one-banana problem n.
At mainframe shops, where the
computers have operators for routine administrivia, the programmers
and hardware people tend to look down on the operators and claim
that a trained monkey could do their job. It is frequently
observed that the incentives that would be offered said monkeys can
be used as a scale to describe the difficulty of a task. A
one-banana problem is simple; hence, "It's only a one-banana job
at the most; what's taking them so long?"
At IBM, folklore divides the world into one-, two-, and
three-banana problems. Other cultures have different hierarchies
and may divide them more finely; at ICL, for example, five grapes
(a bunch) equals a banana. Their upper limit for the in-house
sysapes is said to be two bananas and three grapes (another
source claims it's three bananas and one grape, but observes
"However, this is subject to local variations, cosmic rays and
ISO"). At a complication level any higher than that, one asks the
manufacturers to send someone around to check things.
See also Infinite-Monkey Theorem.
At mainframe shops, where the
computers have operators for routine administrivia, the programmers
and hardware people tend to look down on the operators and claim
that a trained monkey could do their job. It is frequently
observed that the incentives that would be offered said monkeys can
be used as a scale to describe the difficulty of a task. A
one-banana problem is simple; hence, "It's only a one-banana job
at the most; what's taking them so long?"
At IBM, folklore divides the world into one-, two-, and
three-banana problems. Other cultures have different hierarchies
and may divide them more finely; at ICL, for example, five grapes
(a bunch) equals a banana. Their upper limit for the in-house
sysapes is said to be two bananas and three grapes (another
source claims it's three bananas and one grape, but observes
"However, this is subject to local variations, cosmic rays and
ISO"). At a complication level any higher than that, one asks the
manufacturers to send someone around to check things.
See also Infinite-Monkey Theorem.
Related:
- one-banana problem: n. At mainframe shops, where the computers
have operators for routine administrivia,
the programmers and hardware people tend to look... - Infinite-Monkey Theorem n.
"If you put an infinite
number of monkeys at typewriters,
eventually one will bash out the script for Hamlet... - 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... - 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... - Infinite-Monkey Theorem: n. "If you put an {infinite} number
of monkeys at typewriters,
eventually one will bash out the script for Hamlet... - bug n.
An unwanted and unintended property of a program or
piece of hardware,
esp. one that causes it to malfunction. Antonym... - A rope lying over the top of a fence is the same length on each side.
It weighs one third of a pound per foot. On one end... - HAKMEM /hak'mem/ n.
MIT AI Memo 239 (February 1972).
A legendary collection of neat mathematical and... - tape monkey n.
A junior system administrator, one who
might plausibly be assigned to do physical swapping of tapes and
subsequent storage.
When a backup needs to be restored, one might holler...
