computer languages is so great that often less memory is needed to hold both a program written in a "compact" language (such as a domain-specific programming language, Microsoft P-Code, or threaded code), plus an interpreter for that compact language (written in native code), than to hold that program written directly in native code.

Reducing bloat

Some techniques for reducing code bloat include:{{Cite web|url=http://docforge.com/wiki/Code_bloat|title=Code bloat|accessdate=30 December 2009|work=DocForge|archive-date=5 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305150311/http://docforge.com/wiki/code_bloat|url-status=dead}}

See also

References

{{Reflist|30em}}

Category:Software optimization

Category:Software engineering folklore