Editing Code reuse (section)

{{Short description|Using existing code in new software}}

'''Code reuse''' is the practice of using existing [[source code]] to develop [[software]] instead of writing new code. ''Software reuse'' is a broader term that implies using any existing software asset to develop software instead of developing it again.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Frakes |first=W.B. |author2=Kyo Kang |s2cid=14561810 |date=July 2005 |title=Software Reuse Research: Status and Future |journal=IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering |volume=31 |issue=7 |pages=529–536 |doi=10.1109/TSE.2005.85 |citeseerx=10.1.1.75.635 }}</ref><ref name="Reddy2011" >{{Cite book|last=Reddy|first=Martin|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/704559821|title=API design for C++|date=2011|publisher=Morgan Kaufmann|isbn=978-0-12-385004-1|location=Boston|oclc=704559821}}</ref>{{Rp|page=7}} An asset that is relatively easy to reuse and offers significant value is considered to have high [[reusability]].

Code reuse may be achieved different ways depending on a complexity of a [[programming language]] chosen and range from a lower-level approaches like code [[Cut, copy, and paste|copy-pasting]] (e.g. via [[Snippet (programming)|snippets]]),<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Selaolo|first1=Karabo|last2=Hlomani|first2=Hlomani|date=2016|title=Towards An Algorithms Ontology Cluster: for Modular Code Reuse and Polyglot Programming|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/305144699|journal=Advances in Computer Science|volume=5|pages=63|via=ResearchGate}}</ref> simple functions ([[Procedure (computer science)|procedure]]s or [[subroutine]]s) or a bunch of [[Object (computer science)|objects]] or [[Subroutine|functions]] organized into [[Modular programming|module]]s (e.g. [[Library (computing)|libraries]])<ref>{{Cite web|title=4. Code Reuse: Functions and Modules - Head First Python, 2nd Edition [Book]|url=https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/head-first-python/9781491919521/ch04.html|access-date=2022-01-26|website=www.oreilly.com|language=en}}</ref>{{r|Reddy2011|page=7|}} or custom [[namespace]]s, and [[Package manager|package]]s, [[Framework (computer science)|framework]]s or [[software suite]]s in higher-levels.

Code reuse implies dependencies which can make [[Software maintenance|code maintainability]] harder.{{Citation needed|date=February 2023}} 
At least one study found that code reuse at the class level reduces [[technical debt]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Feitosa|first1=Daniel|last2=Ampatzoglou|first2=Apostolos|last3=Gkortzis|first3=Antonios|last4=Bibi|first4=Stamatia|last5=Chatzigeorgiou|first5=Alexander|date=September 2020|title=CODE reuse in practice: Benefiting or harming technical debt|url=https://pure.rug.nl/ws/files/128142562/1_s2.0_S0164121220300960_main.pdf|journal=Journal of Systems and Software|language=en|volume=167|pages=110618|doi=10.1016/j.jss.2020.110618|s2cid=219502749|url-access=|url-status=|archive-url=|archive-date=}}</ref>