banana problem: n. [from the story of the little girl who said
"I know how to spell `banana', but I don't know when to stop"]. Not
knowing where or when to bring a production to a close (compare
fencepost error). One may say `there is a banana problem' of an
algorithm with poorly defined or incorrect termination conditions,
or in discussing the evolution of a design that may be succumbing to
featuritis (see also creeping elegance, creeping featuritis).
See item 176 under HAKMEM, which describes a banana problem in a
Dissociated Press implementation. Also, see one-banana problem
for a superficially similar but unrelated usage.
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