Workaround Workaround

Workaround - Definition and Overview

A workaround is a bypass of a recognized problem in a system. A workaround is typically a temporary fix that implies that a genuine solution to the problem is needed. Frequently workarounds are as creative as true solutions, involving out-of-the-box thinking in their creation.

A workaround is not a permanent solution. Typically they are considered brittle in that they will not respond well to further pressure from a system beyond the original design. In implementing a workaround it is important to flag the change so as to later implement a proper solution.

Placing pressure on a workaround may result in later failures in the system. For example, in computer programming workarounds are often used to address a problem in a library, such as an incorrect return value. When the library is changed, the workaround may break the overall program functionality, since it may expect the older, wrong behaviour from the library.

See also

Example Usage of Workaround

emcconne_reads: Are dynamic languages just a temporary Workaround?: This can unleash so much hate mail, but here it goes, my in.. http://tinyurl.com/yjocaqw
Gregory_7888: The Workaround experiments give an UPPER LIMIT on the variability of a trait IN A POPULATION th http://ow.ly/FAST
Oxagile: Are dynamic languages just a temporary Workaround? http://bit.ly/8JcBwD
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