Hardcoding

CORE DEFINITION

Hard-coding refers to the practice in software implementation of writing output or input related parameters (such as paths, output forms, or formats) directly as constants in the source code, rather than responding appropriately to settings, resources, data, or formats specified externally at runtime. It is generally considered an anti-pattern or an imperfect implementation because the software must be modified in source code when input data or output formats change, and for customers, changing small settings outside the source code may be easier. In layman's terms, it means that for a given problem, only one answer is provided, and each time the answer is fixed. However, hard-coding is not entirely without drawbacks; it is sometimes necessary due to encapsulation requirements or software protection measures. In addition, sometimes for special needs, simple applications may be created that are executed only once or a limited number of times, or always handle a single requirement; using hard-coding to shorten development time can also be a good decision.