legacy system
<jargon> A computer system or application program which continues to be
used because of the cost of replacing or redesigning it and often despite its
poor competitiveness and compatibility with modern equivalents. The implication
is that the system is large, monolithic and difficult to modify.
If legacy software only runs on antiquated hardware the cost of maintaining this
may eventually outweigh the cost of replacing both the software and hardware
unless some form of emulation or backward compatibility allows the software to
run on new hardware.
(1998-08-09)
Nearby terms:
LeFun « legacy code « legacy software « legacy
system
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