critical mass
In physics, the minimum amount of fissionable material required to sustain a
chain reaction. Of a software product, describes a condition of the software
such that fixing one bug introduces one plus epsilon bugs. (This malady has many
causes: creeping featurism, ports to too many disparate environments, poor
initial design, etc.) When software achieves critical mass, it can never be
fixed; it can only be discarded and rewritten.
[Jargon File]
(1994-12-23)
Nearby terms:
CRISP « crisp « Crispy Critters « critical mass
» critical section » CRL » CRLF
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