Stovepipe system
Encyclopedia
In engineering
and computing
, a stovepipe system is a system
that is an assemblage of inter-related elements that are so tightly bound together that the individual elements cannot be differentiated, upgraded or refactored. The stovepipe system must be maintained until it can be entirely replaced by a new system
. Therefore, over time a stovepipe system typically also becomes a legacy system
.
Examples of stovepipe systems:
The term is also used to describe a system that does not interoperate with other
systems, presuming instead that it is the only extant system.
A stovepipe system is an example of an anti-pattern
legacy system
and demonstrates software brittleness
.
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
and computing
Computing
Computing is usually defined as the activity of using and improving computer hardware and software. It is the computer-specific part of information technology...
, a stovepipe system is a system
System
System is a set of interacting or interdependent components forming an integrated whole....
that is an assemblage of inter-related elements that are so tightly bound together that the individual elements cannot be differentiated, upgraded or refactored. The stovepipe system must be maintained until it can be entirely replaced by a new system
System
System is a set of interacting or interdependent components forming an integrated whole....
. Therefore, over time a stovepipe system typically also becomes a legacy system
Legacy system
A legacy system is an old method, technology, computer system, or application program that continues to be used, typically because it still functions for the users' needs, even though newer technology or more efficient methods of performing a task are now available...
.
Examples of stovepipe systems:
- Systems for which new hardware is no longer available.
- Systems whose original source codeSource codeIn computer science, source code is text written using the format and syntax of the programming language that it is being written in. Such a language is specially designed to facilitate the work of computer programmers, who specify the actions to be performed by a computer mostly by writing source...
has been lost. - Systems that were built using old or ad hocAd hocAd hoc is a Latin phrase meaning "for this". It generally signifies a solution designed for a specific problem or task, non-generalizable, and not intended to be able to be adapted to other purposes. Compare A priori....
engineering methodologies for which support can no longer be found.
The term is also used to describe a system that does not interoperate with other
systems, presuming instead that it is the only extant system.
A stovepipe system is an example of an anti-pattern
Anti-pattern
In software engineering, an anti-pattern is a pattern that may be commonly used but is ineffective and/or counterproductive in practice.The term was coined in 1995 by Andrew Koenig,...
legacy system
Legacy system
A legacy system is an old method, technology, computer system, or application program that continues to be used, typically because it still functions for the users' needs, even though newer technology or more efficient methods of performing a task are now available...
and demonstrates software brittleness
Software brittleness
In computer programming and software engineering, the term software brittleness refers to the increased difficulty in fixing older software that may appear reliable, but fails badly when presented with unusual data or altered in a seemingly minor way...
.