JargonFile/entries/elephantine.txt
2014-07-26 08:53:53 +01:00

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elephantine
adj. Used of programs or systems that are both conspicuous hogs (owing
perhaps to poor design founded on brute force and ignorance ) and
exceedingly hairy in source form. An elephantine program may be functional
and even friendly, but (as in the old joke about being in bed with an
elephant) it's tough to have around all the same (and, like a pachyderm,
difficult to maintain). In extreme cases, hackers have been known to make
trumpeting sounds or perform expressive proboscatory mime at the mention of
the offending program. Usage: semi-humorous. Compare has the elephant nature
and the somewhat more pejorative monstrosity. See also second-system effect
and baroque.