Boilerplate (text)
Encyclopedia
Boilerplate is any text that is or can be reused in new contexts or applications without being changed much from the original. Many computer programmers often use the term boilerplate code. A legal boilerplate
is a standard provision in a contract
.
s. From the 1890s onwards, printing plates of text for widespread reproduction such as advertisements or syndicated columns were cast or stamped in steel (instead of the much softer and less durable lead alloys used otherwise) ready for the printing press
and distributed to newspaper
s around the United States
. They came to be known as 'boilerplates'. Until the 1950s, thousands of newspapers received and used this kind of boilerplate from the nation's largest supplier, the Western Newspaper Union.
Some companies also sent out press releases as boilerplate so that they had to be printed as written. The modern equivalent is the press release boilerplate, or "boiler," a paragraph or two that describes the company and its products.
The word has also come into use for pre-created form letter
s on the Internet for things such as issues to be broached by a politician based on an issue ad, requesting a cable network
be added to a system by a cable or satellite operator, or a pre-written complaint about something such as a program, book, or video game opposed by a group which created the letter, along with online petitions. Usually the greeting and the body of the letter have been pre-written, requiring the person requesting the action to only type or sign his name at the end.
A related term is bookkeeping code, referring to code that is not part of the business logic but is interleaved with it in order to keep data structures updated or handle secondary aspects
of the program.
Standard form contract
A standard form contract is a contract between two parties where the terms and conditions of the contract are set by one of the parties, and the other party is placed in a "take it or leave it" position with little or no ability to negotiate terms more favorable to it.Examples of standard form...
is a standard provision in a contract
Contract
A contract is an agreement entered into by two parties or more with the intention of creating a legal obligation, which may have elements in writing. Contracts can be made orally. The remedy for breach of contract can be "damages" or compensation of money. In equity, the remedy can be specific...
.
Etymology
The term dates back to the early 1900s, referring to the thick, tough steel sheets used to build steam boilerBoiler
A boiler is a closed vessel in which water or other fluid is heated. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications.-Materials:...
s. From the 1890s onwards, printing plates of text for widespread reproduction such as advertisements or syndicated columns were cast or stamped in steel (instead of the much softer and less durable lead alloys used otherwise) ready for the printing press
Printing press
A printing press is a device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium , thereby transferring the ink...
and distributed to newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
s around the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. They came to be known as 'boilerplates'. Until the 1950s, thousands of newspapers received and used this kind of boilerplate from the nation's largest supplier, the Western Newspaper Union.
Some companies also sent out press releases as boilerplate so that they had to be printed as written. The modern equivalent is the press release boilerplate, or "boiler," a paragraph or two that describes the company and its products.
Boilerplate language
The term "boilerplate" has been adopted by lawyers to describe those parts of a contract that are considered "standard language".The word has also come into use for pre-created form letter
Form letter
A form letter is a letter written from a template, rather than being specially composed for a specific recipient. The most general kind of form letter consists of one or more regions of boilerplate text interspersed with one or more substitution placeholders.Although form letters are generally...
s on the Internet for things such as issues to be broached by a politician based on an issue ad, requesting a cable network
Cable network
A cable channel is a television channel available via cable television. Such channels are usually also available via satellite television, including direct broadcast satellite providers such as DirecTV, Dish Network and BSkyB...
be added to a system by a cable or satellite operator, or a pre-written complaint about something such as a program, book, or video game opposed by a group which created the letter, along with online petitions. Usually the greeting and the body of the letter have been pre-written, requiring the person requesting the action to only type or sign his name at the end.
Boilerplate code
In computer programming, boilerplate is the term used to describe sections of code that have to be included in many places with little or no alteration. It is more often used when referring to languages which are considered verbose, i.e. the programmer must write a lot of code to do minimal jobs. The need for boilerplate can be reduced through high-level mechanisms.A related term is bookkeeping code, referring to code that is not part of the business logic but is interleaved with it in order to keep data structures updated or handle secondary aspects
Aspect (computer science)
In computer science, an aspect of a program is a feature linked to many other parts of the program, but which is not related to the program's primary function. An aspect crosscuts the program's core concerns, therefore violating its separation of concerns that tries to encapsulate unrelated functions...
of the program.
See also
- Library (computer science)Library (computer science)In computer science, a library is a collection of resources used to develop software. These may include pre-written code and subroutines, classes, values or type specifications....
- TranspromotionalTranspromotionalTranspromo is a compound expression formed from the words "transaction" and "promotional". By adding relevant messages, companies can piggyback promotion or even advertising onto existing transaction-related documents, such as statements, invoices, or bills...
- Template processorTemplate processorA template processor is software or a software component that is designed to combine one or moretemplates with a data model to produceone or more result documents...
s are used to generate boilerplate text automatically