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How do you understand "flexible software" term?

 
Leverager of our synergies
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I was thinking that Russian translation for the word "flexible" in this setting is confusing, because the word has narrower semantic field. It means you can twist something without breaking, and now when this adjective is applied to software, it doesn't make sense. The whole point of "being flexible" is that there is a continuous and unlimited number of states its referent can be in, and software has a limited set of states. Even if it could, would it be good? I somehow got an impression software in a twisted state isn't so good really. Perhaps because there aren't many things around us that we can twist without reducing quality and there are not reasons to do so. "Flexible software" in its Russian variant is a bad metaphor that doesn't work.
But when I checked the dictionary for English "flexible":
flexible, elastic, resilient, springy, supple. These adjectives refer literally to what is capable of withstanding stress without injury and figuratively to what can undergo change or modification. Something that is flexible can be bent, twisted, or turned (flexible wire); the word can also refer to adaptability to change or the need for change (a flexible administrator; flexible plans).
Pretty close to the Russian word. So perhaps "flexible software" isn't too good a metaphor in English either?
My next hypothesis was that English-speaking programmers understand what "flexibility of software" means, because the term is used often, they met it many times and know from context what it refers to. But this hypothesis needs to be checked. Maybe English-speaking programmers are confused as much as Russian, after all
So what do you think about when you hear about "flexible software"? For example, in this context:
"Many systems I've encountered have actually become less flexible and even slower because of ill conceived initial complexity."
Do you know exactly what it means, or you just got used to the word and need to think about its meaning when asked?
 
Wanderer
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Our use of "flexible" derives from the same original meaning as the one you describe in Russian, I think. But we started applying the concept to other situations, well before software was an issue. E.g. a person can be flexible, meaning that they can adapt their behaviour and attitudes away from the original intent, in response to new stimuli. Don't get distracted by the finite number of states issue - that's just a digital/analog conversion issue. To some extent you could substitute "versatile" for "flexible", though the connotation is slightly different. Versatility sounds more like something was always able to behave or be used in different ways; often completely different ways; flexibility sounds more like the behavior can adjust as necessary, outside of what was originally expected or designed. But the difference is minor - if you can find a nice Russian synonym for "versatile", use it.
 
Mapraputa Is
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Our use of "flexible" derives from the same original meaning as the one you describe in Russian, I think. But we started applying the concept to other situations, well before software was an issue.
Yes, it just occurred to me that the problem is not that Russian analog for "flexible" has narrow meaning, no, meaning-2 "what can undergo change or modification" is also here. (as in "flexible approach", for example). Perhaps ratio of meanings is different; there are more situations, where English "flexible" in meaning-2 can be used. That's why applying it to software is more natural for speakers of English than for speakers of Russian. I would love to see a list of word-combinations for both languages to compare...
When I am reading about "flexible application frameworks" in Russian, I feel like Alice in wonderland. The second meaning doesn't naturally come to my mind. Maybe it's only me
if you can find a nice Russian synonym for "versatile", use it.
There should be consistency, the same things should have the same labels. The term for "flexible" was already adopted, it seems.
Oh my. I just made a search of how "flexibility of software" term is used in Russian, and it is a very um... flexible term :roll:
1. New modules can be added (isn't it "extensibility")?
2. you can start form one computer and then run the same software of a network (scalability?)
3. Can be configured (adjustability?)
4. can be modified by a team of developers upon customer request (support?)
I can probably forget about consistency...
But anyway, what I was thinking about is closer to "degrees of freedom", not sure if it's much better.
 
whippersnapper
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lovkoe obespechenie
provornoe obespechenie
Maybe those are getting a bit too close to "agile."
More fancifully:
programmnoe obespechenoe -- legkoe na pod'em
programma-vyruchka
(Is obespechenie good for "software"? I was getting into computing as I was getting out of Russian, so I have some vocabulary gaps there.)
 
Mapraputa Is
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Maybe those are getting a bit too close to "agile."
You will laugh, but "agile" was translated into the same word as "flexible" :roll:
Is obespechenie good for "software"?
It is programnoe obespechenie (often abbreviated as PO) and in informal conversations just [i]programma[i]
lovkoe obespechenie
provornoe obespechenie

Yet none of variants would be read as Jim intended:
"the behavior can adjust as necessary, outside of what was originally expected or designed"
if there is no word with this meaning, it must be invented! Because it's too important quality.
Maybe something like "sposobnost' k rostu" (capacity for growth).
[ May 08, 2003: Message edited by: Mapraputa Is ]
 
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adaptability to change or the need for change


for example, a program that can provide the sum of any number of integers is more flexible than one that can only provide the sum of two integers. one that can handle any number of integers or floating point is even more flexible.
perhaps a better example. a word processor that can handle 10 different file types is more flexible than one that only recognizes one type.
one of the things that makes Engish a difficult language is how one word can have many meaning...an example is the word "saw" a noun or a verb? and even if you are told it is a verb, you still don't know what it means. "i saw a man saw a log in half with a big saw."...it depends entirely on the context.
[ May 08, 2003: Message edited by: Randall Twede ]
 
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In german the word has the same meaning as reported by Jim.
I thought. Maybe they haven't used it in east germany. Because we were allways told that problem of communism is unflexibility. But no.
I've done some quick research.
In the GDR they used flexible like we do.
[ May 08, 2003: Message edited by: Axel Janssen ]
 
Randall Twede
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forget what i said before. that is versatile not flexible. here is example about flexible.
say you write a payroll program that uses minimum wage of 6.5 dollars and in 100 places you write 6.5
then say the minimum wage changes to 7.0 dollars. you would have to change 100 lines of code. not flexible.
if you had used a global constant you would only have to change one line. flexible
 
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