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I've read many definitions of "artifact" as it pertains to the IT / software world.

After reading the Wikipedia entry and this other post, I'm still very confused.

Would it be fair to say that when you uninstall software, any pieces left behind are considered artifacts? (Files, registry entries, database records, etc.)

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spex5
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1 Answers1

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Would it be fair to say that when you uninstall software, any pieces left behind are considered artifacts?

No. The term "artifact", in a software context, means (loosely) "all the stuff created during the development process". What is left behind after you clean up is, well, some stuff, usually unwanted (unlike in archeology).

Ilya
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  • What are some examples of stuff that is left behind during the dev process? – spex5 Jan 04 '16 at 15:59
  • I disagree. I think it is fair to call "artifacts" the pieces left behind. Artifacts can be anything, including those pieces. But I agree that it is more related to stuff regarding development process. It depends a lot on the context of use. – darlinton Jan 04 '16 at 22:04
  • @kp950 - take the throwaway prototyping for instance - each new version leaves the old one behind in the dev process - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_prototyping#Throwaway_Prototyping – darlinton Jan 04 '16 at 22:07
  • whenever I hear a developer say something about artifacts, it seems to me that they are referring to "leftovers" that are produced as a result of using the software. So it seems like I was kind of right. – spex5 Jan 04 '16 at 22:07
  • @darlinton saying "any pieces left behind are considered artifacts" implies in my opinion that the rest is not. But yes, that could be interpreted differently, I guess. – Ilya Jan 04 '16 at 22:08
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    @kp950 no, "artifacts" are not **specifically** leftovers. – Ilya Jan 04 '16 at 22:10
  • artifacts are not leftovers; they are the outcomes of some process. – darlinton Jan 04 '16 at 22:12