What is exact meaning of "ad hoc" in programming?

Question

I found terminology "ad hoc" used here and there in programming field. What does it exactly mean in programming?

wiki says "for this purpose"

Answer 1

Generally meaning improvised / impromtu / made up on the fly, such as ad-hoc reports or queries. Not pre-determind / pre-meditated

Answer 2

I've heard it used in reporting, where I take it to mean letting the user choose what columns, grouping, and aggregate functions to put into a report,

Answer 3

1. Formed temporarily for a specific, non-continuing purpose, as an ad hoc committee on ice removal.

2. Impromptu, not planned, improvised, as an ad hoc attempt to remove the ice with a screw-driver.

Answer 4

"Ad hoc" is a Latin phrase which can apply to anything, not just programming specifically. It basically means, more or less, something that was made up on the fly just to deal with a particular situation, as opposed to some systematic approach to solving problems.

Regarding programming specifically, it's probably similar to what Joel Spolsky recently called "Duct tape Programming"

Answer 5

It basically means writing some quick and dirty code without the intention of reuse. User-entered queries are usually the main example. Another common occurrence is a utility to convert data sets from 1 form to another, which will have no use when the conversion is done.

Answer 6

Programming for a specific purpose, usually without any planning. An example would be a macro or something which is designed to do a single task and nothing else.

Answer 7

The antithesis of "ad hoc" (which means, "specifically for this") might be "commercial off-the-shelf" (COTS) software, which is written to solve a general category of problem (e.g. word-processing or book-keeping) for several possible customers.

Answer 8

my synonym is ad hoc = case study

Answer 9

ad hoc means for one specific cause or approaching a solution in an unplanned way. In ad hoc we don't have any plan but have the deadline to finish the work. Ad hoc exists in different areas like programming, testing etc. In testing if perform ad hoc if the time assigned is very less and have to deliver the kit within that min amount of time then we will go for ad hoc.

In programming, it is basically that the developer is not working according to the plan but he is working bits and pieces from the whole code. Let me describe it.. there are 2 developers 1 and 2. they have to complete 3 module say A, B, C. If there is a plan then they can decide on which module they are going to work on it. but in ad hoc they can approach any of the modules in an unplanned manner.