How does minification affect the functionality of source code?

Minification involves the process of removing all unnecessary characters from source code, such as whitespace, comments, and formatting, without altering its functionality. This means that while the code becomes more compact and harder to read for humans, it still performs the same operations when run. The goal of minification is often to reduce file size, which leads to faster load times and improved performance when the code is executed in web browsers or applications. By retaining the original logic and structure but eliminating extraneous elements, minification maintains the integrity of the code while optimizing it for delivery and execution. This characteristic is essential for web development, where efficient loading times and performance are critical for user experience.