brittle

jargon Said of software that is functional but easily

broken by changes in operating environment or configuration,

or by any minor tweak to the software itself. Also, any

system that responds inappropriately and disastrously to

abnormal but expected external stimuli; e.g. a file system

that is usually totally scrambled by a power failure is said

to be brittle. This term is often used to describe the

results of a research effort that were never intended to be

robust, but it can be applied to commercially developed

software, which displays the quality far more often than it

ought to.

Opposite of robust.

[Jargon File]

(1995-05-09)