Up:[430]= A =

airplane rule n.

"Complexity increases the possibility of failure; a twin-engine
airplane has twice as many engine problems as a single-engine
airplane." By analogy, in both software and electronics, the rule that
simplicity increases robustness. It is correspondingly argued that the
right way to build reliable systems is to put all your eggs in one
basket, after making sure that you've built a really good basket. See
also [431]KISS Principle, [432]elegant.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:Alderson loop, Next:[433]aliasing bug, Previous:[434]airplane
rule, Up:[435]= A =

Alderson loop n.

[Intel] A special version of an [436]infinite loop where there is an
exit condition available, but inaccessible in the current
implementation of the code. Typically this is created while debugging
user interface code. An example would be when there is a menu stating,
"Select 1-3 or 9 to quit" and 9 is not allowed by the function that
takes the selection from the user.

This term received its name from a programmer who had coded a modal
message box in MSAccess with no Ok or Cancel buttons, thereby
disabling the entire program whenever the box came up. The message box
had the proper code for dismissal and even was set up so that when the
non-existent Ok button was pressed the proper code would be called.