dead code

dead code
 n.

   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'.
    

dead code
infeasible path

   <programming> (Or "infeasible path", "{grunge}") Any part of a
   program that can never be accessed because all calls to it
   have been removed, or 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.

   Synonym {grunge}.

   [{Jargon File}]

   (1996-05-22)