Turing tarpit

English

Alternative forms
  • Turing Tarpit

Etymology

Coined by Alan Perlis (1922-1990), computer scientist, from the name of Alan Turing (1912-1954), who described a basis for all possible computational algorithms, and tarpit.

Noun

Turing tarpit (plural Turing tarpits)

  1. (computing) The situation in which a programming language is only minimally Turing complete, so that "everything is possible but nothing is easy".
    • 1985, Jean-Paul Tremblay, Paul G Sorenson, The Theory and Practice of Compiler Writing
      The basic reason for increasing the size of the language is the so-called Turing tarpit: if the language is too simple, one may be able to do anything in it.
    • 1994, Jørgen Lindskov Knudsen, Object-oriented Environments: The Mjolner Approach
      Without more abstract notions of what constitutes important aspects of a programming language, one is seriously in danger of falling into the Turing Tarpit.
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