mantenable

Mantenable is an adjective that describes something capable of being maintained. In English-language technical writing, the standard term is maintainable, but mantenable appears as a loanword in contexts influenced by Spanish or other languages, or in bilingual documentation. When used, it typically conveys the same idea as maintainable: that ongoing upkeep, updates, or repairs can be performed with reasonable effort, cost, and risk.

In software engineering, mantenable is often used to discuss the overall ease with which a software system can be understood, modified, and extended. Characteristics associated with a mantenable system include modular architecture, clear interfaces, readable and well-documented code, consistent coding standards, and robust testing. A mantenable system tends to have low coupling, high cohesion, comprehensive test coverage, and good observability through logging and monitoring. These attributes help developers diagnose issues, implement changes, and deploy updates without introducing unintended side effects.

Measurement and evaluation of maintainability (and by extension mantenability in multilingual contexts) typically involve metrics such as cyclomatic complexity, code readability, documentation completeness, testability, and change impact analysis. Standards and frameworks for software quality frequently reference maintainability as a key quality attribute, sometimes organized under subcharacteristics like analyzability, modifiability, and testability.

Limitations include the fact that mantenable is not widely standardized in English-language terminology, which can lead to ambiguity. When clarity is essential, it is common to use maintainable or to specify the linguistic context in which mantenable is being applied. See also maintainability, software quality, and ISO/IEC 25010.