Code Iceberg

Noun · Slang & Abbreviations

Definitions

  1. A feature or code path that looks small on the surface but hides much larger complexity underneath. In engineering slang, a code iceberg is a warning that visible work estimates are probably undercounting what lies below.

    In plain English: Something in the code that looks small but hides much more complexity underneath.

    Example: "The request to 'just add one more export field' was a code iceberg because it touched schema generation, permissions, snapshots, and customer-specific CSV logic."

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