IT-wise, what the heck is an "artifact"

[bigred]

I always thought it had something to do with business "objects" or some such but in an interview last night it was used more to sound like a report or summary or something. Clues for the clueless appreciated. And curse these freakin IT buzzwords.

[Hellbound]

Hmmm...

The only time I've ever heard it used is in it's actual meaning...as in something left behind (think archeology).

For example, the data in the supposed blank space on a disk, left after files are deleted (which just removes the file table entry, not file data), are an artifact of the file system.

The data left in a page file on a Windows box is an artifact of the operating system.

Other than that usage, I'm not sure what they would mean. Can you give a bit more info on the context the word came up in?

[kevin]

Hmmm...

The only time I've ever heard it used is in it's actual meaning...as in something left behind (think archeology).

Same here. Most common usage I hear is in regards to video windows. I.e. if you close a window and parts of it are left on the display (the buttons, a piece of text, an image) it's called a video artifact.

[Molinaro]

It's a fact that has been confirmed by Art Vandelay.

[Earthborn]

Also:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compression_artifact

[Hellbound]

Good point...although I'd heard of them and know what they are, I didn't think of video or compression artifacts.

Seems that the consensus is that an artifact is an unintended sign of a process, that gets left behind by that process.

Deleting files->file data in slack space
Virtual memory->memory data in slack space/page file
Compressing Video->artifacts introduced into the image
Editing a Word Document->temp file and metadata inserted into the file

Without knowing the specific context it was used in that generated your question, I don't think I can figure out what was meant.

[bigred]

As I mentioned initially, it was used more to sound like a report or summary of some kind. I was tempted to say "wtf is an artifact" but didn't think it would go over big.

[Dark Jaguar]

An artifact is a term I've heard a lot, and while it may have some official specific definition behind it set by some group, as a general rule the IT guys I've been around use it in a rather general sense. In fact, generally they don't use that term much at all. It can refer to anything from an odd graphical line going through an image meaning there is a rendering glitch to the previously mentioned errors in a database leaving behind extra data. It could also refer to junk text being shown in some locations. In that last instance, it is because of an error in handling the memory sectors. If for example the number of bits assigned to certain varriables are different, say one stores 24 bits and another stores 8 bits, when the 24 bit variable requests data from an 8 bit variable, and that request isn't error corrected, it'll send 24 bits from that 8 bits plus whatever is "next in line". That could be the next variable after that one or just "nothing", which is to say unclaimed space in memory. Either way, it could either just produce a visual line of nonsense on screen or something a lot more serious, like making a planetary probe engage it's landing sequence a little too high up or something.

[PogoPedant]

I've seen it (once or twice) used to describe those things that are generated during system development that isn't the actual product. I.e. the user requirement documents, the system requirement documents, the pre-analysis documents, etc. I don't know if that's a very common usage, though.

[gavqt]

I've seen it (once or twice) used to describe those things that are generated during system development that isn't the actual product. I.e. the user requirement documents, the system requirement documents, the pre-analysis documents, etc. I don't know if that's a very common usage, though.

IIRC, MSF uses this terminology quite a lot

[Complexity]

'Artifact' is a term heavily used in the Rational Unified Process (RUP).

Think of it as a document and you won't go far wrong.

[Underemployed]

You'll see it used a lot in overclockers forums. When you're running a benchmarking tool such as 3DMark, the more you push your system, the more likely you'll see an 'artifact' during the test - a flashing wall which should be solid, a wrong texture...

Basically, if something produces artifacts it ain't right.

[bigred]

'Artifact' is a term heavily used in the Rational Unified Process (RUP).

Think of it as a document and you won't go far wrong.
lol

I think this and the anything-not-the-product might be hitting closer to home.

Here is another way I saw it used in a job desc:

"Supports Enterprise Data Model (EDM); proposes and develops views, artifacts, and dissemination/ communication strategies for EDM."

Sounds similar to the Rational (ie the ever-lovable ethereal requirements process) arena.....

[kevin]

"Supports Enterprise Data Model (EDM); proposes and develops views, artifacts, and dissemination/ communication strategies for EDM."


Now I get it...It's the stuff no one reads or knows where it is and when they need it they have to dig for it, like archaeological artifacts.

[epepke]

In computer science, an artifact is a peripheral result of a particular algorithm or design, often undesirable but not always so. Examples:

1) Jaggies are an artifact of the Bresenham line-drawing algorithm.
2) Waviness near sharp boundaries is an artifact of the discrete cosine algorithm, used in JPEG and others.
3) Chroma crawl is an artifact of displaying images in NTSC, PAL, and SECAM.

[DRBUZZ0]

Ever watch a digital video and durring fast motion you get a "boxy" effect?

It happends sometimes on digital satellite systems and you can see it on DVD's if you look closely (especially on red colors as those are the most compressed). It is very noticable in lower bitrate videos, such as internet streams.

That is an artifact. Image and audio compression has artifcats too.

There are some fancy processing methods which can be used to reduce the noticability of artifcats, but in general, if you want to reduce the artifacts in a given stream, you will need to increase the bit rate.

-Steve