Okuzeka
Software Engineering vocabulary · Architecture, Design Patterns and Graphics

Trade-off

Meaning in software engineering, with examples

/ˈtreɪd ɔːf/nounCommon term

In software engineering, trade-off means: A situation where getting more of one good thing means accepting less of another, such as speed versus accuracy or simplicity versus flexibility.

In Turkish: ödünleşim, denge kurma, artılar ve eksiler

How it is used

A key word in design discussions and interviews: 'What are the trade-offs?', 'It's a trade-off between cost and performance.' Senior engineers are expected to explain trade-offs, not just give one answer.

Example sentences

  1. Caching makes the page faster, but the trade-off is that prices may be a minute out of date.

  2. We chose the simpler design and accepted the trade-off in flexibility.

Common collocations

  • make a trade-off
  • the trade-off between
  • accept a trade-off
  • weigh the trade-offs
  • architectureThe high-level structure of a software system: its main parts, how they communicate with each other and the key technical decisions behind them.
  • scalableAble to handle more users, data or traffic by adding resources, without a complete redesign and without becoming much slower.
  • design patternA proven, reusable solution to a common design problem in code, such as Singleton, Factory or Observer, described as a general approach rather than finished code.
  • technical debtThe future cost of shortcuts taken in code today: quick solutions that save time now but make later changes slower and riskier.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Architecture, Design Patterns and Graphics

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level: