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+The Project Gutenberg eBook of The New Hacker's Dictionary version 4.2.2, by various editors
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most
+other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
+whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of
+the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at
+www.gutenberg.org.  If you are not located in the United States, you'll have
+to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook.
+
+Title: The New Hacker's Dictionary version 4.2.2
+
+Author: Various editors
+
+Release Date: January, 2002 [eBook #3008]
+[Most recently updated: April 15, 2022]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: UTF-8
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE NEW HACKER'S DICTIONARY 4.2.2 ***
+
+
+
+
+Node:Top, Next:Introduction, Previous:(dir), Up:(dir)
+
+
+#======= THIS IS THE JARGON FILE, VERSION 4.2.2, 20 AUG 2000 =======#
+
+
+This is the Jargon File, a comprehensive compendium of hacker
+slang illuminating many aspects of hackish tradition, folklore,
+and humor.
+
+This document (the Jargon File) is in the public domain, to be
+freely used, shared, and modified. There are (by intention) no
+legal restraints on what you can do with it, but there are
+traditions about its proper use to which many hackers are quite
+strongly attached. Please extend the courtesy of proper citation
+when you quote the File, ideally with a version number, as it
+will change and grow over time. (Examples of appropriate citation
+form: "Jargon File 4.2.2" or "The on-line hacker Jargon File,
+version 4.2.2, 20 AUG 2000".)
+
+The Jargon File is a common heritage of the hacker culture.
+Over the years a number of individuals have volunteered
+considerable time to maintaining the File and been recognized by
+the net at large as editors of it. Editorial responsibilities
+include: to collate contributions and suggestions from others; to
+seek out corroborating information; to cross-reference related
+entries; to keep the file in a consistent format; and to announce
+and distribute updated versions periodically. Current volunteer
+editors include:
+
+Eric Raymond
+
+Although there is no requirement that you do so, it is
+considered good form to check with an editor before quoting the
+File in a published work or commercial product. We may have
+additional information that would be helpful to you and can
+assist you in framing your quote to reflect not only the letter
+of the File but its spirit as well.
+
+All contributions and suggestions about this file sent to a
+volunteer editor are gratefully received and will be regarded,
+unless otherwise labelled, as freely given donations for possible
+use as part of this public-domain file.
+
+From time to time a snapshot of this file has been polished,
+edited, and formatted for commercial publication with the
+cooperation of the volunteer editors and the hacker community at
+large. If you wish to have a bound paper copy of this file, you
+may find it convenient to purchase one of these. They often
+contain additional material not found in on-line versions. The
+two `authorized' editions so far are described in the Revision
+History section; there may be more in the future.
+
+
+Introduction: The purpose and
+scope of this File
+
+
+A Few Terms: Of Slang, Jargon
+and Techspeak
+
+
+Revision History: How the
+File came to be
+
+
+Jargon Construction: How
+hackers invent jargon
+
+
+Hacker Writing Style:
+How they write
+
+
+Email Quotes: And the Inclusion
+Problem
+
+
+Hacker Speech Style:
+How hackers talk
+
+
+International Style:
+Some notes on usage outside the U.S.
+
+
+Lamer-speak: Crackers, Phreaks,
+and Lamers
+
+
+Pronunciation Guide: How
+to read the pronunciation keys
+
+
+Other Lexicon
+Conventions: How to read lexicon entries
+
+
+Format for New
+Entries: How to submit new entries for the File
+
+
+The Jargon Lexicon: The
+lexicon itself
+
+
+Appendix A: Hacker Folklore
+
+
+Appendix B: A Portrait of J.
+Random Hacker
+
+
+Appendix C: Helping Hacker
+Culture Grow
+
+
+Bibliography: For your further
+enjoyment
+
+
+Node:Introduction, Next:A Few Terms, Previous:Top, Up:Top 
+
+Introduction
+
+This document is a collection of slang terms used by various
+subcultures of computer hackers. Though some technical material
+is included for background and flavor, it is not a technical
+dictionary; what we describe here is the language hackers use
+among themselves for fun, social communication, and technical
+debate.
+
+The `hacker culture' is actually a loosely networked
+collection of subcultures that is nevertheless conscious of some
+important shared experiences, shared roots, and shared values. It
+has its own myths, heroes, villains, folk epics, in-jokes,
+taboos, and dreams. Because hackers as a group are particularly
+creative people who define themselves partly by rejection of
+`normal' values and working habits, it has unusually rich and
+conscious traditions for an intentional culture less than 40
+years old.
+
+As usual with slang, the special vocabulary of hackers helps
+hold their culture together -- it helps hackers recognize each
+other's places in the community and expresses shared values and
+experiences. Also as usual, not knowing the slang (or
+using it inappropriately) defines one as an outsider, a mundane,
+or (worst of all in hackish vocabulary) possibly even a suit. All human cultures use slang in this
+threefold way -- as a tool of communication, and of inclusion,
+and of exclusion.
+
+Among hackers, though, slang has a subtler aspect, paralleled
+perhaps in the slang of jazz musicians and some kinds of fine
+artists but hard to detect in most technical or scientific
+cultures; parts of it are code for shared states of
+consciousness. There is a whole range of altered states
+and problem-solving mental stances basic to high-level hacking
+which don't fit into conventional linguistic reality any better
+than a Coltrane solo or one of Maurits Escher's `trompe l'oeil'
+compositions (Escher is a favorite of hackers), and hacker slang
+encodes these subtleties in many unobvious ways. As a simple
+example, take the distinction between a kluge and an elegant solution, and the differing
+connotations attached to each. The distinction is not only of
+engineering significance; it reaches right back into the nature
+of the generative processes in program design and asserts
+something important about two different kinds of relationship
+between the hacker and the hack. Hacker slang is unusually rich
+in implications of this kind, of overtones and undertones that
+illuminate the hackish psyche.
+
+But there is more. Hackers, as a rule, love wordplay and are
+very conscious and inventive in their use of language. These
+traits seem to be common in young children, but the
+conformity-enforcing machine we are pleased to call an
+educational system bludgeons them out of most of us before
+adolescence. Thus, linguistic invention in most subcultures of
+the modern West is a halting and largely unconscious process.
+Hackers, by contrast, regard slang formation and use as a game to
+be played for conscious pleasure. Their inventions thus display
+an almost unique combination of the neotenous enjoyment of
+language-play with the discrimination of educated and powerful
+intelligence. Further, the electronic media which knit them
+together are fluid, `hot' connections, well adapted to both the
+dissemination of new slang and the ruthless culling of weak and
+superannuated specimens. The results of this process give us
+perhaps a uniquely intense and accelerated view of linguistic
+evolution in action.
+
+Hacker slang also challenges some common linguistic and
+anthropological assumptions. For example, it has recently become
+fashionable to speak of `low-context' versus `high-context'
+communication, and to classify cultures by the preferred context
+level of their languages and art forms. It is usually claimed
+that low-context communication (characterized by precision,
+clarity, and completeness of self-contained utterances) is
+typical in cultures which value logic, objectivity,
+individualism, and competition; by contrast, high-context
+communication (elliptical, emotive, nuance-filled, multi-modal,
+heavily coded) is associated with cultures which value
+subjectivity, consensus, cooperation, and tradition. What then
+are we to make of hackerdom, which is themed around extremely
+low-context interaction with computers and exhibits primarily
+"low-context" values, but cultivates an almost absurdly
+high-context slang style?
+
+The intensity and consciousness of hackish invention make a
+compilation of hacker slang a particularly effective window into
+the surrounding culture -- and, in fact, this one is the latest
+version of an evolving compilation called the `Jargon File',
+maintained by hackers themselves for over 15 years. This one
+(like its ancestors) is primarily a lexicon, but also includes
+topic entries which collect background or sidelight information
+on hacker culture that would be awkward to try to subsume under
+individual slang definitions.
+
+Though the format is that of a reference volume, it is
+intended that the material be enjoyable to browse. Even a
+complete outsider should find at least a chuckle on nearly every
+page, and much that is amusingly thought-provoking. But it is
+also true that hackers use humorous wordplay to make strong,
+sometimes combative statements about what they feel. Some of
+these entries reflect the views of opposing sides in disputes
+that have been genuinely passionate; this is deliberate. We have
+not tried to moderate or pretty up these disputes; rather we have
+attempted to ensure that everyone's sacred cows get
+gored, impartially. Compromise is not particularly a hackish
+virtue, but the honest presentation of divergent viewpoints
+is.
+
+The reader with minimal computer background who finds some
+references incomprehensibly technical can safely ignore them. We
+have not felt it either necessary or desirable to eliminate all
+such; they, too, contribute flavor, and one of this document's
+major intended audiences -- fledgling hackers already partway
+inside the culture -- will benefit from them.
+
+A selection of longer items of hacker folklore and humor is
+included in Appendix A. The
+`outside' reader's attention is particularly directed to the
+Portrait of J. Random Hacker in Appendix B. Appendix C, the Bibliography, lists some non-technical
+works which have either influenced or described the hacker
+culture.
+
+Because hackerdom is an intentional culture (one each
+individual must choose by action to join), one should not be
+surprised that the line between description and influence can
+become more than a little blurred. Earlier versions of the Jargon
+File have played a central role in spreading hacker language and
+the culture that goes with it to successively larger populations,
+and we hope and expect that this one will do likewise.
+
+
+Node:A Few Terms, Next:Revision History,
+Previous:Introduction,
+Up:Top 
+
+Of Slang, Jargon, and Techspeak
+
+Linguists usually refer to informal language as `slang' and
+reserve the term `jargon' for the technical vocabularies of
+various occupations. However, the ancestor of this collection was
+called the `Jargon File', and hacker slang is traditionally `the
+jargon'. When talking about the jargon there is therefore no
+convenient way to distinguish it from what a linguist
+would call hackers' jargon -- the formal vocabulary they learn
+from textbooks, technical papers, and manuals.
+
+To make a confused situation worse, the line between hacker
+slang and the vocabulary of technical programming and computer
+science is fuzzy, and shifts over time. Further, this vocabulary
+is shared with a wider technical culture of programmers, many of
+whom are not hackers and do not speak or recognize hackish
+slang.
+
+Accordingly, this lexicon will try to be as precise as the
+facts of usage permit about the distinctions among three
+categories:
+
+
+`slang': informal language from mainstream English or
+non-technical subcultures (bikers, rock fans, surfers, etc).
+
+
+`jargon': without qualifier, denotes informal `slangy'
+language peculiar to or predominantly found among hackers -- the
+subject of this lexicon.
+
+
+`techspeak': the formal technical vocabulary of programming,
+computer science, electronics, and other fields connected to
+hacking.
+
+This terminology will be consistently used throughout the
+remainder of this lexicon.
+
+The jargon/techspeak distinction is the delicate one. A lot of
+techspeak originated as jargon, and there is a steady continuing
+uptake of jargon into techspeak. On the other hand, a lot of
+jargon arises from overgeneralization of techspeak terms (there
+is more about this in the Jargon Construction section
+below).
+
+In general, we have considered techspeak any term that
+communicates primarily by a denotation well established in
+textbooks, technical dictionaries, or standards documents.
+
+A few obviously techspeak terms (names of operating systems,
+languages, or documents) are listed when they are tied to hacker
+folklore that isn't covered in formal sources, or sometimes to
+convey critical historical background necessary to understand
+other entries to which they are cross-referenced. Some other
+techspeak senses of jargon words are listed in order to make the
+jargon senses clear; where the text does not specify that a
+straight technical sense is under discussion, these are marked
+with `[techspeak]' as an etymology. Some entries have a primary
+sense marked this way, with subsequent jargon meanings explained
+in terms of it.
+
+We have also tried to indicate (where known) the apparent
+origins of terms. The results are probably the least reliable
+information in the lexicon, for several reasons. For one thing,
+it is well known that many hackish usages have been independently
+reinvented multiple times, even among the more obscure and
+intricate neologisms. It often seems that the generative
+processes underlying hackish jargon formation have an internal
+logic so powerful as to create substantial parallelism across
+separate cultures and even in different languages! For another,
+the networks tend to propagate innovations so quickly that `first
+use' is often impossible to pin down. And, finally, compendia
+like this one alter what they observe by implicitly stamping
+cultural approval on terms and widening their use.
+
+Despite these problems, the organized collection of
+jargon-related oral history for the new compilations has enabled
+us to put to rest quite a number of folk etymologies, place
+credit where credit is due, and illuminate the early history of
+many important hackerisms such as kluge, cruft, and
+foo. We believe specialist
+lexicographers will find many of the historical notes more than
+casually instructive.
+
+
+Node:Revision History, Next:Jargon Construction,
+Previous:A Few
+Terms, Up:Top 
+
+Revision History
+
+The original Jargon File was a collection of hacker jargon
+from technical cultures including the MIT AI Lab, the Stanford AI
+lab (SAIL), and others of the old ARPANET AI/LISP/PDP-10
+communities including Bolt, Beranek and Newman (BBN),
+Carnegie-Mellon University (CMU), and Worcester Polytechnic
+Institute (WPI).
+
+The Jargon File (hereafter referred to as `jargon-1' or `the
+File') was begun by Raphael Finkel at Stanford in 1975. From this
+time until the plug was finally pulled on the SAIL computer in
+1991, the File was named AIWORD.RF[UP,DOC] there. Some terms in
+it date back considerably earlier (frob and some senses of moby, for instance, go back to the Tech Model
+Railroad Club at MIT and are believed to date at least back to
+the early 1960s). The revisions of jargon-1 were all unnumbered
+and may be collectively considered `Version 1'.
+
+In 1976, Mark Crispin, having seen an announcement about the
+File on the SAIL computer, FTPed a copy
+of the File to MIT. He noticed that it was hardly restricted to
+`AI words' and so stored the file on his directory as AI:MRC;SAIL
+JARGON.
+
+The file was quickly renamed JARGON > (the `>' caused
+versioning under ITS) as a flurry of enhancements were made by
+Mark Crispin and Guy L. Steele Jr. Unfortunately, amidst all this
+activity, nobody thought of correcting the term `jargon' to
+`slang' until the compendium had already become widely known as
+the Jargon File.
+
+Raphael Finkel dropped out of active participation shortly
+thereafter and Don Woods became the SAIL contact for the File
+(which was subsequently kept in duplicate at SAIL and MIT, with
+periodic resynchronizations).
+
+The File expanded by fits and starts until about 1983; Richard
+Stallman was prominent among the contributors, adding many MIT
+and ITS-related coinages.
+
+In Spring 1981, a hacker named Charles Spurgeon got a large
+chunk of the File published in Stewart Brand's "CoEvolution
+Quarterly" (issue 29, pages 26-35) with illustrations by Phil
+Wadler and Guy Steele (including a couple of the Crunchly
+cartoons). This appears to have been the File's first paper
+publication.
+
+A late version of jargon-1, expanded with commentary for the
+mass market, was edited by Guy Steele into a book published in
+1983 as "The Hacker's Dictionary" (Harper & Row CN 1082, ISBN
+0-06-091082-8). The other jargon-1 editors (Raphael Finkel, Don
+Woods, and Mark Crispin) contributed to this revision, as did
+Richard M. Stallman and Geoff Goodfellow. This book (now out of
+print) is hereafter referred to as `Steele-1983' and those six as
+the Steele-1983 coauthors.
+
+Shortly after the publication of Steele-1983, the File
+effectively stopped growing and changing. Originally, this was
+due to a desire to freeze the file temporarily to facilitate the
+production of Steele-1983, but external conditions caused the
+`temporary' freeze to become permanent.
+
+The AI Lab culture had been hit hard in the late 1970s by
+funding cuts and the resulting administrative decision to use
+vendor-supported hardware and software instead of homebrew
+whenever possible. At MIT, most AI work had turned to dedicated
+LISP Machines. At the same time, the commercialization of AI
+technology lured some of the AI Lab's best and brightest away to
+startups along the Route 128 strip in Massachusetts and out West
+in Silicon Valley. The startups built LISP machines for MIT; the
+central MIT-AI computer became a TWENEX system rather than a host for the AI
+hackers' beloved ITS.
+
+The Stanford AI Lab had effectively ceased to exist by 1980,
+although the SAIL computer continued as a Computer Science
+Department resource until 1991. Stanford became a major TWENEX site, at one point operating more
+than a dozen TOPS-20 systems; but by the mid-1980s most of the
+interesting software work was being done on the emerging BSD Unix
+standard.
+
+In April 1983, the PDP-10-centered cultures that had nourished
+the File were dealt a death-blow by the cancellation of the
+Jupiter project at Digital Equipment Corporation. The File's
+compilers, already dispersed, moved on to other things.
+Steele-1983 was partly a monument to what its authors thought was
+a dying tradition; no one involved realized at the time just how
+wide its influence was to be.
+
+By the mid-1980s the File's content was dated, but the legend
+that had grown up around it never quite died out. The book, and
+softcopies obtained off the ARPANET, circulated even in cultures
+far removed from MIT and Stanford; the content exerted a strong
+and continuing influence on hacker language and humor. Even as
+the advent of the microcomputer and other trends fueled a
+tremendous expansion of hackerdom, the File (and related
+materials such as the Some AI
+Koans in Appendix A) came to be seen as a sort of sacred
+epic, a hacker-culture Matter of Britain chronicling the heroic
+exploits of the Knights of the Lab. The pace of change in
+hackerdom at large accelerated tremendously -- but the Jargon
+File, having passed from living document to icon, remained
+essentially untouched for seven years.
+
+This revision contains nearly the entire text of a late
+version of jargon-1 (a few obsolete PDP-10-related entries were
+dropped after careful consultation with the editors of
+Steele-1983). It merges in about 80% of the Steele-1983 text,
+omitting some framing material and a very few entries introduced
+in Steele-1983 that are now also obsolete.
+
+This new version casts a wider net than the old Jargon File;
+its aim is to cover not just AI or PDP-10 hacker culture but all
+the technical computing cultures wherein the true hacker-nature
+is manifested. More than half of the entries now derive from
+Usenet and represent jargon now
+current in the C and Unix communities, but special efforts have
+been made to collect jargon from other cultures including IBM PC
+programmers, Amiga fans, Mac enthusiasts, and even the IBM
+mainframe world.
+
+Eric S. Raymond maintains the new File with assistance from Guy L. Steele Jr.;
+these are the persons primarily reflected in the File's editorial
+`we', though we take pleasure in acknowledging the special
+contribution of the other coauthors of Steele-1983. Please email
+all additions, corrections, and correspondence relating to the
+Jargon File to jargon@thyrsus.com.
+
+(Warning: other email addresses appear in this file but
+are not guaranteed to be correct later than the revision
+date on the first line. Don't email us if an attempt to
+reach your idol bounces -- we have no magic way of checking
+addresses or looking up people.)
+
+The 2.9.6 version became the main text of "The New Hacker's
+Dictionary", by Eric Raymond (ed.), MIT Press 1991, ISBN
+0-262-68069-6.
+
+The 3.0.0 version was published in September 1993 as the
+second edition of "The New Hacker's Dictionary", again from MIT
+Press (ISBN 0-262-18154-1).
+
+If you want the book, you should be able to find it at any of
+the major bookstore chains. Failing that, you can order by mail
+from
+
+The MIT Press 55 Hayward Street Cambridge, MA 02142
+
+or order by phone at (800)-356-0343 or (617)-625-8481.
+
+The maintainers are committed to updating the on-line version
+of the Jargon File through and beyond paper publication, and will
+continue to make it available to archives and public-access sites
+as a trust of the hacker community.
+
+Here is a chronology of the high points in the recent on-line
+revisions:
+
+Version 2.1.1, Jun 12 1990: the Jargon File comes alive again
+after a seven-year hiatus. Reorganization and massive additions
+were by Eric S. Raymond, approved by Guy Steele. Many items of
+UNIX, C, USENET, and microcomputer-based jargon were added at
+that time.
+
+Version 2.9.6, Aug 16 1991: corresponds to reproduction copy
+for book. This version had 18952 lines, 148629 words, 975551
+characters, and 1702 entries.
+
+Version 2.9.7, Oct 28 1991: first markup for hypertext
+browser. This version had 19432 lines, 152132 words, 999595
+characters, and 1750 entries.
+
+Version 2.9.8, Jan 01 1992: first public release since the
+book, including over fifty new entries and numerous
+corrections/additions to old ones. Packaged with version 1.1 of
+vh(1) hypertext reader. This version had 19509 lines, 153108
+words, 1006023 characters, and 1760 entries.
+
+Version 2.9.9, Apr 01 1992: folded in XEROX PARC lexicon. This
+version had 20298 lines, 159651 words, 1048909 characters, and
+1821 entries.
+
+Version 2.9.10, Jul 01 1992: lots of new historical material.
+This version had 21349 lines, 168330 words, 1106991 characters,
+and 1891 entries.
+
+Version 2.9.11, Jan 01 1993: lots of new historical material.
+This version had 21725 lines, 171169 words, 1125880 characters,
+and 1922 entries.
+
+Version 2.9.12, May 10 1993: a few new entries & changes,
+marginal MUD/IRC slang and some borderline techspeak removed, all
+in preparation for 2nd Edition of TNHD. This version had 22238
+lines, 175114 words, 1152467 characters, and 1946 entries.
+
+Version 3.0.0, Jul 27 1993: manuscript freeze for 2nd edition
+of TNHD. This version had 22548 lines, 177520 words, 1169372
+characters, and 1961 entries.
+
+Version 3.1.0, Oct 15 1994: interim release to test WWW
+conversion. This version had 23197 lines, 181001 words, 1193818
+characters, and 1990 entries.
+
+Version 3.2.0, Mar 15 1995: Spring 1995 update. This version
+had 23822 lines, 185961 words, 1226358 characters, and 2031
+entries.
+
+Version 3.3.0, Jan 20 1996: Winter 1996 update. This version
+had 24055 lines, 187957 words, 1239604 characters, and 2045
+entries.
+
+Version 3.3.1, Jan 25 1996: Copy-corrected improvement on
+3.3.0 shipped to MIT Press as a step towards TNHD III. This
+version had 24147 lines, 188728 words, 1244554 characters, and
+2050 entries.
+
+Version 3.3.2, Mar 20 1996: A number of new entries pursuant
+on 3.3.2. This version had 24442 lines, 190867 words, 1262468
+characters, and 2061 entries.
+
+Version 3.3.3, Mar 25 1996: Cleanup before TNHD III manuscript
+freeze. This version had 24584 lines, 191932 words, 1269996
+characters, and 2064 entries.
+
+Version 4.0.0, Jul 25 1996: The actual TNHD III version after
+copy-edit. This version had 24801 lines, 193697 words, 1281402
+characters, and 2067 entries.
+
+Version 4.1.0, 8 Apr 1999: The Jargon File rides again after
+three years. This version had 25777 lines, 206825 words, 1359992
+characters, and 2217 entries.
+
+Version 4.1.1, 18 Apr 1999: Corrections for minor errors in
+4.1.0, and some new entries. This version had 25921 lines, 208483
+words, 1371279 characters, and 2225 entries.
+
+Version 4.1.2, 28 Apr 1999: Moving texi2html out of the
+production path. This version had 26006 lines, 209479 words,
+1377687 characters, and 2225 entries.
+
+Version 4.1.3, 14 Jun 1999: Minor updates and markup fixes.
+This version had 26108 lines, 210480 words, 1384546 characters,
+and 2234 entries.
+
+Version 4.1.4, 17 Jun 1999: Markup fixes for framed HTML. This
+version had 26117 lines, 210527 words, 1384902 characters, and
+2234 entries.
+
+Version 4.2.0, 31 Jan 2000: Fix processing of URLs. This
+version had 26598 lines, 214639 words, 1412243 characters, and
+2267 entries.
+
+Version 4.2.1, 5 Mar 2000: Point release to test new
+production machinery. This version had 26647 lines, 215040 words,
+1414942 characters, and 2269 entries.
+
+Version 4.2.2, 12 Aug 2000: This version had 27171 lines,
+219630 words, 1444887 characters, and 2302 entries.
+
+Version numbering: Version numbers should be read as
+_major_._minor_._revision_. Major version 1 is
+reserved for the `old' (ITS) Jargon File, jargon-1. Major version
+2 encompasses revisions by ESR (Eric S. Raymond) with assistance
+from GLS (Guy L. Steele, Jr.) leading up to and including the
+second paper edition. From now on, major version number N.00 will
+probably correspond to the Nth paper edition. Usually later
+versions will either completely supersede or incorporate earlier
+versions, so there is generally no point in keeping old versions
+around.
+
+Our thanks to the coauthors of Steele-1983 for oversight and
+assistance, and to the hundreds of Usenetters (too many to name here)
+who contributed entries and encouragement. More thanks go to several of
+the old-timers on the Usenet group _alt.folklore.computers_, who
+contributed much useful commentary and many corrections and valuable
+historical perspective: Joseph M. Newcomer, Bernie Cosell, Earl
+Boebert, and Joe Morris.
+
+We were fortunate enough to have the aid of some accomplished
+linguists. David Stampe and Charles Hoequist contributed valuable
+criticism; Joe Keane helped us improve the pronunciation guides.
+
+A few bits of this text quote previous works. We are indebted to Brian
+A. LaMacchia for obtaining permission for us to use material from the
+"TMRC Dictionary"; also, Don Libes contributed some appropriate
+material from his excellent book "Life With UNIX". We thank Per
+Lindberg, author of the remarkable Swedish-language 'zine
+"Hackerbladet", for bringing "FOO!" comics to our attention and
+smuggling one of the IBM hacker underground's own baby jargon files out
+to us. Thanks also to Maarten Litmaath for generously allowing the
+inclusion of the ASCII pronunciation guide he formerly maintained. And
+our gratitude to Marc Weiser of XEROX PARC for securing us permission
+to quote from PARC's own jargon lexicon and shipping us a copy.
+
+It is a particular pleasure to acknowledge the major contributions of
+Mark Brader and Steve Summit to the File and Dictionary; they have read
+and reread many drafts, checked facts, caught typos, submitted an
+amazing number of thoughtful comments, and done yeoman service in
+catching typos and minor usage bobbles. Their rare combination of
+enthusiasm, persistence, wide-ranging technical knowledge, and
+precisionism in matters of language has been of invaluable help.
+Indeed, the sustained volume and quality of Mr. Brader's input over
+several years and several different editions has only allowed him to
+escape co-editor credit by the slimmest of margins.
+
+Finally, George V. Reilly helped with TeX arcana and painstakingly
+proofread some 2.7 and 2.8 versions, and Eric Tiedemann contributed
+sage advice throughout on rhetoric, amphigory, and philosophunculism.
+
+
+Node:Jargon Construction,
+Next:Hacker
+Writing Style, Previous:Revision History, Up:Top 
+
+How Jargon Works
+
+Jargon Construction
+
+There are some standard methods of jargonification that became
+established quite early (i.e., before 1970), spreading from such
+sources as the Tech Model Railroad Club, the PDP-1 SPACEWAR
+hackers, and John McCarthy's original crew of LISPers. These
+include verb doubling, soundalike slang, the `-P' convention,
+overgeneralization, spoken inarticulations, and
+anthropomorphization. Each is discussed below. We also cover the
+standard comparatives for design quality.
+
+Of these six, verb doubling, overgeneralization,
+anthropomorphization, and (especially) spoken inarticulations
+have become quite general; but soundalike slang is still largely
+confined to MIT and other large universities, and the `-P'
+convention is found only where LISPers flourish.
+
+
+Verb Doubling: Doubling a verb
+may change its semantics
+
+
+Soundalike Slang: Punning
+jargon
+
+
+The -P convention: A
+LISPy way to form questions
+
+
+Overgeneralization:
+Standard abuses of grammar
+
+
+Spoken
+Inarticulations: Sighing and <*sigh*>ing
+
+
+Anthropomorphization:
+Homunculi, daemons, and confused programs
+
+
+Comparatives: Standard
+comparatives for design quality
+
+
+Node:Verb Doubling, Next:Soundalike Slang, Up:Jargon Construction
+
+
+Verb Doubling
+
+A standard construction in English is to double a verb and use
+it as an exclamation, such as "Bang, bang!" or "Quack, quack!".
+Most of these are names for noises. Hackers also double verbs as
+a concise, sometimes sarcastic comment on what the implied
+subject does. Also, a doubled verb is often used to terminate a
+conversation, in the process remarking on the current state of
+affairs or what the speaker intends to do next. Typical examples
+involve win, lose, hack, flame, barf,
+chomp:
+
+"The disk heads just crashed." "Lose, lose."
+
+"Mostly he talked about his latest crock. Flame, flame."
+
+"Boy, what a bagbiter! Chomp, chomp!"
+
+
+Some verb-doubled constructions have special meanings not
+immediately obvious from the verb. These have their own listings
+in the lexicon.
+
+The Usenet culture has one
+tripling convention unrelated to this; the names of
+`joke' topic groups often have a tripled last element. The first
+and paradigmatic example was
+_alt.swedish.chef.bork.bork.bork_ (a "Muppet Show"
+reference); other infamous examples have included:
+
+_alt.french.captain.borg.borg.borg_
+
+_alt.wesley.crusher.die.die.die_
+
+_comp.unix.internals.system.calls.brk.brk.brk_
+
+_sci.physics.edward.teller.boom.boom.boom_
+
+_alt.sadistic.dentists.drill.drill.drill_
+
+Node:Soundalike Slang, Next:The -P convention,
+Previous:Verb
+Doubling, Up:Jargon
+Construction 
+
+Soundalike slang
+
+Hackers will often make rhymes or puns in order to convert an
+ordinary word or phrase into something more interesting. It is
+considered particularly flavorful
+if the phrase is bent so as to include some other jargon word;
+thus the computer hobbyist magazine "Dr. Dobb's Journal" is
+almost always referred to among hackers as `Dr. Frob's Journal'
+or simply `Dr. Frob's'. Terms of this kind that have been in
+fairly wide use include names for newspapers:
+
+    Boston Herald => Horrid (or Harried)
+    Boston Globe => Boston Glob
+    Houston (or San Francisco) Chronicle
+           => the Crocknicle (or the Comical)
+    New York Times => New York Slime
+    Wall Street Journal => Wall Street Urinal
+
+
+However, terms like these are often made up on the spur of the
+moment. Standard examples include:
+
+    Data General => Dirty Genitals
+    IBM 360 => IBM Three-Sickly
+    Government Property --- Do Not Duplicate (on keys)
+            => Government Duplicity --- Do Not Propagate
+    for historical reasons => for hysterical raisins
+    Margaret Jacks Hall (the CS building at Stanford)
+            => Marginal Hacks Hall
+    Microsoft => Microsloth
+    Internet Explorer => Internet Exploiter
+
+
+This is not really similar to the Cockney rhyming slang it has
+been compared to in the past, because Cockney substitutions are
+opaque whereas hacker punning jargon is intentionally
+transparent.
+
+
+Node:The -P convention,
+Next:Overgeneralization, Previous:Soundalike Slang, Up:Jargon Construction
+
+
+The `-P' convention
+
+Turning a word into a question by appending the syllable `P';
+from the LISP convention of appending the letter `P' to denote a
+predicate (a boolean-valued function). The question should expect
+a yes/no answer, though it needn't. (See T and NIL.)
+
+    At dinnertime:
+
+          Q: ``Foodp?''
+
+          A: ``Yeah, I'm pretty hungry.'' or ``T!''
+
+
+    At any time:
+
+          Q: ``State-of-the-world-P?''
+
+          A: (Straight) ``I'm about to go home.''
+
+          A: (Humorous) ``Yes, the world has a state.''
+
+
+    On the phone to Florida:
+
+          Q: ``State-p Florida?''
+
+          A: ``Been reading JARGON.TXT again, eh?''
+
+
+[One of the best of these is a Gosperism. Once, when we were at a Chinese
+restaurant, Bill Gosper wanted to know whether someone would like
+to share with him a two-person-sized bowl of soup. His inquiry
+was: "Split-p soup?" -- GLS]
+
+
+Node:Overgeneralization, Next:Spoken
+Inarticulations, Previous:The -P convention, Up:Jargon Construction 
+
+Overgeneralization
+
+A very conspicuous feature of jargon is the frequency with
+which techspeak items such as names of program tools, command
+language primitives, and even assembler opcodes are applied to
+contexts outside of computing wherever hackers find amusing
+analogies to them. Thus (to cite one of the best-known examples)
+Unix hackers often grep for things
+rather than searching for them. Many of the lexicon entries are
+generalizations of exactly this kind.
+
+Hackers enjoy overgeneralization on the grammatical level as
+well. Many hackers love to take various words and add the wrong
+endings to them to make nouns and verbs, often by extending a
+standard rule to nonuniform cases (or vice versa). For example,
+because
+
+porous => porosity
+
+generous => generosity
+
+
+hackers happily generalize:
+
+mysterious => mysteriosity
+
+ferrous => ferrosity
+
+obvious => obviosity
+
+dubious => dubiosity
+
+
+Another class of common construction uses the suffix `-itude'
+to abstract a quality from just about any adjective or noun. This
+usage arises especially in cases where mainstream English would
+perform the same abstraction through `-iness' or `-ingness'.
+Thus:
+
+win => winnitude (a common exclamation)
+
+loss => lossitude
+
+cruft => cruftitude
+
+lame => lameitude
+
+
+Some hackers cheerfully reverse this transformation; they
+argue, for example, that the horizontal degree lines on a globe
+ought to be called `lats' -- after all, they're measuring
+latitude!
+
+Also, note that all nouns can be verbed. E.g.: "All nouns can
+be verbed", "I'll mouse it up", "Hang on while I clipboard it
+over", "I'm grepping the files". English as a whole is already
+heading in this direction (towards pure-positional grammar like
+Chinese); hackers are simply a bit ahead of the curve.
+
+The suffix "-full" can also be applied in generalized and
+fanciful ways, as in "As soon as you have more than one cachefull
+of data, the system starts thrashing," or "As soon as I have more
+than one headfull of ideas, I start writing it all down." A
+common use is "screenfull", meaning the amount of text that will
+fit on one screen, usually in text mode where you have no choice
+as to character size. Another common form is "bufferfull".
+
+However, hackers avoid the unimaginative verb-making
+techniques characteristic of marketroids, bean-counters, and the
+Pentagon; a hacker would never, for example, `productize',
+`prioritize', or `securitize' things. Hackers have a strong
+aversion to bureaucratic bafflegab and regard those who use it
+with contempt.
+
+Similarly, all verbs can be nouned. This is only a slight
+overgeneralization in modern English; in hackish, however, it is
+good form to mark them in some standard nonstandard way.
+Thus:
+
+win => winnitude, winnage
+
+disgust => disgustitude
+
+hack => hackification
+
+
+Further, note the prevalence of certain kinds of nonstandard
+plural forms. Some of these go back quite a ways; the TMRC
+Dictionary includes an entry which implies that the plural of
+`mouse' is meeces, and notes that
+the defined plural of `caboose' is `cabeese'. This latter has
+apparently been standard (or at least a standard joke) among
+railfans (railroad enthusiasts) for many years.
+
+On a similarly Anglo-Saxon note, almost anything ending in `x'
+may form plurals in `-xen' (see VAXen
+and boxen in the main text). Even
+words ending in phonetic /k/ alone are sometimes treated this
+way; e.g., `soxen' for a bunch of socks. Other funny plurals are
+`frobbotzim' for the plural of `frobbozz' (see frobnitz) and `Unices' and `Twenices' (rather
+than `Unixes' and `Twenexes'; see Unix, TWENEX in main
+text). But note that `Twenexen' was never used, and `Unixen' was
+not sighted in the wild until the year 2000, thirty years after
+it might logically have come into use; it has been suggested that
+this is because `-ix' and `-ex' are Latin singular endings that
+attract a Latinate plural. Finally, it has been suggested to
+general approval that the plural of `mongoose' ought to be
+`polygoose'.
+
+The pattern here, as with other hackish grammatical quirks, is
+generalization of an inflectional rule that in English is either
+an import or a fossil (such as the Hebrew plural ending `-im', or
+the Anglo-Saxon plural suffix `-en') to cases where it isn't
+normally considered to apply.
+
+This is not `poor grammar', as hackers are generally quite
+well aware of what they are doing when they distort the language.
+It is grammatical creativity, a form of playfulness. It is done
+not to impress but to amuse, and never at the expense of
+clarity.
+
+
+Node:Spoken
+Inarticulations, Next:Anthropomorphization, Previous:Overgeneralization,
+Up:Jargon
+Construction 
+
+Spoken inarticulations
+
+Words such as `mumble', `sigh', and `groan' are spoken in
+places where their referent might more naturally be used. It has
+been suggested that this usage derives from the impossibility of
+representing such noises on a comm link or in electronic mail,
+MUDs, and IRC channels (interestingly, the same sorts of
+constructions have been showing up with increasing frequency in
+comic strips). Another expression sometimes heard is "Complain!",
+meaning "I have a complaint!"
+
+
+Node:Anthropomorphization,
+Next:Comparatives,
+Previous:Spoken Inarticulations, Up:Jargon Construction
+
+
+Anthropomorphization
+
+Semantically, one rich source of jargon constructions is the
+hackish tendency to anthropomorphize hardware and software.
+English purists and academic computer scientists frequently look
+down on others for anthropomorphizing hardware and software,
+considering this sort of behavior to be characteristic of naive
+misunderstanding. But most hackers anthropomorphize freely,
+frequently describing program behavior in terms of wants and
+desires.
+
+Thus it is common to hear hardware or software talked about as
+though it has homunculi talking to each other inside it, with
+intentions and desires. Thus, one hears "The protocol handler got
+confused", or that programs "are trying" to do things, or one may
+say of a routine that "its goal in life is to X". One even hears
+explanations like "... and its poor little brain
+couldn't understand X, and it died." Sometimes modelling things
+this way actually seems to make them easier to understand,
+perhaps because it's instinctively natural to think of anything
+with a really complex behavioral repertoire as `like a person'
+rather than `like a thing'.
+
+At first glance, to anyone who understands how these programs
+actually work, this seems like an absurdity. As hackers are among
+the people who know best how these phenomena work, it seems odd
+that they would use language that seemds to ascribe conciousness
+to them. The mind-set behind this tendency thus demands
+examination.
+
+The key to understanding this kind of usage is that it isn't
+done in a naive way; hackers don't personalize their stuff in the
+sense of feeling empathy with it, nor do they mystically believe
+that the things they work on every day are `alive'. To the
+contrary: hackers who anthropomorphize are expressing not a
+vitalistic view of program behavior but a mechanistic view of
+human behavior.
+
+Almost all hackers subscribe to the mechanistic, materialistic
+ontology of science (this is in practice true even of most of the
+minority with contrary religious theories). In this view, people
+are biological machines - consciousness is an interesting and
+valuable epiphenomenon, but mind is implemented in machinery
+which is not fundamentally different in information-processing
+capacity from computers.
+
+Hackers tend to take this a step further and argue that the
+difference between a substrate of CHON atoms and water and a
+substrate of silicon and metal is a relatively unimportant one;
+what matters, what makes a thing `alive', is information and
+richness of pattern. This is animism from the flip side; it
+implies that humans and computers and dolphins and rocks are all
+machines exhibiting a continuum of modes of `consciousness'
+according to their information-processing capacity.
+
+Because hackers accept a that a human machine can have
+intentions, it is therefore easy for them to ascribe
+consciousness and intention to complex patterned systems such as
+computers. If consciousness is mechanical, it is neither more or
+less absurd to say that "The program wants to go into an infinite
+loop" than it is to say that "I want to go eat some chocolate" -
+and even defensible to say that "The stone, once dropped, wants
+to move towards the center of the earth".
+
+This viewpoint has respectable company in academic philosophy.
+Daniel Dennett organizes explanations of behavior using three
+stances: the "physical stance" (thing-to-be-explained as a
+physical object), the "design stance" (thing-to-be-explained as
+an artifact), and the "intentional stance" (thing-to-be-explained
+as an agent with desires and intentions). Which stances are
+appropriate is a matter not of truth but of utility. Hackers
+typically view simple programs from the design stance, but more
+complex ones are modelled using the intentional stance.
+
+
+Node:Comparatives, Previous:Anthropomorphization,
+Up:Jargon
+Construction 
+
+Comparatives
+
+Finally, note that many words in hacker jargon have to be
+understood as members of sets of comparatives. This is especially
+true of the adjectives and nouns used to describe the beauty and
+functional quality of code. Here is an approximately correct
+spectrum:
+
+monstrosity brain-damage screw bug lose
+misfeature
+
+crock kluge hack win feature elegance perfection
+
+
+The last is spoken of as a mythical absolute, approximated but
+never actually attained. Another similar scale is used for
+describing the reliability of software:
+
+broken flaky dodgy fragile brittle
+
+solid robust bulletproof armor-plated
+
+
+Note, however, that `dodgy' is primarily Commonwealth Hackish
+(it is rare in the U.S.) and may change places with `flaky' for
+some speakers.
+
+Coinages for describing lossage
+seem to call forth the very finest in hackish linguistic
+inventiveness; it has been truly said that hackers have even more
+words for equipment failures than Yiddish has for obnoxious
+people.
+
+
+Node:Hacker Writing Style,
+Next:Email Quotes,
+Previous:Jargon
+Construction, Up:Top 
+
+Hacker Writing Style
+
+We've already seen that hackers often coin jargon by
+overgeneralizing grammatical rules. This is one aspect of a more
+general fondness for form-versus-content language jokes that
+shows up particularly in hackish writing. One correspondent
+reports that he consistently misspells `wrong' as `worng'. Others
+have been known to criticize glitches in Jargon File drafts by
+observing (in the mode of Douglas Hofstadter) "This sentence no
+verb", or "Too repetetetive", or "Bad speling", or "Incorrectspa
+cing." Similarly, intentional spoonerisms are often made of
+phrases relating to confusion or things that are confusing; `dain
+bramage' for `brain damage' is perhaps the most common
+(similarly, a hacker would be likely to write "Excuse me, I'm
+cixelsyd today", rather than "I'm dyslexic today"). This sort of
+thing is quite common and is enjoyed by all concerned.
+
+Hackers tend to use quotes as balanced delimiters like
+parentheses, much to the dismay of American editors. Thus, if
+"Jim is going" is a phrase, and so are "Bill runs" and "Spock
+groks", then hackers generally prefer to write: "Jim is going",
+"Bill runs", and "Spock groks". This is incorrect according to
+standard American usage (which would put the continuation commas
+and the final period inside the string quotes); however, it is
+counter-intuitive to hackers to mutilate literal strings with
+characters that don't belong in them. Given the sorts of examples
+that can come up in discussions of programming, American-style
+quoting can even be grossly misleading. When communicating
+command lines or small pieces of code, extra characters can be a
+real pain in the neck.
+
+Consider, for example, a sentence in a vi tutorial that looks like this:
+
+Then delete a line from the file by typing
+"dd".
+
+
+Standard usage would make this
+
+Then delete a line from the file by typing
+"dd."
+
+
+but that would be very bad -- because the reader would be
+prone to type the string d-d-dot, and it happens that in
+vi(1) dot repeats the last command accepted. The net
+result would be to delete two lines!
+
+The Jargon File follows hackish usage throughout.
+
+Interestingly, a similar style is now preferred practice in
+Great Britain, though the older style (which became established
+for typographical reasons having to do with the aesthetics of
+comma and quotes in typeset text) is still accepted there.
+"Hart's Rules" and the "Oxford Dictionary for Writers and
+Editors" call the hacker-like style `new' or `logical' quoting.
+This returns British English to the style Latin languages
+(including Spanish, French, Italian, Catalan) have been using all
+along.
+
+Another hacker habit is a tendency to distinguish between
+`scare' quotes and `speech' quotes; that is, to use British-style
+single quotes for marking and reserve American-style double
+quotes for actual reports of speech or text included from
+elsewhere. Interestingly, some authorities describe this as
+correct general usage, but mainstream American English has gone
+to using double-quotes indiscriminately enough that hacker usage
+appears marked [and, in fact, I thought this was a personal quirk
+of mine until I checked with Usenet --ESR]. One further
+permutation that is definitely not standard is a hackish
+tendency to do marking quotes by using apostrophes (single
+quotes) in pairs; that is, 'like this'. This is modelled on
+string and character literal syntax in some programming languages
+(reinforced by the fact that many character-only terminals
+display the apostrophe in typewriter style, as a vertical single
+quote).
+
+One quirk that shows up frequently in the email style of Unix hackers in particular is a
+tendency for some things that are normally all-lowercase
+(including usernames and the names of commands and C routines) to
+remain uncapitalized even when they occur at the beginning of
+sentences. It is clear that, for many hackers, the case of such
+identifiers becomes a part of their internal representation (the
+`spelling') and cannot be overridden without mental effort (an
+appropriate reflex because Unix and C both distinguish cases and
+confusing them can lead to lossage). A way of escaping this dilemma is
+simply to avoid using these constructions at the beginning of
+sentences.
+
+There seems to be a meta-rule behind these nonstandard
+hackerisms to the effect that precision of expression is more
+important than conformance to traditional rules; where the latter
+create ambiguity or lose information they can be discarded
+without a second thought. It is notable in this respect that
+other hackish inventions (for example, in vocabulary) also tend
+to carry very precise shades of meaning even when constructed to
+appear slangy and loose. In fact, to a hacker, the contrast
+between `loose' form and `tight' content in jargon is a
+substantial part of its humor!
+
+Hackers have also developed a number of punctuation and
+emphasis conventions adapted to single-font all-ASCII
+communications links, and these are occasionally carried over
+into written documents even when normal means of font changes,
+underlining, and the like are available.
+
+One of these is that TEXT IN ALL CAPS IS INTERPRETED AS
+`LOUD', and this becomes such an ingrained synesthetic reflex
+that a person who goes to caps-lock while in talk mode may be asked to "stop shouting,
+please, you're hurting my ears!".
+
+Also, it is common to use bracketing with unusual characters
+to signify emphasis. The asterisk is most common, as in "What the
+*hell*?" even though this interferes with the common use of the
+asterisk suffix as a footnote mark. The underscore is also
+common, suggesting underlining (this is particularly common with
+book titles; for example, "It is often alleged that Joe Haldeman
+wrote _The_Forever_War_ as a rebuttal to Robert Heinlein's
+earlier novel of the future military, _Starship_Troopers_.").
+Other forms exemplified by "=hell=", "\hell/", or "/hell/" are
+occasionally seen (it's claimed that in the last example the
+first slash pushes the letters over to the right to make them
+italic, and the second keeps them from falling over). On FidoNet,
+you might see #bright# and ^dark^ text, which was actually
+interpreted by some reader software. Finally, words may also be
+emphasized L I K E T H I S, or by a series of carets (^) under
+them on the next line of the text.
+
+There is a semantic difference between *emphasis like this*
+(which emphasizes the phrase as a whole), and *emphasis* *like*
+*this* (which suggests the writer speaking very slowly and
+distinctly, as if to a very young child or a mentally impaired
+person). Bracketing a word with the `*' character may also
+indicate that the writer wishes readers to consider that an
+action is taking place or that a sound is being made. Examples:
+*bang*, *hic*, *ring*, *grin*, *kick*, *stomp*, *mumble*.
+
+One might also see the above sound effects as <bang>,
+<hic>, <ring>, <grin>, <kick>,
+<stomp>, <mumble>. This use of angle brackets to mark
+their contents originally derives from conventions used in BNF, but since about 1993 it has been
+reinforced by the HTML markup used on the World Wide Web.
+
+Angle-bracket enclosure is also used to indicate that a term
+stands for some random member of a
+larger class (this is straight from BNF). Examples like the following are common:
+
+So this <ethnic> walks into a bar one day...
+
+
+There is also an accepted convention for `writing under
+erasure'; the text
+
+Be nice to this fool^H^H^H^Hgentleman,
+he's visiting from corporate HQ.
+
+
+reads roughly as "Be nice to this fool, er,
+gentleman...", with irony emphasized. The digraph
+^H is often used as a print representation for a backspace, and
+was actually very visible on old-style printing terminals. As the
+text was being composed the characters would be echoed and
+printed immediately, and when a correction was made the backspace
+keystrokes would be echoed with the string '^H'. Of course, the
+final composed text would have no trace of the backspace
+characters (or the original erroneous text).
+
+This convention parallels (and may have been influenced by)
+the ironic use of `slashouts' in science-fiction fanzines.
+
+A related habit uses editor commands to signify corrections to
+previous text. This custom faded in email as more mailers got
+good editing capabilities, only to tale on new life on IRCs and
+other line-based chat systems.
+
+I've seen that term used on alt.foobar often.
+Send it to Erik for the File.
+Oops...s/Erik/Eric/.
+
+
+The s/Erik/Eric/ says "change Erik to Eric in the preceding".
+This syntax is borrowed from the Unix editing tools
+ed and sed, but is widely recognized by
+non-Unix hackers as well.
+
+In a formula, * signifies multiplication but two
+asterisks in a row are a shorthand for exponentiation (this
+derives from FORTRAN). Thus, one might write 2 ** 8 = 256.
+
+Another notation for exponentiation one sees more frequently
+uses the caret (^, ASCII 1011110); one might write instead
+2^8 = 256. This goes all the way back to Algol-60,
+which used the archaic ASCII `up-arrow' that later became the
+caret; this was picked up by Kemeny and Kurtz's original BASIC,
+which in turn influenced the design of the bc(1) and
+dc(1) Unix tools, which have probably done most to
+reinforce the convention on Usenet. (TeX math mode also uses ^
+for exponention.) The notation is mildly confusing to C
+programmers, because ^ means bitwise exclusive-or in
+C. Despite this, it was favored 3:1 over ** in a late-1990
+snapshot of Usenet. It is used consistently in this lexicon.
+
+In on-line exchanges, hackers tend to use decimal forms or
+improper fractions (`3.5' or `7/2') rather than `typewriter
+style' mixed fractions (`3-1/2'). The major motive here is
+probably that the former are more readable in a monospaced font,
+together with a desire to avoid the risk that the latter might be
+read as `three minus one-half'. The decimal form is definitely
+preferred for fractions with a terminating decimal
+representation; there may be some cultural influence here from
+the high status of scientific notation.
+
+Another on-line convention, used especially for very large or
+very small numbers, is taken from C (which derived it from
+FORTRAN). This is a form of `scientific notation' using `e' to
+replace `*10^'; for example, one year is about 3e7 seconds
+long.
+
+The tilde (~) is commonly used in a quantifying sense of
+`approximately'; that is, ~50 means `about
+fifty'.
+
+On Usenet and in the MUD world,
+common C boolean, logical, and relational operators such as
+|, &, ||,
+&&, !, ==,
+!=, >, <,
+>=, and =< are often combined
+with English. The Pascal not-equals, <>, is
+also recognized, and occasionally one sees /= for
+not-equals (from Ada, Common Lisp, and Fortran 90). The use of
+prefix `!' as a loose synonym for `not-' or `no-' is particularly
+common; thus, `!clue' is read `no-clue' or `clueless'.
+
+A related practice borrows syntax from preferred programming
+languages to express ideas in a natural-language text. For
+example, one might see the following:
+
+In <jrh578689@thudpucker.com> J. R. Hacker wrote:
+>I recently had occasion to field-test the Snafu
+>Systems 2300E adaptive gonkulator.  The price was
+>right, and the racing stripe on the case looked
+>kind of neat, but its performance left something
+>to be desired.
+
+Yeah, I tried one out too.
+
+#ifdef FLAME
+Hasn't anyone told those idiots that you can't get
+decent bogon suppression with AFJ filters at today's
+net volumes?
+#endif /* FLAME */
+
+I guess they figured the price premium for true
+frame-based semantic analysis was too high.
+Unfortunately, it's also the only workable approach.
+I wouldn't recommend purchase of this product unless
+you're on a *very* tight budget.
+
+#include <disclaimer.h>
+--
+                 == Frank Foonly (Fubarco Systems)
+
+
+In the above, the #ifdef/#endif pair
+is a conditional compilation syntax from C; here, it implies that
+the text between (which is a flame)
+should be evaluated only if you have turned on (or defined on)
+the switch FLAME. The #include at the end is C for
+"include standard disclaimer here"; the `standard disclaimer' is
+understood to read, roughly, "These are my personal opinions and
+not to be construed as the official position of my employer."
+
+The top section in the example, with > at the left margin,
+is an example of an inclusion convention we'll discuss below.
+
+More recently, following on the huge popularity of the World
+Wide Web, pseudo-HTML markup has become popular for similar
+purposes:
+
+<flame>
+Your father was a hamster and your mother smelt of elderberries!
+</flame>
+
+
+You'll even see this with an HTML-style modifier:
+
+<flame intensity="100%">
+You seem well-suited for a career in government.
+</flame>
+
+
+Another recent (late 1990s) construction now common on USENET
+seems to be borrowed from Perl. It consists of using a dollar
+sign before an uppercased form of a word or acronym to suggest
+any random member of the class
+indicated by the word. Thus: `$PHB' means "any random member of
+the class `Pointy-Haired Boss'".
+
+Hackers also mix letters and numbers more freely than in
+mainstream usage. In particular, it is good hackish style to
+write a digit sequence where you intend the reader to understand
+the text string that names that number in English. So, hackers
+prefer to write `1970s' rather than `nineteen-seventies' or
+`1970's' (the latter looks like a possessive).
+
+It should also be noted that hackers exhibit much less
+reluctance to use multiply-nested parentheses than is normal in
+English. Part of this is almost certainly due to influence from
+LISP (which uses deeply nested parentheses (like this (see?)) in
+its syntax a lot), but it has also been suggested that a more
+basic hacker trait of enjoying playing with complexity and
+pushing systems to their limits is in operation.
+
+Finally, it is worth mentioning that many studies of on-line
+communication have shown that electronic links have a
+de-inhibiting effect on people. Deprived of the body-language
+cues through which emotional state is expressed, people tend to
+forget everything about other parties except what is presented
+over that ASCII link. This has both good and bad effects. A good
+one is that it encourages honesty and tends to break down
+hierarchical authority relationships; a bad one is that it may
+encourage depersonalization and gratuitous rudeness. Perhaps in
+response to this, experienced netters often display a sort of
+conscious formal _politesse_ in their writing that has
+passed out of fashion in other spoken and written media (for
+example, the phrase "Well said, sir!" is not uncommon).
+
+Many introverted hackers who are next to inarticulate in
+person communicate with considerable fluency over the net,
+perhaps precisely because they can forget on an unconscious level
+that they are dealing with people and thus don't feel stressed
+and anxious as they would face to face.
+
+Though it is considered gauche to publicly criticize posters
+for poor spelling or grammar, the network places a premium on
+literacy and clarity of expression. It may well be that future
+historians of literature will see in it a revival of the great
+tradition of personal letters as art.
+
+
+Node:Email Quotes, Next:Hacker Speech Style,
+Previous:Hacker Writing Style, Up:Top 
+
+Email Quotes and Inclusion Conventions
+
+One area where conventions for on-line writing are still in
+some flux is the marking of included material from earlier
+messages -- what would be called `block quotations' in ordinary
+English. From the usual typographic convention employed for these
+(smaller font at an extra indent), there derived a practice of
+included text being indented by one ASCII TAB (0001001)
+character, which under Unix and many other environments gives the
+appearance of an 8-space indent.
+
+Early mail and netnews readers had no facility for including
+messages this way, so people had to paste in copy manually. BSD
+Mail(1) was the first message agent to support
+inclusion, and early Usenetters emulated its style. But the TAB
+character tended to push included text too far to the right
+(especially in multiply nested inclusions), leading to ugly
+wraparounds. After a brief period of confusion (during which an
+inclusion leader consisting of three or four spaces became
+established in EMACS and a few mailers), the use of leading
+> or >  became standard, perhaps
+owing to its use in ed(1) to display tabs
+(alternatively, it may derive from the > that
+some early Unix mailers used to quote lines starting with "From"
+in text, so they wouldn't look like the beginnings of new message
+headers). Inclusions within inclusions keep their
+> leaders, so the `nesting level' of a quotation
+is visually apparent.
+
+The practice of including text from the parent article when
+posting a followup helped solve what had been a major nuisance on
+Usenet: the fact that articles do not arrive at different sites
+in the same order. Careless posters used to post articles that
+would begin with, or even consist entirely of, "No, that's wrong"
+or "I agree" or the like. It was hard to see who was responding
+to what. Consequently, around 1984, new news-posting software
+evolved a facility to automatically include the text of a
+previous article, marked with "> " or whatever the poster
+chose. The poster was expected to delete all but the relevant
+lines. The result has been that, now, careless posters post
+articles containing the entire text of a preceding
+article, followed only by "No, that's wrong" or "I
+agree".
+
+Many people feel that this cure is worse than the original
+disease, and there soon appeared newsreader software designed to
+let the reader skip over included text if desired. Today, some
+posting software rejects articles containing too high a
+proportion of lines beginning with `>' -- but this too has led
+to undesirable workarounds, such as the deliberate inclusion of
+zero-content filler lines which aren't quoted and thus pull the
+message below the rejection threshold.
+
+Because the default mailers supplied with Unix and other
+operating systems haven't evolved as quickly as human usage, the
+older conventions using a leading TAB or three or four spaces are
+still alive; however, >-inclusion is now clearly the prevalent
+form in both netnews and mail.
+
+Inclusion practice is still evolving, and disputes over the
+`correct' inclusion style occasionally lead to holy wars.
+
+Most netters view an inclusion as a promise that comment on it
+will immediately follow. The preferred, conversational style
+looks like this,
+
+     > relevant excerpt 1
+     response to excerpt
+     > relevant excerpt 2
+     response to excerpt
+     > relevant excerpt 3
+     response to excerpt
+
+
+or for short messages like this:
+
+     > entire message
+     response to message
+
+
+Thanks to poor design of some PC-based mail agents, one will
+occasionally see the entire quoted message after the
+response, like this
+
+     response to message
+     > entire message
+
+
+but this practice is strongly deprecated.
+
+Though > remains the standard inclusion
+leader, | is occasionally used for extended
+quotations where original variations in indentation are being
+retained (one mailer even combines these and uses
+|>). One also sees different styles of quoting a
+number of authors in the same message: one (deprecated because it
+loses information) uses a leader of >  for
+everyone, another (the most common) is
+> > > >  , > > > 
+, etc. (or >>>>  ,
+>>>, etc., depending on line length and
+nesting depth) reflecting the original order of messages, and yet
+another is to use a different citation leader for each author,
+say >  , :  , |  ,
+}  (preserving nesting so that the inclusion order
+of messages is still apparent, or tagging the inclusions with
+authors' names). Yet another style is to use each
+poster's initials (or login name) as a citation leader for that
+poster.
+
+Occasionally one sees a #  leader used for
+quotations from authoritative sources such as standards
+documents; the intended allusion is to the root prompt (the
+special Unix command prompt issued when one is running as the
+privileged super-user).
+
+
+Node:Hacker Speech Style,
+Next:International
+Style, Previous:Email Quotes, Up:Top 
+
+Hacker Speech Style
+
+Hackish speech generally features extremely precise diction,
+careful word choice, a relatively large working vocabulary, and
+relatively little use of contractions or street slang. Dry humor,
+irony, puns, and a mildly flippant attitude are highly valued --
+but an underlying seriousness and intelligence are essential. One
+should use just enough jargon to communicate precisely and
+identify oneself as a member of the culture; overuse of jargon or
+a breathless, excessively gung-ho attitude is considered tacky
+and the mark of a loser.
+
+This speech style is a variety of the precisionist English
+normally spoken by scientists, design engineers, and academics in
+technical fields. In contrast with the methods of jargon
+construction, it is fairly constant throughout hackerdom.
+
+It has been observed that many hackers are confused by
+negative questions -- or, at least, that the people to whom they
+are talking are often confused by the sense of their answers. The
+problem is that they have done so much programming that
+distinguishes between
+
+if (going) ...
+
+
+and
+
+if (!going) ...
+
+
+that when they parse the question "Aren't you going?" it may
+seem to be asking the opposite question from "Are you going?",
+and so to merit an answer in the opposite sense. This confuses
+English-speaking non-hackers because they were taught to answer
+as though the negative part weren't there. In some other
+languages (including Russian, Chinese, and Japanese) the hackish
+interpretation is standard and the problem wouldn't arise.
+Hackers often find themselves wishing for a word like French
+`si', German `doch', or Dutch `jawel' - a word with which one
+could unambiguously answer `yes' to a negative question. (See
+also mu)
+
+For similar reasons, English-speaking hackers almost never use
+double negatives, even if they live in a region where colloquial
+usage allows them. The thought of uttering something that
+logically ought to be an affirmative knowing it will be misparsed
+as a negative tends to disturb them.
+
+In a related vein, hackers sometimes make a game of answering
+questions containing logical connectives with a strictly literal
+rather than colloquial interpretation. A non-hacker who is
+indelicate enough to ask a question like "So, are you working on
+finding that bug now or leaving it until later?" is
+likely to get the perfectly correct answer "Yes!" (that is, "Yes,
+I'm doing it either now or later, and you didn't ask
+which!").
+
+
+Node:International Style,
+Next:Lamer-speak,
+Previous:Hacker
+Speech Style, Up:Top 
+
+International Style
+
+Although the Jargon File remains primarily a lexicon of hacker
+usage in American English, we have made some effort to get input
+from abroad. Though the hacker-speak of other languages often
+uses translations of jargon from English (often as transmitted to
+them by earlier Jargon File versions!), the local variations are
+interesting, and knowledge of them may be of some use to
+travelling hackers.
+
+There are some references herein to `Commonwealth hackish'.
+These are intended to describe some variations in hacker usage as
+reported in the English spoken in Great Britain and the
+Commonwealth (Canada, Australia, India, etc. -- though Canada is
+heavily influenced by American usage). There is also an entry on
+Commonwealth Hackish
+reporting some general phonetic and vocabulary differences from
+U.S. hackish.
+
+Hackers in Western Europe and (especially) Scandinavia report
+that they often use a mixture of English and their native
+languages for technical conversation. Occasionally they develop
+idioms in their English usage that are influenced by their
+native-language styles. Some of these are reported here.
+
+On the other hand, English often gives rise to grammatical and
+vocabulary mutations in the native language. For example, Italian
+hackers often use the nonexistent verbs `scrollare' (to scroll)
+and `deletare' (to delete) rather than native Italian `scorrere'
+and `cancellare'. Similarly, the English verb `to hack' has been
+seen conjugated in Swedish. In German, many Unix terms in English
+are casually declined as if they were German verbs - thus:
+mount/mounten/gemountet; grep/grepen/gegrept;
+fork/forken/geforkt; core dump/core-dumpen, core-gedumpt. And
+Spanish-speaking hackers use `linkar' (to link), `debugear' (to
+debug), and `lockear' (to lock).
+
+European hackers report that this happens partly because the
+English terms make finer distinctions than are available in their
+native vocabularies, and partly because deliberate
+language-crossing makes for amusing wordplay.
+
+A few notes on hackish usages in Russian have been added where
+they are parallel with English idioms and thus comprehensible to
+English-speakers.
+
+
+Node:Lamer-speak, Next:Pronunciation Guide,
+Previous:International Style, Up:Top 
+
+Crackers, Phreaks, and Lamers
+
+From the early 1980s onward, a flourishing culture of local,
+MS-DOS-based bulletin boards developed separately from Internet
+hackerdom. The BBS culture has, as its seamy underside, a stratum
+of `pirate boards' inhabited by crackers, phone phreaks, and warez d00dz. These people (mostly
+teenagers running IBM-PC clones from their bedrooms) have
+developed their own characteristic jargon, heavily influenced by
+skateboard lingo and underground-rock slang.
+
+Though crackers often call themselves `hackers', they aren't
+(they typically have neither significant programming ability, nor
+Internet expertise, nor experience with UNIX or other true
+multi-user systems). Their vocabulary has little overlap with
+hackerdom's. Nevertheless, this lexicon covers much of it so the
+reader will be able to understand what goes by on bulletin-board
+systems.
+
+Here is a brief guide to cracker and warez d00dz usage:
+
+
+Misspell frequently. The substitutions
+
+     phone => fone
+     freak => phreak
+
+
+are obligatory.
+
+
+Always substitute `z's for `s's. (i.e. "codes" ->
+"codez"). The substitution of 'z' for 's' has evolved so that a
+'z' is bow systematically put at the end of words to denote an
+illegal or cracking connection. Examples : Appz, passwordz,
+passez, utilz, MP3z, distroz, pornz, sitez, gamez, crackz,
+serialz, downloadz, FTPz, etc.
+
+
+Type random emphasis characters after a post line (i.e. "Hey
+Dudes!#!$#$!#!$").
+
+
+Use the emphatic `k' prefix ("k-kool", "k-rad", "k-awesome")
+frequently.
+
+
+Abbreviate compulsively ("I got lotsa warez w/ docs").
+
+
+Substitute `0' for `o' ("r0dent", "l0zer").
+
+
+TYPE ALL IN CAPS LOCK, SO IT LOOKS LIKE YOU'RE YELLING ALL
+THE TIME.
+
+These traits are similar to those of B1FF, who originated as a parody of naive BBS users; also of his latter-day equivalent
+Jeff K.. Occasionally, this sort
+of distortion may be used as heavy sarcasm by a real hacker, as
+in:
+
+    > I got X Windows running under Linux!
+
+    d00d!  u R an 31337 hax0r
+
+
+The only practice resembling this in actual hacker usage is
+the substitution of a dollar sign of `s' in names of products or
+service felt to be excessively expensive, e.g. Compu$erve,
+Micro$oft.
+
+For further discussion of the pirate-board subculture, see
+lamer, elite, leech, poser, cracker, and especially warez d00dz, banner site, ratio site, leech mode.
+
+
+Node:Pronunciation Guide,
+Next:Other
+Lexicon Conventions, Previous:Lamer-speak, Up:Top 
+
+How to Use the Lexicon
+
+Pronunciation Guide
+
+Pronunciation keys are provided in the jargon listings for all
+entries that are neither dictionary words pronounced as in
+standard English nor obvious compounds thereof. Slashes bracket
+phonetic pronunciations, which are to be interpreted using the
+following conventions:
+
+
+Syllables are hyphen-separated, except that an accent or
+back-accent follows each accented syllable (the back-accent marks
+a secondary accent in some words of four or more syllables). If
+no accent is given, the word is pronounced with equal
+accentuation on all syllables (this is common for
+abbreviations).
+
+
+Consonants are pronounced as in American English. The letter
+`g' is always hard (as in "got" rather than "giant"); `ch' is
+soft ("church" rather than "chemist"). The letter `j' is the
+sound that occurs twice in "judge". The letter `s' is always as
+in "pass", never a z sound. The digraph `kh' is the guttural of
+"loch" or "l'chaim". The digraph 'gh' is the aspirated g+h of
+"bughouse" or "ragheap" (rare in English).
+
+
+Uppercase letters are pronounced as their English letter
+names; thus (for example) /H-L-L/ is equivalent to /aych el el/.
+/Z/ may be pronounced /zee/ or /zed/ depending on your local
+dialect.
+
+
+Vowels are represented as follows:
+
+
+/a/
+
+
+back, that
+
+/ah/
+
+
+father, palm (see note)
+
+
+/ar/
+
+
+far, mark
+
+
+/aw/
+
+
+flaw, caught
+
+
+/ay/
+
+
+bake, rain
+
+
+/e/
+
+
+less, men
+
+
+/ee/
+
+
+easy, ski
+
+
+/eir/
+
+
+their, software
+
+
+/i/
+
+
+trip, hit
+
+
+/i:/
+
+
+life, sky
+
+
+/o/
+
+
+block, stock (see note)
+
+
+/oh/
+
+
+flow, sew
+
+
+/oo/
+
+
+loot, through
+
+
+/or/
+
+
+more, door
+
+
+/ow/
+
+
+out, how
+
+
+/oy/
+
+
+boy, coin
+
+
+/uh/
+
+
+but, some
+
+
+/u/
+
+
+put, foot
+
+
+/y/
+
+
+yet, young
+
+
+/yoo/
+
+
+few, chew
+
+
+/[y]oo/
+
+
+/oo/ with optional fronting as in `news' (/nooz/ or
+/nyooz/)
+
+
+
+The glyph /*/ is used for the `schwa' sound of unstressed or
+occluded vowels (the one that is often written with an
+upside-down `e'). The schwa vowel is omitted in syllables
+containing vocalic r, l, m or n; that is, `kitten' and `color'
+would be rendered /kit'n/ and /kuhl'r/, not /kit'*n/ and
+/kuhl'*r/.
+
+Note that the above table reflects mainly distinctions found
+in standard American English (that is, the neutral dialect spoken
+by TV network announcers and typical of educated speech in the
+Upper Midwest, Chicago, Minneapolis/St. Paul and Philadelphia).
+However, we separate /o/ from /ah/, which tend to merge in
+standard American. This may help readers accustomed to accents
+resembling British Received Pronunciation.
+
+The intent of this scheme is to permit as many readers as
+possible to map the pronunciations into their local dialect by
+ignoring some subset of the distinctions we make. Speakers of
+British RP, for example, can smash terminal /r/ and all
+unstressed vowels. Speakers of many varieties of southern
+American will automatically map /o/ to /aw/; and so forth.
+(Standard American makes a good reference dialect for this
+purpose because it has crisp consonants and more vowel
+distinctions than other major dialects, and tends to retain
+distinctions between unstressed vowels. It also happens to be
+what your editor speaks.)
+
+Entries with a pronunciation of `//' are written-only usages.
+(No, Unix weenies, this does not mean `pronounce like
+previous pronunciation'!)
+
+
+Node:Other Lexicon
+Conventions, Next:Format for New Entries,
+Previous:Pronunciation Guide, Up:Top 
+
+Other Lexicon Conventions
+
+Entries are sorted in case-blind ASCII collation order (rather
+than the letter-by-letter order ignoring interword spacing common
+in mainstream dictionaries), except that all entries beginning
+with nonalphabetic characters are sorted after Z. The
+case-blindness is a feature, not a bug.
+
+The beginning of each entry is marked by a colon
+(:) at the left margin. This convention helps out
+tools like hypertext browsers that benefit from knowing where
+entry boundaries are, but aren't as context-sensitive as
+humans.
+
+In pure ASCII renderings of the Jargon File, you will see {}
+used to bracket words which themselves have entries in the File.
+This isn't done all the time for every such word, but it is done
+everywhere that a reminder seems useful that the term has a
+jargon meaning and one might wish to refer to its entry.
+
+In this all-ASCII version, headwords for topic entries are
+distinguished from those for ordinary entries by being followed
+by "::" rather than ":"; similarly, references are surrounded by
+"{{" and "}}" rather than "{" and "}".
+
+Defining instances of terms and phrases appear in `slanted
+type'. A defining instance is one which occurs near to or as part
+of an explanation of it.
+
+Prefixed ** is used as linguists do; to mark examples of
+incorrect usage.
+
+We follow the `logical' quoting convention described in the
+Writing Style section above. In addition, we reserve double
+quotes for actual excerpts of text or (sometimes invented)
+speech. Scare quotes (which mark a word being used in a
+nonstandard way), and philosopher's quotes (which turn an
+utterance into the string of letters or words that name it) are
+both rendered with single quotes.
+
+References such as malloc(3) and
+patch(1) are to Unix facilities (some of which, such
+as patch(1), are actually freeware distributed over
+Usenet). The Unix manuals use foo(n) to refer to
+item foo in section (n) of the manual, where n=1 is utilities,
+n=2 is system calls, n=3 is C library routines, n=6 is games, and
+n=8 (where present) is system administration utilities. Sections
+4, 5, and 7 of the manuals have changed roles frequently and in
+any case are not referred to in any of the entries.
+
+Various abbreviations used frequently in the lexicon are
+summarized here:
+
+
+_abbrev._
+
+
+abbreviation
+
+
+_adj._
+
+
+adjective
+
+
+_adv._
+
+
+adverb
+
+
+_alt._
+
+
+alternate
+
+
+_cav._
+
+
+caveat
+
+
+_conj._
+
+
+conjunction
+
+
+_esp._
+
+
+especially
+
+
+_excl._
+
+
+exclamation
+
+
+_imp._
+
+
+imperative
+
+
+_interj._
+
+
+interjection
+
+
+_n._
+
+
+noun
+
+
+_obs._
+
+
+obsolete
+
+
+_pl._
+
+
+plural
+
+
+_poss._
+
+
+possibly
+
+
+_pref._
+
+
+prefix
+
+
+_prob._
+
+
+probably
+
+
+_prov._
+
+
+proverbial
+
+
+_quant._
+
+
+quantifier
+
+
+_suff._
+
+
+suffix
+
+
+_syn._
+
+
+synonym (or synonymous with)
+
+
+_v._
+
+
+verb (may be transitive or intransitive)
+
+
+_var._
+
+
+variant
+
+
+_vi._
+
+
+intransitive verb
+
+
+_vt._
+
+
+transitive verb
+
+Where alternate spellings or pronunciations are given,
+_alt._ separates two possibilities with nearly equal
+distribution, while _var._ prefixes one that is markedly
+less common than the primary.
+
+Where a term can be attributed to a particular subculture or
+is known to have originated there, we have tried to so indicate.
+Here is a list of abbreviations used in etymologies:
+
+
+Amateur Packet Radio
+
+
+A technical culture of ham-radio sites using AX.25 and TCP/IP
+for wide-area networking and BBS systems.
+
+Berkeley
+
+
+University of California at Berkeley
+
+BBN
+
+
+Bolt, Beranek & Newman
+
+Cambridge
+
+
+the university in England (not the city in
+Massachusetts where MIT happens to be located!)
+
+CMU
+
+
+Carnegie-Mellon University
+
+Commodore
+
+
+Commodore Business Machines
+
+DEC
+
+
+The Digital Equipment Corporation (now Compaq).
+
+Fairchild
+
+
+The Fairchild Instruments Palo Alto development group
+
+FidoNet
+
+
+See the FidoNet entry
+
+IBM
+
+
+International Business Machines
+
+MIT
+
+
+Massachusetts Institute of Technology; esp. the legendary MIT
+AI Lab culture of roughly 1971 to 1983 and its feeder groups,
+including the Tech Model Railroad Club
+
+NRL
+
+
+Naval Research Laboratories
+
+NYU
+
+
+New York University
+
+OED
+
+
+The Oxford English Dictionary
+
+Purdue
+
+
+Purdue University
+
+SAIL
+
+
+Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (at Stanford
+University)
+
+SI
+
+
+From _Système International_, the name for the
+standard conventions of metric nomenclature used in the
+sciences
+
+Stanford
+
+
+Stanford University
+
+Sun
+
+
+Sun Microsystems
+
+TMRC
+
+
+Some MITisms go back as far as the Tech Model Railroad Club
+(TMRC) at MIT c. 1960. Material marked TMRC is from "An Abridged
+Dictionary of the TMRC Language", originally compiled by Pete
+Samson in 1959
+
+UCLA
+
+
+University of California at Los Angeles
+
+UK
+
+
+the United Kingdom (England, Wales, Scotland, Northern
+Ireland)
+
+Usenet
+
+
+See the Usenet entry
+
+WPI
+
+
+Worcester Polytechnic Institute, site of a very active
+community of PDP-10 hackers during the 1970s
+
+WWW
+
+
+The World-Wide-Web.
+
+XEROX PARC
+
+
+XEROX's Palo Alto Research Center, site of much pioneering
+research in user interface design and networking
+
+Yale
+
+
+Yale University
+
+
+
+Some other etymology abbreviations such as Unix and PDP-10
+refer to technical cultures surrounding specific operating
+systems, processors, or other environments. The fact that a term
+is labelled with any one of these abbreviations does not
+necessarily mean its use is confined to that culture. In
+particular, many terms labelled `MIT' and `Stanford' are in quite
+general use. We have tried to give some indication of the
+distribution of speakers in the usage notes; however, a number of
+factors mentioned in the introduction conspire to make these
+indications less definite than might be desirable.
+
+A few new definitions attached to entries are marked
+[proposed]. These are usually generalizations suggested by
+editors or Usenet respondents in the process of commenting on
+previous definitions of those entries. These are not
+represented as established jargon.
+
+
+Node:Format for New
+Entries, Next:The Jargon Lexicon, Previous:Other
+Lexicon Conventions, Up:Top 
+
+Format For New Entries
+
+You can mail submissions for the Jargon File to jargon@snark.thyrsus.com.
