From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Glitch City, a Pokémon programming error that creates a jumble of tiles.

A glitch (Also known as "Bug") is a short-lived fault in a system. The term is particularly common in the computing and electronics industries, and in circuit bending, as well as among players of video games, although it is applied to all types of systems including human organizations and nature. The term derives from the German glitschig, meaning 'slippery.'

In electronics, a glitch is an electrical pulse of short duration that is usually the result of a fault or design error, particularly in a digital circuit For example, many electronic components such as flip-flops are triggered by a pulse that must not be shorter than a specified minimum duration, otherwise the component may malfunction. A pulse shorter than the specified minimum is called a glitch. A related concept is the runt pulse, a pulse whose amplitude is smaller than the minimum level specified for correct operation, and a spike, a short pulse similar to a glitch but often caused by ringing or crosstalk.

A glitch can occur in the presence of race condition in a poorly designed digital logic circuit.

A computer glitch is the failure of a system, usually containing a computing device, to complete its functions or to perform them properly. It frequently refers to an error which is not detected at the time it occurs but shows up later in data errors or incorrect human decisions. While the fault is usually attributed to the computer hardware, this is often not the case since hardware failures rarely go undetected. Other situations which are frequently called computer glitches are:

• Incorrectly written software (software bug)
• Incorrect instructions given by the operator (operator error) (this might also be considered a software bug)
• Undetected invalid input data (this might also be considered a software bug)
• Undetected communications errors
• Computer viruses
• Computer security cracking (sometimes erroneously called "hacking")
• Another human error unrelated to the computer

This article does not cite any references or sources. (December 2007) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

A glitch in the final cutscene of Quake III

In video games, a glitch is a term used by players to indicate a programming error which results in behavior not intended by the programmers. There are several different types of glitches that occur in video games. Programming errors in games vary from incorrectly displayed graphics, game-freezing or crashes, data corruption, and others. The occurrence of some glitches can be replicated deliberately by doing a series of certain tasks in a specific order; the infamous Minus World glitch in Super Mario Bros. is a simple example. Another is the spike glitch in the 16-bit version (Sega Genesis) of Sonic the Hedgehog. This glitch occurs when Sonic jumps into a set of spikes, and bounces back into a second or same set and dies, with no temporary invincibility. Sometimes, three deaths can occur with a shield being lost, rings being lost, and a life being lost. Recently, glitching has become very popular in the world of video games. Many sites have been created dedicated to glitching.

Some glitches are a result of accessing empty space. For example, in Pokémon Red and Blue, there are 151 Pokémon programmed, yet there are 255 spaces. This leaves 104 spaces, and when accessed, produces glitches, often termed "Glitch Pokémon".

Many glitches in games involve leaving a map in a multiplayer game, or going through what should be physical objects. These require the player to know where to go and what method to use to get to their desired location.

The practice of exploiting glitches in video games is known as "glitching." In some people's eyes it is a negative thing. However, there are many "glitchers" who look for glitches solely with other friends in private matches. The reason for the negative connotation of the term is due to players glitching during multiplayer matches to have an advantage over other players. This gives the other players reasons to dislike glitching, because they may not know how to do the glitch that is assisting the "glitcher"

• Glitch (music)
• Hazard (logic)
• ReBoot
• Anomaly in software

• Glitchipedia, The Glitch Encyclopedia
• Glitch Browser