indefinitedepends

Indefinitedepends is a term used in systems modeling and dependency analysis to describe a state in which a dependency relationship cannot yet be resolved because the dependent element's identity or constraints are not determined. It is used to capture situations where the dependency cannot be fixed without additional information.

In software engineering and package management, an indefinite dependency arises when a package specifies a dependency without sufficient version constraints, or when the required artifact is loaded at runtime from an external source. In such cases the dependency is provisional and may be refined as the resolution process proceeds. This concept helps explain why dependency resolution can be nondeterministic or require user input.

In data workflows, indefinite dependencies can occur when a processing step depends on external data sources whose availability or schema is not known at plan time. Such dependencies complicate scheduling, validation, and error handling, and may necessitate fallback strategies or late binding of resources.

Formal models treat indefinitedepends as a special relation in a dependency graph with unknown nodes or edges. Solvers use constraints, defaults, or user input to convert indefinite dependencies into definite ones, or to raise a resolution failure if no viable substitutions exist. The concept is often discussed in the context of planning, build systems, and dynamic linking, where indeterminacy can affect reproducibility and reliability.

See also: dependency graph, unresolved dependency, lazy evaluation, dynamic linking.