+
+We welcome new jargon, and corrections to or amplifications of
+existing entries. You can improve your submission's chances of
+being included by adding background information on user
+population and years of currency. References to actual usage via
+URLs and/or DejaNews pointers are particularly welcomed.
+
+All contributions and suggestions about the Jargon File will
+be considered donations to be placed in the public domain as part
+of this File, and may be used in subsequent paper editions.
+Submissions may be edited for accuracy, clarity and
+concision.
+
+We are looking to expand the File's range of technical
+specialties covered. There are doubtless rich veins of jargon yet
+untapped in the scientific computing, graphics, and networking
+hacker communities; also in numerical analysis, computer
+architectures and VLSI design, language design, and many other
+related fields. Send us your jargon!
+
+We are not interested in straight technical terms
+explained by textbooks or technical dictionaries unless an entry
+illuminates `underground' meanings or aspects not covered by
+official histories. We are also not interested in `joke' entries
+-- there is a lot of humor in the file but it must flow naturally
+out of the explanations of what hackers do and how they
+think.
+
+It is OK to submit items of jargon you have originated if they
+have spread to the point of being used by people who are not
+personally acquainted with you. We prefer items to be attested by
+independent submission from two different sites.
+
+An HTML version of the File is available at
+http://www.tuxedo.org/jargon. Please send us URLs for materials
+related to the entries, so we can enrich the File's link
+structure.
+
+The Jargon File will be regularly maintained and made
+available for browsing on the World Wide Web, and will include a
+version number. Read it, pass it around, contribute -- this is
+your monument!
+
+
+Node:The Jargon Lexicon,
+Next:Appendix A,
+Previous:Format for New Entries, Up:Top 
+
+The Jargon Lexicon
+
+
+= 0 =:
+
+
+= A =:
+
+
+= B =:
+
+
+= C =:
+
+
+= D =:
+
+
+= E =:
+
+
+= F =:
+
+
+= G =:
+
+
+= H =:
+
+
+= I =:
+
+
+= J =:
+
+
+= K =:
+
+
+= L =:
+
+
+= M =:
+
+
+= N =:
+
+
+= O =:
+
+
+= P =:
+
+
+= Q =:
+
+
+= R =:
+
+
+= S =:
+
+
+= T =:
+
+
+= U =:
+
+
+= V =:
+
+
+= W =:
+
+
+= X =:
+
+
+= Y =:
+
+
+= Z =:
+
+
+Node:= 0 =, Next:= A =, Up:The Jargon Lexicon 
+
+= 0 =
+
+
+0:
+
+
+1TBS:
+
+
+120 reset:
+
+
+2:
+
+
+404:
+
+
+404 compliant:
+
+
+4.2:
+
+
+@-party:
+
+
+Node:0, Next:1TBS,
+Up:= 0 = 
+
+0
+
+Numeric zero, as opposed to the letter `O' (the 15th letter of
+the English alphabet). In their unmodified forms they look a lot
+alike, and various kluges invented to make them visually distinct
+have compounded the confusion. If your zero is center-dotted and
+letter-O is not, or if letter-O looks almost rectangular but zero
+looks more like an American football stood on end (or the
+reverse), you're probably looking at a modern character display
+(though the dotted zero seems to have originated as an option on
+IBM 3270 controllers). If your zero is slashed but letter-O is
+not, you're probably looking at an old-style ASCII graphic set
+descended from the default typewheel on the venerable ASR-33
+Teletype (Scandinavians, for whom Ø is a letter, curse
+this arrangement). (Interestingly, the slashed zero long predates
+computers; Florian Cajori's monumental "A History of Mathematical
+Notations" notes that it was used in the twelfth and thirteenth
+centuries.) If letter-O has a slash across it and the zero does
+not, your display is tuned for a very old convention used at IBM
+and a few other early mainframe makers (Scandinavians curse
+this arrangement even more, because it means two of
+their letters collide). Some Burroughs/Unisys equipment displays
+a zero with a reversed slash. Old CDC computers rendered
+letter O as an unbroken oval and 0 as an oval broken at upper
+right and lower left. And yet another convention common on early
+line printers left zero unornamented but added a tail or hook to
+the letter-O so that it resembled an inverted Q or cursive
+capital letter-O (this was endorsed by a draft ANSI standard for
+how to draw ASCII characters, but the final standard changed the
+distinguisher to a tick-mark in the upper-left corner). Are we
+sufficiently confused yet?
+
+
+Node:1TBS, Next:120 reset, Previous:0, Up:= 0 = 
+
+1TBS // n.
+
+The "One True Brace Style"; see indent style.
+
+
+Node:120 reset, Next:2, Previous:1TBS, Up:= 0 =
+
+
+120 reset /wuhn-twen'tee ree'set/ n.
+
+[from 120 volts, U.S. wall voltage] To cycle power on a
+machine in order to reset or unjam it. Compare Big Red Switch, power cycle.
+
+
+Node:2, Next:404,
+Previous:120 reset,
+Up:= 0 = 
+
+2 infix.
+
+In translation software written by hackers, infix 2 often
+represents the syllable to with the connotation
+`translate to': as in dvi2ps (DVI to PostScript), int2string
+(integer to string), and texi2roff (Texinfo to [nt]roff). Several
+versions of a joke have floated around the internet in which some
+idiot programmer fixes the Y2K bug by changing all the Y's in
+something to K's, as in Januark, Februark, etc.
+
+
+Node:404, Next:404 compliant, Previous:2, Up:= 0 =
+
+
+404 // n.
+
+[from the HTTP error "file not found on server"] Extended to
+humans to convey that the subject has no idea or no clue -
+sapience not found. May be used reflexively; "Uh, I'm 404ing"
+means "I'm drawing a blank".
+
+
+Node:404 compliant, Next:4.2, Previous:404, Up:= 0 =
+
+
+404 compliant adj.
+
+The status of a website which has been completely removed,
+usually by the administrators of the hosting site as a result of
+net abuse by the website operators. The term is a tongue-in-cheek
+reference to the standard "301 compliant" Murkowski Bill
+disclaimer used by spammers. See also: spam, spamvertize.
+
+
+Node:4.2, Next:@-party, Previous:404 compliant, Up:= 0 = 
+
+4.2 /for' poynt too'/ n.
+
+Without a prefix, this almost invariably refers to BSD Unix release 4.2. Note that it is an
+indication of cluelessness to say "version 4.2", and "release
+4.2" is rare; the number stands on its own, or is used in the
+more explicit forms 4.2BSD or (less commonly) BSD 4.2. Similar
+remarks apply to "4.3", "4.4" and to earlier, less-widespread
+releases 4.1 and 2.9.
+
+
+Node:@-party, Next:abbrev, Previous:4.2, Up:= 0 =
+
+
+@-party /at'par`tee/ n.
+
+[from the @-sign in an Internet address] (alt. `@-sign party'
+/at'si:n par`tee/) A semi-closed party thrown for hackers at a
+science-fiction convention (esp. the annual World Science Fiction
+Convention or "Worldcon"); one must have a network address to get in, or at
+least be in company with someone who does. One of the most
+reliable opportunities for hackers to meet face to face with
+people who might otherwise be represented by mere phosphor dots
+on their screens. Compare boink.
+
+The first recorded @-party was held at the Westercon (a U.S.
+western regional SF convention) over the July 4th weekend in
+1980. It is not clear exactly when the canonical @-party venue
+shifted to the Worldcon but it had certainly become established
+by Constellation in 1983. Sadly, the @-party tradition has been
+in decline since about 1996, mainly because having an @-address
+no longer functions as an effective lodge pin.
+
+
+Node:= A =, Next:= B =, Previous:= 0 =, Up:The Jargon Lexicon 
+
+= A =
+
+
+abbrev:
+
+
+ABEND:
+
+
+accumulator:
+
+
+ACK:
+
+
+Acme:
+
+
+acolyte:
+
+
+ad-hockery:
+
+
+Ada:
+
+
+address harvester:
+
+
+adger:
+
+
+admin:
+
+
+ADVENT:
+
+
+AFAIK:
+
+
+AFJ:
+
+
+AFK:
+
+
+AI:
+
+
+AI-complete:
+
+
+AI koans:
+
+
+AIDS:
+
+
+AIDX:
+
+
+airplane rule:
+
+
+Alderson loop:
+
+
+aliasing bug:
+
+
+Alice and Bob:
+
+
+all-elbows:
+
+
+alpha geek:
+
+
+alpha particles:
+
+
+alt:
+
+
+alt bit:
+
+
+Aluminum Book:
+
+
+ambimouseterous:
+
+
+Amiga:
+
+
+Amiga Persecution
+Complex:
+
+
+amoeba:
+
+
+amp off:
+
+
+amper:
+
+
+Angband:
+
+
+angle brackets:
+
+
+angry fruit salad:
+
+
+annoybot:
+
+
+annoyware:
+
+
+ANSI:
+
+
+ANSI standard:
+
+
+ANSI standard
+pizza:
+
+
+AOL!:
+
+
+app:
+
+
+arena:
+
+
+arg:
+
+
+ARMM:
+
+
+armor-plated:
+
+
+asbestos:
+
+
+asbestos cork
+award:
+
+
+asbestos longjohns:
+
+
+ASCII:
+
+
+ASCII art:
+
+
+ASCIIbetical order:
+
+
+astroturfing:
+
+
+atomic:
+
+
+attoparsec:
+
+
+AUP:
+
+
+autobogotiphobia:
+
+
+automagically:
+
+
+avatar:
+
+
+awk:
+
+
+Node:abbrev, Next:ABEND, Previous:@-party, Up:=
+A = 
+
+abbrev /*-breev'/, /*-brev'/ n.
+
+Common abbreviation for `abbreviation'.
+
+
+Node:ABEND, Next:accumulator, Previous:abbrev, Up:= A
+= 
+
+ABEND /a'bend/, /*-bend'/ n.
+
+[ABnormal END] 1. Abnormal termination (of software); crash; lossage. Derives from an error message on the
+IBM 360; used jokingly by hackers but seriously mainly by code grinders. Usually
+capitalized, but may appear as `abend'. Hackers will try to
+persuade you that ABEND is called `abend' because it is what
+system operators do to the machine late on Friday when they want
+to call it a day, and hence is from the German `Abend' =
+`Evening'. 2. [_alt.callahans_] Absent By Enforced Net
+Deprivation - used in the subject lines of postings warning
+friends of an imminent loss of Internet access. (This can be
+because of computer downtime, loss of provider, moving or
+illness.) Variants of this also appear: ABVND = `Absent By
+Voluntary Net Deprivation' and ABSEND = `Absent By Self-Enforced
+Net Deprivation' have been sighted.
+
+
+Node:accumulator, Next:ACK, Previous:ABEND, Up:= A
+= 
+
+accumulator n. obs.
+
+1. Archaic term for a register. On-line use of it as a synonym
+for `register' is a fairly reliable indication that the user has
+been around for quite a while and/or that the architecture under
+discussion is quite old. The term in full is almost never used of
+microprocessor registers, for example, though symbolic names for
+arithmetic registers beginning in `A' derive from historical use
+of the term `accumulator' (and not, actually, from `arithmetic').
+Confusingly, though, an `A' register name prefix may also stand
+for `address', as for example on the Motorola 680x0 family. 2. A
+register being used for arithmetic or logic (as opposed to
+addressing or a loop index), especially one being used to
+accumulate a sum or count of many items. This use is in context
+of a particular routine or stretch of code. "The FOOBAZ routine
+uses A3 as an accumulator." 3. One's in-basket (esp. among
+old-timers who might use sense 1). "You want this reviewed? Sure,
+just put it in the accumulator." (See stack.)
+
+
+Node:ACK, Next:Acme, Previous:accumulator, Up:= A = 
+
+ACK /ak/ interj.
+
+1. [common; from the ASCII mnemonic for 0000110] Acknowledge.
+Used to register one's presence (compare mainstream
+Yo!). An appropriate response to ping or ENQ. 2. [from
+the comic strip "Bloom County"] An exclamation of surprised
+disgust, esp. in "Ack pffft!" Semi-humorous. Generally this sense
+is not spelled in caps (ACK) and is distinguished by a following
+exclamation point. 3. Used to politely interrupt someone to tell
+them you understand their point (see NAK). Thus, for example, you might cut off an
+overly long explanation with "Ack. Ack. Ack. I get it now". 4. An
+affirmative. "Think we ought to ditch that damn NT server for a
+Linux box?" "ACK!"
+
+There is also a usage "ACK?" (from sense 1) meaning "Are you
+there?", often used in email when earlier mail has produced no
+reply, or during a lull in talk
+mode to see if the person has gone away (the standard
+humorous response is of course NAK
+(sense 1), i.e., "I'm not here").
+
+
+Node:Acme, Next:acolyte, Previous:ACK, Up:= A =
+
+
+Acme n.
+
+The canonical supplier of bizarre, elaborate, and
+non-functional gadgetry - where Rube Goldberg and Heath Robinson
+(two cartoonists who specialized in elaborate contraptions) shop.
+The name has been humorously expanded as A (or American) Company
+Making Everything. (In fact, Acme was a real brand sold from
+Sears Roebuck catalogs in the early 1900s.) Describing some X as
+an "Acme X" either means "This is insanely great", or, more likely,
+"This looks insanely great
+on paper, but in practice it's really easy to shoot yourself in
+the foot with it." Compare pistol.
+
+This term, specially cherished by American hackers and
+explained here for the benefit of our overseas brethren, comes
+from the Warner Brothers' series of "Roadrunner" cartoons. In
+these cartoons, the famished Wile E. Coyote was forever
+attempting to catch up with, trap, and eat the Roadrunner. His
+attempts usually involved one or more high-technology Rube
+Goldberg devices - rocket jetpacks, catapults, magnetic traps,
+high-powered slingshots, etc. These were usually delivered in
+large cardboard boxes, labeled prominently with the Acme name.
+These devices invariably malfunctioned in improbable and violent
+ways.
+
+
+Node:acolyte, Next:ad-hockery, Previous:Acme, Up:= A =
+
+
+acolyte n. obs.
+
+[TMRC] An OSU privileged enough to
+submit data and programs to a member of the priesthood.
+
+
+Node:ad-hockery, Next:Ada, Previous:acolyte, Up:= A
+= 
+
+ad-hockery /ad-hok'*r-ee/ n.
+
+[Purdue] 1. Gratuitous assumptions made inside certain
+programs, esp. expert systems, which lead to the appearance of
+semi-intelligent behavior but are in fact entirely arbitrary. For
+example, fuzzy-matching of input tokens that might be typing
+errors against a symbol table can make it look as though a
+program knows how to spell. 2. Special-case code to cope with
+some awkward input that would otherwise cause a program to choke, presuming normal inputs are dealt
+with in some cleaner and more regular way. Also called
+`ad-hackery', `ad-hocity' (/ad-hos'*-tee/), `ad-crockery'. See
+also ELIZA effect.
+
+
+Node:Ada, Next:address harvester, Previous:ad-hockery, Up:= A = 
+
+Ada n.
+
+A Pascal-descended language that
+was at one time made mandatory for Department of Defense software
+projects by the Pentagon. Hackers are nearly unanimous in
+observing that, technically, it is precisely what one might
+expect given that kind of endorsement by fiat; designed by
+committee, crockish, difficult to use, and overall a disastrous,
+multi-billion-dollar boondoggle (one common description wss "The
+PL/I of the 1980s"). Hackers find Ada's exception-handling and
+inter-process communication features particularly hilarious. Ada
+Lovelace (the daughter of Lord Byron who became the world's first
+programmer while cooperating with Charles Babbage on the design
+of his mechanical computing engines in the mid-1800s) would
+almost certainly blanch at the use to which her name has latterly
+been put; the kindest thing that has been said about it is that
+there is probably a good small language screaming to get out from
+inside its vast, elephantine
+bulk.
+
+
+Node:address harvester, Next:adger, Previous:Ada, Up:= A
+= 
+
+address harvester n.
+
+A robot that searches web pages and/or filters netnews traffic
+looking for valid email addresses. Some address harvesters are
+benign, used only for compiling address directories. Most,
+unfortunately, are run by miscreants compiling address lists to
+spam. Address harvesters can be foiled
+by a teergrube.
+
+
+Node:adger, Next:admin, Previous:address harvester, Up:= A = 
+
+adger /aj'r/ vt.
+
+[UCLA mutant of nadger, poss.
+also from the middle name of an infamous tenured graduate student]
+To make a bonehead move with consequences that could have been
+foreseen with even slight mental effort. E.g., "He started
+removing files and promptly adgered the whole project". Compare
+dumbass attack.
+
+
+Node:admin, Next:ADVENT, Previous:adger, Up:= A
+= 
+
+admin /ad-min'/ n.
+
+Short for `administrator'; very commonly used in speech or
+on-line to refer to the systems person in charge on a computer.
+Common constructions on this include `sysadmin' and `site admin'
+(emphasizing the administrator's role as a site contact for email
+and news) or `newsadmin' (focusing specifically on news). Compare
+postmaster, sysop, system
+mangler.
+
+
+Node:ADVENT, Next:AFAIK, Previous:admin, Up:= A
+= 
+
+ADVENT /ad'vent/ n.
+
+The prototypical computer adventure game, first designed by
+Will Crowther on the PDP-10 in the
+mid-1970s as an attempt at computer-refereed fantasy gaming, and
+expanded into a puzzle-oriented game by Don Woods at Stanford in
+1976. (Woods had been one of the authors of INTERCAL.) Now better known as Adventure or
+Colossal Cave Adventure, but the TOPS-10 operating system permitted only
+six-letter filenames. See also vadding, Zork, and
+Infocom.
+
+This game defined the terse, dryly humorous style since
+expected in text adventure games, and popularized several tag
+lines that have become fixtures of hacker-speak: "A huge green
+fierce snake bars the way!" "I see no X here" (for some noun X).
+"You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike." "You
+are in a little maze of twisty passages, all different." The
+`magic words' xyzzy and plugh also derive from this game.
+
+Crowther, by the way, participated in the exploration of the
+Mammoth & Flint Ridge cave system; it actually has a
+`Colossal Cave' and a `Bedquilt' as in the game, and the `Y2'
+that also turns up is cavers' jargon for a map reference to a
+secondary entrance.
+
+ADVENT sources are available for FTP at 
+ftp://ftp.wustl.edu/doc/misc/if-archive/games/source/advent.tar.Z.
+
+
+Node:AFAIK, Next:AFJ, Previous:ADVENT, Up:= A
+= 
+
+AFAIK // n.
+
+[Usenet] Abbrev. for "As Far As I Know".
+
+
+Node:AFJ, Next:AFK, Previous:AFAIK, Up:= A
+= 
+
+AFJ // n.
+
+Written-only abbreviation for "April Fool's Joke". Elaborate
+April Fool's hoaxes are a long-established tradition on Usenet
+and Internet; see kremvax for an
+example. In fact, April Fool's Day is the only seasonal
+holiday consistently marked by customary observances on Internet
+and other hacker networks.
+
+
+Node:AFK, Next:AI,
+Previous:AFJ, Up:= A = 
+
+AFK
+
+[MUD] Abbrev. for "Away From Keyboard". Used to notify others
+that you will be momentarily unavailable online. eg. "Let's not
+go kill that frost giant yet, I need to go AFK to make a phone
+call". Often MUDs will have a command to politely inform others
+of your absence when they try to talk with you. The term is not
+restricted to MUDs, however, and has become common in many chat
+situations, from IRC to Unix talk.
+
+
+Node:AI, Next:AI-complete, Previous:AFK, Up:= A =
+
+
+AI /A-I/ n.
+
+Abbreviation for `Artificial Intelligence', so common that the
+full form is almost never written or spoken among hackers.
+
+
+Node:AI-complete, Next:AI koans, Previous:AI, Up:= A = 
+
+AI-complete /A-I k*m-pleet'/ adj.
+
+[MIT, Stanford: by analogy with `NP-complete' (see NP-)] Used to describe problems or subproblems in
+AI, to indicate that the solution presupposes a solution to the
+`strong AI problem' (that is, the synthesis of a human-level
+intelligence). A problem that is AI-complete is, in other words,
+just too hard.
+
+Examples of AI-complete problems are `The Vision Problem'
+(building a system that can see as well as a human) and `The
+Natural Language Problem' (building a system that can understand
+and speak a natural language as well as a human). These may
+appear to be modular, but all attempts so far (1999) to solve
+them have foundered on the amount of context information and
+`intelligence' they seem to require. See also gedanken.
+
+
+Node:AI koans, Next:AIDS, Previous:AI-complete, Up:= A = 
+
+AI koans /A-I koh'anz/ pl.n.
+
+A series of pastiches of Zen teaching riddles created by Danny
+Hillis at the MIT AI Lab around various major figures of the
+Lab's culture (several are included under Some AI Koans in Appendix A). See
+also ha ha only
+serious, mu, and hacker humor.
+
+
+Node:AIDS, Next:AIDX, Previous:AI koans, Up:= A = 
+
+AIDS /aydz/ n.
+
+Short for A* Infected Disk Syndrome (`A*' is a glob pattern that matches, but is not limited to,
+Apple or Amiga), this condition is quite often the result of
+practicing unsafe SEX. See virus, worm, Trojan horse, virgin.
+
+
+Node:AIDX, Next:airplane rule, Previous:AIDS, Up:= A
+= 
+
+AIDX /ayd'k*z/ n.
+
+Derogatory term for IBM's perverted version of Unix, AIX,
+especially for the AIX 3.? used in the IBM RS/6000 series (some
+hackers think it is funnier just to pronounce "AIX" as "aches").
+A victim of the dreaded "hybridism" disease, this attempt to
+combine the two main currents of the Unix stream (BSD and USG Unix)
+became a monstrosity to haunt
+system administrators' dreams. For example, if new accounts are
+created while many users are logged on, the load average jumps
+quickly over 20 due to silly implementation of the user
+databases. For a quite similar disease, compare HP-SUX. Also, compare Macintrash, Nominal Semidestructor, ScumOS, sun-stools.
+
+
+Node:airplane rule, Next:Alderson loop, Previous:AIDX, Up:= A = 
+
+airplane rule n.
+
+"Complexity increases the possibility of failure; a
+twin-engine airplane has twice as many engine problems as a
+single-engine airplane." By analogy, in both software and
+electronics, the rule that simplicity increases robustness. It is
+correspondingly argued that the right way to build reliable
+systems is to put all your eggs in one basket, after making sure
+that you've built a really good basket. See also KISS Principle, elegant.
+
+
+Node:Alderson loop, Next:aliasing bug, Previous:airplane rule, Up:= A = 
+
+Alderson loop n.
+
+[Intel] A special version of an infinite loop where there is an exit
+condition available, but inaccessible in the current
+implementation of the code. Typically this is created while
+debugging user interface code. An example would be when there is
+a menu stating, "Select 1-3 or 9 to quit" and 9 is not allowed by
+the function that takes the selection from the user.
+
+This term received its name from a programmer who had coded a
+modal message box in MSAccess with no Ok or Cancel buttons,
+thereby disabling the entire program whenever the box came up.
+The message box had the proper code for dismissal and even was
+set up so that when the non-existent Ok button was pressed the
+proper code would be called.
+
+
+Node:aliasing bug, Next:Alice and Bob, Previous:Alderson loop, Up:= A = 
+
+aliasing bug n.
+
+A class of subtle programming errors that can arise in code
+that does dynamic allocation, esp. via malloc(3) or
+equivalent. If several pointers address (`aliases for') a given
+hunk of storage, it may happen that the storage is freed or
+reallocated (and thus moved) through one alias and then
+referenced through another, which may lead to subtle (and
+possibly intermittent) lossage depending on the state and the
+allocation history of the malloc arena. Avoidable by use of allocation strategies
+that never alias allocated core, or by use of higher-level
+languages, such as LISP, which employ
+a garbage collector (see GC). Also
+called a stale pointer
+bug. See also precedence lossage, smash the stack, fandango on core, memory leak, memory smash, overrun screw, spam.
+
+Historical note: Though this term is nowadays associated with
+C programming, it was already in use in a very similar sense in
+the Algol-60 and FORTRAN communities in the 1960s.
+
+
+Node:Alice and Bob, Next:all-elbows, Previous:aliasing bug, Up:= A = 
+
+Alice and Bob n.
+
+The archetypal individuals used as examples in discussions of
+cryptographic protocols. Originally, theorists would say
+something like: "A communicates with someone who claims to be B,
+So to be sure, A tests that B knows a secret number K. So A sends
+to B a random number X. B then forms Y by encrypting X under key
+K and sends Y back to A" Because this sort of thing is is quite
+hard to follow, theorists stopped using the unadorned letters A
+and B to represent the main players and started calling them
+Alice and Bob. So now we say "Alice communicates with someone
+claiming to be Bob, and to be sure, So Alice tests that Bob knows
+a secret number K. Alice sends to Bob a random number X. Bob then
+forms Y by encrypting X under key K and sends Y back to Alice". A
+whole mythology rapidly grew up around the metasyntactic names;
+see http://www.conceptlabs.co.uk/alicebob.html.
+
+In Bruce Schneier's definitive introductory text "Applied
+Cryptography" (2nd ed., 1996, John Wiley & Sons, ISBN
+0-471-11709-9) he introduces a table of dramatis personae headed
+by Alice and Bob. Others include Carol (a participant in three-
+and four-party protocols), Dave (a participant in four-party
+protocols), Eve (an eavesdropper), Mallory (a malicious active
+attacker), Trent (a trusted arbitrator), Walter (a warden), Peggy
+(a prover) and Victor (a verifier). These names for roles are
+either already standard or, given the wide popularity of the
+book, may be expected to quickly become so.
+
+
+Node:all-elbows, Next:alpha geek, Previous:Alice and Bob, Up:= A = 
+
+all-elbows adj.
+
+[MS-DOS] Of a TSR (terminate-and-stay-resident) IBM PC
+program, such as the N pop-up calendar and calculator utilities
+that circulate on BBS systems:
+unsociable. Used to describe a program that rudely steals the
+resources that it needs without considering that other TSRs may
+also be resident. One particularly common form of rudeness is
+lock-up due to programs fighting over the keyboard interrupt. See
+rude, also mess-dos.
+
+
+Node:alpha geek, Next:alpha particles, Previous:all-elbows, Up:= A = 
+
+alpha geek n.
+
+[from animal ethologists' `alpha male'] The most technically
+accomplished or skillful person in some implied context. "Ask
+Larry, he's the alpha geek here."
+
+
+Node:alpha particles, Next:alt, Previous:alpha geek, Up:= A = 
+
+alpha particles n.
+
+See bit rot.
+
+
+Node:alt, Next:alt bit, Previous:alpha particles, Up:= A = 
+
+alt /awlt/
+
+1. n. The alt shift key on an IBM PC or clone keyboard; see bucky bits, sense 2 (though typical PC
+usage does not simply set the 0200 bit). 2. n. The `option' key
+on a Macintosh; use of this term usually reveals that the speaker
+hacked PCs before coming to the Mac (see also feature key, which is sometimes
+incorrectly called `alt'). 3. n.,obs. [PDP-10; often
+capitalized to ALT] Alternate name for the ASCII ESC character
+(ASCII 0011011), after the keycap labeling on some older
+terminals; also `altmode' (/awlt'mohd/). This character was
+almost never pronounced `escape' on an ITS system, in TECO, or under TOPS-10 -- always alt, as in "Type
+alt alt to end a TECO command" or "alt-U onto the system" (for
+"log onto the [ITS] system"). This usage probably arose because
+alt is more convenient to say than `escape', especially when
+followed by another alt or a character (or another alt
+and a character, for that matter). 4. The _alt_
+hierarchy on Usenet, the tree of newsgroups created by users
+without a formal vote and approval procedure. There is a myth,
+not entirely implausible, that _alt_ is acronymic for
+"anarchists, lunatics, and terrorists"; but in fact it is simply
+short for "alternative".
+
+
+Node:alt bit, Next:Aluminum Book, Previous:alt, Up:= A
+= 
+
+alt bit /awlt bit/ [from alternate] adj.
+
+See meta bit.
+
+
+Node:Aluminum Book, Next:ambimouseterous, Previous:alt bit, Up:= A = 
+
+Aluminum Book n.
+
+[MIT] "Common LISP: The Language", by Guy L. Steele Jr.
+(Digital Press, first edition 1984, second edition 1990). Note
+that due to a technical screwup some printings of the second
+edition are actually of a color the author describes succinctly
+as "yucky green". See also book
+titles.
+
+
+Node:ambimouseterous, Next:Amiga, Previous:Aluminum Book, Up:= A = 
+
+ambimouseterous /am-b*-mows'ter-us/ or
+/am-b*-mows'trus/ adj.
+
+[modeled on _ambidextrous_] Able to use a mouse with
+either hand.
+
+
+Node:Amiga, Next:Amiga Persecution Complex,
+Previous:ambimouseterous, Up:= A = 
+
+Amiga n
+
+A series of personal computer models originally sold by
+Commodore, based on 680x0 processors, custom support chips and an
+operating system that combined some of the best features of
+Macintosh and Unix with compatibility with neither.
+
+The Amiga was released just as the personal computing world
+standardized on IBM-PC clones. This prevented it from gaining
+serious market share, despite the fact that the first Amigas had
+a substantial technological lead on the IBM XTs of the time.
+Instead, it acquired a small but zealous population of
+enthusiastic hackers who dreamt of one day unseating the clones
+(see Amiga
+Persecution Complex). The traits of this culture are both
+spoofed and illuminated in 
+The BLAZE Humor Viewer. The strength of the Amiga platform
+seeded a small industry of companies building software and
+hardware for the platform, especially in graphics and video
+applications (see video
+toaster).
+
+Due to spectacular mismanagement, Commodore did hardly any
+R&D, allowing the competition to close Amiga's technological
+lead. After Commodore went bankrupt in 1994 the technology passed
+through several hands, none of whom did much with it. However,
+the Amiga is still being produced in Europe under license and has
+a substantial number of fans, which will probably extend the
+platform's life considerably.
+
+
+Node:Amiga Persecution
+Complex, Next:amoeba,
+Previous:Amiga, Up:= A = 
+
+Amiga Persecution Complex n.
+
+The disorder suffered by a particularly egregious variety of
+bigot, those who believe that the
+marginality of their preferred machine is the result of some kind
+of industry-wide conspiracy (for without a conspiracy of some
+kind, the eminent superiority of their beloved shining jewel of a
+platform would obviously win over all, market pressures be
+damned!) Those afflicted are prone to engaging in flame wars and calling for boycotts and
+mailbombings. Amiga Persecution Complex is by no means limited to
+Amiga users; NeXT, NeWS, OS/2, Macintosh, LISP, and GNU users are
+also common victims. Linux users used
+to display symptoms very frequently before Linux started winning;
+some still do. See also newbie,
+troll, holy
+wars, weenie, Get a life!.
+
+
+Node:amoeba, Next:amp off, Previous:Amiga Persecution Complex,
+Up:= A = 
+
+amoeba n.
+
+Humorous term for the Commodore Amiga personal computer.
+
+
+Node:amp off, Next:amper, Previous:amoeba, Up:= A
+= 
+
+amp off vt.
+
+[Purdue] To run in background. From the Unix shell `&'
+operator.
+
+
+Node:amper, Next:Angband, Previous:amp off, Up:=
+A = 
+
+amper n.
+
+Common abbreviation for the name of the ampersand (`&',
+ASCII 0100110) character. See ASCII
+for other synonyms.
+
+
+Node:Angband, Next:angle brackets, Previous:amper, Up:= A = 
+
+Angband n. /ang'band/
+
+Like nethack, moria, and rogue,
+one of the large freely distributed Dungeons-and-Dragons-like
+simulation games, available for a wide range of machines and
+operating systems. The name is from Tolkien's Pits of Angband
+(compare elder days, elvish). Has been described as "Moria on
+steroids"; but, unlike Moria, many aspects of the game are
+customizable. This leads many hackers and would-be hackers into
+fooling with these instead of doing productive work. There are
+many Angband variants, of which the most notorious is probably
+the rather whimsical Zangband. In this game, when a key that does
+not correspond to a command is pressed, the game will display
+"Type ? for help" 50% of the time. The other 50% of the time,
+random error messages including "An error has occurred because an
+error of type 42 has occurred" and "Windows 95 uninstalled
+successfully" will be displayed. Zangband also allows the player
+to kill Santa Claus (who has some really good stuff, but also has
+a lot of friends), "Bull Gates", and Barney the Dinosaur (but be
+watchful; Barney has a nasty case of halitosis). There is an
+official angband home page at http://www.phial.com/angband
+and a zangband one at http://thangorodrim.angband.org.
+See also Random Number
+God.
+
+
+Node:angle brackets, Next:angry fruit salad,
+Previous:Angband, Up:= A = 
+
+angle brackets n.
+
+Either of the characters < (ASCII 0111100) and
+> (ASCII 0111110) (ASCII less-than or
+greater-than signs). Typographers in the Real World use angle brackets which are
+either taller and slimmer (the ISO `Bra' and `Ket' characters),
+or significantly smaller (single or double guillemets) than the
+less-than and greater-than signs. See broket, ASCII.
+
+
+Node:angry fruit salad,
+Next:annoybot, Previous:angle brackets, Up:= A = 
+
+angry fruit salad n.
+
+A bad visual-interface design that uses too many colors. (This
+term derives, of course, from the bizarre day-glo colors found in
+canned fruit salad.) Too often one sees similar effects from
+interface designers using color window systems such as X; there is a tendency to create displays that
+are flashy and attention-getting but uncomfortable for long-term
+use.
+
+
+Node:annoybot, Next:annoyware, Previous:angry fruit salad, Up:= A = 
+
+annoybot /*-noy-bot/ n.
+
+[IRC] See bot.
+
+
+Node:annoyware, Next:ANSI, Previous:annoybot, Up:=
+A = 
+
+annoyware n.
+
+A type of shareware that
+frequently disrupts normal program operation to display requests
+for payment to the author in return for the ability to disable
+the request messages. (Also called `nagware') The requests
+generally require user action to acknowledge the message before
+normal operation is resumed and are often tied to the most
+frequently used features of the software. See also careware, charityware, crippleware, freeware, FRS,
+guiltware, postcardware, and -ware; compare payware.
+
+
+Node:ANSI, Next:ANSI standard, Previous:annoyware, Up:= A = 
+
+ANSI /an'see/
+
+1. n. [techspeak] The American National Standards Institute.
+ANSI, along with the International Organization for Standards
+(ISO), standardized the C programming language (see K&R, Classic
+C), and promulgates many other important software
+standards. 2. n. [techspeak] A terminal may be said to be `ANSI'
+if it meets the ANSI X.364 standard for terminal control.
+Unfortunately, this standard was both over-complicated and too
+permissive. It has been retired and replaced by the ECMA-48
+standard, which shares both flaws. 3. n. [BBS jargon] The set of
+screen-painting codes that most MS-DOS and Amiga computers
+accept. This comes from the ANSI.SYS device driver that must be
+loaded on an MS-DOS computer to view such codes. Unfortunately,
+neither DOS ANSI nor the BBS ANSIs derived from it exactly match
+the ANSI X.364 terminal standard. For example, the ESC-[1m code
+turns on the bold highlight on large machines, but in IBM
+PC/MS-DOS ANSI, it turns on `intense' (bright) colors. Also, in
+BBS-land, the term `ANSI' is often used to imply that a
+particular computer uses or can emulate the IBM high-half
+character set from MS-DOS. Particular use depends on context.
+Occasionally, the vanilla ASCII character set is used with the
+color codes, but on BBSs, ANSI and `IBM characters' tend to go
+together.
+
+
+Node:ANSI standard, Next:ANSI standard pizza,
+Previous:ANSI, Up:= A = 
+
+ANSI standard /an'see stan'd*rd/
+
+The ANSI standard usage of `ANSI standard' refers to any
+practice which is typical or broadly done. It's most
+appropriately applied to things that everyone does that are not
+quite regulation. For example: ANSI standard shaking of a laser
+printer cartridge to get extra life from it, or the ANSI standard
+word tripling in names of usenet alt groups.
+
+
+Node:ANSI standard pizza,
+Next:AOL!, Previous:ANSI standard, Up:= A = 
+
+ANSI standard pizza /an'see stan'd*rd peet'z*/
+
+[CMU] Pepperoni and mushroom pizza. Coined allegedly because
+most pizzas ordered by CMU hackers during some period leading up
+to mid-1990 were of that flavor. See also rotary debugger; compare ISO standard cup of
+tea.
+
+
+Node:AOL!, Next:app, Previous:ANSI standard pizza, Up:= A = 
+
+AOL! n.
+
+[Usenet] Common synonym for "Me, too!" alluding to the
+legendary propensity of America Online users to utter contentless
+"Me, too!" postings. The number of exclamation points following
+varies from zero to five or so. The pseudo-HTML
+
+<AOL>Me, too!</AOL>
+
+
+is also frequently seen. See also September that never
+ended.
+
+
+Node:app, Next:arena, Previous:AOL!, Up:= A =
+
+
+app /ap/ n.
+
+Short for `application program', as opposed to a systems
+program. Apps are what systems vendors are forever chasing
+developers to create for their environments so they can sell more
+boxes. Hackers tend not to think of the things they themselves
+run as apps; thus, in hacker parlance the term excludes
+compilers, program editors, games, and messaging systems, though
+a user would consider all those to be apps. (Broadly, an app is
+often a self-contained environment for performing some
+well-defined task such as `word processing'; hackers tend to
+prefer more general-purpose tools.) See killer app; oppose tool, operating
+system.
+
+
+Node:arena, Next:arg, Previous:app,
+Up:= A = 
+
+arena n.
+
+[common; Unix] The area of memory attached to a process by
+brk(2) and sbrk(2) and used by
+malloc(3) as dynamic storage. So named from a
+malloc: corrupt arena message emitted when some
+early versions detected an impossible value in the free block
+list. See overrun screw,
+aliasing bug, memory leak, memory smash, smash the stack.
+
+
+Node:arg, Next:ARMM, Previous:arena, Up:= A
+= 
+
+arg /arg/ n.
+
+Abbreviation for `argument' (to a function), used so often as
+to have become a new word (like `piano' from `pianoforte'). "The
+sine function takes 1 arg, but the arc-tangent function can take
+either 1 or 2 args." Compare param,
+parm, var.
+
+
+Node:ARMM, Next:armor-plated, Previous:arg, Up:= A
+= 
+
+ARMM n.
+
+[acronym, `Automated Retroactive Minimal Moderation'] A Usenet
+cancelbot created by Dick Depew
+of Munroe Falls, Ohio. ARMM was intended to automatically cancel
+posts from anonymous-posting sites. Unfortunately, the robot's
+recognizer for anonymous postings triggered on its own
+automatically-generated control messages! Transformed by this
+stroke of programming ineptitude into a monster of
+Frankensteinian proportions, it broke loose on the night of March
+31, 1993 and proceeded to spam
+_news.admin.policy_ with a recursive explosion of over 200
+messages.
+
+ARMM's bug produced a recursive cascade of messages each of which mechanically
+added text to the ID and Subject and some other headers of its
+parent. This produced a flood of messages in which each header
+took up several screens and each message ID and subject line got
+longer and longer and longer.
+
+Reactions varied from amusement to outrage. The pathological
+messages crashed at least one mail system, and upset people
+paying line charges for their Usenet feeds. One poster described
+the ARMM debacle as "instant Usenet history" (also establishing
+the term despew), and it has since
+been widely cited as a cautionary example of the havoc the
+combination of good intentions and incompetence can wreak on a
+network. Compare Great Worm;
+sorcerer's
+apprentice mode. See also software laser, network meltdown.
+
+
+Node:armor-plated, Next:asbestos, Previous:ARMM, Up:= A =
+
+
+armor-plated n.
+
+Syn. for bulletproof.
+
+
+Node:asbestos, Next:asbestos cork award, Previous:armor-plated, Up:= A = 
+
+asbestos adj.
+
+[common] Used as a modifier to anything intended to protect
+one from flames; also in other highly
+flame-suggestive usages. See, for
+example, asbestos
+longjohns and asbestos cork award.
+
+
+Node:asbestos cork award,
+Next:asbestos
+longjohns, Previous:asbestos, Up:=
+A = 
+
+asbestos cork award n.
+
+Once, long ago at MIT, there was a flamer so consistently obnoxious that another
+hacker designed, had made, and distributed posters announcing
+that said flamer had been nominated for the `asbestos cork
+award'. (Any reader in doubt as to the intended application of
+the cork should consult the etymology under flame.) Since then, it is agreed that only a
+select few have risen to the heights of bombast required to earn
+this dubious dignity -- but there is no agreement on
+which few.
+
+
+Node:asbestos longjohns,
+Next:ASCII, Previous:asbestos cork
+award, Up:= A = 
+
+asbestos longjohns n.
+
+Notional garments donned by Usenet posters just before emitting a remark
+they expect will elicit flamage.
+This is the most common of the asbestos coinages. Also `asbestos underwear',
+`asbestos overcoat', etc.
+
+
+Node:ASCII, Next:ASCII art, Previous:asbestos longjohns, Up:= A = 
+
+ASCII /as'kee/ n.
+
+[originally an acronym (American Standard Code for Information
+Interchange) but now merely conventional] The predominant
+character set encoding of present-day computers. The standard
+version uses 7 bits for each character, whereas most earlier
+codes (including early drafts of of ASCII prior to June 1961)
+used fewer. This change allowed the inclusion of lowercase
+letters -- a major win -- but it did
+not provide for accented letters or any other letterforms not
+used in English (such as the German sharp-S or the ae-ligature
+which is a letter in, for example, Norwegian). It could be worse,
+though. It could be much worse. See EBCDIC to understand how. A history of ASCII
+and its ancestors is at http://www.wps.com/texts/codes/index.html.
+
+Computers are much pickier and less flexible about spelling
+than humans; thus, hackers need to be very precise when talking
+about characters, and have developed a considerable amount of
+verbal shorthand for them. Every character has one or more names
+-- some formal, some concise, some silly. Common jargon names for
+ASCII characters are collected here. See also individual entries
+for bang, excl, open, ques, semi, shriek, splat,
+twiddle, and Yu-Shiang Whole Fish.
+
+This list derives from revision 2.3 of the Usenet ASCII
+pronunciation guide. Single characters are listed in ASCII order;
+character pairs are sorted in by first member. For each
+character, common names are given in rough order of popularity,
+followed by names that are reported but rarely seen; official
+ANSI/CCITT names are surrounded by brokets: <>. Square
+brackets mark the particularly silly names introduced by INTERCAL. The abbreviations "l/r" and
+"o/c" stand for left/right and "open/close" respectively.
+Ordinary parentheticals provide some usage information.
+
+
+!
+
+
+Common: bang; pling; excl; shriek;
+ball-bat; <exclamation mark>. Rare: factorial; exclam;
+smash; cuss; boing; yell; wow; hey; wham; eureka; [spark-spot];
+soldier, control.
+
+"
+
+
+Common: double quote; quote. Rare: literal mark;
+double-glitch; <quotation marks>; <dieresis>; dirk;
+[rabbit-ears]; double prime.
+
+#
+
+
+Common: number sign; pound; pound sign; hash; sharp; crunch; hex; [mesh]. Rare: grid;
+crosshatch; octothorpe; flash; <square>, pig-pen;
+tictactoe; scratchmark; thud; thump; splat.
+
+$
+
+
+Common: dollar; <dollar sign>. Rare: currency symbol;
+buck; cash; string (from BASIC); escape (when used as the echo of
+ASCII ESC); ding; cache; [big money].
+
+%
+
+
+Common: percent; <percent sign>; mod; grapes. Rare:
+[double-oh-seven].
+
+&
+
+
+Common: <ampersand>; amper; and, and sign. Rare:
+address (from C); reference (from C++); andpersand; bitand;
+background (from sh(1)); pretzel; amp. [INTERCAL
+called this `ampersand'; what could be sillier?]
+
+'
+
+
+Common: single quote; quote; <apostrophe>. Rare: prime;
+glitch; tick; irk; pop; [spark]; <closing single quotation
+mark>; <acute accent>.
+
+( )
+
+
+Common: l/r paren; l/r parenthesis; left/right; open/close;
+paren/thesis; o/c paren; o/c parenthesis; l/r parenthesis; l/r
+banana. Rare: so/already; lparen/rparen; <opening/closing
+parenthesis>; o/c round bracket, l/r round bracket,
+[wax/wane]; parenthisey/unparenthisey; l/r ear.
+
+*
+
+
+Common: star; [splat];
+<asterisk>. Rare: wildcard; gear; dingle; mult; spider;
+aster; times; twinkle; glob (see glob); Nathan
+Hale.
+
++
+
+
+Common: <plus>; add. Rare: cross; [intersection].
+
+,
+
+
+Common: <comma>. Rare: <cedilla>; [tail].
+
+-
+
+
+Common: dash; <hyphen>; <minus>. Rare: [worm];
+option; dak; bithorpe.
+
+.
+
+
+Common: dot; point; <period>; <decimal point>.
+Rare: radix point; full stop; [spot].
+
+/
+
+
+Common: slash; stroke; <slant>; forward slash. Rare:
+diagonal; solidus; over; slak; virgule; [slat].
+
+:
+
+
+Common: <colon>. Rare: dots; [two-spot].
+
+;
+
+
+Common: <semicolon>; semi. Rare: weenie; [hybrid],
+pit-thwong.
+
+< >
+
+
+Common: <less/greater than>; bra/ket; l/r angle; l/r
+angle bracket; l/r broket. Rare: from/{into, towards}; read
+from/write to; suck/blow; comes-from/gozinta; in/out; crunch/zap
+(all from UNIX); tic/tac; [angle/right angle].
+
+=
+
+
+Common: <equals>; gets; takes. Rare: quadrathorpe;
+[half-mesh].
+
+?
+
+
+Common: query; <question mark>; ques. Rare: whatmark; [what]; wildchar; huh;
+hook; buttonhook; hunchback.
+
+@
+
+
+Common: at sign; at; strudel. Rare: each; vortex; whorl;
+[whirlpool]; cyclone; snail; ape; cat; rose; cabbage;
+<commercial at>.
+
+V
+
+
+Rare: [book].
+
+[ ]
+
+
+Common: l/r square bracket; l/r bracket; <opening/closing
+bracket>; bracket/unbracket. Rare: square/unsquare; [U turn/U
+turn back].
+
+\
+
+
+Common: backslash, hack, whack; escape (from C/UNIX); reverse
+slash; slosh; backslant; backwhack. Rare: bash; <reverse
+slant>; reversed virgule; [backslat].
+
+^
+
+
+Common: hat; control; uparrow; caret; <circumflex>.
+Rare: xor sign, chevron; [shark (or shark-fin)]; to the (`to the
+power of'); fang; pointer (in Pascal).
+
+_
+
+
+Common: <underline>; underscore; underbar; under. Rare:
+score; backarrow; skid; [flatworm].
+
+`
+
+
+Common: backquote; left quote; left single quote; open quote;
+<grave accent>; grave. Rare: backprime; [backspark];
+unapostrophe; birk; blugle; back tick; back glitch; push;
+<opening single quotation mark>; quasiquote.
+
+{ }
+
+
+Common: o/c brace; l/r brace; l/r squiggly; l/r squiggly
+bracket/brace; l/r curly bracket/brace; <opening/closing
+brace>. Rare: brace/unbrace; curly/uncurly; leftit/rytit; l/r
+squirrelly; [embrace/bracelet].
+
+|
+
+
+Common: bar; or; or-bar; v-bar; pipe; vertical bar. Rare:
+<vertical line>; gozinta; thru; pipesinta (last three from
+UNIX); [spike].
+
+~
+
+
+Common: <tilde>; squiggle; twiddle; not. Rare: approx; wiggle; swung
+dash; enyay; [sqiggle (sic)].
+
+
+
+The pronunciation of # as `pound' is common in
+the U.S. but a bad idea; Commonwealth Hackish has its
+own, rather more apposite use of `pound sign' (confusingly, on
+British keyboards the pound graphic happens to replace
+#; thus Britishers sometimes call # on
+a U.S.-ASCII keyboard `pound', compounding the American error).
+The U.S. usage derives from an old-fashioned commercial practice
+of using a # suffix to tag pound weights on bills of
+lading. The character is usually pronounced `hash' outside the
+U.S. There are more culture wars over the correct pronunciation
+of this character than any other, which has led to the ha ha only serious
+suggestion that it be pronounced `shibboleth' (see Judges 12:6 in
+an Old Testament or Tanakh).
+
+The `uparrow' name for circumflex and `leftarrow' name for
+underline are historical relics from archaic ASCII (the 1963
+version), which had these graphics in those character positions
+rather than the modern punctuation characters.
+
+The `swung dash' or `approximation' sign is not quite the same
+as tilde in typeset material but the ASCII tilde serves for both
+(compare angle
+brackets).
+
+Some other common usages cause odd overlaps. The
+#, $, >, and
+& characters, for example, are all pronounced
+"hex" in different communities because various assemblers use
+them as a prefix tag for hexadecimal constants (in particular,
+# in many assembler-programming cultures,
+$ in the 6502 world, > at Texas
+Instruments, and & on the BBC Micro, Sinclair,
+and some Z80 machines). See also splat.
+
+The inability of ASCII text to correctly represent any of the
+world's other major languages makes the designers' choice of 7
+bits look more and more like a serious misfeature as the use of international
+networks continues to increase (see software rot). Hardware and software
+from the U.S. still tends to embody the assumption that ASCII is
+the universal character set and that characters have 7 bits; this
+is a major irritant to people who want to use a character set
+suited to their own languages. Perversely, though, efforts to
+solve this problem by proliferating `national' character sets
+produce an evolutionary pressure to use a smaller subset
+common to all those in use.
+
+
+Node:ASCII art, Next:ASCIIbetical order, Previous:ASCII, Up:= A = 
+
+ASCII art n.
+
+The fine art of drawing diagrams using the ASCII character set
+(mainly |, -, /,
+\, and +). Also known as `character
+graphics' or `ASCII graphics'; see also boxology. Here is a serious example:
+
+    o----)||(--+--|<----+   +---------o + D O
+      L  )||(  |        |   |             C U
+    A I  )||(  +-->|-+  |   +-\/\/-+--o -   T
+    C N  )||(        |  |   |      |        P
+      E  )||(  +-->|-+--)---+--|(--+-o      U
+         )||(  |        |          | GND    T
+    o----)||(--+--|<----+----------+
+
+    A power supply consisting of a full wave rectifier circuit
+    feeding a capacitor input filter circuit
+
+
+And here are some very silly examples:
+
+  |\/\/\/|     ____/|              ___    |\_/|    ___
+  |      |     \ o.O|   ACK!      /   \_  |` '|  _/   \
+  |      |      =(_)=  THPHTH!   /      \/     \/      \
+  | (o)(o)        U             /                       \
+  C      _)  (__)                \/\/\/\  _____  /\/\/\/
+  | ,___|    (oo)                       \/     \/
+  |   /       \/-------\         U                  (__)
+ /____\        ||     | \    /---V  `v'-            oo )
+/      \       ||---W||  *  * |--|   || |`.         |_/\
+
+               //-o-\\
+        ____---=======---____
+    ====___\   /.. ..\   /___====      Klingons rule OK!
+  //        ---\__O__/---        \\
+  \_\                           /_/
+
+
+There is an important subgenre of ASCII art that puns on the
+standard character names in the fashion of a rebus.
+
++--------------------------------------------------------+
+|      ^^^^^^^^^^^^                                      |
+| ^^^^^^^^^^^            ^^^^^^^^^                       |
+|                 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^            ^^^^^^^^^^^^^ |
+|        ^^^^^^^         B       ^^^^^^^^^               |
+|  ^^^^^^^^^          ^^^            ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^      |
++--------------------------------------------------------+
+             " A Bee in the Carrot Patch "
+
+
+Within humorous ASCII art, there is for some reason an entire
+flourishing subgenre of pictures of silly cows. Four of these are
+reproduced in the examples above, here are three more:
+
+         (__)              (__)              (__)
+         (\/)              ($$)              (**)
+  /-------\/        /-------\/        /-------\/
+ / | 666 ||        / |=====||        / |     ||
+*  ||----||       *  ||----||       *  ||----||
+   ~~    ~~          ~~    ~~          ~~    ~~
+Satanic cow    This cow is a Yuppie   Cow in love
+
+
+Finally, here's a magnificent example of ASCII art depicting
+an Edwardian train station in Dunedin, New Zealand:
+
+                                  .-.
+                                 /___\
+                                 |___|
+                                 |]_[|
+                                 / I \
+                              JL/  |  \JL
+   .-.                    i   ()   |   ()   i                    .-.
+   |_|     .^.           /_\  LJ=======LJ  /_\           .^.     |_|
+._/___\._./___\_._._._._.L_J_/.-.     .-.\_L_J._._._._._/___\._./___\._._._
+       ., |-,-| .,       L_J  |_| [I] |_|  L_J       ., |-,-| .,        .,
+       JL |-O-| JL       L_J%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%L_J       JL |-O-| JL        JL
+IIIIII_HH_'-'-'_HH_IIIIII|_|=======H=======|_|IIIIII_HH_'-'-'_HH_IIIIII_HH_
+-------[]-------[]-------[_]----\.=I=./----[_]-------[]-------[]--------[]-
+ _/\_  ||\\_I_//||  _/\_ [_] []_/_L_J_\_[] [_] _/\_  ||\\_I_//||  _/\_  ||\
+ |__|  ||=/_|_\=||  |__|_|_|   _L_L_J_J_   |_|_|__|  ||=/_|_\=||  |__|  ||-
+ |__|  |||__|__|||  |__[___]__--__===__--__[___]__|  |||__|__|||  |__|  |||
+IIIIIII[_]IIIII[_]IIIIIL___J__II__|_|__II__L___JIIIII[_]IIIII[_]IIIIIIII[_]
+ \_I_/ [_]\_I_/[_] \_I_[_]\II/[]\_\I/_/[]\II/[_]\_I_/ [_]\_I_/[_] \_I_/ [_]
+./   \.L_J/   \L_J./   L_JI  I[]/     \[]I  IL_J    \.L_J/   \L_J./   \.L_J
+|     |L_J|   |L_J|    L_J|  |[]|     |[]|  |L_J     |L_J|   |L_J|     |L_J
+|_____JL_JL___JL_JL____|-||  |[]|     |[]|  ||-|_____JL_JL___JL_JL_____JL_J
+
+
+There is a newsgroup, _alt.ascii-art_, devoted to this
+genre; however, see also warlording.
+
+
+Node:ASCIIbetical order,
+Next:astroturfing,
+Previous:ASCII art,
+Up:= A = 
+
+ASCIIbetical order /as'kee-be'-t*-kl or'dr/ adj.,n.
+
+Used to indicate that data is sorted in ASCII collated order
+rather than alphabetical order. This lexicon is sorted in
+something close to ASCIIbetical order, but with case ignored and
+entries beginning with non-alphabetic characters moved to the
+end. "At my video store, they used their computer to sort the
+videos into ASCIIbetical order, so I couldn't find `"Crocodile"
+Dundee' until I thought to look before `2001' and `48 HRS.'!"
+
+
+Node:astroturfing, Next:atomic, Previous:ASCIIbetical order, Up:= A = 
+
+astroturfing n.
+
+The use of paid shills to create the impression of a popular
+movement, through means like letters to newspapers from
+soi-disant `concerned citizens', paid opinion pieces, and the
+formation of grass-roots lobbying groups that are actually funded
+by a PR group (astroturf is fake grass; hence the term). This
+term became common among hackers after it came to light in early
+1998 that Microsoft had attempted to use such tactics to
+forestall the U.S. Department of Justice's antitrust action
+against the company.
+
+This backfired horribly, angering a number of state
+attorneys-general enough to induce them to go public with plans
+to join the Federal suit. It also set anybody defending Microsoft
+on the net for the accusation "You're just astroturfing!".
+
+
+Node:atomic, Next:attoparsec, Previous:astroturfing, Up:= A = 
+
+atomic adj.
+
+[from Gk. `atomos', indivisible] 1. Indivisible; cannot be
+split up. For example, an instruction may be said to do several
+things `atomically', i.e., all the things are done immediately,
+and there is no chance of the instruction being half-completed or
+of another being interspersed. Used esp. to convey that an
+operation cannot be screwed up by interrupts. "This routine locks
+the file and increments the file's semaphore atomically." 2.
+[primarily techspeak] Guaranteed to complete successfully or not
+at all, usu. refers to database transactions. If an error
+prevents a partially-performed transaction from proceeding to
+completion, it must be "backed out," as the database must not be
+left in an inconsistent state.
+
+Computer usage, in either of the above senses, has none of the
+connotations that `atomic' has in mainstream English (i.e. of
+particles of matter, nuclear explosions etc.).
+
+
+Node:attoparsec, Next:AUP, Previous:atomic, Up:= A
+= 
+
+attoparsec n.
+
+About an inch. `atto-' is the standard SI prefix for
+multiplication by 10^(-18). A parsec (parallax-second) is 3.26
+light-years; an attoparsec is thus 3.26 * 10^(-18) light years,
+or about 3.1 cm (thus, 1 attoparsec/microfortnight equals about 1
+inch/sec). This unit is reported to be in use (though probably
+not very seriously) among hackers in the U.K. See micro-.
+
+
+Node:AUP, Next:autobogotiphobia, Previous:attoparsec, Up:= A = 
+
+AUP /A-U-P/
+
+Abbreviation, "Acceptable Use Policy". The policy of a given
+ISP which sets out what the ISP considers to be (un)acceptable
+uses of its Internet resources.
+
+
+Node:autobogotiphobia, Next:automagically, Previous:AUP, Up:= A = 
+
+autobogotiphobia /aw'toh-boh-got`*-foh'bee-*/
+
+n. See bogotify.
+
+
+Node:automagically, Next:avatar, Previous:autobogotiphobia, Up:= A = 
+
+automagically /aw-toh-maj'i-klee/ adv.
+
+Automatically, but in a way that, for some reason (typically
+because it is too complicated, or too ugly, or perhaps even too
+trivial), the speaker doesn't feel like explaining to you. See
+magic. "The C-INTERCAL compiler
+generates C, then automagically invokes cc(1) to
+produce an executable."
+
+This term is quite old, going back at least to the mid-70s in
+jargon and probably much earlier. The word `automagic' occurred
+in advertising (for a shirt-ironing gadget) as far back as the
+late 1940s.
+
+
+Node:avatar, Next:awk, Previous:automagically, Up:= A = 
+
+avatar n. Syn.
+
+[in Hindu mythology, the incarnation of a god] 1. Among people
+working on virtual reality and cyberspace interfaces, an avatar
+is an icon or representation of a user in a shared virtual
+reality. The term is sometimes used on MUDs. 2. [CMU, Tektronix] root, superuser.
+There are quite a few Unix machines on which the name of the
+superuser account is `avatar' rather than `root'. This quirk was
+originated by a CMU hacker who found the terms `root' and
+`superuser' unimaginative, and thought `avatar' might better
+impress people with the responsibility they were accepting.
+
+
+Node:awk, Next:B5,
+Previous:avatar, Up:= A = 
+
+awk /awk/
+
+1. n. [Unix techspeak] An interpreted language for massaging
+text data developed by Alfred Aho, Peter Weinberger, and Brian
+Kernighan (the name derives from their initials). It is
+characterized by C-like syntax, a declaration-free approach to
+variable typing and declarations, associative arrays, and
+field-oriented text processing. See also Perl. 2. n. Editing term for an expression
+awkward to manipulate through normal regexp facilities (for example, one containing
+a newline). 3. vt. To process data
+using awk(1).
+
+
+Node:= B =, Next:= C =, Previous:= A =, Up:The Jargon Lexicon 
+
+= B =
+
+
+B5:
+
+
+back door:
+
+
+backbone cabal:
+
+
+backbone site:
+
+
+backgammon:
+
+
+background:
+
+
+backreference:
+
+
+backronym:
+
+
+backspace and
+overstrike:
+
+
+backward
+combatability:
+
+
+BAD:
+
+
+Bad and Wrong:
+
+
+Bad Thing:
+
+
+bag on the side:
+
+
+bagbiter:
+
+
+bagbiting:
+
+
+baggy pantsing:
+
+
+balloonian
+variable:
+
+
+bamf:
+
+
+banana label:
+
+
+banana problem:
+
+
+banner ad:
+
+
+banner site:
+
+
+barn:
+
+
+batbelt:
+
+
+Befunge:
+
+
+BI:
+
+
+binary four:
+
+
+bandwidth:
+
+
+bang:
+
+
+bang on:
+
+
+bang path:
+
+
+banner:
+
+
+bar:
+
+
+bare metal:
+
+
+barf:
+
+
+barfmail:
+
+
+barfulation:
+
+
+barfulous:
+
+
+barney:
+
+
+baroque:
+
+
+BASIC:
+
+
+batch:
+
+
+bathtub curve:
+
+
+baud:
+
+
+baud barf:
+
+
+baz:
+
+
+bazaar:
+
+
+bboard:
+
+
+BBS:
+
+
+BCPL:
+
+
+beam:
+
+
+beanie key:
+
+
+beep:
+
+
+beige toaster:
+
+
+bells and
+whistles:
+
+
+bells whistles and
+gongs:
+
+
+benchmark:
+
+
+Berkeley Quality
+Software:
+
+
+berklix:
+
+
+Berzerkeley:
+
+
+beta:
+
+
+BFI:
+
+
+bible:
+
+
+BiCapitalization:
+
+
+B1FF:
+
+
+biff:
+
+
+Big Gray Wall:
+
+
+big iron:
+
+
+Big Red Switch:
+
+
+Big Room:
+
+
+big win:
+
+
+big-endian:
+
+
+bignum:
+
+
+bigot:
+
+
+bit:
+
+
+bit bang:
+
+
+bit bashing:
+
+
+bit bucket:
+
+
+bit decay:
+
+
+bit rot:
+
+
+bit twiddling:
+
+
+bit-paired
+keyboard:
+
+
+bitblt:
+
+
+BITNET:
+
+
+bits:
+
+
+bitty box:
+
+
+bixen:
+
+
+bixie:
+
+
+black art:
+
+
+black hole:
+
+
+black magic:
+
+
+Black Screen of
+Death:
+
+
+Black Thursday:
+
+
+blammo:
+
+
+blargh:
+
+
+blast:
+
+
+blat:
+
+
+bletch:
+
+
+bletcherous:
+
+
+blink:
+
+
+blinkenlights:
+
+
+blit:
+
+
+blitter:
+
+
+blivet:
+
+
+bloatware:
+
+
+BLOB:
+
+
+block:
+
+
+block transfer
+computations:
+
+
+Bloggs Family:
+
+
+blow an EPROM:
+
+
+blow away:
+
+
+blow out:
+
+
+blow past:
+
+
+blow up:
+
+
+BLT:
+
+
+Blue Book:
+
+
+blue box:
+
+
+Blue Glue:
+
+
+blue goo:
+
+
+Blue Screen of
+Death:
+
+
+blue wire:
+
+
+blurgle:
+
+
+BNF:
+
+
+boa:
+
+
+board:
+
+
+boat anchor:
+
+
+bob:
+
+
+bodysurf code:
+
+
+BOF:
+
+
+BOFH:
+
+
+bogo-sort:
+
+
+bogometer:
+
+
+BogoMIPS:
+
+
+bogon:
+
+
+bogon filter:
+
+
+bogon flux:
+
+
+bogosity:
+
+
+bogotify:
+
+
+bogue out:
+
+
+bogus:
+
+
+Bohr bug:
+
+
+boink:
+
+
+bomb:
+
+
+bondage-and-discipline
+language:
+
+
+bonk/oif:
+
+
+book titles:
+
+
+boot:
+
+
+Borg:
+
+
+borken:
+
+
+bot:
+
+
+bot spot:
+
+
+bottom feeder:
+
+
+bottom-up
+implementation:
+
+
+bounce:
+
+
+bounce message:
+
+
+boustrophedon:
+
+
+box:
+
+
+boxed comments:
+
+
+boxen:
+
+
+boxology:
+
+
+bozotic:
+
+
+BQS:
+
+
+brain dump:
+
+
+brain fart:
+
+
+brain-damaged:
+
+
+brain-dead:
+
+
+braino:
+
+
+branch to
+Fishkill:
+
+
+bread crumbs:
+
+
+break:
+
+
+break-even point:
+
+
+breath-of-life
+packet:
+
+
+breedle:
+
+
+Breidbart Index:
+
+
+bring X to its
+knees:
+
+
+brittle:
+
+
+broadcast storm:
+
+
+brochureware:
+
+
+broken:
+
+
+broken arrow:
+
+
+BrokenWindows:
+
+
+broket:
+
+
+Brooks's Law:
+
+
+brown-paper-bag
+bug:
+
+
+browser:
+
+
+BRS:
+
+
+brute force:
+
+
+brute force and
+ignorance:
+
+
+BSD:
+
+
+BSOD:
+
+
+BUAF:
+
+
+BUAG:
+
+
+bubble sort:
+
+
+bucky bits:
+
+
+buffer chuck:
+
+
+buffer overflow:
+
+
+bug:
+
+
+bug-compatible:
+
+
+bug-for-bug
+compatible:
+
+
+bug-of-the-month
+club:
+
+
+buglix:
+
+
+bulletproof:
+
+
+bullschildt:
+
+
+bum:
+
+
+bump:
+
+
+burble:
+
+
+buried treasure:
+
+
+burn-in period:
+
+
+burst page:
+
+
+busy-wait:
+
+
+buzz:
+
+
+BWQ:
+
+
+by hand:
+
+
+byte:
+
+
+byte sex:
+
+
+bytesexual:
+
+
+Bzzzt! Wrong.:
+
+
+Node:B5, Next:back door, Previous:awk, Up:= B =
+
+
+B5 //
+
+[common] Abbreviation for "Babylon 5", a science-fiction TV
+series as revered among hackers as was the original Star
+Trek.
+
+
+Node:back door, Next:backbone cabal, Previous:B5, Up:= B = 
+
+back door n.
+
+[common] A hole in the security of a system deliberately left
+in place by designers or maintainers. The motivation for such
+holes is not always sinister; some operating systems, for
+example, come out of the box with privileged accounts intended
+for use by field service technicians or the vendor's maintenance
+programmers. Syn. trap door;
+may also be called a `wormhole'. See also iron box, cracker, worm,
+logic bomb.
+
+Historically, back doors have often lurked in systems longer
+than anyone expected or planned, and a few have become widely
+known. Ken Thompson's 1983 Turing Award lecture to the ACM
+admitted the existence of a back door in early Unix versions that
+may have qualified as the most fiendishly clever security hack of
+all time. In this scheme, the C compiler contained code that
+would recognize when the `login' command was being recompiled and
+insert some code recognizing a password chosen by Thompson,
+giving him entry to the system whether or not an account had been
+created for him.
+
+Normally such a back door could be removed by removing it from
+the source code for the compiler and recompiling the compiler.
+But to recompile the compiler, you have to use the
+compiler -- so Thompson also arranged that the compiler would
+recognize when it was compiling a version of itself, and
+insert into the recompiled compiler the code to insert into the
+recompiled `login' the code to allow Thompson entry -- and, of
+course, the code to recognize itself and do the whole thing again
+the next time around! And having done this once, he was then able
+to recompile the compiler from the original sources; the hack
+perpetuated itself invisibly, leaving the back door in place and
+active but with no trace in the sources.
+
+The talk that suggested this truly moby hack was published as
+"Reflections on Trusting Trust", "Communications of the ACM 27",
+8 (August 1984), pp. 761-763 (text available at http://www.acm.org/classics).
+Ken Thompson has since confirmed that this hack was implemented
+and that the Trojan Horse code did appear in the login binary of
+a Unix Support group machine. Ken says the crocked compiler was
+never distributed. Your editor has heard two separate reports
+that suggest that the crocked login did make it out of Bell Labs,
+notably to BBN, and that it enabled at least one late-night login
+across the network by someone using the login name `kt'.
+
+
+Node:backbone cabal, Next:backbone site, Previous:back door, Up:= B = 
+
+backbone cabal n.
+
+A group of large-site administrators who pushed through the
+Great Renaming and reined
+in the chaos of Usenet during most
+of the 1980s. During most of its lifetime, the Cabal (as it was
+sometimes capitalized) steadfastly denied its own existence; it
+was almost obligatory for anyone privy to their secrets to
+respond "There is no Cabal" whenever the existence or activities
+of the group were speculated on in public.
+
+The result of this policy was an attractive aura of mystery.
+Even a decade after the cabal mailing list disbanded in late 1988
+following a bitter internal catfight, many people believed (or
+claimed to believe) that it had not actually disbanded but only
+gone deeper underground with its power intact.
+
+This belief became a model for various paranoid theories about
+various Cabals with dark nefarious objectives beginning with
+taking over the Usenet or Internet. These paranoias were later
+satirized in ways that took on a life of their own. See Eric Conspiracy for one
+example.
+
+See NANA for the subsequent history
+of "the Cabal".
+
+
+Node:backbone site, Next:backgammon, Previous:backbone cabal, Up:= B = 
+
+backbone site n.,obs.
+
+Formerly, a key Usenet and email site, one that processes a
+large amount of third-party traffic, especially if it is the home
+site of any of the regional coordinators for the Usenet maps.
+Notable backbone sites as of early 1993, when this sense of the
+term was beginning to pass out of general use due to wide
+availability of cheap Internet connections, included _uunet_
+and the mail machines at Rutgers University, UC Berkeley, DEC's Western Research Laboratories, Ohio
+State University, and the University of Texas. Compare rib site, leaf site.
+
+[1996 update: This term is seldom heard any more. The UUCP
+network world that gave it meaning has nearly disappeared;
+everyone is on the Internet now and network traffic is
+distributed in very different patterns. Today one might see
+references to a `backbone router' instead --ESR]
+
+
+Node:backgammon, Next:background, Previous:backbone site, Up:= B = 
+
+backgammon
+
+See bignum (sense 3), moby (sense 4), and pseudoprime.
+
+
+Node:background, Next:backreference, Previous:backgammon, Up:= B = 
+
+background n.,adj.,vt.
+
+[common] To do a task `in background' is to do it whenever
+foreground matters are not
+claiming your undivided attention, and `to background' something
+means to relegate it to a lower priority. "For now, we'll just
+print a list of nodes and links; I'm working on the
+graph-printing problem in background." Note that this implies
+ongoing activity but at a reduced level or in spare time, in
+contrast to mainstream `back burner' (which connotes benign
+neglect until some future resumption of activity). Some people
+prefer to use the term for processing that they have queued up
+for their unconscious minds (a tack that one can often fruitfully
+take upon encountering an obstacle in creative work). Compare
+amp off, slopsucker.
+
+Technically, a task running in background is detached from the
+terminal where it was started (and often running at a lower
+priority); oppose foreground.
+Nowadays this term is primarily associated with Unix, but it appears to have been first used in
+this sense on OS/360.
+
+
+Node:backreference, Next:backronym, Previous:background, Up:= B = 
+
+backreference n.
+
+1. In a regular expression or pattern match, the text which
+was matched within grouping parentheses parentheses. 2. The part
+of the pattern which refers back to the matched text. 3. By
+extension, anything which refers back to something which has been
+seen or discussed before. "When you said `she' just now, who were
+you backreferencing?"
+
+
+Node:backronym, Next:backspace and overstrike,
+Previous:backreference, Up:= B = 
+
+backronym n.
+
+[portmanteau of back + acronym] A word interpreted as an
+acronym that was not originally so intended. This is a special
+case of what linguists call `back formation'. Examples are given
+under BASIC, recursive acronym (Cygnus), Acme, and mung.
+Discovering backronyms is a common form of wordplay among
+hackers. Compare retcon.
+
+
+Node:backspace and
+overstrike, Next:backward combatability,
+Previous:backronym, Up:= B = 
+
+backspace and overstrike interj.
+
+[rare] Whoa! Back up. Used to suggest that someone just said
+or did something wrong. Once common among APL programmers; may
+now be obsolete.
+
+
+Node:backward
+combatability, Next:BAD,
+Previous:backspace and overstrike,
+Up:= B = 
+
+backward combatability /bak'w*rd k*m-bat'*-bil'*-tee/
+n.
+
+[CMU, Tektronix: from `backward compatibility'] A property of
+hardware or software revisions in which previous protocols,
+formats, layouts, etc. are irrevocably discarded in favor of `new
+and improved' protocols, formats, and layouts, leaving the
+previous ones not merely deprecated but actively defeated. (Too
+often, the old and new versions cannot definitively be
+distinguished, such that lingering instances of the previous ones
+yield crashes or other infelicitous effects, as opposed to a
+simple "version mismatch" message.) A backwards compatible
+change, on the other hand, allows old versions to coexist without
+crashes or error messages, but too many major changes
+incorporating elaborate backwards compatibility processing can
+lead to extreme software
+bloat. See also flag
+day.
+
+
+Node:BAD, Next:Bad and Wrong, Previous:backward
+combatability, Up:= B =
+
+
+BAD /B-A-D/ adj.
+
+[IBM: acronym, `Broken As Designed'] Said of a program that is
+bogus because of bad design and
+misfeatures rather than because of bugginess. See working as designed.
+
+
+Node:Bad and Wrong, Next:Bad Thing, Previous:BAD, Up:= B = 
+
+Bad and Wrong adj.
+
+[Durham, UK] Said of something that is both badly designed and
+wrongly executed. This common term is the prototype of, and is
+used by contrast with, three less common terms - Bad and Right (a
+kludge, something ugly but functional); Good and Wrong (an
+overblown GUI or other attractive nuisance); and (rare praise)
+Good and Right. These terms entered common use at Durham c.1994
+and may have been imported from elsewhere; they are also in use
+at Oxford, and the emphatic form "Evil, Bad and Wrong"
+(abbreviated EBW) is reported fromm there. There are standard
+abbreviations: they start with B&R, a typo for "Bad and
+Wrong". Consequently, B&W is actually "Bad and Right",
+G&R = "Good and Wrong", and G&W = "Good and Right".
+Compare evil and rude,
+Good Thing, Bad Thing.
+
+
+Node:Bad Thing, Next:bag on the side, Previous:Bad and Wrong, Up:= B = 
+
+Bad Thing n.
+
+[very common; from the 1930 Sellar & Yeatman parody "1066
+And All That"] Something that can't possibly result in
+improvement of the subject. This term is always capitalized, as
+in "Replacing all of the 9600-baud modems with bicycle couriers
+would be a Bad Thing". Oppose Good
+Thing. British correspondents confirm that Bad Thing and Good Thing (and prob. therefore Right Thing and Wrong Thing) come from the book
+referenced in the etymology, which discusses rulers who were Good
+Kings but Bad Things. This has apparently created a mainstream
+idiom on the British side of the pond. It is very common among
+American hackers, but not in mainstream usage here. Compare Bad and Wrong.
+
+
+Node:bag on the side, Next:bagbiter, Previous:Bad Thing, Up:= B = 
+
+bag on the side n.
+
+[prob. originally related to a colostomy bag] An extension to
+an established hack that is supposed to add some functionality to
+the original. Usually derogatory, implying that the original was
+being overextended and should have been thrown away, and the new
+product is ugly, inelegant, or bloated. Also v. phrase, `to hang
+a bag on the side [of]'. "C++? That's just a bag on the side of C
+...." "They want me to hang a bag on the side of
+the accounting system."
+
+
+Node:bagbiter, Next:bagbiting, Previous:bag on the side, Up:= B = 
+
+bagbiter /bag'bi:t-*r/ n.
+
+1. Something, such as a program or a computer, that fails to
+work, or works in a remarkably clumsy manner. "This text editor
+won't let me make a file with a line longer than 80 characters!
+What a bagbiter!" 2. A person who has caused you some trouble,
+inadvertently or otherwise, typically by failing to program the
+computer properly. Synonyms: loser,
+cretin, chomper. 3. `bite the bag' vi. To fail in some
+manner. "The computer keeps crashing every five minutes." "Yes,
+the disk controller is really biting the bag."
+
+The original loading of these terms was almost undoubtedly
+obscene, possibly referring to a douche bag or the scrotum (we
+have reports of "Bite the douche bag!" being used as a taunt at
+MIT 1970-1976, and we have another report that "Bite the bag!"
