boilerplate Etymology, origin and meaning of boilerplate by etymonline

It comes from OOP and hybrid languages that have become OOP and were before procedual have now the same goal to keep repeating the code you build with a model/template/class/object hence why they adapt this term. You make a template and the only things you do for each instance of a template are the parameters to individualize an object this part is what we call boilerplate. You simply re-use the code you made a template of, just with different parameters. Companies don’t have to waste resources drafting up new documents or contracts. Similarly, IT professionals can make a few alterations to existing code to create new text and documents online. In contemporary times, the term boilerplate is widely applied to a variety of settings.

It rather depends on the branding materials and all of those things that can offer a quick glance into their products and services. Same is the case with Tervis Tumbler company that is hugely renowned in the market for offering official licensed collections made with popular entertainment brands. Kevin Miller is a growth marketer with an extensive background in Search Engine Optimization, paid acquisition and email marketing. He studied at Georgetown University, worked at Google and became infatuated with English Grammar and for years has been diving into the language, demystifying the do’s and don’ts for all who share the same passion!

Boilerplate Language in the Modern World

Plate-glass for a superior kind of thick glass used for mirrors, shop-windows, etc., is recorded from 1729. It’s code that can be used by many applications/contexts with little or no change. The first line is a shebang, which identifies the file as a Perl script that can be executed directly on the command line on Unix/Linux systems. The other two are pragmas turning on warnings and strict mode, which are mandated by fashionable Perl programming style.

  • Many writers think that boilerplates can be written without following any particular format.
  • Let’s first start from the basics understanding the core importance of writing a boilerplate.
  • Not only that, but it should be good enough to attract users, so that they can quickly get converted towards the services.

Boilerplates are a big part of the corporate and information technology sectors. These tools help save time and money, allowing text and documents to be created for use over and over again. For instance, the fine print or boilerplate clause is found on legal contracts while boilerplates are standard messages found in press releases. While they do serve a purpose, it’s important to remember that you shouldn’t skim over these sections if you ever come across them.

Printers apparently dubbed those syndicated plates “boiler plates” because of their resemblance to the plating used in making steam boilers. Soon boilerplate came to refer to the printed material on the plates as well as to the plates themselves. Because boilerplate stories were more often filler than hard news, the word acquired negative connotations and gained another sense widely used today, such as “hackneyed or unoriginal writing.”

More from Merriam-Webster on boilerplate

Head on over to our website where you’ll discover a plethora of informative blogs, a number of helpful tools, tons of useful grammar tips, and more. In this article, we’re exploring the term boilerplate to uncover its definition, origin, usage, and more. The meaning “vessel for boiling” is from 1725; the specific sense of “strong metallic structure in which steam is generated for driving engines” is from 1757.

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This makes the official corporate communications strong, allowing them to covey their points effectively. In practical terms, boilerplate code is the stuff you cut-n-paste all over the place. It declared all the routine variables, the standard methods, exception handling framework — all a developer had to do was add the code specific to the message being handled. The term boilerplate refers to standardized text, copy, documents, methods, or procedures that may be used over again without making major changes to the original. A boilerplate is commonly used for efficiency and to increase standardization in the structure and language of written or digital documents.

British Dictionary definitions for boilerplate

Another example of a boilerplate is the fine print that appears on many contracts. This section is usually static, as is the case with many cell phone contracts. This indicates what fees, charges, and other rules that may apply to someone’s service. Original documents and the language are usually already vetted to ensure they are error-free, which means less headache in the future. This provides companies and individuals with protection from any legal problems that may arise from sloppy work. This prevents the possibility of inadvertent deviation from one contract or document to the next.

Our word of the day is a unit of writing that can be reused over and over without change. Although this is the most common use of the word boilerplate, we should note that it can also refer to steel rolled in large flat plates, often used in making steam boilers. To avoid getting into this confusion, it is recommended to first carefully understand the theme and context required for the boilerplate. Obviously, it would be a short and concise content, but still will require a clear analysis of words that is required in the content. If you will understand it preemptively, then it would become easier for you to write multiple types of boilerplate examples.

In these cases, companies rely on the fact that individuals will either skip or skim through these sections. Many beginners often do not have the knowledge about how to write an engaging content. A boilerplate is one of the glaring copywriting examples among them, as most of the budding individuals are not well versed with it. In this article, we will be discussing about the boilerplate template in detail. Let’s first start from the basics understanding the core importance of writing a boilerplate. That said, boilerplate is also a term commonly found in the computer world when describing various small entries of code that are used over a wide array of programs.

It utilizes those strong words that can compel customers towards the conversion, provided they are also interested in it. The trends and practices to market any business has changed greatly in the world. Today, businesses are opting for different types of marketing strategies to get better reach in the industry.

To further your overall understanding of the word boilerplate, let’s open up your handy-dandy thesaurus to review a few synonyms and antonyms. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. A related phenomenon, bookkeeping code, is code that is not part of the business logic, but is interleaved with it to keep data structures updated or able to handle secondary aspects of the program. Repeatable sections of code which just adds an unnecessary layer of typing to get the job done. Most of the boilerplate in this example exists to fulfill requirements of JavaBeans.

The reason is that boilerplates cannot be written in a conventional long-form manner. It is instead written in a concise fashion, so that people can quickly get an idea about the company. The legal profession began using the term boilerplate as early as the mid-1950s, kpmg spark review and ratings when an article in the Bedford Gazette criticized boilerplates because they often included fine print designed to skirt the law. Users can make slight changes to the language or certain portions of the text to tailor a document for different uses.

EContentSol is a USA-based content writing company offering resumes, articles, business
speeches, blogs, web copy, editing and proofreading, and more types of content writing services. If you are also one of them that is looking to know how to write a compelling boilerplate content, take a look at the handy tips given below. To truly understand the meaning of a word, it can be helpful to review multiple definitions from a few trusted sources. The word boilerplate can be used in information technology (IT) and legal agreements alike — but do you know what it means? Legal agreements, including software and hardware terms and conditions, make abundant use of boilerplates.

As such, boilerplate statements are commonly found in press releases, the About Us section on a corporate website, or in written communications. For instance, boilerplates are often used flatly across the board, as in the case of some fine print. In most cases, people don’t read the fine print and aren’t aware of conditions they must uphold, such as being bound to a contract. In computer programming, boilerplate code are the sections of the code that have to be included in many places without or with, little alterations. A considerable amount of code needs to be written by the programmer for minor functionality; this part of the code is called boilerplate.

Entries linking to boilerplate

Stack Exchange network consists of 183 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow, the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers. The person sending the form letter then usually only needs to add his or her name at the end of the pre-written greeting and body. “boilerplate code” is any seemingly repetitive code that shows up again and again in order to get some result that seems like it ought to be much simpler. 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. When a company is established in the market, it doesn’t need much help from any online or social media channel to promote the services.

Which provide the user with a basic structure of the text or document that can be changed to suit different needs. This checks, and sets up, a global flag to tell the compiler whether the file myinterface.h has already been included. As many interdepending files may be involved in the compilation of a module, this avoids processing the same header multiple times (which would lead to errors due to multiple definitions with the same name).