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Definition 2024


dead_code

dead code

English

Noun

dead code (uncountable)

  1. (compilers) instructions that, when executed, have no effect on the running of the program.
    • 2006, William Von Hagen, The definitive guide to GCC:
      Much dead code elimination is actually done on intermediate representations of your code, which may contain unnecessary intermediate calculations []
  2. (programming) code that exists in the source, but that will never be executed.
    Many software projects contain much dead code in the form of deprecated functions.

Usage notes

When discussing compilers, a set of instructions that will never be executed may be referred to as an "unreachable block".

Translations

See also