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 or when to bring a production to a close (compare fencepost error). One may say
`there is a banana problem' of an algorithm with poorly defined
or incorrect termination conditions, or in discussing the
evolution of a design that may be succumbing to featuritis (see
also creeping elegance,
creeping featuritis).
See item 176 under HAKMEM, which
describes a banana problem in a Dissociated Press implementation.
Also, see one-banana
problem for a superficially similar but unrelated
usage.