Noun
premature optimization (countable and uncountable, plural premature optimizations)
(programming) The act of wasting resources on optimising source code that does not represent a significant bottleneck.
Premature optimization is the root of all evil. Donald Knuth
Premature optimization is the root of all evil in programming. C. A. R. Hoare
The real problem is that programmers have spent far too much time worrying about efficiency in the wrong places and at the wrong times; premature optimization is the root of all evil (or at least most of it) in programming. Donald Knuth