May 15, 2003

code police

n.

[by analogy with George Orwell's ‘thought police’] A mythical team of Gestapo-like storm troopers that might burst into one's office and arrest one for violating programming style rules. May be used either seriously, to underline a claim that a particular style violation is dangerous, or ironically, to suggest that the practice under discussion is condemned mainly by anal-retentive weenies. Dike out that goto or the code police will get you! The ironic usage is perhaps more common.

Posted by Jargon File at May 15, 2003 10:53 AM

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