Problems With Software
The term "bit rot" is often used to refer to dormant code rot, i.e. the fact that dormant (unused or little-used) code gradually decays in correctness as a result of interface changes in active code that is called from the dormant code.
A program may run correctly for years with no problem, then malfunction for no apparent reason. Programmers often jokingly attribute the failure to bit rot. Such an effect may be due to a memory leak or other non-obvious software bugs. Often, although there is no obvious change in the program's operating environment, a subtle difference has occurred that is triggering a latent software error. The error in the software may also originate by human operation which allows the construction or derivation of false-positive behavior to occur within the code. Many if not all operating systems tend to lose stability when left running for long periods, which is why they must be restarted occasionally to remove resident errors that have built up due to software errors.
The term is also used to describe the slowing of performance of a PC over time from continued use. One cause of this is installing software or software components that run when the user logs in, causing a noticeable delay in boot time. Also, the addition of programs and data on the computer can make operations and searching slower, and sometimes when programs are uninstalled they aren't removed completely. Additionally, fragmentation can slow performance. Normally, unused data (such as a text file containing some notes) does not impede performance of a PC (with the exception of software that, for example, indexes files on a disk to make file searching faster).
Read more about this topic: Bit Rot
Famous quotes containing the words problems with and/or problems:
“In many ways, life becomes simpler [for young adults]. . . . We are expected to solve only a finite number of problems within a limited range of possible solutions. . . . It’s a mental vacation compared with figuring out who we are, what we believe, what we’re going to do with our talents, how we’re going to solve the social problems of the globe . . .and what the perfect way to raise our children will be.”
—Roger Gould (20th century)
“As our disorderly, competitive technological society is piling up its victims and constantly developing new problems of maladjustment, we must use our scientific knowledge to determine the cause and prevention of suffering rather than putting all our emphasis on its alleviation ...”
—Agnes E. Meyer (1887–1970)