dead code n.
Routines that can never be accessed because all calls to them
have been removed, or code that cannot be reached because it is
guarded by a control structure that provably must always transfer
control somewhere else. The presence of dead code may reveal
either logical errors due to alterations in the program or
significant changes in the assumptions and environment of the
program (see also software
rot); a good compiler should report dead code so a
maintainer can think about what it means. (Sometimes it simply
means that an extremely defensive programmer has
inserted can't happen tests
which really can't happen -- yet.) Syn. grunge. See also dead, and The Story of Mel.