Forum: ell.stackexchange.com
Tags: <word-request>
Title: Word for things that can become outdated
Question: I can think of "perishable". However I do not know if I can use it in context of programming. I want to say that the code or a program is replaced when there is a new and better technology.  Edit: I mean code will someday be replaced someday in the future. It is not obsolete right now.

Answers:
sents: text: How about transient ?
text: not lasting, enduring, or permanent; transitory.
text: lasting only a short time; existing briefly; temporary: transient authority.
text: staying only a short time:
text: the transient guests at a hotel.
text: Or temporal : enduring for a time only;
text: temporary; transitory Both definitions from dictionary.com.
answer_details: author: ell.stackexchange.com/users/45093/Krista L
score: 8
sents: text: If you just want to say that it is possible for the code to be replaced by something new/faster/better, you could use the adjective supersedable , which means basically "able to be replaced or made obsolete".
text: 1
text: If you just want to say that it is possible for the code to be replaced by something new/faster/better, you could use the adjective supersedable , which means basically "able to be replaced or made obsolete".
text: 2
text: If you want to talk about how long it will probably be before the code is superseded, then I would use half-life .
text: The term half-life refers to how long it takes for something to undergo some process.
text: It might be most familiar in relation to radioactive decay or drug metabolization.
text: In the realm of technology it can be used to refer to how long it will be before some new technology makes a product obsolete.
text: 3
text: So if the code you're talking about will probably be obsolete soon , you could say it has a short half-life . 1 From Dictionary.com :
text: supersede verb (used with object), superseded, superseding . to replace in power, authority, effectiveness, acceptance, use, etc., as by another person or thing. to set aside or cause to be set aside as void, useless, or obsolete, usually in favor of something mentioned; make obsolete:
text: They superseded the old statute with a new one. 2 From Techopedia : Definition - What does Future Proof mean?
text: Future proof is a buzzword that describes a product, service or technological system that will not need to be significantly updated as technology advances.
text: In reality, very few things are truly future proof.
text: In any field that depends heavily on technology, a regular cycle of replacing and updating appears to be the norm.
text: 3
text: For example: [W]hat is the half life of your technology devices these days?
text: By that I mean, at what point are you already starting to think about upgrading your devices — from the moment you purchased the last one?
text: Half-life is the moment when you could continue to use your device but it is either so far behind the functionality of other devices or — because of performance issues — it is increasingly unusable.
text: Both points used to take three to five years, but are now more likely to be only one or two years. — "Why is the half-life of technology getting shorter?" Global Telecoms Business , 2012.
answer_details: author: ell.stackexchange.com/users/37569/1006a
score: 7
sents: text: Consider fleeting : passing swiftly; vanishing quickly; transient; transitory:fleeting beauty; a fleeting glance.
text: I would prefer not to use such a fleeting technology on this long-term project.
text: Saying something like the above would convey that you suspect the technology in question is merely a fad, or not yet mature/stable enough, to consider using it as a long-term solution to a problem.
answer_details: author: ell.stackexchange.com/users/45098/Hypaethral
score: 7
sents: text: The software can become obsolete ; When the software is obsolete, it will be superseded by the new technology.
text: Depending on the context, though, you may not even need to say any of this; software is assumed to be ephemeral and temporary, given the speed of change in the software industry.
answer_details: author: ell.stackexchange.com/users/42496/Werrf
score: 6
sents: text: You could say the program will be deprecated (Wikipedia explanation) .
answer_details: author: ell.stackexchange.com/users/45068/Brady Dean
score: 4
sents: text: Obsolescent means becoming obsolete.
text: It describes something that is in current use, or can be used now, but which is expected to be obsolete in the future.
text: See also here
answer_details: author: ell.stackexchange.com/users/19015/AdrianHHH
score: 4
sents: text: You could say that the program or software becomes obsolete .
text: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/obsolete
text: Obsolete: no longer used because something newer exists :
text: replaced by something newer Although it is a general term that can be used to describe a broad spectrum of things that are outdated, it is commonly used to describe technology or software that is outdated.
text: In fact, some software has built-in or planned obsolescence , where it is purposely designed to have a limited useful lifespan, in order to bring back repeat business by forcing users to upgrade to a newer version.
text: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planned_obsolescence#In_software
answer_details: author: ell.stackexchange.com/users/44922/mike
score: 2

Summary of the answers:
Transient, temporal, supersede, or fleeting may be considered. If you want to talk about how long it will probably be before the code is superseded, then you could use  "half-life".  
Some words that could be used in this context are: "transient", "temporal", "supersedable", "fleeting", "that can become obsolete". When referring to the time period until the code becomes obsolete, the term "half-life" is a perfect match. However, software is assumed to be temporary, so pehaps there is no need to say anything at all.