Editing 974: The General Problem
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==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
β | In this comic, [[Cueball]] asks a friend or relative to pass him the salt, a common request when dining with others. Usually it is expected that the person will simply pass the salt immediately; however, the offscreen person doesn't get back to him until 20 minutes later, when Cueball repeats his request. The friend explains that they're attempting to solve the general problem of passing ''any'' table condiment | + | In this comic, [[Cueball]] asks a friend or relative to pass him the salt, a common request when dining with others. Usually it is expected that the person will simply pass the salt immediately; however, the offscreen person doesn't get back to him until 20 minutes later, when Cueball repeats his request. The friend explains that they're attempting to solve the general problem of passing ''any'' table condiment, not just salt. |
This is a common mistake made in software development, wherein a developer tries to solve a problem far more general than the specific one they have been tasked to solve.{{Citation needed}} Sometimes, this foresight can be useful, if the developer has predicted use cases that later turn out to be needed; other times, it can lead to wasted time, or worse, overengineering, where a system is made more complex and fragile than it needed to be, instead of robustly solving a single, well-defined problem. | This is a common mistake made in software development, wherein a developer tries to solve a problem far more general than the specific one they have been tasked to solve.{{Citation needed}} Sometimes, this foresight can be useful, if the developer has predicted use cases that later turn out to be needed; other times, it can lead to wasted time, or worse, overengineering, where a system is made more complex and fragile than it needed to be, instead of robustly solving a single, well-defined problem. |