The definition of graceful degradation is designing something so that the system as a whole will work properly, even if an error occurs in execution. Graceful degredation is incorporated in both computer design as well as in mission critical or life-critical systems.
(noun)
- An example of graceful degradation is the process where emergency lights switch to the "on" position on a plane when the main power goes out.
- An example of graceful degradation is the design of HTML webpage code that can display screen content regardless of the browser’s reduced functionality or lowered capabilities. For example, if the screen was written in code that was designed to be able to handle browsers of more limited functionality, at the point in the code that required the image to be displayed a text description of the image would be displayed and the rest of the page would then display as was intended.