Tendency of software architects to replicate their development platformThe inner-platform effect is the tendency of software architects to create a system so customizable as to become a replica, and often a poor replica, of the software development platform they are using. A similar temptation exists for XML, where developers sometimes favor generic element names and use attributes to store meaningful information. Effect [ edit ]It is normal for software developers to create a library of custom functions that relate to their specific project. The inner-platform effect occurs when this library expands to include general purpose functions that duplicate functionality already available as part of the programming language or platform. For example, Sun Microsystems designed the Java platform to meet both of these goals.