+was in common use at least as early as 1965), but in their
+current usage they have become almost completely sanitized.
+
+ITS's lexiphage program was
+the first and to date only known example of a program
+intended to be a bagbiter.
+
+
+Node:bagbiting, Next:baggy pantsing, Previous:bagbiter, Up:= B = 
+
+bagbiting adj.
+
+Having the quality of a bagbiter. "This bagbiting system won't let me
+compute the factorial of a negative number." Compare losing, cretinous, bletcherous, `barfucious' (under barfulous) and `chomping' (under chomp).
+
+
+Node:baggy pantsing, Next:balloonian variable,
+Previous:bagbiting, Up:= B = 
+
+baggy pantsing v.
+
+[Georgia Tech] A "baggy pantsing" is used to reprimand hackers
+who incautiously leave their terminals unlocked. The affected
+user will come back to find a post from them on internal
+newsgroups discussing exactly how baggy their pants are, an
+accepted stand-in for "unattentive user who left their work
+unprotected in the clusters". A properly-done baggy pantsing is
+highly mocking and humorous (see examples below). It is
+considered bad form to post a baggy pantsing to off-campus
+newsgroups or the more technical, serious groups. A particularly
+nice baggy pantsing may be "claimed" by immediately quoting the
+message in full, followed by your sig; this has the added benefit
+of keeping the embarassed victim from being able to delete the
+post. Interesting baggy-pantsings have been done involving adding
+commands to login scripts to repost the message every time the
+unlucky user logs in; Unix boxes on the residential network, when
+cracked, oftentimes have their homepages replaced (after being
+politely backedup to another file) with a baggy-pants message;
+.plan files are also occasionally targeted. Usage: "Prof.
+Greenlee fell asleep in the Solaris cluster again; we
+baggy-pantsed him to git.cc.class.2430.flame."
+
+
+Node:balloonian variable,
+Next:bamf, Previous:baggy pantsing, Up:= B = 
+
+balloonian variable n.
+
+[Commodore users; perh. a deliberate phonetic mangling of
+`boolean variable'?] Any variable that doesn't actually hold or
+control state, but must nevertheless be declared, checked, or
+set. A typical balloonian variable started out as a flag attached
+to some environment feature that either became obsolete or was
+planned but never implemented. Compatibility concerns (or
+politics attached to same) may require that such a flag be
+treated as though it were live.
+
+
+Node:bamf, Next:banana label, Previous:balloonian variable, Up:= B = 
+
+bamf /bamf/
+
+1. [from X-Men comics; originally "bampf"] interj. Notional
+sound made by a person or object teleporting in or out of the
+hearer's vicinity. Often used in virtual reality (esp. MUD) electronic fora
+when a character wishes to make a dramatic entrance or exit. 2.
+The sound of magical transformation, used in virtual reality
+fora like MUDs. 3. In MUD circles,
+"bamf" is also used to refer to the act by which a MUD server
+sends a special notification to the MUD client to switch its
+connection to another server ("I'll set up the old site to just
+bamf people over to our new location."). 4. Used by MUDders on
+occasion in a more general sense related to sense 3, to refer to
+directing someone to another location or resource ("A user was
+asking about some technobabble so I bamfed them to http://www.tuxedo.org/jargon/".)
+
+
+Node:banana label, Next:banana problem, Previous:bamf, Up:= B = 
+
+banana label n.
+
+The labels often used on the sides of macrotape reels, so called because they are
+shaped roughly like blunt-ended bananas. This term, like
+macrotapes themselves, is still current but visibly headed for
+obsolescence.
+
+
+Node:banana problem, Next:binary four, Previous:banana label, Up:= B = 
+
+banana problem n.
+
+[from the story of the little girl who said "I know how to
+spell `banana', but I don't know when to stop"]. Not knowing
+where or when to bring a production to a close (compare fencepost error). One may say
+`there is a banana problem' of an algorithm with poorly defined
+or incorrect termination conditions, or in discussing the
+evolution of a design that may be succumbing to featuritis (see
+also creeping elegance,
+creeping featuritis).
+See item 176 under HAKMEM, which
+describes a banana problem in a Dissociated Press implementation.
+Also, see one-banana
+problem for a superficially similar but unrelated
+usage.
+
+
+Node:binary four, Next:bandwidth, Previous:banana problem, Up:= B = 
+
+binary four n.
+
+[Usenet] The finger, in the sense of `digitus impudicus'. This
+comes from an analogy between binary and the hand, i.e.
+1=00001=thumb, 2=00010=index finger, 3=00011=index and thumb,
+4=00100. Considered silly. Prob. from humorous derivative of
+finger, sense 4.
+
+
+Node:bandwidth, Next:bang, Previous:binary four, Up:= B = 
+
+bandwidth n.
+
+1. [common] Used by hackers (in a generalization of its
+technical meaning) as the volume of information per unit time
+that a computer, person, or transmission medium can handle.
+"Those are amazing graphics, but I missed some of the detail --
+not enough bandwidth, I guess." Compare low-bandwidth. This generalized usage
+began to go mainstream after the Internet population explosion of
+1993-1994. 2. Attention span. 3. On Usenet, a measure of network capacity that is
+often wasted by people complaining about how items posted by
+others are a waste of bandwidth.
+
+
+Node:bang, Next:bang on, Previous:bandwidth, Up:= B = 
+
+bang
+
+1. n. Common spoken name for ! (ASCII 0100001),
+especially when used in pronouncing a bang path in spoken hackish. In elder days this was considered a
+CMUish usage, with MIT and Stanford hackers preferring excl or shriek;
+but the spread of Unix has carried `bang' with it (esp. via the
+term bang path) and it is now
+certainly the most common spoken name for !. Note
+that it is used exclusively for non-emphatic written
+!; one would not say "Congratulations bang" (except
+possibly for humorous purposes), but if one wanted to specify the
+exact characters `foo!' one would speak "Eff oh oh bang". See
+shriek, ASCII. 2. interj. An exclamation signifying
+roughly "I have achieved enlightenment!", or "The dynamite has
+cleared out my brain!" Often used to acknowledge that one has
+perpetrated a thinko immediately
+after one has been called on it.
+
+
+Node:bang on, Next:bang path, Previous:bang, Up:= B =
+
+
+bang on vt.
+
+To stress-test a piece of hardware or software: "I banged on
+the new version of the simulator all day yesterday and it didn't
+crash once. I guess it is ready for release." The term pound on is synonymous.
+
+
+Node:bang path, Next:banner, Previous:bang on, Up:=
+B = 
+
+bang path n.
+
+[now historical] An old-style UUCP electronic-mail address
+specifying hops to get from some assumed-reachable location to
+the addressee, so called because each hop is signified by a bang sign. Thus, for example, the path
+_...!bigsite!foovax!barbox!me_ directs people to route their
+mail to machine _bigsite_ (presumably a well-known location
+accessible to everybody) and from there through the machine
+_foovax_ to the account of user _me_ on
+_barbox_.
+
+In the bad old days of not so long ago, before autorouting
+mailers became commonplace, people often published compound bang
+addresses using the { } convention (see glob) to give paths from several big
+machines, in the hopes that one's correspondent might be able to
+get mail to one of them reliably (example: _...!{seismo,
+ut-sally, ihnp4}!rice!beta!gamma!me_). Bang paths of 8 to 10
+hops were not uncommon in 1981. Late-night dial-up UUCP links
+would cause week-long transmission times. Bang paths were often
+selected by both transmission time and reliability, as messages
+would often get lost. See Internet address, the network, and sitename.
+
+
+Node:banner, Next:banner ad, Previous:bang path, Up:= B = 
+
+banner n.
+
+1. The title page added to printouts by most print spoolers
+(see spool). Typically includes user
+or account ID information in very large character-graphics
+capitals. Also called a `burst page', because it indicates where
+to burst (tear apart) fanfold paper to separate one user's
+printout from the next. 2. A similar printout generated
+(typically on multiple pages of fan-fold paper) from
+user-specified text, e.g., by a program such as Unix's
+banner({1,6}). 3. On interactive software, a first
+screen containing a logo and/or author credits and/or a copyright
+notice. This is probably now the commonest sense.
+
+
+Node:banner ad, Next:banner site, Previous:banner, Up:=
+B = 
+
+banner ad n.
+
+Any of the annoying graphical advertisements that span the
+tops of way too many Web pages.
+
+
+Node:banner site, Next:bar, Previous:banner ad, Up:= B = 
+
+banner site n.
+
+[warez d00dz] A FTP site storing pirated files where one must
+first click on several banners and/or subscribe to various `free'
+services, usually generating some form of revenues for the site
+owner, to be able to access the site. More often than not, the
+username/password painfully obtained by clicking on banners and
+subscribing to bogus services or mailing lists turns out to be
+non-working or gives access to a site that always responds busy.
+See ratio site, leech mode.
+
+
+Node:bar, Next:bare metal, Previous:banner site, Up:= B = 
+
+bar /bar/ n.
+
+1. [very common] The second metasyntactic variable, after
+foo and before baz. "Suppose we have two functions: FOO and BAR.
+FOO calls BAR...." 2. Often appended to foo to produce foobar.
+
+
+Node:bare metal, Next:barf, Previous:bar, Up:= B =
+
+
+bare metal n.
+
+1. [common] New computer hardware, unadorned with such snares
+and delusions as an operating
+system, an HLL, or even
+assembler. Commonly used in the phrase `programming on the bare
+metal', which refers to the arduous work of bit bashing needed to create these basic
+tools for a new machine. Real bare-metal programming involves
+things like building boot proms and BIOS chips, implementing
+basic monitors used to test device drivers, and writing the
+assemblers that will be used to write the compiler back ends that
+will give the new machine a real development environment. 2.
+`Programming on the bare metal' is also used to describe a style
+of hand-hacking that relies on
+bit-level peculiarities of a particular hardware design, esp.
+tricks for speed and space optimization that rely on crocks such
+as overlapping instructions (or, as in the famous case described
+in The Story of Mel
+(in Appendix A), interleaving of opcodes on a magnetic drum to
+minimize fetch delays due to the device's rotational latency).
+This sort of thing has become less common as the relative costs
+of programming time and machine resources have changed, but is
+still found in heavily constrained environments such as
+industrial embedded systems, and in the code of hackers who just
+can't let go of that low-level control. See Real Programmer.
+
+In the world of personal computing, bare metal programming
+(especially in sense 1 but sometimes also in sense 2) is often
+considered a Good Thing, or at
+least a necessary evil (because these machines have often been
+sufficiently slow and poorly designed to make it necessary; see
+ill-behaved). There, the term
+usually refers to bypassing the BIOS or OS interface and writing
+the application to directly access device registers and machine
+addresses. "To get 19.2 kilobaud on the serial port, you need to
+get down to the bare metal." People who can do this sort of thing
+well are held in high regard.
+
+
+Node:barf, Next:barfmail, Previous:bare metal, Up:= B = 
+
+barf /barf/ n.,v.
+
+[common; from mainstream slang meaning `vomit'] 1. interj.
+Term of disgust. This is the closest hackish equivalent of the
+Valspeak "gag me with a spoon". (Like, euwww!) See bletch. 2. vi. To say "Barf!" or emit some
+similar expression of disgust. "I showed him my latest hack and
+he barfed" means only that he complained about it, not that he
+literally vomited. 3. vi. To fail to work because of unacceptable
+input, perhaps with a suitable error message, perhaps not.
+Examples: "The division operation barfs if you try to divide by
+0." (That is, the division operation checks for an attempt to
+divide by zero, and if one is encountered it causes the operation
+to fail in some unspecified, but generally obvious, manner.) "The
+text editor barfs if you try to read in a new file before writing
+out the old one." See choke, gag. In Commonwealth Hackish, `barf' is
+generally replaced by `puke' or `vom'. barf is sometimes also used as a metasyntactic variable, like
+foo or bar.
+
+
+Node:barfmail, Next:barfulation, Previous:barf, Up:= B =
+
+
+barfmail n.
+
+Multiple bounce
+messages accumulating to the level of serious annoyance,
+or worse. The sort of thing that happens when an inter-network
+mail gateway goes down or wonky.
+
+
+Node:barfulation, Next:barfulous, Previous:barfmail, Up:=
+B = 
+
+barfulation /bar`fyoo-lay'sh*n/ interj.
+
+Variation of barf used around the
+Stanford area. An exclamation, expressing disgust. On seeing some
+particularly bad code one might exclaim, "Barfulation! Who wrote
+this, Quux?"
+
+
+Node:barfulous, Next:barn, Previous:barfulation, Up:= B = 
+
+barfulous /bar'fyoo-l*s/ adj.
+
+(alt. `barfucious', /bar-fyoo-sh*s/) Said of something that
+would make anyone barf, if only for esthetic reasons.
+
+
+Node:barn, Next:barney, Previous:barfulous, Up:= B = 
+
+barn n.
+
+[uncommon; prob. from the nuclear military] An unexpectedly
+large quantity of something: a unit of measurement. "Why is
+/var/adm taking up so much space?" "The logs have grown to
+several barns." The source of this is clear: when physicists were
+first studying nuclear interactions, the probability was thought
+to be proportional to the cross-sectional area of the nucleus
+(this probability is still called the cross-section). Upon
+experimenting, they discovered the interactions were far more
+probable than expected; the nuclei were `as big as a barn'. The
+units for cross-sections were christened Barns, (10^-24 cm^2) and
+the book containing cross-sections has a picture of a barn on the
+cover.
+
+
+Node:barney, Next:baroque, Previous:barn, Up:= B =
+
+
+barney n.
+
+In Commonwealth hackish, `barney' is to fred (sense #1) as bar
+is to foo. That is, people who commonly
+use `fred' as their first metasyntactic variable will often use
+`barney' second. The reference is, of course, to Fred Flintstone
+and Barney Rubble in the Flintstones cartoons.
+
+
+Node:baroque, Next:BASIC, Previous:barney, Up:= B
+= 
+
+baroque adj.
+
+[common] Feature-encrusted; complex; gaudy; verging on
+excessive. Said of hardware or (esp.) software designs, this has
+many of the connotations of elephantine or monstrosity but is less extreme and not
+pejorative in itself. "Metafont even has features to introduce
+random variations to its letterform output. Now that is
+baroque!" See also rococo.
+
+
+Node:BASIC, Next:batbelt, Previous:baroque, Up:= B
+= 
+
+BASIC /bay'-sic/ n.
+
+A programming language, originally designed for Dartmouth's
+experimental timesharing system in the early 1960s, which for
+many years was the leading cause of brain damage in
+proto-hackers. Edsger W. Dijkstra observed in "Selected Writings
+on Computing: A Personal Perspective" that "It is practically
+impossible to teach good programming style to students that have
+had prior exposure to BASIC: as potential programmers they are
+mentally mutilated beyond hope of regeneration." This is another
+case (like Pascal) of the cascading
+lossage that happens when a
+language deliberately designed as an educational toy gets taken
+too seriously. A novice can write short BASIC programs (on the
+order of 10-20 lines) very easily; writing anything longer (a) is
+very painful, and (b) encourages bad habits that will make it
+harder to use more powerful languages well. This wouldn't be so
+bad if historical accidents hadn't made BASIC so common on
+low-end micros in the 1980s. As it is, it probably ruined tens of
+thousands of potential wizards.
+
+[1995: Some languages called `BASIC' aren't quite this nasty
+any more, having acquired Pascal- and C-like procedures and
+control structures and shed their line numbers. --ESR]
+
+Note: the name is commonly parsed as Beginner's All-purpose
+Symbolic Instruction Code, but this is a backronym. BASIC was originally named Basic,
+simply because it was a simple and basic programming language.
+Because most programming language names were in fact acronyms,
+BASIC was often capitalized just out of habit or to be silly. No
+acronym for BASIC originally existed or was intended (as one can
+verify by reading texts through the early 1970s). Later, around
+the mid-1970s, people began to make up backronyms for BASIC
+because they weren't sure. Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic
+Instruction Code is the one that caught on.
+
+
+Node:batbelt, Next:batch, Previous:BASIC, Up:= B
+= 
+
+batbelt n.
+
+Many hackers routinely hang numerous devices such as pagers,
+cell-phones, personal organizers, leatherman multitools, pocket
+knives, flashlights, walkie-talkies, even miniature computers
+from their belts. When many of these devices are worn at once,
+the hacker's belt somewhat resembles Batman's utility belt; hence
+it is referred to as a batbelt.
+
+
+Node:batch, Next:bathtub curve, Previous:batbelt, Up:= B = 
+
+batch adj.
+
+1. Non-interactive. Hackers use this somewhat more loosely
+than the traditional technical definitions justify; in
+particular, switches on a normally interactive program that
+prepare it to receive non-interactive command input are often
+referred to as `batch mode' switches. A `batch file' is a series
+of instructions written to be handed to an interactive program
+running in batch mode. 2. Performance of dreary tasks all at one
+sitting. "I finally sat down in batch mode and wrote out checks
+for all those bills; I guess they'll turn the electricity back on
+next week..." 3. `batching up': Accumulation of a
+number of small tasks that can be lumped together for greater
+efficiency. "I'm batching up those letters to send sometime" "I'm
+batching up bottles to take to the recycling center."
+
+
+Node:bathtub curve, Next:baud, Previous:batch, Up:= B
+= 
+
+bathtub curve n.
+
+Common term for the curve (resembling an end-to-end section of
+one of those claw-footed antique bathtubs) that describes the
+expected failure rate of electronics with time: initially high,
+dropping to near 0 for most of the system's lifetime, then rising
+again as it `tires out'. See also burn-in period, infant mortality.
+
+
+Node:baud, Next:baud barf, Previous:bathtub curve, Up:= B = 
+
+baud /bawd/ n.
+
+[simplified from its technical meaning] n. Bits per second.
+Hence kilobaud or Kbaud, thousands of bits per second. The
+technical meaning is `level transitions per second'; this
+coincides with bps only for two-level modulation with no framing
+or stop bits. Most hackers are aware of these nuances but
+blithely ignore them.
+
+Historical note: `baud' was originally a unit of telegraph
+signalling speed, set at one pulse per second. It was proposed at
+the November, 1926 conference of the Comité Consultatif
+International Des Communications Télégraphiques as
+an improvement on the then standard practice of referring to line
+speeds in terms of words per minute, and named for Jean Maurice
+Emile Baudot (1845-1903), a French engineer who did a lot of
+pioneering work in early teleprinters.
+
+
+Node:baud barf, Next:baz, Previous:baud, Up:= B =
+
+
+baud barf /bawd barf/ n.
+
+The garbage one gets a terminal (or terminal emulator) when
+using a modem connection with some protocol setting (esp. line
+speed) incorrect, or when someone picks up a voice extension on
+the same line, or when really bad line noise disrupts the
+connection. Baud barf is not completely random, by the way; hackers with a lot of
+serial-line experience can usually tell whether the device at the
+other end is expecting a higher or lower speed than the terminal
+is set to. Really experienced ones can identify
+particular speeds.
+
+
+Node:baz, Next:bazaar, Previous:baud barf, Up:= B = 
+
+baz /baz/ n.
+
+1. [common] The third metasyntactic variable
+"Suppose we have three functions: FOO, BAR, and BAZ. FOO calls
+BAR, which calls BAZ...." (See also fum) 2. interj. A term of mild annoyance. In this
+usage the term is often drawn out for 2 or 3 seconds, producing
+an effect not unlike the bleating of a sheep; /baaaaaaz/. 3.
+Occasionally appended to foo to produce
+`foobaz'.
+
+Earlier versions of this lexicon derived `baz' as a Stanford
+corruption of bar. However, Pete Samson
+(compiler of the TMRC lexicon) reports
+it was already current when he joined TMRC in 1958. He says "It
+came from "Pogo". Albert the Alligator, when vexed or outraged,
+would shout `Bazz Fazz!' or `Rowrbazzle!' The club layout was
+said to model the (mythical) New England counties of Rowrfolk and
+Bassex (Rowrbazzle mingled with
+(Norfolk/Suffolk/Middlesex/Essex)."
+
+
+Node:bazaar, Next:bboard, Previous:baz, Up:= B =
+
+
+bazaar n.,adj.
+
+In 1997, after meditatating on the success of Linux for three years, the Jargon File's own
+editor ESR wrote an analytical paper on hacker culture and
+development models titled The
+Cathedral and the Bazaar. The main argument of the paper was
+that Brooks's Law is not the
+whole story; given the right social machinery, debugging can be
+efficiently parallelized across large numbers of programmers. The
+title metaphor caught on (see also cathedral), and the style of development
+typical in the Linux community is now often referred to as the
+bazaar mode. Its characteristics include releasing code early and
+often, and actively seeking the largest possible pool of peer
+reviewers.
+
+
+Node:bboard, Next:BBS, Previous:bazaar, Up:= B
+= 
+
+bboard /bee'bord/ n.
+
+[contraction of `bulletin board'] 1. Any electronic bulletin
+board; esp. used of BBS systems running
+on personal micros, less frequently of a Usenet newsgroup (in fact, use of this term for a
+newsgroup generally marks one either as a newbie fresh in from the BBS world or as a real
+old-timer predating Usenet). 2. At CMU and other colleges with
+similar facilities, refers to campus-wide electronic bulletin
+boards. 3. The term `physical bboard' is sometimes used to refer
+to an old-fashioned, non-electronic cork-and-thumbtack memo
+board. At CMU, it refers to a particular one outside the CS
+Lounge.
+
+In either of senses 1 or 2, the term is usually prefixed by
+the name of the intended board (`the Moonlight Casino bboard' or
+`market bboard'); however, if the context is clear, the
+better-read bboards may be referred to by name alone, as in (at
+CMU) "Don't post for-sale ads on general".
+
+
+Node:BBS, Next:BCPL, Previous:bboard, Up:= B
+= 
+
+BBS /B-B-S/ n.
+
+[common; abbreviation, `Bulletin Board System'] An electronic
+bulletin board system; that is, a message database where people
+can log in and leave broadcast messages for others grouped
+(typically) into topic
+groups. The term was especially applied to the thousands
+of local BBS systems that operated during the pre-Internet
+microcomputer era of roughly 1980 to 1995, typically run by
+amateurs for fun out of their homes on MS-DOS boxes with a single
+modem line each. Fans of Usenet and Internet or the big
+commercial timesharing bboards such as CompuServe and GEnie
+tended to consider local BBSes the low-rent district of the
+hacker culture, but they served a valuable function by knitting
+together lots of hackers and users in the personal-micro world
+who would otherwise have been unable to exchange code at all.
+Post-Internet, BBSs are likely to be local newsgroups on an ISP;
+efficiency has increased but a certain flavor has been lost. See
+also bboard.
+
+
+Node:BCPL, Next:beam, Previous:BBS,
+Up:= B = 
+
+BCPL // n.
+
+[abbreviation, `Basic Combined Programming Language') A
+programming language developed by Martin Richards in Cambridge in
+1967. It is remarkable for its rich syntax, small size of
+compiler (it can be run in 16k) and extreme portability. It
+reached break-even point at a very early stage, and was the
+language in which the original hello
+world program was written. It has been ported to so many
+different systems that its creator confesses to having lost
+count. It has only one data type (a machine word) which can be
+used as an integer, a character, a floating point number, a
+pointer, or almost anything else, depending on context. BCPL was
+a precursor of C, which inherited some of its features.
+
+
+Node:beam, Next:beanie key, Previous:BCPL, Up:= B =
+
+
+beam vt.
+
+[from Star Trek Classic's "Beam me up, Scotty!"] 1. To
+transfer softcopy of a file
+electronically; most often in combining forms such as `beam me a
+copy' or `beam that over to his site'. 2. Palm Pilot users very
+commonly use this term for the act of exchanging bits via the
+infrared links on their machines (this term seems to have
+originated with the ill-fated Newton Message Pad). Compare blast, snarf,
+BLT.
+
+
+Node:beanie key, Next:beep, Previous:beam, Up:= B =
+
+
+beanie key n.
+
+[Mac users] See command
+key.
+
+
+Node:beep, Next:Befunge, Previous:beanie key, Up:= B = 
+
+beep n.,v.
+
+Syn. feep. This term is techspeak
+under MS-DOS and OS/2, and seems to be generally preferred among
+micro hobbyists.
+
+
+Node:Befunge, Next:beige toaster, Previous:beep, Up:= B
+= 
+
+Befunge n.
+
+A worthy companion to INTERCAL;
+a computer language family which escapes the quotidian limitation
+of linear control flow and embraces program counters flying
+through multiple dimensions with exotic topologies. Sadly, the
+Befunge home page has vanished, but a Befunge version of the
+hello world program is at http://www.catseye.mb.ca/esoteric/befunge.html.
+
+
+Node:beige toaster, Next:bells and whistles,
+Previous:Befunge, Up:= B = 
+
+beige toaster n.
+
+A Macintosh. See toaster;
+compare Macintrash, maggotbox.
+
+
+Node:bells and whistles,
+Next:bells
+whistles and gongs, Previous:beige toaster, Up:= B = 
+
+bells and whistles n.
+
+[common] Features added to a program or system to make it more
+flavorful from a hacker's point
+of view, without necessarily adding to its utility for its
+primary function. Distinguished from chrome, which is intended to attract users.
+"Now that we've got the basic program working, let's go back and
+add some bells and whistles." No one seems to know what
+distinguishes a bell from a whistle. The recognized emphatic form
+is "bells, whistles, and gongs".
+
+It used to be thought that this term derived from the toyboxes
+on theater organs. However, the "and gongs" strongly suggests a
+different origin, at sea. Before powered horns, ships routinely
+used bells, whistles, and gongs to signal each other over longer
+distances than voice can carry.
+
+
+Node:bells whistles and
+gongs, Next:benchmark,
+Previous:bells
+and whistles, Up:= B =
+
+
+bells whistles and gongs n.
+
+A standard elaborated form of bells and whistles; typically
+said with a pronounced and ironic accent on the `gongs'.
+
+
+Node:benchmark, Next:Berkeley Quality Software,
+Previous:bells whistles and gongs,
+Up:= B = 
+
+benchmark n.
+
+[techspeak] An inaccurate measure of computer performance. "In
+the computer industry, there are three kinds of lies: lies, damn
+lies, and benchmarks." Well-known ones include Whetstone,
+Dhrystone, Rhealstone (see h), the
+Gabriel LISP benchmarks (see gabriel), the SPECmark suite, and LINPACK. See
+also machoflops, MIPS, smoke
+and mirrors.
+
+
+Node:Berkeley Quality
+Software, Next:berklix,
+Previous:benchmark, Up:= B = 
+
+Berkeley Quality Software adj.
+
+(often abbreviated `BQS') Term used in a pejorative sense to
+refer to software that was apparently created by rather
+spaced-out hackers late at night to solve some unique problem. It
+usually has nonexistent, incomplete, or incorrect documentation,
+has been tested on at least two examples, and core dumps when
+anyone else attempts to use it. This term was frequently applied
+to early versions of the dbx(1) debugger. See also
+Berzerkeley.
+
+Note to British and Commonwealth readers: that's /berk'lee/,
+not /bark'lee/ as in British Received Pronunciation.
+
+
+Node:berklix, Next:Berzerkeley, Previous:Berkeley Quality Software,
+Up:= B = 
+
+berklix /berk'liks/ n.,adj.
+
+[contraction of `Berkeley Unix'] See BSD. Not used at Berkeley itself. May be more
+common among suits attempting to sound
+like cognoscenti than among hackers, who usually just say
+`BSD'.
+
+
+Node:Berzerkeley, Next:beta, Previous:berklix, Up:= B
+= 
+
+Berzerkeley /b*r-zer'klee/ n.
+
+[from `berserk', via the name of a now-deceased record label;
+poss. originated by famed columnist Herb Caen] Humorous
+distortion of `Berkeley' used esp. to refer to the practices or
+products of the BSD Unix hackers. See
+software bloat, Missed'em-five, Berkeley Quality
+Software.
+
+Mainstream use of this term in reference to the cultural and
+political peculiarities of UC Berkeley as a whole has been
+reported from as far back as the 1960s.
+
+
+Node:beta, Next:BFI, Previous:Berzerkeley, Up:= B = 
+
+beta /bay't*/, /be't*/ or (Commonwealth) /bee't*/
+n.
+
+1. Mostly working, but still under test; usu. used with `in':
+`in beta'. In the Real World,
+systems (hardware or software) software often go through two
+stages of release testing: Alpha (in-house) and Beta
+(out-house?). Beta releases are generally made to a group of
+lucky (or unlucky) trusted customers. 2. Anything that is new and
+experimental. "His girlfriend is in beta" means that he is still
+testing for compatibility and reserving judgment. 3. Flaky;
+dubious; suspect (since beta software is notoriously buggy).
+
+Historical note: More formally, to beta-test is to test a
+pre-release (potentially unreliable) version of a piece of
+software by making it available to selected (or self-selected)
+customers and users. This term derives from early 1960s
+terminology for product cycle checkpoints, first used at IBM but
+later standard throughout the industry. `Alpha Test' was the
+unit, module, or component test phase; `Beta Test' was initial
+system test. These themselves came from earlier A- and B-tests
+for hardware. The A-test was a feasibility and manufacturability
+evaluation done before any commitment to design and development.
+The B-test was a demonstration that the engineering model
+functioned as specified. The C-test (corresponding to today's
+beta) was the B-test performed on early samples of the production
+design, and the D test was the C test repeated after the model
+had been in production a while.
+
+
+Node:BFI, Next:bible, Previous:beta, Up:= B =
+
+
+BFI /B-F-I/ n.
+
+See brute force
+and ignorance. Also encountered in the variants `BFMI',
+`brute force and massive ignorance' and `BFBI' `brute
+force and bloody ignorance'. In dome parts of the U.S. this
+abbreviation was probably reinforced by a company called
+Browning-Ferris Industries who used to be in the waste-management
+business; a large BFI logo in white-on-blue could be seen on the
+sides of garbage trucks.
+
+
+Node:bible, Next:BiCapitalization, Previous:BFI, Up:= B = 
+
+bible n.
+
+1. One of a small number of fundamental source books such as
+Knuth, K&R, or the Camel Book. 2. The most detailed and
+authoritative reference for a particular language, operating
+system, or other complex software system.
+
+
+Node:BiCapitalization, Next:B1FF, Previous:bible, Up:= B
+= 
+
+BiCapitalization n.
+
+The act said to have been performed on trademarks (such as
+PostScript, NeXT, NeWS, VisiCalc, FrameMaker, TK!solver,
+EasyWriter) that have been raised above the ruck of common
+coinage by nonstandard capitalization. Too many marketroid types think this sort of thing
+is really cute, even the 2,317th time they do it. Compare studlycaps.
+
+
+Node:B1FF, Next:BI, Previous:BiCapitalization, Up:= B = 
+
+B1FF /bif/ [Usenet] (alt. `BIFF') n.
+
+The most famous pseudo, and the
+prototypical newbie. Articles from
+B1FF feature all uppercase letters sprinkled liberally with
+bangs, typos, `cute' misspellings (EVRY BUDY LUVS GOOD OLD BIFF
+CUZ HE"S A K00L DOOD AN HE RITES REEL AWESUM THINGZ IN CAPITULL
+LETTRS LIKE THIS!!!), use (and often misuse) of fragments of
+talk mode abbreviations, a long
+sig block (sometimes even a
+doubled sig), and unbounded
+naivete. B1FF posts articles using his elder brother's VIC-20.
+B1FF's location is a mystery, as his articles appear to come from
+a variety of sites. However, BITNET
+seems to be the most frequent origin. The theory that B1FF is a
+denizen of BITNET is supported by B1FF's (unfortunately invalid)
+electronic mail address: B1FF@BIT.NET.
+
+[1993: Now It Can Be Told! My spies inform me that B1FF was
+originally created by Joe Talmadge <jat@cup.hp.com>, also
+the author of the infamous and much-plagiarized "Flamer's Bible".
+The BIFF filter he wrote was later passed to Richard Sexton, who
+posted BIFFisms much more widely. Versions have since been posted
+for the amusement of the net at large. See also Jeff K. --ESR]
+
+
+Node:BI, Next:biff, Previous:B1FF, Up:= B =
+
+
+BI //
+
+Common written abbreviation for Breidbart Index.
+
+
+Node:biff, Next:Big Gray Wall, Previous:BI, Up:= B = 
+
+biff /bif/ vt.
+
+To notify someone of incoming mail. From the BSD utility
+biff(1), which was in turn named after a friendly
+dog who used to chase frisbees in the halls at UCB while 4.2BSD
+was in development. There was a legend that it had a habit of
+barking whenever the mailman came, but the author of
+biff says this is not true. No relation to B1FF.
+
+
+Node:Big Gray Wall, Next:big iron, Previous:biff, Up:= B = 
+
+Big Gray Wall n.
+
+What faces a VMS user searching for
+documentation. A full VMS kit comes on a pallet, the
+documentation taking up around 15 feet of shelf space before the
+addition of layered products such as compilers, databases,
+multivendor networking, and programming tools. Recent (since VMS
+version 5) documentation comes with gray binders; under VMS
+version 4 the binders were orange (`big orange wall'), and under
+version 3 they were blue. See VMS.
+Often contracted to `Gray Wall'.
+
+
+Node:big iron, Next:Big Red Switch, Previous:Big Gray Wall, Up:= B = 
+
+big iron n.
+
+[common] Large, expensive, ultra-fast computers. Used
+generally of number-crunching supercomputers such
+as Crays, but can include more conventional big commercial IBMish
+mainframes. Term of approval; compare heavy metal, oppose dinosaur.
+
+
+Node:Big Red Switch, Next:Big Room, Previous:big iron, Up:= B = 
+
+Big Red Switch n.
+
+[IBM] The power switch on a computer, esp. the `Emergency
+Pull' switch on an IBM mainframe
+or the power switch on an IBM PC where it really is large and
+red. "This !@%$% bitty box is
+hung again; time to hit the Big Red Switch." Sources at IBM
+report that, in tune with the company's passion for TLAs, this is often abbreviated as `BRS' (this has
+also become established on FidoNet and in the PC clone world). It is alleged that the emergency
+pull switch on an IBM 360/91 actually fired a non-conducting bolt
+into the main power feed; the BRSes on more recent mainframes
+physically drop a block into place so that they can't be pushed
+back in. People get fired for pulling them, especially
+inappropriately (see also molly-guard). Compare power cycle, three-finger salute, 120 reset; see also scram switch.
+
+
+Node:Big Room, Next:big win, Previous:Big Red Switch, Up:= B = 
+
+Big Room n.
+
+(Also `Big Blue Room') The extremely large room with the blue
+ceiling and intensely bright light (during the day) or black
+ceiling with lots of tiny night-lights (during the night) found
+outside all computer installations. "He can't come to the phone
+right now, he's somewhere out in the Big Room."
+
+
+Node:big win, Next:big-endian, Previous:Big Room, Up:= B = 
+
+big win n.
+
+1. [common] Major success. 2. [MIT] Serendipity. "Yes, those
+two physicists discovered high-temperature superconductivity in a
+batch of ceramic that had been prepared incorrectly according to
+their experimental schedule. Small mistake; big win!" See win big.
+
+
+Node:big-endian, Next:bignum, Previous:big win, Up:=
+B = 
+
+big-endian adj.
+
+[common; From Swift's "Gulliver's Travels" via the famous
+paper "On Holy Wars and a Plea for Peace" by Danny Cohen, USC/ISI
+IEN 137, dated April 1, 1980] 1. Describes a computer
+architecture in which, within a given multi-byte numeric
+representation, the most significant byte has the lowest address
+(the word is stored `big-end-first'). Most processors, including
+the IBM 370 family, the PDP-10, the
+Motorola microprocessor families, and most of the various RISC
+designs are big-endian. Big-endian byte order is also sometimes
+called `network order'. See little-endian, middle-endian, NUXI problem, swab. 2. An Internet address the wrong way
+round. Most of the world follows the Internet standard and writes
+email addresses starting with the name of the computer and ending
+up with the name of the country. In the U.K. the Joint Networking
+Team had decided to do it the other way round before the Internet
+domain standard was established. Most gateway sites have ad-hockery in their mailers to handle
+this, but can still be confused. In particular, the address
+_me@uk.ac.bris.pys.as_ could be interpreted in JANET's
+big-endian way as one in the U.K. (domain _uk_) or in the
+standard little-endian way as one in the domain _as_
+(American Samoa) on the opposite side of the world.
+
+
+Node:bignum, Next:bigot, Previous:big-endian, Up:= B = 
+
+bignum /big'nuhm/ n.
+
+[common; orig. from MIT MacLISP] 1. [techspeak] A
+multiple-precision computer representation for very large
+integers. 2. More generally, any very large number. "Have you
+ever looked at the United States Budget? There's bignums for
+you!" 3. [Stanford] In backgammon, large numbers on the dice
+especially a roll of double fives or double sixes (compare moby, sense 4). See also El Camino Bignum.
+
+Sense 1 may require some explanation. Most computer languages
+provide a kind of data called `integer', but such computer
+integers are usually very limited in size; usually they must be
+smaller than 2^(31) (2,147,483,648) or (on a bitty box) 2^(15) (32,768). If you want to
+work with numbers larger than that, you have to use
+floating-point numbers, which are usually accurate to only six or
+seven decimal places. Computer languages that provide bignums can
+perform exact calculations on very large numbers, such as 1000!
+(the factorial of 1000, which is 1000 times 999 times 998 times
+... times 2 times 1). For example, this value for
+1000! was computed by the MacLISP system using bignums:
+
+40238726007709377354370243392300398571937486421071
+46325437999104299385123986290205920442084869694048
+00479988610197196058631666872994808558901323829669
+94459099742450408707375991882362772718873251977950
+59509952761208749754624970436014182780946464962910
+56393887437886487337119181045825783647849977012476
+63288983595573543251318532395846307555740911426241
+74743493475534286465766116677973966688202912073791
+43853719588249808126867838374559731746136085379534
+52422158659320192809087829730843139284440328123155
+86110369768013573042161687476096758713483120254785
+89320767169132448426236131412508780208000261683151
+02734182797770478463586817016436502415369139828126
+48102130927612448963599287051149649754199093422215
+66832572080821333186116811553615836546984046708975
+60290095053761647584772842188967964624494516076535
+34081989013854424879849599533191017233555566021394
+50399736280750137837615307127761926849034352625200
+01588853514733161170210396817592151090778801939317
+81141945452572238655414610628921879602238389714760
+88506276862967146674697562911234082439208160153780
+88989396451826324367161676217916890977991190375403
+12746222899880051954444142820121873617459926429565
+81746628302955570299024324153181617210465832036786
+90611726015878352075151628422554026517048330422614
+39742869330616908979684825901254583271682264580665
+26769958652682272807075781391858178889652208164348
+34482599326604336766017699961283186078838615027946
+59551311565520360939881806121385586003014356945272
+24206344631797460594682573103790084024432438465657
+24501440282188525247093519062092902313649327349756
+55139587205596542287497740114133469627154228458623
+77387538230483865688976461927383814900140767310446
+64025989949022222176590433990188601856652648506179
+97023561938970178600408118897299183110211712298459
+01641921068884387121855646124960798722908519296819
+37238864261483965738229112312502418664935314397013
+74285319266498753372189406942814341185201580141233
+44828015051399694290153483077644569099073152433278
+28826986460278986432113908350621709500259738986355
+42771967428222487575867657523442202075736305694988
+25087968928162753848863396909959826280956121450994
+87170124451646126037902930912088908694202851064018
+21543994571568059418727489980942547421735824010636
+77404595741785160829230135358081840096996372524230
+56085590370062427124341690900415369010593398383577
+79394109700277534720000000000000000000000000000000
+00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
+00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
+00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
+00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
+000000000000000000.
+
+Node:bigot, Next:bit, Previous:bignum, Up:= B
+= 
+
+bigot n.
+
+[common] A person who is religiously attached to a particular
+computer, language, operating system, editor, or other tool (see
+religious issues).
+Usually found with a specifier; thus, `cray bigot', `ITS bigot',
+`APL bigot', `VMS bigot', `Berkeley bigot'. Real bigots can be
+distinguished from mere partisans or zealots by the fact that
+they refuse to learn alternatives even when the march of time
+and/or technology is threatening to obsolete the favored tool. It
+is truly said "You can tell a bigot, but you can't tell him
+much." Compare weenie, Amiga Persecution
+Complex.
+
+
+Node:bit, Next:bit bang, Previous:bigot, Up:= B
+= 
+
+bit n.
+
+[from the mainstream meaning and `Binary digIT'] 1.
+[techspeak] The unit of information; the amount of information
+obtained by asking a yes-or-no question for which the two
+outcomes are equally probable. 2. [techspeak] A computational
+quantity that can take on one of two values, such as true and
+false or 0 and 1. 3. A mental flag: a reminder that something
+should be done eventually. "I have a bit set for you." (I haven't
+seen you for a while, and I'm supposed to tell or ask you
+something.) 4. More generally, a (possibly incorrect) mental
+state of belief. "I have a bit set that says that you were the
+last guy to hack on EMACS." (Meaning "I think you were the last
+guy to hack on EMACS, and what I am about to say is predicated on
+this, so please stop me if this isn't true.")
+
+"I just need one bit from you" is a polite way of indicating
+that you intend only a short interruption for a question that can
+presumably be answered yes or no.
+
+A bit is said to be `set' if its value is true or 1, and
+`reset' or `clear' if its value is false or 0. One speaks of
+setting and clearing bits. To toggle
+or `invert' a bit is to change it, either from 0 to 1 or from 1
+to 0. See also flag, trit, mode
+bit.
+
+The term `bit' first appeared in print in the computer-science
+sense in a 1948 paper by information theorist Claude Shannon, and
+was there credited to the early computer scientist John Tukey
+(who also seems to have coined the term `software'). Tukey
+records that `bit' evolved over a lunch table as a handier
+alternative to `bigit' or `binit', at a conference in the winter
+of 1943-44.
+
+
+Node:bit bang, Next:bit bashing, Previous:bit, Up:= B
+= 
+
+bit bang n.
+
+Transmission of data on a serial line, when accomplished by
+rapidly tweaking a single output bit, in software, at the
+appropriate times. The technique is a simple loop with eight OUT
+and SHIFT instruction pairs for each byte. Input is more
+interesting. And full duplex (doing input and output at the same
+time) is one way to separate the real hackers from the wannabees.
+
+Bit bang was used on certain early models of Prime computers,
+presumably when UARTs were too expensive, and on archaic Z80
+micros with a Zilog PIO but no SIO. In an interesting instance of
+the cycle of
+reincarnation, this technique returned to use in the
+early 1990s on some RISC architectures because it consumes such
+an infinitesimal part of the processor that it actually makes
+sense not to have a UART. Compare cycle of reincarnation.
+
+
+Node:bit bashing, Next:bit bucket, Previous:bit bang, Up:= B = 
+
+bit bashing n.
+
+(alt. `bit diddling' or bit
+twiddling) Term used to describe any of several kinds of
+low-level programming characterized by manipulation of bit, flag, nybble, and other
+smaller-than-character-sized pieces of data; these include
+low-level device control, encryption algorithms, checksum and
+error-correcting codes, hash functions, some flavors of graphics
+programming (see bitblt), and
+assembler/compiler code generation. May connote either tedium or
+a real technical challenge (more usually the former). "The
+command decoding for the new tape driver looks pretty solid but
+the bit-bashing for the control registers still has bugs." See
+also bit bang, mode bit.
+
+
+Node:bit bucket, Next:bit decay, Previous:bit bashing, Up:= B = 
+
+bit bucket n.
+
+[very common] 1. The universal data sink (originally, the
+mythical receptacle used to catch bits when they fall off the end
+of a register during a shift instruction). Discarded, lost, or
+destroyed data is said to have `gone to the bit bucket'. On Unix, often used for /dev/null. Sometimes amplified as `the
+Great Bit Bucket in the Sky'. 2. The place where all lost mail
+and news messages eventually go. The selection is performed
+according to Finagle's Law;
+important mail is much more likely to end up in the bit bucket
+than junk mail, which has an almost 100% probability of getting
+delivered. Routing to the bit bucket is automatically performed
+by mail-transfer agents, news systems, and the lower layers of
+the network. 3. The ideal location for all unwanted mail
+responses: "Flames about this article to the bit bucket." Such a
+request is guaranteed to overflow one's mailbox with flames. 4.
+Excuse for all mail that has not been sent. "I mailed you those
+figures last week; they must have landed in the bit bucket."
+Compare black hole.
+
+This term is used purely in jest. It is based on the fanciful
+notion that bits are objects that are not destroyed but only
+misplaced. This appears to have been a mutation of an earlier
+term `bit box', about which the same legend was current; old-time
+hackers also report that trainees used to be told that when the
+CPU stored bits into memory it was actually pulling them `out of
+the bit box'. See also chad
+box.
+
+Another variant of this legend has it that, as a consequence
+of the `parity preservation law', the number of 1 bits that go to
+the bit bucket must equal the number of 0 bits. Any imbalance
+results in bits filling up the bit bucket. A qualified computer
+technician can empty a full bit bucket as part of scheduled
+maintenance.
+
+
+Node:bit decay, Next:bit rot, Previous:bit bucket, Up:= B = 
+
+bit decay n.
+
+See bit rot. People with a
+physics background tend to prefer this variant for the analogy
+with particle decay. See also computron, quantum bogodynamics.
+
+
+Node:bit rot, Next:bit twiddling, Previous:bit decay, Up:= B = 
+
+bit rot n.
+
+[common] Also bit decay.
+Hypothetical disease the existence of which has been deduced from
+the observation that unused programs or features will often stop
+working after sufficient time has passed, even if `nothing has
+changed'. The theory explains that bits decay as if they were
+radioactive. As time passes, the contents of a file or the code
+in a program will become increasingly garbled.
+
+There actually are physical processes that produce such
+effects (alpha particles generated by trace radionuclides in
+ceramic chip packages, for example, can change the contents of a
+computer memory unpredictably, and various kinds of subtle media
+failures can corrupt files in mass storage), but they are quite
+rare (and computers are built with error-detecting circuitry to
+compensate for them). The notion long favored among hackers that
+cosmic rays are among the causes of such events turns out to be a
+myth; see the cosmic rays
+entry for details.
+
+The term software rot is
+almost synonymous. Software rot is the effect, bit rot the
+notional cause.
+
+
+Node:bit twiddling, Next:bit-paired keyboard,
+Previous:bit rot, Up:= B = 
+
+bit twiddling n.
+
+[very common] 1. (pejorative) An exercise in tuning (see tune) in which incredible amounts of time
+and effort go to produce little noticeable improvement, often
+with the result that the code becomes incomprehensible. 2.
+Aimless small modification to a program, esp. for some pointless
+goal. 3. Approx. syn. for bit
+bashing; esp. used for the act of frobbing the device
+control register of a peripheral in an attempt to get it back to
+a known state.
+
+
+Node:bit-paired keyboard,
+Next:bitblt, Previous:bit twiddling, Up:= B = 
+
+bit-paired keyboard n.,obs.
+
+(alt. `bit-shift keyboard') A non-standard keyboard layout
+that seems to have originated with the Teletype ASR-33 and
+remained common for several years on early computer equipment.
+The ASR-33 was a mechanical device (see EOU), so the only way to generate the character
+codes from keystrokes was by some physical linkage. The design of
+the ASR-33 assigned each character key a basic pattern that could
+be modified by flipping bits if the SHIFT or the CTRL key was
+pressed. In order to avoid making the thing even more of a kluge
+than it already was, the design had to group characters that
+shared the same basic bit pattern on one key.
+
+Looking at the ASCII chart, we find:
+
+high  low bits
+bits  0000 0001 0010 0011 0100 0101 0110 0111 1000 1001
+ 010        !    "    #    $    %    &    '    (    )
+ 011   0    1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9
+
+
+This is why the characters !"#$%&'() appear where they do
+on a Teletype (thankfully, they didn't use shift-0 for space).
+The Teletype Model 33 was actually designed before ASCII existed,
+and was originally intended to use a code that contained these
+two rows:
+
+      low bits
+high  0000  0010  0100  0110  1000  1010  1100  1110
+bits     0001  0011  0101  0111  1001  1011  1101  1111
+  10   )  ! bel #  $  % wru &  *  (  "  :  ?  _  ,   .
+  11   0  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  '  ;  /  - esc del
+
+
+The result would have been something closer to a normal
+keyboard. But as it happened, Teletype had to use a lot of
+persuasion just to keep ASCII, and the Model 33 keyboard, from
+looking like this instead:
+
+          !  "  ?  $  '  &  -  (  )  ;  :  *  /  ,  .
+       0  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  +  ~  <  >  ×  |
+
+
+Teletype's was not the weirdest variant of the QWERTY layout widely seen, by the way;
+that prize should probably go to one of several (differing)
+arrangements on IBM's even clunkier 026 and 029 card punches.
+
+When electronic terminals became popular, in the early 1970s,
+there was no agreement in the industry over how the keyboards
+should be laid out. Some vendors opted to emulate the Teletype
+keyboard, while others used the flexibility of electronic
+circuitry to make their product look like an office typewriter.
+Either choice was supported by the ANSI computer keyboard
+standard, X4.14-1971, which referred to the alternatives as
+`logical bit pairing' and `typewriter pairing'. These
+alternatives became known as `bit-paired' and `typewriter-paired'
+keyboards. To a hacker, the bit-paired keyboard seemed far more
+logical -- and because most hackers in those days had never
+learned to touch-type, there was little pressure from the
+pioneering users to adapt keyboards to the typewriter
+standard.
+
+The doom of the bit-paired keyboard was the large-scale
+introduction of the computer terminal into the normal office
+environment, where out-and-out technophobes were expected to use
+the equipment. The `typewriter-paired' standard became universal,
+X4.14 was superseded by X4.23-1982, `bit-paired' hardware was
+quickly junked or relegated to dusty corners, and both terms
+passed into disuse.
+
+However, in countries without a long history of touch typing,
+the argument against the bit-paired keyboard layout was weak or
+nonexistent. As a result, the standard Japanese keyboard, used on
+PCs, Unix boxen etc. still has all of the !"#$%&'()
+characters above the numbers in the ASR-33 layout.
+
+
+Node:bitblt, Next:BITNET, Previous:bit-paired keyboard, Up:= B = 
+
+bitblt /bit'blit/ n.
+
+[from BLT, q.v.] 1. [common] Any of
+a family of closely related algorithms for moving and copying
+rectangles of bits between main and display memory on a
+bit-mapped device, or between two areas of either main or display
+memory (the requirement to do the Right Thing in the case of overlapping
+source and destination rectangles is what makes BitBlt tricky).
+2. Synonym for blit or BLT. Both uses are borderline techspeak.
+
+
+Node:BITNET, Next:bits, Previous:bitblt, Up:= B
+= 
+
+BITNET /bit'net/ n., obs.
+
+[acronym: Because It's Time NETwork] Everybody's least
+favorite piece of the network (see the network) - until AOL happened. The
+BITNET hosts were a collection of IBM dinosaurs and VAXen (the
+latter with lobotomized comm hardware) that communicate using
+80-character EBCDIC card images (see
+eighty-column mind);
+thus, they tend to mangle the headers and text of third-party
+traffic from the rest of the ASCII/RFC-822 world with annoying regularity. BITNET was
+also notorious as the apparent home of B1FF. By 1995 it had, much to everyone's relief,
+been obsolesced and absorbed into the Internet. Unfortunately,
+around this time we also got AOL.
+
+
+Node:bits, Next:bitty box, Previous:BITNET, Up:= B
+= 
+
+bits pl.n.
+
+1. Information. Examples: "I need some bits about file
+formats." ("I need to know about file formats.") Compare core dump, sense 4. 2.
+Machine-readable representation of a document, specifically as
+contrasted with paper: "I have only a photocopy of the Jargon
+File; does anyone know where I can get the bits?". See softcopy, source of all good
+bits See also bit.
+
+
+Node:bitty box, Next:bixen, Previous:bits, Up:= B =
+
+
+bitty box /bit'ee boks/ n.
+
+1. A computer sufficiently small, primitive, or incapable as
+to cause a hacker acute claustrophobia at the thought of
+developing software on or for it. Especially used of small,
+obsolescent, single-tasking-only personal machines such as the
+Atari 800, Osborne, Sinclair, VIC-20, TRS-80, or IBM PC. 2.
+[Pejorative] More generally, the opposite of `real computer' (see
+Get a real
+computer!). See also mess-dos, toaster, and toy.
+
+
+Node:bixen, Next:bixie, Previous:bitty box, Up:= B = 
+
+bixen pl.n.
+
+Users of BIX (the BIX Information eXchange, formerly the Byte
+Information eXchange). Parallels other plurals like boxen, VAXen, oxen.
+
+
+Node:bixie, Next:black art, Previous:bixen, Up:= B
+= 
+
+bixie /bik'see/ n.
+
+Variant emoticons used on BIX
+(the BIX Information eXchange). The most common (smiley) bixie is <@_@>, representing two
+cartoon eyes and a mouth. These were originally invented in an SF
+fanzine called APA-L and imported to BIX by one of the earliest
+users.
+
+
+Node:black art, Next:black hole, Previous:bixie, Up:= B
+= 
+
+black art n.
+
+[common] A collection of arcane, unpublished, and (by
+implication) mostly ad-hoc techniques developed for a particular
+application or systems area (compare black magic). VLSI design and compiler
+code optimization were (in their beginnings) considered classic
+examples of black art; as theory developed they became deep magic, and once standard
+textbooks had been written, became merely heavy wizardry. The huge
+proliferation of formal and informal channels for spreading
+around new computer-related technologies during the last twenty
+years has made both the term `black art' and what it describes
+less common than formerly. See also voodoo programming.
+
+
+Node:black hole, Next:black magic, Previous:black art, Up:= B = 
+
+black hole n.,vt.
+
+[common] What data (a piece of email or netnews, or a stream
+of TCP/IP packets) has fallen into if it disappears mysteriously
+between its origin and destination sites (that is, without
+returning a bounce
+message). "I think there's a black hole at
+_foovax_!" conveys suspicion that site _foovax_ has
+been dropping a lot of stuff on the floor lately (see drop on the floor). The
+implied metaphor of email as interstellar travel is interesting
+in itself. Readily verbed as `blackhole': "That router is
+blackholing IDP packets." Compare bit
+bucket and see RBL.
+
+
+Node:black magic, Next:Black Screen of Death,
+Previous:black hole,
+Up:= B = 
+
+black magic n.
+
+[common] A technique that works, though nobody really
+understands why. More obscure than voodoo programming, which may be
+done by cookbook. Compare also black
+art, deep magic, and
+magic number (sense 2).
+
+
+Node:Black Screen of
+Death, Next:Black
+Thursday, Previous:black magic, Up:= B = 
+
+Black Screen of Death n.
+
+[prob. related to the Floating Head of Death in a famous "Far
+Side" cartoon.] A failure mode of Microsloth Windows. On an attempt
+to launch a DOS box, a networked Windows system not uncommonly
+blanks the screen and locks up the PC so hard that it requires a
+cold boot to recover. This unhappy
+phenomenon is known as The Black Screen of Death. See also Blue Screen of Death,
+which has become rather more common.
+
+
+Node:Black Thursday, Next:blammo, Previous:Black Screen of Death,
+Up:= B = 
+
+Black Thursday n.
+
+February 8th, 1996 - the day of the signing into law of the
+CDA, so called by analogy with the
+catastrophic "Black Friday" in 1929 that began the Great
+Depression.
+
+
+Node:blammo, Next:blargh, Previous:Black Thursday, Up:= B = 
+
+blammo v.
+
+[Oxford Brookes University and alumni, UK] To forcibly remove
+someone from any interactive system, especially talker systems.
+The operators, who may remain hidden, may `blammo' a user who is
+misbehaving. Very similar to MIT gun;
+in fact, the `blammo-gun' is a notional device used to `blammo'
+someone. While in actual fact the only incarnation of the
+blammo-gun is the command used to forcibly eject a user,
+operators speak of different levels of blammo-gun fire; e.g., a
+blammo-gun to `stun' will temporarily remove someone, but a
+blammo-gun set to `maim' will stop someone coming back on for a
+while.
+
+
+Node:blargh, Next:blast, Previous:blammo, Up:= B
+= 
+
+blargh /blarg/ n.
+
+[MIT; now common] The opposite of ping, sense 5; an exclamation indicating that one
+has absorbed or is emitting a quantum of unhappiness. Less common
+than ping.
+
+
+Node:blast, Next:blat, Previous:blargh, Up:= B
+= 
+
+blast 1. v.,n.
+
+Synonym for BLT, used esp. for large
+data sends over a network or comm line. Opposite of snarf. Usage: uncommon. The variant `blat' has
+been reported. 2. vt. [HP/Apollo] Synonymous with nuke (sense 3). Sometimes the message
+Unable to kill all processes. Blast them (y/n)?
+would appear in the command window upon logout.
+
+
+Node:blat, Next:bletch, Previous:blast, Up:= B
+= 
+
+blat n.
+
+1. Syn. blast, sense 1. 2. See
+thud.
+
+
+Node:bletch, Next:bletcherous, Previous:blat, Up:= B =
+
+
+bletch /blech/ interj.
+
+[very common; from Yiddish/German `brechen', to vomit, poss.
+via comic-strip exclamation `blech'] Term of disgust. Often used
+in "Ugh, bletch". Compare barf.
+
+
+Node:bletcherous, Next:blink, Previous:bletch, Up:= B
+= 
+
+bletcherous /blech'*-r*s/ adj.
+
+Disgusting in design or function; esthetically unappealing.
+This word is seldom used of people. "This keyboard is
+bletcherous!" (Perhaps the keys don't work very well, or are
+misplaced.) See losing, cretinous, bagbiting, bogus, and random.
+The term bletcherous applies to
+the esthetics of the thing so described; similarly for cretinous. By contrast, something that
+is `losing' or `bagbiting' may be failing to meet objective
+criteria. See also bogus and random, which have richer and wider shades
+of meaning than any of the above.
+
+
+Node:blink, Next:blinkenlights, Previous:bletcherous, Up:= B = 
+
+blink vi.,n.
+
+To use a navigator or off-line message reader to minimize time
+spent on-line to a commercial network service (a necessity in
+many places outside the U.S. where the telecoms monopolies charge
+per-minute for local calls). This term attained wide use in the
+UK, but is rare or unknown in the US.
+
+
+Node:blinkenlights, Next:blit, Previous:blink, Up:= B
+= 
+
+blinkenlights /blink'*n-li:tz/ n.
+
+[common] Front-panel diagnostic lights on a computer, esp. a
+dinosaur. Now that dinosaurs are
+rare, this term usually refers to status lights on a modem,
+network hub, or the like.
+
+This term derives from the last word of the famous
+blackletter-Gothic sign in mangled pseudo-German that once graced
+about half the computer rooms in the English-speaking world. One
+version ran in its entirety as follows:
+
+
+ACHTUNG! ALLES LOOKENSPEEPERS!
+
+Das computermachine ist nicht fuer gefingerpoken und
+mittengrabben. Ist easy schnappen der springenwerk, blowenfusen
+und poppencorken mit spitzensparken. Ist nicht fuer gewerken bei
+das dumpkopfen. Das rubbernecken sichtseeren keepen das
+cotten-pickenen hans in das pockets muss; relaxen und watchen das
+blinkenlichten.
+
+
+This silliness dates back at least as far as 1959 at Stanford
+University and had already gone international by the early 1960s,
+when it was reported at London University's ATLAS computing site.
+There are several variants of it in circulation, some of which
+actually do end with the word `blinkenlights'.
+
+In an amusing example of turnabout-is-fair-play, German
+hackers have developed their own versions of the blinkenlights
+poster in fractured English, one of which is reproduced here:
+
+
+ATTENTION
+
+This room is fullfilled mit special electronische
+equippment. Fingergrabbing and pressing the cnoeppkes from the
+computers is allowed for die experts only! So all the
+"lefthanders" stay away and do not disturben the brainstorming
+von here working intelligencies. Otherwise you will be out thrown
+and kicked anderswhere! Also: please keep still and only watchen
+astaunished the blinkenlights.
+
+
+See also geef.
+
+Old-time hackers sometimes get nostalgic for blinkenlights
+because they were so much more fun to look at than a blank panel.
+Sadly, very few computers still have them (the three LEDs on a PC
+keyboard certainly don't count). The obvious reasons (cost of
+wiring, cost of front-panel cutouts, almost nobody needs or wants
+to interpret machine-register states on the fly anymore) are only
+part of the story. Another part of it is that radio-frequency
+leakage from the lamp wiring was beginning to be a problem as far
+back as transistor machines. But the most fundamental fact is
+that there are very few signals slow enough to blink an LED these
+days! With slow CPUs, you could watch the bus register or
+instruction counter tick, but at 33/66/150MHz it's all a
+blur.
+
+Finally, a version updated for the Internet has been seen on
+_news.admin.net-abuse.email_:
+
+
+ACHTUNG! ALLES LOOKENSPEEPERS!
+
+Das Internet is nicht fuer gefingerclicken und
+giffengrabben. Ist easy droppenpacket der routers und overloaden
+der backbone mit der spammen und der me-tooen. Ist nicht fuer
+gewerken bei das dumpkopfen. Das mausklicken sichtseeren keepen
+das bandwit-spewin hans in das pockets muss; relaxen und watchen
+das cursorblinken.
+
+
+This newest version partly reflects reports that the word
+`blinkenlights' is (in 1999) undergoing something of a revival in
+usage, but applied to networking equipment. The transmit and
+receive lights on routers, activity lights on switches and hubs,
+and other network equipment often blink in visually pleasing and
+seemingly coordinated ways. Although this is different in some
+ways from register readings, a tall stack of Cisco equipment or a
+19-inch rack of ISDN terminals can provoke a similar feeling of
+hypnotic awe, especially in a darkened network operations center
+or server room.
+
+
+Node:blit, Next:blitter, Previous:blinkenlights, Up:= B = 
+
+blit /blit/ vt.
+
+1. [common] To copy a large array of bits from one part of a
+computer's memory to another part, particularly when the memory
+is being used to determine what is shown on a display screen.
+"The storage allocator picks through the table and copies the
+good parts up into high memory, and then blits it all back down
+again." See bitblt, BLT, dd, cat, blast, snarf. More generally, to perform some
+operation (such as toggling) on a large array of bits while
+moving them. 2. [historical, rare] Sometimes all-capitalized as
+`BLIT': an early experimental bit-mapped terminal designed by Rob
+Pike at Bell Labs, later commercialized as the AT&T 5620.
+(The folk etymology from `Bell Labs Intelligent Terminal' is
+incorrect. Its creators liked to claim that "Blit" stood for the
+Bacon, Lettuce, and Interactive Tomato.)
+
+
+Node:blitter, Next:blivet, Previous:blit, Up:= B =
+
+
+blitter /blit'r/ n.
+
+[common] A special-purpose chip or hardware system built to
+perform blit operations, esp. used for
+fast implementation of bit-mapped graphics. The Commodore Amiga
+and a few other micros have these, but since 1990 the trend has
+been away from them (however, see cycle of reincarnation).
+Syn. raster blaster.
+
+
+Node:blivet, Next:bloatware, Previous:blitter, Up:= B
+= 
+
+blivet /bliv'*t/ n.
+
+[allegedly from a World War II military term meaning "ten
+pounds of manure in a five-pound bag"] 1. An intractable problem.
+2. A crucial piece of hardware that can't be fixed or replaced if
+it breaks. 3. A tool that has been hacked over by so many
+incompetent programmers that it has become an unmaintainable
+tissue of hacks. 4. An out-of-control but unkillable development
+effort. 5. An embarrassing bug that pops up during a customer
+demo. 6. In the subjargon of computer security specialists, a
+denial-of-service attack performed by hogging limited resources
+that have no access controls (for example, shared spool space on
+a multi-user system).
+
+This term has other meanings in other technical cultures;
+among experimental physicists and hardware engineers of various
+kinds it seems to mean any random object of unknown purpose
+(similar to hackish use of frob). It
+has also been used to describe an amusing trick-the-eye drawing
+resembling a three-pronged fork that appears to depict a
+three-dimensional object until one realizes that the parts fit
+together in an impossible way.
+
+
+Node:bloatware, Next:BLOB, Previous:blivet, Up:= B
+= 
+
+bloatware n.
+
+[common] Software that provides minimal functionality while
+requiring a disproportionate amount of diskspace and memory.
+Especially used for application and OS upgrades. This term is
+very common in the Windows/NT world. So is its cause.
+
+
+Node:BLOB, Next:block, Previous:bloatware, Up:= B = 
+
+BLOB
+
+1. n. [acronym: Binary Large OBject] Used by database people
+to refer to any random large block of bits that needs to be
+stored in a database, such as a picture or sound file. The
+essential point about a BLOB is that it's an object that cannot
+be interpreted within the database itself. 2. v. To mailbomb someone by sending a BLOB to
+him/her; esp. used as a mild threat. "If that program crashes
+again, I'm going to BLOB the core dump to you."
+
+
+Node:block, Next:block transfer
+computations, Previous:BLOB, Up:= B =
+
+
+block v.
+
+[common; from process scheduling terminology in OS theory] 1.
+vi. To delay or sit idle while waiting for something. "We're
+blocking until everyone gets here." Compare busy-wait. 2. `block on' vt. To block,
+waiting for (something). "Lunch is blocked on Phil's
+arrival."
+
+
+Node:block transfer
+computations, Next:Bloggs Family, Previous:block, Up:= B
+= 
+
+block transfer computations n.
+
+[from the television series "Dr. Who"] Computations so
+fiendishly subtle and complex that they could not be performed by
+machines. Used to refer to any task that should be expressible as
+an algorithm in theory, but isn't. (The Z80's LDIR instruction,
+"Computed Block Transfer with increment", may also be
+relevant.)
+
+
+Node:Bloggs Family, Next:blow an EPROM, Previous:block
+transfer computations, Up:=
+B = 
+
+Bloggs Family n.
+
+An imaginary family consisting of Fred and Mary Bloggs and
+their children. Used as a standard example in knowledge
+representation to show the difference between extensional and
+intensional objects. For example, every occurrence of "Fred
+Bloggs" is the same unique person, whereas occurrences of
+"person" may refer to different people. Members of the Bloggs
+family have been known to pop up in bizarre places such as the
+old DEC Telephone Directory. Compare
+Dr. Fred Mbogo; J. Random Hacker; Fred Foobar.
+
+
+Node:blow an EPROM, Next:blow away, Previous:Bloggs Family, Up:= B = 
+
+blow an EPROM /bloh *n ee'prom/ v.
+
+(alt. `blast an EPROM', `burn an EPROM') To program a
+read-only memory, e.g. for use with an embedded system. This term
+arose because the programming process for the Programmable
+Read-Only Memories (PROMs) that preceded present-day Erasable
+Programmable Read-Only Memories (EPROMs) involved intentionally
+blowing tiny electrical fuses on the chip. The usage lives on
+(it's too vivid and expressive to discard) even though the write
+process on EPROMs is nondestructive.
+
+
+Node:blow away, Next:blow out, Previous:blow an EPROM, Up:= B = 
+
+blow away vt.
+
+To remove (files and directories) from permanent storage,
+generally by accident. "He reformatted the wrong partition and
+blew away last night's netnews." Oppose nuke.
+
+
+Node:blow out, Next:blow past, Previous:blow away, Up:= B = 
+
+blow out vi.
+
+[prob. from mining and tunneling jargon] Of software, to fail
+spectacularly; almost as serious as crash and burn. See blow past, blow
+up, die
+horribly.
+
+
+Node:blow past, Next:blow up, Previous:blow out, Up:= B = 
+
+blow past vt.
+
+To blow out despite a
+safeguard. "The server blew past the 5K reserve buffer."
+
+
+Node:blow up, Next:BLT, Previous:blow past, Up:= B = 
+
+blow up vi.
+
+1. [scientific computation] To become unstable. Suggests that
+the computation is diverging so rapidly that it will soon
+overflow or at least go nonlinear. 2. Syn. blow out.
+
+
+Node:BLT, Next:Blue Book, Previous:blow up, Up:=
+B = 
+
+BLT /B-L-T/, /bl*t/ or (rarely) /belt/ n.,vt.
+
+Synonym for blit. This is the
+original form of blit and the ancestor
+of bitblt. It referred to any large
+bit-field copy or move operation (one resource-intensive
+memory-shuffling operation done on pre-paged versions of ITS,
+WAITS, and TOPS-10 was sardonically referred to as `The Big
+BLT'). The jargon usage has outlasted the PDP-10 BLock Transfer instruction from which
+BLT derives; nowadays, the assembler
+mnemonic BLT almost always means
+`Branch if Less Than zero'.
+
+
+Node:Blue Book, Next:blue box, Previous:BLT, Up:= B =
+
+
+Blue Book n.
+
+1. Informal name for one of the four standard references on
+the page-layout and graphics-control language PostScript ("PostScript Language Tutorial
+and Cookbook", Adobe Systems, Addison-Wesley 1985,
+QA76.73.P67P68, ISBN 0-201-10179-3); the other three official
+guides are known as the Green
+Book, the Red Book, and
+the White Book (sense 2). 2.
+Informal name for one of the three standard references on
+Smalltalk: "Smalltalk-80: The Language and its Implementation",
+David Robson, Addison-Wesley 1983, QA76.8.S635G64, ISBN
+0-201-11371-63 (this book also has green and red siblings). 3.
+Any of the 1988 standards issued by the CCITT's ninth plenary
+assembly. These include, among other things, the X.400 email spec
+and the Group 1 through 4 fax standards. See also book titles.
+
+
+Node:blue box, Next:Blue Glue, Previous:Blue Book, Up:= B = 
+
+blue box
+
+n. 1. obs. Once upon a time, before all-digital switches made
+it possible for the phone companies to move them out of band, one
+could actually hear the switching tones used to route
+long-distance calls. Early phreakers built devices called `blue boxes'
+that could reproduce these tones, which could be used to
+commandeer portions of the phone network. (This was not as hard
+as it may sound; one early phreak acquired the sobriquet `Captain
+Crunch' after he proved that he could generate switching tones
+with a plastic whistle pulled out of a box of Captain Crunch
+cereal!) There were other colors of box with more specialized
+phreaking uses; red boxes, black boxes, silver boxes, etc. 2. n.
+An IBM machine, especially a large
+(non-PC) one.
+
+
+Node:Blue Glue, Next:blue goo, Previous:blue box, Up:= B = 
+
+Blue Glue n.
+
+[IBM] IBM's SNA (Systems Network Architecture), an incredibly
+losing and bletcherous communications protocol widely
+favored at commercial shops that don't know any better. The
+official IBM definition is "that which binds blue boxes
+together." See fear and
+loathing. It may not be irrelevant that Blue Glue is the
+trade name of a 3M product that is commonly used to hold down the
+carpet squares to the removable panel floors common in dinosaur pens. A correspondent at
+U. Minn. reports that the CS department there has about 80
+bottles of the stuff hanging about, so they often refer to any
+messy work to be done as `using the blue glue'.
+
+
+Node:blue goo, Next:Blue Screen of Death,
+Previous:Blue Glue,
+Up:= B = 
+
+blue goo n.
+
+Term for `police' nanobots
+intended to prevent gray goo,
+denature hazardous waste, destroy pollution, put ozone back into
+the stratosphere, prevent halitosis, and promote truth, justice,
+and the American way, etc. The term `Blue Goo' can be found in
+Dr. Seuss's "Fox In Socks" to refer to a substance much like
+bubblegum. `Would you like to chew blue goo, sir?'. See nanotechnology.
+
+
+Node:Blue Screen of
+Death, Next:blue wire,
+Previous:blue goo, Up:= B = 
+
+Blue Screen of Death n.
+
+[common] This term is closely related to the older Black Screen of Death but
+much more common (many non-hackers have picked it up). Due to the
+extreme fragility and bugginess of Microsoft Windows misbehaving
+applications can readily crash the OS (and the OS sometimes
+crashes itself spontaneously). The Blue Screen of Death,
+sometimes decorated with hex error codes, is what you get when
+this happens. (Commonly abbreviated BSOD.)
+
+The following entry from the Salon
+Haiku Contest, seems to have predated popular use of the
+term:
+
+        Windows NT crashed.
+        I am the Blue Screen of Death
+        No one hears your screams.
+
+Node:blue wire, Next:blurgle, Previous:Blue Screen of Death, Up:= B = 
+
+blue wire n.
+
+[IBM] Patch wires (esp. 30 AWG gauge) added to circuit boards
+at the factory to correct design or fabrication problems. Blue
+wire is not necessarily blue, the term describes function rather
+than color. These may be necessary if there hasn't been time to
+design and qualify another board version. In Great Britain this
+can be `bodge wire', after mainstreanm slang `bodge' for a clumsy
+improvisation or sloppy job of work. Compare purple wire, red wire, yellow wire, pink wire.
+
+
+Node:blurgle, Next:BNF, Previous:blue wire, Up:= B = 
+
+blurgle /bler'gl/ n.
+
+[UK] Spoken metasyntactic variable, to
+indicate some text that is obvious from context, or which is
+already known. If several words are to be replaced, blurgle may
+well be doubled or tripled. "To look for something in several
+files use `grep string blurgle blurgle'." In each case, "blurgle
+blurgle" would be understood to be replaced by the file you
+wished to search. Compare mumble,
+sense 7.
+
+
+Node:BNF, Next:boa, Previous:blurgle, Up:= B
+= 
+
+BNF /B-N-F/ n.
+
+1. [techspeak] Acronym for `Backus Normal Form' (later
+retronymed to `Backus-Naur Form' because BNF was not in fact a
+normal form), a metasyntactic notation used to specify the syntax
+of programming languages, command sets, and the like. Widely used
+for language descriptions but seldom documented anywhere, so that
+it must usually be learned by osmosis from other hackers.
+Consider this BNF for a U.S. postal address:
+
+ <postal-address> ::= <name-part> <street-address> <zip-part>
+
+ <personal-part> ::= <name> | <initial> "."
+
+ <name-part> ::= <personal-part> <last-name> [<jr-part>] <EOL>
+               | <personal-part> <name-part>
+
+ <street-address> ::= [<apt>] <house-num> <street-name> <EOL>
+
+ <zip-part> ::= <town-name> "," <state-code> <ZIP-code> <EOL>
+
+
+This translates into English as: "A postal-address consists of
+a name-part, followed by a street-address part, followed by a
+zip-code part. A personal-part consists of either a first name or
+an initial followed by a dot. A name-part consists of either: a
+personal-part followed by a last name followed by an optional
+`jr-part' (Jr., Sr., or dynastic number) and end-of-line, or a
+personal part followed by a name part (this rule illustrates the
+use of recursion in BNFs, covering the case of people who use
+multiple first and middle names and/or initials). A street
+address consists of an optional apartment specifier, followed by
+a street number, followed by a street name. A zip-part consists
+of a town-name, followed by a comma, followed by a state code,
+followed by a ZIP-code followed by an end-of-line." Note that
+many things (such as the format of a personal-part, apartment
+specifier, or ZIP-code) are left unspecified. These are presumed
+to be obvious from context or detailed somewhere nearby. See also
+parse. 2. Any of a number of variants
+and extensions of BNF proper, possibly containing some or all of
+the regexp wildcards such as
+* or +. In fact the example above isn't
+the pure form invented for the Algol-60 report; it uses
+[], which was introduced a few years later in IBM's
+PL/I definition but is now universally recognized. 3. In science-fiction fandom,
+a `Big-Name Fan' (someone famous or notorious). Years ago a fan
+started handing out black-on-green BNF buttons at SF conventions;
+this confused the hacker contingent terribly.
+
+
+Node:boa, Next:board, Previous:BNF, Up:= B =
+
+
+boa [IBM] n.
+
+Any one of the fat cables that lurk under the floor in a dinosaur pen. Possibly so called
+because they display a ferocious life of their own when you try
+to lay them straight and flat after they have been coiled for
+some time. It is rumored within IBM that channel cables for the
+370 are limited to 200 feet because beyond that length the boas
+get dangerous -- and it is worth noting that one of the major
+cable makers uses the trademark `Anaconda'.
+
+
+Node:board, Next:boat anchor, Previous:boa, Up:= B
+= 
+
+board n.
+
+1. In-context synonym for bboard;
+sometimes used even for Usenet newsgroups (but see usage note
+under bboard, sense 1). 2. An
+electronic circuit board.
