[1][2] At its core, the anti-pattern consists of a system partitioned into two parts: user interface and business logic, that are coupled through a single point, clicking the "magic pushbutton" or submitting a form of data.
One of the most off-putting aspects of a magic pushbutton is its tendency for the user interaction to proceed by entering a large volume of data, then having it rejected for some unexpected reason.
These features, and their lack with a magic pushbutton, are particularly important for naive users who are likely to make mistakes, less so for experts or the system's own programmers.
The magic pushbutton often arises through poor management of the design process in the early stages, together with a lack of importance placed on user experience, relative to project completion.
The following is a typical example of a magic pushbutton in Borland Delphi: A better way to do this is to refactor the business logic (in this example storing the filename to the registry) into a separate class.