Feature interaction problem: Difference between revisions

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'''Feature interaction''' occurs when the presence of one ''feature'' modifies some ''properties'' of another feature.

'''Feature interaction''' is a phenomenon that occurs when functionality of a system (typically consisting of hardware or software) is added or removed. The term ''feature'' is used to denote an abstract unit of functionality that a system provides, and therefore ''feature interaction'' occurs when the presence of one feature modifies or subverts the operation of another one. Examples of the problem can be found in a number of fields, including [[computer science]], [[computer engineering]], and [[telephony]].

The term ''feature'' is used to denote an unit of functionality. Similar to many concepts in computer science, the term can be used at different levels of abstraction. For example, the plain old telephone service (POTS) is a telephony feature at one level, but itself is composed of originating features and terminating features. The originating features may in turn include the provide dial tone feature, digit collection feature and so on.

This definition of ''feature interaction'' allows one to focus on only certain properties of the interacting features such as their performance. Many researchers in the field consider the problems that arise due to change in the ''execution behavior'' of interacting features. The ''execution behavior'' of a feature is defined by its execution flow and output for a given input.

==Example==