Hand coding


In computing, hand coding means editing the underlying representation of a document or a computer program, when tools that allow working on a higher level representation also exist. Typically this means editing the source code, or the textual representation of a document or program, instead of using a WYSIWYG editor that always displays an approximation of the final product. It may also mean translating the whole or parts of the source code into machine language manually instead of using a compiler or an automatic translator.
Most commonly, it refers to directly writing HTML documents for the web, or to writing a program or portion of a program in assembly language rather than in a higher level language. It can also include other markup languages, such as wikitext.

Purpose

The reasons to use hand coding include the ability to:
Hand coding may require more expertise and time than using automatic tools.

Hand Code

Hand code is source code which does not have tools that can edit it at a more abstract level. Hand code must, by definition, be edited and maintained entirely by hand. Some code can be edited either using an editor/IDE or by hand, but hand code is differentiated from derived code in that it requires human involvement to create and maintain it over time. Projects may include both hand code and derivative code.
The automatic tools responsible for creating derivative code are themselves usually made up entirely, or at least in part, of hand code.