ill-behaved

1. [numerical analysis] Said of an algorithm or

computational method that tends to blow up because of

accumulated roundoff error or poor convergence properties.

2. Software that bypasses the defined operating system

interfaces to do things (like screen, keyboard, and disk I/O)

itself, often in a way that depends on the hardware of the

machine it is running on or which is nonportable or

incompatible with other pieces of software.

In the IBM PC/mess-dos world, there is a folk theorem

(nearly true) to the effect that (owing to gross inadequacies

and performance penalties in the OS interface) all interesting

applications are ill-behaved.

See also bare metal. Opposite: well-behaved, compare

PC-ism.

[Jargon File]