What is a tar pit ? From its original meaning, a tar pit is an

accumulation that has acted as a natural trap into which animals have fallen and sunk and their bones have preserved.

It basically refers to the factors that can cause a program not to work and getting trapped with bugs preventing it from doing the work that it was created for.

Cause: Many large computer systems programs over the past decade have been into such a tar pit . 

  Therefore, we must understand the cause of a tar pit if we are to solve it.

A programming product in this sense is a program that can be tested, repaired and extended by anybody

     In order to become an efficiently good programming product, a program must be written in a generalized fashion. Then, the program must be tested so programmers can make sure that it can be depended upon.

Finally, the promotion of a programming product must be thoroughly documented so that costumers or anybody else can use it, fix it and extend it..

A program becomes a component in a programming system. This means a collection of interacting programming, coordinated in function and disciplined in format so the assemblage makes it easier to carry out large tasks.

In order to be a programming system component, a program must be written so that every input and output component conforms in syntax and semantics with precisely defined interfaces.

The programming systems product, which is the truly useful object, the intended product of most system programming efforts. It is different from the program in all of the above ways.

Programming is both a tar pit and a creative activity that brings joy to the many people who enjoy the common challenges of programming and creative activities that require a lot of abstract thinking. Testing, documentation and maintenance are very important are very crucial factors for the prevention of a tar pit as far as “computer programming” is concerned.

It should also be applied in the development of software as far as software engineering goes so that the final product can be reliable and enjoyed by the clients.