banana problem

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.