For a specified transcription unit, the coding strand is the DNA strand matching the initial RNA product in the direction, with T in place of U. The opposite DNA strand is the template. The name does not imply that every transcribed gene encodes a protein. See Clark, Douglas and Choi: coding and template strands.
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The term "coding strand" refers to one of the two strands of DNA that contains the genetic information which is used as a template for RNA synthesis during the process of transcription.