Garbage In, Garbage Out
<humour> (GIGO) /gi:'goh/ Wilf Hey's maxim expressing the fact that
computers, unlike humans, will unquestioningly process nonsensical input data
and produce nonsensical output. Of course a properly written program will reject
input data that is obviously erroneous but such checking is not always easy to
specify and is tedious to write.
GIGO is usually said in response to lusers who complain that a program didn't
"do the right thing" when given imperfect input or otherwise mistreated in some
way. Also commonly used to describe failures in human decision making due to
faulty, incomplete, or imprecise data.
The expansion "Garbage In, Gospel Out" is an ironic comment on the tendency to
put excessive trust in "computerised" data.
[Jargon File]
(2004-10-03)
Nearby terms:
garbageabetical order « garbage collect « garbage collection
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