Editing Workaround

{{for|the album|Workaround (album)}}
[[File:Miles Glacier Bridge, damage and kludge, 1984.jpg|thumb|right|Part of the [[Miles Glacier Bridge]], with a temporary repair after a [[1964 Alaska earthquake|1964 March earthquake]] which was finally repaired in July 2004]]

A '''workaround''' is a bypass<ref>{{cite web
|url=https://salesforce.stackexchange.com/questions/165287/workaround-bypass-on-3900-length-limit-on-formula-field
|title=Workaround/Bypass on 3900 length limit on formula field}}</ref> of a recognized problem or limitation in a system or policy.<ref>{{cite journal | author = Arif Wibisono, Ibrahim Alhassan, David Sammon, Ciara Heavin, Gaye Kiely, Erma Suryani| year = 2019| title = Understanding Theory of Workarounds in Practice | journal = Procedia Computer Science | volume = 161 | issue = 3| pages = 187–194 | doi=10.1016/j.procs.2019.11.114| doi-access = free}}</ref> A workaround is typically a temporary fix<ref>"[[Information technology|IT]]: a temporary method for dealing with a computer or software problem until a more permanent solution is found: One easy workaround is to ..."</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=work around - Definition |url=https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/work-around |website=Cambridge English Dictionary}}</ref> that implies that a genuine solution to the problem is needed. But workarounds are frequently as creative as true solutions, involving [[outside the box]] thinking<ref>"It requires that social workers think 'outside the box' - outside their normal frames of ...</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=ndigenous Social Work Around the World: Towards Culturally Relevant |url=https://books.google.com/books?isbn=0754648389  |isbn=978-0754648383 |author1=Mel Gray  |author2=John Coates  |author3=Michael Yellow Bird |date=2008| publisher=Ashgate Publishing }}</ref> in their creation.

Typically they are considered brittle<ref>{{cite web |title=Workaround [#1176558]  |website=Drupal.org |date=2 June 2011 |url=https://www.drupal.org/node/1176558}}</ref> in that they will not respond well to further pressure from a system beyond the original design. In implementing a workaround it is important to flag the change so as to later implement a proper solution.<ref>{{cite web |title=How to Fix the 'A [?]' Autocorrect Bug in iOS 11 When Typing 'i' |date=7 November 2017 |url=https://ios.gadgethacks.com/how-to/fix-a-autocorrect-bug-ios-11-when-typing-i-out-your-iphone-0181016}}</ref>

Placing pressure on a workaround may result in later system failures. For example, in [[computer programming]] workarounds are often used to address a problem or [[anti-pattern]] in a [[Library (computing)|library]], such as an incorrect [[return value]]. When the library is changed, the workaround may break the overall program functionality, effectively becoming an [[anti-pattern]], since it may expect the older, wrong behaviour from the library.

Workarounds can also be a useful source of ideas for improvement of products or services.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://theanthroguys.com/2009/09/17/can%E2%80%99t-you-just-ask-people/ |title=Can't You Just Ask People? |publisher=TheAnthroGuys |access-date=2014-08-08}}</ref>

== Legal workarounds ==

When the legal system places an obstacle in the form of a restriction or requirement, the law may provide a possible workaround. Laws intended to tap into what may seem to be deep pockets may lead to what are at least
temporary solutions such as:
* Since "most French workplace laws affect businesses with 50 or more employees... many French companies opt to employ only 49 people in avoidance of crippling legislations."<ref>{{cite book |title=Thinking Tech: Thoughts On the Key Technological Trends of Our Times |url=https://books.google.com/books?isbn=1483595900   |isbn=978-1483595900 |author=Anurag Harsh  |date=2017}}</ref>
* An injunction against [[Microsoft]] regarding XML features and an ''easy technical workaround'', a patent attorney suggested having two versions of MS Word, one with and one without the feature.<ref>{{cite web|title='Easy workaround' could solve Microsoft Word's legal woes, says expert|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/urnidgns852573c40069388000257612003e86b7/easy-workaround-could-solve-microsoft-words-legal-woes-says-expert-idUS265507465920090814 |website=reuters.com  |date=August 14, 2009}}</ref>

