Inline
<programming> (Or "unfold") To replace a
function call with an instance of the function's body.
Actual argument expressions are substituted for formal parameters as in
beta reduction.
Inlining is usually done as a compile-time transformation.
If done recklessly (e.g. attempting to inline a
recursive function) the
compiler will fail to terminate.
If done over-enthusiastically the code size may increase exponentially, e.g. if function f calls g twice, and g calls h twice and h is inlined in g which is inlined in f (in either order) then there will be four copies of h's body in f.
See also
linear argument,
unfold/fold.
