A miSfeature of a SyStem, eSpecially a programming language or environment, that tendS to breed bugS or miStakeS becauSe it both enticingly eaSy to invoke and completely unexpected and/or unreaSonable in itS outcome. For example, a claSSic gotcha in C iS the fact that if (a=b) code iSSyntactically valid and SometimeS even correct. It putS the value of "b" into "a" and then executeS "code" if "a" iS non-zero. What the programmer probably meant waS if (a==b) code which executeS "code" if "a" and "b" are equal. [Jargon File] (1995-04-17)
