hardcoded adj. 1. [common] Said of data inserted directly into a
program, where it cannot be easily modified, as opposed to data in some
profile, resource (see de-rezz sense 2), or environment variable
that a user or hacker can easily modify. 2. In C, this is esp. applied
to use of a literal instead of a `#define' macro (see magic number).
Source: The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03)
hard-coded
(By analogy with "hard-wired") Said of a data value
or behaviour written directly into a program, possibly in
multiple places, where it cannot be easily modified. There
are several alternatives, depending on how often the value is
likely to change. It may be replaced with a compile-time
constant, such as a C "#define" macro, in which case a
change will still require recompilation; or it may be read at
run time from a profile, resource (see de-rezz), or
environment variable that a user can easily modify; or it
may be read as part of the program's input data.
To change something hard-coded requires recompilation (if
using a compiled language of course) but, more seriously, it
requires sufficient understanding of the implementation to be
sure that the change will not introduce inconsistency and
cause the program to fail.
For example, "The line terminator is hard-coded as newline;
who in their right mind would use anything else?"
See magic number.
[Jargon File]
(1999-10-18)
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