2014-04-26 10:52:28 -04:00
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feature
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2014-04-26 11:54:15 -04:00
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n. 1. [common] A good property or behavior (as of a program). Whether it was
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intended or not is immaterial. 2. [common] An intended property or behavior
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(as of a program). Whether it is good or not is immaterial (but if bad, it
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is also a misfeature ). 3. A surprising property or behavior; in particular,
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one that is purposely inconsistent because it works better that way such an
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inconsistency is therefore a feature and not a bug. This kind of feature is
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sometimes called a miswart ; see that entry for a classic example. 4. A
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property or behavior that is gratuitous or unnecessary, though perhaps also
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impressive or cute. For example, one feature of Common LISP's format
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function is the ability to print numbers in two different Roman-numeral
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formats (see bells whistles and gongs ). 5. A property or behavior that was
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put in to help someone else but that happens to be in your way. 6. [common]
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A bug that has been documented. To call something a feature sometimes means
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the author of the program did not consider the particular case, and that the
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program responded in a way that was unexpected but not strictly incorrect. A
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standard joke is that a bug can be turned into a feature simply by
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documenting it (then theoretically no one can complain about it because it's
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in the manual), or even by simply declaring it to be good. That's not a bug,
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that's a feature! is a common catchphrase. See also feetch feetch , creeping
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featurism , wart , green lightning. The relationship among bugs, features,
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misfeatures, warts, and miswarts might be clarified by the following
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hypothetical exchange between two hackers on an airliner: A: This seat
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doesn't recline. B: That's not a bug, that's a feature. There is an
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emergency exit door built around the window behind you, and the route has to
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be kept clear. A: Oh. Then it's a misfeature; they should have increased the
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spacing between rows here. B: Yes. But if they'd increased spacing in only
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one section it would have been a wart they would've had to make
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nonstandard-length ceiling panels to fit over the displaced seats. A: A
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miswart, actually. If they increased spacing throughout they'd lose several
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rows and a chunk out of the profit margin. So unequal spacing would actually
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be the Right Thing. B: Indeed. Undocumented feature is a common, allegedly
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humorous euphemism for a bug. There's a related joke that is sometimes
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referred to as the one-question geek test. You say to someone I saw a
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Volkswagen Beetle today with a vanity license plate that read FEATURE. If
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he/she laughs, he/she is a geek.
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