Re: Cruft
I've heard that term for years, often used in engineering circles to avoid more profane terms that mean the same thing. It deserves an actual technical definition, like 'CRUD'.
In the nuclear industry, CRUD is officially "Corrosion and wear byproducts in a nuclear reactor system that have become radioactive and are deposited and accumulated in related equipment". 'CRUD traps' are places where it accumulates the most, and they often get signs posted on them indicating the last measured radiation dosage rate. Some are so bad they get lead shielding wrapped around them so that you can spend more than 5 minutes nearby when working on stuff, without exceeding your radiation limits at any rate. But yeah it's the side effect of neutron-irradiating Iron 59 which turns it into Cobalt 60. CRUD.
I suppose CRUFT could officially become "any bloatware or overly implemented feature that can easily be eliminated without adversely affecting the usability or functionality of a software application."
Biting the hand that feeds IT
