Jump to content

Vanilla software

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by JorgePeixoto (talk | contribs) at 18:18, 20 October 2023 (Corrected Jargon File interpretation, and minor other fixes.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

In computer science, vanilla describes software, hardware or algorithms that have not been customized or modified from their original form.[1] The term "Vanilla software" has become a widespread de facto industry standard, widely used by businesses and individuals. The term comes from the traditional standard flavor of ice cream, vanilla.[2] According to Eric S. Raymond's The New Hacker's Dictionary, "vanilla" means more "ordinary", not "default".[3]

Examples of how to use "vanilla" in a sentence:

  • As one of the earliest examples, IBM's mainframe text publishing system BookMaster, provides a default way to specify which parts of a book to publish, called "vanilla", and a fancier way, called "mocha".[4]
  • The term "vanilla" is sometimes also used for hardware components. For instance, in the 1990s non-upgraded Amiga home computers were called "(plain) vanilla";[5] similarly, it was later also applied to PC parts.[6]
  • For Unix-based kernels, a "vanilla kernel" is a kernel that has been unmodified by any third-party source. For instance, the vanilla Linux kernel is often given a Linux distribution–specific "flavour" by being heavily modified.[7][8]
  • In his book End of Ignorance, Charles Winborne refers to a static page that is "only a text file, but one that links to accompanying files" as a plain-vanilla web page.[9]
  • Fans of the video game Minecraft usually refer to the game without mods as "vanilla".
  • JavaScript, when used without any libraries or third party plugins is referred to as "vanilla JavaScript".

See also

References

  1. ^ "What is vanilla?". techtarget.com. September 2005. Retrieved 2013-11-17.
  2. ^ Hilden, Katri; Robinson, Tim; Currie, Lee; Hutchinson, Emma (2006). Iced: 180 Very Cool Concoctions. Murdoch Books. p. 15. ISBN 978-1-74045-818-4. Retrieved 4 Apr 2013. Vanilla has become a synonymous with 'plain'- perhaps most vanilla ice cream is flavoured with fake vanilla extract
  3. ^ vanilla /adj./ "[from the default flavor of ice cream in the U.S.] Ordinary flavor, standard." from the Jargon File
  4. ^ Gary Richtmeyer (2002-05-01). "B2H User's Guide (HTML 3 version)". AT&T. Retrieved 2013-10-16. Conditional sections (.cs) and BookMaster's "vanilla" DVCF macros (.CONFIG and .WHEN) are supported, but not BookMaster's "mocha" DVCF macros (e.g. .USING, .INCLUDE).
  5. ^ EGS Spectrum 28: True Color Graphics for the Amiga
  6. ^ How to upgrade your color graphics card. from Compute's Getting Started with Power Computing (Buyers Guide) by Steven Anzovin
  7. ^ "Re: What is the vanilla kernel?". lkml.indiana.edu. 2005-10-10. Retrieved 2013-11-17.
  8. ^ "Ubuntu Kernel vs. Vanilla Kernel". ubuntuforums.org. October 2009. Retrieved 2013-11-17.
  9. ^ Winborne, Charle`s (2003). End of Ignorance. iUniverse. p. 150. ISBN 9780595277438. Retrieved 2015-05-21.