+
+
+Node:boat anchor, Next:bob, Previous:board, Up:= B
+= 
+
+boat anchor n.
+
+[common; from ham radio] 1. Like doorstop but more severe; implies that the
+offending hardware is irreversibly dead or useless. "That was a
+working motherboard once. One lightning strike later, instant
+boat anchor!" 2. A person who just takes up space. 3. Obsolete
+but still working hardware, especially when used of an old
+S100-bus hobbyist system; originally a term of annoyance, but
+became more and more affectionate as the hardware became more and
+more obsolete.
+
+
+Node:bob, Next:bodysurf code, Previous:boat anchor, Up:= B = 
+
+bob n.
+
+At Demon Internet, all tech support personnel are called "Bob". (Female
+support personnel have an option on "Bobette"). This has nothing to do
+with Bob the divine drilling-equipment salesman of the Church of the
+SubGenius. Nor is it acronymized from "Brother Of BOFH", though all
+parties agree it could have been. Rather, it was triggered by an
+unusually large draft of new tech-support people in 1995. It was
+observed that there would be much duplication of names. To ease the
+confusion, it was decided that all support techs would henceforth be
+known as "Bob", and identity badges were created labelled "Bob 1" and
+"Bob 2". ("No, we never got any further" reports a witness).
+
+The reason for "Bob" rather than anything else is due to a
+luser calling and asking to speak to
+"Bob", despite the fact that no "Bob" was currently working for
+Tech Support. Since we all know "the customer is always right",
+it was decided that there had to be at least one "Bob" on duty at
+all times, just in case.
+
+This sillyness inexorably snowballed. Shift leaders and
+managers began to refer to their groups of "bobs". Whole ranks of
+support machines were set up (and still exist in the DNS as of
+1999) as bob1 through bobN. Then came
+_alt.tech-support.recovery_, and it was filled with Demon
+support personnel. They all referred to themselves, and to
+others, as `bob', and after a while it caught on. There is now a
+Bob
+Code describing the Bob nature.
+
+
+Node:bodysurf code, Next:BOF, Previous:bob, Up:= B =
+
+
+bodysurf code n.
+
+A program or segment of code written quickly in the heat of
+inspiration without the benefit of formal design or deep thought.
+Like its namesake sport, the result is too often a wipeout that
+leaves the programmer eating sand.
+
+
+Node:BOF, Next:BOFH, Previous:bodysurf code, Up:= B = 
+
+BOF /B-O-F/ or /bof/ n.
+
+1. [common] Abbreviation for the phrase "Birds Of a Feather"
+(flocking together), an informal discussion group and/or bull
+session scheduled on a conference program. It is not clear where
+or when this term originated, but it is now associated with the
+USENIX conferences for Unix techies and was already established
+there by 1984. It was used earlier than that at DECUS conferences
+and is reported to have been common at SHARE meetings as far back
+as the early 1960s. 2. Acronym, `Beginning of File'.
+
+
+Node:BOFH, Next:bogo-sort, Previous:BOF, Up:= B =
+
+
+BOFH // n.
+
+[common] Acronym, Bastard Operator From Hell. A system
+administrator with absolutely no tolerance for lusers. "You say you need more filespace?
+<massive-global-delete> Seems to me you have plenty
+left..." Many BOFHs (and others who would be BOFHs if they could
+get away with it) hang out in the newsgroup
+_alt.sysadmin.recovery_, although there has also been
+created a top-level newsgroup hierarchy (_bofh.*_) of their
+own.
+
+Several people have written stories about BOFHs. The set
+usually considered canonical is by Simon Travaglia and may be
+found at the Bastard
+Home Page. BOFHs and BOFH wannabes hang out on scary devil monastery and
+wield LARTs.
+
+
+Node:bogo-sort, Next:bogometer, Previous:BOFH, Up:= B =
+
+
+bogo-sort /boh`goh-sort'/ n.
+
+(var. `stupid-sort') The archetypical perversely awful
+algorithm (as opposed to bubble
+sort, which is merely the generic bad
+algorithm). Bogo-sort is equivalent to repeatedly throwing a deck
+of cards in the air, picking them up at random, and then testing
+whether they are in order. It serves as a sort of canonical
+example of awfulness. Looking at a program and seeing a dumb
+algorithm, one might say "Oh, I see, this program uses
+bogo-sort." Esp. appropriate for algorithms with factorial or
+super-exponential running time in the average case and
+probabilistically infinite worst-case running time. Compare bogus, brute
+force, lasherism.
+
+A spectacular variant of bogo-sort has been proposed which has
+the interesting property that, if the Many Worlds interpretation
+of quantum mechanics is true, it can sort an arbitrarily large
+array in constant time. (In the Many-Worlds model, the result of
+any quantum action is to split the universe-before into a sheaf
+of universes-after, one for each possible way the state vector
+can collapse; in any one of the universes-after the result
+appears random.) The steps are: 1. Permute the array randomly
+using a quantum process, 2. If the array is not sorted, destroy
+the universe. Implementation of step 2 is left as an exercise for
+the reader.
+
+
+Node:bogometer, Next:BogoMIPS, Previous:bogo-sort, Up:= B = 
+
+bogometer /boh-gom'-*t-er/ n.
+
+A notional instrument for measuring bogosity. Compare the Troll-O-Meter and the `wankometer'
+described in the wank entry; see also
+bogus.
+
+
+Node:BogoMIPS, Next:bogon, Previous:bogometer, Up:= B = 
+
+BogoMIPS /bo'go-mips/ n.
+
+The number of million times a second a processor can do
+absolutely nothing. The Linux OS
+measures BogoMIPS at startup in order to calibrate some soft
+timing loops that will be used later on; details at the BogoMIPS mini-HOWTO. The
+name Linus chose, of course, is an ironic comment on the
+uselessness of all other MIPS
+figures.
+
+
+Node:bogon, Next:bogon filter, Previous:BogoMIPS, Up:= B = 
+
+bogon /boh'gon/ n.
+
+[very common; by analogy with proton/electron/neutron, but
+doubtless reinforced after 1980 by the similarity to Douglas
+Adams's `Vogons'; see the Bibliography in Appendix C and note that
+Arthur Dent actually mispronounces `Vogons' as `Bogons' at one
+point] 1. The elementary particle of bogosity (see quantum bogodynamics). For
+instance, "the Ethernet is emitting bogons again" means that it
+is broken or acting in an erratic or bogus fashion. 2. A query
+packet sent from a TCP/IP domain resolver to a root server,
+having the reply bit set instead of the query bit. 3. Any bogus
+or incorrectly formed packet sent on a network. 4. By synecdoche,
+used to refer to any bogus thing, as in "I'd like to go to lunch
+with you but I've got to go to the weekly staff bogon". 5. A
+person who is bogus or who says bogus things. This was
+historically the original usage, but has been overtaken by its
+derivative senses 1-4. See also bogosity, bogus;
+compare psyton, fat electrons, magic smoke.
+
+The bogon has become the type case for a whole bestiary of
+nonce particle names, including the `clutron' or `cluon'
+(indivisible particle of cluefulness, obviously the antiparticle
+of the bogon) and the futon (elementary particle of randomness, or sometimes of lameness).
+These are not so much live usages in themselves as examples of a
+live meta-usage: that is, it has become a standard joke or
+linguistic maneuver to "explain" otherwise mysterious
+circumstances by inventing nonce particle names. And these imply
+nonce particle theories, with all their dignity or lack thereof
+(we might note parenthetically that this is a generalization from
+"(bogus particle) theories" to "bogus (particle theories)"!).
+Perhaps such particles are the modern-day equivalents of trolls
+and wood-nymphs as standard starting-points around which to
+construct explanatory myths. Of course, playing on an existing
+word (as in the `futon') yields additional flavor. Compare magic smoke.
+
+
+Node:bogon filter, Next:bogon flux, Previous:bogon, Up:= B = 
+
+bogon filter /boh'gon fil'tr/ n.
+
+Any device, software or hardware, that limits or suppresses
+the flow and/or emission of bogons. "Engineering hacked a bogon
+filter between the Cray and the VAXen, and now we're getting
+fewer dropped packets." See also bogosity, bogus.
+
+
+Node:bogon flux, Next:bogosity, Previous:bogon filter, Up:= B = 
+
+bogon flux /boh'gon fluhks/ n.
+
+A measure of a supposed field of bogosity emitted by a speaker, measured by a
+bogometer; as a speaker starts to
+wander into increasing bogosity a listener might say "Warning,
+warning, bogon flux is rising". See quantum bogodynamics.
+
+
+Node:bogosity, Next:bogotify, Previous:bogon flux, Up:= B = 
+
+bogosity /boh-go's*-tee/ n.
+
+1. [orig. CMU, now very common] The degree to which something
+is bogus. Bogosity is measured with a
+bogometer; in a seminar, when a
+speaker says something bogus, a listener might raise his hand and
+say "My bogometer just triggered". More extremely, "You just
+pinned my bogometer" means you just said or did something so
+outrageously bogus that it is off the scale, pinning the
+bogometer needle at the highest possible reading (one might also
+say "You just redlined my bogometer"). The agreed-upon unit of
+bogosity is the microLenat. 2.
+The potential field generated by a bogon flux; see quantum bogodynamics. See also
+bogon flux, bogon filter, bogus.
+
+
+Node:bogotify, Next:bogue out, Previous:bogosity, Up:=
+B = 
+
+bogotify /boh-go't*-fi:/ vt.
+
+To make or become bogus. A program that has been changed so
+many times as to become completely disorganized has become
+bogotified. If you tighten a nut too hard and strip the threads
+on the bolt, the bolt has become bogotified and you had better
+not use it any more. This coinage led to the notional
+`autobogotiphobia' defined as `the fear of becoming bogotified';
+but is not clear that the latter has ever been `live' jargon
+rather than a self-conscious joke in jargon about jargon. See
+also bogosity, bogus.
+
+
+Node:bogue out, Next:bogus, Previous:bogotify, Up:=
+B = 
+
+bogue out /bohg owt/ vi.
+
+To become bogus, suddenly and unexpectedly. "His talk was
+relatively sane until somebody asked him a trick question; then
+he bogued out and did nothing but flame afterwards." See also bogosity, bogus.
+
+
+Node:bogus, Next:Bohr bug, Previous:bogue out, Up:= B = 
+
+bogus adj.
+
+1. Non-functional. "Your patches are bogus." 2. Useless.
+"OPCON is a bogus program." 3. False. "Your arguments are bogus."
+4. Incorrect. "That algorithm is bogus." 5. Unbelievable. "You
+claim to have solved the halting problem for Turing Machines?
+That's totally bogus." 6. Silly. "Stop writing those bogus
+sagas."
+
+Astrology is bogus. So is a bolt that is obviously about to
+break. So is someone who makes blatantly false claims to have
+solved a scientific problem. (This word seems to have some, but
+not all, of the connotations of random -- mostly the negative ones.)
+
+It is claimed that `bogus' was originally used in the hackish
+sense at Princeton in the late 1960s. It was spread to CMU and
+Yale by Michael Shamos, a migratory Princeton alumnus. A glossary
+of bogus words was compiled at Yale when the word was first
+popularized there about 1975-76. These coinages spread into
+hackerdom from CMU and MIT. Most of them remained wordplay
+objects rather than actual vocabulary items or live metaphors.
+Examples: `amboguous' (having multiple bogus interpretations);
+`bogotissimo' (in a gloriously bogus manner); `bogotophile' (one
+who is pathologically fascinated by the bogus); `paleobogology'
+(the study of primeval bogosity).
+
+Some bogowords, however, obtained sufficient live currency to
+be listed elsewhere in this lexicon; see bogometer, bogon, bogotify,
+and quantum
+bogodynamics and the related but unlisted Dr. Fred Mbogo.
+
+By the early 1980s `bogus' was also current in something like
+hacker usage sense in West Coast teen slang, and it had gone
+mainstream by 1985. A correspondent from Cambridge reports, by
+contrast, that these uses of `bogus' grate on British nerves; in
+Britain the word means, rather specifically, `counterfeit', as in
+"a bogus 10-pound note".
+
+
+Node:Bohr bug, Next:boink, Previous:bogus, Up:= B
+= 
+
+Bohr bug /bohr buhg/ n.
+
+[from quantum physics] A repeatable bug; one that manifests reliably under a possibly
+unknown but well-defined set of conditions. Antonym of heisenbug; see also mandelbug, schroedinbug.
+
+
+Node:boink, Next:bomb, Previous:Bohr bug, Up:= B = 
+
+boink /boynk/
+
+[Usenet: variously ascribed to the TV series "Cheers"
+"Moonlighting", and "Soap"] 1. v. To have sex with; compare bounce, sense 3. (This is mainstream
+slang.) In Commonwealth hackish the variant `bonk' is more
+common. 2. n. After the original Peter Korn `Boinkon' Usenet parties, used for almost any net social
+gathering, e.g., Miniboink, a small boink held by Nancy Gillett
+in 1988; Minniboink, a Boinkcon in Minnesota in 1989;
+Humpdayboinks, Wednesday get-togethers held in the San Francisco
+Bay Area. Compare @-party. 3. Var
+of `bonk'; see bonk/oif.
+
+
+Node:bomb, Next:bondage-and-discipline
+language, Previous:boink,
+Up:= B = 
+
+bomb
+
+1. v. General synonym for crash
+(sense 1) except that it is not used as a noun; esp. used of
+software or OS failures. "Don't run Empire with less than 32K
+stack, it'll bomb." 2. n.,v. Atari ST and Macintosh equivalents
+of a Unix `panic' or Amiga guru
+meditation, in which icons of little black-powder bombs
+or mushroom clouds are displayed, indicating that the system has
+died. On the Mac, this may be accompanied by a decimal (or
+occasionally hexadecimal) number indicating what went wrong,
+similar to the Amiga guru
+meditation number. MS-DOS
+machines tend to get locked up
+in this situation.
+
+
+Node:bondage-and-discipline
+language, Next:bonk/oif,
+Previous:bomb, Up:= B = 
+
+bondage-and-discipline language n.
+
+A language (such as Pascal, Ada, APL, or Prolog) that, though ostensibly
+general-purpose, is designed so as to enforce an author's theory
+of `right programming' even though said theory is demonstrably
+inadequate for systems hacking or even vanilla general-purpose
+programming. Often abbreviated `B&D'; thus, one may speak of
+things "having the B&D nature". See Pascal; oppose languages of choice.
+
+
+Node:bonk/oif, Next:book titles, Previous:bondage-and-discipline
+language, Up:= B = 
+
+bonk/oif /bonk/, /oyf/ interj.
+
+In the U.S. MUD community, it has
+become traditional to express pique or censure by `bonking' the
+offending person. Convention holds that one should acknowledge a
+bonk by saying `oif!' and there is a myth to the effect that
+failing to do so upsets the cosmic bonk/oif balance, causing much
+trouble in the universe. Some MUDs have implemented special
+commands for bonking and oifing. Note: in parts of the U.K.
+`bonk' is a sexually loaded slang term; care is advised in
+transatlantic conversations (see boink). Commonwealth hackers report a similar
+convention involving the `fish/bang' balance. See also talk mode.
+
+
+Node:book titles, Next:boot, Previous:bonk/oif, Up:= B = 
+
+book titles
+
+There is a tradition in hackerdom of informally tagging
+important textbooks and standards documents with the dominant
+color of their covers or with some other conspicuous feature of
+the cover. Many of these are described in this lexicon under
+their own entries. See Aluminum
+Book, Blue Book, Camel Book, Cinderella Book, Devil Book, Dragon Book, Green Book, Orange Book, Purple Book, Red Book, Silver Book, White Book, Wizard Book, Yellow Book, and bible; see also rainbow series. Since about 1983 this
+tradition has gotten a boost from the popular O'Reilly and
+Associates line of technical books, which usually feature some
+kind of exotic animal on the cover.
+
+
+Node:boot, Next:Borg, Previous:book titles, Up:= B = 
+
+boot v.,n.
+
+[techspeak; from `by one's bootstraps'] To load and initialize
+the operating system on a machine. This usage is no longer jargon
+(having passed into techspeak) but has given rise to some
+derivatives that are still jargon.
+
+The derivative `reboot' implies that the machine hasn't been
+down for long, or that the boot is a bounce (sense 4) intended to clear some state
+of wedgitude. This is sometimes
+used of human thought processes, as in the following exchange:
+"You've lost me." "OK, reboot. Here's the
+theory...."
+
+This term is also found in the variants `cold boot' (from
+power-off condition) and `warm boot' (with the CPU and all
+devices already powered up, as after a hardware reset or software
+crash).
+
+Another variant: `soft boot', reinitialization of only part of
+a system, under control of other software still running: "If
+you're running the mess-dos
+emulator, control-alt-insert will cause a soft-boot of the
+emulator, while leaving the rest of the system running."
+
+Opposed to this there is `hard boot', which connotes hostility
+towards or frustration with the machine being booted: "I'll have
+to hard-boot this losing Sun." "I recommend booting it hard." One
+often hard-boots by performing a power cycle.
+
+Historical note: this term derives from `bootstrap loader', a
+short program that was read in from cards or paper tape, or
+toggled in from the front panel switches. This program was always
+very short (great efforts were expended on making it short in
+order to minimize the labor and chance of error involved in
+toggling it in), but was just smart enough to read in a slightly
+more complex program (usually from a card or paper tape reader),
+to which it handed control; this program in turn was smart enough
+to read the application or operating system from a magnetic tape
+drive or disk drive. Thus, in successive steps, the computer
+`pulled itself up by its bootstraps' to a useful operating state.
+Nowadays the bootstrap is usually found in ROM or EPROM, and
+reads the first stage in from a fixed location on the disk,
+called the `boot block'. When this program gains control, it is
+powerful enough to load the actual OS and hand control over to
+it.
+
+
+Node:Borg, Next:borken, Previous:boot, Up:= B =
+
+
+Borg n.
+
+In "Star Trek: The Next Generation" the Borg is a species of
+cyborg that ruthlessly seeks to incorporate all sentient life
+into itself; their slogan is "You will be assimilated. Resistance
+is futile." In hacker parlance, the Borg is usually Microsoft, which is thought to be trying
+just as ruthlessly to assimilate all computers and the entire
+Internet to itself (there is a widely circulated image of Bill
+Gates as a Borg). Being forced to use Windows or NT is often
+referred to as being "Borged". Interestingly, the Halloween Documents reveal that
+this jargon is live within Microsoft itself. (Other companies,
+notably Intel and UUNet, have also occasionally been equated to
+the Borg.) See also Evil
+Empire, Internet
+Exploiter.
+
+In IETF circles, where direct pressure from Microsoft is not a
+daily reality, the Borg is sometimes Cisco. This usage
+commemmorates their tendency to pay any price to hire talent away
+from their competitors. In fact, at the Spring 1997 IETF, a large
+number of ex-Cisco employees, all former members of Routing
+Geeks, showed up with t-shirts printed with "Recovering
+Borg".
+
+
+Node:borken, Next:bot, Previous:Borg,
+Up:= B = 
+
+borken adj.
+
+(also `borked') Common deliberate typo for `broken'.
+
+
+Node:bot, Next:bot spot, Previous:borken, Up:= B
+= 
+
+bot n
+
+[common on IRC, MUD and among gamers; from `robot'] 1. An
+IRC or MUD
+user who is actually a program. On IRC, typically the robot
+provides some useful service. Examples are NickServ, which tries
+to prevent random users from adopting nicks already claimed by others, and MsgServ,
+which allows one to send asynchronous messages to be delivered
+when the recipient signs on. Also common are `annoybots', such as
+KissServ, which perform no useful function except to send cute
+messages to other people. Service bots are less common on MUDs;
+but some others, such as the `Julia' bot active in 1990-91, have
+been remarkably impressive Turing-test experiments, able to pass
+as human for as long as ten or fifteen minutes of conversation.
+2. An AI-controlled player in a computer game (especially a
+first-person shooter such as Quake) which, unlike ordinary
+monsters, operates like a human-controlled player, with access to
+a player's weapons and abilities. An example can be found at http://www.telefragged.com/thefatal/.
+3. Term used, though less commonly, for a web spider. The file for controlling spider
+behavior on your site is officially the "Robots Exclusion File"
+and its URL is "http://<somehost>/robots.txt")
+
+Note that bots in all senses were `robots' when the terms
+first appeared in the early 1990s, but the shortened form is now
+habitual.
+
+
+Node:bot spot, Next:bottom feeder, Previous:bot, Up:= B
+= 
+
+bot spot n.
+
+[MUD] The user on a MUD with the longest connect time. Derives
+from the fact that bots on MUDS often
+stay constantly connected and appear at the bottom of the
+list.
+
+
+Node:bottom feeder, Next:bottom-up
+implementation, Previous:bot spot, Up:= B = 
+
+bottom feeder n.
+
+1. An Internet user that leeches off ISPs - the sort you can
+never provide good enough services for, always complains about
+the price, no matter how low it may be, and will bolt off to
+another service the moment there is even the slimmest price
+difference. While most bottom feeders infest free or almost free
+services such as AOL, MSN, and Hotmail, too many flock to
+whomever happens to be the cheapest regional ISP at the time.
+Bottom feeders are often the classic problem user, known for
+unleashing spam, flamage, and other breaches of netiquette. 2. Syn. for slopsucker, derived from the fishermen's
+and naturalists' term for finny creatures who subsist on the
+primordial ooze. (This sense is older.)
+
+
+Node:bottom-up
+implementation, Next:bounce,
+Previous:bottom
+feeder, Up:= B = 
+
+bottom-up implementation n.
+
+Hackish opposite of the techspeak term `top-down design'. It
+has been received wisdom in most programming cultures that it is
+best to design from higher levels of abstraction down to lower,
+specifying sequences of action in increasing detail until you get
+to actual code. Hackers often find (especially in exploratory
+designs that cannot be closely specified in advance) that it
+works best to build things in the opposite order, by
+writing and testing a clean set of primitive operations and then
+knitting them together. Naively applied, this leads to
+hacked-together bottom-up implementations; a more sophisticated
+response is `middle-out implementation', in which scratch code
+within primitives at the mid-level of the system is gradually
+replaced with a more polished version of the lowest level at the
+same time the structure above the midlevel is being built.
+
+
+Node:bounce, Next:bounce message, Previous:bottom-up
+implementation, Up:= B
+= 
+
+bounce v.
+
+1. [common; perhaps by analogy to a bouncing check] An
+electronic mail message that is undeliverable and returns an
+error notification to the sender is said to `bounce'. See also
+bounce message. 2.
+[Stanford] To play volleyball. The now-demolished D. C. Power Lab building used by
+the Stanford AI Lab in the 1970s had a volleyball court on the
+front lawn. From 5 P.M. to 7 P.M. was the scheduled maintenance
+time for the computer, so every afternoon at 5 would come over
+the intercom the cry: "Now hear this: bounce, bounce!", followed
+by Brian McCune loudly bouncing a volleyball on the floor outside
+the offices of known volleyballers. 3. To engage in sexual
+intercourse; prob. from the expression `bouncing the mattress',
+but influenced by Roo's psychosexually loaded "Try bouncing me,
+Tigger!" from the "Winnie-the-Pooh" books. Compare boink. 4. To casually reboot a system in order
+to clear up a transient problem. Reported primarily among VMS and Unix
+users. 5. [VM/CMS programmers] Automatic warm-start of a
+machine after an error. "I logged on this morning and found it
+had bounced 7 times during the night" 6. [IBM] To power cycle a peripheral in order to
+reset it.
+
+
+Node:bounce message, Next:boustrophedon, Previous:bounce, Up:= B = 
+
+bounce message n.
+
+[common] Notification message returned to sender by a site
+unable to relay email to the intended
+Internet address
+recipient or the next link in a bang
+path (see bounce, sense 1).
+Reasons might include a nonexistent or misspelled username or a
+down relay site. Bounce messages can
+themselves fail, with occasionally ugly results; see sorcerer's apprentice
+mode and software
+laser. The terms `bounce mail' and `barfmail' are also
+common.
+
+
+Node:boustrophedon, Next:box, Previous:bounce message, Up:= B = 
+
+boustrophedon n.
+
+[from a Greek word for turning like an ox while plowing] An
+ancient method of writing using alternate left-to-right and
+right-to-left lines. This term is actually philologists'
+techspeak and typesetters' jargon. Erudite hackers use it for an
+optimization performed by some computer typesetting software and
+moving-head printers. The adverbial form `boustrophedonically' is
+also found (hackers purely love constructions like this).
+
+
+Node:box, Next:boxed comments, Previous:boustrophedon, Up:= B = 
+
+box n.
+
+1. A computer; esp. in the construction `foo box' where
+_foo_ is some functional qualifier, like `graphics', or the
+name of an OS (thus, `Unix box', `MS-DOS box', etc.) "We
+preprocess the data on Unix boxes before handing it up to the
+mainframe." 2. [IBM] Without qualification but within an
+SNA-using site, this refers specifically to an IBM front-end
+processor or FEP /F-E-P/. An FEP is a small computer necessary to
+enable an IBM mainframe to
+communicate beyond the limits of the dinosaur pen. Typically used in
+expressions like the cry that goes up when an SNA network goes
+down: "Looks like the box has fallen
+over." (See fall over.) See
+also IBM, fear and loathing, Blue Glue.
+
+
+Node:boxed comments, Next:boxen, Previous:box, Up:= B =
+
+
+boxed comments n.
+
+Comments (explanatory notes attached to program instructions)
+that occupy several lines by themselves; so called because in
+assembler and C code they are often surrounded by a box in a
+style something like this:
+
+
+/*************************************************
+ *
+ * This is a boxed comment in C style
+ *
+ *************************************************/
+
+
+Common variants of this style omit the asterisks in column 2
+or add a matching row of asterisks closing the right side of the
+box. The sparest variant omits all but the comment delimiters
+themselves; the `box' is implied. Oppose winged comments.
+
+
+Node:boxen, Next:boxology, Previous:boxed comments, Up:= B = 
+
+boxen /bok'sn/ pl.n.
+
+[very common; by analogy with VAXen] Fanciful plural of box often encountered in the phrase `Unix boxen',
+used to describe commodity Unix
+hardware. The connotation is that any two Unix boxen are
+interchangeable.
+
+
+Node:boxology, Next:bozotic, Previous:boxen, Up:= B
+= 
+
+boxology /bok-sol'*-jee/ n.
+
+Syn. ASCII art. This term
+implies a more restricted domain, that of box-and-arrow drawings.
+"His report has a lot of boxology in it." Compare macrology.
+
+
+Node:bozotic, Next:BQS, Previous:boxology, Up:=
+B = 
+
+bozotic /boh-zoh'tik/ or /boh-zo'tik/ adj.
+
+[from the name of a TV clown even more losing than Ronald
+McDonald] Resembling or having the quality of a bozo; that is,
+clownish, ludicrously wrong, unintentionally humorous. Compare
+wonky, demented. Note that the noun `bozo' occurs in
+slang, but the mainstream adjectival form would be `bozo-like' or
+(in New England) `bozoish'.
+
+
+Node:BQS, Next:brain dump, Previous:bozotic, Up:= B
+= 
+
+BQS /B-Q-S/ adj.
+
+Syn. Berkeley
+Quality Software.
+
+
+Node:brain dump, Next:brain fart, Previous:BQS, Up:= B
+= 
+
+brain dump n.
+
+[common] The act of telling someone everything one knows about
+a particular topic or project. Typically used when someone is
+going to let a new party maintain a piece of code. Conceptually
+analogous to an operating system core
+dump in that it saves a lot of useful state before an exit. "You'll have to give me a
+brain dump on FOOBAR before you start your new job at
+HackerCorp." See core dump
+(sense 4). At Sun, this is also known as `TOI' (transfer of
+information).
+
+
+Node:brain fart, Next:brain-damaged, Previous:brain dump, Up:= B = 
+
+brain fart n.
+
+The actual result of a braino, as
+opposed to the mental glitch that is the braino itself. E.g.,
+typing dir on a Unix box after a session with
+DOS.
+
+
+Node:brain-damaged, Next:brain-dead, Previous:brain fart, Up:= B = 
+
+brain-damaged adj.
+
+1. [common; generalization of `Honeywell Brain Damage' (HBD),
+a theoretical disease invented to explain certain utter
+cretinisms in Honeywell Multics]
+adj. Obviously wrong; cretinous;
+demented. There is an implication
+that the person responsible must have suffered brain damage,
+because he should have known better. Calling something
+brain-damaged is really bad; it also implies it is unusable, and
+that its failure to work is due to poor design rather than some
+accident. "Only six monocase characters per file name? Now
+that's brain-damaged!" 2. [esp. in the Mac world] May
+refer to free demonstration software that has been deliberately
+crippled in some way so as not to compete with the product it is
+intended to sell. Syn. crippleware.
+
+
+Node:brain-dead, Next:braino, Previous:brain-damaged, Up:= B = 
+
+brain-dead adj.
+
+[common] Brain-damaged in the extreme. It tends to imply
+terminal design failure rather than malfunction or simple
+stupidity. "This comm program doesn't know how to send a break --
+how brain-dead!"
+
+
+Node:braino, Next:branch to Fishkill, Previous:brain-dead, Up:= B = 
+
+braino /bray'no/ n.
+
+Syn. for thinko. See also brain fart.
+
+
+Node:branch to Fishkill,
+Next:bread crumbs,
+Previous:braino, Up:= B = 
+
+branch to Fishkill n.
+
+[IBM: from the location of one of the corporation's
+facilities] Any unexpected jump in a program that produces
+catastrophic or just plain weird results. See jump off into
+never-never land, hyperspace.
+
+
+Node:bread crumbs, Next:break, Previous:branch to Fishkill, Up:= B = 
+
+bread crumbs n.
+
+1. Debugging statements inserted into a program that emit
+output or log indicators of the program's state to a file so you can see where it dies or
+pin down the cause of surprising behavior. The term is probably a
+reference to the Hansel and Gretel story from the Brothers Grimm
+or the older French folktale of Thumbelina; in several variants
+of these, a character leaves a trail of bread crumbs so as not to
+get lost in the woods. 2. In user-interface design, any feature
+that allows some tracking of where you've been, like coloring
+visited links purple rather than blue in Netscape (also called
+`footrinting').
+
+
+Node:break, Next:break-even point, Previous:bread crumbs, Up:= B = 
+
+break
+
+1. vt. To cause to be broken (in
+any sense). "Your latest patch to the editor broke the paragraph
+commands." 2. v. (of a program) To stop temporarily, so that it
+may debugged. The place where it stops is a `breakpoint'. 3.
+[techspeak] vi. To send an RS-232 break (two character widths of
+line high) over a serial comm line. 4. [Unix] vi. To strike
+whatever key currently causes the tty driver to send SIGINT to
+the current process. Normally, break (sense 3), delete or control-C does this. 5. `break break'
+may be said to interrupt a conversation (this is an example of
+verb doubling). This usage comes from radio communications, which
+in turn probably came from landline telegraph/teleprinter usage,
+as badly abused in the Citizen's Band craze a few years ago.
+
+
+Node:break-even point, Next:breath-of-life
+packet, Previous:break,
+Up:= B = 
+
+break-even point n.
+
+In the process of implementing a new computer language, the
+point at which the language is sufficiently effective that one
+can implement the language in itself. That is, for a new language
+called, hypothetically, FOOGOL, one has reached break-even when
+one can write a demonstration compiler for FOOGOL in FOOGOL,
+discard the original implementation language, and thereafter use
+working versions of FOOGOL to develop newer ones. This is an
+important milestone; see MFTL.
+
+Since this entry was first written, several correspondents
+have reported that there actually was a compiler for a tiny
+Algol-like language called Foogol floating around on various
+VAXen in the early and mid-1980s. A
+FOOGOL implementation is available at the Retrocomputing Museum
+http://www.ccil.org/retro.
+
+
+Node:breath-of-life packet,
+Next:breedle, Previous:break-even point, Up:= B = 
+
+breath-of-life packet n.
+
+[XEROX PARC] An Ethernet packet that contains bootstrap (see
+boot) code, periodically sent out from
+a working computer to infuse the `breath of life' into any
+computer on the network that has happened to crash. Machines
+depending on such packets have sufficient hardware or firmware
+code to wait for (or request) such a packet during the reboot
+process. See also dickless
+workstation.
+
+The notional `kiss-of-death packet', with a function
+complementary to that of a breath-of-life packet, is recommended
+for dealing with hosts that consume too many network resources.
+Though `kiss-of-death packet' is usually used in jest, there is
+at least one documented instance of an Internet subnet with
+limited address-table slots in a gateway machine in which such
+packets were routinely used to compete for slots, rather like
+Christmas shoppers competing for scarce parking spaces.
+
+
+Node:breedle, Next:Breidbart Index, Previous:breath-of-life
+packet, Up:= B = 
+
+breedle n.
+
+See feep.
+
+
+Node:Breidbart Index, Next:bring X to its
+knees, Previous:breedle, Up:= B
+= 
+
+Breidbart Index /bri:d'bart ind*ks/
+
+A measurement of the severity of spam invented by long-time
+hacker Seth Breidbart, used for programming cancelbots. The
+Breidbart Index takes into account the fact that excessive
+multi-posting EMP is worse than
+excessive cross-posting ECP. The
+Breidbart Index is computed as follows: For each article in a
+spam, take the square-root of the number of newsgroups to which
+the article is posted. The Breidbart Index is the sum of the
+square roots of all of the posts in the spam. For example, one
+article posted to nine newsgroups and again to sixteen would have
+BI = sqrt(9) + sqrt(16) = 7. It is generally agreed that a spam
+is cancelable if the Breidbart Index exceeds 20.
+
+The Breidbart Index accumulates over a 45-day window. Ten
+articles yesterday and ten articles today and ten articles
+tomorrow add up to a 30-article spam. Spam fighters will often
+reset the count if you can convince them that the spam was
+accidental and/or you have seen the error of your ways and won't
+repeat it. Breidbart Index can accumulate over multiple authors.
+For example, the "Make Money Fast" pyramid scheme exceeded a BI
+of 20 a long time ago, and is now considered "cancel on
+sight".
+
+
+Node:bring X to its
+knees, Next:brittle,
+Previous:Breidbart
+Index, Up:= B = 
+
+bring X to its knees v.
+
+[common] To present a machine, operating system, piece of
+software, or algorithm with a load so extreme or pathological that it grinds to a halt.
+"To bring a MicroVAX to its knees, try twenty users running vi -- or four running EMACS." Compare hog.
+
+
+Node:brittle, Next:broadcast storm, Previous:bring X to its
+knees, Up:= B = 
+
+brittle adj.
+
+Said of software that is functional but easily broken by
+changes in operating environment or configuration, or by any
+minor tweak to the software itself. Also, any system that
+responds inappropriately and disastrously to abnormal but
+expected external stimuli; e.g., a file system that is usually
+totally scrambled by a power failure is said to be brittle. This
+term is often used to describe the results of a research effort
+that were never intended to be robust, but it can be applied to
+commercial software, which (due to closed-source development)
+displays the quality far more often than it ought to. Oppose
+robust.
+
+
+Node:broadcast storm, Next:brochureware, Previous:brittle, Up:= B = 
+
+broadcast storm n.
+
+[common] An incorrect packet broadcast on a network that
+causes most hosts to respond all at once, typically with wrong
+answers that start the process over again. See network meltdown; compare mail storm.
+
+
+Node:brochureware, Next:broken, Previous:broadcast storm, Up:= B = 
+
+brochureware n.
+
+Planned but non-existent product like vaporware, but with the added implication
+that marketing is actively selling and promoting it (they've
+printed brochures). Brochureware is often deployed as a strategic
+weapon; the idea is to con customers into not committing to an
+existing product of the competition's. It is a safe bet that when
+a brochureware product finally becomes real, it will be more
+expensive than and inferior to the alternatives that had been
+available for years.
+
+
+Node:broken, Next:broken arrow, Previous:brochureware, Up:= B = 
+
+broken adj.
+
+1. Not working properly (of programs). 2. Behaving strangely;
+especially (when used of people) exhibiting extreme
+depression.
+
+
+Node:broken arrow, Next:BrokenWindows, Previous:broken, Up:= B = 
+
+broken arrow n.
+
+[IBM] The error code displayed on line 25 of a 3270 terminal
+(or a PC emulating a 3270) for various kinds of protocol
+violations and "unexpected" error conditions (including
+connection to a down computer). On a
+PC, simulated with `->/_', with the two center characters
+overstruck.
+
+Note: to appreciate this term fully, it helps to know that
+`broken arrow' is also military jargon for an accident involving
+nuclear weapons....
+
+
+Node:BrokenWindows, Next:broket, Previous:broken arrow, Up:= B = 
+
+BrokenWindows n.
+
+Abusive hackerism for the crufty
+and elephantine X environment on Sun machines; properly called
+`OpenWindows'.
+
+
+Node:broket, Next:Brooks's Law, Previous:BrokenWindows, Up:= B = 
+
+broket /broh'k*t/ or /broh'ket`/ n.
+
+[rare; by analogy with `bracket': a `broken bracket'] Either
+of the characters < and >, when
+used as paired enclosing delimiters. This word originated as a
+contraction of the phrase `broken bracket', that is, a bracket
+that is bent in the middle. (At MIT, and apparently in the Real World as well, these are
+usually called angle
+brackets.)
+
+
+Node:Brooks's Law, Next:brown-paper-bag bug,
+Previous:broket, Up:= B = 
+
+Brooks's Law prov.
+
+"Adding manpower to a late software project makes it later" --
+a result of the fact that the expected advantage from splitting
+development work among N programmers is O(N) (that is,
+proportional to N), but the complexity and communications cost
+associated with coordinating and then merging their work is
+O(N^2) (that is, proportional to the square of N). The quote is
+from Fred Brooks, a manager of IBM's OS/360 project and author of
+"The Mythical Man-Month" (Addison-Wesley, 1975, ISBN
+0-201-00650-2), an excellent early book on software engineering.
+The myth in question has been most tersely expressed as
+"Programmer time is fungible" and Brooks established conclusively
+that it is not. Hackers have never forgotten his advice (though
+it's not the whole story; see bazaar); too often, management still does. See also creationism, second-system effect, optimism.
+
+
+Node:brown-paper-bag bug,
+Next:browser, Previous:Brooks's Law, Up:= B = 
+
+brown-paper-bag bug n.
+
+A bug in a public software release that is so embarrassing
+that the author notionally wears a brown paper bag over his head
+for a while so he won't be recognized on the net. Entered popular
+usage after the early-1999 release of the first Linux 2.2, which
+had one. The phrase was used in Linus Torvalds's apology
+posting.
+
+
+Node:browser, Next:BRS, Previous:brown-paper-bag bug, Up:= B = 
+
+browser n.
+
+A program specifically designed to help users view and
+navigate hypertext, on-line documentation, or a database. While
+this general sense has been present in jargon for a long time,
+the proliferation of browsers for the World Wide Web after 1992
+has made it much more popular and provided a central or default
+techspeak meaning of the word previously lacking in hacker usage.
+Nowadays, if someone mentions using a `browser' without
+qualification, one may assume it is a Web browser.
+
+
+Node:BRS, Next:brute force, Previous:browser, Up:= B = 
+
+BRS /B-R-S/ n.
+
+Syn. Big Red Switch.
+This abbreviation is fairly common on-line.
+
+
+Node:brute force, Next:brute force and
+ignorance, Previous:BRS,
+Up:= B = 
+
+brute force adj.
+
+Describes a primitive programming style, one in which the
+programmer relies on the computer's processing power instead of
+using his or her own intelligence to simplify the problem, often
+ignoring problems of scale and applying naive methods suited to
+small problems directly to large ones. The term can also be used
+in reference to programming style: brute-force programs are
+written in a heavyhanded, tedious way, full of repetition and
+devoid of any elegance or useful abstraction (see also brute force and
+ignorance).
+
+The canonical example of a
+brute-force algorithm is associated with the `traveling salesman
+problem' (TSP), a classical NP-hard
+problem: Suppose a person is in, say, Boston, and wishes to drive
+to N other cities. In what order should the cities be visited in
+order to minimize the distance travelled? The brute-force method
+is to simply generate all possible routes and compare the
+distances; while guaranteed to work and simple to implement, this
+algorithm is clearly very stupid in that it considers even
+obviously absurd routes (like going from Boston to Houston via
+San Francisco and New York, in that order). For very small N it
+works well, but it rapidly becomes absurdly inefficient when N
+increases (for N = 15, there are already 1,307,674,368,000
+possible routes to consider, and for N = 1000 -- well, see bignum). Sometimes, unfortunately, there
+is no better general solution than brute force. See also NP-.
+
+A more simple-minded example of brute-force programming is
+finding the smallest number in a large list by first using an
+existing program to sort the list in ascending order, and then
+picking the first number off the front.
+
+Whether brute-force programming should actually be considered
+stupid or not depends on the context; if the problem is not
+terribly big, the extra CPU time spent on a brute-force solution
+may cost less than the programmer time it would take to develop a
+more `intelligent' algorithm. Additionally, a more intelligent
+algorithm may imply more long-term complexity cost and
+bug-chasing than are justified by the speed improvement.
+
+Ken Thompson, co-inventor of Unix, is reported to have uttered
+the epigram "When in doubt, use brute force". He probably
+intended this as a ha ha
+only serious, but the original Unix kernel's preference
+for simple, robust, and portable algorithms over brittle `smart' ones does seem to have been a
+significant factor in the success of that OS. Like so many other
+tradeoffs in software design, the choice between brute force and
+complex, finely-tuned cleverness is often a difficult one that
+requires both engineering savvy and delicate esthetic
+judgment.
+
+
+Node:brute force and
+ignorance, Next:BSD,
+Previous:brute force,
+Up:= B = 
+
+brute force and ignorance n.
+
+A popular design technique at many software houses -- brute force coding unrelieved by
+any knowledge of how problems have been previously solved in
+elegant ways. Dogmatic adherence to design methodologies tends to
+encourage this sort of thing. Characteristic of early larval stage programming;
+unfortunately, many never outgrow it. Often abbreviated BFI:
+"Gak, they used a bubble
+sort! That's strictly from BFI." Compare bogosity.
+
+
+Node:BSD, Next:BSOD, Previous:brute force and ignorance,
+Up:= B = 
+
+BSD /B-S-D/ n.
+
+[abbreviation for `Berkeley Software Distribution'] a family
+of Unix versions for the DEC VAX and PDP-11
+developed by Bill Joy and others at Berzerkeley starting around 1977,
+incorporating paged virtual memory, TCP/IP networking
+enhancements, and many other features. The BSD versions (4.1,
+4.2, and 4.3) and the commercial versions derived from them
+(SunOS, ULTRIX, and Mt. Xinu) held the technical lead in the Unix
+world until AT&T's successful standardization efforts after
+about 1986; descendants including Free/Open/NetBSD, BSD/OS and
+MacOS X are still widely popular. Note that BSD versions going
+back to 2.9 are often referred to by their version numbers alone,
+without the BSD prefix. See 4.2, Unix, USG
+Unix.
+
+
+Node:BSOD, Next:BUAF, Previous:BSD,
+Up:= B = 
+
+BSOD /B-S-O-D/
+
+Very commmon abbreviation for Blue Screen of Death. Both
+spoken and written.
+
+
+Node:BUAF, Next:BUAG, Previous:BSOD, Up:= B =
+
+
+BUAF // n.
+
+[abbreviation, from _alt.fan.warlord_] Big Ugly ASCII
+Font -- a special form of ASCII
+art. Various programs exist for rendering text strings
+into block, bloob, and pseudo-script fonts in cells between four
+and six character cells on a side; this is smaller than the
+letters generated by older banner
+(sense 2) programs. These are sometimes used to render one's name
+in a sig block, and are
+critically referred to as `BUAF's. See warlording.
+
+
+Node:BUAG, Next:bubble sort, Previous:BUAF, Up:= B
+= 
+
+BUAG // n.
+
+[abbreviation, from _alt.fan.warlord_] Big Ugly ASCII
+Graphic. Pejorative term for ugly ASCII
+art, especially as found in sig
+blocks. For some reason, mutations of the head of Bart
+Simpson are particularly common in the least imaginative sig blocks. See warlording.
+
+
+Node:bubble sort, Next:bucky bits, Previous:BUAG, Up:= B
+= 
+
+bubble sort n.
+
+Techspeak for a particular sorting technique in which pairs of
+adjacent values in the list to be sorted are compared and
+interchanged if they are out of order; thus, list entries `bubble
+upward' in the list until they bump into one with a lower sort
+value. Because it is not very good relative to other methods and
+is the one typically stumbled on by naive and untutored programmers, hackers
+consider it the canonical example
+of a naive algorithm. (However, it's been shown by repeated
+experiment that below about 5000 records bubble-sort is OK
+anyway.) The canonical example of a really bad algorithm
+is bogo-sort. A bubble sort might
+be used out of ignorance, but any use of bogo-sort could issue
+only from brain damage or willful perversity.
+
+
+Node:bucky bits, Next:buffer chuck, Previous:bubble sort, Up:= B = 
+
+bucky bits /buh'kee bits/ n.
+
+1. obs. The bits produced by the CONTROL and META shift keys
+on a SAIL keyboard (octal 200 and 400 respectively), resulting in
+a 9-bit keyboard character set. The MIT AI TV (Knight) keyboards
+extended this with TOP and separate left and right CONTROL and
+META keys, resulting in a 12-bit character set; later, LISP
+Machines added such keys as SUPER, HYPER, and GREEK (see space-cadet keyboard). 2.
+By extension, bits associated with `extra' shift keys on any
+keyboard, e.g., the ALT on an IBM PC or command and option keys
+on a Macintosh.
+
+It has long been rumored that `bucky bits' were named for
+Buckminster Fuller during a period when he was consulting at
+Stanford. Actually, bucky bits were invented by Niklaus Wirth
+when he was at Stanford in 1964-65; he first suggested
+the idea of an EDIT key to set the 8th bit of an otherwise 7-bit
+ASCII character). It seems that, unknown to Wirth, certain
+Stanford hackers had privately nicknamed him `Bucky' after a
+prominent portion of his dental anatomy, and this nickname
+transferred to the bit. Bucky-bit commands were used in a number
+of editors written at Stanford, including most notably TV-EDIT
+and NLS.
+
+The term spread to MIT and CMU early and is now in general
+use. Ironically, Wirth himself remained unaware of its derivation
+for nearly 30 years, until GLS dug up this history in early 1993!
+See double bucky, quadruple bucky.
+
+
+Node:buffer chuck, Next:buffer overflow, Previous:bucky bits, Up:= B = 
+
+buffer chuck n.
+
+Shorter and ruder syn. for buffer overflow.
+
+
+Node:buffer overflow, Next:bug, Previous:buffer chuck, Up:= B = 
+
+buffer overflow n.
+
+What happens when you try to stuff more data into a buffer
+(holding area) than it can handle. This problem is commonly
+exploited by crackers to get
+arbitrary commands executed by a program running with root
+permissions. This may be due to a mismatch in the processing
+rates of the producing and consuming processes (see overrun and firehose syndrome), or because the
+buffer is simply too small to hold all the data that must
+accumulate before a piece of it can be processed. For example, in
+a text-processing tool that crunches
+a line at a time, a short line buffer can result in lossage as input from a long line overflows
+the buffer and trashes data beyond it. Good defensive programming
+would check for overflow on each character and stop accepting
+data when the buffer is full up. The term is used of and by
+humans in a metaphorical sense. "What time did I agree to meet
+you? My buffer must have overflowed." Or "If I answer that phone
+my buffer is going to overflow." See also spam, overrun
+screw.
+
+
+Node:bug, Next:bug-compatible, Previous:buffer overflow, Up:= B = 
+
+bug n.
+
+An unwanted and unintended property of a program or piece of
+hardware, esp. one that causes it to malfunction. Antonym of
+feature. Examples: "There's a bug
+in the editor: it writes things out backwards." "The system
+crashed because of a hardware bug." "Fred is a winner, but he has
+a few bugs" (i.e., Fred is a good guy, but he has a few
+personality problems).
+
+Historical note: Admiral Grace Hopper (an early computing
+pioneer better known for inventing COBOL) liked to tell a story in which a
+technician solved a glitch in the
+Harvard Mark II machine by pulling an actual insect out from
+between the contacts of one of its relays, and she subsequently
+promulgated bug in its hackish sense as
+a joke about the incident (though, as she was careful to admit,
+she was not there when it happened). For many years the logbook
+associated with the incident and the actual bug in question (a
+moth) sat in a display case at the Naval Surface Warfare Center
+(NSWC). The entire story, with a picture of the logbook and the
+moth taped into it, is recorded in the "Annals of the History of
+Computing", Vol. 3, No. 3 (July 1981), pp. 285-286.
+
+The text of the log entry (from September 9, 1947), reads
+"1545 Relay #70 Panel F (moth) in relay. First actual case of bug
+being found". This wording establishes that the term was already
+in use at the time in its current specific sense -- and Hopper
+herself reports that the term `bug' was regularly applied to
+problems in radar electronics during WWII.
+
+Indeed, the use of `bug' to mean an industrial defect was
+already established in Thomas Edison's time, and a more specific
+and rather modern use can be found in an electrical handbook from
+1896 ("Hawkin's New Catechism of Electricity", Theo. Audel &
+Co.) which says: "The term `bug' is used to a limited extent to
+designate any fault or trouble in the connections or working of
+electric apparatus." It further notes that the term is "said to
+have originated in quadruplex telegraphy and have been
+transferred to all electric apparatus."
+
+The latter observation may explain a common folk etymology of
+the term; that it came from telephone company usage, in which
+"bugs in a telephone cable" were blamed for noisy lines. Though
+this derivation seems to be mistaken, it may well be a distorted
+memory of a joke first current among telegraph operators
+more than a century ago!
+
+Or perhaps not a joke. Historians of the field inform us that
+the term "bug" was regularly used in the early days of telegraphy
+to refer to a variety of semi-automatic telegraphy keyers that
+would send a string of dots if you held them down. In fact, the
+Vibroplex keyers (which were among the most common of this type)
+even had a graphic of a beetle on them (and still do)! While the
+ability to send repeated dots automatically was very useful for
+professional morse code operators, these were also significantly
+trickier to use than the older manual keyers, and it could take
+some practice to ensure one didn't introduce extraneous dots into
+the code by holding the key down a fraction too long. In the
+hands of an inexperienced operator, a Vibroplex "bug" on the line
+could mean that a lot of garbled Morse would soon be coming your
+way.
+
+Further, the term "bug" has long been used among radio
+technicians to describe a device that converts electromagnetic
+field variations into acoustic signals. It is used to trace radio
+interference and look for dangerous radio emissions. Radio
+community usage derives from the roach-like shape of the first
+versions used by 19th century physicists. The first versions
+consisted of a coil of wire (roach body), with the two wire ends
+sticking out and bent back to nearly touch forming a spark gap
+(roach antennae). The bug is to the radio technician what the
+stethoscope is to the stereotype medical doctor. This sense is
+almost certainly ancestral to modern use of "bug" for a covert
+monitoring device, but may also have contributed to the use of
+"bug" for the effects of radio interference itself.
+
+Actually, use of `bug' in the general sense of a disruptive
+event goes back to Shakespeare! (Henry VI, part III - Act V,
+Scene II: King Edward: "So, lie thou there. Die thou; and die our
+fear; For Warwick was a bug that fear'd us all.") In the first
+edition of Samuel Johnson's dictionary one meaning of `bug' is "A
+frightful object; a walking spectre"; this is traced to
+`bugbear', a Welsh term for a variety of mythological monster
+which (to complete the circle) has recently been reintroduced
+into the popular lexicon through fantasy role-playing games.
+
+In any case, in jargon the word almost never refers to
+insects. Here is a plausible conversation that never actually
+happened:
+
+"There is a bug in this ant farm!"
+
+"What do you mean? I don't see any ants in it."
+
+"That's the bug."
+
+A careful discussion of the etymological issues can be found
+in a paper by Fred R. Shapiro, 1987, "Entomology of the Computer
+Bug: History and Folklore", American Speech 62(4):376-378.
+
+[There has been a widespread myth that the original bug was
+moved to the Smithsonian, and an earlier version of this entry so
+asserted. A correspondent who thought to check discovered that
+the bug was not there. While investigating this in late 1990,
+your editor discovered that the NSWC still had the bug, but had
+unsuccessfully tried to get the Smithsonian to accept it -- and
+that the present curator of their History of American Technology
+Museum didn't know this and agreed that it would make a
+worthwhile exhibit. It was moved to the Smithsonian in mid-1991,
+but due to space and money constraints was not actually exhibited
+years afterwards. Thus, the process of investigating the
+original-computer-bug bug fixed it in an entirely unexpected way,
+by making the myth true! --ESR]
+
+
+Node:bug-compatible, Next:bug-for-bug
+compatible, Previous:bug,
+Up:= B = 
+
+bug-compatible adj.
+
+[common] Said of a design or revision that has been badly
+compromised by a requirement to be compatible with fossils or misfeatures in other programs or (esp.)
+previous releases of itself. "MS-DOS 2.0 used \ as a path
+separator to be bug-compatible with some cretin's choice of / as
+an option character in 1.0."
+
+
+Node:bug-for-bug
+compatible, Next:bug-of-the-month club, Previous:bug-compatible, Up:= B = 
+
+bug-for-bug compatible n.
+
+Same as bug-compatible,
+with the additional implication that much tedious effort went
+into ensuring that each (known) bug was replicated.
+
+
+Node:bug-of-the-month club,
+Next:buglix, Previous:bug-for-bug
+compatible, Up:= B =
+
+
+bug-of-the-month club n.
+
+[from "book-of-the-month club", a time-honored
+mail-order-marketing technique in the U.S.] A mythical club which
+users of `sendmail(8)' (the UNIX mail daemon) belong to; this was
+coined on the Usenet newsgroup comp.security.unix at a time when
+sendmail security holes, which allowed outside crackers access to the system, were being
+uncovered at an alarming rate, forcing sysadmins to update very
+often. Also, more completely, `fatal security bug-of-the-month
+club'. See also kernel-of-the-week club.
+
+
+Node:buglix, Next:bulletproof, Previous:bug-of-the-month club, Up:= B = 
+
+buglix /buhg'liks/ n.
+
+[uncommon] Pejorative term referring to DEC's ULTRIX operating system in its earlier
+severely buggy versions. Still used to describe ULTRIX,
+but without nearly so much venom. Compare AIDX, HP-SUX, Nominal Semidestructor,
+Telerat, sun-stools.
+
+
+Node:bulletproof, Next:bullschildt, Previous:buglix, Up:=
+B = 
+
+bulletproof adj.
+
+Used of an algorithm or implementation considered extremely
+robust; lossage-resistant; capable
+of correctly recovering from any imaginable exception condition
+-- a rare and valued quality. Implies that the programmer has
+thought of all possible errors, and added code to protect against each one. Thus, in some
+cases, this can imply code that is too heavyweight, due to
+excessive paranoia on the part of the programmer. Syn. armor-plated.
+
+
+Node:bullschildt, Next:bum, Previous:bulletproof, Up:= B = 
+
+bullschildt /bul'shilt/ n.
+
+[comp.lang.c on USENET] A confident, but incorrect, statement
+about a programming language. This immortalizes a very bad book
+about C, Herbert Schildt's "C - The
+Complete Reference". One reviewer commented "The naive errors in
+this book would be embarassing even in a programming assignment
+turned in by a computer science college sophomore."
+
+
+Node:bum, Next:bump, Previous:bullschildt, Up:= B = 
+
+bum
+
+1. vt. To make highly efficient, either in time or space,
+often at the expense of clarity. "I managed to bum three more
+instructions out of that code." "I spent half the night bumming
+the interrupt code." In 1996, this term and the practice it
+describes are semi-obsolete. In elder
+days, John McCarthy (inventor of LISP) used to compare some efficiency-obsessed
+hackers among his students to "ski bums"; thus, optimization
+became "program bumming", and eventually just "bumming". 2. To
+squeeze out excess; to remove something in order to improve
+whatever it was removed from (without changing function; this
+distinguishes the process from a featurectomy). 3. n. A small change to an
+algorithm, program, or hardware device to make it more efficient.
+"This hardware bum makes the jump instruction faster." Usage: now
+uncommon, largely superseded by v. tune (and n. tweak,
+hack), though none of these exactly
+capture sense 2. All these uses are rare in Commonwealth hackish,
+because in the parent dialects of English the noun `bum' is a
+rude synonym for `buttocks' and the verb `bum' for buggery.
+
+
+Node:bump, Next:burble, Previous:bum, Up:= B =
+
+
+bump vt.
+
+Synonym for increment. Has the same meaning as C's ++
+operator. Used esp. of counter variables, pointers, and index
+dummies in for, while, and
+do-while loops.
+
+
+Node:burble, Next:buried treasure, Previous:bump, Up:= B = 
+
+burble v.
+
+[from Lewis Carroll's "Jabberwocky"] Like flame, but connotes that the source is truly
+clueless and ineffectual (mere flamers can be competent). A term
+of deep contempt. "There's some guy on the phone burbling about
+how he got a DISK FULL error and it's all our comm software's
+fault." This is mainstream slang in some parts of England.
+
+
+Node:buried treasure, Next:burn-in period,
+Previous:burble, Up:= B = 
+
+buried treasure n.
+
+A surprising piece of code found in some program. While
+usually not wrong, it tends to vary from crufty to bletcherous, and has lain undiscovered
+only because it was functionally correct, however horrible it is.
+Used sarcastically, because what is found is anything
+but treasure. Buried treasure almost always needs to be
+dug up and removed. "I just found that the scheduler sorts its
+queue using bubble sort!
+Buried treasure!"
+
+
+Node:burn-in period, Next:burst page, Previous:buried treasure, Up:= B = 
+
+burn-in period n.
+
+1. A factory test designed to catch systems with marginal components before they get out the
+door; the theory is that burn-in will protect customers by
+outwaiting the steepest part of the bathtub curve (see infant mortality). 2. A period of
+indeterminate length in which a person using a computer is so
+intensely involved in his project that he forgets basic needs
+such as food, drink, sleep, etc. Warning: Excessive burn-in can
+lead to burn-out. See hack
+mode, larval
+stage.
+
+Historical note: the origin of "burn-in" (sense 1) is
+apparently the practice of setting a new-model airplane's brakes
+on fire, then extinguishing the fire, in order to make them hold
+better. This was done on the first version of the U.S. spy-plane,
+the U-2.
+
+
+Node:burst page, Next:busy-wait, Previous:burn-in period, Up:= B = 
+
+burst page n.
+
+Syn. banner, sense 1.
+
+
+Node:busy-wait, Next:buzz, Previous:burst page, Up:= B = 
+
+busy-wait vi.
+
+Used of human behavior, conveys that the subject is busy
+waiting for someone or something, intends to move instantly as
+soon as it shows up, and thus cannot do anything else at the
+moment. "Can't talk now, I'm busy-waiting till Bill gets off the
+phone."
+
+Technically, `busy-wait' means to wait on an event by spinning through a tight or timed-delay loop
+that polls for the event on each pass, as opposed to setting up
+an interrupt handler and continuing execution on another part of
+the task. In applications this is a wasteful technique, and best
+avoided on time-sharing systems where a busy-waiting program may
+hog the processor. However, it is often
+unavoidable in kernel programming. In the Linux world, kernel
+busy-waits are usually referred to as `spinlocks'.
+
+
+Node:buzz, Next:BWQ, Previous:busy-wait, Up:= B = 
+
+buzz vi.
+
+1. Of a program, to run with no indication of progress and
+perhaps without guarantee of ever finishing; esp. said of
+programs thought to be executing tight loops of code. A program
+that is buzzing appears to be catatonic, but never gets out of catatonia,
+while a buzzing loop may eventually end of its own accord. "The
+program buzzes for about 10 seconds trying to sort all the names
+into order." See spin; see also grovel. 2. [ETA Systems] To test a wire or
+printed circuit trace for continuity, esp. by applying an AC
+rather than DC signal. Some wire faults will pass DC tests but
+fail an AC buzz test. 3. To process an array or list in sequence,
+doing the same thing to each element. "This loop buzzes through
+the tz array looking for a terminator type."
+
+
+Node:BWQ, Next:by hand, Previous:buzz, Up:= B =
+
+
+BWQ /B-W-Q/ n.
+
+[IBM: abbreviation, `Buzz Word Quotient'] The percentage of
+buzzwords in a speech or documents. Usually roughly proportional
+to bogosity. See TLA.
+
+
+Node:by hand, Next:byte, Previous:BWQ,
+Up:= B = 
+
+by hand adv.
+
+[common] 1. Said of an operation (especially a repetitive,
+trivial, and/or tedious one) that ought to be performed
+automatically by the computer, but which a hacker instead has to
+step tediously through. "My mailer doesn't have a command to
+include the text of the message I'm replying to, so I have to do
+it by hand." This does not necessarily mean the speaker has to
+retype a copy of the message; it might refer to, say, dropping
+into a subshell from the mailer, making a copy of one's mailbox
+file, reading that into an editor, locating the top and bottom of
+the message in question, deleting the rest of the file, inserting
+`>' characters on each line, writing the file, leaving the
+editor, returning to the mailer, reading the file in, and later
+remembering to delete the file. Compare eyeball search. 2. By extension,
+writing code which does something in an explicit or low-level way
+for which a presupplied library routine ought to have been
+available. "This cretinous B-tree library doesn't supply a decent
+iterator, so I'm having to walk the trees by hand."
+
+
+Node:byte, Next:byte sex, Previous:by hand, Up:=
+B = 
+
+byte /bi:t/ n.
+
+[techspeak] A unit of memory or data equal to the amount used
+to represent one character; on modern architectures this is
+usually 8 bits, but may be 9 on 36-bit machines. Some older
+architectures used `byte' for quantities of 6 or 7 bits, and the
+PDP-10 supported `bytes' that were actually bitfields of 1 to 36
+bits! These usages are now obsolete, and even 9-bit bytes have
+become rare in the general trend toward power-of-2 word
+sizes.
+
+Historical note: The term was coined by Werner Buchholz in
+1956 during the early design phase for the IBM Stretch computer;
+originally it was described as 1 to 6 bits (typical I/O equipment
+of the period used 6-bit chunks of information). The move to an
+8-bit byte happened in late 1956, and this size was later adopted
+and promulgated as a standard by the System/360. The word was
+coined by mutating the word `bite' so it would not be
+accidentally misspelled as bit. See
+also nybble.
+
+
+Node:byte sex, Next:bytesexual, Previous:byte, Up:= B =
+
+
+byte sex n.
+
+[common] The byte sex of hardware is big-endian or little-endian; see those entries.
+
+
+Node:bytesexual, Next:Bzzzt! Wrong., Previous:byte sex, Up:= B = 
+
+bytesexual /bi:t`sek'shu-*l/ adj.
+
+[rare] Said of hardware, denotes willingness to compute or
+pass data in either big-endian
+or little-endian format
+(depending, presumably, on a mode
+bit somewhere). See also NUXI problem.
+
+
+Node:Bzzzt! Wrong., Next:C, Previous:bytesexual, Up:= B = 
+
+Bzzzt! Wrong. /bzt rong/ excl.
+
+[common; Usenet/Internet; punctuation varies] From a Robin
+Williams routine in the movie "Dead Poets Society" spoofing radio
+or TV quiz programs, such as Truth or Consequences,
+where an incorrect answer earns one a blast from the buzzer and
+condolences from the interlocutor. A way of expressing mock-rude
+disagreement, usually immediately following an included quote
+from another poster. The less abbreviated "*Bzzzzt*, wrong, but
+thank you for playing" is also common; capitalization and
+emphasis of the buzzer sound varies.
+
+
+Node:= C =, Next:= D =, Previous:= B =, Up:The Jargon Lexicon 
+
+= C =
+
+
+C:
+
+
+C Programmer's
+Disease:
+
+
+C&C:
+
+
+C++:
+
+
+calculator:
+
+
+Camel Book:
+
+
+can:
+
+
+can't happen:
+
+
+cancelbot:
+
+
+Cancelmoose[tm]:
+
+
+candygrammar:
+
+
+canonical:
+
+
+card walloper:
+
+
+careware:
+
+
+cargo cult
+programming:
+
+
+cascade:
+
+
+case and paste:
+
+
+casters-up mode:
+
+
+casting the runes:
+
+
+cat:
+
+
+catatonic:
+
+
+cathedral:
+
+
+cd tilde:
+
+
+CDA:
+
+
+cdr:
+
+
+chad:
+
+
+chad box:
+
+
+chain:
+
+
+channel:
+
+
+channel hopping:
+
+
+channel op:
+
+
+chanop:
+
+
+char:
+
+
+charityware:
+
+
+chase pointers:
+
+
+chawmp:
+
+
+check:
+
+
+cheerfully:
+
+
+chemist:
+
+
+Chernobyl chicken:
+
+
+Chernobyl packet:
+
+
+chicken head:
+
+
+chiclet keyboard:
+
+
+Chinese Army
+technique:
+
+
+choad:
+
+
+choke:
+
+
+chomp:
+
+
+chomper:
+
+
+CHOP:
+
+
+Christmas tree:
+
+
+Christmas tree
+packet:
+
+
+chrome:
+
+
+chug:
+
+
+Church of the
+SubGenius:
+
+
+Cinderella Book:
+
+
+CI$:
+
+
+Classic C:
+
+
+clean:
+
+
+CLM:
+
+
+clobber:
+
+
+clock:
+
+
+clocks:
+
+
+clone:
+
+
+clone-and-hack
+coding:
+
+
+clover key:
+
+
+clue-by-four:
+
+
+clustergeeking:
+
+
+co-lo:
+
+
+code:
+
+
+coaster:
+
+
+COBOL:
+
+
+COBOL fingers:
+
+
+cobweb site:
+
+
+code grinder:
+
+
+code monkey:
+
+
+Code of the
+Geeks:
+
+
+code police:
+
+
+codes:
+
+
+codewalker:
+
+
+coefficient of X:
+
+
+cokebottle:
+
+
+cold boot:
+
+
+COME FROM:
+
+
+comm mode:
+
+
+command key:
+
+
+comment out:
+
+
+Commonwealth
+Hackish:
+
+
+compact:
+
+
+compiler jock:
+
+
+compo:
+
+
+compress:
+
+
+Compu$erve:
+
+
+computer confetti:
+
+
+computer geek:
+
+
+computron:
+
+
+con:
+
+
+condition out:
+
+
+condom:
+
+
+confuser:
+
+
+connector
+conspiracy:
+
+
+cons:
+
+
+considered harmful:
+
+
+console:
+
+
+console jockey:
+
+
+content-free:
+
+
+control-C:
+
+
+control-O:
+
+
+control-Q:
+
+
+control-S:
+
+
+Conway's Law:
+
+
+cookbook:
+
+
+cooked mode:
+
+
+cookie:
+
+
+cookie bear:
+
+
+cookie file:
+
+
+cookie jar:
+
+
+cookie monster:
+
+
+copious free time:
+
+
+copper:
+
+
+copy protection:
+
+
+copybroke:
+
+
+copycenter:
+
+
+copyleft:
+
+
+copyparty:
+
+
+copywronged:
+
+
+core:
+
+
+core cancer:
+
+
+core dump:
+
+
+core leak:
+
+
+Core Wars:
+
+
+corge:
+
+
+cosmic rays:
+
+
+cough and die:
+
+
+courier:
+
+
+cow orker:
+
+
+cowboy:
+
+
+CP/M:
+
+
+CPU Wars:
+
+
+crack:
+
+
+crack root:
+
+
+cracker:
+
+
+cracking:
+
+
+crank:
+
+
+crapplet:
+
+
+CrApTeX:
+
+
+crash:
+
+
+crash and burn:
+
+
+crawling horror:
+
+
+cray:
+
+
+cray instability:
+
+
+crayola:
+
+
+crayola books:
+
+
+crayon:
+
+
+creationism:
+
+
+creep:
+
+
+creeping elegance:
+
+
+creeping featurism:
+
+
+creeping
+featuritis:
+
+
+cretin:
+
+
+cretinous:
+
+
+crippleware:
+
+
+critical mass:
+
+
+crlf:
+
+
+crock:
+
+
+cross-post:
+
+
+crossload:
+
+
+crudware:
+
+
+cruft:
+
+
+cruft together:
+
+
+cruftsmanship:
+
+
+crufty:
+
+
+crumb:
+
+
+crunch:
+
+
+cryppie:
+
+
+CTSS:
+
+
+cube:
+
+
+cubing:
+
+
+cup holder:
+
+
+cursor dipped in
+X:
+
+
+cuspy:
+
+
+cut a tape:
+
+
+cybercrud:
+
+
+cyberpunk:
+
+
+cyberspace:
+
+
+cycle:
+
+
+cycle crunch:
+
+
+cycle drought:
+
+
+cycle of
+reincarnation:
+
+
+cycle server:
+
+
+cypherpunk:
+
+
+C|N>K:
+
+
+Node:C, Next:C Programmer's Disease,
+Previous:Bzzzt!
+Wrong., Up:= C = 
+
+C n.
+
+1. The third letter of the English alphabet. 2. ASCII 1000011.
+3. The name of a programming language designed by Dennis Ritchie
+during the early 1970s and immediately used to reimplement Unix; so called because many features
+derived from an earlier compiler named `B' in commemoration of
+its parent, BCPL. (BCPL was in turn descended from an
+earlier Algol-derived language, CPL.) Before Bjarne Stroustrup
+settled the question by designing C++,
+there was a humorous debate over whether C's successor should be
+named `D' or `P'. C became immensely popular outside Bell Labs
+after about 1980 and is now the dominant language in systems and
+microcomputer applications programming. See also languages of choice, indent style.
+
+C is often described, with a mixture of fondness and disdain
+varying according to the speaker, as "a language that combines
+all the elegance and power of assembly language with all the
+readability and maintainability of assembly language".
+
+
+Node:C Programmer's
+Disease, Next:C&C,
+Previous:C, Up:= C = 
+
+C Programmer's Disease n.
+
+The tendency of the undisciplined C programmer to set
+arbitrary but supposedly generous static limits on table sizes
+(defined, if you're lucky, by constants in header files) rather
+than taking the trouble to do proper dynamic storage allocation.
+If an application user later needs to put 68 elements into a
+table of size 50, the afflicted programmer reasons that he or she
+can easily reset the table size to 68 (or even as much as 70, to
+allow for future expansion) and recompile. This gives the
+programmer the comfortable feeling of having made the effort to
+satisfy the user's (unreasonable) demands, and often affords the
+user multiple opportunities to explore the marvelous consequences
+of fandango on core.
+In severe cases of the disease, the programmer cannot comprehend
+why each fix of this kind seems only to further disgruntle the
+user.
+
+
+Node:C&C, Next:C++, Previous:C Programmer's Disease, Up:= C = 
+
+C&C //
+
+[common, esp. on _news.admin.net-abuse.email_]
+Contraction of "Coffee & Cats". This frequently occurs as a
+warning label on USENET posts that are likely to cause you to
+snarf coffee onto your keyboard and
+startle the cat off your lap.
+
+
+Node:C++, Next:calculator, Previous:C&C, Up:= C
+= 
+
+C++ /C'-pluhs-pluhs/ n.
+
+Designed by Bjarne Stroustrup of AT&T Bell Labs as a
+successor to C. Now one of the languages of choice,
+although many hackers still grumble that it is the successor to
+either Algol 68 or Ada (depending on
+generation), and a prime example of second-system effect. Almost
+anything that can be done in any language can be done in C++, but
+it requires a language
+lawyer to know what is and what is not legal-- the design
+is almost too large to hold in even hackers' heads. Much
+of the cruft results from C++'s
+attempt to be backward compatible with C. Stroustrup himself has
+said in his retrospective book "The Design and Evolution of C++"
+(p. 207), "Within C++, there is a much smaller and cleaner
+language struggling to get out." [Many hackers would now add
+"Yes, and it's called Java" --ESR]
+
+
+Node:calculator, Next:Camel Book, Previous:C++, Up:= C
+= 
+
+calculator [Cambridge] n.
+
+Syn. for bitty box.
+
+
+Node:Camel Book, Next:can, Previous:calculator, Up:= C = 
+
+Camel Book n.
+
+Universally recognized nickname for the book "Programming
+Perl", by Larry Wall and Randal L. Schwartz, O'Reilly and
+Associates 1991, ISBN 0-937175-64-1 (second edition 1996, ISBN
+1-56592-149-6). The definitive reference on Perl.
+
+
+Node:can, Next:can't happen, Previous:Camel Book, Up:= C = 
+
+can vt.
+
+To abort a job on a time-sharing system. Used esp. when the
+person doing the deed is an operator, as in "canned from the
+console". Frequently used in an
+imperative sense, as in "Can that print job, the LPT just popped
+a sprocket!" Synonymous with gun. It is
+said that the ASCII character with mnemonic CAN (0011000) was
+used as a kill-job character on some early OSes. Alternatively,
+this term may derive from mainstream slang `canned' for being
+laid off or fired.
+
+
+Node:can't happen, Next:cancelbot, Previous:can, Up:= C = 
+
+can't happen
+
+The traditional program comment for code executed under a
+condition that should never be true, for example a file size
+computed as negative. Often, such a condition being true
+indicates data corruption or a faulty algorithm; it is almost
+always handled by emitting a fatal error message and terminating
+or crashing, since there is little else that can be done. Some
+case variant of "can't happen" is also often the text emitted if
+the `impossible' error actually happens! Although "can't happen"
+events are genuinely infrequent in production code, programmers
+wise enough to check for them habitually are often surprised at
+how frequently they are triggered during development and how many
+headaches checking for them turns out to head off. See also firewall code (sense 2).
+
+
+Node:cancelbot, Next:Cancelmoose[tm], Previous:can't happen, Up:= C = 
+
+cancelbot /kan'sel-bot/
+
+[Usenet: compound, cancel + robot] 1. Mythically, a robocanceller 2. In reality, most
+cancelbots are manually operated by being fed lists of spam
+message IDs.
+
+
+Node:Cancelmoose[tm], Next:candygrammar, Previous:cancelbot, Up:= C = 
+
+Cancelmoose[tm] /kan'sel-moos/
+
+[Usenet] The archetype and model of all good spam-fighters. Once upon a time, the 'Moose would
+send out spam-cancels and then post notice anonymously to
+_news.admin.policy_, _news.admin.misc_, and
+_alt.current-events.net-abuse_. The 'Moose stepped to the
+fore on its own initiative, at a time (mid-1994) when
+spam-cancels were irregular and disorganized, and behaved
+altogether admirably - fair, even-handed, and quick to respond to
+comments and criticism, all without self-aggrandizement or
+martyrdom. Cancelmoose[tm] quickly gained near-unanimous support
+from the readership of all three above-mentioned groups.
+
+Nobody knows who Cancelmoose[tm] really is, and there aren't even any
+good rumors. However, the 'Moose now has an e-mail address
+(moose@cm.org) and a web site (http://www.cm.org.)
+
+By early 1995, others had stepped into the spam-cancel
+business, and appeared to be comporting themselves well, after
+the 'Moose's manner. The 'Moose has now gotten out of the
+business, and is more interested in ending spam (and cancels)
+entirely.
+
+
+Node:candygrammar, Next:canonical, Previous:Cancelmoose[tm], Up:= C = 
+
+candygrammar n.
+
+A programming-language grammar that is mostly syntactic sugar; the term is also a
+play on `candygram'. COBOL, Apple's
+Hypertalk language, and a lot of the so-called `4GL' database
+languages share this property. The usual intent of such designs
+is that they be as English-like as possible, on the theory that
+they will then be easier for unskilled people to program. This
+intention comes to grief on the reality that syntax isn't what
+makes programming hard; it's the mental effort and organization
+required to specify an algorithm precisely that costs. Thus the
+invariable result is that `candygrammar' languages are just as
+difficult to program in as terser ones, and far more painful for
+the experienced hacker.
