Menu
The term "ad hoc" is used in programming. What exactly does it mean?
751
Ad hoc literally means "for this" in Latin, and in English this almost always means "for this specific purpose." Issues that come up in the course of a project often require immediate, ad hoc solutions. An ad hoc investigating committee is authorized to look into a matter of limited scope.
Something ad hoc is put together on the fly for one narrow, pressing, or special purpose. For example, a government committee arranged to address one specific problem would be an ad hoc committee. More loosely, it can mean “spontaneous,” “unplanned,” or “on the spot.”
When we say “ad hoc”, we usually mean that you do not need to apply a sophisticated algorithm to solve the problem; instead you will write something specific to the problem at hand.
The Ad Hoc problems are problems that cannot be classified anywhere else in the categories with well-studied solutions since each problem description and its corresponding solution are unique. These problems don't fall under standard categories, there is no specific or general technique exists to solve them.
"Ad hoc" is a Latin phrase that can apply to anything, not just programming specifically.
It means 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.
50
If you love us? You can donate to us via Paypal or buy me a coffee so we can maintain and grow! Thank you!
Donate Us With
