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    Calling it the 80/20 rule can cause confusion with the Pareto principle, which applies more broadly than just to programming. Maybe 90 and 10 are just convenient numbers that don't have this overlap in meaning. Commented Oct 25, 2016 at 9:58
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    It's an instance of the Pareto principal. Both pairs of numbers are equally arbitrary Commented Oct 25, 2016 at 10:00
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    There's a mathematical basis to the 80/20 split in the Pareto principle. They're not just some imaginary figures to represent "a lot" and "a little". Commented Oct 25, 2016 at 13:59
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    @Moyli - Yes, "There is a mathematical basis to the 80/20 split ...", but in the real world, it will never (OK, by coincidence, rarely) be exactly 80/20. Commented Oct 25, 2016 at 18:24
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    @trichoplax the pareto principle applies very well here. 20% of the causes (the code lines) causes 80% of the effects (the runtime) Commented Oct 25, 2016 at 19:21