+
+[The overtones from the old Chevy Chase skit on Saturday Night
+Live should not be overlooked. This was a "Jaws" parody. Someone
+lurking outside an apartment door tries all kinds of bogus ways
+to get the occupant to open up, while ominous music plays in the
+background. The last attempt is a half-hearted "Candygram!" When
+the door is opened, a shark bursts in and chomps the poor
+occupant. [There is a similar gag in "Blazing Saddles" --ESR]
+There is a moral here for those attracted to candygrammars. Note
+that, in many circles, pretty much the same ones who remember
+Monty Python sketches, all it takes is the word "Candygram!",
+suitably timed, to get people rolling on the floor. -- GLS]
+
+
+Node:canonical, Next:card walloper, Previous:candygrammar, Up:= C = 
+
+canonical adj.
+
+[very common; historically, `according to religious law'] The
+usual or standard state or manner of something. This word has a
+somewhat more technical meaning in mathematics. Two formulas such
+as 9 + x and x + 9 are said to be equivalent because they mean
+the same thing, but the second one is in `canonical form' because
+it is written in the usual way, with the highest power of x
+first. Usually there are fixed rules you can use to decide
+whether something is in canonical form. The jargon meaning, a
+relaxation of the technical meaning, acquired its present loading
+in computer-science culture largely through its prominence in
+Alonzo Church's work in computation theory and mathematical logic
+(see Knights
+of the Lambda Calculus). Compare vanilla.
+
+Non-technical academics do not use the adjective `canonical'
+in any of the senses defined above with any regularity; they do
+however use the nouns `canon' and `canonicity' (not
+**canonicalness or **canonicality). The `canon' of a given author
+is the complete body of authentic works by that author (this
+usage is familiar to Sherlock Holmes fans as well as to literary
+scholars). `The canon' is the body of works in a given
+field (e.g., works of literature, or of art, or of music) deemed
+worthwhile for students to study and for scholars to
+investigate.
+
+The word `canon' has an interesting history. It derives
+ultimately from the Greek `kanon' (akin to the English `cane')
+referring to a reed. Reeds were used for measurement, and in
+Latin and later Greek the word `canon' meant a rule or a
+standard. The establishment of a canon of scriptures within
+Christianity was meant to define a standard or a rule for the
+religion. The above non-techspeak academic usages stem from this
+instance of a defined and accepted body of work. Alongside this
+usage was the promulgation of `canons' (`rules') for the
+government of the Catholic Church. The techspeak usages
+("according to religious law") derive from this use of the Latin
+`canon'.
+
+Hackers invest this term with a playfulness that makes an
+ironic contrast with its historical meaning. A true story: One
+Bob Sjoberg, new at the MIT AI Lab, expressed some annoyance at
+the incessant use of jargon. Over his loud objections, GLS and
+RMS made a point of using as much of it as possible in his
+presence, and eventually it began to sink in. Finally, in one
+conversation, he used the word `canonical' in jargon-like fashion
+without thinking. Steele: "Aha! We've finally got you talking
+jargon too!" Stallman: "What did he say?" Steele: "Bob just used
+`canonical' in the canonical way."
+
+Of course, canonicality depends on context, but it is
+implicitly defined as the way hackers normally expect
+things to be. Thus, a hacker may claim with a straight face that
+`according to religious law' is not the canonical
+meaning of `canonical'.
+
+
+Node:card walloper, Next:careware, Previous:canonical, Up:= C = 
+
+card walloper n.
+
+An EDP programmer who grinds out batch programs that do stupid
+things like print people's paychecks. Compare code grinder. See also punched card, eighty-column mind.
+
+
+Node:careware, Next:cargo cult programming,
+Previous:card
+walloper, Up:= C = 
+
+careware /keir'weir/ n.
+
+A variety of shareware for
+which either the author suggests that some payment be made to a
+nominated charity or a levy directed to charity is included on
+top of the distribution charge. Syn. charityware; compare crippleware, sense 2.
+
+
+Node:cargo cult
+programming, Next:cascade,
+Previous:careware, Up:= C = 
+
+cargo cult programming n.
+
+A style of (incompetent) programming dominated by ritual
+inclusion of code or program structures that serve no real
+purpose. A cargo cult programmer will usually explain the extra
+code as a way of working around some bug encountered in the past,
+but usually neither the bug nor the reason the code apparently
+avoided the bug was ever fully understood (compare shotgun debugging, voodoo programming).
+
+The term `cargo cult' is a reference to aboriginal religions
+that grew up in the South Pacific after World War II. The
+practices of these cults center on building elaborate mockups of
+airplanes and military style landing strips in the hope of
+bringing the return of the god-like airplanes that brought such
+marvelous cargo during the war. Hackish usage probably derives
+from Richard Feynman's characterization of certain practices as
+"cargo cult science" in his book "Surely You're Joking, Mr.
+Feynman!" (W. W. Norton & Co, New York 1985, ISBN
+0-393-01921-7).
+
+
+Node:cascade, Next:case and paste, Previous:cargo cult
+programming, Up:= C =
+
+
+cascade n.
+
+1. A huge volume of spurious error-message output produced by
+a compiler with poor error recovery. Too frequently, one trivial
+syntax error (such as a missing `)' or `}') throws the parser out
+of synch so that much of the remaining program text is
+interpreted as garbaged or ill-formed. 2. A chain of Usenet
+followups, each adding some trivial variation or riposte to the
+text of the previous one, all of which is reproduced in the new
+message; an include war in
+which the object is to create a sort of communal graffito.
+
+
+Node:case and paste, Next:casters-up mode,
+Previous:cascade, Up:= C = 
+
+case and paste n.
+
+[from `cut and paste'] 1. The addition of a new feature to an existing system by selecting the
+code from an existing feature and pasting it in with minor
+changes. Common in telephony circles because most operations in a
+telephone switch are selected using case statements.
+Leads to software
+bloat.
+
+In some circles of EMACS users this is called `programming by
+Meta-W', because Meta-W is the EMACS command for copying a block
+of text to a kill buffer in preparation to pasting it in
+elsewhere. The term is condescending, implying that the
+programmer is acting mindlessly rather than thinking carefully
+about what is required to integrate the code for two similar
+cases.
+
+At DEC (now Compaq), this is
+sometimes called `clone-and-hack' coding.
+
+
+Node:casters-up mode, Next:casting the runes,
+Previous:case and
+paste, Up:= C = 
+
+casters-up mode n.
+
+[IBM, prob. fr. slang _belly up_] Yet another synonym for
+`broken' or `down'. Usually connotes a major failure. A system
+(hardware or software) which is `down' may be already being
+restarted before the failure is noticed, whereas one which is
+`casters up' is usually a good excuse to take the rest of the day
+off (as long as you're not responsible for fixing it).
+
+
+Node:casting the runes,
+Next:cat, Previous:casters-up mode, Up:= C = 
+
+casting the runes n.
+
+What a guru does when you ask him
+or her to run a particular program and type at it because it
+never works for anyone else; esp. used when nobody can ever see
+what the guru is doing different from what J. Random Luser does.
+Compare incantation, runes, examining the entrails;
+also see the AI koan about Tom Knight in "Some AI Koans" (Appendix A).
+
+A correspondent from England tells us that one of ICL's most
+talented systems designers used to be called out occasionally to
+service machines which the field
+circus had given up on. Since he knew the design inside
+out, he could often find faults simply by listening to a quick
+outline of the symptoms. He used to play on this by going to some
+site where the field circus had just spent the last two weeks
+solid trying to find a fault, and spreading a diagram of the
+system out on a table top. He'd then shake some chicken bones and
+cast them over the diagram, peer at the bones intently for a
+minute, and then tell them that a certain module needed
+replacing. The system would start working again immediately upon
+the replacement.
+
+
+Node:cat, Next:catatonic, Previous:casting the runes, Up:= C = 
+
+cat [from `catenate' via Unix cat(1)] vt.
+
+1. [techspeak] To spew an entire file to the screen or some
+other output sink without pause (syn. blast). 2. By extension, to dump large amounts
+of data at an unprepared target or with no intention of browsing
+it carefully. Usage: considered silly. Rare outside Unix sites.
+See also dd, BLT.
+
+Among Unix fans, cat(1) is considered an
+excellent example of user-interface design, because it delivers
+the file contents without such verbosity as spacing or headers
+between the files, and because it does not require the files to
+consist of lines of text, but works with any sort of data.
+
+Among Unix haters, cat(1) is considered the canonical example of bad
+user-interface design, because of its woefully unobvious name. It
+is far more often used to blast a
+file to standard output than to concatenate two files. The name
+cat for the former operation is just as unintuitive
+as, say, LISP's cdr.
+
+Of such oppositions are holy
+wars made....
+
+
+Node:catatonic, Next:cathedral, Previous:cat, Up:= C =
+
+
+catatonic adj.
+
+Describes a condition of suspended animation in which
+something is so wedged or hung that it makes no response. If you are
+typing on a terminal and suddenly the computer doesn't even echo
+the letters back to the screen as you type, let alone do what
+you're asking it to do, then the computer is suffering from
+catatonia (possibly because it has crashed). "There I was in the
+middle of a winning game of nethack
+and it went catatonic on me! Aaargh!" Compare buzz.
+
+
+Node:cathedral, Next:cd tilde, Previous:catatonic, Up:= C = 
+
+cathedral n.,adj.
+
+[see bazaar for derivation] The
+`classical' mode of software engineering long thought to be
+necessarily implied by Brooks's
+Law. Features small teams, tight project control, and
+long release intervals. This term came into use after analysis of
+the Linux experience suggested there might be something wrong (or
+at least incomplete) in the classical assumptions.
+
+
+Node:cd tilde, Next:CDA, Previous:cathedral, Up:= C = 
+
+cd tilde /C-D til-d*/ vi.
+
+To go home. From the Unix C-shell and Korn-shell command
+cd ~, which takes one to one's $HOME
+(cd with no arguments happens to do the same thing).
+By extension, may be used with other arguments; thus, over an
+electronic chat link, cd ~coffee would mean "I'm
+going to the coffee machine."
+
+
+Node:CDA, Next:cdr, Previous:cd
+tilde, Up:= C = 
+
+CDA /C-D-A/
+
+The "Communications Decency Act" of 1996, passed on Black Thursday as section 502 of
+a major telecommunications reform bill. The CDA made it a federal
+crime in the USA to send a communication which is "obscene, lewd,
+lascivious, filthy, or indecent, with intent to annoy, abuse,
+threaten, or harass another person." It also threatened with
+imprisonment anyone who "knowingly" makes accessible to minors
+any message that "describes, in terms patently offensive as
+measured by contemporary community standards, sexual or excretory
+activities or organs".
+
+While the CDA was sold as a measure to protect minors from the
+putative evils of pornography, the repressive political aims of
+the bill were laid bare by the Hyde amendment, which intended to
+outlaw discussion of abortion on the Internet.
+
+To say that this direct attack on First Amendment free-speech
+rights was not well received on the Internet would be putting it
+mildly. A firestorm of protest followed, including a February
+29th mass demonstration by thousands of netters who turned their
+home pages black for 48 hours.
+Several civil-rights groups and computing/telecommunications
+companies mounted a constitutional challenge. The CDA was
+demolished by a strongly-worded decision handed down on in
+8th-circuit Federal court and subsequently affirmed by the U.S.
+Supreme Court on 26 June 1997 (`White Thursday'). See also Exon.
+
+
+Node:cdr, Next:chad, Previous:CDA,
+Up:= C = 
+
+cdr /ku'dr/ or /kuh'dr/ vt.
+
+[from LISP] To skip past the first item from a list of things
+(generalized from the LISP operation on binary tree structures,
+which returns a list consisting of all but the first element of
+its argument). In the form `cdr down', to trace down a list of
+elements: "Shall we cdr down the agenda?" Usage: silly. See also
+loop through.
+
+Historical note: The instruction format of the IBM 704 that
+hosted the original LISP implementation featured two 15-bit
+fields called the `address' and `decrement' parts. The term `cdr'
+was originally `Contents of Decrement part of Register'.
+Similarly, `car' stood for `Contents of Address part of
+Register'.
+
+The cdr and car operations have since become bases for
+formation of compound metaphors in non-LISP contexts. GLS
+recalls, for example, a programming project in which strings were
+represented as linked lists; the get-character and skip-character
+operations were of course called CHAR and CHDR.
+
+
+Node:chad, Next:chad box, Previous:cdr, Up:= C =
+
+
+chad /chad/ n.
+
+1. [common] The perforated edge strips on printer paper, after
+they have been separated from the printed portion. Also called
+selvage, perf, and ripoff. 2.
+obs. The confetti-like paper bits punched out of cards or paper
+tape; this has also been called `chaff', `computer confetti', and
+`keypunch droppings'. It's reported that this was very old Army
+slang, and it may now be mainstream; it has been reported seen
+(1993) in directions for a card-based voting machine in
+California.
+
+Historical note: One correspondent believes `chad' (sense 2)
+derives from the Chadless keypunch (named for its inventor),
+which cut little u-shaped tabs in the card to make a hole when
+the tab folded back, rather than punching out a circle/rectangle;
+it was clear that if the Chadless keypunch didn't make them, then
+the stuff that other keypunches made had to be `chad'. There is a
+legend that the word was originally acronymic, standing for "Card
+Hole Aggregate Debris", but this has all the earmarks of a backronym.
+
+
+Node:chad box, Next:chain, Previous:chad, Up:= C =
+
+
+chad box n.
+
+A metal box about the size of a lunchbox (or in some models a
+large wastebasket), for collecting the chad (sense 2) that accumulated in Iron Age card punches. You had to open the
+covers of the card punch periodically and empty the chad box. The
+bit bucket was notionally the
+equivalent device in the CPU enclosure, which was typically
+across the room in another great gray-and-blue box.
+
+
+Node:chain, Next:channel, Previous:chad box, Up:= C = 
+
+chain
+
+1. vi. [orig. from BASIC's CHAIN statement] To
+hand off execution to a child or successor without going through
+the OS command interpreter that invoked
+it. The state of the parent program is lost and there is no
+returning to it. Though this facility used to be common on
+memory-limited micros and is still widely supported for backward
+compatibility, the jargon usage is semi-obsolescent; in
+particular, most Unix programmers will think of this as an exec. Oppose the more modern `subshell'. 2.
+n. A series of linked data areas within an operating system or
+application. `Chain rattling' is the process of repeatedly
+running through the linked data areas searching for one which is
+of interest to the executing program. The implication is that
+there is a very large number of links on the chain.
+
+
+Node:channel, Next:channel hopping, Previous:chain, Up:= C = 
+
+channel n.
+
+[IRC] The basic unit of discussion on IRC. Once one joins a channel, everything one
+types is read by others on that channel. Channels are named with
+strings that begin with a `#' sign and can have topic
+descriptions (which are generally irrelevant to the actual
+subject of discussion). Some notable channels are
+#initgame, #hottub,
+callahans, and #report. At times of
+international crisis, #report has hundreds of
+members, some of whom take turns listening to various news
+services and typing in summaries of the news, or in some cases,
+giving first-hand accounts of the action (e.g., Scud missile
+attacks in Tel Aviv during the Gulf War in 1991).
+
+
+Node:channel hopping, Next:channel op, Previous:channel, Up:= C = 
+
+channel hopping n.
+
+[common; IRC, GEnie] To rapidly switch channels on IRC, or a GEnie chat board, just as a social
+butterfly might hop from one group to another at a party. This
+term may derive from the TV watcher's idiom, `channel
+surfing'.
+
+
+Node:channel op, Next:chanop, Previous:channel hopping, Up:= C = 
+
+channel op /chan'l op/ n.
+
+[IRC] Someone who is endowed with privileges on a particular
+IRC channel; commonly abbreviated
+`chanop' or `CHOP' or just `op' (as of 2000 these short forms
+have almost crowded out the parent usage). These privileges
+include the right to kick users, to
+change various status bits, and to make others into CHOPs.
+
+
+Node:chanop, Next:char, Previous:channel op, Up:= C = 
+
+chanop /chan'-op/ n.
+
+[IRC] See channel op.
+
+
+Node:char, Next:charityware, Previous:chanop, Up:= C
+= 
+
+char /keir/ or /char/; rarely, /kar/ n.
+
+Shorthand for `character'. Esp. used by C programmers, as
+`char' is C's typename for character data.
+
+
+Node:charityware, Next:chase pointers, Previous:char, Up:= C = 
+
+charityware /cha'rit-ee-weir`/ n.
+
+Syn. careware.
+
+
+Node:chase pointers, Next:chawmp, Previous:charityware, Up:= C = 
+
+chase pointers
+
+1. vi. To go through multiple levels of indirection, as in
+traversing a linked list or graph structure. Used esp. by
+programmers in C, where explicit pointers are a very common data
+type. This is techspeak, but it remains jargon when used of human
+networks. "I'm chasing pointers. Bob said you could tell me who
+to talk to about...." See dangling pointer and snap. 2. [Cambridge] `pointer chase' or `pointer
+hunt': The process of going through a core dump (sense 1), interactively or on a
+large piece of paper printed with hex runes, following dynamic data-structures. Used
+only in a debugging context.
+
+
+Node:chawmp, Next:check, Previous:chase pointers, Up:= C = 
+
+chawmp n.
+
+[University of Florida] 16 or 18 bits (half of a machine
+word). This term was used by FORTH hackers during the late
+1970s/early 1980s; it is said to have been archaic then, and may
+now be obsolete. It was coined in revolt against the promiscuous
+use of `word' for anything between 16 and 32 bits; `word' has an
+additional special meaning for FORTH hacks that made the
+overloading intolerable. For similar reasons, /gaw'bl/ (spelled
+`gawble' or possibly `gawbul') was in use as a term for 32 or 48
+bits (presumably a full machine word, but our sources are unclear
+on this). These terms are more easily understood if one thinks of
+them as faithful phonetic spellings of `chomp' and `gobble'
+pronounced in a Florida or other Southern U.S. dialect. For
+general discussion of similar terms, see nybble.
+
+
+Node:check, Next:cheerfully, Previous:chawmp, Up:= C
+= 
+
+check n.
+
+A hardware-detected error condition, most commonly used to
+refer to actual hardware failures rather than software-induced
+traps. E.g., a `parity check' is the result of a
+hardware-detected parity error. Recorded here because the word
+often humorously extended to non-technical problems. For example,
+the term `child check' has been used to refer to the problems
+caused by a small child who is curious to know what happens when
+s/he presses all the cute buttons on a computer's console (of
+course, this particular problem could have been prevented with
+molly-guards).
+
+
+Node:cheerfully, Next:chemist, Previous:check, Up:= C
+= 
+
+cheerfully adv.
+
+See happily.
+
+
+Node:chemist, Next:Chernobyl chicken, Previous:cheerfully, Up:= C = 
+
+chemist n.
+
+[Cambridge] Someone who wastes computer time on number-crunching when you'd far
+rather the machine were doing something more productive, such as
+working out anagrams of your name or printing Snoopy calendars or
+running life patterns. May or may not
+refer to someone who actually studies chemistry.
+
+
+Node:Chernobyl chicken, Next:Chernobyl packet,
+Previous:chemist, Up:= C = 
+
+Chernobyl chicken n.
+
+See laser chicken.
+
+
+Node:Chernobyl packet, Next:chicken head, Previous:Chernobyl chicken,
+Up:= C = 
+
+Chernobyl packet /cher-noh'b*l pak'*t/ n.
+
+A network packet that induces a broadcast storm and/or network meltdown, in memory of the
+April 1986 nuclear accident at Chernobyl in Ukraine. The typical
+scenario involves an IP Ethernet datagram that passes through a
+gateway with both source and destination Ether and IP address set
+as the respective broadcast addresses for the subnetworks being
+gated between. Compare Christmas tree packet.
+
+
+Node:chicken head, Next:chiclet keyboard,
+Previous:Chernobyl
+packet, Up:= C = 
+
+chicken head n.
+
+[Commodore] The Commodore Business Machines logo, which
+strongly resembles a poultry part (within Commodore itself the
+logo was always called `chicken lips'). Rendered in ASCII as
+`C='. With the arguable exception of the Amiga (see amoeba), Commodore's machines were notoriously
+crocky little bitty boxes (see
+also PETSCII), albeit people have
+written multitasking Unix-like operating systems with TCP/IP
+networking for them. Thus, this usage may owe something to Philip
+K. Dick's novel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" (the basis
+for the movie "Blade Runner"; the novel is now sold under that
+title), in which a `chickenhead' is a mutant with below-average
+intelligence.
+
+
+Node:chiclet keyboard, Next:Chinese Army
+technique, Previous:chicken head, Up:= C = 
+
+chiclet keyboard n.
+
+A keyboard with a small, flat rectangular or lozenge-shaped
+rubber or plastic keys that look like pieces of chewing gum.
+(Chiclets is the brand name of a variety of chewing gum that does
+in fact resemble the keys of chiclet keyboards.) Used esp. to
+describe the original IBM PCjr keyboard. Vendors unanimously
+liked these because they were cheap, and a lot of early portable
+and laptop products got launched using them. Customers rejected
+the idea with almost equal unanimity, and chiclets are not often
+seen on anything larger than a digital watch any more.
+
+
+Node:Chinese Army
+technique, Next:choad,
+Previous:chiclet
+keyboard, Up:= C = 
+
+Chinese Army technique n.
+
+Syn. Mongolian
+Hordes technique.
+
+
+Node:choad, Next:choke, Previous:Chinese Army technique, Up:= C = 
+
+choad /chohd/ n.
+
+Synonym for `penis' used in _alt.tasteless_ and
+popularized by the denizens thereof. They say: "We think maybe
+it's from Middle English but we're all too damned lazy to check
+the OED." [I'm not. It isn't. --ESR] This term is alleged to have
+been inherited through 1960s underground comics, and to have been
+recently sighted in the Beavis and Butthead cartoons. Speakers of
+the Hindi, Bengali and Gujarati languages have confirmed that
+`choad' is in fact an Indian vernacular word equivalent to
+`fuck'; it is therefore likely to have entered English slang via
+the British Raj.
+
+
+Node:choke, Next:chomp, Previous:choad, Up:= C
+= 
+
+choke v.
+
+1. [common] To reject input, often ungracefully. "NULs make
+System V's lpr(1) choke." "I tried building an EMACS binary to use X, but cpp(1) choked on all those
+#defines." See barf,
+gag, vi. 2.
+[MIT] More generally, to fail at any endeavor, but with some
+flair or bravado; the popular definition is "to snatch defeat
+from the jaws of victory."
+
+
+Node:chomp, Next:chomper, Previous:choke, Up:= C
+= 
+
+chomp vi.
+
+1. To lose; specifically, to chew
+on something of which more was bitten off than one can. Probably
+related to gnashing of teeth. 2. To bite the bag; See bagbiter.
+
+A hand gesture commonly accompanies this. To perform it, hold
+the four fingers together and place the thumb against their tips.
+Now open and close your hand rapidly to suggest a biting action
+(much like what Pac-Man does in the classic video game, though
+this pantomime seems to predate that). The gesture alone means
+`chomp chomp' (see "Verb
+Doubling" in the "Jargon Construction" section of
+the Prependices). The hand may be pointed at the object of
+complaint, and for real emphasis you can use both hands at once.
+Doing this to a person is equivalent to saying "You chomper!" If
+you point the gesture at yourself, it is a humble but humorous
+admission of some failure. You might do this if someone told you
+that a program you had written had failed in some surprising way
+and you felt dumb for not having anticipated it.
+
+
+Node:chomper, Next:CHOP, Previous:chomp, Up:= C
+= 
+
+chomper n.
+
+Someone or something that is chomping; a loser. See loser, bagbiter, chomp.
+
+
+Node:CHOP, Next:Christmas tree, Previous:chomper, Up:= C = 
+
+CHOP /chop/ n.
+
+[IRC] See channel op.
+
+
+Node:Christmas tree, Next:Christmas tree
+packet, Previous:CHOP,
+Up:= C = 
+
+Christmas tree n.
+
+A kind of RS-232 line tester or breakout box featuring rows of
+blinking red and green LEDs suggestive of Christmas lights.
+
+
+Node:Christmas tree
+packet, Next:chrome,
+Previous:Christmas
+tree, Up:= C = 
+
+Christmas tree packet n.
+
+A packet with every single option set for whatever protocol is
+in use. See kamikaze
+packet, Chernobyl
+packet. (The term doubtless derives from a fanciful image
+of each little option bit being represented by a
+different-colored light bulb, all turned on.) Compare Godzillagram.
+
+
+Node:chrome, Next:chug, Previous:Christmas tree packet, Up:= C = 
+
+chrome n.
+
+[from automotive slang via wargaming] Showy features added to
+attract users but contributing little or nothing to the power of
+a system. "The 3D icons in Motif are just chrome, but they
+certainly are pretty chrome!" Distinguished from bells and whistles by the
+fact that the latter are usually added to gratify developers' own
+desires for featurefulness. Often used as a term of contempt.
+
+
+Node:chug, Next:Church of the SubGenius,
+Previous:chrome, Up:= C = 
+
+chug vi.
+
+To run slowly; to grind or grovel. "The disk is chugging like
+crazy."
+
+
+Node:Church of the
+SubGenius, Next:Cinderella Book, Previous:chug, Up:= C = 
+
+Church of the SubGenius n.
+
+A mutant offshoot of Discordianism launched in 1981 as a
+spoof of fundamentalist Christianity by the `Reverend' Ivan
+Stang, a brilliant satirist with a gift for promotion. Popular
+among hackers as a rich source of bizarre imagery and references
+such as "Bob" the divine drilling-equipment salesman, the
+Benevolent Space Xists, and the Stark Fist of Removal. Much
+SubGenius theory is concerned with the acquisition of the
+mystical substance or quality of slack. There is a home page at http://www.subgenius.com/.
+
+
+Node:Cinderella Book, Next:CI$, Previous:Church of the SubGenius,
+Up:= C = 
+
+Cinderella Book [CMU] n.
+
+"Introduction to Automata Theory, Languages, and Computation",
+by John Hopcroft and Jeffrey Ullman, (Addison-Wesley, 1979). So
+called because the cover depicts a girl (putatively Cinderella)
+sitting in front of a Rube Goldberg device and holding a rope
+coming out of it. On the back cover, the device is in shambles
+after she has (inevitably) pulled on the rope. See also book titles.
+
+
+Node:CI$, Next:Classic C, Previous:Cinderella Book, Up:= C = 
+
+CI$ // n.
+
+Hackerism for `CIS', CompuServe Information Service. The
+dollar sign refers to CompuServe's rather steep line charges.
+Often used in sig blocks just
+before a CompuServe address. Syn. Compu$erve.
+
+
+Node:Classic C, Next:clean, Previous:CI$, Up:= C =
+
+
+Classic C /klas'ik C/ n.
+
+[a play on `Coke Classic'] The C programming language as
+defined in the first edition of K&R, with some small additions. It is also
+known as `K&R C'. The name came into use while C was being
+standardized by the ANSI X3J11 committee. Also `C Classic'.
+
+An analogous construction is sometimes applied elsewhere:
+thus, `X Classic', where X = Star Trek (referring to the original
+TV series) or X = PC (referring to IBM's ISA-bus machines as
+opposed to the PS/2 series). This construction is especially used
+of product series in which the newer versions are considered
+serious losers relative to the older ones.
+
+
+Node:clean, Next:CLM, Previous:Classic C, Up:= C = 
+
+clean 1. adj.
+
+Used of hardware or software designs, implies `elegance in the
+small', that is, a design or implementation that may not hold any
+surprises but does things in a way that is reasonably intuitive
+and relatively easy to comprehend from the outside. The antonym
+is `grungy' or crufty. 2. v. To
+remove unneeded or undesired files in a effort to reduce clutter:
+"I'm cleaning up my account." "I cleaned up the garbage and now
+have 100 Meg free on that partition."
+
+
+Node:CLM, Next:clobber, Previous:clean, Up:= C
+= 
+
+CLM /C-L-M/
+
+[Sun: `Career Limiting Move'] 1. n. An action endangering
+one's future prospects of getting plum projects and raises, and
+possibly one's job: "His Halloween costume was a parody of his
+manager. He won the prize for `best CLM'." 2. adj. Denotes
+extreme severity of a bug, discovered by a customer and obviously
+missed earlier because of poor testing: "That's a CLM bug!"
+
+
+Node:clobber, Next:clock, Previous:CLM, Up:= C =
+
+
+clobber vt.
+
+To overwrite, usually unintentionally: "I walked off the end
+of the array and clobbered the stack." Compare mung, scribble,
+trash, and smash the stack.
+
+
+Node:clock, Next:clocks, Previous:clobber, Up:= C
+= 
+
+clock
+
+1. n 1. [techspeak] The master oscillator that steps a CPU or
+other digital circuit through its paces. This has nothing to do
+with the time of day, although the software counter that keeps
+track of the latter may be derived from the former. 2. vt. To run
+a CPU or other digital circuit at a particular rate. "If you
+clock it at 100MHz, it gets warm.". See overclock. 3. vt. To force a digital circuit
+from one state to the next by applying a single clock pulse. "The
+data must be stable 10ns before you clock the latch."
+
+
+Node:clocks, Next:clone, Previous:clock, Up:= C
+= 
+
+clocks n.
+
+Processor logic cycles, so called because each generally
+corresponds to one clock pulse in the processor's timing. The
+relative execution times of instructions on a machine are usually
+discussed in clocks rather than absolute fractions of a second;
+one good reason for this is that clock speeds for various models
+of the machine may increase as technology improves, and it is
+usually the relative times one is interested in when discussing
+the instruction set. Compare cycle,
+jiffy.
+
+
+Node:clone, Next:clone-and-hack coding, Previous:clocks, Up:= C = 
+
+clone n.
+
+1. An exact duplicate: "Our product is a clone of their
+product." Implies a legal reimplementation from documentation or
+by reverse-engineering. Also connotes lower price. 2. A shoddy,
+spurious copy: "Their product is a clone of our product." 3. A
+blatant ripoff, most likely violating copyright, patent, or trade
+secret protections: "Your product is a clone of my product." This
+use implies legal action is pending. 4. `PC clone:' a PC-BUS/ISA
+or EISA-compatible 80x86-based microcomputer (this use is
+sometimes spelled `klone' or `PClone'). These invariably have
+much more bang for the buck than the IBM archetypes they
+resemble. 5. In the construction `Unix clone': An OS designed to
+deliver a Unix-lookalike environment without Unix license fees,
+or with additional `mission-critical' features such as support
+for real-time programming. 6. v. To make an exact copy of
+something. "Let me clone that" might mean "I want to borrow that
+paper so I can make a photocopy" or "Let me get a copy of that
+file before you mung it".
+
+
+Node:clone-and-hack coding,
+Next:clover key,
+Previous:clone, Up:= C = 
+
+clone-and-hack coding n.
+
+[DEC] Syn. case and
+paste.
+
+
+Node:clover key, Next:clue-by-four, Previous:clone-and-hack coding, Up:= C = 
+
+clover key n.
+
+[Mac users] See feature
+key.
+
+
+Node:clue-by-four, Next:clustergeeking, Previous:clover key, Up:= C = 
+
+clue-by-four
+
+[Usenet: portmanteau, clue + two-by-four] The notional stick
+with which one whacks an aggressively clueless person. This term
+derives from a western American folk saying about training a mule
+"First, you got to hit him with a two-by-four. That's to get his
+attention." The clue-by-four is a close relative of the LART. Syn. `clue stick'. This metaphor is
+commonly elaborated; your editor once heard a hacker say "I
+strike you with the great sword Clue-Bringer!"
+
+
+Node:clustergeeking, Next:co-lo, Previous:clue-by-four, Up:= C = 
+
+clustergeeking /kluh'st*r-gee`king/ n.
+
+[CMU] Spending more time at a computer cluster doing CS
+homework than most people spend breathing.
+
+
+Node:co-lo, Next:coaster, Previous:clustergeeking, Up:= C = 
+
+co-lo /koh'loh`/ n.
+
+[very common; first heard c.1995] Short for `co-location',
+used of a machine you own that is physically sited on the
+premises of an ISP in order to take advantage of the ISP's direct
+access to lots of network bandwidthm. Often in the phrases `co-lo
+box' or `co-lo machines'. Co-lo boxes are typically web and FTP
+servers remote-administered by their owners, who may seldom or
+never visit the actual site.
+
+
+Node:coaster, Next:COBOL, Previous:co-lo, Up:= C
+= 
+
+coaster n.
+
+1. Unuseable CD produced during failed attempt at writing to
+writeable or re-writeable CD media. Certainly related to the
+coaster-like shape of a CD, and the relative value of these
+failures. "I made a lot of coasters before I got a good CD." 2.
+Useless CDs received in the mail from the likes of AOL, MSN, CI$,
+Prodigy, ad nauseam.
+
+In the U.K., `beermat' is often used in these senses.
+
+
+Node:COBOL, Next:COBOL fingers, Previous:coaster, Up:= C = 
+
+COBOL /koh'bol/ n.
+
+[COmmon Business-Oriented Language] (Synonymous with evil.) A weak, verbose, and flabby language
+used by card wallopers to
+do boring mindless things on dinosaur mainframes. Hackers believe that all
+COBOL programmers are suits or code grinders, and no
+self-respecting hacker will ever admit to having learned the
+language. Its very name is seldom uttered without ritual
+expressions of disgust or horror. One popular one is Edsger W.
+Dijkstra's famous observation that "The use of COBOL cripples the
+mind; its teaching should, therefore, be regarded as a criminal
+offense." (from "Selected Writings on Computing: A Personal
+Perspective") See also fear
+and loathing, software
+rot.
+
+
+Node:COBOL fingers, Next:cobweb site, Previous:COBOL, Up:= C = 
+
+COBOL fingers /koh'bol fing'grz/ n.
+
+Reported from Sweden, a (hypothetical) disease one might get
+from coding in COBOL. The language requires code verbose beyond
+all reason (see candygrammar);
+thus it is alleged that programming too much in COBOL causes
+one's fingers to wear down to stubs by the endless typing. "I
+refuse to type in all that source code again; it would give me
+COBOL fingers!"
+
+
+Node:cobweb site, Next:code, Previous:COBOL fingers, Up:= C = 
+
+cobweb site n.
+
+A World Wide Web Site that hasn't been updated so long it has
+figuratively grown cobwebs.
+
+
+Node:code, Next:code grinder, Previous:cobweb site, Up:= C = 
+
+code n.
+
+The stuff that software writers write, either in source form
+or after translation by a compiler or assembler. Often used in
+opposition to "data", which is the stuff that code operates on.
+This is a mass noun, as in "How much code does it take to do a
+bubble sort?", or "The code
+is loaded at the high end of RAM." Anyone referring to software
+as "the software codes" is probably a newbie or a suit.
+
+
+Node:code grinder, Next:code monkey, Previous:code, Up:= C = 
+
+code grinder n.
+
+1. A suit-wearing minion of the
+sort hired in legion strength by banks and insurance companies to
+implement payroll packages in RPG and other such unspeakable
+horrors. In its native habitat, the code grinder often removes
+the suit jacket to reveal an underplumage consisting of
+button-down shirt (starch optional) and a tie. In times of dire
+stress, the sleeves (if long) may be rolled up and the tie
+loosened about half an inch. It seldom helps. The code grinder's milieu is about as far
+from hackerdom as one can get and still touch a computer; the
+term connotes pity. See Real
+World, suit. 2. Used of or to
+a hacker, a really serious slur on the person's creative ability;
+connotes a design style characterized by primitive technique,
+rule-boundedness, brute
+force, and utter lack of imagination. Compare card walloper; contrast hacker, Real
+Programmer.
+
+
+Node:code monkey, Next:Code of the Geeks,
+Previous:code
+grinder, Up:= C = 
+
+code monkey n
+
+1. A person only capable of grinding out code, but unable to
+perform the higher-primate tasks of software architecture,
+analysis, and design. Mildly insulting. Often applied to the most
+junior people on a programming team. 2. Anyone who writes code
+for a living; a programmer. 3. A self-deprecating way of denying
+responsibility for a management
+decision, or of complaining about having to live with such
+decisions. As in "Don't ask me why we need to write a compiler
+in+COBOL, I'm just a code monkey."
+
+
+Node:Code of the Geeks,
+Next:code police,
+Previous:code monkey,
+Up:= C = 
+
+Code of the Geeks n.
+
+see geek code.
+
+
+Node:code police, Next:codes, Previous:Code of the Geeks, Up:= C = 
+
+code police n.
+
+[by analogy with George Orwell's `thought police'] A mythical
+team of Gestapo-like storm troopers that might burst into one's
+office and arrest one for violating programming style rules. May
+be used either seriously, to underline a claim that a particular
+style violation is dangerous, or ironically, to suggest that the
+practice under discussion is condemned mainly by anal-retentive
+weenies. "Dike out that goto or the
+code police will get you!" The ironic usage is perhaps more
+common.
+
+
+Node:codes, Next:codewalker, Previous:code police, Up:= C = 
+
+codes n.
+
+[scientific computing] Programs. This usage is common in
+people who hack supercomputers and heavy-duty number-crunching, rare to unknown
+elsewhere (if you say "codes" to hackers outside scientific
+computing, their first association is likely to be "and
+cyphers").
+
+
+Node:codewalker, Next:coefficient of X, Previous:codes, Up:= C = 
+
+codewalker n.
+
+A program component that traverses other programs for a
+living. Compilers have codewalkers in their front ends; so do
+cross-reference generators and some database front ends. Other
+utility programs that try to do too much with source code may
+turn into codewalkers. As in "This new vgrind
+feature would require a codewalker to implement."
+
+
+Node:coefficient of X, Next:cokebottle, Previous:codewalker, Up:= C = 
+
+coefficient of X n.
+
+Hackish speech makes heavy use of pseudo-mathematical
+metaphors. Four particularly important ones involve the terms
+`coefficient', `factor', `index of X', and `quotient'. They are
+often loosely applied to things you cannot really be quantitative
+about, but there are subtle distinctions among them that convey
+information about the way the speaker mentally models whatever he
+or she is describing.
+
+`Foo factor' and `foo quotient' tend to describe something for
+which the issue is one of presence or absence. The canonical
+example is fudge factor.
+It's not important how much you're fudging; the term simply
+acknowledges that some fudging is needed. You might talk of
+liking a movie for its silliness factor. Quotient tends to imply
+that the property is a ratio of two opposing factors: "I would
+have won except for my luck quotient." This could also be "I
+would have won except for the luck factor", but using
+quotient emphasizes that it was bad luck overpowering
+good luck (or someone else's good luck overpowering your
+own).
+
+`Foo index' and `coefficient of foo' both tend to imply that
+foo is, if not strictly measurable, at least something that can
+be larger or smaller. Thus, you might refer to a paper or person
+as having a `high bogosity index', whereas you would be less
+likely to speak of a `high bogosity factor'. `Foo index' suggests
+that foo is a condensation of many quantities, as in the mundane
+cost-of-living index; `coefficient of foo' suggests that foo is a
+fundamental quantity, as in a coefficient of friction. The choice
+between these terms is often one of personal preference; e.g.,
+some people might feel that bogosity is a fundamental attribute
+and thus say `coefficient of bogosity', whereas others might feel
+it is a combination of factors and thus say `bogosity index'.
+
+
+Node:cokebottle, Next:cold boot, Previous:coefficient of X, Up:= C = 
+
+cokebottle /kohk'bot-l/ n.
+
+Any very unusual character, particularly one you can't type
+because it isn't on your keyboard. MIT people used to complain
+about the `control-meta-cokebottle' commands at SAIL, and SAIL
+people complained right back about the `escape-escape-cokebottle'
+commands at MIT. After the demise of the space-cadet keyboard,
+`cokebottle' faded away as serious usage, but was often invoked
+humorously to describe an (unspecified) weird or non-intuitive
+keystroke command. It may be due for a second inning, however.
+The OSF/Motif window manager, mwm(1), has a reserved
+keystroke for switching to the default set of keybindings and
+behavior. This keystroke is (believe it or not)
+`control-meta-bang' (see bang). Since
+the exclamation point looks a lot like an upside down Coke
+bottle, Motif hackers have begun referring to this keystroke as
+`cokebottle'. See also quadruple
+bucky.
+
+
+Node:cold boot, Next:COME FROM, Previous:cokebottle, Up:= C = 
+
+cold boot n.
+
+See boot.
+
+
+Node:COME FROM, Next:comm mode, Previous:cold boot, Up:= C = 
+
+COME FROM n.
+
+A semi-mythical language construct dual to the `go to';
+COME FROM <label> would cause the referenced
+label to act as a sort of trapdoor, so that if the program ever
+reached it control would quietly and automagically be transferred to the
+statement following the COME FROM. COME
+FROM was first proposed in R. Lawrence Clark's "A
+Linguistic Contribution to GOTO-less programming", which appeared
+in a 1973 Datamation issue (and
+was reprinted in the April 1984 issue of "Communications of the
+ACM"). This parodied the then-raging `structured programming'
+holy wars (see considered harmful). Mythically,
+some variants are the `assigned COME FROM' and the `computed COME
+FROM' (parodying some nasty control constructs in FORTRAN and
+some extended BASICs). Of course, multi-tasking (or
+non-determinism) could be implemented by having more than one
+COME FROM statement coming from the same label.
+
+In some ways the FORTRAN DO looks like a
+COME FROM statement. After the terminating statement
+number/CONTINUE is reached, control continues at the
+statement following the DO. Some generous FORTRANs would allow
+arbitrary statements (other than CONTINUE) for the
+statement, leading to examples like:
+
+      DO 10 I=1,LIMIT
+C imagine many lines of code here, leaving the
+C original DO statement lost in the spaghetti...
+      WRITE(6,10) I,FROB(I)
+ 10   FORMAT(1X,I5,G10.4)
+
+
+in which the trapdoor is just after the statement labeled 10.
+(This is particularly surprising because the label doesn't appear
+to have anything to do with the flow of control at all!)
+
+While sufficiently astonishing to the unsuspecting reader,
+this form of COME FROM statement isn't completely
+general. After all, control will eventually pass to the following
+statement. The implementation of the general form was left to
+Univac FORTRAN, ca. 1975 (though a roughly similar feature
+existed on the IBM 7040 ten years earlier). The statement
+AT 100 would perform a COME FROM 100.
+It was intended strictly as a debugging aid, with dire
+consequences promised to anyone so deranged as to use it in
+production code. More horrible things had already been
+perpetrated in production languages, however; doubters need only
+contemplate the ALTER verb in COBOL.
+
+COME FROM was supported under its own name for
+the first time 15 years later, in C-INTERCAL (see INTERCAL, retrocomputing); knowledgeable
+observers are still reeling from the shock.
+
+
+Node:comm mode, Next:command key, Previous:COME FROM, Up:= C = 
+
+comm mode /kom mohd/ n.
+
+[ITS: from the feature supporting on-line chat; the term may
+spelled with one or two m's] Syn. for talk mode.
+
+
+Node:command key, Next:comment out, Previous:comm mode, Up:= C = 
+
+command key n.
+
+[Mac users] Syn. feature
+key.
+
+
+Node:comment out, Next:Commonwealth Hackish,
+Previous:command key,
+Up:= C = 
+
+comment out vt.
+
+To surround a section of code with comment delimiters or to
+prefix every line in the section with a comment marker; this
+prevents it from being compiled or interpreted. Often done when
+the code is redundant or obsolete, but is being left in the
+source to make the intent of the active code clearer; also when
+the code in that section is broken and you want to bypass it in
+order to debug some other part of the code. Compare condition out, usually the preferred
+technique in languages (such as C) that
+make it possible.
+
+
+Node:Commonwealth Hackish,
+Next:compact, Previous:comment out, Up:= C = 
+
+Commonwealth Hackish n.
+
+Hacker jargon as spoken in English outside the U.S., esp. in
+the British Commonwealth. It is reported that Commonwealth
+speakers are more likely to pronounce truncations like `char' and
+`soc', etc., as spelled (/char/, /sok/), as opposed to American
+/keir/ and /sohsh/. Dots in newsgroup names (especially two-component
+names) tend to be pronounced more often (so soc.wibble is /sok
+dot wib'l/ rather than /sohsh wib'l/).
+
+Preferred metasyntactic
+variables include blurgle,
+eek, ook, frodo, and
+bilbo; wibble,
+wobble, and in emergencies wubble;
+flob, banana, tom,
+dick, harry, wombat,
+frog, fish, womble and so on and on (see foo, sense 4). Alternatives to verb doubling
+include suffixes `-o-rama', `frenzy' (as in feeding frenzy), and
+`city' (examples: "barf city!" "hack-o-rama!" "core dump
+frenzy!").
+
+All the generic differences within the anglophone world
+inevitably show themselves in the associated hackish dialects.
+The Greek letters beta and zeta are usually pronounced /bee't*/
+and /zee't*/; meta may also be pronounced /mee't*/. Various
+punctuators (and even letters - Z is called `zed', not `zee') are
+named differently: most crucially, for hackish, where Americans
+use `parens', `brackets' and `braces' for (), [] and {},
+Commonwealth English uses `brackets', `square brackets' and
+`curly brackets', though `parentheses' may be used for the first;
+the exclamation mark, `!', is called pling rather than bang and
+the pound sign, `#', is called hash; furthermore, the term `the
+pound sign' is understood to mean the pound currency symbol (of
+course).
+
+See also attoparsec, calculator, chemist, console jockey, fish, go-faster
+stripes, grunge, hakspek, heavy
+metal, leaky heap,
+lord high fixer, loose bytes, muddie, nadger,
+noddy, psychedelicware, plingnet, raster blaster, RTBM, seggie, spod, sun
+lounge, terminal
+junkie, tick-list
+features, weeble, weasel, YABA,
+and notes or definitions under Bad
+Thing, barf, bogus, bum, chase pointers, cosmic rays, crippleware, crunch, dodgy,
+gonk, hamster, hardwarily, mess-dos, nybble, proglet,
+root, SEX,
+tweak, womble, and xyzzy.
+
+
+Node:compact, Next:compiler jock, Previous:Commonwealth Hackish, Up:= C = 
+
+compact adj.
+
+Of a design, describes the valuable property that it can all
+be apprehended at once in one's head. This generally means the
+thing created from the design can be used with greater facility
+and fewer errors than an equivalent tool that is not compact.
+Compactness does not imply triviality or lack of power; for
+example, C is compact and FORTRAN is not, but C is more powerful
+than FORTRAN. Designs become non-compact through accreting features and cruft that don't merge cleanly into the overall
+design scheme (thus, some fans of Classic C maintain that ANSI C is no
+longer compact).
+
+
+Node:compiler jock, Next:compo, Previous:compact, Up:= C
+= 
+
+compiler jock n.
+
+See jock (sense 2).
+
+
+Node:compo, Next:compress, Previous:compiler jock, Up:= C = 
+
+compo n.
+
+[demoscene] Finnish-originated
+slang for `competition'. Demo compos are held at a demoparty. The usual protocol is that
+several groups make demos for a compo, they are shown on a big
+screen, and then the party participants vote for the best one.
+Prizes (from sponsors and party entrance fees) are given.
+Standard compo formats include intro
+compos (4k or 64k demos), music compos, graphics compos, quick
+demo compos (build a demo within 4
+hours for example), etc.
+
+
+Node:compress, Next:Compu$erve, Previous:compo, Up:= C
+= 
+
+compress [Unix] vt.
+
+When used without a qualifier, generally refers to crunching of a file using a particular C
+implementation of compression by Joseph M. Orost et al. and
+widely circulated via Usenet; use of
+crunch itself in this sense is rare
+among Unix hackers. Specifically, compress is built around the
+Lempel-Ziv-Welch algorithm as described in "A Technique for High
+Performance Data Compression", Terry A. Welch, "IEEE Computer",
+vol. 17, no. 6 (June 1984), pp. 8-19.
+
+
+Node:Compu$erve, Next:computer confetti, Previous:compress, Up:= C = 
+
+Compu$erve n.
+
+See CI$. Synonyms CompuSpend and
+Compu$pend are also reported.
+
+
+Node:computer confetti, Next:computer geek, Previous:Compu$erve, Up:= C = 
+
+computer confetti n.
+
+Syn. chad. Though this term is
+common, this use of punched-card chad is not a good idea, as the
+pieces are stiff and have sharp corners that could injure the
+eyes. GLS reports that he once attended a wedding at MIT during
+which he and a few other guests enthusiastically threw chad
+instead of rice. The groom later grumbled that he and his bride
+had spent most of the evening trying to get the stuff out of
+their hair.
+
+
+Node:computer geek, Next:computron, Previous:computer confetti,
+Up:= C = 
+
+computer geek n.
+
+1. One who eats (computer) bugs for a living. One who fulfills
+all the dreariest negative stereotypes about hackers: an asocial,
+malodorous, pasty-faced monomaniac with all the personality of a
+cheese grater. Cannot be used by outsiders without implied insult
+to all hackers; compare black-on-black vs. white-on-black usage
+of `nigger'. A computer geek may be either a fundamentally
+clueless individual or a proto-hacker in larval stage. Also called `turbo nerd',
+`turbo geek'. See also propeller
+head, clustergeeking, geek out, wannabee, terminal junkie, spod, weenie. 2.
+Some self-described computer geeks use this term in a positive
+sense and protest sense 1 (this seems to have been a post-1990
+development). For one such argument, see http://www.darkwater.com/omni/geek.html.
+See also geek code.
+
+
+Node:computron, Next:con, Previous:computer geek, Up:= C = 
+
+computron /kom'pyoo-tron`/
+
+n. 1. [common] A notional unit of computing power combining
+instruction speed and storage capacity, dimensioned roughly in
+instructions-per-second times megabytes-of-main-store times
+megabytes-of-mass-storage. "That machine can't run GNU Emacs, it
+doesn't have enough computrons!" This usage is usually found in
+metaphors that treat computing power as a fungible commodity
+good, like a crop yield or diesel horsepower. See bitty box, Get a real computer!, toy, crank. 2. A
+mythical subatomic particle that bears the unit quantity of
+computation or information, in much the same way that an electron
+bears one unit of electric charge (see also bogon). An elaborate pseudo-scientific theory of
+computrons has been developed based on the physical fact that the
+molecules in a solid object move more rapidly as it is heated. It
+is argued that an object melts because the molecules have lost
+their information about where they are supposed to be (that is,
+they have emitted computrons). This explains why computers get so
+hot and require air conditioning; they use up computrons.
+Conversely, it should be possible to cool down an object by
+placing it in the path of a computron beam. It is believed that
+this may also explain why machines that work at the factory fail
+in the computer room: the computrons there have been all used up
+by the other hardware. (The popularity of this theory probably
+owes something to the "Warlock" stories by Larry Niven, the best
+known being "What Good is a Glass Dagger?", in which magic is
+fueled by an exhaustible natural resource called `mana'.)
+
+
+Node:con, Next:condition out, Previous:computron, Up:= C = 
+
+con n.
+
+[from SF fandom] A science-fiction convention. Not used of
+other sorts of conventions, such as professional meetings. This
+term, unlike many others imported from SF-fan slang, is widely
+recognized even by hackers who aren't fans. "We'd been corresponding on the net for
+months, then we met face-to-face at a con."
+
+
+Node:condition out, Next:condom, Previous:con, Up:= C
+= 
+
+condition out vt.
+
+To prevent a section of code from being compiled by
+surrounding it with a conditional-compilation directive whose
+condition is always false. The canonical examples of these directives are
+#if 0 (or #ifdef notdef, though some
+find the latter bletcherous)
+and #endif in C. Compare comment out.
+
+
+Node:condom, Next:confuser, Previous:condition out, Up:= C = 
+
+condom n.
+
+1. The protective plastic bag that accompanies 3.5-inch
+microfloppy diskettes. Rarely, also used of (paper) disk
+envelopes. Unlike the write protect tab, the condom (when left
+on) not only impedes the practice of SEX but has also been shown to have a high failure
+rate as drive mechanisms attempt to access the disk -- and can
+even fatally frustrate insertion. 2. The protective cladding on a
+light pipe. 3. `keyboard
+condom': A flexible, transparent plastic cover for a keyboard,
+designed to provide some protection against dust and programming fluid without impeding
+typing. 4. `elephant condom': the plastic shipping bags used
+inside cardboard boxes to protect hardware in transit. 5. n. obs.
+A dummy directory /usr/tmp/sh, created to foil the
+Great Worm by exploiting a
+portability bug in one of its parts. So named in the title of a
+_comp.risks_ article by Gene Spafford during the Worm
+crisis, and again in the text of "The Internet Worm Program: An
+Analysis", Purdue Technical Report CSD-TR-823.
+
+
+Node:confuser, Next:connector conspiracy, Previous:condom, Up:= C = 
+
+confuser n.
+
+Common soundalike slang for `computer'. Usually encountered in
+compounds such as `confuser room', `personal confuser', `confuser
+guru'. Usage: silly.
+
+
+Node:connector conspiracy,
+Next:cons, Previous:confuser, Up:= C = 
+
+connector conspiracy n.
+
+[probably came into prominence with the appearance of the
+KL-10 (one model of the PDP-10),
+none of whose connectors matched anything else] The tendency of
+manufacturers (or, by extension, programmers or purveyors of
+anything) to come up with new products that don't fit together
+with the old stuff, thereby making you buy either all new stuff
+or expensive interface devices. The KL-10 Massbus connector was
+actually patented by DEC,
+which reputedly refused to license the design and thus
+effectively locked third parties out of competition for the
+lucrative Massbus peripherals market. This policy is a source of
+never-ending frustration for the diehards who maintain older
+PDP-10 or VAX systems. Their CPUs work fine, but they are stuck
+with dying, obsolescent disk and tape drives with low capacity
+and high power requirements.
+
+(A closely related phenomenon, with a slightly different
+intent, is the habit manufacturers have of inventing new screw
+heads so that only Designated Persons, possessing the magic
+screwdrivers, can remove covers and make repairs or install
+options. A good 1990s example is the use of Torx screws for
+cable-TV set-top boxes. Older Apple Macintoshes took this one
+step further, requiring not only a long Torx screwdriver but a
+specialized case-cracking tool to open the box.)
+
+In these latter days of open-systems computing this term has
+fallen somewhat into disuse, to be replaced by the observation
+that "Standards are great! There are so many of them to choose
+from!" Compare backward
+combatability.
+
+
+Node:cons, Next:considered harmful, Previous:connector
+conspiracy, Up:= C =
+
+
+cons /konz/ or /kons/
+
+[from LISP] 1. vt. To add a new element to a specified list,
+esp. at the top. "OK, cons picking a replacement for the console
+TTY onto the agenda." 2. `cons up': vt. To synthesize from
+smaller pieces: "to cons up an example".
+
+In LISP itself, cons is the most fundamental
+operation for building structures. It takes any two objects and
+returns a `dot-pair' or two-branched tree with one object hanging
+from each branch. Because the result of a cons is an object, it
+can be used to build binary trees of any shape and complexity.
+Hackers think of it as a sort of universal constructor, and that
+is where the jargon meanings spring from.
+
+
+Node:considered harmful,
+Next:console, Previous:cons, Up:= C = 
+
+considered harmful adj.
+
+[very common] Edsger W. Dijkstra's note in the March 1968
+"Communications of the ACM", "Goto Statement Considered Harmful",
+fired the first salvo in the structured programming wars (text at
+http://www.acm.org/classics).
+Amusingly, the ACM considered the resulting acrimony sufficiently
+harmful that it will (by policy) no longer print an article
+taking so assertive a position against a coding practice. (Years
+afterwards, a contrary view was uttered in a CACM letter called,
+inevitably, "`Goto considered harmful' considered harmful'"'. In
+the ensuing decades, a large number of both serious papers and
+parodies have borne titles of the form "X considered Y". The
+structured-programming wars eventually blew over with the
+realization that both sides were wrong, but use of such titles
+has remained as a persistent minor in-joke (the `considered
+silly' found at various places in this lexicon is related).
+
+
+Node:console, Next:console jockey, Previous:considered harmful,
+Up:= C = 
+
+console n.
+
+1. The operator's station of a mainframe. In times past, this was a
+privileged location that conveyed godlike powers to anyone with
+fingers on its keys. Under Unix and other modern timesharing
+OSes, such privileges are guarded by passwords instead, and the
+console is just the tty the system was
+booted from. Some of the mystique remains, however, and it is
+traditional for sysadmins to post urgent messages to all users
+from the console (on Unix, /dev/console). 2. On microcomputer
+Unix boxes, the main screen and keyboard (as opposed to
+character-only terminals talking to a serial port). Typically
+only the console can do real graphics or run X.
+
+
+Node:console jockey, Next:content-free, Previous:console, Up:= C = 
+
+console jockey n.
+
+See terminal
+junkie.
+
+
+Node:content-free, Next:control-C, Previous:console jockey, Up:= C = 
+
+content-free adj.
+
+[by analogy with techspeak `context-free'] Used of a message
+that adds nothing to the recipient's knowledge. Though this
+adjective is sometimes applied to flamage, it more usually connotes derision for
+communication styles that exalt form over substance or are
+centered on concerns irrelevant to the subject ostensibly at
+hand. Perhaps most used with reference to speeches by company
+presidents and other professional manipulators. "Content-free?
+Uh... that's anything printed on glossy paper."
+(See also four-color
+glossies.) "He gave a talk on the implications of
+electronic networks for postmodernism and the fin-de-siecle
+aesthetic. It was content-free."
+
+
+Node:control-C, Next:control-O, Previous:content-free, Up:= C = 
+
+control-C vi.
+
+1. "Stop whatever you are doing." From the interrupt character
+used on many operating systems to abort a running program.
+Considered silly. 2. interj. Among BSD Unix hackers, the
+canonical humorous response to "Give me a break!"
+
+
+Node:control-O, Next:control-Q, Previous:control-C, Up:= C = 
+
+control-O vi.
+
+"Stop talking." From the character used on some operating
+systems to abort output but allow the program to keep on running.
+Generally means that you are not interested in hearing anything
+more from that person, at least on that topic; a standard
+response to someone who is flaming. Considered silly. Compare
+control-S.
+
+
+Node:control-Q, Next:control-S, Previous:control-O, Up:= C = 
+
+control-Q vi.
+
+"Resume." From the ASCII DC1 or XON
+character (the pronunciation /X-on/ is therefore also used), used
+to undo a previous control-S.
+
+
+Node:control-S, Next:Conway's Law, Previous:control-Q, Up:= C = 
+
+control-S vi.
+
+"Stop talking for a second." From the ASCII DC3 or XOFF
+character (the pronunciation /X-of/ is therefore also used).
+Control-S differs from control-O
+in that the person is asked to stop talking (perhaps because you
+are on the phone) but will be allowed to continue when you're
+ready to listen to him -- as opposed to control-O, which has more
+of the meaning of "Shut up." Considered silly.
+
+
+Node:Conway's Law, Next:cookbook, Previous:control-S, Up:= C = 
+
+Conway's Law prov.
+
+The rule that the organization of the software and the
+organization of the software team will be congruent; commonly
+stated as "If you have four groups working on a compiler, you'll
+get a 4-pass compiler". The original statement was more general,
+"Organizations which design systems are constrained to produce
+designs which are copies of the communication structures of these
+organizations." This first appeared in the April 1968 issue of
+Datamation. Compare SNAFU principle.
+
+The law was named after Melvin Conway, an early proto-hacker
+who wrote an assembler for the Burroughs 220 called SAVE. (The
+name `SAVE' didn't stand for anything; it was just that you lost
+fewer card decks and listings because they all had SAVE written
+on them.)
+
+There is also Tom Cheatham's amendment of Conway's Law: "If a
+group of N persons implements a COBOL compiler, there will be N-1
+passes. Someone in the group has to be the manager."
+
+
+Node:cookbook, Next:cooked mode, Previous:Conway's Law, Up:= C = 
+
+cookbook n.
+
+[from amateur electronics and radio] A book of small code
+segments that the reader can use to do various magic things in programs. One current example is
+the "PostScript Language
+Tutorial and Cookbook" by Adobe Systems, Inc (Addison-Wesley,
+ISBN 0-201-10179-3), also known as the Blue Book which has recipes for things
+like wrapping text around arbitrary curves and making 3D fonts.
+Cookbooks, slavishly followed, can lead one into voodoo programming, but are
+useful for hackers trying to monkey
+up small programs in unknown languages. This function is
+analogous to the role of phrasebooks in human languages.
+
+
+Node:cooked mode, Next:cookie, Previous:cookbook, Up:=
+C = 
+
+cooked mode n.
+
+[Unix, by opposition from raw
+mode] The normal character-input mode, with interrupts
+enabled and with erase, kill and other special-character
+interpretations performed directly by the tty driver. Oppose
+raw mode, rare mode. This term is techspeak under
+Unix but jargon elsewhere; other operating systems often have
+similar mode distinctions, and the raw/rare/cooked way of
+describing them has spread widely along with the C language and
+other Unix exports. Most generally, `cooked mode' may refer to
+any mode of a system that does extensive preprocessing before
+presenting data to a program.
+
+
+Node:cookie, Next:cookie bear, Previous:cooked mode, Up:= C = 
+
+cookie n.
+
+A handle, transaction ID, or other token of agreement between
+cooperating programs. "I give him a packet, he gives me back a
+cookie." The claim check you get from a dry-cleaning shop is a
+perfect mundane example of a cookie; the only thing it's useful
+for is to relate a later transaction to this one (so you get the
+same clothes back). Compare magic
+cookie; see also fortune
+cookie. Now mainstream in the specific sense of
+web-browser cookies.
+
+
+Node:cookie bear, Next:cookie file, Previous:cookie, Up:=
+C = 
+
+cookie bear n. obs.
+
+Original term, pre-Sesame-Street, for what is now universally
+called a cookie monster. A
+correspondent observes "In those days, hackers were actually
+getting their yucks from...sit down
+now...Andy Williams. Yes, that Andy
+Williams. Seems he had a rather hip (by the standards of the day)
+TV variety show. One of the best parts of the show was the
+recurring `cookie bear' sketch. In these sketches, a guy in a
+bear suit tried all sorts of tricks to get a cookie out of
+Williams. The sketches would always end with Williams shrieking
+(and I don't mean figuratively), `No cookies! Not now, not
+ever...NEVER!!!' And the bear would fall down.
+Great stuff."
+
+
+Node:cookie file, Next:cookie jar, Previous:cookie bear, Up:= C = 
+
+cookie file n.
+
+A collection of fortune
+cookies in a format that facilitates retrieval by a
+fortune program. There are several different cookie files in
+public distribution, and site admins often assemble their own
+from various sources including this lexicon.
+
+
+Node:cookie jar, Next:cookie monster, Previous:cookie file, Up:= C = 
+
+cookie jar n.
+
+An area of memory set aside for storing cookies. Most commonly heard in the Atari ST
+community; many useful ST programs record their presence by
+storing a distinctive magic
+number in the jar. Programs can inquire after the
+presence or otherwise of other programs by searching the contents
+of the jar.
+
+
+Node:cookie monster, Next:copious free time,
+Previous:cookie jar,
+Up:= C = 
+
+cookie monster n.
+
+[from the children's TV program "Sesame Street"] Any of a
+family of early (1970s) hacks reported on TOPS-10, ITS, Multics, and elsewhere that would lock up
+either the victim's terminal (on a time-sharing machine) or the
+console (on a batch mainframe), repeatedly demanding "I WANT A
+COOKIE". The required responses ranged in complexity from
+"COOKIE" through "HAVE A COOKIE" and upward. Folklorist Jan
+Brunvand (see FOAF) has described
+these programs as urban legends (implying they probably never
+existed) but they existed, all right, in several different
+versions. See also wabbit.
+Interestingly, the term `cookie monster' appears to be a retcon; the original term was cookie bear.
+
+
+Node:copious free time,
+Next:copper, Previous:cookie monster, Up:= C = 
+
+copious free time n.
+
+[Apple; orig. fr. the intro to Tom Lehrer's song "It Makes A
+Fellow Proud To Be A Soldier"] 1. [used ironically to indicate
+the speaker's lack of the quantity in question] A mythical
+schedule slot for accomplishing tasks held to be unlikely or
+impossible. Sometimes used to indicate that the speaker is
+interested in accomplishing the task, but believes that the
+opportunity will not arise. "I'll implement the automatic layout
+stuff in my copious free time." 2. [Archly] Time reserved for
+bogus or otherwise idiotic tasks, such as implementation of chrome, or the stroking of suits. "I'll get back to him on that feature in
+my copious free time."
+
+
+Node:copper, Next:copy protection, Previous:copious free time,
+Up:= C = 
+
+copper n.
+
+Conventional electron-carrying network cable with a core
+conductor of copper -- or aluminum! Opposed to light pipe or, say, a short-range
+microwave link.
+
+
+Node:copy protection, Next:copybroke, Previous:copper, Up:= C = 
+
+copy protection n.
+
+A class of methods for preventing incompetent pirates from
+stealing software and legitimate customers from using it.
+Considered silly.
+
+
+Node:copybroke, Next:copycenter, Previous:copy protection, Up:= C = 
+
+copybroke /kop'ee-brohk/ adj.
+
+1. [play on `copyright'] Used to describe an instance of a
+copy-protected program that has been `broken'; that is, a copy
+with the copy-protection scheme disabled. Syn. copywronged. 2. Copy-protected software
+which is unusable because of some bit-rot or bug that has
+confused the anti-piracy check. See also copy protection.
+
+
+Node:copycenter, Next:copyleft, Previous:copybroke, Up:= C = 
+
+copycenter n.
+
+[play on `copyright' and `copyleft'] 1. The copyright notice
+carried by the various flavors of freeware BSD. According to Kirk
+McKusick at BSDCon 1999: "The way it was characterized
+politically, you had copyright, which is what the big companies
+use to lock everything up; you had copyleft, which is free
+software's way of making sure they can't lock it up; and then
+Berkeley had what we called "copycenter", which is "take it down
+to the copy center and make as many copies as you want".
+
+
+Node:copyleft, Next:copyparty, Previous:copycenter, Up:= C = 
+
+copyleft /kop'ee-left/ n.
+
+[play on `copyright'] 1. The copyright notice (`General Public
+License') carried by GNU EMACS and other Free Software Foundation
+software, granting reuse and reproduction rights to all comers
+(but see also General
+Public Virus). 2. By extension, any copyright notice
+intended to achieve similar aims.
+
+
+Node:copyparty, Next:copywronged, Previous:copyleft, Up:=
+C = 
+
+copyparty n.
+
+[C64/amiga demoscene ]A
+computer party organized so demosceners can meet other in real
+life, and to facilitate software copying (mostly pirated
+software). The copyparty has become less common as the Internet
+makes communication easier. The demoscene has gradually evolved
+the demoparty to replace it.
+
+
+Node:copywronged, Next:core, Previous:copyparty, Up:= C = 
+
+copywronged /kop'ee-rongd/ adj.
+
+[play on `copyright'] Syn. for copybroke.
+
+
+Node:core, Next:core cancer, Previous:copywronged, Up:= C = 
+
+core n.
+
+Main storage or RAM. Dates from the days of ferrite-core
+memory; now archaic as techspeak most places outside IBM, but
+also still used in the Unix community and by old-time hackers or
+those who would sound like them. Some derived idioms are quite
+current; `in core', for example, means `in memory' (as opposed to
+`on disk'), and both core dump
+and the `core image' or `core file' produced by one are terms in
+favor. Some varieties of Commonwealth hackish prefer store.
+
+
+Node:core cancer, Next:core dump, Previous:core, Up:= C
+= 
+
+core cancer n.
+
+[rare] A process that exhibits a slow but inexorable resource
+leak -- like a cancer, it kills by
+crowding out productive `tissue'.
+
+
+Node:core dump, Next:core leak, Previous:core cancer, Up:= C = 
+
+core dump n.
+
+[common Iron Age jargon,
+preserved by Unix] 1. [techspeak] A copy of the contents of core, produced when a process is aborted by
+certain kinds of internal error. 2. By extension, used for humans
+passing out, vomiting, or registering extreme shock. "He dumped
+core. All over the floor. What a mess." "He heard about X and
+dumped core." 3. Occasionally used for a human rambling on
+pointlessly at great length; esp. in apology: "Sorry, I dumped
+core on you". 4. A recapitulation of knowledge (compare bits, sense 1). Hence, spewing all one knows
+about a topic (syn. brain
+dump), esp. in a lecture or answer to an exam question.
+"Short, concise answers are better than core dumps" (from the
+instructions to an exam at Columbia). See core.
+
+
+Node:core leak, Next:Core Wars, Previous:core dump, Up:= C = 
+
+core leak n.
+
+Syn. memory leak.
+
+
+Node:Core Wars, Next:corge, Previous:core leak, Up:= C = 
+
+Core Wars n.
+
+A game between `assembler' programs in a machine or machine
+simulator, where the objective is to kill your opponent's program
+by overwriting it. Popularized in the 1980s by A. K. Dewdney's
+column in "Scientific American" magazine, but described in
+"Software Practice And Experience" a decade earlier. The game was
+actually devised and played by Victor Vyssotsky, Robert Morris
+Sr., and Doug McIlroy in the early 1960s (Dennis Ritchie is
+sometimes incorrectly cited as a co-author, but was not
+involved). Their original game was called `Darwin' and ran on a
+IBM 7090 at Bell Labs. See core. For
+information on the modern game, do a web search for the
+`rec.games.corewar FAQ' or surf to the King Of The Hill site.
+
+
+Node:corge, Next:cosmic rays, Previous:Core Wars, Up:= C = 
+
+corge /korj/ n.
+
+[originally, the name of a cat] Yet another metasyntactic variable,
+invented by Mike Gallaher and propagated by the GOSMACS documentation. See grault.
+
+
+Node:cosmic rays, Next:cough and die, Previous:corge, Up:= C = 
+
+cosmic rays n.
+
+Notionally, the cause of bit
+rot. However, this is a semi-independent usage that may
+be invoked as a humorous way to handwave away any minor randomness that doesn't seem worth the
+bother of investigating. "Hey, Eric -- I just got a burst of
+garbage on my tube, where did that
+come from?" "Cosmic rays, I guess." Compare sunspots, phase of the moon. The British
+seem to prefer the usage `cosmic showers'; `alpha particles' is
+also heard, because stray alpha particles passing through a
+memory chip can cause single-bit errors (this becomes
+increasingly more likely as memory sizes and densities
+increase).
+
+Factual note: Alpha particles cause bit rot, cosmic rays do
+not (except occasionally in spaceborne computers). Intel could
+not explain random bit drops in their early chips, and one
+hypothesis was cosmic rays. So they created the World's Largest
+Lead Safe, using 25 tons of the stuff, and used two identical
+boards for testing. One was placed in the safe, one outside. The
+hypothesis was that if cosmic rays were causing the bit drops,
+they should see a statistically significant difference between
+the error rates on the two boards. They did not observe such a
+difference. Further investigation demonstrated conclusively that
+the bit drops were due to alpha particle emissions from thorium
+(and to a much lesser degree uranium) in the encapsulation
+material. Since it is impossible to eliminate these radioactives
+(they are uniformly distributed through the earth's crust, with
+the statistically insignificant exception of uranium lodes) it
+became obvious that one has to design memories to withstand these
+hits.
+
+
+Node:cough and die, Next:courier, Previous:cosmic rays, Up:= C = 
+
+cough and die v.
+
+Syn. barf. Connotes that the
+program is throwing its hands up by design rather than because of
+a bug or oversight. "The parser saw a control-A in its input
+where it was looking for a printable, so it coughed and died."
+Compare die, die horribly, scream and die.
+
+
+Node:courier, Next:cow orker, Previous:cough and die, Up:= C = 
+
+courier
+
+[BBS & cracker cultures] A person who distributes newly
+cracked warez, as opposed to a server who makes them available for
+download or a leech who merely
+downloads them. Hackers recognize this term but don't use it
+themselves, as the act is not part of their culture. See also
+warez d00dz, cracker, elite.
+
+
+Node:cow orker, Next:cowboy, Previous:courier, Up:= C
+= 
+
+cow orker n.
+
+[Usenet] n. fortuitous typo for co-worker, widely used in
+Usenet, with perhaps a hint that orking cows is illegal. This
+term was popularized by Scott Adams (the creator of Dilbert) but already appears in the January
+1996 version of the scary
+devil monastery FAQ. There are plausible reports that it
+was in use on _talk.bizarre_ as early as 1992. Compare hing, grilf,
+filk, newsfroup.
+
+
+Node:cowboy, Next:CP/M, Previous:cow orker, Up:= C = 
+
+cowboy n.
+
+[Sun, from William Gibson's cyberpunk SF] Synonym for hacker. It is reported that at Sun this word is
+often said with reverence.
+
+
+Node:CP/M, Next:CPU Wars, Previous:cowboy, Up:= C
+= 
+
+CP/M /C-P-M/ n.
+
+[Control Program/Monitor; later retconned to Control Program for
+Microcomputers] An early microcomputer OS written by hacker Gary Kildall for 8080- and
+Z80-based machines, very popular in the late 1970s but virtually
+wiped out by MS-DOS after the release of the IBM PC in 1981.
+Legend has it that Kildall's company blew its chance to write the
+OS for the IBM PC because Kildall decided to spend a day IBM's
+reps wanted to meet with him enjoying the perfect flying weather
+in his private plane. Many of CP/M's features and conventions
+strongly resemble those of early DEC
+operating systems such as TOPS-10,
+OS/8, RSTS, and RSX-11. See MS-DOS,
+operating system.
+
+
+Node:CPU Wars, Next:crack, Previous:CP/M, Up:= C
+= 
+
+CPU Wars /C-P-U worz/ n.
+
+A 1979 large-format comic by Chas Andres chronicling the
+attempts of the brainwashed androids of IPM (Impossible to
+Program Machines) to conquer and destroy the peaceful denizens of
+HEC (Human Engineered Computers). This rather transparent
+allegory featured many references to ADVENT and the immortal line "Eat flaming
+death, minicomputer mongrels!" (uttered, of course, by an IPM
+stormtrooper). The whole shebang is now available on the
+Web.
+
+It is alleged that the author subsequently received a letter
+of appreciation on IBM company stationery from the head of IBM's
+Thomas J. Watson Research Laboratories (then, as now, one of the
+few islands of true hackerdom in the IBM archipelago). The lower
+loop of the B in the IBM logo, it is said, had been carefully
+whited out. See eat flaming
+death.
+
+
+Node:crack, Next:crack root, Previous:CPU Wars, Up:= C = 
+
+crack
+
+[warez d00dz] 1. v. To break into a system (compare cracker). 2. v. Action of removing the
+copy protection from a commercial program. People who write
+cracks consider themselves challenged by the copy protection
+measures. They will often do it as much to show that they are
+smarter than the developper who designed the copy protection
+scheme than to actually copy the program. 3. n. A program,
+instructions or patch used to remove the copy protection of a
+program or to uncripple features from a demo/time limited
+program. 4. An exploit.
+
+
+Node:crack root, Next:cracker, Previous:crack, Up:= C
+= 
+
+crack root v.
+
+[very common] To defeat the security system of a Unix machine
+and gain root privileges thereby; see
+cracking.
+
+
+Node:cracker, Next:cracking, Previous:crack root, Up:= C = 
+
+cracker n.
+
+One who breaks security on a system. Coined ca. 1985 by
+hackers in defense against journalistic misuse of hacker (q.v., sense 8). An earlier attempt to
+establish `worm' in this sense around 1981-82 on Usenet was
+largely a failure.
+
+Use of both these neologisms reflects a strong revulsion
+against the theft and vandalism perpetrated by cracking rings.
+While it is expected that any real hacker will have done some
+playful cracking and knows many of the basic techniques, anyone
+past larval stage is
+expected to have outgrown the desire to do so except for
+immediate, benign, practical reasons (for example, if it's
+necessary to get around some security in order to get some work
+done).
+
+Thus, there is far less overlap between hackerdom and
+crackerdom than the mundane reader
+misled by sensationalistic journalism might expect. Crackers tend
+to gather in small, tight-knit, very secretive groups that have
+little overlap with the huge, open poly-culture this lexicon
+describes; though crackers often like to describe
+themselves as hackers, most true hackers consider them a
+separate and lower form of life.
+
+Ethical considerations aside, hackers figure that anyone who
+can't imagine a more interesting way to play with their computers
+than breaking into someone else's has to be pretty losing. Some other reasons crackers are looked
+down on are discussed in the entries on cracking and phreaking. See also samurai, dark-side hacker, and hacker ethic. For a portrait of the
+typical teenage cracker, see warez
+d00dz.
+
+
+Node:cracking, Next:crank, Previous:cracker, Up:= C
+= 
+
+cracking n.
