Postel's Law
Version 1.0.0 · Updated 2026-07-30
CORE DEFINITION
Postel proposed that implementations should send strictly and receive liberally to enhance system fault tolerance and interoperability, but liberal reception also harbors hidden dangers.
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
In computing, the robustness principle is a design guideline for software that states: "be conservative in what you do, be liberal in what you accept from others". It is often reworded as: "be conservative in what you send, be liberal in what you accept". The principle is also known as Postel's law,…
Anchor fast decisions
"Be strict in what you send, be liberal in what you accept" (the robustness principle). Strict sending ensures predictability of interoperability, while liberal acceptance reduces the probability of failure caused by non-conforming counterparts; together they enhance overall system robustness.
MINIMUM ACTION
In progress 0/4Practice this model in one real situation:
account_treeGenealogyexpand_more
menu_bookReferencesexpand_more
Source support: Explicit
- en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robustness_principleverified
PRIVATE NOTES · Only visible to you
SAVED Q&A
ENTRY Q&A · Private saving available
Ask with a clear boundary
thinkingmodels answers from published entry context only.
Your question is sent to thinkingmodels. The answer uses public entry context only.
RELATED MODELS