No-op is computer jargon for "no operation". It comes from CPUs having instructions (or commands) that do effectively nothing. Programming languages sometimes u

No-op is computer jargon for "no operation". It comes from CPUs having instructions (or commands) that do effectively nothing. Programming languages sometimes use the no-op term for functions (or procedures) that are placeholders that do nothing. These placeholder functions can be replaced later and perform some action. TL;DR: A "no-op" is something that does nothing, or as used by the parent, a paper that doesn't contribute anything.