+
+[very common] The act of breaking into a computer system; what
+a cracker does. Contrary to
+widespread myth, this does not usually involve some mysterious
+leap of hackerly brilliance, but rather persistence and the
+dogged repetition of a handful of fairly well-known tricks that
+exploit common weaknesses in the security of target systems.
+Accordingly, most crackers are only mediocre hackers.
+
+
+Node:crank, Next:crapplet, Previous:cracking, Up:=
+C = 
+
+crank vt.
+
+[from automotive slang] Verb used to describe the performance
+of a machine, especially sustained performance. "This box cranks
+(or, cranks at) about 6 megaflops, with a burst mode of twice
+that on vectorized operations."
+
+
+Node:crapplet, Next:CrApTeX, Previous:crank, Up:= C
+= 
+
+crapplet n.
+
+[portmanteau, crap + applet] A worthless applet, esp. a Java
+widget attached to a web page that doesn't work or even crashes
+your browser. Also spelled `craplet'.
+
+
+Node:CrApTeX, Next:crash, Previous:crapplet, Up:=
+C = 
+
+CrApTeX /krap'tekh/ n.
+
+[University of York, England] Term of abuse used to describe
+TeX and LaTeX when they don't work (when used by TeXhackers), or
+all the time (by everyone else). The non-TeX-enthusiasts
+generally dislike it because it is more verbose than other
+formatters (e.g. troff) and because
+(particularly if the standard Computer Modern fonts are used) it
+generates vast output files. See religious issues, TeX.
+
+
+Node:crash, Next:crash and burn, Previous:CrApTeX, Up:= C = 
+
+crash
+
+1. n. A sudden, usually drastic failure. Most often said of
+the system (q.v., sense 1), esp. of
+magnetic disk drives (the term originally described what happens
+when the air gap of a hard disk collapses). "Three lusers lost their files in last night's disk
+crash." A disk crash that involves the read/write heads dropping
+onto the surface of the disks and scraping off the oxide may also
+be referred to as a `head crash', whereas the term `system crash'
+usually, though not always, implies that the operating system or
+other software was at fault. 2. v. To fail suddenly. "Has the
+system just crashed?" "Something crashed the OS!" See down. Also used transitively to indicate the
+cause of the crash (usually a person or a program, or both).
+"Those idiots playing SPACEWAR
+crashed the system." 3. vi. Sometimes said of people hitting the
+sack after a long hacking
+run; see gronk out.
+
+
+Node:crash and burn, Next:crawling horror,
+Previous:crash, Up:= C = 
+
+crash and burn vi.,n.
+
+A spectacular crash, in the mode of the conclusion of the
+car-chase scene in the movie "Bullitt" and many subsequent
+imitators (compare die
+horribly). Sun-3 monitors losing the flyback transformer
+and lightning strikes on VAX-11/780 backplanes are notable crash
+and burn generators. The construction `crash-and-burn machine' is
+reported for a computer used exclusively for alpha or beta testing, or reproducing bugs (i.e., not for
+development). The implication is that it wouldn't be such a
+disaster if that machine crashed, since only the testers would be
+inconvenienced.
+
+
+Node:crawling horror, Next:cray, Previous:crash and burn, Up:= C = 
+
+crawling horror n.
+
+Ancient crufty hardware or software that is kept obstinately
+alive by forces beyond the control of the hackers at a site. Like
+dusty deck or gonkulator, but connotes that the thing
+described is not just an irritation but an active menace to
+health and sanity. "Mostly we code new stuff in C, but they pay
+us to maintain one big FORTRAN II application from
+nineteen-sixty-X that's a real crawling
+horror...." Compare WOMBAT.
+
+
+Node:cray, Next:cray instability, Previous:crawling horror, Up:= C = 
+
+cray /kray/ n.
+
+1. (properly, capitalized) One of the line of supercomputers
+designed by Cray Research. 2. Any supercomputer at all. 3. The
+canonical number-crunching machine.
+
+The term is actually the lowercased last name of Seymour Cray,
+a noted computer architect and co-founder of the company.
+Numerous vivid legends surround him, some true and some
+admittedly invented by Cray Research brass to shape their
+corporate culture and image.
+
+
+Node:cray instability, Next:crayola, Previous:cray, Up:= C = 
+
+cray instability n.
+
+1. A shortcoming of a program or algorithm that manifests
+itself only when a large problem is being run on a powerful
+machine (see cray). Generally more
+subtle than bugs that can be detected in smaller problems running
+on a workstation or mini. 2. More specifically, a shortcoming of
+algorithms which are well behaved when run on gentle floating
+point hardware (such as IEEE-standard or PDP-series machines) but
+which break down badly when exposed to a Cray's unique `rounding'
+rules.
+
+
+Node:crayola, Next:crayola books, Previous:cray instability, Up:= C = 
+
+crayola /kray-oh'l*/ n.
+
+A super-mini or -micro computer that provides some reasonable
+percentage of supercomputer performance for an unreasonably low
+price. Might also be a killer
+micro.
+
+
+Node:crayola books, Next:crayon, Previous:crayola, Up:= C = 
+
+crayola books n.
+
+The rainbow series of
+National Computer Security Center (NCSC) computer security
+standards (see Orange Book).
+Usage: humorous and/or disparaging.
+
+
+Node:crayon, Next:creationism, Previous:crayola books, Up:= C = 
+
+crayon n.
+
+1. Someone who works on Cray supercomputers. More
+specifically, it implies a programmer, probably of the CDC ilk,
+probably male, and almost certainly wearing a tie (irrespective
+of gender). Systems types who have a Unix background tend not to
+be described as crayons. 2. Formerly, anyone who worked for Cray
+Research; since the buyout by SGI, anyone they inherited from
+Cray. 3. A computron (sense 2)
+that participates only in number-crunching. 4. A unit of
+computational power equal to that of a single Cray-1. There is a
+standard joke about this usage that derives from an old Crayola
+crayon promotional gimmick: When you buy 64 crayons you get a
+free sharpener.
+
+
+Node:creationism, Next:creep, Previous:crayon, Up:= C
+= 
+
+creationism n.
+
+The (false) belief that large, innovative software designs can
+be completely specified in advance and then painlessly magicked
+out of the void by the normal efforts of a team of normally
+talented programmers. In fact, experience has shown repeatedly
+that good designs arise only from evolutionary, exploratory
+interaction between one (or at most a small handful of)
+exceptionally able designer(s) and an active user population --
+and that the first try at a big new idea is always wrong.
+Unfortunately, because these truths don't fit the planning models
+beloved of management, they are
+generally ignored.
+
+
+Node:creep, Next:creeping elegance, Previous:creationism, Up:= C = 
+
+creep v.
+
+To advance, grow, or multiply inexorably. In hackish usage
+this verb has overtones of menace and silliness, evoking the
+creeping horrors of low-budget monster movies.
+
+
+Node:creeping elegance, Next:creeping featurism,
+Previous:creep, Up:= C = 
+
+creeping elegance n.
+
+Describes a tendency for parts of a design to become elegant past the point of diminishing
+return, something which often happens at the expense of the less
+interesting parts of the design, the schedule, and other things
+deemed important in the Real
+World. See also creeping featurism, second-system effect, tense.
+
+
+Node:creeping featurism,
+Next:creeping
+featuritis, Previous:creeping elegance, Up:= C = 
+
+creeping featurism /kree'ping fee'chr-izm/ n.
+
+[common] 1. Describes a systematic tendency to load more chrome and features onto systems at the expense of
+whatever elegance they may have possessed when originally
+designed. See also feeping
+creaturism. "You know, the main problem with BSD Unix has always been creeping featurism." 2.
+More generally, the tendency for anything complicated to become
+even more complicated because people keep saying "Gee, it would
+be even better if it had this feature too". (See feature.) The result is usually a patchwork
+because it grew one ad-hoc step at a time, rather than being
+planned. Planning is a lot of work, but it's easy to add just one
+extra little feature to help someone ... and then
+another ... and another.... When
+creeping featurism gets out of hand, it's like a cancer. Usually
+this term is used to describe computer programs, but it could
+also be said of the federal government, the IRS 1040 form, and
+new cars. A similar phenomenon sometimes afflicts conscious
+redesigns; see second-system
+effect. See also creeping elegance.
+
+
+Node:creeping featuritis,
+Next:cretin, Previous:creeping featurism,
+Up:= C = 
+
+creeping featuritis /kree'ping fee'-chr-i:`t*s/ n.
+
+Variant of creeping
+featurism, with its own spoonerization: `feeping
+creaturitis'. Some people like to reserve this form for the
+disease as it actually manifests in software or hardware, as
+opposed to the lurking general tendency in designers' minds.
+(After all, -ism means `condition' or `pursuit of', whereas -itis
+usually means `inflammation of'.)
+
+
+Node:cretin, Next:cretinous, Previous:creeping featuritis, Up:= C = 
+
+cretin /kret'in/ or /kree'tn/ n.
+
+Congenital loser; an obnoxious
+person; someone who can't do anything right. It has been observed
+that many American hackers tend to favor the British
+pronunciation /kret'in/ over standard American /kree'tn/; it is
+thought this may be due to the insidious phonetic influence of
+Monty Python's Flying Circus.
+
+
+Node:cretinous, Next:crippleware, Previous:cretin, Up:= C
+= 
+
+cretinous /kret'n-*s/ or /kreet'n-*s/ adj.
+
+Wrong; stupid; non-functional; very poorly designed. Also used
+pejoratively of people. See dread high-bit disease for
+an example. Approximate synonyms: bletcherous, bagbiting losing, brain-damaged.
+
+
+Node:crippleware, Next:critical mass, Previous:cretinous, Up:= C = 
+
+crippleware n.
+
+1. [common] Software that has some important functionality
+deliberately removed, so as to entice potential users to pay for
+a working version. 2. [Cambridge] Variety of guiltware that exhorts you to donate to some
+charity (compare careware, nagware). 3. Hardware deliberately
+crippled, which can be upgraded to a more expensive model by a
+trivial change (e.g., cutting a jumper).
+
+An excellent example of crippleware (sense 3) is Intel's 486SX
+chip, which is a standard 486DX chip with the co-processor diked
+out (in some early versions it was present but disabled). To
+upgrade, you buy a complete 486DX chip with working
+co-processor (its identity thinly veiled by a different pinout)
+and plug it into the board's expansion socket. It then disables
+the SX, which becomes a fancy power sink. Don't you love
+Intel?
+
+
+Node:critical mass, Next:crlf, Previous:crippleware, Up:= C = 
+
+critical mass n.
+
+In physics, the minimum amount of fissionable material
+required to sustain a chain reaction. Of a software product,
+describes a condition of the software such that fixing one bug
+introduces one plus epsilon bugs.
+(This malady has many causes: creeping featurism, ports to too
+many disparate environments, poor initial design, etc.) When
+software achieves critical mass, it can never be fixed; it can
+only be discarded and rewritten.
+
+
+Node:crlf, Next:crock, Previous:critical mass, Up:= C = 
+
+crlf /ker'l*f/, sometimes /kru'l*f/ or /C-R-L-F/ n.
+
+(often capitalized as `CRLF') A carriage return (CR, ASCII
+0001101) followed by a line feed (LF, ASCII 0001010). More
+loosely, whatever it takes to get you from the end of one line of
+text to the beginning of the next line. See newline, terpri.
+Under Unix influence this usage has
+become less common (Unix uses a bare line feed as its
+`CRLF').
+
+
+Node:crock, Next:cross-post, Previous:crlf, Up:= C =
+
+
+crock n.
+
+[from the American scatologism `crock of shit'] 1. An awkward
+feature or programming technique that ought to be made cleaner.
+For example, using small integers to represent error codes
+without the program interpreting them to the user (as in, for
+example, Unix make(1), which returns code 139 for a
+process that dies due to segfault). 2. A technique that works
+acceptably, but which is quite prone to failure if disturbed in
+the least. For example, a too-clever programmer might write an
+assembler which mapped instruction mnemonics to numeric opcodes
+algorithmically, a trick which depends far too intimately on the
+particular bit patterns of the opcodes. (For another example of
+programming with a dependence on actual opcode values, see The Story of Mel in
+Appendix A.) Many crocks have a tightly woven, almost completely
+unmodifiable structure. See kluge,
+brittle. The adjectives `crockish'
+and `crocky', and the nouns `crockishness' and `crockitude', are
+also used.
+
+
+Node:cross-post, Next:crossload, Previous:crock, Up:= C
+= 
+
+cross-post vi.
+
+[Usenet; very common] To post a single article simultaneously
+to several newsgroups. Distinguished from posting the article
+repeatedly, once to each newsgroup, which causes people to see it
+multiple times (which is very bad form). Gratuitous cross-posting
+without a Followup-To line directing responses to a single
+followup group is frowned upon, as it tends to cause followup articles to go to inappropriate
+newsgroups when people respond to only one part of the original
+posting.
+
+
+Node:crossload, Next:crudware, Previous:cross-post, Up:= C = 
+
+crossload v.,n.
+
+[proposed, by analogy with upload
+and download] To move files
+between machines on a peer-to-peer network of nodes that act as
+both servers and clients for a distributed file store. Esp.
+appropriate for ananonymized networks like Gnutella and
+Freenet.
+
+
+Node:crudware, Next:cruft, Previous:crossload, Up:= C = 
+
+crudware /kruhd'weir/ n.
+
+Pejorative term for the hundreds of megabytes of low-quality
+freeware circulated by user's
+groups and BBS systems in the micro-hobbyist world. "Yet
+another set of disk catalog utilities for MS-DOS? What crudware!"
+
+
+Node:cruft, Next:cruft together, Previous:crudware, Up:= C = 
+
+cruft /kruhft/
+
+[very common; back-formation from crufty] 1. n. An unpleasant substance. The dust
+that gathers under your bed is cruft; the TMRC Dictionary
+correctly noted that attacking it with a broom only produces
+more. 2. n. The results of shoddy construction. 3. vt. [from
+`hand cruft', pun on `hand craft'] To write assembler code for
+something normally (and better) done by a compiler (see hand-hacking). 4. n. Excess;
+superfluous junk; used esp. of redundant or superseded code. 5.
+[University of Wisconsin] n. Cruft is to hackers as gaggle is to
+geese; that is, at UW one properly says "a cruft of hackers".
+
+
+Node:cruft together, Next:cruftsmanship, Previous:cruft, Up:= C = 
+
+cruft together vt.
+
+(also `cruft up') To throw together something ugly but
+temporarily workable. Like vt. kluge
+up, but more pejorative. "There isn't any program now to
+reverse all the lines of a file, but I can probably cruft one
+together in about 10 minutes." See hack together, hack up, kluge
+up, crufty.
+
+
+Node:cruftsmanship, Next:crufty, Previous:cruft together, Up:= C = 
+
+cruftsmanship /kruhfts'm*n-ship / n.
+
+[from cruft] The antithesis of
+craftsmanship.
+
+
+Node:crufty, Next:crumb, Previous:cruftsmanship, Up:= C = 
+
+crufty /kruhf'tee/ adj.
+
+[very common; origin unknown; poss. from `crusty' or `cruddy']
+1. Poorly built, possibly over-complex. The canonical example is "This is standard old
+crufty DEC software". In fact, one
+fanciful theory of the origin of `crufty' holds that was
+originally a mutation of `crusty' applied to DEC software so old
+that the `s' characters were tall and skinny, looking more like
+`f' characters. 2. Unpleasant, especially to the touch, often
+with encrusted junk. Like spilled coffee smeared with peanut
+butter and catsup. 3. Generally unpleasant. 4. (sometimes spelled
+`cruftie') n. A small crufty object (see frob); often one that doesn't fit well into the
+scheme of things. "A LISP property list is a good place to store
+crufties (or, collectively, random
+cruft)."
+
+This term is one of the oldest in the jargon and no one is
+sure of its etymology, but it is suggestive that there is a Cruft
+Hall at Harvard University which is part of the old physics
+building; it's said to have been the physics department's radar
+lab during WWII. To this day (early 1993) the windows appear to
+be full of random techno-junk. MIT or Lincoln Labs people may
+well have coined the term as a knock on the competition.
+
+
+Node:crumb, Next:crunch, Previous:crufty, Up:= C
+= 
+
+crumb n.
+
+Two binary digits; a quad. Larger
+than a bit, smaller than a nybble. Considered silly. Syn. tayste. General discussion of such terms is
+under nybble.
+
+
+Node:crunch, Next:cryppie, Previous:crumb, Up:= C
+= 
+
+crunch 1. vi.
+
+To process, usually in a time-consuming or complicated way.
+Connotes an essentially trivial operation that is nonetheless
+painful to perform. The pain may be due to the triviality's being
+embedded in a loop from 1 to 1,000,000,000. "FORTRAN programs do
+mostly number-crunching."
+2. vt. To reduce the size of a file by a complicated scheme that
+produces bit configurations completely unrelated to the original
+data, such as by a Huffman code. (The file ends up looking
+something like a paper document would if somebody crunched the
+paper into a wad.) Since such compression usually takes more
+computations than simpler methods such as run-length encoding,
+the term is doubly appropriate. (This meaning is usually used in
+the construction `file crunch(ing)' to distinguish it from number-crunching.) See compress. 3. n. The character
+#. Used at XEROX and CMU, among other places. See
+ASCII. 4. vt. To squeeze program
+source into a minimum-size representation that will still compile
+or execute. The term came into being specifically for a famous
+program on the BBC micro that crunched BASIC source in order to
+make it run more quickly (it was a wholly interpretive BASIC, so
+the number of characters mattered). Obfuscated C Contest entries
+are often crunched; see the first example under that entry.
+
+
+Node:cryppie, Next:CTSS, Previous:crunch, Up:= C
+= 
+
+cryppie /krip'ee/ n.
+
+A cryptographer. One who hacks or implements cryptographic
+software or hardware.
+
+
+Node:CTSS, Next:cube, Previous:cryppie, Up:= C
+= 
+
+CTSS /C-T-S-S/ n.
+
+Compatible Time-Sharing System. An early (1963) experiment in
+the design of interactive time-sharing operating systems,
+ancestral to Multics, Unix, and ITS. The name
+ITS (Incompatible Time-sharing System)
+was a hack on CTSS, meant both as a joke and to express some
+basic differences in philosophy about the way I/O services should
+be presented to user programs.
+
+
+Node:cube, Next:cubing, Previous:CTSS, Up:= C =
+
+
+cube n.
+
+1. [short for `cubicle'] A module in the open-plan offices
+used at many programming shops. "I've got the manuals in my
+cube." 2. A NeXT machine (which resembles a matte-black
+cube).
+
+
+Node:cubing, Next:cup holder, Previous:cube, Up:= C =
+
+
+cubing vi.
+
+[parallel with `tubing'] 1. Hacking on an IPSC (Intel Personal
+SuperComputer) hypercube. "Louella's gone cubing
+again!!" 2. Hacking Rubik's Cube or related puzzles,
+either physically or mathematically. 3. An indescribable form of
+self-torture (see sense 1 or 2).
+
+
+Node:cup holder, Next:cursor dipped in X,
+Previous:cubing, Up:= C = 
+
+cup holder n.
+
+The tray of a CD-ROM drive, or by extension the CD drive
+itself. So called because of a common tech support legend about
+the idiot who called to complain that the cup holder on his
+computer broke. A joke program was once distributed around the
+net called "cupholder.exe", which when run simply extended the CD
+drive tray. The humor of this was of course lost on people whose
+drive had a slot or a caddy instead.
+
+
+Node:cursor dipped in X,
+Next:cuspy, Previous:cup holder, Up:= C = 
+
+cursor dipped in X n.
+
+There are a couple of metaphors in English of the form `pen
+dipped in X' (perhaps the most common values of X are `acid',
+`bile', and `vitriol'). These map over neatly to this hackish
+usage (the cursor being what moves, leaving letters behind, when
+one is composing on-line). "Talk about a nastygram! He must've had his cursor dipped
+in acid when he wrote that one!"
+
+
+Node:cuspy, Next:cut a tape, Previous:cursor dipped in X, Up:= C = 
+
+cuspy /kuhs'pee/ adj.
+
+[WPI: from the DEC abbreviation
+CUSP, for `Commonly Used System Program', i.e., a utility program
+used by many people] 1. (of a program) Well-written. 2.
+Functionally excellent. A program that performs well and
+interfaces well to users is cuspy. See rude. 3. [NYU] Said of an attractive woman,
+especially one regarded as available. Implies a certain
+curvaceousness.
+
+
+Node:cut a tape, Next:cybercrud, Previous:cuspy, Up:= C
+= 
+
+cut a tape vi.
+
+To write a software or document distribution on magnetic tape
+for shipment. Has nothing to do with physically cutting the
+medium! Early versions of this lexicon claimed that one never
+analogously speaks of `cutting a disk', but this has since been
+reported as live usage. Related slang usages are mainstream
+business's `cut a check', the recording industry's `cut a
+record', and the military's `cut an order'.
+
+All of these usages reflect physical processes in obsolete
+recording and duplication technologies. The first stage in
+manufacturing an old-style vinyl record involved cutting grooves
+in a stamping die with a precision lathe. More mundanely, the
+dominant technology for mass duplication of paper documents in
+pre-photocopying days involved "cutting a stencil", punching away
+portions of the wax overlay on a silk screen. More directly,
+paper tape with holes punched in it was an important early
+storage medium.
+
+
+Node:cybercrud, Next:cyberpunk, Previous:cut a tape, Up:= C = 
+
+cybercrud /si:'ber-kruhd/ n.
+
+1. [coined by Ted Nelson] Obfuscatory tech-talk. Verbiage with
+a high MEGO factor. The computer
+equivalent of bureaucratese. 2. Incomprehensible stuff embedded
+in email. First there were the "Received" headers that show how
+mail flows through systems, then MIME (Multi-purpose Internet
+Mail Extensions) headers and part boundaries, and now huge blocks
+of radix-64 for PEM (Privacy Enhanced Mail) or PGP (Pretty Good
+Privacy) digital signatures and certificates of authenticity.
+This stuff all services a purpose and good user interfaces should
+hide it, but all too often users are forced to wade through
+it.
+
+
+Node:cyberpunk, Next:cyberspace, Previous:cybercrud, Up:= C = 
+
+cyberpunk /si:'ber-puhnk/ n.,adj.
+
+[orig. by SF writer Bruce Bethke and/or editor Gardner Dozois]
+A subgenre of SF launched in 1982 by William Gibson's
+epoch-making novel "Neuromancer" (though its roots go back
+through Vernor Vinge's "True Names" (see the Bibliography in Appendix C) to John
+Brunner's 1975 novel "The Shockwave Rider"). Gibson's near-total
+ignorance of computers and the present-day hacker culture enabled
+him to speculate about the role of computers and hackers in the
+future in ways hackers have since found both irritatingly
+naïve and tremendously stimulating. Gibson's work was widely
+imitated, in particular by the short-lived but innovative "Max
+Headroom" TV series. See cyberspace, ice,
+jack in, go flatline.
+
+Since 1990 or so, popular culture has included a movement or
+fashion trend that calls itself `cyberpunk', associated
+especially with the rave/techno subculture. Hackers have mixed
+feelings about this. On the one hand, self-described cyberpunks
+too often seem to be shallow trendoids in black leather who have
+substituted enthusiastic blathering about technology for actually
+learning and doing it. Attitude is no substitute for
+competence. On the other hand, at least cyberpunks are excited
+about the right things and properly respectful of hacking talent
+in those who have it. The general consensus is to tolerate them
+politely in hopes that they'll attract people who grow into being
+true hackers.
+
+
+Node:cyberspace, Next:cycle, Previous:cyberpunk, Up:= C = 
+
+cyberspace /si:'br-spays`/ n.
+
+1. Notional `information-space' loaded with visual cues and
+navigable with brain-computer interfaces called `cyberspace
+decks'; a characteristic prop of cyberpunk SF. Serious efforts to construct
+virtual reality
+interfaces modeled explicitly on Gibsonian cyberspace are under
+way, using more conventional devices such as glove sensors and
+binocular TV headsets. Few hackers are prepared to deny outright
+the possibility of a cyberspace someday evolving out of the
+network (see the network). 2.
+The Internet or Matrix (sense #2) as
+a whole, considered as a crude cyberspace (sense 1). Although
+this usage became widely popular in the mainstream press during
+1994 when the Internet exploded into public awareness, it is
+strongly deprecated among hackers because the Internet does not
+meet the high, SF-inspired standards they have for true
+cyberspace technology. Thus, this use of the term usually tags a
+wannabee or outsider. Oppose meatspace. 3. Occasionally, the
+metaphoric location of the mind of a person in hack mode. Some hackers report
+experiencing strong eidetic imagery when in hack mode;
+interestingly, independent reports from multiple sources suggest
+that there are common features to the experience. In particular,
+the dominant colors of this subjective `cyberspace' are often
+gray and silver, and the imagery often involves constellations of
+marching dots, elaborate shifting patterns of lines and angles,
+or moire patterns.
+
+
+Node:cycle, Next:cycle crunch, Previous:cyberspace, Up:= C = 
+
+cycle
+
+1. n. The basic unit of computation. What every hacker wants
+more of (noted hacker Bill Gosper described himself as a "cycle
+junkie"). One can describe an instruction as taking so many
+`clock cycles'. Often the computer can access its memory once on
+every clock cycle, and so one speaks also of `memory cycles'.
+These are technical meanings of cycle. The jargon meaning comes from the
+observation that there are only so many cycles per second, and
+when you are sharing a computer the cycles get divided up among
+the users. The more cycles the computer spends working on your
+program rather than someone else's, the faster your program will
+run. That's why every hacker wants more cycles: so he can spend
+less time waiting for the computer to respond. 2. By extension, a
+notional unit of human thought power, emphasizing that
+lots of things compete for the typical hacker's think time. "I
+refused to get involved with the Rubik's Cube back when it was
+big. Knew I'd burn too many cycles on it if I let myself." 3. vt.
+Syn. bounce (sense 4), 120 reset; from the phrase `cycle power'.
+"Cycle the machine again, that serial port's still hung."
+
+
+Node:cycle crunch, Next:cycle drought, Previous:cycle, Up:= C = 
+
+cycle crunch n.,obs.
+
+A situation wherein the number of people trying to use a
+computer simultaneously has reached the point where no one can
+get enough cycles because they are spread too thin and the system
+has probably begun to thrash. This
+scenario is an inevitable result of Parkinson's Law applied to
+timesharing. Usually the only solution is to buy more computer.
+Happily, this has rapidly become easier since the mid-1980s, so
+much so that the very term `cycle crunch' now has a faintly
+archaic flavor; most hackers now use workstations or personal
+computers as opposed to traditional timesharing systems, and are
+far more likely to complain of `bandwidth crunch' on their shared
+networks rather than cycle crunch.
+
+
+Node:cycle drought, Next:cycle of
+reincarnation, Previous:cycle crunch, Up:= C = 
+
+cycle drought n.
+
+A scarcity of cycles. It may be due to a cycle crunch, but it could also occur
+because part of the computer is temporarily not working, leaving
+fewer cycles to go around. "The high
+moby is down, so we're running
+with only half the usual amount of memory. There will be a cycle
+drought until it's fixed."
+
+
+Node:cycle of
+reincarnation, Next:cycle server, Previous:cycle drought, Up:= C = 
+
+cycle of reincarnation n.
+
+See wheel of
+reincarnation.
+
+
+Node:cycle server, Next:cypherpunk, Previous:cycle of
+reincarnation, Up:= C =
+
+
+cycle server n.
+
+A powerful machine that exists primarily for running large
+compute-, disk-, or memory-intensive jobs (more formally called a
+`compute server'). Implies that interactive tasks such as editing
+are done on other machines on the network, such as
+workstations.
+
+
+Node:cypherpunk, Next:C|N>K, Previous:cycle server, Up:= C = 
+
+cypherpunk n.
+
+[from cyberpunk] Someone interested in the uses of encryption via
+electronic ciphers for enhancing personal privacy and guarding against
+tyranny by centralized, authoritarian power structures, especially
+government. There is an active cypherpunks mailing list at
+cypherpunks-request@toad.com coordinating work on public-key encryption
+freeware, privacy, and digital cash. See also tentacle.
+
+
+Node:C|N>K, Next:D. C. Power Lab, Previous:cypherpunk, Up:= C = 
+
+C|N>K n.
+
+[Usenet] Coffee through Nose to Keyboard; that is, "I laughed
+so hard I snarfed my coffee onto my
+keyboard.". Common on _alt.fan.pratchett_ and scary devil monastery;
+recognized elsewhere. The Acronymphomania
+FAQ on _alt.fan.pratchett_ recognizes variants such as
+T|N>K = `Tea through Nose to Keyboard' and C|N>S = `Coffee
+through Nose to Screen'.
+
+
+Node:= D =, Next:= E =, Previous:= C =, Up:The Jargon Lexicon 
+
+= D =
+
+
+D. C. Power Lab:
+
+
+daemon:
+
+
+daemon book:
+
+
+dahmum:
+
+
+dancing frog:
+
+
+dangling pointer:
+
+
+dark-side hacker:
+
+
+Datamation:
+
+
+DAU:
+
+
+Dave the
+Resurrector:
+
+
+day mode:
+
+
+dd:
+
+
+DDT:
+
+
+de-rezz:
+
+
+dead:
+
+
+dead beef attack:
+
+
+dead code:
+
+
+dead link:
+
+
+DEADBEEF:
+
+
+deadlock:
+
+
+deadly embrace:
+
+
+death code:
+
+
+Death Square:
+
+
+Death Star:
+
+
+DEC:
+
+
+DEC:
+
+
+DEC Wars:
+
+
+decay:
+
+
+deckle:
+
+
+DED:
+
+
+deep hack mode:
+
+
+deep magic:
+
+
+deep space:
+
+
+defenestration:
+
+
+defined as:
+
+
+dehose:
+
+
+deletia:
+
+
+deliminator:
+
+
+delint:
+
+
+delta:
+
+
+demented:
+
+
+demigod:
+
+
+demo:
+
+
+demo mode:
+
+
+demoeffect:
+
+
+demogroup:
+
+
+demon:
+
+
+demon dialer:
+
+
+demoparty:
+
+
+demoscene:
+
+
+dentro:
+
+
+depeditate:
+
+
+deprecated:
+
+
+derf:
+
+
+deserves to lose:
+
+
+desk check:
+
+
+despew:
+
+
+Devil Book:
+
+
+/dev/null:
+
+
+dickless
+workstation:
+
+
+dictionary flame:
+
+
+diddle:
+
+
+die:
+
+
+die horribly:
+
+
+diff:
+
+
+digit:
+
+
+dike:
+
+
+Dilbert:
+
+
+ding:
+
+
+dink:
+
+
+dinosaur:
+
+
+dinosaur pen:
+
+
+dinosaurs mating:
+
+
+dirtball:
+
+
+dirty power:
+
+
+disclaimer:
+
+
+Discordianism:
+
+
+disk farm:
+
+
+display hack:
+
+
+dispress:
+
+
+Dissociated Press:
+
+
+distribution:
+
+
+distro:
+
+
+disusered:
+
+
+do protocol:
+
+
+doc:
+
+
+documentation:
+
+
+dodgy:
+
+
+dogcow:
+
+
+dogfood:
+
+
+dogpile:
+
+
+dogwash:
+
+
+domainist:
+
+
+Don't do that
+then!:
+
+
+dongle:
+
+
+dongle-disk:
+
+
+donuts:
+
+
+doorstop:
+
+
+DoS attack:
+
+
+dot file:
+
+
+double bucky:
+
+
+doubled sig:
+
+
+down:
+
+
+download:
+
+
+DP:
+
+
+DPB:
+
+
+DPer:
+
+
+Dr. Fred Mbogo:
+
+
+dragon:
+
+
+Dragon Book:
+
+
+drain:
+
+
+dread high-bit
+disease:
+
+
+Dread Questionmark
+Disease:
+
+
+DRECNET:
+
+
+driver:
+
+
+droid:
+
+
+drone:
+
+
+drool-proof paper:
+
+
+drop on the
+floor:
+
+
+drop-ins:
+
+
+drop-outs:
+
+
+drugged:
+
+
+drum:
+
+
+drunk mouse
+syndrome:
+
+
+dub dub dub:
+
+
+Duff's device:
+
+
+dumb terminal:
+
+
+dumbass attack:
+
+
+dumbed down:
+
+
+dump:
+
+
+dumpster diving:
+
+
+dup killer:
+
+
+dup loop:
+
+
+dusty deck:
+
+
+DWIM:
+
+
+dynner:
+
+
+Node:D. C. Power Lab, Next:daemon, Previous:C|N>K, Up:= D = 
+
+D. C. Power Lab n.
+
+The former site of SAIL. Hackers
+thought this was very funny because the obvious connection to
+electrical engineering was nonexistent -- the lab was named for a
+Donald C. Power. Compare Marginal
+Hacks.
+
+
+Node:daemon, Next:daemon book, Previous:D. C. Power Lab, Up:= D = 
+
+daemon /day'mn/ or /dee'mn/ n.
+
+[from the mythological meaning, later rationalized as the
+acronym `Disk And Execution MONitor'] A program that is not
+invoked explicitly, but lies dormant waiting for some
+condition(s) to occur. The idea is that the perpetrator of the
+condition need not be aware that a daemon is lurking (though
+often a program will commit an action only because it knows that
+it will implicitly invoke a daemon). For example, under ITS writing a file on the LPT spooler's directory would invoke the spooling
+daemon, which would then print the file. The advantage is that
+programs wanting (in this example) files printed need neither
+compete for access to nor understand any idiosyncrasies of the
+LPT. They simply enter their implicit
+requests and let the daemon decide what to do with them. Daemons
+are usually spawned automatically by the system, and may either
+live forever or be regenerated at intervals.
+
+Daemon and demon are often used
+interchangeably, but seem to have distinct connotations. The term
+`daemon' was introduced to computing by CTSS people (who pronounced it /dee'mon/) and
+used it to refer to what ITS called a dragon; the prototype was a program called
+DAEMON that automatically made tape backups of the file system.
+Although the meaning and the pronunciation have drifted, we think
+this glossary reflects current (2000) usage.
+
+
+Node:daemon book, Next:dahmum, Previous:daemon, Up:= D
+= 
+
+daemon book n.
+
+"The Design and Implementation of the 4.3BSD UNIX Operating
+System", by Samuel J. Leffler, Marshall Kirk McKusick, Michael J.
+Karels, and John S. Quarterman (Addison-Wesley Publishers, 1989,
+ISBN 0-201-06196-1); or "The Design and Implementation of the 4.4
+BSD Operating System" by Marshall Kirk McKusick, Keith Bostic,
+Michael J. Karels and John S. Quarterman (Addison-Wesley Longman,
+1996, SBN 0-201-54979-4) Either of the standard reference books
+on the internals of BSD Unix. So called
+because the covers have a picture depicting a little devil (a
+visual play on daemon) in sneakers,
+holding a pitchfork (referring to one of the characteristic
+features of Unix, the fork(2) system call). Also
+known as the Devil Book.
+
+
+Node:dahmum, Next:dancing frog, Previous:daemon book, Up:= D = 
+
+dahmum /dah'mum/ n.
+
+[Usenet] The material of which protracted flame wars, especially those about
+operating systems, is composed. Homeomorphic to spam. The term `dahmum' is derived from the name
+of a militant OS/2 advocate, and
+originated when an extensively crossposted OS/2-versus-Linux debate was fed through Dissociated Press.
+
+
+Node:dancing frog, Next:dangling pointer,
+Previous:dahmum, Up:= D = 
+
+dancing frog n.
+
+[Vancouver area] A problem that occurs on a computer that will
+not reappear while anyone else is watching. From the classic
+Warner Brothers cartoon "One Froggy Evening", featuring a dancing
+and singing Michigan J. Frog that just croaks when anyone else is
+around (now the WB network mascot).
+
+
+Node:dangling pointer, Next:dark-side hacker,
+Previous:dancing
+frog, Up:= D = 
+
+dangling pointer n.
+
+[common] A reference that doesn't actually lead anywhere (in C
+and some other languages, a pointer that doesn't actually point
+at anything valid). Usually this happens because it formerly
+pointed to something that has moved or disappeared. Used as
+jargon in a generalization of its techspeak meaning; for example,
+a local phone number for a person who has since moved to the
+other coast is a dangling pointer. Compare dead link.
+
+
+Node:dark-side hacker, Next:Datamation, Previous:dangling pointer, Up:= D = 
+
+dark-side hacker n.
+
+A criminal or malicious hacker; a cracker. From George Lucas's Darth Vader,
+"seduced by the dark side of the Force". The implication that
+hackers form a sort of elite of technological Jedi Knights is
+intended. Oppose samurai.
+
+
+Node:Datamation, Next:DAU, Previous:dark-side hacker, Up:= D = 
+
+Datamation /day`t*-may'sh*n/ n.
+
+A magazine that many hackers assume all suits read. Used to question an unbelieved quote,
+as in "Did you read that in `Datamation?'" (But see below; this
+slur may be dated by the time you read this.) It used to publish
+something hackishly funny every once in a while, like the
+original paper on COME FROM in
+1973, and Ed Post's "Real Programmers Don't Use Pascal" ten years
+later, but for a long time after that it was much more
+exclusively suit-oriented and boring.
+Following a change of editorship in 1994, Datamation is trying
+for more of the technical content and irreverent humor that
+marked its early days.
+
+Datamation now has a WWW page at http://www.datamation.com worth
+visiting for its selection of computer humor, including "Real
+Programmers Don't Use Pascal" and the `Bastard Operator From
+Hell' stories by Simon Travaglia (see BOFH).
+
+
+Node:DAU, Next:Dave the Resurrector, Previous:Datamation, Up:= D = 
+
+DAU /dow/ n.
+
+[German FidoNet] German acronym for Dümmster
+Anzunehmender User (stupidest imaginable user). From the
+engineering-slang GAU for Grösster Anzunehmender Unfall,
+worst assumable accident, esp. of a LNG tank farm plant or
+something with similarly disastrous consequences. In popular
+German, GAU is used only to refer to worst-case nuclear acidents
+such as a core meltdown. See cretin,
+fool, loser and weasel.
+
+
+Node:Dave the Resurrector,
+Next:day mode, Previous:DAU, Up:= D = 
+
+Dave the Resurrector n.
+
+[Usenet; also abbreviated DtR] A cancelbot that cancels cancels. Dave the
+Resurrector originated when some spam-spewers decided to try to impede
+spam-fighting by wholesale cancellation of anti-spam coordination
+messages in the _news.admin.net-abuse.usenet_ newsgroup.
+
+
+Node:day mode, Next:dd, Previous:Dave the Resurrector, Up:= D = 
+
+day mode n.
+
+See phase (sense 1). Used of
+people only.
+
+
+Node:dd, Next:DDT,
+Previous:day mode, Up:= D = 
+
+dd /dee-dee/ vt.
+
+[Unix: from IBM JCL] Equivalent to
+cat or BLT.
+Originally the name of a Unix copy command with special options
+suitable for block-oriented devices; it was often used in
+heavy-handed system maintenance, as in "Let's dd the
+root partition onto a tape, then use the boot PROM to load it
+back on to a new disk". The Unix dd(1) was designed
+with a weird, distinctly non-Unixy keyword option syntax
+reminiscent of IBM System/360 JCL (which had an elaborate DD
+`Dataset Definition' specification for I/O devices); though the
+command filled a need, the interface design was clearly a prank.
+The jargon usage is now very rare outside Unix sites and now
+nearly obsolete even there, as dd(1) has been deprecated for a long time (though it
+has no exact replacement). The term has been displaced by BLT or simple English `copy'.
+
+
+Node:DDT, Next:de-rezz, Previous:dd, Up:= D = 
+
+DDT /D-D-T/ n.
+
+[from the insecticide para-dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethene]
+1. Generic term for a program that assists in debugging other
+programs by showing individual machine instructions in a readable
+symbolic form and letting the user change them. In this sense the
+term DDT is now archaic, having been widely displaced by
+`debugger' or names of individual programs like adb,
+sdb, dbx, or gdb. 2. [ITS]
+Under MIT's fabled ITS operating
+system, DDT (running under the alias HACTRN, a six-letterism for
+`Hack Translator') was also used as the shell or top level command language used to
+execute other programs. 3. Any one of several specific DDTs
+(sense 1) supported on early DEC
+hardware and CP/M. The PDP-10 Reference Handbook (1969) contained
+a footnote on the first page of the documentation for DDT that
+illuminates the origin of the term:
+
+Historical footnote: DDT was developed at MIT for the
+PDP-1 computer in 1961. At that time DDT stood for "DEC Debugging
+Tape". Since then, the idea of an on-line debugging program has
+propagated throughout the computer industry. DDT programs are now
+available for all DEC computers. Since media other than tape are
+now frequently used, the more descriptive name "Dynamic Debugging
+Technique" has been adopted, retaining the DDT abbreviation.
+Confusion between DDT-10 and another well known pesticide,
+dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (C14-H9-Cl5) should be minimal
+since each attacks a different, and apparently mutually
+exclusive, class of bugs.
+
+
+(The `tape' referred to was, incidentally, not magnetic but
+paper.) Sadly, this quotation was removed from later editions of
+the handbook after the suits took over
+and DEC became much more
+`businesslike'.
+
+The history above is known to many old-time hackers. But
+there's more: Peter Samson, compiler of the original TMRC lexicon, reports that he named `DDT' after a
+similar tool on the TX-0 computer, the direct ancestor of the
+PDP-1 built at MIT's Lincoln Lab in 1957. The debugger on that
+ground-breaking machine (the first transistorized computer)
+rejoiced in the name FLIT (FLexowriter Interrogation Tape).
+
+
+Node:de-rezz, Next:dead, Previous:DDT,
+Up:= D = 
+
+de-rezz /dee-rez'/
+
+[from `de-resolve' via the movie "Tron"] (also `derez') 1. vi.
+To disappear or dissolve; the image that goes with it is of an
+object breaking up into raster lines and static and then
+dissolving. Occasionally used of a person who seems to have
+suddenly `fuzzed out' mentally rather than physically. Usage:
+extremely silly, also rare. This verb was actually invented as
+fictional hacker jargon, and adopted in a spirit of
+irony by real hackers years after the fact. 2. vt. The Macintosh
+resource decompiler. On a Macintosh, many program structures
+(including the code itself) are managed in small segments of the
+program file known as `resources'; `Rez' and `DeRez' are a pair
+of utilities for compiling and decompiling resource files. Thus,
+decompiling a resource is `derezzing'. Usage: very common.
+
+
+Node:dead, Next:dead beef attack, Previous:de-rezz, Up:= D = 
+
+dead adj.
+
+1. Non-functional; down; crashed. Especially used of hardware. 2. At
+XEROX PARC, software that is working but not undergoing continued
+development and support. 3. Useless; inaccessible. Antonym:
+`live'. Compare dead code.
+
+
+Node:dead beef attack, Next:dead code, Previous:dead, Up:= D = 
+
+dead beef attack n.
+
+[cypherpunks list, 1996] An attack on a public-key
+cryptosystem consisting of publishing a key having the same ID as
+another key (thus making it possible to spoof a user's identity
+if recipients aren't careful about verifying keys). In PGP and
+GPG the key ID is the last eight hex digits of (for RSA keys) the
+product of two primes. The attack was demonstrated by creating a
+key whose ID was 0xdeadbeef (see DEADBEEF).
+
+
+Node:dead code, Next:dead link, Previous:dead beef attack, Up:= D = 
+
+dead code n.
+
+Routines that can never be accessed because all calls to them
+have been removed, or code that cannot be reached because it is
+guarded by a control structure that provably must always transfer
+control somewhere else. The presence of dead code may reveal
+either logical errors due to alterations in the program or
+significant changes in the assumptions and environment of the
+program (see also software
+rot); a good compiler should report dead code so a
+maintainer can think about what it means. (Sometimes it simply
+means that an extremely defensive programmer has
+inserted can't happen tests
+which really can't happen -- yet.) Syn. grunge. See also dead, and The Story of Mel.
+
+
+Node:dead link, Next:DEADBEEF, Previous:dead code, Up:= D = 
+
+dead link n.
+
+[very common] A World-Wide-Web URL that no longer points to
+the information it was written to reach. Usually this happens
+because the document has been moved or deleted. Lots of dead
+links make a WWW page frustrating and useless and are the #1 sign
+of poor page maintainance. Compare dangling pointer, link rot.
+
+
+Node:DEADBEEF, Next:deadlock, Previous:dead link, Up:= D = 
+
+DEADBEEF /ded-beef/ n.
+
+The hexadecimal word-fill pattern for freshly allocated memory
+(decimal -21524111) under a number of IBM environments, including
+the RS/6000. Some modern debugging tools deliberately fill freed
+memory with this value as a way of converting heisenbugs into Bohr bugs. As in "Your program is DEADBEEF"
+(meaning gone, aborted, flushed from memory); if you start from
+an odd half-word boundary, of course, you have BEEFDEAD. See also
+the anecdote under fool and dead beef attack.
+
+
+Node:deadlock, Next:deadly embrace, Previous:DEADBEEF, Up:= D = 
+
+deadlock n.
+
+1. [techspeak] A situation wherein two or more processes are
+unable to proceed because each is waiting for one of the others
+to do something. A common example is a program communicating to a
+server, which may find itself waiting for output from the server
+before sending anything more to it, while the server is similarly
+waiting for more input from the controlling program before
+outputting anything. (It is reported that this particular flavor
+of deadlock is sometimes called a `starvation deadlock', though
+the term `starvation' is more properly used for situations where
+a program can never run simply because it never gets high enough
+priority. Another common flavor is `constipation', in which each
+process is trying to send stuff to the other but all buffers are
+full because nobody is reading anything.) See deadly embrace. 2. Also used of
+deadlock-like interactions between humans, as when two people
+meet in a narrow corridor, and each tries to be polite by moving
+aside to let the other pass, but they end up swaying from side to
+side without making any progress because they always move the
+same way at the same time.
+
+
+Node:deadly embrace, Next:death code, Previous:deadlock, Up:= D = 
+
+deadly embrace n.
+
+Same as deadlock, though
+usually used only when exactly two processes are involved. This
+is the more popular term in Europe, while deadlock predominates in the United
+States.
+
+
+Node:death code, Next:Death Square, Previous:deadly embrace, Up:= D = 
+
+death code n.
+
+A routine whose job is to set everything in the computer --
+registers, memory, flags, everything -- to zero, including that
+portion of memory where it is running; its last act is to stomp
+on its own "store zero" instruction. Death code isn't very
+useful, but writing it is an interesting hacking challenge on
+architectures where the instruction set makes it possible, such
+as the PDP-8 (it has also been done on the DG Nova).
+
+Perhaps the ultimate death code is on the TI 990 series, where
+all registers are actually in RAM, and the instruction "store
+immediate 0" has the opcode "0". The PC will immediately wrap
+around core as many times as it can until a user hits HALT. Any
+empty memory location is death code. Worse, the manufacturer
+recommended use of this instruction in startup code (which would
+be in ROM and therefore survive).
+
+
+Node:Death Square, Next:Death Star, Previous:death code, Up:= D = 
+
+Death Square n.
+
+The corporate logo of Novell, the people who acquired USL
+after AT&T let go of it (Novell eventually sold the Unix
+group to SCO). Coined by analogy with Death Star, because many people believed
+Novell was bungling the lead in Unix systems exactly as AT&T
+did for many years.
+
+
+Node:Death Star, Next:DEC, Previous:Death Square, Up:= D = 
+
+Death Star n.
+
+[from the movie "Star Wars"] 1. The AT&T corporate logo,
+which appears on computers sold by AT&T and bears an uncanny
+resemblance to the Death Star in the movie. This usage is
+particularly common among partisans of BSD Unix, who tend to regard the AT&T versions
+as inferior and AT&T as a bad guy. Copies still circulate of
+a poster printed by Mt. Xinu showing a starscape with a space
+fighter labeled 4.2 BSD streaking away from a broken AT&T
+logo wreathed in flames. 2. AT&T's internal magazine,
+"Focus", uses `death star' to describe an incorrectly done
+AT&T logo in which the inner circle in the top left is dark
+instead of light -- a frequent result of dark-on-light logo
+images.
+
+
+Node:DEC, Next:DEC Wars, Previous:Death Star, Up:= D = 
+
+DEC /dek/ n.
+
+1. v. Verbal (and only rarely written) shorthand for
+_decrement_, i.e. `decrease by one'. Especially used by
+assembly programmers, as many assembly languages have a
+dec mnemonic. Antonym: inc. 2. n. Commonly used abbreviation for Digital
+Equipment Corporation, later deprecated by DEC itself in favor of
+"Digital" and now entirely obsolete following the buyout by
+Compaq. Before the killer
+micro revolution of the late 1980s, hackerdom was closely
+symbiotic with DEC's pioneering timesharing machines. The first
+of the group of cultures described by this lexicon nucleated
+around the PDP-1 (see TMRC).
+Subsequently, the PDP-6, PDP-10,
+PDP-20, PDP-11 and VAX were all foci of large and important
+hackerdoms, and DEC machines long dominated the ARPANET and
+Internet machine population. DEC was the technological leader of
+the minicomputer era (roughly 1967 to 1987), but its failure to
+embrace microcomputers and Unix early cost it heavily in profits
+and prestige after silicon got
+cheap. Nevertheless, the microprocessor design tradition owes a
+major debt to the PDP-11 instruction set, and every one of the
+major general-purpose microcomputer OSs so far (CP/M, MS-DOS,
+Unix, OS/2, Windows NT) was either genetically descended from a
+DEC OS, or incubated on DEC hardware, or both. Accordingly, DEC
+was for many years still regarded with a certain wry affection
+even among many hackers too young to have grown up on DEC
+machines.
+
+DEC reclaimed some of its old reputation among techies in the
+first half of the 1990s. The success of the Alpha, an
+innovatively-designed and very high-performance killer micro, helped a lot. So did
+DEC's newfound receptiveness to Unix and open systems in general.
+When Compaq acquired DEC at the end of 1998 there was some
+concern that these gains would be lost along with the DEC
+nameplate, but the merged company has so far turned out to be
+culturally dominated by the ex-DEC side.
+
+
+Node:DEC Wars, Next:decay, Previous:DEC, Up:= D =
+
+
+DEC Wars n.
+
+A 1983 Usenet posting by Alan
+Hastings and Steve Tarr spoofing the "Star Wars" movies in
+hackish terms. Some years later, ESR (disappointed by Hastings
+and Tarr's failure to exploit a great premise more thoroughly)
+posted a 3-times-longer complete rewrite called Unix
+WARS; the two are often confused.
+
+
+Node:decay, Next:deckle, Previous:DEC Wars, Up:= D = 
+
+decay n.,vi
+
+[from nuclear physics] An automatic conversion which is
+applied to most array-valued expressions in C; they `decay into' pointer-valued expressions
+pointing to the array's first element. This term is borderline
+techspeak, but is not used in the official standard for the
+language.
+
+
+Node:deckle, Next:DED, Previous:decay, Up:= D
+= 
+
+deckle /dek'l/ n.
+
+[from dec- and nybble; the
+original spelling seems to have been `decle'] Two nickles; 10 bits. Reported among developers for
+Mattel's GI 1600 (the Intellivision games processor), a chip with
+16-bit-wide RAM but 10-bit-wide ROM. See nybble for other such terms.
+
+
+Node:DED, Next:deep hack mode, Previous:deckle, Up:= D = 
+
+DED /D-E-D/ n.
+
+Dark-Emitting Diode (that is, a burned-out LED). Compare SED, LER, write-only memory. In the
+early 1970s both Signetics and Texas instruments released DED
+spec sheets as AFJs (suggested uses
+included "as a power-off indicator").
+
+
+Node:deep hack mode, Next:deep magic, Previous:DED, Up:= D = 
+
+deep hack mode n.
+
+See hack mode.
+
+
+Node:deep magic, Next:deep space, Previous:deep hack mode, Up:= D = 
+
+deep magic n.
+
+[poss. from C. S. Lewis's "Narnia" books] An awesomely arcane
+technique central to a program or system, esp. one neither
+generally published nor available to hackers at large (compare
+black art); one that could only
+have been composed by a true wizard.
+Compiler optimization techniques and many aspects of OS design used to be deep magic; many techniques in
+cryptography, signal processing, graphics, and AI still are.
+Compare heavy wizardry.
+Esp. found in comments of the form "Deep magic begins
+here...". Compare voodoo programming.
+
+
+Node:deep space, Next:defenestration, Previous:deep magic, Up:= D = 
+
+deep space n.
+
+1. Describes the notional location of any program that has
+gone off the trolley.
+Esp. used of programs that just sit there silently grinding long
+after either failure or some output is expected. "Uh oh. I should
+have gotten a prompt ten seconds ago. The program's in deep space
+somewhere." Compare buzz, catatonic, hyperspace. 2. The metaphorical location of
+a human so dazed and/or confused or caught up in some esoteric
+form of bogosity that he or she no
+longer responds coherently to normal communication. Compare page out.
+
+
+Node:defenestration, Next:defined as, Previous:deep space, Up:= D = 
+
+defenestration n.
+
+[mythically from a traditional Czech assasination method, via
+SF fandom] 1. Proper karmic retribution for an incorrigible
+punster. "Oh, ghod, that was awful!" "Quick!
+Defenestrate him!" 2. The act of exiting a window system in order
+to get better response time from a full-screen program. This
+comes from the dictionary meaning of `defenestrate', which is to
+throw something out a window. 3. The act of discarding something
+under the assumption that it will improve matters. "I don't have
+any disk space left." "Well, why don't you defenestrate that 100
+megs worth of old core dumps?" 4. Under a GUI, the act of
+dragging something out of a window (onto the screen). "Next,
+defenestrate the MugWump icon." 5. The act of completely removing
+Micro$oft Windows from a PC in favor of a better OS (typically
+Linux).
+
+
+Node:defined as, Next:dehose, Previous:defenestration, Up:= D = 
+
+defined as adj.
+
+In the role of, usually in an organization-chart sense. "Pete
+is currently defined as bug prioritizer." Compare logical.
+
+
+Node:dehose, Next:deletia, Previous:defined as, Up:= D = 
+
+dehose /dee-hohz/ vt.
+
+To clear a hosed condition.
+
+
+Node:deletia, Next:deliminator, Previous:dehose, Up:= D
+= 
+
+deletia n. /d*-lee'sha/
+
+[USENET; common] In an email reply, material omitted from the
+quote of the original. Usually written rather than spoken; often
+appears as a pseudo-tag or ellipsis in the body of the reply, as
+"[deletia]" or "<deletia>".
+
+
+Node:deliminator, Next:delint, Previous:deletia, Up:= D
+= 
+
+deliminator /de-lim'-in-ay-t*r/ n.
+
+[portmanteau, delimiter + eliminate] A string or pattern used
+to delimit text into fields, but which is itself eliminated from
+the resulting list of fields. This jargon seems to have
+originated among Perl hackers in connection with the Perl split()
+function; however, it has been sighted in live use among Java and
+even Visual Basic programmers.
+
+
+Node:delint, Next:delta, Previous:deliminator, Up:= D = 
+
+delint /dee-lint/ v. obs.
+
+To modify code to remove problems detected when linting. Confusingly, this process is also
+referred to as `linting' code. This term is no longer in general
+use because ANSI C compilers typically issue compile-time
+warnings almost as detailed as lint warnings.
+
+
+Node:delta, Next:demented, Previous:delint, Up:= D
+= 
+
+delta n.
+
+1. [techspeak] A quantitative change, especially a small or
+incremental one (this use is general in physics and engineering).
+"I just doubled the speed of my program!" "What was the delta on
+program size?" "About 30 percent." (He doubled the speed of his
+program, but increased its size by only 30 percent.) 2. [Unix] A
+diff, especially a diff stored under the set of version-control
+tools called SCCS (Source Code Control System) or RCS (Revision
+Control System). 3. n. A small quantity, but not as small as
+epsilon. The jargon usage of delta and epsilon stems from the traditional use of
+these letters in mathematics for very small numerical quantities,
+particularly in `epsilon-delta' proofs in limit theory (as in the
+differential calculus). The term delta is often used, once epsilon has been mentioned, to mean a quantity
+that is slightly bigger than epsilon but still very small. "The cost isn't
+epsilon, but it's delta" means that the cost isn't totally
+negligible, but it is nevertheless very small. Common
+constructions include `within delta of --', `within epsilon of
+--': that is, `close to' and `even closer to'.
+
+
+Node:demented, Next:demigod, Previous:delta, Up:= D
+= 
+
+demented adj.
+
+Yet another term of disgust used to describe a malfunctioning
+program. The connotation in this case is that the program works
+as designed, but the design is bad. Said, for example, of a
+program that generates large numbers of meaningless error
+messages, implying that it is on the brink of imminent collapse.
+Compare wonky, brain-damaged, bozotic.
+
+
+Node:demigod, Next:demo, Previous:demented, Up:=
+D = 
+
+demigod n.
+
+A hacker with years of experience, a world-wide reputation,
+and a major role in the development of at least one design, tool,
+or game used by or known to more than half of the hacker
+community. To qualify as a genuine demigod, the person must
+recognizably identify with the hacker community and have helped
+shape it. Major demigods include Ken Thompson and Dennis Ritchie
+(co-inventors of Unix and C), Richard M. Stallman (inventor of EMACS), Larry Wall (inventor of Perl), Linus Torvalds (inventor of Linux), and most recently James Gosling
+(inventor of Java, NeWS, and GOSMACS) and Guido van Rossum (inventor
+of Python). In their hearts of
+hearts, most hackers dream of someday becoming demigods
+themselves, and more than one major software project has been
+driven to completion by the author's veiled hopes of apotheosis.
+See also net.god, true-hacker.
+
+
+Node:demo, Next:demo mode, Previous:demigod, Up:= D
+= 
+
+demo /de'moh/
+
+[short for `demonstration'] 1. v. To demonstrate a product or
+prototype. A far more effective way of inducing bugs to manifest
+than any number of test runs,
+especially when important people are watching. 2. n. The act of
+demoing. "I've gotta give a demo of the drool-proof interface;
+how does it work again?" 3. n. Esp. as `demo version', can refer
+either to an early, barely-functional version of a program which
+can be used for demonstration purposes as long as the operator
+uses exactly the right commands and skirts its numerous
+bugs, deficiencies, and unimplemented portions, or to a special
+version of a program (frequently with some features crippled)
+which is distributed at little or no cost to the user for
+enticement purposes. 4. [demoscene] A sequence of demoeffects (usually) combined with
+self-composed music and hand-drawn ("pixelated") graphics. These
+days (1997) usually built to attend a compo. Often called `eurodemos' outside Europe,
+as most of the demoscene activity
+seems to have gathered in northern Europe and especially
+Scandinavia. See also intro, dentro.
+
+
+Node:demo mode, Next:demoeffect, Previous:demo, Up:= D
+= 
+
+demo mode n.
+
+1. [Sun] The state of being heads
+down in order to finish code in time for a demo, usually due yesterday. 2. A mode in which
+video games sit by themselves running through a portion of the
+game, also known as `attract mode'. Some serious apps have a demo mode they use as a screen saver,
+or may go through a demo mode on startup (for example, the
+Microsoft Windows opening screen -- which lets you impress your
+neighbors without actually having to put up with Microsloth Windows).
+
+
+Node:demoeffect, Next:demogroup, Previous:demo mode, Up:= D = 
+
+demoeffect n.
+
+[demoscene] What among hackers
+is called a display hack.
+Classical effects include "plasma" (colorful mess), "keftales"
+(x*x+y*y and other similar patterns, usually combined with
+color-cycling), realtime fractals, realtime 3d graphics, etc.
+Historically, demo effects have cheated as much as possible to
+gain more speed and more complexity, using low-precision math and
+masses of assembler code and building animation realtime are
+three common tricks, but use of special hardware to fake effects
+is a Good Thing on the
+demoscene (though this is becoming less common as platforms like
+the Amiga fade away).
+
+
+Node:demogroup, Next:demon, Previous:demoeffect, Up:= D = 
+
+demogroup n.
+
+[demoscene] A group of demo (sense 4) composers. Job titles within
+a group include coders (the ones who write programs), graphicians
+(the ones who painstakingly pixelate the fine art), musicians
+(the music composers), sysops,
+traders/swappers (the ones who do the trading and other PR), and
+organizers (in larger groups). It is not uncommon for one person
+to do multiple jobs, but it has been observed that good coders
+are rarely good composers and vice versa. [How odd. Musical
+talent seems common among Internet/Unix hackers --ESR]
+
+
+Node:demon, Next:demon dialer, Previous:demogroup, Up:= D = 
+
+demon n.
+
+1. [MIT] A portion of a program that is not invoked
+explicitly, but that lies dormant waiting for some condition(s)
+to occur. See daemon. The
+distinction is that demons are usually processes within a
+program, while daemons are usually programs running on an
+operating system. 2. [outside MIT] Often used equivalently to
+daemon -- especially in the Unix world, where the latter spelling and
+pronunciation is considered mildly archaic.
+
+Demons in sense 1 are particularly common in AI programs. For
+example, a knowledge-manipulation program might implement
+inference rules as demons. Whenever a new piece of knowledge was
+added, various demons would activate (which demons depends on the
+particular piece of data) and would create additional pieces of
+knowledge by applying their respective inference rules to the
+original piece. These new pieces could in turn activate more
+demons as the inferences filtered down through chains of logic.
+Meanwhile, the main program could continue with whatever its
+primary task was.
+
+
+Node:demon dialer, Next:demoparty, Previous:demon, Up:= D = 
+
+demon dialer n.
+
+A program which repeatedly calls the same telephone number.
+Demon dialing may be benign (as when a number of communications
+programs contend for legitimate access to a BBS line) or malign (that is, used as a prank or
+denial-of-service attack). This term dates from the blue box days of the 1970s and early 1980s
+and is now semi-obsolescent among phreakers; see war
+dialer for its contemporary progeny.
+
+
+Node:demoparty, Next:demoscene, Previous:demon dialer, Up:= D = 
+
+demoparty n.
+
+[demoscene] Aboveground
+descendant of the copyparty, with
+emphasis shifted away from software piracy and towards compos. Smaller demoparties, for 100
+persons or less, are held quite often, sometimes even once a
+month, and usually last for one to two days. On the other end of
+the scale, huge demo parties are held once a year (and four of
+these have grown very large and occur annually - Assembly in
+Finland, The Party in Denmark, The Gathering in Norway, and NAID
+somewhere in north America). These parties usually last for three
+to five days, have room for 3000-5000 people, and have a party
+network with connection to the internet.
+
+
+Node:demoscene, Next:dentro, Previous:demoparty, Up:= D = 
+
+demoscene /dem'oh-seen/
+
+[also `demo scene'] A culture of multimedia hackers located
+primarily in Scandinavia and northern Europe. Demoscene folklore
+recounts that when old-time warez
+d00dz cracked some piece of software they often added an
+advertisement of in the beginning, usually containing colorful
+display hacks with greetings
+to other cracking groups. The demoscene was born among people who
+decided building these display hacks is more interesting than
+hacking and began to build self-contained display hacks of
+considerable elaboration and beauty (within the culture such a
+hack is called a demo). The split
+seems to have happened at the end of the 1980s. As more of these
+demogroups emerged, they started
+to have compos at copying parties
+(see copyparty), which later
+evolved to standalone events (see demoparty). The demoscene has retained some
+traits from the warez d00dz,
+including their style of handles and group names and some of
+their jargon.
+
+Traditionally demos were written in assembly language, with
+lots of smart tricks, self-modifying code, undocumented op-codes
+and the like. Some time around 1995, people started coding demos
+in C, and a couple of years after that, they also started using
+Java.
+
+Ten years on (in 1998-1999), the demoscene is changing as its
+original platforms (C64, Amiga, Spectrum, Atari ST, IBM PC under
+DOS) die out and activity shifts towards Windows, Linux, and the
+Internet. While deeply underground in the past, demoscene is
+trying to get into the mainstream as accepted art form, and one
+symptom of this is the commercialization of bigger demoparties.
+Older demosceneers frown at this, but the majority think it's a
+good direction. Many demosceneers end up working in the computer
+game industry. Demoscene resource pages are available at http://www.oldskool.org/demos/explained/
+and http://www.scene.org/.
+
+
+Node:dentro, Next:depeditate, Previous:demoscene, Up:= D = 
+
+dentro /den'troh/
+
+[demoscene] Combination of
+demo (sense 4) and intro. Other name mixings include intmo, dentmo
+etc. and are used usually when the authors are not quite sure
+whether the program is a demo or an
+intro. Special-purpose coinages like
+wedtro (some member of a group got married), invtro (invitation
+intro) etc. have also been sighted.
+
+
+Node:depeditate, Next:deprecated, Previous:dentro, Up:=
+D = 
+
+depeditate /dee-ped'*-tayt/ n.
+
+[by (faulty) analogy with `decapitate'] Humorously, to cut off
+the feet of. When one is using some computer-aided typesetting
+tools, careless placement of text blocks within a page or above a
+rule can result in chopped-off letter descenders. Such letters
+are said to have been depeditated.
+
+
+Node:deprecated, Next:derf, Previous:depeditate, Up:= D = 
+
+deprecated adj.
+
+Said of a program or feature that is considered obsolescent
+and in the process of being phased out, usually in favor of a
+specified replacement. Deprecated features can, unfortunately,
+linger on for many years. This term appears with distressing
+frequency in standards documents when the committees writing the
+documents realize that large amounts of extant (and presumably
+happily working) code depend on the feature(s) that have passed
+out of favor. See also dusty
+deck.
+
+[Usage note: don't confuse this word with `depreciate', or the
+verb form `deprecate' with `depreciated`. They are different
+words; see any dictionary for discussion.]
+
+
+Node:derf, Next:deserves to lose, Previous:deprecated, Up:= D = 
+
+derf /derf/ v.,n.
+
+[PLATO] The act of exploiting a terminal which someone else
+has absentmindedly left logged on, to use that person's account,
+especially to post articles intended to make an ass of the victim
+you're impersonating. It has been alleged that the term
+originated as a reversal of the name of the gentleman who most
+usually left himself vulnerable to it, who also happened to be
+the head of the department that handled PLATO at the University
+of Delaware.
+
+
+Node:deserves to lose, Next:desk check, Previous:derf, Up:= D = 
+
+deserves to lose adj.
+
+[common] Said of someone who willfully does the Wrong Thing; humorously, if one uses a
+feature known to be marginal. What
+is meant is that one deserves the consequences of one's losing actions. "Boy, anyone who tries to
+use mess-dos deserves to lose!" (ITS fans
+used to say the same thing of Unix;
+many still do.) See also screw, chomp, bagbiter.
+
+
+Node:desk check, Next:despew, Previous:deserves to lose, Up:= D = 
+
+desk check n.,v.
+
+To grovel over hardcopy of source
+code, mentally simulating the control flow; a method of catching
+bugs. No longer common practice in this age of on-screen editing,
+fast compiles, and sophisticated debuggers -- though some
+maintain stoutly that it ought to be. Compare eyeball search, vdiff, vgrep.
+
+
+Node:despew, Next:Devil Book, Previous:desk check, Up:= D = 
+
+despew /d*-spyoo'/ v.
+
+[Usenet] To automatically generate a large amount of garbage
+to the net, esp. from an automated posting program gone wild. See
+ARMM.
+
+
+Node:Devil Book, Next:/dev/null, Previous:despew, Up:=
+D = 
+
+Devil Book n.
+
+See daemon book, the term
+preferred by its authors.
+
+
+Node:/dev/null, Next:dickless workstation,
+Previous:Devil Book,
+Up:= D = 
+
+/dev/null /dev-nuhl/ n.
+
+[from the Unix null device, used as a data sink] A notional
+`black hole' in any information space being discussed, used, or
+referred to. A controversial posting, for example, might end
+"Kudos to rasputin@kremlin.org, flames to /dev/null". See bit bucket.
+
+
+Node:dickless workstation,
+Next:dictionary
+flame, Previous:/dev/null, Up:= D = 
+
+dickless workstation n.
+
+Extremely pejorative hackerism for `diskless workstation', a
+class of botches including the Sun 3/50 and other machines
+designed exclusively to network with an expensive central disk
+server. These combine all the disadvantages of time-sharing with
+all the disadvantages of distributed personal computers;
+typically, they cannot even boot
+themselves without help (in the form of some kind of breath-of-life packet) from
+the server.
+
+
+Node:dictionary flame, Next:diddle, Previous:dickless workstation, Up:= D = 
+
+dictionary flame n.
+
+[Usenet] An attempt to sidetrack a debate away from issues by
+insisting on meanings for key terms that presuppose a desired
+conclusion or smuggle in an implicit premise. A common tactic of
+people who prefer argument over definitions to disputes about
+reality. Compare spelling
+flame.
+
+
+Node:diddle, Next:die, Previous:dictionary flame, Up:= D = 
+
+diddle
+
+1. vt. To work with or modify in a not particularly serious
+manner. "I diddled a copy of ADVENT
+so it didn't double-space all the time." "Let's diddle this piece
+of code and see if the problem goes away." See tweak and twiddle.
+2. n. The action or result of diddling. See also tweak, twiddle,
+frob.
+
+
+Node:die, Next:die horribly, Previous:diddle, Up:=
+D = 
+
+die v.
+
+Syn. crash. Unlike crash, which is used primarily of hardware, this
+verb is used of both hardware and software. See also go flatline, casters-up mode.
+
+
+Node:die horribly, Next:diff, Previous:die, Up:= D =
+
+
+die horribly v.
+
+The software equivalent of crash and burn, and the preferred
+emphatic form of die. "The converter
+choked on an FF in its input and died horribly".
+
+
+Node:diff, Next:digit, Previous:die horribly, Up:= D = 
+
+diff /dif/ n.
+
+1. A change listing, especially giving differences between
+(and additions to) source code or documents (the term is often
+used in the plural `diffs'). "Send me your diffs for the Jargon
+File!" Compare vdiff. 2.
+Specifically, such a listing produced by the diff(1)
+command, esp. when used as specification input to the
+patch(1) utility (which can actually perform the
+modifications; see patch). This is a
+common method of distributing patches and source updates in the
+Unix/C world. 3. v. To compare (whether or not by use of
+automated tools on machine-readable files); see also vdiff, mod.
+
+
+Node:digit, Next:dike, Previous:diff, Up:= D =
+
+
+digit n.,obs.
+
+An employee of Digital Equipment Corporation. See also VAX, VMS, PDP-10, TOPS-10, field
+circus.
+
+
+Node:dike, Next:Dilbert, Previous:digit, Up:= D
+= 
+
+dike vt.
+
+To remove or disable a portion of something, as a wire from a
+computer or a subroutine from a program. A standard slogan is
+"When in doubt, dike it out". (The implication is that it is
+usually more effective to attack software problems by reducing
+complexity than by increasing it.) The word `dikes' is widely
+used among mechanics and engineers to mean `diagonal cutters',
+esp. the heavy-duty metal-cutting version, but may also refer to
+a kind of wire-cutters used by electronics techs. To `dike
+something out' means to use such cutters to remove something.
+Indeed, the TMRC Dictionary defined dike as "to attack with
+dikes". Among hackers this term has been metaphorically extended
+to informational objects such as sections of code.
+
+
+Node:Dilbert, Next:ding, Previous:dike, Up:= D =
+
+
+Dilbert
+
+n. Name and title character of a comic strip nationally
+syndicated in the U.S. and enormously popular among hackers.
+Dilbert is an archetypical engineer-nerd who works at an
+anonymous high-technology company; the strips present a
+lacerating satire of insane working conditions and idiotic management practices all too readily
+recognized by hackers. Adams, who spent nine years in cube 4S700R at Pacific Bell (not DEC as often reported), often remarks that he has
+never been able to come up with a fictional management blunder
+that his correspondents didn't quickly either report to have
+actually happened or top with a similar but even more bizarre
+incident. In 1996 Adams distilled his insights into the
+collective psychology of businesses into an even funnier book,
+"The Dilbert Principle" (HarperCollins, ISBN 0-887-30787-6). See
+also pointy-haired, rat dance.
+
+
+Node:ding, Next:dink, Previous:Dilbert, Up:= D
+= 
+
+ding n.,vi.
+
+1. Synonym for feep. Usage: rare
+among hackers, but more common in the Real World. 2. `dinged': What happens
+when someone in authority gives you a minor bitching about
+something, esp. something trivial. "I was dinged for having a
+messy desk."
+
+
+Node:dink, Next:dinosaur, Previous:ding, Up:= D =
+
+
+dink /dink/ adj.
+
+Said of a machine that has the bitty
+box nature; a machine too small to be worth bothering
+with -- sometimes the system you're currently forced to work on.
+First heard from an MIT hacker working on a CP/M system with 64K,
+in reference to any 6502 system, then from fans of 32-bit
+architectures about 16-bit machines. "GNUMACS will never work on
+that dink machine." Probably derived from mainstream `dinky',
+which isn't sufficiently pejorative. See macdink.
+
+
+Node:dinosaur, Next:dinosaur pen, Previous:dink, Up:= D
+= 
+
+dinosaur n.
+
+1. Any hardware requiring raised flooring and special power.
+Used especially of old minis and mainframes, in contrast with
+newer microprocessor-based machines. In a famous quote from the
+1988 Unix EXPO, Bill Joy compared the liquid-cooled mainframe in
+the massive IBM display with a grazing dinosaur "with a truck
+outside pumping its bodily fluids through it". IBM was not
+amused. Compare big iron; see
+also mainframe. 2. [IBM] A very
+conservative user; a zipperhead.
+
+
+Node:dinosaur pen, Next:dinosaurs mating,
+Previous:dinosaur, Up:= D = 
+
+dinosaur pen n.
+
+A traditional mainframe
+computer room complete with raised flooring, special power, its
+own ultra-heavy-duty air conditioning, and a side order of Halon
+fire extinguishers. See boa.
+
+
+Node:dinosaurs mating, Next:dirtball, Previous:dinosaur pen, Up:= D = 
+
+dinosaurs mating n.
+
+Said to occur when yet another big
+iron merger or buyout occurs; reflects a perception by
+hackers that these signal another stage in the long, slow dying
+of the mainframe industry. In its
+glory days of the 1960s, it was `IBM and the Seven Dwarves':
+Burroughs, Control Data, General Electric, Honeywell, NCR, RCA,
+and Univac. RCA and GE sold out early, and it was `IBM and the
+Bunch' (Burroughs, Univac, NCR, Control Data, and Honeywell) for
+a while. Honeywell was bought out by Bull; Burroughs merged with
+Univac to form Unisys (in 1984 -- this was when the phrase
+`dinosaurs mating' was coined); and in 1991 AT&T absorbed NCR
+(but spat it back out a few years later). Control Data still
+exists but is no longer in the mainframe business. More such
+earth-shaking unions of doomed giants seem inevitable.
+
+
+Node:dirtball, Next:dirty power, Previous:dinosaurs mating, Up:= D = 
+
+dirtball n.
+
+[XEROX PARC] A small, perhaps struggling outsider; not in the
+major or even the minor leagues. For example, "Xerox is not a
+dirtball company".
+
+[Outsiders often observe in the PARC culture an institutional
+arrogance which usage of this term exemplifies. The brilliance
+and scope of PARC's contributions to computer science have been
+such that this superior attitude is not much resented. --ESR]
+
+
+Node:dirty power, Next:disclaimer, Previous:dirtball, Up:= D = 
+
+dirty power n.
+
+Electrical mains voltage that is unfriendly to the delicate
+innards of computers. Spikes, drop-outs, average voltage significantly
+higher or lower than nominal, or just plain noise can all cause
+problems of varying subtlety and severity (these are collectively
+known as power hits).
+
+
+Node:disclaimer, Next:Discordianism, Previous:dirty power, Up:= D = 
+
+disclaimer n.
+
+[Usenet] Statement ritually appended to many Usenet postings
+(sometimes automatically, by the posting software) reiterating
+the fact (which should be obvious, but is easily forgotten) that
+the article reflects its author's opinions and not necessarily
+those of the organization running the machine through which the
+article entered the network.
+
+
+Node:Discordianism, Next:disk farm, Previous:disclaimer, Up:= D = 
+
+Discordianism /dis-kor'di-*n-ism/ n.
