Is copy/pasting code bad?
Most developers would agree that simply copying and pasting code is a poor form of re-use and a bad practice in general. However, it is common because proper re-use takes extra time and money (in the short term). This might be due to a lack of motivation for proper re-use and lack of forethought.
Is it fine to copy and paste code?
It is never ok to copy and paste code from an open source project directly into your proprietary code. Don’t do it. Not only does copying and pasting code put your company (and perhaps your job) at risk, but it’s not leveraging the benefits that come with using open source code.
Is it bad to copy paste in a program?
While the degree to which copy-paste, as a general code construction technique, should be allowed or disallowed is debatable, everyone can agree that errors introduced via inconsistent modifications to copied code are bad. Human programmers can detect some instances of copy-paste manually, at least in fairly small code bases.
Can a human programmer detect copy and paste?
Human programmers can detect some instances of copy-paste manually, at least in fairly small code bases. Doing this is not too difficult for an automated tool, even for large programs (though it can be tricky when the copies are modified, as frequently happens).
When to use copy and paste in static analysis?
Advanced static analysis can focus on finding such copy-paste errors, cases where code was re-used but new errors were introduced in the process. Such errors are typically introduced during variable substitution, the process where the pasted code is adjusted to its new context. This is a tricky analysis to do.
Is it bad to write tests of test methods?
Writing tests of test methods is usually to hard to make worthwhile, since you have to break your code to test the test. But you can unit test helper methods. It may well make the tests less readable. A big block of copied code may be harder to read than a call to helper method with a descriptive name.