What do you call a function that serves no purpose?

Consider a scenario where you have a function defined as:

function FunctionT(){
//do something
}

When describing this function, would you classify it as empty, undefined, or can either term be used interchangeably? Is there a specific designation for this type of function?

Answer №1

What is a "noop" or a "null function"?

const noop = () => {}

In the realm of computer science, a NOP (No Operation) or NOOP (No Operation Performed) refers to a command that essentially does nothing.

Similarly, in computer science, a null function (also known as a null operator) is a subroutine that doesn't return any data values and maintains the program's current state.

Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NOP, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Null_function

Answer №2

When I develop functions like this, I refer to them as "sentinel functions," resembling identity functions where the return value is either ignored or defaults to a specific value (though not the actual identity); these functions should have no side effects.


The term "sentinel function" may not be widely used, but I see their purpose aligning with that of sentinel values. (It could be argued that in JavaScript, a function is a value and thus a "sentinel function" can also be seen as a sentinel value.)

A similar technique, applied in slightly different contexts, involves placing a specific value at the end of data to eliminate the need for an explicit termination check in certain processing loops; this value triggers termination based on other existing conditions.

If we were to rephrase this concept for a "sentinel function":

In a slightly altered scenario, one might utilize an empty function as a sentinel function to remove the necessity of explicitly checking for a function-object when calling upon a function expression, since the sentinel function-object can be executed.

For example:

function doStuff(data, callback) {
   callback = callback || function(){};
   callback(compute(data));
}

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