+
+The veneration of Eris, a.k.a.
+Discordia; widely popular among hackers. Discordianism was
+popularized by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson's novel
+"Illuminatus!" as a sort of self-subverting Dada-Zen for
+Westerners -- it should on no account be taken seriously but is
+far more serious than most jokes. Consider, for example, the
+Fifth Commandment of the Pentabarf, from "Principia Discordia":
+"A Discordian is Prohibited of Believing What he Reads."
+Discordianism is usually connected with an elaborate conspiracy
+theory/joke involving millennia-long warfare between the
+anarcho-surrealist partisans of Eris and a malevolent,
+authoritarian secret society called the Illuminati. See Religion in Appendix B, Church of the SubGenius,
+and ha ha only
+serious.
+
+
+Node:disk farm, Next:display hack, Previous:Discordianism, Up:= D = 
+
+disk farm n.
+
+(also laundromat) A large
+room or rooms filled with disk drives (esp. washing machines).
+
+
+Node:display hack, Next:dispress, Previous:disk farm, Up:= D = 
+
+display hack n.
+
+A program with the same approximate purpose as a kaleidoscope:
+to make pretty pictures. Famous display hacks include munching squares, smoking clover, the BSD Unix
+rain(6) program, worms(6) on
+miscellaneous Unixes, and the X
+kaleid(1) program. Display hacks can also be
+implemented by creating text files containing numerous escape
+sequences for interpretation by a video terminal; one notable
+example displayed, on any VT100, a Christmas tree with twinkling
+lights and a toy train circling its base. The hack value of a display hack is
+proportional to the esthetic value of the images times the
+cleverness of the algorithm divided by the size of the code. Syn.
+psychedelicware.
+
+
+Node:dispress, Next:Dissociated Press, Previous:display hack, Up:= D = 
+
+dispress vt.
+
+[contraction of `Dissociated Press' due to eight-character
+MS-DOS filenames] To apply the Dissociated Press algorithm to a
+block of text. The resultant output is also referred to as a
+'dispression'.
+
+
+Node:Dissociated Press, Next:distribution, Previous:dispress, Up:= D = 
+
+Dissociated Press n.
+
+[play on `Associated Press'; perhaps inspired by a reference
+in the 1950 Bugs Bunny cartoon "What's Up, Doc?"] An algorithm
+for transforming any text into potentially humorous garbage even
+more efficiently than by passing it through a marketroid. The algorithm starts by
+printing any N consecutive words (or letters) in the text. Then
+at every step it searches for any random occurrence in the
+original text of the last N words (or letters) already printed
+and then prints the next word or letter. EMACS has a handy command for this. Here is a
+short example of word-based Dissociated Press applied to an
+earlier version of this Jargon File:
+
+wart: n. A small, crocky feature that sticks out of an array (C has no
+checks for this). This is relatively benign and easy to spot if
+the phrase is bent so as to be not worth paying attention to the
+medium in question.
+
+
+Here is a short example of letter-based Dissociated Press
+applied to the same source:
+
+window sysIWYG: n. A bit was named aften /bee't*/
+prefer to use the other guy's re, especially in every cast a
+chuckle on neithout getting into useful informash speech makes
+removing a featuring a move or usage actual abstractionsidered
+interj. Indeed spectace logic or problem!
+
+
+A hackish idle pastime is to apply letter-based Dissociated
+Press to a random body of text and vgrep the output in hopes of finding an
+interesting new word. (In the preceding example, `window sysIWYG'
+and `informash' show some promise.) Iterated applications of
+Dissociated Press usually yield better results. Similar
+techniques called `travesty generators' have been employed with
+considerable satirical effect to the utterances of Usenet
+flamers; see pseudo.
+
+
+Node:distribution, Next:distro, Previous:Dissociated Press, Up:= D = 
+
+distribution n.
+
+1. A software source tree packaged for distribution; but see
+kit. Since about 1996 unqualified use
+of this term often implies `Linux
+distribution'. The short for distro
+is often used for this sense. 2. A vague term encompassing
+mailing lists and Usenet newsgroups (but not BBS fora); any
+topic-oriented message channel with multiple recipients. 3. An
+information-space domain (usually loosely correlated with
+geography) to which propagation of a Usenet message is
+restricted; a much-underutilized feature.
+
+
+Node:distro, Next:disusered, Previous:distribution, Up:= D = 
+
+distro n.
+
+Synonym for distribution,
+sense 1.
+
+
+Node:disusered, Next:do protocol, Previous:distro, Up:=
+D = 
+
+disusered adj.
+
+[Usenet] Said of a person whose account on a computer has been
+removed, esp. for cause rather than through normal attrition. "He
+got disusered when they found out he'd been cracking through the
+school's Internet access." The verbal form `disuser' is live but
+less common. Both usages probably derive from the DISUSER account
+status flag on VMS; setting it disables the account. Compare
+star out.
+
+
+Node:do protocol, Next:doc, Previous:disusered, Up:= D = 
+
+do protocol vi.
+
+[from network protocol programming] To perform an interaction
+with somebody or something that follows a clearly defined
+procedure. For example, "Let's do protocol with the check" at a
+restaurant means to ask for the check, calculate the tip and
+everybody's share, collect money from everybody, generate change
+as necessary, and pay the bill. See protocol.
+
+
+Node:doc, Next:documentation, Previous:do protocol, Up:= D = 
+
+doc /dok/ n.
+
+Common spoken and written shorthand for `documentation'. Often
+used in the plural `docs' and in the construction `doc file'
+(i.e., documentation available on-line).
+
+
+Node:documentation, Next:dodgy, Previous:doc, Up:= D =
+
+
+documentation n.
+
+The multiple kilograms of macerated, pounded, steamed,
+bleached, and pressed trees that accompany most modern software
+or hardware products (see also tree-killer). Hackers seldom read paper
+documentation and (too) often resist writing it; they prefer
+theirs to be terse and on-line. A common comment on this
+predilection is "You can't grep dead
+trees". See drool-proof
+paper, verbiage, treeware.
+
+
+Node:dodgy, Next:dogcow, Previous:documentation, Up:= D = 
+
+dodgy adj.
+
+Syn. with flaky. Preferred outside
+the U.S.
+
+
+Node:dogcow, Next:dogfood, Previous:dodgy, Up:= D
+= 
+
+dogcow /dog'kow/ n.
+
+See Moof. The dogcow is a
+semi-legendary creature that lurks in the depths of the Macintosh
+Technical Notes Hypercard stack V3.1. The full story of the
+dogcow is told in technical note #31 (the particular dogcow
+illustrated is properly named `Clarus'). Option-shift-click will
+cause it to emit a characteristic `Moof!' or `!fooM' sound.
+Getting to tech note 31 is the hard part; to discover
+how to do that, one must needs examine the stack script with a
+hackerly eye. Clue: rot13 is
+involved. A dogcow also appears if you choose `Page
+Setup...' with a LaserWriter selected and click on
+the `Options' button. It also lurks in other Mac printer drivers,
+notably those for the now-discontinued Style Writers. Sadly,
+Apple has removed the pages that used to describe the dogcow.
+
+
+Node:dogfood, Next:dogpile, Previous:dogcow, Up:= D
+= 
+
+dogfood n.
+
+[Microsoft, Netscape] Interim software used internally for
+testing. "To eat one's own dogfood" (from which the slang noun
+derives) means to use the software one is developing, as part of
+one's everyday development environment (the phrase is used
+outside Microsoft and Netscape). The practice is normal in the
+Linux community and elsewhere, but the term `dogfood' is seldom
+used as open-source betas tend to be quite tasty and nourishing.
+The idea is that developers who are using their own software will
+quickly learn what's missing or broken. Dogfood is typically not
+even of beta quality.
+
+
+Node:dogpile, Next:dogwash, Previous:dogfood, Up:= D
+= 
+
+dogpile v.
+
+[Usenet: prob. fr. mainstream "puppy pile"] When many people
+post unfriendly responses in short order to a single posting,
+they are sometimes said to "dogpile" or "dogpile on" the person
+to whom they're responding. For example, when a religious
+missionary posts a simplistic appeal to _alt.atheism_, he
+can expect to be dogpiled. It has been suggested that this
+derives from U.S, football slang for a tackle involving three or
+more people; among hackers, it seems at least as likely do derive
+from an `autobiographical' Bugs Bunny cartoon in which a gang of
+attacking canines actually yells "Dogpile on the rabbit!".
+
+
+Node:dogwash, Next:domainist, Previous:dogpile, Up:= D
+= 
+
+dogwash /dog'wosh/
+
+[From a quip in the `urgency' field of a very optional
+software change request, ca. 1982. It was something like
+"Urgency: Wash your dog first".] 1. n. A project of minimal
+priority, undertaken as an escape from more serious work. 2. v.
+To engage in such a project. Many games and much freeware get written this way.
+
+
+Node:domainist, Next:Don't do that then!, Previous:dogwash, Up:= D = 
+
+domainist /doh-mayn'ist/ adj.
+
+1. [Usenet, by pointed analogy with "sexist", "racist", etc.]
+Someone who judges people by the domain of their email addresses;
+esp. someone who dismisses anyone who posts from a public
+internet provider. "What do you expect from an article posted
+from _aol.com_?" 2. Said of an Internet address (as opposed to a
+bang path) because the part to
+the right of the @ specifies a nested series of
+`domains'; for example, esr@snark.thyrsus.com
+specifies the machine called _snark_ in the subdomain called
+_thyrsus_ within the top-level domain called _com_. See
+also big-endian, sense 2.
+
+The meaning of this term has drifted. At one time sense 2 was
+primary. In elder days it was also used of a site, mailer, or
+routing program which knew how to handle domainist addresses; or
+of a person (esp. a site admin) who preferred domain addressing,
+supported a domainist mailer, or proselytized for domainist
+addressing and disdained bang
+paths. These senses are now (1996) obsolete, as
+effectively all sites have converted.
+
+
+Node:Don't do that then!,
+Next:dongle, Previous:domainist, Up:= D = 
+
+Don't do that then! imp.
+
+[from an old doctor's office joke about a patient with a
+trivial complaint] Stock response to a user complaint. "When I
+type control-S, the whole system comes to a halt for thirty
+seconds." "Don't do that, then!" (or "So don't do that!").
+Compare RTFM.
+
+Here's a classic example of "Don't do that then!" from Neil
+Stephenson's "In The Beginning Was The Command Line". A friend of
+his built a network with a load of Macs and a few high-powered
+database servers. He found that from time to time the whole
+network would lock up for no apparent reason. The problem was
+eventually tracked down to MacOS's cooperative multitasking: when
+a user held down the mouse button for too long, the network stack
+wouldn't get a chance to run...
+
+
+Node:dongle, Next:dongle-disk, Previous:Don't do that then!, Up:= D = 
+
+dongle /dong'gl/ n.
+
+1. [now obs.] A security or copy protection device for
+proprietary software consisting of a serialized EPROM and some
+drivers in a D-25 connector shell, which must be connected to an
+I/O port of the computer while the program is run. Programs that
+use a dongle query the port at startup and at programmed
+intervals thereafter, and terminate if it does not respond with
+the dongle's programmed validation code. Thus, users can make as
+many copies of the program as they want but must pay for each
+dongle. The idea was clever, but it was initially a failure, as
+users disliked tying up a serial port this way. By 1993, dongles
+would typically pass data through the port and monitor for magic codes (and combinations of status
+lines) with minimal if any interference with devices further down
+the line -- this innovation was necessary to allow daisy-chained
+dongles for multiple pieces of software. These devices have
+become rare as the industry has moved away from copy-protection
+schemes in general. 2. By extension, any physical electronic key
+or transferable ID required for a program to function. Common
+variations on this theme have used parallel or even joystick
+ports. See dongle-disk. 3. An
+adaptor cable mating a special edge-type connector on a PCMCIA or
+on-board Ethernet card to a standard RJ45 Ethernet jack. This
+usage seems to have surfaced in 1999 and is now dominant. Laptop
+owners curse these things because they're notoriously easy to
+lose and the vendors commonly charge extortionate prices for
+replacements.
+
+[Note: in early 1992, advertising copy from Rainbow
+Technologies (a manufacturer of dongles) included a claim that
+the word derived from "Don Gall", allegedly the inventor of the
+device. The company's receptionist will cheerfully tell you that
+the story is a myth invented for the ad copy. Nevertheless, I
+expect it to haunt my life as a lexicographer for at least the
+next ten years. :-( --ESR]
+
+
+Node:dongle-disk, Next:donuts, Previous:dongle, Up:= D
+= 
+
+dongle-disk /don'gl disk/ n.
+
+A special floppy disk that is required in order to perform
+some task. Some contain special coding that allows an application
+to identify it uniquely, others are special code that
+does something that normally-resident programs don't or can't.
+(For example, AT&T's "Unix PC" would only come up in root mode with a special boot disk.)
+Also called a `key disk'. See dongle.
+
+
+Node:donuts, Next:doorstop, Previous:dongle-disk, Up:= D = 
+
+donuts n. obs.
+
+A collective noun for any set of memory bits. This usage is
+extremely archaic and may no longer be live jargon; it dates from
+the days of ferrite-core memories in
+which each bit was implemented by a doughnut-shaped magnetic
+flip-flop.
+
+
+Node:doorstop, Next:DoS attack, Previous:donuts, Up:= D
+= 
+
+doorstop n.
+
+Used to describe equipment that is non-functional and halfway
+expected to remain so, especially obsolete equipment kept around
+for political reasons or ostensibly as a backup. "When we get
+another Wyse-50 in here, that ADM 3 will turn into a doorstop."
+Compare boat anchor.
+
+
+Node:DoS attack, Next:dot file, Previous:doorstop, Up:=
+D = 
+
+DoS attack //
+
+[Usenet,common; note that it's unrelated to `DOS' as name of
+an operating system] Abbreviation for Denial-Of-Service attack.
+This abbreviation is most often used of attempts to shut down
+newsgroups with floods of spam, or to
+flood network links with large amounts of traffic, or to flood
+network links with large amounts of traffic, often by abusing
+network broadcast addresses Compare slashdot effect.
+
+
+Node:dot file, Next:double bucky, Previous:DoS attack, Up:= D = 
+
+dot file [Unix] n.
+
+A file that is not visible by default to normal
+directory-browsing tools (on Unix, files named with a leading dot
+are, by convention, not normally presented in directory
+listings). Many programs define one or more dot files in which
+startup or configuration information may be optionally recorded;
+a user can customize the program's behavior by creating the
+appropriate file in the current or home directory. (Therefore,
+dot files tend to creep -- with every
+nontrivial application program defining at least one, a user's
+home directory can be filled with scores of dot files, of course
+without the user's really being aware of it.) See also profile (sense 1), rc file.
+
+
+Node:double bucky, Next:doubled sig, Previous:dot file, Up:= D = 
+
+double bucky adj.
+
+Using both the CTRL and META keys. "The command to burn all
+LEDs is double bucky F."
+
+This term originated on the Stanford extended-ASCII keyboard,
+and was later taken up by users of the space-cadet keyboard at MIT. A
+typical MIT comment was that the Stanford bucky bits (control and meta shifting
+keys) were nice, but there weren't enough of them; you could type
+only 512 different characters on a Stanford keyboard. An obvious
+way to address this was simply to add more shifting keys, and
+this was eventually done; but a keyboard with that many shifting
+keys is hard on touch-typists, who don't like to move their hands
+away from the home position on the keyboard. It was
+half-seriously suggested that the extra shifting keys be
+implemented as pedals; typing on such a keyboard would be very
+much like playing a full pipe organ. This idea is mentioned in a
+parody of a very fine song by Jeffrey Moss called "Rubber
+Duckie", which was published in "The Sesame Street Songbook"
+(Simon and Schuster 1971, ISBN 0-671-21036-X). These lyrics were
+written on May 27, 1978, in celebration of the Stanford
+keyboard:
+
+     Double Bucky
+
+  Double bucky, you're the one!
+  You make my keyboard lots of fun.
+      Double bucky, an additional bit or two:
+  (Vo-vo-de-o!)
+  Control and meta, side by side,
+  Augmented ASCII, nine bits wide!
+      Double bucky!  Half a thousand glyphs, plus a few!
+    Oh,
+    I sure wish that I
+    Had a couple of
+        Bits more!
+    Perhaps a
+    Set of pedals to
+    Make the number of
+        Bits four:
+    Double double bucky!
+  Double bucky, left and right
+  OR'd together, outta sight!
+      Double bucky, I'd like a whole word of
+      Double bucky, I'm happy I heard of
+      Double bucky, I'd like a whole word of you!
+
+  --- The Great Quux (with apologies to Jeffrey Moss)
+
+
+[This, by the way, is an excellent example of computer filk --ESR] See also meta bit, cokebottle, and quadruple bucky.
+
+
+Node:doubled sig, Next:down, Previous:double bucky, Up:= D = 
+
+doubled sig [Usenet] n.
+
+A sig block that has been
+included twice in a Usenet article
+or, less commonly, in an electronic mail message. An article or
+message with a doubled sig can be caused by improperly configured
+software. More often, however, it reveals the author's lack of
+experience in electronic communication. See B1FF, pseudo.
+
+
+Node:down, Next:download, Previous:doubled sig, Up:= D = 
+
+down
+
+1. adj. Not operating. "The up escalator is down" is
+considered a humorous thing to say (unless of course you were
+expecting to use it), and "The elevator is down" always means
+"The elevator isn't working" and never refers to what floor the
+elevator is on. With respect to computers, this term has passed
+into the mainstream; the extension to other kinds of machine is
+still confined to techies (e.g. boiler mechanics may speak of a
+boiler being down). 2. `go down' vi. To stop functioning; usually
+said of the system. The message from
+the console that every hacker hates
+to hear from the operator is "System going down in 5 minutes". 3.
+`take down', `bring down' vt. To deactivate purposely, usually
+for repair work or PM. "I'm taking the
+system down to work on that bug in the tape drive." Occasionally
+one hears the word `down' by itself used as a verb in this vt.
+sense. See crash; oppose up.
+
+
+Node:download, Next:DP, Previous:down,
+Up:= D = 
+
+download vt.
+
+To transfer data or (esp.) code from a far-away system
+(especially a larger `host' system) over a digital communications
+link to a nearby system (especially a smaller `client' system.
+Oppose upload.
+
+Historical use of these terms was at one time associated with
+transfers from large timesharing machines to PCs or peripherals
+(download) and vice-versa (upload). The modern usage relative to
+the speaker (rather than as an indicator of the size and role of
+the machines) evolved as machine categories lost most of their
+former functional importance.
+
+
+Node:DP, Next:DPB,
+Previous:download, Up:= D = 
+
+DP /D-P/ n.
+
+1. Data Processing. Listed here because, according to hackers,
+use of the term marks one immediately as a suit. See DPer. 2.
+Common abbrev for Dissociated
+Press.
+
+
+Node:DPB, Next:DPer, Previous:DP,
+Up:= D = 
+
+DPB /d*-pib'/ vt.
+
+[from the PDP-10 instruction set] To plop something down in
+the middle. Usage: silly. "DPB yourself into that couch there."
+The connotation would be that the couch is full except for one
+slot just big enough for one last person to sit in. DPB means
+`DePosit Byte', and was the name of a PDP-10 instruction that
+inserts some bits into the middle of some other bits. Hackish
+usage has been kept alive by the Common LISP function of the same
+name.
+
+
+Node:DPer, Next:Dr. Fred Mbogo, Previous:DPB, Up:= D = 
+
+DPer /dee-pee-er/ n.
+
+Data Processor. Hackers are absolutely amazed that suits use this term self-referentially.
+Computers process data, not people! See DP.
+
+
+Node:Dr. Fred Mbogo, Next:dragon, Previous:DPer, Up:= D
+= 
+
+Dr. Fred Mbogo /*m-boh'goh, dok'tr fred/ n.
+
+[Stanford] The archetypal man you don't want to see about a
+problem, esp. an incompetent professional; a shyster. "Do you
+know a good eye doctor?" "Sure, try Mbogo Eye Care and
+Professional Dry Cleaning." The name comes from synergy between
+bogus and the original Dr. Mbogo, a
+witch doctor who was Gomez Addams' physician on the old "Addams
+Family" TV show. Interestingly enough, it turns out that under
+the rules for Swahili noun classes, `m-' is the characteristic
+prefix of "nouns referring to human beings". As such, "mbogo" is
+quite plausible as a Swahili coinage for a person having the
+nature of a bogon. Compare Bloggs Family and J. Random Hacker; see also Fred Foobar and fred.
+
+
+Node:dragon, Next:Dragon Book, Previous:Dr. Fred Mbogo, Up:= D = 
+
+dragon n.
+
+[MIT] A program similar to a daemon, except that it is not invoked at all,
+but is instead used by the system to perform various secondary
+tasks. A typical example would be an accounting program, which
+keeps track of who is logged in, accumulates load-average
+statistics, etc. Under ITS, many terminals displayed a list of
+people logged in, where they were, what they were running, etc.,
+along with some random picture (such as a unicorn, Snoopy, or the
+Enterprise), which was generated by the `name dragon'. Usage:
+rare outside MIT -- under Unix and most other OSes this would be
+called a `background demon' or daemon. The best-known Unix example of a dragon
+is cron(1). At SAIL, they called this sort of thing
+a `phantom'.
+
+
+Node:Dragon Book, Next:drain, Previous:dragon, Up:= D
+= 
+
+Dragon Book n.
+
+The classic text "Compilers: Principles, Techniques and
+Tools", by Alfred V. Aho, Ravi Sethi, and Jeffrey D. Ullman
+(Addison-Wesley 1986; ISBN 0-201-10088-6), so called because of
+the cover design featuring a dragon labeled `complexity of
+compiler design' and a knight bearing the lance `LALR parser
+generator' among his other trappings. This one is more
+specifically known as the `Red Dragon Book' (1986); an earlier
+edition, sans Sethi and titled "Principles Of Compiler Design"
+(Alfred V. Aho and Jeffrey D. Ullman; Addison-Wesley, 1977; ISBN
+0-201-00022-9), was the `Green Dragon Book' (1977). (Also `New
+Dragon Book', `Old Dragon Book'.) The horsed knight and the Green
+Dragon were warily eying each other at a distance; now the knight
+is typing (wearing gauntlets!) at a terminal showing a video-game
+representation of the Red Dragon's head while the rest of the
+beast extends back in normal space. See also book titles.
+
+
+Node:drain, Next:dread high-bit disease,
+Previous:Dragon Book,
+Up:= D = 
+
+drain v.
+
+[IBM] Syn. for flush (sense 2).
+Has a connotation of finality about it; one speaks of draining a
+device before taking it offline.
+
+
+Node:dread high-bit
+disease, Next:Dread Questionmark Disease,
+Previous:drain, Up:= D = 
+
+dread high-bit disease n.
+
+A condition endemic to some now-obsolete computers and
+peripherals (including ASR-33 teletypes and PRIME minicomputers)
+that results in all characters having their high (0x80) bit
+forced on. This of course makes transporting files to other
+systems much more difficult, not to mention the problems these
+machines have talking with true 8-bit devices.
+
+This term was originally used specifically of PRIME (a.k.a.
+PR1ME) minicomputers. Folklore has it that PRIME adopted the
+reversed-8-bit convention in order to save 25 cents per serial
+line per machine; PRIME old-timers, on the other hand, claim they
+inherited the disease from Honeywell via customer NASA's
+compatibility requirements and struggled heroically to cure it.
+Whoever was responsible, this probably qualifies as one of the
+most cretinous design tradeoffs
+ever made. See meta bit.
+
+
+Node:Dread Questionmark
+Disease, Next:DRECNET,
+Previous:dread high-bit disease, Up:= D = 
+
+Dread Questionmark Disease
+
+n. The result of saving HTML from Microsoft Word or some other
+program that uses the nonstandard Microsoft variant of Latin-1;
+the symptom is that various of those nonstandard characters in
+positions 128-160 show up as questionmarks. The usual culprit is
+the misnamed `smart quotes' feature in Microsoft Word. For more
+details (and a program called `demoroniser' that cleans up the
+mess) see http://www.fourmilab.ch/webtools/demoroniser/.
+
+
+Node:DRECNET, Next:driver, Previous:Dread Questionmark Disease,
+Up:= D = 
+
+DRECNET /drek'net/ n.
+
+[from Yiddish/German `dreck', meaning filth] Deliberate
+distortion of DECNET, a networking protocol used in the VMS community. So called because DEC helped write the Ethernet specification and
+then (either stupidly or as a malignant customer-control tactic)
+violated that spec in the design of DRECNET in a way that made it
+incompatible. See also connector conspiracy.
+
+
+Node:driver, Next:droid, Previous:DRECNET, Up:= D
+= 
+
+driver n.
+
+1. The main loop of an
+event-processing program; the code that gets commands and
+dispatches them for execution. 2. [techspeak] In `device driver',
+code designed to handle a particular peripheral device such as a
+magnetic disk or tape unit. 3. In the TeX world and the
+computerized typesetting world in general, a program that
+translates some device-independent or other common format to
+something a real device can actually understand.
+
+
+Node:droid, Next:drone, Previous:driver, Up:= D
+= 
+
+droid n.
+
+[from `android', SF terminology for a humanoid robot of
+essentially biological (as opposed to mechanical/electronic)
+construction] A person (esp. a low-level bureaucrat or
+service-business employee) exhibiting most of the following
+characteristics: (a) naive trust in the wisdom of the parent
+organization or `the system'; (b) a blind-faith propensity to
+believe obvious nonsense emitted by authority figures (or
+computers!); (c) a rule-governed mentality, one unwilling or
+unable to look beyond the `letter of the law' in exceptional
+situations; (d) a paralyzing fear of official reprimand or worse
+if Procedures are not followed No Matter What; and (e) no
+interest in doing anything above or beyond the call of a very
+narrowly-interpreted duty, or in particular in fixing that which
+is broken; an "It's not my job, man" attitude.
+
+Typical droid positions include supermarket checkout assistant
+and bank clerk; the syndrome is also endemic in low-level
+government employees. The implication is that the rules and
+official procedures constitute software that the droid is
+executing; problems arise when the software has not been properly
+debugged. The term `droid mentality' is also used to describe the
+mindset behind this behavior. Compare suit, marketroid; see -oid.
+
+In England there is equivalent mainstream slang; a `jobsworth'
+is an obstructive, rule-following bureaucrat, often of the
+uniformed or suited variety. Named for the habit of denying a
+reasonable request by sucking his teeth and saying "Oh no, guv,
+sorry I can't help you: that's more than my job's worth".
+
+
+Node:drone, Next:drool-proof paper, Previous:droid, Up:= D = 
+
+drone n.
+
+Ignorant sales or customer service personnel in computer or
+electronics superstores. Characterized by a lack of even
+superficial knowledge about the products they sell, yet possessed
+of the conviction that they are more competent than their hacker
+customers. Usage: "That video board probably sucks, it was
+recommended by a drone at Fry's" In the year 2000, their natural
+habitats include Fry's Electronics, Best Buy, and CompUSA.
+
+
+Node:drool-proof paper, Next:drop on the floor,
+Previous:drone, Up:= D = 
+
+drool-proof paper n.
+
+Documentation that has been obsessively dumbed down, to the point where only a
+cretin could bear to read it, is
+said to have succumbed to the `drool-proof paper syndrome' or to
+have been `written on drool-proof paper'. For example, this is an
+actual quote from Apple's LaserWriter manual: "Do not expose your
+LaserWriter to open fire or flame." The SGI Indy manual is said
+to include the line "Do not dangle the mouse by the cord or throw
+it at coworkers.", but this sounds like parody.
+
+
+Node:drop on the floor,
+Next:drop-ins, Previous:drool-proof paper,
+Up:= D = 
+
+drop on the floor vt.
+
+To react to an error condition by silently discarding messages
+or other valuable data. "The gateway ran out of memory, so it
+just started dropping packets on the floor." Also frequently used
+of faulty mail and netnews relay sites that lose messages. See
+also black hole, bit bucket.
+
+
+Node:drop-ins, Next:drop-outs, Previous:drop on the floor, Up:= D = 
+
+drop-ins n.
+
+[prob. by analogy with drop-outs] Spurious characters appearing on
+a terminal or console as a result of line noise or a system
+malfunction of some sort. Esp. used when these are interspersed
+with one's own typed input. Compare drop-outs, sense 2.
+
+
+Node:drop-outs, Next:drugged, Previous:drop-ins, Up:=
+D = 
+
+drop-outs n.
+
+1. A variety of `power glitch' (see glitch); momentary 0 voltage on the electrical
+mains. 2. Missing characters in typed input due to software
+malfunction or system saturation (one cause of such behavior
+under Unix when a bad connection to a modem swamps the processor
+with spurious character interrupts; see screaming tty). 3. Mental glitches;
+used as a way of describing those occasions when the mind just
+seems to shut down for a couple of beats. See glitch, fried.
+
+
+Node:drugged, Next:drum, Previous:drop-outs, Up:= D = 
+
+drugged adj.
+
+(also `on drugs') 1. Conspicuously stupid, heading toward
+brain-damaged. Often
+accompanied by a pantomime of toking a joint. 2. Of hardware,
+very slow relative to normal performance.
+
+
+Node:drum, Next:drunk mouse syndrome, Previous:drugged, Up:= D = 
+
+drum adj, n.
+
+Ancient techspeak term referring to slow, cylindrical magnetic
+media that were once state-of-the-art storage devices. Under BSD
+Unix the disk partition used for swapping is still called
+/dev/drum; this has led to considerable humor and
+not a few straight-faced but utterly bogus `explanations' getting
+foisted on newbies. See also "The Story of Mel" in
+Appendix A.
+
+
+Node:drunk mouse syndrome,
+Next:dub dub dub,
+Previous:drum, Up:= D = 
+
+drunk mouse syndrome n.
+
+(also `mouse on drugs') A malady exhibited by the mouse
+pointing device of some computers. The typical symptom is for the
+mouse cursor on the screen to move in random directions and not
+in sync with the motion of the actual mouse. Can usually be
+corrected by unplugging the mouse and plugging it back again.
+Another recommended fix for optical mice is to rotate your mouse
+pad 90 degrees.
+
+At Xerox PARC in the 1970s, most people kept a can of copier
+cleaner (isopropyl alcohol) at their desks. When the steel ball
+on the mouse had picked up enough cruft to be unreliable, the mouse was doused in
+cleaner, which restored it for a while. However, this operation
+left a fine residue that accelerated the accumulation of cruft,
+so the dousings became more and more frequent. Finally, the mouse
+was declared `alcoholic' and sent to the clinic to be dried out
+in a CFC ultrasonic bath.
+
+
+Node:dub dub dub, Next:Duff's device, Previous:drunk mouse
+syndrome, Up:= D = 
+
+dub dub dub
+
+[common] Spoken-only shorthand for the "www" (double-u
+double-u double-u) in many web host names. Nothing to do with the
+style of reggae music called `dub'.
+
+
+Node:Duff's device, Next:dumb terminal, Previous:dub dub dub, Up:= D = 
+
+Duff's device n.
+
+The most dramatic use yet seen of fall through in C, invented by Tom Duff
+when he was at Lucasfilm. Trying to bum
+all the instructions he could out of an inner loop that copied
+data serially onto an output port, he decided to unroll it. He
+then realized that the unrolled version could be implemented by
+interlacing the structures of a switch and a loop:
+
+   register n = (count + 7) / 8;      /* count > 0 assumed */
+
+   switch (count % 8)
+   {
+   case 0:        do {  *to = *from++;
+   case 7:              *to = *from++;
+   case 6:              *to = *from++;
+   case 5:              *to = *from++;
+   case 4:              *to = *from++;
+   case 3:              *to = *from++;
+   case 2:              *to = *from++;
+   case 1:              *to = *from++;
+                      } while (--n > 0);
+   }
+
+
+Shocking though it appears to all who encounter it for the
+first time, the device is actually perfectly valid, legal C. C's
+default fall through in case
+statements has long been its most controversial single feature;
+Duff observed that "This code forms some sort of argument in that
+debate, but I'm not sure whether it's for or against." Duff has
+discussed the device in detail at http://www.lysator.liu.se/c/duffs-device.html.
+Note that the omission of postfix ++ from
+*to was intentional (though confusing). Duff's
+device can be used to implement memory copy, but the original aim
+was to copy values serially into a magic IO register.
+
+[For maximal obscurity, the outermost pair of braces above
+could actually be removed -- GLS]
+
+
+Node:dumb terminal, Next:dumbass attack, Previous:Duff's device, Up:= D = 
+
+dumb terminal n.
+
+A terminal that is one step above a glass tty, having a minimally addressable
+cursor but no on-screen editing or other features normally
+supported by a smart
+terminal. Once upon a time, when glass ttys were common
+and addressable cursors were something special, what is now
+called a dumb terminal could pass for a smart terminal.
+
+
+Node:dumbass attack, Next:dumbed down, Previous:dumb terminal, Up:= D = 
+
+dumbass attack /duhm'as *-tak'/ n.
+
+[Purdue] Notional cause of a novice's mistake made by the
+experienced, especially one made while running as root under Unix, e.g., typing rm -r
+* or mkfs on a mounted file system. Compare
+adger.
+
+
+Node:dumbed down, Next:dump, Previous:dumbass attack, Up:= D = 
+
+dumbed down adj.
+
+Simplified, with a strong connotation of
+oversimplified. Often, a marketroid will insist that the interfaces
+and documentation of software be dumbed down after the designer
+has burned untold gallons of midnight oil making it smart. This
+creates friction. See user-friendly.
+
+
+Node:dump, Next:dumpster diving, Previous:dumbed down, Up:= D = 
+
+dump n.
+
+1. An undigested and voluminous mass of information about a
+problem or the state of a system, especially one routed to the
+slowest available output device (compare core dump), and most especially one
+consisting of hex or octal runes
+describing the byte-by-byte state of memory, mass storage, or
+some file. In elder days,
+debugging was generally done by `groveling over' a dump (see
+grovel); increasing use of
+high-level languages and interactive debuggers has made such
+tedium uncommon, and the term `dump' now has a faintly archaic
+flavor. 2. A backup. This usage is typical only at large
+timesharing installations.
+
+
+Node:dumpster diving, Next:dup killer, Previous:dump, Up:= D = 
+
+dumpster diving /dump'-ster di:'-ving/ n.
+
+1. The practice of sifting refuse from an office or technical
+installation to extract confidential data, especially
+security-compromising information (`dumpster' is an Americanism
+for what is elsewhere called a `skip'). Back in AT&T's
+monopoly days, before paper shredders became common office
+equipment, phone phreaks (see phreaking) used to organize regular dumpster
+runs against phone company plants and offices. Discarded and
+damaged copies of AT&T internal manuals taught them much. The
+technique is still rumored to be a favorite of crackers operating
+against careless targets. 2. The practice of raiding the
+dumpsters behind buildings where producers and/or consumers of
+high-tech equipment are located, with the expectation (usually
+justified) of finding discarded but still-valuable equipment to
+be nursed back to health in some hacker's den. Experienced
+dumpster-divers not infrequently accumulate basements full of
+moldering (but still potentially useful) cruft.
+
+
+Node:dup killer, Next:dup loop, Previous:dumpster diving, Up:= D = 
+
+dup killer /d[y]oop kill'r/ n.
+
+[FidoNet] Software that is supposed to detect and delete
+duplicates of a message that may have reached the FidoNet system
+via different routes.
+
+
+Node:dup loop, Next:dusty deck, Previous:dup killer, Up:= D = 
+
+dup loop /d[y]oop loop/ (also `dupe loop') n.
+
+[FidoNet] An infinite stream of duplicated, near-identical
+messages on a FidoNet echo, the only
+difference being unique or mangled identification information
+applied by a faulty or incorrectly configured system or network
+gateway, thus rendering dup
+killers ineffective. If such a duplicate message
+eventually reaches a system through which it has already passed
+(with the original identification information), all systems
+passed on the way back to that system are said to be involved in
+a dup loop.
+
+
+Node:dusty deck, Next:DWIM, Previous:dup loop, Up:= D = 
+
+dusty deck n.
+
+Old software (especially applications) which one is obliged to
+remain compatible with, or to maintain (DP types call this `legacy code', a term hackers
+consider smarmy and excessively reverent). The term implies that
+the software in question is a holdover from card-punch days. Used
+esp. when referring to old scientific and number-crunching software, much of
+which was written in FORTRAN and very poorly documented but is
+believed to be too expensive to replace. See fossil; compare crawling horror.
+
+
+Node:DWIM, Next:dynner, Previous:dusty deck, Up:= D = 
+
+DWIM /dwim/
+
+[acronym, `Do What I Mean'] 1. adj. Able to guess, sometimes
+even correctly, the result intended when bogus input was
+provided. 2. n. obs. The BBNLISP/INTERLISP function that
+attempted to accomplish this feat by correcting many of the more
+common errors. See hairy. 3.
+Occasionally, an interjection hurled at a balky computer, esp.
+when one senses one might be tripping over legalisms (see legalese). 4. Of a person, someone whose
+directions are incomprehensible and vague, but who nevertheless
+has the expectation that you will solve the problem using the
+specific method he/she has in mind.
+
+Warren Teitelman originally wrote DWIM to fix his typos and
+spelling errors, so it was somewhat idiosyncratic to his style,
+and would often make hash of anyone else's typos if they were
+stylistically different. Some victims of DWIM thus claimed that
+the acronym stood for `Damn Warren's Infernal Machine!'.
+
+In one notorious incident, Warren added a DWIM feature to the
+command interpreter used at Xerox PARC. One day another hacker
+there typed delete *$ to free up some disk space.
+(The editor there named backup files by appending $
+to the original file name, so he was trying to delete any backup
+files left over from old editing sessions.) It happened that
+there weren't any editor backup files, so DWIM helpfully reported
+*$ not found, assuming you meant 'delete *'. It then
+started to delete all the files on the disk! The hacker managed
+to stop it with a Vulcan
+nerve pinch after only a half dozen or so files were
+lost.
+
+The disgruntled victim later said he had been sorely tempted
+to go to Warren's office, tie Warren down in his chair in front
+of his workstation, and then type delete *$
+twice.
+
+DWIM is often suggested in jest as a desired feature for a
+complex program; it is also occasionally described as the single
+instruction the ideal computer would have. Back when proofs of
+program correctness were in vogue, there were also jokes about
+`DWIMC' (Do What I Mean, Correctly). A related term, more often
+seen as a verb, is DTRT (Do The Right Thing); see Right Thing.
+
+
+Node:dynner, Next:earthquake, Previous:DWIM, Up:= D =
+
+
+dynner /din'r/ n.
+
+32 bits, by analogy with nybble
+and byte. Usage: rare and extremely
+silly. See also playte, tayste, crumb.
+General discussion of such terms is under nybble.
+
+
+Node:= E =, Next:= F =, Previous:= D =, Up:The Jargon Lexicon 
+
+= E =
+
+
+earthquake:
+
+
+Easter egg:
+
+
+Easter egging:
+
+
+eat flaming death:
+
+
+EBCDIC:
+
+
+echo:
+
+
+ECP:
+
+
+ed:
+
+
+egosurf:
+
+
+eighty-column mind:
+
+
+El Camino Bignum:
+
+
+elder days:
+
+
+elegant:
+
+
+elephantine:
+
+
+elevator
+controller:
+
+
+elite:
+
+
+ELIZA effect:
+
+
+elvish:
+
+
+EMACS:
+
+
+email:
+
+
+emoticon:
+
+
+EMP:
+
+
+empire:
+
+
+engine:
+
+
+English:
+
+
+enhancement:
+
+
+ENQ:
+
+
+EOF:
+
+
+EOL:
+
+
+EOU:
+
+
+epoch:
+
+
+epsilon:
+
+
+epsilon squared:
+
+
+era the:
+
+
+Eric Conspiracy:
+
+
+Eris:
+
+
+erotics:
+
+
+error 33:
+
+
+eurodemo:
+
+
+evil:
+
+
+evil and rude:
+
+
+Evil Empire:
+
+
+exa-:
+
+
+examining the
+entrails:
+
+
+EXCH:
+
+
+excl:
+
+
+EXE:
+
+
+exec:
+
+
+exercise left as
+an:
+
+
+Exon:
+
+
+Exploder:
+
+
+exploit:
+
+
+external memory:
+
+
+eye candy:
+
+
+eyeball search:
+
+
+Node:earthquake, Next:Easter egg, Previous:dynner, Up:=
+E = 
+
+earthquake n.
+
+[IBM] The ultimate real-world shock test for computer
+hardware. Hackish sources at IBM deny the rumor that the Bay Area
+quake of 1989 was initiated by the company to test
+quality-assurance procedures at its California plants.
+
+
+Node:Easter egg, Next:Easter egging, Previous:earthquake, Up:= E = 
+
+Easter egg n.
+
+[from the custom of the Easter Egg hunt observed in the U.S.
+and many parts of Europe] 1. A message hidden in the object code
+of a program as a joke, intended to be found by persons
+disassembling or browsing the code. 2. A message, graphic, or
+sound effect emitted by a program (or, on a PC, the BIOS ROM) in
+response to some undocumented set of commands or keystrokes,
+intended as a joke or to display program credits. One well-known
+early Easter egg found in a couple of OSes caused them to respond
+to the command make love with not war?.
+Many personal computers have much more elaborate eggs hidden in
+ROM, including lists of the developers' names, political
+exhortations, snatches of music, and (in one case) graphics
+images of the entire development team.
+
+
+Node:Easter egging, Next:eat flaming death,
+Previous:Easter egg,
+Up:= E = 
+
+Easter egging n.
+
+[IBM] The act of replacing unrelated components more or less
+at random in hopes that a malfunction will go away. Hackers
+consider this the normal operating mode of field circus techs and do not love them
+for it. See also the jokes under field circus. Compare shotgun debugging.
+
+
+Node:eat flaming death,
+Next:EBCDIC, Previous:Easter egging, Up:= E = 
+
+eat flaming death imp.
+
+A construction popularized among hackers by the infamous CPU Wars comic; supposedly derive from
+a famously turgid line in a WWII-era anti-Nazi propaganda comic
+that ran "Eat flaming death, non-Aryan mongrels!" or something of
+the sort (however, it is also reported that the Firesign
+Theatre's 1975 album "In The Next World, You're On Your Own" a
+character won the right to scream "Eat flaming death, fascist
+media pigs" in the middle of Oscar night on a game show; this may
+have been an influence). Used in humorously overblown expressions
+of hostility. "Eat flaming death, EBCDIC users!"
+
+
+Node:EBCDIC, Next:echo, Previous:eat flaming death, Up:= E = 
+
+EBCDIC /eb's*-dik/, /eb'see`dik/, or /eb'k*-dik/ n.
+
+[abbreviation, Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code]
+An alleged character set used on IBM dinosaurs. It exists in at least six mutually
+incompatible versions, all featuring such delights as
+non-contiguous letter sequences and the absence of several ASCII
+punctuation characters fairly important for modern computer
+languages (exactly which characters are absent varies according
+to which version of EBCDIC you're looking at). IBM adapted EBCDIC
+from punched card code in
+the early 1960s and promulgated it as a customer-control tactic
+(see connector
+conspiracy), spurning the already established ASCII
+standard. Today, IBM claims to be an open-systems company, but
+IBM's own description of the EBCDIC variants and how to convert
+between them is still internally classified top-secret,
+burn-before-reading. Hackers blanch at the very name of
+EBCDIC and consider it a manifestation of purest evil. See also fear and loathing.
+
+
+Node:echo, Next:ECP, Previous:EBCDIC, Up:= E
+= 
+
+echo [FidoNet] n.
+
+A topic group on FidoNet's echomail system. Compare newsgroup.
+
+
+Node:ECP, Next:ed,
+Previous:echo, Up:= E = 
+
+ECP /E-C-P/ n.
+
+See spam and velveeta.
+
+
+Node:ed, Next:egosurf, Previous:ECP, Up:= E =
+
+
+ed n.
+
+"ed is the standard text editor." Line taken from original the
+Unix manual page on ed, an ancient
+line-oriented editor that is by now used only by a few Real Programmers, and even then
+only for batch operations. The original line is sometimes uttered
+near the beginning of an emacs vs. vi holy war on Usenet, with the (vain) hope to quench the
+discussion before it really takes off. Often followed by a
+standard text describing the many virtues of ed (such as the
+small memory footprint on a Timex
+Sinclair, and the consistent (because nearly non-existent) user
+interface).
+
+
+Node:egosurf, Next:eighty-column mind, Previous:ed, Up:= E = 
+
+egosurf vi.
+
+To search the net for your name or links to your web pages.
+Perhaps connected to long-established SF-fan slang `egoscan', to
+search for one's name in a fanzine.
+
+
+Node:eighty-column mind,
+Next:El Camino
+Bignum, Previous:egosurf, Up:= E
+= 
+
+eighty-column mind n.
+
+[IBM] The sort said to be possessed by persons for whom the
+transition from punched card
+to tape was traumatic (nobody has dared tell them about disks
+yet). It is said that these people, including (according to an
+old joke) the founder of IBM, will be buried `face down, 9-edge
+first' (the 9-edge being the bottom of the card). This directive
+is inscribed on IBM's 1402 and 1622 card readers and is
+referenced in a famous bit of doggerel called "The Last Bug", the
+climactic lines of which are as follows:
+
+   He died at the console
+   Of hunger and thirst.
+   Next day he was buried,
+   Face down, 9-edge first.
+
+
+The eighty-column mind was thought by most hackers to dominate
+IBM's customer base and its thinking. This only began to change
+in the mid-1990s when IBM began to reinvent itself after the
+triumph of the killer micro.
+See IBM, fear and loathing, card walloper. A copy of "The Last
+Bug" lives on the the GNU site at http://www.gnu.org/fun/jokes/last.bug.html.
+
+
+Node:El Camino Bignum, Next:elder days, Previous:eighty-column mind,
+Up:= E = 
+
+El Camino Bignum /el' k*-mee'noh big'nuhm/ n.
+
+The road mundanely called El Camino Real, running along San
+Francisco peninsula. It originally extended all the way down to
+Mexico City; many portions of the old road are still intact.
+Navigation on the San Francisco peninsula is usually done
+relative to El Camino Real, which defines logical north and south even though it isn't
+really north-south in many places. El Camino Real runs right past
+Stanford University and so is familiar to hackers.
+
+The Spanish word `real' (which has two syllables: /ray-ahl'/)
+means `royal'; El Camino Real is `the royal road'. In the FORTRAN
+language, a `real' quantity is a number typically precise to
+seven significant digits, and a `double precision' quantity is a
+larger floating-point number, precise to perhaps fourteen
+significant digits (other languages have similar `real'
+types).
+
+When a hacker from MIT visited Stanford in 1976, he remarked
+what a long road El Camino Real was. Making a pun on `real', he
+started calling it `El Camino Double Precision' -- but when the
+hacker was told that the road was hundreds of miles long, he
+renamed it `El Camino Bignum', and that name has stuck. (See
+bignum.)
+
+[GLS has since let slip that the unnamed hacker in this story
+was in fact himself --ESR]
+
+In recent years, the synonym `El Camino Virtual' has been
+reported as an alternate at IBM and Amdahl sites in the Valley.
+Mathematically literate hackers in the Valley have also been
+heard to refer to some major cross-street intersecting El Camino
+Real as "El Camino Imaginary". One popular theory is that the
+intersection is located near Moffett Field - where they keep all
+those complex planes.
+
+
+Node:elder days, Next:elegant, Previous:El Camino Bignum, Up:= E = 
+
+elder days n.
+
+The heroic age of hackerdom (roughly, pre-1980); the era of
+the PDP-10, TECO, ITS, and the
+ARPANET. This term has been rather consciously adopted from J. R.
+R. Tolkien's fantasy epic "The Lord of the Rings". Compare Iron Age; see also elvish and Great
+Worm.
+
+
+Node:elegant, Next:elephantine, Previous:elder days, Up:= E = 
+
+elegant adj.
+
+[common; from mathematical usage] Combining simplicity, power,
+and a certain ineffable grace of design. Higher praise than
+`clever', `winning', or even cuspy.
+
+The French aviator, adventurer, and author Antoine de
+Saint-Exupéry, probably best known for his classic
+children's book "The Little Prince", was also an aircraft
+designer. He gave us perhaps the best definition of engineering
+elegance when he said "A designer knows he has achieved
+perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there
+is nothing left to take away."
+
+
+Node:elephantine, Next:elevator controller,
+Previous:elegant, Up:= E = 
+
+elephantine adj.
+
+Used of programs or systems that are both conspicuous hogs (owing perhaps to poor design founded on
+brute force and
+ignorance) and exceedingly hairy in source form. An elephantine program may
+be functional and even friendly, but (as in the old joke about
+being in bed with an elephant) it's tough to have around all the
+same (and, like a pachyderm, difficult to maintain). In extreme
+cases, hackers have been known to make trumpeting sounds or
+perform expressive proboscatory mime at the mention of the
+offending program. Usage: semi-humorous. Compare `has the
+elephant nature' and the somewhat more pejorative monstrosity. See also second-system effect and baroque.
+
+
+Node:elevator controller,
+Next:elite, Previous:elephantine, Up:= E = 
+
+elevator controller n.
+
+An archetypal dumb embedded-systems application, like toaster (which superseded it). During one
+period (1983-84) in the deliberations of ANSI X3J11 (the C
+standardization committee) this was the canonical example of a
+really stupid, memory-limited computation environment. "You can't
+require printf(3) to be part of the default runtime
+library -- what if you're targeting an elevator controller?"
+Elevator controllers became important rhetorical weapons on both
+sides of several holy wars.
+
+
+Node:elite, Next:ELIZA effect, Previous:elevator controller, Up:= E = 
+
+elite adj.
+
+Clueful. Plugged-in. One of the cognoscenti. Also used as a
+general positive adjective. This term is not actually native
+hacker slang; it is used primarily by crackers and warez d00dz, for which reason hackers
+use it only with heavy irony. The term used to refer to the folks
+allowed in to the "hidden" or "privileged" sections of BBSes in
+the early 1980s (which, typically, contained pirated software).
+Frequently, early boards would only let you post, or even see, a
+certain subset of the sections (or `boards') on a BBS. Those who
+got to the frequently legendary `triple super secret' boards were
+elite. Misspellings of this term in warez d00dz style abound; the
+forms `eleet', and `31337' (among others) have been sighted.
+
+A true hacker would be more likely to use `wizardly'. Oppose
+lamer.
+
+
+Node:ELIZA effect, Next:elvish, Previous:elite, Up:= E
+= 
+
+ELIZA effect /*-li:'z* *-fekt'/ n.
+
+[AI community] The tendency of humans to attach associations
+to terms from prior experience. For example, there is nothing
+magic about the symbol + that makes it well-suited
+to indicate addition; it's just that people associate it with
+addition. Using + or `plus' to mean addition in a
+computer language is taking advantage of the ELIZA effect.
+
+This term comes from the famous ELIZA program by Joseph
+Weizenbaum, which simulated a Rogerian psychotherapist by
+rephrasing many of the patient's statements as questions and
+posing them to the patient. It worked by simple pattern
+recognition and substitution of key words into canned phrases. It
+was so convincing, however, that there are many anecdotes about
+people becoming very emotionally caught up in dealing with ELIZA.
+All this was due to people's tendency to attach to words meanings
+which the computer never put there. The ELIZA effect is a Good Thing when writing a
+programming language, but it can blind you to serious
+shortcomings when analyzing an Artificial Intelligence system.
+Compare ad-hockery; see also
+AI-complete. Sources for a
+clone of the original Eliza are available at 
+ftp://ftp.cc.utexas.edu/pub/AI_ATTIC/Programs/Classic/Eliza/Eliza.c.
+
+
+Node:elvish, Next:EMACS, Previous:ELIZA effect, Up:= E = 
+
+elvish n.
+
+1. The Tengwar of Feanor, a table of letterforms resembling
+the beautiful Celtic half-uncial hand of the "Book of Kells".
+Invented and described by J. R. R. Tolkien in "The Lord of The
+Rings" as an orthography for his fictional `elvish' languages,
+this system (which is both visually and phonetically elegant) has long fascinated hackers (who tend
+to be intrigued by artificial languages in general). It is
+traditional for graphics printers, plotters, window systems, and
+the like to support a Feanorian typeface as one of their demo
+items. See also elder days. 2.
+By extension, any odd or unreadable typeface produced by a
+graphics device. 3. The typeface mundanely called `Böcklin',
+an art-Noveau display font.
+
+
+Node:EMACS, Next:email, Previous:elvish, Up:= E
+= 
+
+EMACS /ee'maks/ n.
+
+[from Editing MACroS] The ne plus ultra of hacker editors, a
+programmable text editor with an entire LISP system inside it. It
+was originally written by Richard Stallman in TECO under ITS at the
+MIT AI lab; AI Memo 554 described it as "an advanced,
+self-documenting, customizable, extensible real-time display
+editor". It has since been reimplemented any number of times, by
+various hackers, and versions exist that run under most major
+operating systems. Perhaps the most widely used version, also
+written by Stallman and now called "GNU
+EMACS" or GNUMACS, runs principally
+under Unix. (Its close relative XEmacs is the second most popular
+version.) It includes facilities to run compilation subprocesses
+and send and receive mail or news; many hackers spend up to 80%
+of their tube time inside it.
+Other variants include GOSMACS, CCA
+EMACS, UniPress EMACS, Montgomery EMACS, jove, epsilon, and
+MicroEMACS. (Though we use the original all-caps spelling here,
+it is nowadays very commonly `Emacs'.)
+
+Some EMACS versions running under window managers iconify as
+an overflowing kitchen sink, perhaps to suggest the one feature
+the editor does not (yet) include. Indeed, some hackers find
+EMACS too heavyweight and baroque for their taste, and expand the
+name as `Escape Meta Alt Control Shift' to spoof its heavy
+reliance on keystrokes decorated with bucky bits. Other spoof expansions
+include `Eight Megabytes And Constantly Swapping' (from when that
+was a lot of core), `Eventually
+malloc()s All Computer Storage', and `EMACS Makes A
+Computer Slow' (see recursive
+acronym). See also vi.
+
+
+Node:email, Next:emoticon, Previous:EMACS, Up:= E
+= 
+
+email /ee'mayl/
+
+(also written `e-mail' and `E-mail') 1. n. Electronic mail
+automatically passed through computer networks and/or via modems
+over common-carrier lines. Contrast snail-mail, paper-net, voice-net. See network address. 2. vt. To send
+electronic mail.
+
+Oddly enough, the word `emailed' is actually listed in the
+OED; it means "embossed (with a raised pattern) or perh. arranged
+in a net or open work". A use from 1480 is given. The word is
+probably derived from French `émaillé' (enameled)
+and related to Old French `emmailleüre' (network). A French
+correspondent tells us that in modern French, `email' is a hard
+enamel obtained by heating special paints in a furnace; an
+`emailleur' (no final e) is a craftsman who makes email (he
+generally paints some objects (like, say, jewelry) and cooks them
+in a furnace).
+
+There are numerous spelling variants of this word. In Internet
+traffic up to 1995, `email' predominates, `e-mail' runs a
+not-too-distant second, and `E-mail' and `Email' are a distant
+third and fourth.
+
+
+Node:emoticon, Next:EMP, Previous:email, Up:= E
+= 
+
+emoticon /ee-moh'ti-kon/ n.
+
+[common] An ASCII glyph used to indicate an emotional state in
+email or news. Although originally intended mostly as jokes,
+emoticons (or some other explicit humor indication) are virtually
+required under certain circumstances in high-volume text-only
+communication forums such as Usenet; the lack of verbal and
+visual cues can otherwise cause what were intended to be
+humorous, sarcastic, ironic, or otherwise non-100%-serious
+comments to be badly misinterpreted (not always even by newbies), resulting in arguments and flame wars.
+
+Hundreds of emoticons have been proposed, but only a few are
+in common use. These include:
+
+
+
+:-)
+
+
+`smiley face' (for humor, laughter, friendliness,
+occasionally sarcasm)
+
+
+:-(
+
+
+`frowney face' (for sadness, anger, or upset)
+
+
+;-)
+
+
+`half-smiley' (ha ha
+only serious); also known as `semi-smiley' or `winkey
+face'.
+
+
+:-/
+
+
+`wry face'
+
+
+(These may become more comprehensible if you tilt your head
+sideways, to the left.)
+
+The first two listed are by far the most frequently
+encountered. Hyphenless forms of them are common on CompuServe,
+GEnie, and BIX; see also bixie. On
+Usenet, `smiley' is often used as a
+generic term synonymous with emoticon, as well as specifically for the
+happy-face emoticon.
+
+It appears that the emoticon was invented by one Scott Fahlman
+on the CMU bboard systems sometime
+between early 1981 and mid-1982. He later wrote: "I wish I had
+saved the original post, or at least recorded the date for
+posterity, but I had no idea that I was starting something that
+would soon pollute all the world's communication channels." [GLS
+confirms that he remembers this original posting].
+
+Note for the newbie: Overuse of
+the smiley is a mark of loserhood! More than one per paragraph is
+a fairly sure sign that you've gone over the line.
+
+
+Node:EMP, Next:empire, Previous:emoticon, Up:=
+E = 
+
+EMP /E-M-P/
+
+See spam.
+
+
+Node:empire, Next:engine, Previous:EMP, Up:= E =
+
+
+empire n.
+
+Any of a family of military simulations derived from a game
+written by Peter Langston many years ago. A number of
+multi-player variants of varying degrees of sophistication exist,
+and one single-player version implemented for both Unix and VMS;
+the latter is even available as MS-DOS freeware. All are
+notoriously addictive. Of various commercial derivatives the best
+known is probably "Empire Deluxe" on PCs and Amigas.
+
+Modern empire is a real-time wargame played over the internet
+by up to 120 players. Typical games last from 24 hours (blitz) to
+a couple of months (long term). The amount of sleep you can get
+while playing is a function of the rate at which updates occur
+and the number of co-rulers of your country. Empire server
+software is available for unix-like machines, and clients for
+Unix and other platforms. A comprehensive history of the game is
+available at http://www.empire.cx/infopages/History.html.
+The Empire resource site is at http://www.empire.cx/.
+
+
+Node:engine, Next:English, Previous:empire, Up:= E
+= 
+
+engine n.
+
+1. A piece of hardware that encapsulates some function but
+can't be used without some kind of front end. Today we have, especially,
+`print engine': the guts of a laser printer. 2. An analogous
+piece of software; notionally, one that does a lot of noisy
+crunching, such as a `database engine'.
+
+The hacker senses of `engine' are actually close to its
+original, pre-Industrial-Revolution sense of a skill, clever
+device, or instrument (the word is cognate to `ingenuity'). This
+sense had not been completely eclipsed by the modern connotation
+of power-transducing machinery in Charles Babbage's time, which
+explains why he named the stored-program computer that he
+designed in 1844 the `Analytical Engine'.
+
+
+Node:English, Next:enhancement, Previous:engine, Up:= E
+= 
+
+English
+
+1. n. obs. The source code for a program, which may be in any
+language, as opposed to the linkable or executable binary
+produced from it by a compiler. The idea behind the term is that
+to a real hacker, a program written in his favorite programming
+language is at least as readable as English. Usage: mostly by
+old-time hackers, though recognizable in context. Today the
+prefereed shorthand is sinply source. 2. The official name of the database
+language used by the old Pick Operating System, actually a sort
+of crufty, brain-damaged SQL with delusions of grandeur. The name
+permitted marketroids to say
+"Yes, and you can program our computers in English!" to ignorant
+suits without quite running afoul of
+the truth-in-advertising laws.
+
+
+Node:enhancement, Next:ENQ, Previous:English, Up:= E
+= 
+
+enhancement n.
+
+Common marketroid-speak for a
+bug fix. This abuse of language is a
+popular and time-tested way to turn incompetence into increased
+revenue. A hacker being ironic would instead call the fix a feature -- or perhaps save some effort by
+declaring the bug itself to be a feature.
+
+
+Node:ENQ, Next:EOF, Previous:enhancement, Up:= E = 
+
+ENQ /enkw/ or /enk/
+
+[from the ASCII mnemonic ENQuire for 0000101] An on-line
+convention for querying someone's availability. After opening a
+talk mode connection to someone
+apparently in heavy hack mode, one might type SYN SYN
+ENQ? (the SYNs representing notional synchronization
+bytes), and expect a return of ACK or
+NAK depending on whether or not the
+person felt interruptible. Compare ping, finger, and
+the usage of FOO? listed under talk mode.
+
+
+Node:EOF, Next:EOL, Previous:ENQ,
+Up:= E = 
+
+EOF /E-O-F/ n.
+
+[abbreviation, `End Of File'] 1. [techspeak] The out-of-band value returned by C's
+sequential character-input functions (and their equivalents in
+other environments) when end of file has been reached. This value
+is usually -1 under C libraries postdating V6 Unix, but was
+originally 0. DOS hackers think EOF is ^Z, and a few Amiga
+hackers think it's ^\. 2. [Unix] The keyboard character (usually
+control-D, the ASCII EOT (End Of Transmission) character) that is
+mapped by the terminal driver into an end-of-file condition. 3.
+Used by extension in non-computer contexts when a human is doing
+something that can be modeled as a sequential read and can't go
+further. "Yeah, I looked for a list of 360 mnemonics to post as a
+joke, but I hit EOF pretty fast; all the library had was a JCL manual." See also EOL.
+
+
+Node:EOL, Next:EOU, Previous:EOF,
+Up:= E = 
+
+EOL /E-O-L/ n.
+
+[End Of Line] Syn. for newline,
+derived perhaps from the original CDC6600 Pascal. Now rare, but
+widely recognized and occasionally used for brevity. Used in the
+example entry under BNF. See also EOF.
+
+
+Node:EOU, Next:epoch, Previous:EOL, Up:= E =
+
+
+EOU /E-O-U/ n.
+
+The mnemonic of a mythical ASCII control character (End Of
+User) that would make an ASR-33 Teletype explode on receipt. This
+construction parodies the numerous obscure delimiter and control
+characters left in ASCII from the days when it was associated
+more with wire-service teletypes than computers (e.g., FS, GS,
+RS, US, EM, SUB, ETX, and esp. EOT). It is worth remembering that
+ASR-33s were big, noisy mechanical beasts with a lot of
+clattering parts; the notion that one might explode was nowhere
+near as ridiculous as it might seem to someone sitting in front
+of a tube or flatscreen today.
+
+
+Node:epoch, Next:epsilon, Previous:EOU, Up:= E =
+
+
+epoch n.
+
+[Unix: prob. from astronomical timekeeping] The time and date
+corresponding to 0 in an operating system's clock and timestamp
+values. Under most Unix versions the epoch is 00:00:00 GMT,
+January 1, 1970; under VMS, it's 00:00:00 of November 17, 1858
+(base date of the U.S. Naval Observatory's ephemerides); on a
+Macintosh, it's the midnight beginning January 1 1904. System
+time is measured in seconds or ticks
+past the epoch. Weird problems may ensue when the clock wraps
+around (see wrap around),
+which is not necessarily a rare event; on systems counting 10
+ticks per second, a signed 32-bit count of ticks is good only for
+6.8 years. The 1-tick-per-second clock of Unix is good only until
+January 18, 2038, assuming at least some software continues to
+consider it signed and that word lengths don't increase by then.
+See also wall time. Microsoft
+Windows, on the other hand, has an epoch problem every 49.7 days
+- but this is seldom noticed as Windows is almost incapable of
+staying up continuously for that long.
+
+
+Node:epsilon, Next:epsilon squared, Previous:epoch, Up:= E = 
+
+epsilon
+
+[see delta] 1. n. A small quantity
+of anything. "The cost is epsilon." 2. adj. Very small,
+negligible; less than marginal.
+"We can get this feature for epsilon cost." 3. `within epsilon
+of': close enough to be indistinguishable for all practical
+purposes, even closer than being `within delta of'. "That's not
+what I asked for, but it's within epsilon of what I wanted."
+Alternatively, it may mean not close enough, but very little is
+required to get it there: "My program is within epsilon of
+working."
+
+
+Node:epsilon squared, Next:era the, Previous:epsilon, Up:= E = 
+
+epsilon squared n.
+
+A quantity even smaller than epsilon, as small in comparison to epsilon as
+epsilon is to something normal; completely negligible. If you buy
+a supercomputer for a million dollars, the cost of the
+thousand-dollar terminal to go with it is epsilon, and the cost of the ten-dollar cable
+to connect them is epsilon squared. Compare lost in the underflow,
+lost in the
+noise.
+
+
+Node:era the, Next:Eric Conspiracy, Previous:epsilon squared, Up:= E = 
+
+era n.
+
+Syn. epoch. Webster's Unabridged
+makes these words almost synonymous, but `era' more often
+connotes a span of time rather than a point in time, whereas the
+reverse is true for epoch. The epoch usage is recommended.
+
+
+Node:Eric Conspiracy, Next:Eris, Previous:era the, Up:= E = 
+
+Eric Conspiracy n.
+
+A shadowy group of mustachioed hackers named Eric first
+pinpointed as a sinister conspiracy by an infamous
+_talk.bizarre_ posting ca. 1987; this was doubtless
+influenced by the numerous `Eric' jokes in the Monty Python
+oeuvre. There do indeed seem to be considerably more mustachioed
+Erics in hackerdom than the frequency of these three traits can
+account for unless they are correlated in some arcane way.
+Well-known examples include Eric Allman (he of the `Allman style'
+described under indent
+style) and Erik Fair (co-author of NNTP); your editor has
+heard from more than sixty others by email, and the organization
+line `Eric Conspiracy Secret Laboratories' now emanates regularly
+from more than one site. See the Eric Conspiracy Web Page at http://www.ccil.org/~esr/ecsl/
+for full details.
+
+
+Node:Eris, Next:erotics, Previous:Eric Conspiracy, Up:= E = 
+
+Eris /e'ris/ n.
+
+The Greek goddess of Chaos, Discord, Confusion, and Things You
+Know Not Of; her name was latinized to Discordia and she was
+worshiped by that name in Rome. Not a very friendly deity in the
+Classical original, she was reinvented as a more benign
+personification of creative anarchy starting in 1959 by the
+adherents of Discordianism
+and has since been a semi-serious subject of veneration in
+several `fringe' cultures, including hackerdom. See Discordianism, Church of the
+SubGenius.
+
+
+Node:erotics, Next:error 33, Previous:Eris, Up:= E =
+
+
+erotics /ee-ro'tiks/ n.
+
+[Helsinki University of Technology, Finland] n.
+English-language university slang for electronics. Often used by
+hackers in Helsinki, maybe because good electronics excites them
+and makes them warm.
+
+
+Node:error 33, Next:eurodemo, Previous:erotics, Up:= E
+= 
+
+error 33 [XEROX PARC] n.
+
+1. Predicating one research effort upon the success of
+another. 2. Allowing your own research effort to be placed on the
+critical path of some other project (be it a research effort or
+not).
+
+
+Node:eurodemo, Next:evil, Previous:error 33, Up:= E = 
+
+eurodemo /yoor'o-dem`-o/
+
+a demo, sense 4
+
+
+Node:evil, Next:evil and rude, Previous:eurodemo, Up:= E = 
+
+evil adj.
+
+As used by hackers, implies that some system, program, person,
+or institution is sufficiently maldesigned as to be not worth the
+bother of dealing with. Unlike the adjectives in the cretinous/losing/brain-damaged series, `evil' does not
+imply incompetence or bad design, but rather a set of goals or
+design criteria fatally incompatible with the speaker's. This
+usage is more an esthetic and engineering judgment than a moral
+one in the mainstream sense. "We thought about adding a Blue Glue interface but decided it
+was too evil to deal with." "TECO is
+neat, but it can be pretty evil if you're prone to typos." Often
+pronounced with the first syllable lengthened, as /eeee'vil/.
+Compare evil and
+rude.
+
+
+Node:evil and rude, Next:Evil Empire, Previous:evil, Up:= E = 
+
+evil and rude adj.
+
+Both evil and rude, but with the additional connotation that
+the rudeness was due to malice rather than incompetence. Thus,
+for example: Microsoft's Windows NT is _evil_ because it's a
+competent implementation of a bad design; it's _rude_
+because it's gratuitously incompatible with Unix in places where
+compatibility would have been as easy and effective to do; but
+it's _evil and rude_ because the incompatibilities are
+apparently there not to fix design bugs in Unix but rather to
+lock hapless customers and developers into the Microsoft way.
+Hackish _evil and rude_ is close to the mainstream sense of
+`evil'.
+
+
+Node:Evil Empire, Next:exa-, Previous:evil and rude, Up:= E = 
+
+Evil Empire n.
+
+[from Ronald Reagan's famous characterization of the communist
+Soviet Union] Formerly IBM, now Microsoft. Functionally, the company
+most hackers love to hate at any given time. Hackers like to see
+themselves as romantic rebels against the Evil Empire, and
+frequently adopt this role to the point of ascribing rather more
+power and malice to the Empire than it actually has. See also
+Borg and search for Evil Empire
+pages on the Web.
+
+
+Node:exa-, Next:examining the entrails,
+Previous:Evil Empire,
+Up:= E = 
+
+exa- /ek's*/ pref.
+
+[SI] See quantifiers.
+
+
+Node:examining the
+entrails, Next:EXCH,
+Previous:exa-, Up:= E = 
+
+examining the entrails n.
+
+The process of grovelling through
+a core dump or hex image in an
+attempt to discover the bug that brought a program or system
+down. The reference is to divination from the entrails of a
+sacrified animal. Compare runes,
+incantation, black art, desk
+check.
+
+
+Node:EXCH, Next:excl, Previous:examining the entrails, Up:= E = 
+
+EXCH /eks'ch*/ or /eksch/ vt.
+
+To exchange two things, each for the other; to swap places. If
+you point to two people sitting down and say "Exch!", you are
+asking them to trade places. EXCH, meaning EXCHange, was
+originally the name of a PDP-10 instruction that exchanged the
+contents of a register and a memory location. Many newer hackers
+are probably thinking instead of the PostScript exchange operator (which is
+usually written in lowercase).
+
+
+Node:excl, Next:EXE, Previous:EXCH,
+Up:= E = 
+
+excl /eks'kl/ n.
+
+Abbreviation for `exclamation point'. See bang, shriek, ASCII.
+
+
+Node:EXE, Next:exec, Previous:excl, Up:= E =
+
+
+EXE /eks'ee/ or /eek'see/ or /E-X-E/ n.
+
+An executable binary file. Some operating systems (notably
+MS-DOS, VMS, and TWENEX) use the extension .EXE to mark such
+files. This usage is also occasionally found among Unix
+programmers even though Unix executables don't have any required
+suffix.
+
+
+Node:exec, Next:exercise left as an, Previous:EXE, Up:= E = 
+
+exec /eg-zek'/ or /eks'ek/ vt., n.
+
+1. [Unix: from `execute'] Synonym for chain, derives from the exec(2)
+call. 2. [from `executive'] obs. The command interpreter for an
+OS (see shell); term esp. used around mainframes, and
+prob. derived from UNIVAC's archaic EXEC 2 and EXEC 8 operating
+systems. 3. At IBM and VM/CMS shops, the equivalent of a shell
+command file (among VM/CMS users).
+
+The mainstream `exec' as an abbreviation for (human) executive
+is not used. To a hacker, an `exec' is a always a
+program, never a person.
+
+
+Node:exercise left as an,
+Next:Exon, Previous:exec, Up:= E = 
+
+exercise, left as an adj.
+
+[from technical books] Used to complete a proof when one
+doesn't mind a handwave, or to
+avoid one entirely. The complete phrase is: "The proof [or `the
+rest'] is left as an exercise for the reader." This comment
+has occasionally been attached to unsolved research
+problems by authors possessed of either an evil sense of humor or
+a vast faith in the capabilities of their audiences.
+
+
+Node:Exon, Next:Exploder, Previous:exercise left as an, Up:= E = 
+
+Exon /eks'on/ excl.
+
+A generic obscenity that quickly entered wide use on the
+Internet and Usenet after Black
+Thursday. From the last name of Senator James Exon
+(Democrat-Nebraska), primary author of the CDA.
+
+
+Node:Exploder, Next:exploit, Previous:Exon, Up:= E =
+
+
+Exploder n.
+
+Used within Microsoft to refer to the Windows Explorer, the
+interface component of Windows 95 and WinNT 4. Our spies report
+that most of the heavy guns at MS came from a Unix background and
+use command line utilities; even they are scornful of the
+over-gingerbreaded WIMP
+environments that they have been called upon to
+create.
+
+
+Node:exploit, Next:external memory, Previous:Exploder, Up:= E = 
+
+exploit n.
+
+[originally cracker slang] 1. A vulnerability in software that
+can be used for breaking security or otherwise attacking an
+Internet host over the network. The Ping O' Death is a famous exploit.
+2. More grammatically, a program that exploits an exploit in
+sense 1,
+
+
+Node:external memory, Next:eye candy, Previous:exploit, Up:= E = 
+
+external memory n.
+
+A memo pad, palmtop computer, or written notes. "Hold on while
+I write that to external memory". The analogy is with store or
+DRAM versus nonvolatile disk storage on computers.
+
+
+Node:eye candy, Next:eyeball search, Previous:external memory, Up:= E = 
+
+eye candy /i:' kand`ee/ n.
+
+[from mainstream slang "ear candy"] A display of some sort
+that's presented to lusers to keep
+them distracted while the program performs necessary background
+tasks. "Give 'em some eye candy while the back-end slurps that BLOB into
+core." Reported as mainstream usage among players of
+graphics-heavy computer games. We're also told this term is
+mainstream slang for soft pornography, but that sense does not
+appear to be live among hackers.
+
+
+Node:eyeball search, Next:face time, Previous:eye candy, Up:= E = 
+
+eyeball search n.,v.
+
+To look for something in a mass of code or data with one's own
+native optical sensors, as opposed to using some sort of pattern
+matching software like grep or any
+other automated search tool. Also called a vgrep; compare vdiff, desk
+check.
+
+
+Node:= F =, Next:= G =, Previous:= E =, Up:The Jargon Lexicon 
+
+= F =
+
+
+face time:
+
+
+factor:
+
+
+fairings:
+
+
+fall over:
+
+
+fall through:
+
+
+fan:
+
+
+fandango on core:
+
+
+FAQ:
+
+
+FAQ list:
+
+
+FAQL:
+
+
+faradize:
+
+
+farkled:
+
+
+farming:
+
+
+fascist:
+
+
+fat electrons:
+
+
+fat-finger:
+
+
+faulty:
+
+
+fd leak:
+
+
+fear and loathing:
+
+
+feature:
+
+
+feature creature:
+
+
+feature creep:
+
+
+feature key:
+
+
+feature shock:
+
+
+featurectomy:
+
+
+feep:
+
+
+feeper:
+
+
+feeping creature:
+
+
+feeping creaturism:
+
+
+feetch feetch:
+
+
+fence:
+
+
+fencepost error:
+
+
+fiber-seeking
+backhoe:
+
+
+FidoNet:
+
+
+field circus:
+
+
+field servoid:
+
+
+Fight-o-net:
+
+
+File Attach:
+
+
+File Request:
+
+
+file signature:
+
+
+filk:
+
+
+film at 11:
+
+
+filter:
+
+
+Finagle's Law:
+
+
+fine:
+
+
+finger:
+
+
+finger trouble:
+
+
+finger-pointing
+syndrome:
+
+
+finn:
+
+
+firebottle:
+
+
+firefighting:
+
+
+firehose syndrome:
+
+
+firewall code:
+
+
+firewall machine:
+
+
+fireworks mode:
+
+
+firmware:
+
+
+firmy:
+
+
+fish:
+
+
+FISH queue:
+
+
+FITNR:
+
+
+fix:
+
+
+FIXME:
+
+
+flag:
+
+
+flag day:
+
+
+flaky:
+
+
+flamage:
+
+
+flame:
+
+
+flame bait:
+
+
+flame on:
+
+
+flame war:
+
+
+flamer:
+
+
+flap:
+
+
+flarp:
+
+
+flash crowd:
+
+
+flat:
+
+
+flat-ASCII:
+
+
+flat-file:
+
+
+flatten:
+
+
+flavor:
+
+
+flavorful:
+
+
+flippy:
+
+
+flood:
+
+
+flowchart:
+
+
+flower key:
+
+
+flush:
+
+
+flypage:
+
+
+Flyspeck 3:
+
+
+flytrap:
+
+
+FM:
+
+
+fnord:
+
+
+FOAF:
+
+
+FOD:
+
+
+fold case:
+
+
+followup:
+
+
+fontology:
+
+
+foo:
+
+
+foobar:
+
+
+fool:
+
+
+fool file:
+
+
+Foonly:
+
+
+footprint:
+
+
+for free:
+
+
+for the rest of
+us:
+
+
+for values of:
+
+
+fora:
+
+
+foreground:
+
+
+fork:
+
+
+fork bomb:
+
+
+forked:
+
+
+Fortrash:
+
+
+fortune cookie:
+
+
+forum:
+
+
+fossil:
+
+
+four-color
+glossies:
+
+
+frag:
+
+
+fragile:
+
+
+fred:
+
+
+Fred Foobar:
+
+
+frednet:
+
+
+free software:
+
+
+freeware:
+
+
+freeze:
+
+
+fried:
+
+
+frink:
+
+
+friode:
+
+
+fritterware:
+
+
+frob:
+
+
+frobnicate:
+
+
+frobnitz:
+
+
+frog:
+
+
+frogging:
+
+
+front end:
+
+
+frotz:
+
+
+frotzed:
+
+
+frowney:
+
+
+FRS:
+
+
+fry:
+
+
+fscking:
+
+
+FSF:
+
+
+FTP:
+
+
+-fu:
+
+
+FUBAR:
+
+
+fuck me harder:
+
+
+FUD:
+
+
+FUD wars:
+
+
+fudge:
+
+
+fudge factor:
+
+
+fuel up:
+
+
+Full Monty:
+
+
+fum:
+
+
+functino:
+
+
+funky:
+
+
+funny money:
+
+
+furrfu:
+
+
+fuzzball:
+
+
+Node:face time, Next:factor, Previous:eyeball search, Up:= F = 
+
+face time n.