=== Acronyms ===

Some well-known acronyms were created to work around bureaucratic or contracting restrictions:
* [[Programmed Data Processor|PDP]] - The term was used to describe a computer by another name, due to contracting complications for purchasing or leasing computers.  The term PDP (Programmed Data Processor or Programmable Data Processor) was a workaround.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19860004398.pdf |title=VAS Demonstration  |website=nasa.gov|date=October 1985 |last1=Montgomery |first1=H. E. |last2=Uccellini |first2=L. W. }}</ref><ref>{{cite web  |website=harvard.edu|url=http://www.innovation.seas.harvard.edu/files/Disruptive_technology.ppt|title=New Market Disruption: The DEC Programmable Data Processor}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Computers in Analytical Chemistry |page=153 |url=https://books.google.com/books?isbn=1483285626  |isbn=978-1483285627 |author=R Belcher   |date=2013|publisher=Elsevier }} "The term PDP is an acronym for Programmable Data Processor ... the series was introduced by their manufacturer, Digital Equipment Corporation ..."</ref><ref name=DEC_Hist>{{cite web |url=https://digital.com/about/dec |title=The History of Digital Equipment Corporation}}</ref> The name "PDP" intentionally avoids the use of the term "computer".<ref>{{cite book|last1=Henderson |first1=edited by Rebecca M.|last2=Newell|first2=Richard G.|title=Accelerating energy innovation : insights from multiple sectors|date=2011 |publisher=University of Chicago Press|location=Chicago|isbn=978-0226326832|page=180}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Huang |first1=Han-Way|title=The atmel AVR microcontroller : MEGA and XMEGA in assembly and C|date=2014 |publisher=Delmar Cengage Learning|location=Australia ; United Kingdom|isbn=978-1133607298|page=4}}</ref> PDPs were aimed at a market that could not afford larger computers.
* [[GNU Project|GNU]] - '''G'''NU's '''N'''ot '''U'''NIX. As AT&T's prices for academic licensing and use of [[UNIX]] increased,<ref name=OLD>{{cite web |title=Old licenses and prices 
|url=https://www.bell-labs.com/usr/dmr/www/licenses.html}}</ref> new restrictions on maximum number of concurrent users and limitations on types of use<ref name=OLD/><ref>restricting " universities that wanted to use the system for their internal business (e.g. student registration) as distinct from teaching and research</ref> created a motivation for an alternative: a work-alike workaround. Among the better known ones are:
** [[Linux]]
** [[BSD]]
** [[System V]]
* [[Personal Sound Amplification Products|PSAP]]. By contrast with [[Hearing aid|hearing aids]], the sale of which is more regulated<ref>Since a licensed [[audiologist]] is required</ref><ref>{{cite news |newspaper=Wall Street Journal |author=Neil DiSarno |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/pros-and-cons-of-inexpensive-hearing-aids-called-psaps-1403470481 |title=Pros and Cons of Inexpensive Hearing Aids Called PSAPs|date=22 June 2014 }}</ref> and more expensive,<ref>{{cite web |author=Kochkin, Sergei, Ph.D. |url=http://www.betterhearing.org/pdfs/PSAP_study.pdf |title=MarkeTrak VIII: Utilization of PSAPs and Direct-Mail Hearing Aids by People with Hearing Impairment}}</ref> a '''P'''ersonal '''S'''ound '''A'''mplification '''P'''roduct (PSAP) is lower in price albeit more limited in capability.

== See also ==
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[Computer bug|Bug]]
* [[Coping skill]]
* [[Design around]], to design or invent an alternative to a patented invention that does not infringe the patent's claims
* [[Hack (computer science)|Hack]]
* [[Jury rig]]
* [[Kludge]]
* [[Planned obsolescence]]
* [[Preventive maintenance]]
* [[Program temporary fix|Program temporary fix (PTF)]]
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

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[[Category:Software quality]]
[[Category:Software maintenance]]