decay

Related to decay: exponential decay

code decay

The tendency for computer software to become gradually worse in performance or responsiveness over time, eventually leading to it becoming completely faulty, unresponsive, or unusable. This is either due to software failing to remain up to date and compatible with the operating system in which it operates, or because the software's code has been updated or altered in ways that have introduced more bugs and errors over time. (It doesn't refer to actual physical decay.) If you want to develop programs that people continue to use for years to come, you've got to factor in ways to avoid code decay with each new update, the users will eventually move on to something that works better. A lot of people just let programs sit on their hard drives for years at a time without being updated or upgraded at all, and then are totally flabbergasted when code decay renders them totally unusable down the line.
See also: code, decay

fall into decay

To deteriorate or rot. We inject preservatives to keep the body from falling into decay. The church has really fallen into decay—it will take a lot of time and money to restore it.
See also: decay, fall

software decay

The tendency for computer software to become gradually worse in performance or responsiveness over time, eventually leading to it becoming completely faulty, unresponsive, or unusable. This is either due to software failing to remain up to date and compatible with the operating system in which it operates, or because the software's code has been updated or altered in ways that have introduced more bugs and errors over time. (It doesn't refer to actual physical decay.) If you want to develop programs that people continue to use for years to come, you've got to factor in ways to avoid software decay with each new update, the users will eventually move on to something that works better. A lot of people just let programs sit on their hard drives for years at a time without being updated or upgraded at all, and then are totally flabbergasted when software decay renders them totally unusable down the line.
See also: decay, software
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

fall into decay

to degenerate; to rot. The house was very old and had fallen into decay. The small town fell into decay, and people moved out.
See also: decay, fall
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • code decay
  • code rot
  • software decay
  • software entropy
  • software rot
  • have a quick temper
  • have a short fuse
  • have (got) a short fuse
  • be on a short fuse
  • be on/have a short fuse
References in periodicals archive
Q: So it isn't true that decay only gets worse when you delay getting a filling?
No drilling, no filling
"Tooth decay actually is a bacterial disease and in fact, [it is] an infectious one.
Baby bottle tooth decay! Know what to look for
In some parts of the country - such as Rochdale, in Greater Manchester - nearly half of all five-year-olds already have obvious decay.
North-south divide exposed as Surrey children buck dental 'crisis' to shine in teeth survey; Public Health England carried out a nationwide survey on the state of our children's teeth
We're focused on getting State of Decay 2 out on Xbox One and Windows 10 on May 22, 2018 (May 18th for Ultimate Edition Early Access).
'State Of Decay 2' Coming To Steam?
South Tyneside's 2014/15 figures - with a sample size of 153 - saw 26% of five-year-olds having experienced tooth decay while County Durham saw 35.1% over the same period.
40% of city's five-year-olds have tooth decay
Tooth decay was defined as the presence of one of more tooth surfaces affected by dental caries as determined by dental examiners using a standardized protocol.
Drinking tap water prevents tooth decay in children
To browse all of the amazing Urban Decay collection, go to Urbandecay.co.uk, or check it out in store at Selfridges, Debenhams and John Lewis.
WIN! EVERY SINGLE URBAN DECAY NAKED PALETTE & MORE! Worth over PS500
"As a government we are fully committed to tackling all forms of inequality, so I'm particularly pleased to see that children from the most deprived backgrounds are seeing the biggest reduction in tooth decay."
Tooth decay in children falls due to Smile drive
'For a long time it was believed that tooth decay was a rapidly progressive phenomenon and the best way to manage it was to identify early decay and remove it immediately in order to prevent a tooth surface from breaking up into cavities.
Tooth decay can be reversed without drilling, filling
General manager of Urban Decay UK & Ireland, Isabel Malbois, said: "Liverpool ladies are known for their love of make-up and have been incredibly loyal to the Urban Decay brand over the years.
Urban Decay set to open; NEWS WIRE
Dual protection of wood against both decay and fire has been proposed for remedial situations and interior construction.
Dual protection of wood surface treated with melamine-modified urea-formaldehyde resin mixed with ammonium polyphosphate against both fire and decay
Tooth decay falls among children THE number of five-yearolds with tooth decay in Yorkshire has gone down, according to the latest Oral Health Survey published by Public Health England.
Tooth decay falls among [...]
Ever since the dental profession developed, dentists have been making an effort to treat and properly inform people about the prevention of tooth decay. Researchers have linked as many as two to three hundred different bacterial species to the production of the decay.
Streptococcus mutans and tooth decay
In [1] the process of [e.sup.+][e.sup.-] [right arrow] [[mu].sup.+][[mu].sup.-] was discussed and it was questioned how come under what appears to be identical local initial conditions we get a distribution of decay time values for the [[mu].sup.+] and the [u.sup.-].
The relationship between the possibility of a hidden variable in time and the uncertainty principle