A term describing code that technically works but has design problems that suggest deeper issues. Code smells indicate areas where code might be hard to maintain, understand, or extend.
Coined by Kent Beck and popularized by Martin Fowler in 'Refactoring: Improving the Design of Existing Code' (1999). The metaphor of 'smell' suggests something that doesn't seem quite right - like food that might be spoiled - requiring investigation to determine if there's actually a problem.
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