Feature : (noun)
1: a prominent aspect of something; "the map showed roads and
other features"; "generosity is one of his best
characteristics" [syn: characteristic]
2: the characteristic parts of a person's face: eyes and nose
and mouth and chin; "an expression of pleasure crossed his
features"; "his lineaments were very regular" [syn: lineament]
3: the principal (full-length) film in a program at a movie
theater; "the feature tonight is `Casablanca'" [syn: feature
film]
4: a special or prominent article in a newspaper or magazine;
"they ran a feature on retirement planning" [syn: feature
article]
5: an article of merchandise that is displayed or advertised
more than other articles
(verb)
1: have as a feature; "This restaurant features the most famous
chefs in France" [syn: have] [ant: miss]
2: wear or display in an ostentatious or proud manner; "she was
sporting a new hat" [syn: sport, boast]
Based on WordNet 2.0
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Feature : \Fea"ture\ (?; 135), n. [OE. feture form, shape,
feature, OF. faiture fashion, make, fr. L. factura a making,
formation, fr. facere, factum, to make. See Feat, Fact,
and cf. Facture.]
1. The make, form, or outward appearance of a person; the
whole turn or style of the body; esp., good appearance.
What needeth it his feature to descrive? --Chaucer.
Cheated of feature by dissembling nature. --Shak.
2. The make, cast, or appearance of the human face, and
especially of any single part of the face; a lineament.
(pl.) The face, the countenance.
It is for homely features to keep home. --Milton.
3. The cast or structure of anything, or of any part of a
thing, as of a landscape, a picture, a treaty, or an
essay; any marked peculiarity or characteristic; as, one
of the features of the landscape.
And to her service bind each living creature Through
secret understanding of their feature. --Spenser.
4. A form; a shape. [R.]
So scented the grim feature, and upturned His
nostril wide into the murky air. --Milton.
Based on Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
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Feature :
1. A good property or behaviour (as of a program).
Whether it was intended or not is immaterial.
2. An intended property or behaviour (as of a program).
Whether it is good or not is immaterial (but if bad, it is
also a misfeature).
3. A surprising property or behaviour; in particular, one that
is purposely inconsistent because it works better that way -
such an inconsistency is therefore a feature and not a
bug. This kind of feature is sometimes called a miswart.
4. A property or behaviour that is gratuitous or unnecessary,
though perhaps also impressive or cute. For example, one
feature of Common LISP's "format" function is the ability to
print numbers in two different Roman-numeral formats (see
bells, whistles, and gongs).
5. A property or behaviour that was put in to help someone
else but that happens to be in your way.
6. A bug that has been documented. To call something a
feature sometimes means the author of the program did not
consider the particular case, and that the program responded
in a way that was unexpected but not strictly incorrect. A
standard joke is that a bug can be turned into a feature
simply by documenting it (then theoretically no one can
complain about it because it's in the manual), or even by
simply declaring it to be good. "That's not a bug, that's a
feature!" is a common catch-phrase. Apparently there is a
Volkswagen Beetle in San Francisco whose license plate reads
"FEATURE".
See also feetch feetch, creeping featurism, wart, green
lightning.
The relationship among bugs, features, misfeatures, warts and
miswarts might be clarified by the following hypothetical
exchange between two hackers on an airliner:
A: "This seat doesn't recline."
B: "That's not a bug, that's a feature. There is an emergency
exit door built around the window behind you, and the route
has to be kept clear."
A: "Oh. Then it's a misfeature; they should have increased
the spacing between rows here."
B: "Yes. But if they'd increased spacing in only one section
it would have been a wart - they would've had to make
nonstandard-length ceiling panels to fit over the displaced
seats."
A: "A miswart, actually. If they increased spacing throughout
they'd lose several rows and a chunk out of the profit margin.
So unequal spacing would actually be the Right Thing."
B: "Indeed."
"Undocumented feature" is a common euphemism for a bug.
7. An attribute or function of a class in Eiffel.
[{Jargon File]
(1995-10-22)
Based on the Online Dictionary of Computing [Computer_Dictionary]:
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Feature : n. 1. [common] A good property or behavior (as of a program).
Whether it was intended or not is immaterial. 2. [common] An intended
property or behavior (as of a program). Whether it is good or not is
immaterial (but if bad, it is also a misfeature). 3. A surprising
property or behavior; in particular, one that is purposely inconsistent
because it works better that way -- such an inconsistency is therefore a
feature and not a bug. This kind of feature is sometimes called a
miswart; see that entry for a classic example. 4. A property or
behavior that is gratuitous or unnecessary, though perhaps also
impressive or cute. For example, one feature of Common LISP's `format'
function is the ability to print numbers in two different Roman-numeral
formats (see bells whistles and gongs). 5. A property or behavior that
was put in to help someone else but that happens to be in your way. 6.
[common] A bug that has been documented. To call something a feature
sometimes means the author of the program did not consider the
particular case, and that the program responded in a way that was
unexpected but not strictly incorrect. A standard joke is that a bug can
be turned into a feature simply by documenting it (then theoretically
no one can complain about it because it's in the manual), or even by
simply declaring it to be good. "That's not a bug, that's a feature!" is
a common catchphrase. See also feetch feetch, creeping featurism,
wart, green lightning.
The relationship among bugs, features, misfeatures, warts, and
miswarts might be clarified by the following hypothetical exchange
between two hackers on an airliner:
A: "This seat doesn't recline."
B: "That's not a bug, that's a feature. There is an emergency exit
door built around the window behind you, and the route has to be kept
clear."
A: "Oh. Then it's a misfeature; they should have increased the spacing
between rows here."
B: "Yes. But if they'd increased spacing in only one section it would
have been a wart -- they would've had to make nonstandard-length ceiling
panels to fit over the displaced seats."
A: "A miswart, actually. If they increased spacing throughout they'd
lose several rows and a chunk out of the profit margin. So unequal
spacing would actually be the Right Thing."
B: "Indeed."
`Undocumented feature' is a common, allegedly humorous euphemism for a
bug. There's a related joke that is sometimes referred to as the
"one-question geek test". You say to someone "I saw a Volkswagen Beetle
today with a vanity license plate that read FEATURE". If he/she laughs,
he/she is a geek.
Based on the Online Dictionary of Computing [Computer_Dictionary]:
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