Code Fragrance

Noun · Slang & Abbreviations

Definitions

  1. A playful cousin of code smell, used when something feels suspicious or slightly off even if it is not yet obviously broken. In engineering slang, code fragrance hints at early warning signals that merit a closer look.

    In plain English: A joking way to describe code that gives off early warning signs of trouble.

    Example: "The nested transaction wrapper had serious code fragrance, because nobody could explain why it existed and every caller used it differently."

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