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Dummy code

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In computer programming, dummy code is inserted in a program skeleton to simulate processing and avoid compilation error messages. It may involve empty function declarations, or functions that return a correct result only for a simple test case where the expected response of the code is known. Program skeletons with dummy code resemble pseudocode, but allow parsing, compilation and testing of the code. Dummy code facilitates a top-down design approach, where a partially-functional system with complete high-level structures is designed and coded, and this system is then expanded to fulfill the requirements for the project to a successively higher level of detail.

In object-oriented programming, dummy code corresponds to an Abstract method.

See also