from
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (8 July 2008)
paranoid programming
professional programming
<programming> A programming style that tries to prepare for
the worst external conditions, including incorrect input,
resource limitations, hardware and software failure and even
{can't happen} errors, to the fullest possible extent. While
some believe in the motto "professional programming is
paranoid programming", the expression usually has the
connotation that the efforts are unnecessary or too costly
("Maybe this code is just paranoid programming, but I think it
is necessary to avoid a possible overflow condition".)
(2001-01-27)