What is exact meaning of "ad hoc" in programming?

terminology
Saar picture Saar · Nov 24, 2009 · Viewed 74.5k times · Source

I found terminology "ad hoc" used here and there in programming field. What does it exactly mean in programming?

wiki says "for this purpose"

Answer

Charles Salvia picture Charles Salvia · Nov 24, 2009

"Ad hoc" is a Latin phrase which can apply to anything, not just programming specifically. It basically means, more or less, something that was made up on the fly just to deal with a particular situation, as opposed to some systematic approach to solving problems.

Regarding programming specifically, it's probably similar to what Joel Spolsky recently called "Duct tape Programming"

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