[REBOL] imanXwin kludge
From: ptretter:charter at: 9-Aug-2002 7:34
val: "imanXwin kludge"
kludge:
In information technology, a kludge (pronounced KLOOdzh) is an awkward or clumsy (but
at least temporarily effective) solution to a programming or hardware design or implementation
problem. According to Eric Raymond, the term is indirectly derived from the German klug
meaning clever. Raymond considers "kludge" an incorrect spelling of kluge, a term of
the 1940s with the same general meaning and possibly inspired by the Kluge paper feeder,
a "fiendishly complex assortment of cams, belts, and linkages...devilishly difficult
to repair...but oh, so clever!"
A kludge originates because another, more elegant or appropriate solution is not currently
possible (perhaps because of time constraints). Hardware and software products are sometimes
the result of adding a new and basically incompatible design to the original design rather
than redesigning the product completely. What is a kludge can be a matter of opinion.
Users often have a different opinion than the designers, who understand the problems
that had to be overcome. To the extent that information technology products are combinations
of elements originating from a variety of design philosophies and constraints, almost
any product is bound to contain some element of kludginess.
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