Perl-expert Brian Foy explains what “Chuck Norris”-ing code means:
Sometimes when merlyn or I consult on Perl projects, it turns out that the client expects a magic wand. Somehow, because we have our names on books or speak at conferences, when we load code into an editor, that alone should magically fix things while at the same time not changing any code or any part of the process. Randal has started calling this “chuck norris”-ing the code.
He suggests these additional Chuck Norris Facts:
- The system works because Chuck Norris tells it to work
- Chuck Norris doesn’t need a test suite. The test suite needs Chuck Norris.
- CPUs run faster to get away from Chuck Norris
- Chuck Norris normalizes all schema just by inserting random data
- Chuck Norris can compile syntax errors
- Packets travel faster than the speed of light for Chuck Norris, but he can still catch them
- Chuck Norris has Internet 3
- Check Norris can parse invalid XML
- Chuck Norris can break Moore’s Law
- Chuck Norris’s brain is his revision control, and it works better than git
- Chuck Norris can fix everything without changing anything.
The lesson here goes well beyond software projects.