Cortlandt writes:
> ROBUSTNESS. The degree to which a system or component can
> function correctly in the presence of invalid inputs or
> stressful environment conditions. See Also: error tolerance,
> fault tolerance.
>
> - IEEE Standard Glossary of Software Engineering Terminology
> Std 610.12 - 1990
>
> I looked for robust in the index of about a dozen books and
> references on software engineering, software quality, testing,
> and database systems. I was surprised by how few references
> I could find. The most common usage referred to how a module
> handled illegal inputs. I like the term but I didn't get any
> hits for "resiliency".
>
> This confusion over what "robust" means underlines for me the
> value of creditable and testable claims.
It's easy to understand why the IEEE dictionary would come to that
conclusion, but it's also easy to see why more than one editor on a
dictionary project is important :-).
As I said earlier, plain-spoken English, especially taking into account the
roots of the word in question, always takes precedence over technical jargon,
no matter how commonly people within the community of the art commonly
understand the word to be used.
From the Merriam-Webster dictionary that's on-line within AOL, the
definitions (pretty much as I earlier characterized them) are:
ROBUST:
=======================================
ro*bust (adjective)
[Latin robustus oaken, strong, from robor-, robur oak, strength]
First appeared 1549
1 a : having or exhibiting strength or vigorous health
b : having or showing vigor, strength, or firmness <a ~ debate> <a ~ faith>
c : strongly formed or constructed : STURDY <a ~ plastic>
2 : ROUGH, RUDE <stories ... laden with ~, down-home imagery --Playboy>
3 : requiring strength or vigor <~ work>
4 : FULL-BODIED <~ coffee>; also : HEARTY <a ~ dinner>
5 : relating to, resembling, or being any of the primitive, relatively
large, heavyset hominids (genus Australopithecus and esp. A. robustus and A.
boisei) characterized esp. by heavy molars and small incisors adapted to a
vegetarian diet -- compare GRACILE 3
synonym see HEALTHY
-- ro*bust*ly (adverb)
-- ro*bust*ness (noun)
=======================================
RESILIENT:
=======================================
re*sil*ient (adjective)
[Latin resilient-, resiliens, present participle of resilire to jump back,
recoil, from re- + salire to leap -- more at SALLY]
First appeared 1674
: characterized or marked by resilience: as
a : capable of withstanding shock without permanent deformation or rupture
b : tending to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change
synonym see ELASTIC
-- re*sil*ient*ly (adverb)
========================================
Wirt Atmar
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