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.
