Copypasta, you're the worst pasta

Copypasta. It’s the worst. “I need something like this code here, I’ll just drop it over there where I need it. Maybe change a few things.” Only you can prevent headdesks!

It’s not really possible, in my experience, to make it easier to use code through methods and functions than to just copy what you need and start changing it. No amount of encapsulation or patterns is easier than a pasteboard.

Perhaps, copypasta’s natural predator is a well-informed code review. There are tools, like flay, that can detect some kinds of code duplication.

But for the most part, it’s a battle of dilligence.

(Ed. I found this in my draft folder from four years ago. Copypasta; copypasta never changes.)

Adam Keys @therealadam