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banana problem: n. [from the story of the little girl who said “I know how to
spell ‘banana’, but I don't know when to stop”]. Not
knowing where or when to bring a production to a close (compare
fencepost error). One may say there is a banana problem of an algorithm with
poorly defined or incorrect termination conditions, or in discussing the
evolution of a design that may be succumbing to featuritis (see also
creeping elegance,
creeping featuritis).
See item 176 under HAKMEM,
which describes a banana problem in a
Dissociated Press implementation.
Also, see one-banana problem
for a superficially similar but unrelated usage.
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