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In computer science, vanilla describes software, hardware or algorithms that have not been customized or modified from their original form.^[1] The term "Vanilla software" has become a widespread de facto industry standard, widely used by businesses and individuals. The term comes from the traditional standard flavor of ice cream, vanilla.^[2] According to Eric S. Raymond's The New Hacker's Dictionary, "vanilla" means more "ordinary", not "default".^[3]

Examples of how to use "vanilla" in a sentence:

• As one of the earliest examples, IBM's mainframe text publishing system BookMaster, provides a default way to specify which parts of a book to publish, called "vanilla", and a fancier way, called "mocha".^[4]
• The term "vanilla" is sometimes also used for hardware components. For instance, in the 1990s non-upgraded Amiga home computers were called "(plain) vanilla";^[5] similarly, it was later also applied to PC parts.^[6]
• For Unix-based kernels, a "vanilla kernel" is a kernel that has been unmodified by any third-party source. For instance, the vanilla Linux kernel is often given a Linux distribution–specific "flavour" by being heavily modified.^[7][8]
• In his book End of Ignorance, Charles Winborne refers to a static page that is "only a text file, but one that links to accompanying files" as a plain-vanilla web page.^[9]
• Video game players usually refer to games without installed mods as "vanilla".
• JavaScript, when used without any libraries or third party plugins is referred to as "vanilla JavaScript".

See also

• Commercial off-the-shelf
• Mod (video games)
• Out of the box (feature)
• Plain vanilla
• Turnkey

References