Vanilla software explained

In computer science, vanilla describes software, hardware or algorithms that have not been customized or modified from their original form.^[1] The term "Vanilla software" has become a widespread de facto industry standard, widely used by businesses and individuals. The term comes from the traditional standard flavor of ice cream, vanilla.^[2] According to Eric S. Raymond's The New Hacker's Dictionary, "vanilla" means more "ordinary", not "default".^[3]

Examples of how to use "vanilla" in a sentence:

• As one of the earliest examples, IBM's mainframe text publishing system BookMaster, provides a default way to specify which parts of a book to publish, called "vanilla", and a fancier way, called "mocha".^[4]
• The term "vanilla" is sometimes also used for hardware components. For instance, in the 1990s non-upgraded Amiga home computers were called "(plain) vanilla";^[5] similarly, it was later also applied to PC parts.^[6]
• For Unix-based kernels, a "vanilla kernel" is a kernel that has been unmodified by any third-party source. For instance, the vanilla Linux kernel is often given a Linux distribution - specific "flavour" by being heavily modified.^{[7] [8]}
• In his book End of Ignorance, Charles Winborne refers to a static page that is "only a text file, but one that links to accompanying files" as a plain-vanilla web page.^[9]
• Video game players usually refer to games without installed mods as "vanilla".
• JavaScript, when used without any libraries or third party plugins is referred to as "vanilla JavaScript".

See also

• Commercial off-the-shelf
• Mod (video games)
• Out of the box (feature)
• Plain vanilla
• Turnkey

Notes and References

1. Web site: What is vanilla? . September 2005 . 2013-11-17 . techtarget.com.
2. Book: Katri . Hilden . Tim. Robinson. Emma . Hutchinson . Currie. Iced: 180 Very Cool Concoctions. 4 Apr 2013. 2006. . 978-1-74045-818-4 . Lee. 15 . Vanilla has become a synonymous with 'plain'- perhaps most vanilla ice cream is flavoured with fake vanilla extract.
3. http://www.outpost9.com/reference/jargon/jargon_37.html vanilla /adj./
4. Web site: B2H User's Guide (HTML 3 version) . Conditional sections (.cs) and BookMaster's "vanilla" DVCF macros (.CONFIG and .WHEN) are supported, but not BookMaster's "mocha" DVCF macros (e.g. .USING, .INCLUDE). . 2002-05-01 . 2013-10-16 . . Gary Richtmeyer.
5. http://www.micontv.com/karimm/true.htm EGS Spectrum 28: True Color Graphics for the Amiga
6. http://www.atarimagazines.com/compute/issue144/S5_How_to_upgrade_your_.php How to upgrade your color graphics card.
7. Web site: Re: What is the vanilla kernel? . 2005-10-10 . 2013-11-17 . lkml.indiana.edu.
8. Web site: Ubuntu Kernel vs. Vanilla Kernel . October 2009 . 2013-11-17 . ubuntuforums.org.
9. Book: Winborne , Charle`s . 2003. End of Ignorance. iUniverse. 150 . 9780595277438 . 2015-05-21.