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What does "code duplication" mean in programming?

code duplication is one of the most common terms in software development. This guide explains what it means, how it is used in practice, and why it matters, with real examples from the developer world.

Definition

The presence of identical or nearly identical code in multiple places, also called copy-paste code. Duplication makes maintenance harder because a bug fix must be applied in every copy. Eliminated by extracting shared logic into reusable functions or modules.

Example

"Extract the validation logic into a shared helper — removing code duplication means fixing a bug once fixes it everywhere."

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