+
+[common] Time spent interacting with somebody face-to-face (as
+opposed to via electronic links). "Oh, yeah, I spent some face
+time with him at the last Usenix."
+
+
+Node:factor, Next:fairings, Previous:face time, Up:= F = 
+
+factor n.
+
+See coefficient of
+X.
+
+
+Node:fairings, Next:fall over, Previous:factor, Up:= F
+= 
+
+fairings n. /fer'ingz/
+
+[FreeBSD; orig. a typo for `fairness'] A term thrown out in
+discussion whenever a completely and transparently nonsensical
+argument in one's favor(?) seems called for, e,g. at the end of a
+really long thread for which the outcome is no longer even cared
+about since everyone is now so sick of it; or in rebuttal to
+another nonsensical argument ("Change the loader to look for
+/kernel.pl? What about fairings?")
+
+
+Node:fall over, Next:fall through, Previous:fairings, Up:= F = 
+
+fall over vi.
+
+[IBM] Yet another synonym for crash or lose. `Fall
+over hard' equates to crash and
+burn.
+
+
+Node:fall through, Next:fan, Previous:fall over, Up:= F = 
+
+fall through v.
+
+(n. `fallthrough', var. `fall-through') 1. To exit a loop by
+exhaustion, i.e., by having fulfilled its exit condition rather
+than via a break or exception condition that exits from the
+middle of it. This usage appears to be really old,
+dating from the 1940s and 1950s. 2. To fail a test that would
+have passed control to a subroutine or some other distant portion
+of code. 3. In C, `fall-through' occurs when the flow of
+execution in a switch statement reaches a case label
+other than by jumping there from the switch header, passing a
+point where one would normally expect to find a
+break. A trivial example:
+
+switch (color)
+{
+case GREEN:
+   do_green();
+   break;
+case PINK:
+   do_pink();
+   /* FALL THROUGH */
+case RED:
+   do_red();
+   break;
+default:
+   do_blue();
+   break;
+}
+
+
+The variant spelling /* FALL THRU */ is also
+common.
+
+The effect of the above code is to do_green()
+when color is GREEN, do_red() when
+color is RED, do_blue() on any other
+color other than PINK, and (and this is the
+important part) do_pink() and then
+do_red() when color is PINK.
+Fall-through is considered
+harmful by some, though there are contexts (such as the
+coding of state machines) in which it is natural; it is generally
+considered good practice to include a comment highlighting the
+fall-through where one would normally expect a break. See also
+Duff's device.
+
+
+Node:fan, Next:fandango on core, Previous:fall through, Up:= F = 
+
+fan n.
+
+Without qualification, indicates a fan of science fiction,
+especially one who goes to cons and
+tends to hang out with other fans. Many hackers are fans, so this
+term has been imported from fannish slang; however, unlike much
+fannish slang it is recognized by most non-fannish hackers. Among
+SF fans the plural is correctly `fen', but this usage is not
+automatic to hackers. "Laura reads the stuff occasionally but
+isn't really a fan."
+
+
+Node:fandango on core, Next:FAQ, Previous:fan, Up:= F =
+
+
+fandango on core n.
+
+[Unix/C hackers, from the Iberian dance] In C, a wild pointer
+that runs out of bounds, causing a core
+dump, or corrupts the malloc(3) arena in such a way as to cause mysterious
+failures later on, is sometimes said to have `done a fandango on
+core'. On low-end personal machines without an MMU (or Windows
+boxes, which have an MMU but use it incompetently), this can
+corrupt the OS itself, causing massive lossage. Other frenetic
+dances such as the cha-cha or the watusi, may be substituted. See
+aliasing bug, precedence lossage, smash the stack, memory leak, memory smash, overrun screw, core.
+
+
+Node:FAQ, Next:FAQ list, Previous:fandango on core, Up:= F = 
+
+FAQ /F-A-Q/ or /fak/ n.
+
+[Usenet] 1. A Frequently Asked Question. 2. A compendium of
+accumulated lore, posted periodically to high-volume newsgroups
+in an attempt to forestall such questions. Some people prefer the
+term `FAQ list' or `FAQL' /fa'kl/, reserving `FAQ' for sense
+1.
+
+This lexicon itself serves as a good example of a collection
+of one kind of lore, although it is far too big for a regular FAQ
+posting. Examples: "What is the proper type of NULL?" and "What's
+that funny name for the # character?" are both
+Frequently Asked Questions. Several FAQs refer readers to this
+file.
+
+
+Node:FAQ list, Next:FAQL, Previous:FAQ,
+Up:= F = 
+
+FAQ list /F-A-Q list/ or /fak list/ n.
+
+[common; Usenet] Syn FAQ, sense
+2.
+
+
+Node:FAQL, Next:faradize, Previous:FAQ list, Up:= F = 
+
+FAQL /fa'kl/ n.
+
+Syn. FAQ list.
+
+
+Node:faradize, Next:farkled, Previous:FAQL, Up:= F =
+
+
+faradize /far'*-di:z/ v.
+
+[US Geological Survey] To start any hyper-addictive process or
+trend, or to continue adding current to such a trend. Telling one
+user about a new octo-tetris game you compiled would be a
+faradizing act -- in two weeks you might find your entire
+department playing the faradic game.
+
+
+Node:farkled, Next:farming, Previous:faradize, Up:=
+F = 
+
+farkled /far'kld/ adj.
+
+[DeVry Institute of Technology, Atlanta] Syn. hosed. Poss. owes something to Yiddish
+`farblondjet' and/or the `Farkle Family' skits on "Rowan and
+Martin's Laugh-In", a popular comedy show of the late 1960s.
+
+
+Node:farming, Next:fascist, Previous:farkled, Up:= F
+= 
+
+farming n.
+
+[Adelaide University, Australia] What the heads of a disk
+drive are said to do when they plow little furrows in the
+magnetic media. Associated with a crash. Typically used as follows: "Oh no, the
+machine has just crashed; I hope the hard drive hasn't gone farming again." No longer common; modern
+drives automatically park their heads in a safe zone on
+power-down, so it takes a real mechanical problem to induce
+this.
+
+
+Node:fascist, Next:fat electrons, Previous:farming, Up:= F = 
+
+fascist adj.
+
+1. [common] Said of a computer system with excessive or
+annoying security barriers, usage limits, or access policies. The
+implication is that said policies are preventing hackers from
+getting interesting work done. The variant `fascistic' seems to
+have been preferred at MIT, poss. by analogy with `touristic'
+(see tourist or under the influence
+of German/Yiddish `faschistisch'). 2. In the design of languages
+and other software tools, `the fascist alternative' is the most
+restrictive and structured way of capturing a particular
+function; the implication is that this may be desirable in order
+to simplify the implementation or provide tighter error checking.
+Compare bondage-and-discipline
+language, although that term is global rather than
+local.
+
+
+Node:fat electrons, Next:fat-finger, Previous:fascist, Up:= F = 
+
+fat electrons n.
+
+Old-time hacker David Cargill's theory on the causation of
+computer glitches. Your typical electric utility draws its line
+current out of the big generators with a pair of coil taps
+located near the top of the dynamo. When the normal tap brushes
+get dirty, they take them off line to clean them up, and use
+special auxiliary taps on the bottom of the coil. Now,
+this is a problem, because when they do that they get not
+ordinary or `thin' electrons, but the fat'n'sloppy electrons that
+are heavier and so settle to the bottom of the generator. These
+flow down ordinary wires just fine, but when they have to turn a
+sharp corner (as in an integrated-circuit via), they're apt to
+get stuck. This is what causes computer glitches. [Fascinating.
+Obviously, fat electrons must gain mass by bogon absorption --ESR] Compare bogon, magic
+smoke.
+
+
+Node:fat-finger, Next:faulty, Previous:fat electrons, Up:= F = 
+
+fat-finger vt.
+
+1. To introduce a typo while editing in such a way that the
+resulting manglification of a configuration file does something
+useless, damaging, or wildly unexpected. "NSI fat-fingered their
+DNS zone file and took half the net down again." 2. More
+generally, any typo that produces dramatically bad results.
+
+
+Node:faulty, Next:fd leak, Previous:fat-finger, Up:= F = 
+
+faulty adj.
+
+Non-functional; buggy. Same denotation as bletcherous, losing, q.v., but the connotation is much
+milder.
+
+
+Node:fd leak, Next:fear and loathing, Previous:faulty, Up:= F = 
+
+fd leak /F-D leek/ n.
+
+A kind of programming bug analogous to a core leak, in which a program fails to
+close file descriptors (`fd's) after file operations are
+completed, and thus eventually runs out of them. See leak.
+
+
+Node:fear and loathing,
+Next:feature, Previous:fd leak, Up:= F = 
+
+fear and loathing n.
+
+[from Hunter S. Thompson] A state inspired by the prospect of
+dealing with certain real-world systems and standards that are
+totally brain-damaged but
+ubiquitous -- Intel 8086s, or COBOL,
+or EBCDIC, or any IBM machine bigger than a workstation. "Ack! They
+want PCs to be able to talk to the AI machine. Fear and loathing
+time!"
+
+
+Node:feature, Next:feature creature, Previous:fear and loathing,
+Up:= F = 
+
+feature n.
+
+1. [common] A good property or behavior (as of a program).
+Whether it was intended or not is immaterial. 2. [common] An
+intended property or behavior (as of a program). Whether it is
+good or not is immaterial (but if bad, it is also a misfeature). 3. A surprising property or
+behavior; in particular, one that is purposely inconsistent
+because it works better that way -- such an inconsistency is
+therefore a feature and not a bug. This kind of feature is sometimes called
+a miswart; see that entry for a
+classic example. 4. A property or behavior that is gratuitous or
+unnecessary, though perhaps also impressive or cute. For example,
+one feature of Common LISP's format function is the
+ability to print numbers in two different Roman-numeral formats
+(see bells whistles
+and gongs). 5. A property or behavior that was put in to
+help someone else but that happens to be in your way. 6. [common]
+A bug that has been documented. To call something a feature
+sometimes means the author of the program did not consider the
+particular case, and that the program responded in a way that was
+unexpected but not strictly incorrect. A standard joke is that a
+bug can be turned into a feature
+simply by documenting it (then theoretically no one can complain
+about it because it's in the manual), or even by simply declaring
+it to be good. "That's not a bug, that's a feature!" is a common
+catchphrase. See also feetch
+feetch, creeping
+featurism, wart, green lightning.
+
+The relationship among bugs, features, misfeatures, warts, and
+miswarts might be clarified by the following hypothetical
+exchange between two hackers on an airliner:
+
+A: "This seat doesn't recline."
+
+B: "That's not a bug, that's a feature. There is an emergency
+exit door built around the window behind you, and the route has
+to be kept clear."
+
+A: "Oh. Then it's a misfeature; they should have increased the
+spacing between rows here."
+
+B: "Yes. But if they'd increased spacing in only one section
+it would have been a wart -- they would've had to make
+nonstandard-length ceiling panels to fit over the displaced
+seats."
+
+A: "A miswart, actually. If they increased spacing throughout
+they'd lose several rows and a chunk out of the profit margin. So
+unequal spacing would actually be the Right Thing."
+
+B: "Indeed."
+
+`Undocumented feature' is a common, allegedly humorous
+euphemism for a bug. There's a related
+joke that is sometimes referred to as the "one-question geek
+test". You say to someone "I saw a Volkswagen Beetle today with a
+vanity license plate that read FEATURE". If he/she laughs, he/she
+is a geek (see computer
+geek, sense 2).
+
+
+Node:feature creature, Next:feature creep, Previous:feature, Up:= F = 
+
+feature creature n.
+
+[poss. fr. slang `creature feature' for a horror movie] 1. One
+who loves to add features to designs or programs, perhaps at the
+expense of coherence, concision, or taste. 2. Alternately, a mythical being that
+induces otherwise rational programmers to perpetrate such crocks.
+See also feeping
+creaturism, creeping
+featurism.
+
+
+Node:feature creep, Next:feature key, Previous:feature creature, Up:= F = 
+
+feature creep n.
+
+[common] The result of creeping featurism, as in "Emacs
+has a bad case of feature creep".
+
+
+Node:feature key, Next:feature shock, Previous:feature creep, Up:= F = 
+
+feature key n.
+
+[common] The Macintosh key with the cloverleaf graphic on its
+keytop; sometimes referred to as `flower', `pretzel', `clover',
+`propeller', `beanie' (an apparent reference to the major feature
+of a propeller beanie), splat,
+`open-apple' or (officially, in Mac documentation) the `command
+key'. In French, the term `papillon' (butterfly) has been
+reported. The proliferation of terms for this creature may
+illustrate one subtle peril of iconic interfaces.
+
+Many people have been mystified by the cloverleaf-like symbol
+that appears on the feature key. Its oldest name is `cross of St.
+Hannes', but it occurs in pre-Christian Viking art as a
+decorative motif. Throughout Scandinavia today the road agencies
+use it to mark sites of historical interest. Apple picked up the
+symbol from an early Mac developer who happened to be Swedish.
+Apple documentation gives the translation "interesting
+feature"!
+
+There is some dispute as to the proper (Swedish) name of this
+symbol. It technically stands for the word `sevärdhet'
+(thing worth seeing); many of these are old churches. Some Swedes
+report as an idiom for the sign the word `kyrka', cognate to
+English `church' and pronounced (roughly) /chur'ka/ in modern
+Swedish. Others say this is nonsense. Other idioms reported for
+the sign are `runa' (rune) or `runsten' /roon'stn/ (runestone),
+derived from the fact that many of the interesting features are
+Viking rune-stones. The term `fornminne' /foorn'min'*/ (relic of
+antiquity, ancient monument) is also reported, especially among
+those who think that the Mac itself is a relic of antiquity.
+
+
+Node:feature shock, Next:featurectomy, Previous:feature key, Up:= F = 
+
+feature shock n.
+
+[from Alvin Toffler's book title "Future Shock"] A user's (or
+programmer's!) confusion when confronted with a package that has
+too many features and poor introductory material.
+
+
+Node:featurectomy, Next:feep, Previous:feature shock, Up:= F = 
+
+featurectomy /fee`ch*r-ek't*-mee/ n.
+
+The act of removing a feature from a program. Featurectomies
+come in two flavors, the `righteous' and the `reluctant'.
+Righteous featurectomies are performed because the remover
+believes the program would be more elegant without the feature,
+or there is already an equivalent and better way to achieve the
+same end. (Doing so is not quite the same thing as removing a
+misfeature.) Reluctant
+featurectomies are performed to satisfy some external constraint
+such as code size or execution speed.
+
+
+Node:feep, Next:feeper, Previous:featurectomy, Up:= F = 
+
+feep /feep/
+
+1. n. The soft electronic `bell' sound of a display terminal
+(except for a VT-52); a beep (in fact, the microcomputer world
+seems to prefer beep). 2. vi. To cause
+the display to make a feep sound. ASR-33s (the original TTYs) do
+not feep; they have mechanical bells that ring. Alternate forms:
+beep, `bleep', or just about anything
+suitably onomatopoeic. (Jeff MacNelly, in his comic strip "Shoe",
+uses the word `eep' for sounds made by computer terminals and
+video games; this is perhaps the closest written approximation
+yet.) The term `breedle' was sometimes heard at SAIL, where the
+terminal bleepers are not particularly soft (they sound more like
+the musical equivalent of a raspberry or Bronx cheer; for a close
+approximation, imagine the sound of a Star Trek communicator's
+beep lasting for five seconds). The `feeper' on a VT-52 has been
+compared to the sound of a '52 Chevy stripping its gears. See
+also ding.
+
+
+Node:feeper, Next:feeping creature, Previous:feep, Up:= F = 
+
+feeper /fee'pr/ n.
+
+The device in a terminal or workstation (usually a loudspeaker
+of some kind) that makes the feep
+sound.
+
+
+Node:feeping creature, Next:feeping creaturism,
+Previous:feeper, Up:= F = 
+
+feeping creature n.
+
+[from feeping
+creaturism] An unnecessary feature; a bit of chrome that, in the speaker's judgment, is the
+camel's nose for a whole horde of new features.
+
+
+Node:feeping creaturism,
+Next:feetch feetch,
+Previous:feeping
+creature, Up:= F = 
+
+feeping creaturism /fee'ping kree`ch*r-izm/ n.
+
+A deliberate spoonerism for creeping featurism, meant to
+imply that the system or program in question has become a
+misshapen creature of hacks. This term isn't really well defined,
+but it sounds so neat that most hackers have said or heard it. It
+is probably reinforced by an image of terminals prowling about in
+the dark making their customary noises.
+
+
+Node:feetch feetch, Next:fence, Previous:feeping creaturism, Up:= F = 
+
+feetch feetch /feech feech/ interj.
+
+If someone tells you about some new improvement to a program,
+you might respond: "Feetch, feetch!" The meaning of this depends
+critically on vocal inflection. With enthusiasm, it means
+something like "Boy, that's great! What a great hack!" Grudgingly
+or with obvious doubt, it means "I don't know; it sounds like
+just one more unnecessary and complicated thing". With a tone of
+resignation, it means, "Well, I'd rather keep it simple, but I
+suppose it has to be done".
+
+
+Node:fence, Next:fencepost error, Previous:feetch feetch, Up:= F = 
+
+fence n. 1.
+
+A sequence of one or more distinguished (out-of-band) characters (or other data
+items), used to delimit a piece of data intended to be treated as
+a unit (the computer-science literature calls this a `sentinel').
+The NUL (ASCII 0000000) character that terminates strings in C is
+a fence. Hex FF is also (though slightly less frequently) used
+this way. See zigamorph. 2. An
+extra data value inserted in an array or other data structure in
+order to allow some normal test on the array's contents also to
+function as a termination test. For example, a highly optimized
+routine for finding a value in an array might artificially place
+a copy of the value to be searched for after the last slot of the
+array, thus allowing the main search loop to search for the value
+without having to check at each pass whether the end of the array
+had been reached. 3. [among users of optimizing compilers] Any
+technique, usually exploiting knowledge about the compiler, that
+blocks certain optimizations. Used when explicit mechanisms are
+not available or are overkill. Typically a hack: "I call a dummy
+procedure there to force a flush of the optimizer's
+register-coloring info" can be expressed by the shorter "That's a
+fence procedure".
+
+
+Node:fencepost error, Next:fiber-seeking
+backhoe, Previous:fence,
+Up:= F = 
+
+fencepost error n.
+
+1. [common] A problem with the discrete equivalent of a
+boundary condition, often exhibited in programs by iterative
+loops. From the following problem: "If you build a fence 100 feet
+long with posts 10 feet apart, how many posts do you need?"
+(Either 9 or 11 is a better answer than the obvious 10.) For
+example, suppose you have a long list or array of items, and want
+to process items m through n; how many items are there? The
+obvious answer is n - m, but that is off by one; the right answer
+is n - m + 1. A program that used the `obvious' formula would
+have a fencepost error in it. See also zeroth and off-by-one error, and note that not
+all off-by-one errors are fencepost errors. The game of Musical
+Chairs involves a catastrophic off-by-one error where N people
+try to sit in N - 1 chairs, but it's not a fencepost error.
+Fencepost errors come from counting things rather than the spaces
+between them, or vice versa, or by neglecting to consider whether
+one should count one or both ends of a row. 2. [rare] An error
+induced by unexpected regularities in input values, which can
+(for instance) completely thwart a theoretically efficient binary
+tree or hash table implementation. (The error here involves the
+difference between expected and worst case behaviors of an
+algorithm.)
+
+
+Node:fiber-seeking backhoe,
+Next:FidoNet, Previous:fencepost error, Up:= F = 
+
+fiber-seeking backhoe
+
+[common among backbone ISP personnel] Any of a genus of large,
+disruptive machines which routinely cut critical backbone links,
+creating Internet outages and packet over air problems.
+
+
+Node:FidoNet, Next:field circus, Previous:fiber-seeking backhoe, Up:= F = 
+
+FidoNet n.
+
+A worldwide hobbyist network of personal computers which
+exchanges mail, discussion groups, and files. Founded in 1984 and
+originally consisting only of IBM PCs and compatibles, FidoNet
+now includes such diverse machines as Apple ][s, Ataris, Amigas,
+and Unix systems. For years FidoNet actually grew faster than
+Usenet, but the advent of cheap Internet access probably means
+its days are numbered. In early 1999 Fidonet has approximately
+30,000 nodes, down from 38K in 1996.
+
+
+Node:field circus, Next:field servoid, Previous:FidoNet, Up:= F = 
+
+field circus n.
+
+[a derogatory pun on `field service'] The field service
+organization of any hardware manufacturer, but originally DEC. There is an entire genre of jokes about
+field circus engineers:
+
+Q: How can you recognize a field circus engineer
+   with a flat tire?
+A: He's changing one tire at a time to see which one is flat.
+
+Q: How can you recognize a field circus engineer
+   who is out of gas?
+A: He's changing one tire at a time to see which one is flat.
+
+Q: How can you tell it's your field circus engineer?
+A: The spare is flat, too.
+
+
+[See Easter egging for
+additional insight on these jokes.]
+
+There is also the `Field Circus Cheer' (from the old plan file for DEC on MIT-AI):
+
+Maynard! Maynard!
+Don't mess with us!
+We're mean and we're tough!
+If you get us confused
+We'll screw up your stuff.
+
+
+(DEC's service HQ, still extant under the Compaq regime, is
+located in Maynard, Massachusetts.)
+
+
+Node:field servoid, Next:Fight-o-net, Previous:field circus, Up:= F = 
+
+field servoid [play on `android'] /fee'ld ser'voyd/
+n.
+
+Representative of a field service organization (see field circus). This has many of
+the implications of droid.
+
+
+Node:Fight-o-net, Next:File Attach, Previous:field servoid, Up:= F = 
+
+Fight-o-net n.
+
+[FidoNet] Deliberate distortion of FidoNet, often applied after a flurry of flamage in a particular echo, especially the SYSOP echo or Fidonews (see
+'Snooze).
+
+
+Node:File Attach, Next:File Request, Previous:Fight-o-net, Up:= F = 
+
+File Attach [FidoNet]
+
+1. n. A file sent along with a mail message from one FidoNet
+to another. 2. vt. Sending someone a file by using the File
+Attach option in a FidoNet mailer.
+
+
+Node:File Request, Next:file signature, Previous:File Attach, Up:= F = 
+
+File Request [FidoNet]
+
+1. n. The FidoNet equivalent of
+FTP, in which one FidoNet system
+automatically dials another and snarfs one or more files. Often abbreviated
+`FReq'; files are often announced as being "available for FReq"
+in the same way that files are announced as being "available
+for/by anonymous FTP" on the Internet. 2. vt. The act of getting
+a copy of a file by using the File Request option of the FidoNet
+mailer.
+
+
+Node:file signature, Next:filk, Previous:File Request, Up:= F = 
+
+file signature n.
+
+A magic number, sense
+3.
+
+
+Node:filk, Next:film at 11, Previous:file signature, Up:= F = 
+
+filk /filk/ n.,v.
+
+[from SF fandom, where a typo for `folk' was adopted as a new
+word] A popular or folk song with lyrics revised or completely
+new lyrics and/or music, intended for humorous effect when read,
+and/or to be sung late at night at SF conventions. There is a
+flourishing subgenre of these called `computer filks', written by
+hackers and often containing rather sophisticated technical
+humor. See double bucky for
+an example. Compare grilf, hing, pr0n, and
+newsfroup.
+
+
+Node:film at 11, Next:filter, Previous:filk, Up:= F =
+
+
+film at 11
+
+[MIT: in parody of TV newscasters] 1. Used in conversation to
+announce ordinary events, with a sarcastic implication that these
+events are earth-shattering. "ITS
+crashes; film at 11." "Bug found in scheduler; film at 11." 2.
+Also widely used outside MIT to indicate that additional
+information will be available at some future time,
+without the implication of anything particularly
+ordinary about the referenced event. For example, "The mail file
+server died this morning; we found garbage all over the root
+directory. Film at 11." would indicate that a major failure had
+occurred but that the people working on it have no additional
+information about it as yet; use of the phrase in this way
+suggests gently that the problem is liable to be fixed more
+quickly if the people doing the fixing can spend time doing the
+fixing rather than responding to questions, the answers to which
+will appear on the normal "11:00 news", if people will just be
+patient.
+
+The variant "MPEGs at 11" has recently been cited (MPEG is a
+digital-video format.)
+
+
+Node:filter, Next:Finagle's Law, Previous:film at 11, Up:= F = 
+
+filter n.
+
+[very common; orig. Unix, now also
+in MS-DOS] A program that processes
+an input data stream into an output data stream in some
+well-defined way, and does no I/O to anywhere else except
+possibly on error conditions; one designed to be used as a stage
+in a `pipeline' (see plumbing).
+Compare sponge.
+
+
+Node:Finagle's Law, Next:fine, Previous:filter, Up:= F
+= 
+
+Finagle's Law n.
+
+The generalized or `folk' version of Murphy's Law, fully named "Finagle's
+Law of Dynamic Negatives" and usually rendered "Anything that can
+go wrong, will". One variant favored among hackers is "The
+perversity of the Universe tends towards a maximum" (but see also
+Hanlon's Razor). The label
+`Finagle's Law' was popularized by SF author Larry Niven in
+several stories depicting a frontier culture of asteroid miners;
+this `Belter' culture professed a religion and/or running joke
+involving the worship of the dread god Finagle and his mad
+prophet Murphy. Some technical and scientific cultures (e.g.,
+paleontologists) know it under the name `Sod's Law'; this usage
+may be more common in Great Britain.
+
+
+Node:fine, Next:finger, Previous:Finagle's Law, Up:= F = 
+
+fine adj.
+
+[WPI] Good, but not good enough to be cuspy. The word `fine' is used elsewhere, of
+course, but without the implicit comparison to the higher level
+implied by cuspy.
+
+
+Node:finger, Next:finger trouble, Previous:fine, Up:= F = 
+
+finger
+
+[WAITS, via BSD Unix] 1. n. A program that displays
+information about a particular user or all users logged on the
+system, or a remote system. Typically shows full name, last login
+time, idle time, terminal line, and terminal location (where
+applicable). May also display a plan
+file left by the user (see also Hacking X for Y). 2. vt. To
+apply finger to a username. 3. vt. By extension, to check a
+human's current state by any means. "Foodp?" "T!" "OK, finger
+Lisa and see if she's idle." 4. Any picture (composed of ASCII
+characters) depicting `the finger'. Originally a humorous
+component of one's plan file to deter the curious fingerer (sense
+2), it has entered the arsenal of some flamers.
+
+
+Node:finger trouble, Next:finger-pointing
+syndrome, Previous:finger, Up:= F
+= 
+
+finger trouble n.
+
+Mistyping, typos, or generalized keyboard incompetence (this
+is surprisingly common among hackers, given the amount of time
+they spend at keyboards). "I keep putting colons at the end of
+statements instead of semicolons", "Finger trouble again,
+eh?".
+
+
+Node:finger-pointing
+syndrome, Next:finn,
+Previous:finger
+trouble, Up:= F = 
+
+finger-pointing syndrome n.
+
+All-too-frequent result of bugs, esp. in new or experimental
+configurations. The hardware vendor points a finger at the
+software. The software vendor points a finger at the hardware.
+All the poor users get is the finger.
+
+
+Node:finn, Next:firebottle, Previous:finger-pointing syndrome, Up:= F = 
+
+finn v.
+
+[IRC] To pull rank on somebody based on the amount of time one
+has spent on IRC. The term derives from
+the fact that IRC was originally written in Finland in 1987.
+There may be some influence from the `Finn' character in William
+Gibson's seminal cyberpunk novel "Count Zero", who at one point
+says to another (much younger) character "I have a pair of shoes
+older than you are, so shut up!"
+
+
+Node:firebottle, Next:firefighting, Previous:finn, Up:= F
+= 
+
+firebottle n.obs.
+
+A large, primitive, power-hungry active electrical device,
+similar in function to a FET but constructed out of glass, metal,
+and vacuum. Characterized by high cost, low density, low
+reliability, high-temperature operation, and high power
+dissipation. Sometimes mistakenly called a `tube' in the U.S. or
+a `valve' in England; another hackish term is glassfet.
+
+
+Node:firefighting, Next:firehose syndrome, Previous:firebottle, Up:= F = 
+
+firefighting n.
+
+1. What sysadmins have to do to correct sudden operational
+problems. An opposite of hacking. "Been hacking your new
+newsreader?" "No, a power glitch hosed the network and I spent
+the whole afternoon fighting fires." 2. The act of throwing lots
+of manpower and late nights at a project, esp. to get it out
+before deadline. See also gang
+bang, Mongolian Hordes
+technique; however, the term `firefighting' connotes that
+the effort is going into chasing bugs rather than adding
+features.
+
+
+Node:firehose syndrome, Next:firewall code, Previous:firefighting, Up:= F = 
+
+firehose syndrome n.
+
+In mainstream folklore it is observed that trying to drink
+from a firehose can be a good way to rip your lips off. On
+computer networks, the absence or failure of flow control
+mechanisms can lead to situations in which the sending system
+sprays a massive flood of packets at an unfortunate receiving
+system, more than it can handle. Compare overrun, buffer overflow.
+
+
+Node:firewall code, Next:firewall machine,
+Previous:firehose
+syndrome, Up:= F = 
+
+firewall code n.
+
+1. The code you put in a system (say, a telephone switch) to
+make sure that the users can't do any damage. Since users always
+want to be able to do everything but never want to suffer for any
+mistakes, the construction of a firewall is a question not only
+of defensive coding but also of interface presentation, so that
+users don't even get curious about those corners of a system
+where they can burn themselves. 2. Any sanity check inserted to
+catch a can't happen error.
+Wise programmers often change code to fix a bug twice: once to
+fix the bug, and once to insert a firewall which would have
+arrested the bug before it did quite as much damage.
+
+
+Node:firewall machine, Next:fireworks mode,
+Previous:firewall
+code, Up:= F = 
+
+firewall machine n.
+
+A dedicated gateway machine with special security precautions
+on it, used to service outside network connections and dial-in
+lines. The idea is to protect a cluster of more loosely
+administered machines hidden behind it from crackers. The typical firewall is an
+inexpensive micro-based Unix box kept clean of critical data,
+with a bunch of modems and public network ports on it but just
+one carefully watched connection back to the rest of the cluster.
+The special precautions may include threat monitoring, callback,
+and even a complete iron box
+keyable to particular incoming IDs or activity patterns. Syn.
+flytrap, Venus flytrap.
+
+[When first coined in the mid-1980s this term was pure jargon.
+Now (1999) it is techspeak, and has been retained only as an
+example of uptake --ESR]
+
+
+Node:fireworks mode, Next:firmware, Previous:firewall machine, Up:= F = 
+
+fireworks mode n.
+
+1. The mode a machine is sometimes said to be in when it is
+performing a crash and
+burn operation. 2. There is (or was) a more specific
+meaning of this term in the Amiga community. The word fireworks
+described the effects of a particularly serious crash which
+prevented the video pointer(s) from getting reset at the start of
+the vertical blank. This caused the DAC to scroll through the
+entire contents of CHIP (video or video+CPU) memory. Since each
+bit plane would scroll separately this was quite a spectacular
+effect.
+
+
+Node:firmware, Next:firmy, Previous:fireworks mode, Up:= F = 
+
+firmware /ferm'weir/ n.
+
+Embedded software contained in EPROM or flash memory. It isn't
+quite hardware, but at least doesn't have to be loaded from a
+disk like regular software. Hacker usage differs from straight
+techspeak in that hackers don't normally apply it to stuff that
+you can't possibly get at, such as the program that runs a pocket
+calculator. Instead, it implies that the firmware could be
+changed, even if doing so would mean opening a box and plugging
+in a new chip. A computer's BIOS is the classic example, although
+nowadays there is firmware in disk controllers, modems, video
+cards and even CD-ROM drives.
+
+
+Node:firmy, Next:fish, Previous:firmware, Up:=
+F = 
+
+firmy /fer'mee/ n.
+
+Syn. stiffy (a 3.5-inch floppy
+disk).
+
+
+Node:fish, Next:FISH queue, Previous:firmy, Up:= F
+= 
+
+fish n.
+
+[Adelaide University, Australia] 1. Another metasyntactic variable. See
+foo. Derived originally from the Monty
+Python skit in the middle of "The Meaning of Life" entitled "Find
+the Fish". 2. A pun for `microfiche'. A microfiche file cabinet
+may be referred to as a `fish tank'.
+
+
+Node:FISH queue, Next:FITNR, Previous:fish, Up:= F =
+
+
+FISH queue n.
+
+[acronym, by analogy with FIFO (First In, First Out)] `First
+In, Still Here'. A joking way of pointing out that processing of
+a particular sequence of events or requests has stopped dead.
+Also `FISH mode' and `FISHnet'; the latter may be applied to any
+network that is running really slowly or exhibiting extreme
+flakiness.
+
+
+Node:FITNR, Next:fix, Previous:FISH queue, Up:= F = 
+
+FITNR // adj.
+
+[Thinking Machines, Inc.] Fixed In The Next Release. A
+written-only notation attached to bug reports. Often wishful
+thinking.
+
+
+Node:fix, Next:FIXME, Previous:FITNR, Up:= F
+= 
+
+fix n.,v.
+
+What one does when a problem has been reported too many times
+to be ignored.
+
+
+Node:FIXME, Next:flag, Previous:fix,
+Up:= F = 
+
+FIXME imp.
+
+[common] A standard tag often put in C comments near a piece
+of code that needs work. The point of doing so is that a
+grep or a similar pattern-matching tool can find all
+such places quickly.
+
+/* FIXME: note this is common in GNU code. */
+
+
+Compare XXX.
+
+
+Node:flag, Next:flag day, Previous:FIXME, Up:= F
+= 
+
+flag n.
+
+[very common] A variable or quantity that can take on one of
+two values; a bit, particularly one that is used to indicate one
+of two outcomes or is used to control which of two things is to
+be done. "This flag controls whether to clear the screen before
+printing the message." "The program status word contains several
+flag bits." Used of humans analogously to bit. See also hidden
+flag, mode bit.
+
+
+Node:flag day, Next:flaky, Previous:flag, Up:= F =
+
+
+flag day n.
+
+A software change that is neither forward- nor
+backward-compatible, and which is costly to make and costly to
+reverse. "Can we install that without causing a flag day for all
+users?" This term has nothing to do with the use of the word
+flag to mean a variable that has two
+values. It came into use when a massive change was made to the
+Multics timesharing system to
+convert from the short-lived 1965 version of the ASCII code to
+the 1967 version (in draft at the time); this was scheduled for
+Flag Day (a U.S. holiday), June 14, 1966. The actual change moved
+the code point for the ASCII newline character; this required
+that all of the Multics source code, documentation, and device
+drivers be changed simultaneously. See also backward combatability.
+
+
+Node:flaky, Next:flamage, Previous:flag day, Up:= F = 
+
+flaky adj.
+
+(var sp. `flakey') Subject to frequent lossage. This use is of course related to the
+common slang use of the word to describe a person as eccentric,
+crazy, or just unreliable. A system that is flaky is working,
+sort of -- enough that you are tempted to try to use it -- but
+fails frequently enough that the odds in favor of finishing what
+you start are low. Commonwealth hackish prefers dodgy or wonky.
+
+
+Node:flamage, Next:flame, Previous:flaky, Up:= F
+= 
+
+flamage /flay'm*j/ n.
+
+[very common] Flaming verbiage, esp. high-noise, low-signal
+postings to Usenet or other
+electronic fora. Often in the phrase
+`the usual flamage'. `Flaming' is the act itself; `flamage' the
+content; a `flame' is a single flaming message. See flame, also dahmum.
+
+
+Node:flame, Next:flame bait, Previous:flamage, Up:= F
+= 
+
+flame
+
+[at MIT, orig. from the phrase `flaming asshole'] 1. vi. To
+post an email message intended to insult and provoke. 2. vi. To
+speak incessantly and/or rabidly on some relatively uninteresting
+subject or with a patently ridiculous attitude. 3. vt. Either of
+senses 1 or 2, directed with hostility at a particular person or
+people. 4. n. An instance of flaming. When a discussion
+degenerates into useless controversy, one might tell the
+participants "Now you're just flaming" or "Stop all that
+flamage!" to try to get them to cool down (so to speak).
+
+The term may have been independently invented at several
+different places. It has been reported from MIT, Carleton College
+and RPI (among many other places) from as far back as 1969, and
+from the University of Virginia in the early 1960s.
+
+It is possible that the hackish sense of `flame' is much older
+than that. The poet Chaucer was also what passed for a wizard
+hacker in his time; he wrote a treatise on the astrolabe, the
+most advanced computing device of the day. In Chaucer's "Troilus
+and Cressida", Cressida laments her inability to grasp the proof
+of a particular mathematical theorem; her uncle Pandarus then
+observes that it's called "the fleminge of wrecches." This phrase
+seems to have been intended in context as "that which puts the
+wretches to flight" but was probably just as ambiguous in Middle
+English as "the flaming of wretches" would be today. One suspects
+that Chaucer would feel right at home on Usenet.
+
+
+Node:flame bait, Next:flame on, Previous:flame, Up:= F
+= 
+
+flame bait n.
+
+[common] A posting intended to trigger a flame war, or one that invites flames in
+reply. See also troll.
+
+
+Node:flame on, Next:flame war, Previous:flame bait, Up:= F = 
+
+flame on vi.,interj.
+
+1. To begin to flame. The punning
+reference to Marvel Comics's Human Torch is no longer widely
+recognized. 2. To continue to flame. See rave, burble.
+
+
+Node:flame war, Next:flamer, Previous:flame on, Up:= F = 
+
+flame war n.
+
+[common] (var. `flamewar') An acrimonious dispute, especially
+when conducted on a public electronic forum such as Usenet.
+
+
+Node:flamer, Next:flap, Previous:flame war, Up:= F = 
+
+flamer n.
+
+[common] One who habitually flames. Said esp. of obnoxious Usenet personalities.
+
+
+Node:flap, Next:flarp, Previous:flamer, Up:= F
+= 
+
+flap vt.
+
+1. [obs.] To unload a DECtape (so it goes flap, flap,
+flap...). Old-time hackers at MIT tell of the days
+when the disk was device 0 and DEC microtapes were 1,
+2,... and attempting to flap device 0 would
+instead start a motor banging inside a cabinet near the disk. 2.
+By extension, to unload any magnetic tape. See also macrotape. Modern cartridge tapes no longer
+actually flap, but the usage has remained. (The term could well
+be re-applied to DEC's TK50 cartridge tape drive, a spectacularly
+misengineered contraption which makes a loud flapping sound,
+almost like an old reel-type lawnmower, in one of its many
+tape-eating failure modes.)
+
+
+Node:flarp, Next:flash crowd, Previous:flap, Up:= F
+= 
+
+flarp /flarp/ n.
+
+[Rutgers University] Yet another metasyntactic variable (see
+foo). Among those who use it, it is
+associated with a legend that any program not containing the word
+`flarp' somewhere will not work. The legend is discreetly silent
+on the reliability of programs which do contain the
+magic word.
+
+
+Node:flash crowd, Next:flat, Previous:flarp, Up:= F
+= 
+
+flash crowd
+
+Larry Niven's 1973 SF short story "Flash Crowd" predicted that
+one consequence of cheap teleportation would be huge crowds
+materializing almost instantly at the sites of interesting news
+stories. Twenty years later the term passed into common use on
+the Internet to describe exponential spikes in website or server
+usage when one passes a certain threshold of popular interest
+(this may also be called slashdot
+effect).
+
+
+Node:flat, Next:flat-ASCII, Previous:flash crowd, Up:= F = 
+
+flat adj.
+
+1. [common] Lacking any complex internal structure. "That
+bitty box has only a flat
+filesystem, not a hierarchical one." The verb form is flatten. 2. Said of a memory architecture
+(like that of the VAX or 680x0) that is one big linear address
+space (typically with each possible value of a processor register
+corresponding to a unique core address), as opposed to a
+`segmented' architecture (like that of the 80x86) in which
+addresses are composed from a base-register/offset pair
+(segmented designs are generally considered cretinous).
+
+Note that sense 1 (at least with respect to filesystems) is
+usually used pejoratively, while sense 2 is a Good Thing.
+
+
+Node:flat-ASCII, Next:flat-file, Previous:flat, Up:= F =
+
+
+flat-ASCII adj.
+
+[common] Said of a text file that contains only 7-bit ASCII
+characters and uses only ASCII-standard control characters (that
+is, has no embedded codes specific to a particular text formatter
+markup language, or output device, and no meta-characters). Syn. plain-ASCII. Compare flat-file.
+
+
+Node:flat-file, Next:flatten, Previous:flat-ASCII, Up:= F = 
+
+flat-file adj.
+
+A flattened representation of
+some database or tree or network structure as a single file from
+which the structure could implicitly be rebuilt, esp. one in
+flat-ASCII form. See also sharchive.
+
+
+Node:flatten, Next:flavor, Previous:flat-file, Up:= F = 
+
+flatten vt.
+
+[common] To remove structural information, esp. to filter
+something with an implicit tree structure into a simple sequence
+of leaves; also tends to imply mapping to flat-ASCII. "This code flattens an
+expression with parentheses into an equivalent canonical form."
+
+
+Node:flavor, Next:flavorful, Previous:flatten, Up:= F
+= 
+
+flavor n.
+
+1. [common] Variety, type, kind. "DDT commands come in two
+flavors." "These lights come in two flavors, big red ones and
+small green ones." "Linux is a flavor of Unix" See vanilla. 2. The attribute that causes
+something to be flavorful.
+Usually used in the phrase "yields additional flavor". "This
+convention yields additional flavor by allowing one to print text
+either right-side-up or upside-down." See vanilla. This usage was certainly reinforced
+by the terminology of quantum chromodynamics, in which quarks
+(the constituents of, e.g., protons) come in six flavors (up,
+down, strange, charm, top, bottom) and three colors (red, blue,
+green) -- however, hackish use of `flavor' at MIT predated QCD.
+3. The term for `class' (in the object-oriented sense) in the
+LISP Machine Flavors system. Though the Flavors design has been
+superseded (notably by the Common LISP CLOS facility), the term
+`flavor' is still used as a general synonym for `class' by some
+LISP hackers.
+
+
+Node:flavorful, Next:flippy, Previous:flavor, Up:= F
+= 
+
+flavorful adj.
+
+Full of flavor (sense 2);
+esthetically pleasing. See random
+and losing for antonyms. See also
+the entries for taste and elegant.
+
+
+Node:flippy, Next:flood, Previous:flavorful, Up:= F = 
+
+flippy /flip'ee/ n.
+
+A single-sided floppy disk altered for double-sided use by
+addition of a second write-notch, so called because it must be
+flipped over for the second side to be accessible. No longer
+common.
+
+
+Node:flood, Next:flowchart, Previous:flippy, Up:= F
+= 
+
+flood v.
+
+[common] 1. To overwhelm a network channel with
+mechanically-generated traffic; especially used of IP, TCP/IP,
+UDP, or ICMP denial-of-service attacks. 2. To dump large amounts
+of text onto an IRC channel. This is
+especially rude when the text is uninteresting and the other
+users are trying to carry on a serious conversation. Also used in
+a similar sense on Usenet. 3. [Usenet] To post an unusually large
+number or volume of files on a related topic.
+
+
+Node:flowchart, Next:flower key, Previous:flood, Up:= F
+= 
+
+flowchart n.
+
+[techspeak] An archaic form of visual control-flow
+specification employing arrows and `speech balloons' of various
+shapes. Hackers never use flowcharts, consider them extremely
+silly, and associate them with COBOL
+programmers, card
+wallopers, and other lower forms of life. This attitude
+follows from the observations that flowcharts (at least from a
+hacker's point of view) are no easier to read than code, are less
+precise, and tend to fall out of sync with the code (so that they
+either obfuscate it rather than explaining it, or require extra
+maintenance effort that doesn't improve the code). See also PDL, sense 1.
+
+
+Node:flower key, Next:flush, Previous:flowchart, Up:= F = 
+
+flower key n.
+
+[Mac users] See feature
+key.
+
+
+Node:flush, Next:flypage, Previous:flower key, Up:= F = 
+
+flush v.
+
+1. [common] To delete something, usually superfluous, or to
+abort an operation. "All that nonsense has been flushed." 2.
+[Unix/C] To force buffered I/O to disk, as with an
+fflush(3) call. This is not an abort or
+deletion as in sense 1, but a demand for early completion! 3. To
+leave at the end of a day's work (as opposed to leaving for a
+meal). "I'm going to flush now." "Time to flush." 4. To exclude
+someone from an activity, or to ignore a person.
+
+`Flush' was standard ITS terminology for aborting an output
+operation; one spoke of the text that would have been printed,
+but was not, as having been flushed. It is speculated that this
+term arose from a vivid image of flushing unwanted characters by
+hosing down the internal output buffer, washing the characters
+away before they could be printed. The Unix/C usage, on the other
+hand, was propagated by the fflush(3) call in C's
+standard I/O library (though it is reported to have been in use
+among BLISS programmers at DEC and on
+Honeywell and IBM machines as far back as 1965). Unix/C hackers
+found the ITS usage confusing, and vice versa.
+
+
+Node:flypage, Next:Flyspeck 3, Previous:flush, Up:= F
+= 
+
+flypage /fli:'payj/ n.
+
+(alt. `fly page') A banner, sense
+1.
+
+
+Node:Flyspeck 3, Next:flytrap, Previous:flypage, Up:= F
+= 
+
+Flyspeck 3 n.
+
+Standard name for any font that is so tiny as to be unreadable
+(by analogy with names like `Helvetica 10' for 10-point
+Helvetica). Legal boilerplate is usually printed in Flyspeck
+3.
+
+
+Node:flytrap, Next:FM, Previous:Flyspeck 3, Up:= F = 
+
+flytrap n.
+
+[rare] See firewall
+machine.
+
+
+Node:FM, Next:fnord, Previous:flytrap, Up:= F
+= 
+
+FM /F-M/ n.
+
+1. [common] Not `Frequency Modulation' but rather an
+abbreviation for `Fucking Manual', the back-formation from RTFM. Used to refer to the manual itself in
+the RTFM. "Have you seen the
+Networking FM lately?" 2. Abbreviation for "Fucking Magic", used
+in the sense of black
+magic.
+
+
+Node:fnord, Next:FOAF, Previous:FM,
+Up:= F = 
+
+fnord n.
+
+[from the "Illuminatus Trilogy"] 1. A word used in email and
+news postings to tag utterances as surrealist mind-play or humor,
+esp. in connection with Discordianism and elaborate conspiracy
+theories. "I heard that David Koresh is sharing an apartment in
+Argentina with Hitler. (Fnord.)" "Where can I fnord get the
+Principia Discordia from?" 2. A metasyntactic variable,
+commonly used by hackers with ties to Discordianism or the Church of the
+SubGenius.
+
+
+Node:FOAF, Next:FOD, Previous:fnord, Up:= F
+= 
+
+FOAF // n.
+
+[Usenet; common] Acronym for `Friend Of A Friend'. The source
+of an unverified, possibly untrue story. This term was not
+originated by hackers (it is used in Jan Brunvand's books on
+urban folklore), but is much better recognized on Usenet and
+elsewhere than in mainstream English.
+
+
+Node:FOD, Next:fold case, Previous:FOAF, Up:= F =
+
+
+FOD /fod/ v.
+
+[Abbreviation for `Finger of Death', originally a spell-name
+from fantasy gaming] To terminate with extreme prejudice and with
+no regard for other people. From MUDs
+where the wizard command `FOD <player>' results in the
+immediate and total death of <player>, usually as
+punishment for obnoxious behavior. This usage migrated to other
+circumstances, such as "I'm going to fod the process that is
+burning all the cycles." Compare gun.
+
+In aviation, FOD means Foreign Object Damage, e.g., what
+happens when a jet engine sucks up a rock on the runway or a bird
+in flight. Finger of Death is a distressingly apt description of
+what this generally does to the engine.
+
+
+Node:fold case, Next:followup, Previous:FOD, Up:= F =
+
+
+fold case v.
+
+See smash case. This term
+tends to be used more by people who don't mind that their tools
+smash case. It also connotes that case is ignored but case
+distinctions in data processed by the tool in question aren't
+destroyed.
+
+
+Node:followup, Next:fontology, Previous:fold case, Up:= F = 
+
+followup n.
+
+[common] On Usenet, a posting
+generated in response to another posting (as opposed to a reply, which goes by email rather than
+being broadcast). Followups include the ID of the parent message in their headers;
+smart news-readers can use this information to present Usenet
+news in `conversation' sequence rather than order-of-arrival. See
+thread.
+
+
+Node:fontology, Next:foo, Previous:followup, Up:=
+F = 
+
+fontology n.
+
+[XEROX PARC] The body of knowledge dealing with the
+construction and use of new fonts (e.g., for window systems and
+typesetting software). It has been said that fontology
+recapitulates file-ogeny.
+
+[Unfortunately, this reference to the embryological dictum
+that "Ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny" is not merely a joke. On
+the Macintosh, for example, System 7 has to go through
+contortions to compensate for an earlier design error that
+created a whole different set of abstractions for fonts parallel
+to `files' and `folders' --ESR]
+
+
+Node:foo, Next:foobar, Previous:fontology, Up:= F = 
+
+foo /foo/
+
+1. interj. Term of disgust. 2. [very common] Used very
+generally as a sample name for absolutely anything, esp. programs
+and files (esp. scratch files). 3. First on the standard list of
+metasyntactic
+variables used in syntax examples. See also bar, baz, qux, quux, corge, grault,
+garply, waldo, fred, plugh, xyzzy,
+thud.
+
+When `foo' is used in connection with `bar' it has generally
+traced to the WWII-era Army slang acronym FUBAR (`Fucked Up Beyond All Repair'), later
+modified to foobar. Early versions
+of the Jargon File interpreted this change as a post-war
+bowdlerization, but it it now seems more likely that FUBAR was
+itself a derivative of `foo' perhaps influenced by German
+`furchtbar' (terrible) - `foobar' may actually have been the
+original form.
+
+For, it seems, the word `foo' itself had an immediate prewar
+history in comic strips and cartoons. The earliest documented
+uses were in the "Smokey Stover" comic strip popular in the
+1930s, which frequently included the word "foo". Bill Holman, the
+author of the strip, filled it with odd jokes and personal
+contrivances, including other nonsense phrases such as "Notary
+Sojac" and "1506 nix nix". According to the Warner Brothers Cartoon
+Companion Holman claimed to have found the word "foo" on the
+bottom of a Chinese figurine. This is plausible; Chinese
+statuettes often have apotropaic inscriptions, and this may have
+been the Chinese word `fu' (sometimes transliterated `foo'),
+which can mean "happiness" when spoken with the proper tone (the
+lion-dog guardians flanking the steps of many Chinese restaurants
+are properly called "fu dogs"). English speakers' reception of
+Holman's `foo' nonsense word was undoubtedly influenced by
+Yiddish `feh' and English `fooey' and `fool'.
+
+Holman's strip featured a firetruck called the Foomobile that
+rode on two wheels. The comic strip was tremendously popular in
+the late 1930s, and legend has it that a manufacturer in Indiana
+even produced an operable version of Holman's Foomobile.
+According to the Encyclopedia of American Comics, `Foo' fever
+swept the U.S., finding its way into popular songs and generating
+over 500 `Foo Clubs.' The fad left `foo' references embedded in
+popular culture (including a couple of appearances in Warner
+Brothers cartoons of 1938-39) but with their origins rapidly
+forgotten.
+
+One place they are known to have remained live is in the U.S.
+military during the WWII years. In 1944-45, the term `foo
+fighters' was in use by radar operators for the kind of
+mysterious or spurious trace that would later be called a UFO
+(the older term resurfaced in popular American usage in 1995 via
+the name of one of the better grunge-rock bands). Informants
+connected the term to the Smokey Stover strip.
+
+The U.S. and British militaries frequently swapped slang terms
+during the war (see kluge and kludge for another important example)
+Period sources reported that `FOO' became a semi-legendary
+subject of WWII British-army graffiti more or less equivalent to
+the American Kilroy. Where British troops went, the graffito "FOO
+was here" or something similar showed up. Several slang
+dictionaries aver that FOO probably came from Forward Observation
+Officer, but this (like the contemporaneous "FUBAR") was probably
+a backronym . Forty years later,
+Paul Dickson's excellent book "Words" (Dell, 1982, ISBN
+0-440-52260-7) traced "Foo" to an unspecified British naval
+magazine in 1946, quoting as follows: "Mr. Foo is a mysterious
+Second World War product, gifted with bitter omniscience and
+sarcasm."
+
+Earlier versions of this entry suggested the possibility that
+hacker usage actually sprang from "FOO, Lampoons and Parody", the
+title of a comic book first issued in September 1958, a joint
+project of Charles and Robert Crumb. Though Robert Crumb (then in
+his mid-teens) later became one of the most important and
+influential artists in underground comics, this venture was
+hardly a success; indeed, the brothers later burned most of the
+existing copies in disgust. The title FOO was featured in large
+letters on the front cover. However, very few copies of this
+comic actually circulated, and students of Crumb's `oeuvre' have
+established that this title was a reference to the earlier Smokey
+Stover comics. The Crumbs may also have been influenced by a
+short-lived Canadian parody magazine named `Foo' published in
+1951-52.
+
+An old-time member reports that in the 1959 "Dictionary of the
+TMRC Language", compiled at TMRC,
+there was an entry that went something like this:
+
+FOO: The first syllable of the sacred chant phrase
+"FOO MANE PADME HUM." Our first obligation is to keep the foo
+counters turning.
+
+
+(For more about the legendary foo counters, see TMRC.) This definition used Bill Holman's
+nonsense word, only then two decades old and demonstrably still
+live in popular culture and slang, to a ha ha only serious analogy
+with esoteric Tibetan Buddhism. Today's hackers would find it
+difficult to resist elaborating a joke like that, and it is not
+likely 1959's were any less susceptible. Almost the entire staff
+of what later became the MIT AI Lab was involved with TMRC, and
+the word spread from there.
+
+
+Node:foobar, Next:fool, Previous:foo,
+Up:= F = 
+
+foobar n.
+
+[very common] Another widely used metasyntactic variable; see
+foo for etymology. Probably originally
+propagated through DECsystem manuals by Digital Equipment
+Corporation (DEC) in 1960s and early
+1970s; confirmed sightings there go back to 1972. Hackers do
+not generally use this to mean FUBAR in either the slang or jargon sense. See
+also Fred Foobar. In RFC1639,
+"FOOBAR" was made an abbreviation for "FTP Operation Over Big
+Address Records", but this was an obvious backronym.
+
+
+Node:fool, Next:fool file, Previous:foobar, Up:= F
+= 
+
+fool n.
+
+As used by hackers, specifically describes a person who
+habitually reasons from obviously or demonstrably incorrect
+premises and cannot be persuaded by evidence to do otherwise; it
+is not generally used in its other senses, i.e., to describe a
+person with a native incapacity to reason correctly, or a clown.
+Indeed, in hackish experience many fools are capable of reasoning
+all too effectively in executing their errors. See also cretin, loser,
+fool file.
+
+The Algol 68-R compiler used to initialize its storage to the
+character string "F00LF00LF00LF00L..." because as a pointer or as
+a floating point number it caused a crash, and as an integer or a
+character string it was very recognizable in a dump. Sadly, one
+day a very senior professor at Nottingham University wrote a
+program that called him a fool. He proceeded to demonstrate the
+correctness of this assertion by lobbying the university (not
+quite successfully) to forbid the use of Algol on its computers.
+See also DEADBEEF.
+
+
+Node:fool file, Next:Foonly, Previous:fool, Up:= F =
+
+
+fool file n.
+
+[Usenet] A notional repository of all the most dramatically
+and abysmally stupid utterances ever. An entire subgenre of sig blocks consists of the header
+"From the fool file:" followed by some quote the poster wishes to
+represent as an immortal gem of dimwittery; for this usage to be
+really effective, the quote has to be so obviously wrong as to be
+laughable. More than one Usenetter has achieved an unwanted
+notoriety by being quoted in this way.
+
+
+Node:Foonly, Next:footprint, Previous:fool file, Up:= F = 
+
+Foonly n.
+
+1. The PDP-10 successor that was
+to have been built by the Super Foonly project at the Stanford
+Artificial Intelligence Laboratory along with a new operating
+system. (The name itself came from FOO NLI, an error message
+emitted by a PDP-10 assembler at SAIL meaning "FOO is Not a Legal
+Identifier". The intention was to leapfrog from the old DEC timesharing system SAIL was then running
+to a new generation, bypassing TENEX which at that time was the
+ARPANET standard. ARPA funding for both the Super Foonly and the
+new operating system was cut in 1974. Most of the design team
+went to DEC and contributed greatly to the design of the PDP-10
+model KL10. 2. The name of the company formed by Dave Poole, one
+of the principal Super Foonly designers, and one of hackerdom's
+more colorful personalities. Many people remember the parrot
+which sat on Poole's shoulder and was a regular companion. 3. Any
+of the machines built by Poole's company. The first was the F-1
+(a.k.a. Super Foonly), which was the computational engine used to
+create the graphics in the movie "TRON". The F-1 was the fastest
+PDP-10 ever built, but only one was ever made. The effort drained
+Foonly of its financial resources, and the company turned towards
+building smaller, slower, and much less expensive machines.
+Unfortunately, these ran not the popular TOPS-20 but a TENEX variant called Foonex;
+this seriously limited their market. Also, the machines shipped
+were actually wire-wrapped engineering prototypes requiring
+individual attention from more than usually competent site
+personnel, and thus had significant reliability problems. Poole's
+legendary temper and unwillingness to suffer fools gladly did not
+help matters. By the time of the Jupiter project cancellation in
+1983, Foonly's proposal to build another F-1 was eclipsed by the
+Mars, and the company never quite
+recovered. See the Mars entry for the
+continuation and moral of this story.
+
+
+Node:footprint, Next:for free, Previous:Foonly, Up:= F
+= 
+
+footprint n.
+
+1. The floor or desk area taken up by a piece of hardware. 2.
+[IBM] The audit trail (if any) left by a crashed program (often
+in plural, `footprints'). See also toeprint. 3. RAM footprint: The
+minimum amount of RAM which an OS or other program takes; this
+figure gives one an idea of how much will be left for other
+applications. How actively this RAM is used is another matter
+entirely. Recent tendencies to featuritis and software bloat can
+expand the RAM footprint of an OS to the point of making it
+nearly unusable in practice. [This problem is, thankfully,
+limited to operating systems so stupid that they don't do virtual
+memory - ESR]
+
+
+Node:for free, Next:for the rest of us, Previous:footprint, Up:= F = 
+
+for free adj.
+
+[common] Said of a capability of a programming language or
+hardware that is available by its design without needing
+cleverness to implement: "In APL, we get the matrix operations
+for free." "And owing to the way revisions are stored in this
+system, you get revision trees for free." The term usually refers
+to a serendipitous feature of doing things a certain way (compare
+big win), but it may refer to an
+intentional but secondary feature.
+
+
+Node:for the rest of us,
+Next:for values of,
+Previous:for free, Up:= F = 
+
+for the rest of us adj.
+
+[from the Mac slogan "The computer for the rest of us"] 1.
+Used to describe a spiffy product
+whose affordability shames other comparable products, or (more
+often) used sarcastically to describe spiffy but very overpriced products. 2.
+Describes a program with a limited interface, deliberately
+limited capabilities, non-orthogonality, inability to compose
+primitives, or any other limitation designed to not `confuse' a
+naive user. This places an upper bound on how far that user can
+go before the program begins to get in the way of the task
+instead of helping accomplish it. Used in reference to Macintosh
+software which doesn't provide obvious capabilities because it is
+thought that the poor lusers might not be able to handle them.
+Becomes `the rest of them' when used in third-party
+reference; thus, "Yes, it is an attractive program, but it's
+designed for The Rest Of Them" means a program that superficially
+looks neat but has no depth beyond the surface flash. See also
+WIMP environment, Macintrash, point-and-drool interface,
+user-friendly.
+
+
+Node:for values of, Next:fora, Previous:for the rest of us, Up:= F = 
+
+for values of
+
+[MIT] A common rhetorical maneuver at MIT is to use any of the
+canonical random numbers
+as placeholders for variables. "The max function takes 42
+arguments, for arbitrary values of 42." "There are 69 ways to
+leave your lover, for 69 = 50." This is especially likely when
+the speaker has uttered a random number and realizes that it was
+not recognized as such, but even `non-random' numbers are
+occasionally used in this fashion. A related joke is that pi
+equals 3 -- for small values of pi and large values of 3.
+
+Historical note: at MIT this usage has traditionally been
+traced to the programming language MAD (Michigan Algorithm
+Decoder), an Algol-58-like language that was the most common
+choice among mainstream (non-hacker) users at MIT in the mid-60s.
+It inherited from Algol-58 a control structure FOR VALUES OF X =
+3, 7, 99 DO ... that would repeat the indicated instructions for
+each value in the list (unlike the usual FOR that only works for
+arithmetic sequences of values). MAD is long extinct, but similar
+for-constructs still flourish (e.g., in Unix's shell
+languages).
+
+
+Node:fora, Next:foreground, Previous:for values of, Up:= F = 
+
+fora pl.n.
+
+Plural of forum.
+
+
+Node:foreground, Next:fork, Previous:fora, Up:= F =
+
+
+foreground vt.
+
+[Unix; common] To bring a task to the top of one's stack for immediate processing, and hackers
+often use it in this sense for non-computer tasks. "If your
+presentation is due next week, I guess I'd better foreground
+writing up the design document."
+
+Technically, on a time-sharing system, a task executing in
+foreground is one able to accept input from and return output to
+the user; oppose background.
+Nowadays this term is primarily associated with Unix, but it appears first to have been used in
+this sense on OS/360. Normally, there is only one foreground task
+per terminal (or terminal window); having multiple processes
+simultaneously reading the keyboard is a good way to lose.
+
+
+Node:fork, Next:fork bomb, Previous:foreground, Up:= F = 
+
+fork
+
+In the open-source community, a fork is what occurs when two
+(or more) versions of a software package's source code are being
+developed in parallel which once shared a common code base, and
+these multiple versions of the source code have irreconcilable
+differences between them. This should not be confused with a
+development branch, which may later be folded back into the
+original source code base. Nor should it be confused with what
+happens when a new distribution of Linux or some other
+distribution is created, because that largely assembles pieces
+than can and will be used in other distributions without
+conflict.
+
+
+Forking is uncommon; in fact, it is so uncommon that individual instances loom
+large in hacker folklore. Notable in this class were the GCC/EGCS fork (later
+healed by a merger) and the forks among the FreeBSD, NetBSD, and OpenBSD
+operating systems.
+
+
+Node:fork bomb, Next:forked, Previous:fork, Up:= F =
+
+
+fork bomb n.
+
+[Unix] A particular species of wabbit that can be written in one line of C
+(main() {for(;;)fork();}) or shell ($0 &
+$0 &) on any Unix system, or occasionally created by
+an egregious coding bug. A fork bomb process `explodes' by
+recursively spawning copies of itself (using the Unix system call
+fork(2)). Eventually it eats all the process table
+entries and effectively wedges the system. Fortunately, fork
+bombs are relatively easy to spot and kill, so creating one
+deliberately seldom accomplishes more than to bring the just
+wrath of the gods down upon the perpetrator. See also logic bomb.
+
+
+Node:forked, Next:Fortrash, Previous:fork bomb, Up:= F = 
+
+forked adj.,vi.
+
+1. [common after 1997, esp. in the Linux community] An
+open-source software project is said to have forked or be forked
+when the project group fissions into two or more parts pursuing
+separate lines of development (or, less commonly, when a third
+party unconnected to the project group ). Forking is considered a
+Bad Thing - not merely because
+it implies a lot of wasted effort in the future, but because
+forks tend to be accompanied by a great deal of strife and
+acrimony between the successor groups over issues of legitimacy,
+succession, and design direction. There is serious social
+pressure against forking. As a result, major forks (such as the
+Gnu-Emacs/XEmacs split, the fissionings of the 386BSD group into
+three daughter project, and the short-lived GCC/EGCS split) are
+rare enough that they are remembered individually in hacker
+folklore. 2. [Unix; uncommon; prob. influenced by a mainstream
+expletive] Terminally slow, or dead. Originated when one system
+was slowed to a snail's pace by an inadvertent fork bomb.
+
+
+Node:Fortrash, Next:fortune cookie, Previous:forked, Up:= F = 
+
+Fortrash /for'trash/ n.
+
+Hackerism for the FORTRAN (FORmula TRANslator) language,
+referring to its primitive design, gross and irregular syntax,
+limited control constructs, and slippery, exception-filled
+semantics.
+
+
+Node:fortune cookie, Next:forum, Previous:Fortrash, Up:=
+F = 
+
+fortune cookie n.
+
+[WAITS, via Unix; common] A random quote, item of trivia,
+joke, or maxim printed to the user's tty at login time or (less
+commonly) at logout time. Items from this lexicon have often been
+used as fortune cookies. See cookie
+file.
+
+
+Node:forum, Next:fossil, Previous:fortune cookie, Up:= F = 
+
+forum n.
+
+[Usenet, GEnie, CI$; pl. `fora' or `forums'] Any discussion
+group accessible through a dial-in BBS,
+a mailing list, or a newsgroup (see the network). A forum functions much
+like a bulletin board; users submit postings for all to read and discussion
+ensues. Contrast real-time chat via talk mode or point-to-point personal email.
+
+
+Node:fossil, Next:four-color glossies, Previous:forum, Up:= F = 
+
+fossil n.
+
+1. In software, a misfeature that becomes understandable only
+in historical context, as a remnant of times past retained so as
+not to break compatibility. Example: the retention of octal as
+default base for string escapes in C, in
+spite of the better match of hexadecimal to ASCII and modern
+byte-addressable architectures. See dusty deck. 2. More restrictively, a
+feature with past but no present utility. Example: the
+force-all-caps (LCASE) bits in the V7 and BSD Unix tty driver, designed for use with
+monocase terminals. (In a perversion of the usual
+backward-compatibility goal, this functionality has actually been
+expanded and renamed in some later USG
+Unix releases as the IUCLC and OLCUC bits.) 3. The FOSSIL
+(Fido/Opus/Seadog Standard Interface Level) driver specification
+for serial-port access to replace the brain-dead routines in the IBM PC ROMs.
+Fossils are used by most MS-DOS BBS
+software in preference to the `supported' ROM routines, which do
+not support interrupt-driven operation or setting speeds above
+9600; the use of a semistandard FOSSIL library is preferable to
+the bare metal serial port
+programming otherwise required. Since the FOSSIL specification
+allows additional functionality to be hooked in, drivers that use
+the hook but do not provide
+serial-port access themselves are named with a modifier, as in
+`video fossil'.
+
+
+Node:four-color glossies,
+Next:frag, Previous:fossil, Up:= F = 
+
+four-color glossies n.
+
+1. Literature created by marketroids that allegedly contains
+technical specs but which is in fact as superficial as possible
+without being totally content-free. "Forget the four-color
+glossies, give me the tech ref manuals." Often applied as an
+indication of superficiality even when the material is printed on
+ordinary paper in black and white. Four-color-glossy manuals are
+never useful for solving a problem. 2. [rare] Applied by
+extension to manual pages that don't contain enough information
+to diagnose why the program doesn't produce the expected or
+desired output.
+
+
+Node:frag, Next:fragile, Previous:four-color glossies, Up:= F = 
+
+frag n.,v.
+
+[from Vietnam-era U.S. military slang via the games Doom and
+Quake] 1. To kill another player's avatar in a multiuser game. "I hold the office
+Quake record with 40 frags." 2. To completely ruin something.
+"Forget that power supply, the lightning strike fragged it. See
+also gib.
+
+
+Node:fragile, Next:fred, Previous:frag, Up:= F =
+
+
+fragile adj.
+
+Syn brittle.
+
+
+Node:fred, Next:Fred Foobar, Previous:fragile, Up:= F = 
+
+fred n.
+
+1. The personal name most frequently used as a metasyntactic variable (see
+foo). Allegedly popular because it's
+easy for a non-touch-typist to type on a standard QWERTY
+keyboard. In Great Britain, `fred', `jim' and `sheila' are common
+metasyntactic variables because their uppercase versions were
+official names given to the 3 memory areas that held I/O
+status registers on the lovingly-remembered BBC Microcomputer!
+(It is reported that SHEILA was poked the most often.) Unlike
+J. Random Hacker or
+`J. Random Loser', the name `fred' has no positive or negative
+loading (but see Dr. Fred
+Mbogo). See also barney. 2.
+An acronym for `Flipping Ridiculous Electronic Device'; other
+F-verbs may be substituted for `flipping'.
+
+
+Node:Fred Foobar, Next:frednet, Previous:fred, Up:= F =
+
+
+Fred Foobar n.
+
+J. Random Hacker's
+cousin. Any typical human being, more or less synomous with
+`someone' except that Fred Foobar can be backreferenced by name later on. "So
+Fred Foobar will enter his phone number into the database, and
+it'll be archived with the others. Months later, when Fred
+searches..." See also Bloggs
+Family and Dr. Fred
+Mbogo
+
+
+Node:frednet, Next:free software, Previous:Fred Foobar, Up:= F = 
+
+frednet /fred'net/ n.
+
+Used to refer to some random and
+uncommon protocol encountered on a network. "We're implementing
+bridging in our router to solve the frednet problem."
+
+
+Node:free software, Next:freeware, Previous:frednet, Up:= F = 
+
+free software n.
+
+As defined by Richard M. Stallman and used by the Free
+Software movement, this means software that gives users enough
+freedom to be used by the free software community. Specifically,
+users must be free to modify the software for their private use,
+and free to redistribute it either with or without modifications,
+either commercially or noncommercially, either gratis or charging
+a distribution fee. Free software has existed since the dawn of
+computing; Free Software as a movement began in 1984 with the GNU
+Project. See also open
+source.
+
+
+Node:freeware, Next:freeze, Previous:free software, Up:= F = 
+
+freeware n.
+
+[common] Free software, often written by enthusiasts and
+distributed by users' groups, or via electronic mail, local
+bulletin boards, Usenet, or other
+electronic media. At one time, `freeware' was a trademark of
+Andrew Fluegelman, the author of the well-known MS-DOS comm
+program PC-TALK III. It wasn't enforced after his mysterious
+disappearance and presumed death in 1984. See shareware, FRS.
+
+
+Node:freeze, Next:fried, Previous:freeware, Up:=
+F = 
+
+freeze v.
+
+To lock an evolving software distribution or document against
+changes so it can be released with some hope of stability.
+Carries the strong implication that the item in question will
+`unfreeze' at some future date. "OK, fix that bug and we'll
+freeze for release."
+
+There are more specific constructions on this term. A `feature
+freeze', for example, locks out modifications intended to
+introduce new features but still allows bugfixes and completion
+of existing features; a `code freeze' connotes no more changes at
+all. At Sun Microsystems and elsewhere, one may also hear
+references to `code slush' -- that is, an almost-but-not-quite
+frozen state.
+
+
+Node:fried, Next:frink, Previous:freeze, Up:= F
+= 
+
+fried adj.
+
+1. [common] Non-working due to hardware failure; burnt out.
+Especially used of hardware brought down by a `power glitch' (see
+glitch), drop-outs, a short, or some other electrical
+event. (Sometimes this literally happens to electronic circuits!
+In particular, resistors can burn out and transformers can melt
+down, emitting noxious smoke -- see friode, SED and LER. However, this term is also used
+metaphorically.) Compare frotzed.
+2. [common] Of people, exhausted. Said particularly of those who
+continue to work in such a state. Often used as an explanation or
+excuse. "Yeah, I know that fix destroyed the file system, but I
+was fried when I put it in." Esp. common in conjunction with
+`brain': "My brain is fried today, I'm very short on sleep."
+
+
+Node:frink, Next:friode, Previous:fried, Up:= F
+= 
+
+frink /frink/ v.
+
+The unknown ur-verb, fill in your own meaning. Found esp. on
+the Usenet newsgroup _alt.fan.lemurs_, where it is said that
+the lemurs know what `frink' means, but they aren't telling.
+Compare gorets.
+
+
+Node:friode, Next:fritterware, Previous:frink, Up:= F
+= 
+
+friode /fri:'ohd/ n.
+
+[TMRC] A reversible (that is, fused or blown) diode. Compare
+fried; see also SED, LER.
+
+
+Node:fritterware, Next:frob, Previous:friode, Up:= F
+= 
+
+fritterware n.
+
+An excess of capability that serves no productive end. The
+canonical example is font-diddling software on the Mac (see macdink); the term describes anything
+that eats huge amounts of time for quite marginal gains in
+function but seduces people into using it anyway. See also window shopping.
+
+
+Node:frob, Next:frobnicate, Previous:fritterware, Up:= F = 
+
+frob /frob/ 1. n.
+
+[MIT; very common] The TMRC
+definition was "FROB = a protruding arm or trunnion"; by
+metaphoric extension, a `frob' is any random small thing; an
+object that you can comfortably hold in one hand; something you
+can frob (sense 2). See frobnitz.
+2. vt. Abbreviated form of frobnicate. 3. [from the MUD world] A command on some MUDs that changes a
+player's experience level (this can be used to make wizards);
+also, to request wizard privileges
+on the `professional courtesy' grounds that one is a wizard
+elsewhere. The command is actually `frobnicate' but is
+universally abbreviated to the shorter form.
+
+
+Node:frobnicate, Next:frobnitz, Previous:frob, Up:= F =
+
+
+frobnicate /frob'ni-kayt/ vt.
+
+[Poss. derived from frobnitz,
+and usually abbreviated to frob, but
+`frobnicate' is recognized as the official full form.] To
+manipulate or adjust, to tweak. One frequently frobs bits or
+other 2-state devices. Thus: "Please frob the light switch" (that
+is, flip it), but also "Stop frobbing that clasp; you'll break
+it". One also sees the construction `to frob a frob'. See tweak and twiddle.
+
+Usage: frob, twiddle, and tweak sometimes connote points along
+a continuum. `Frob' connotes aimless manipulation; `twiddle'
+connotes gross manipulation, often a coarse search for a proper
+setting; `tweak' connotes fine-tuning. If someone is turning a
+knob on an oscilloscope, then if he's carefully adjusting it, he
+is probably tweaking it; if he is just turning it but looking at
+the screen, he is probably twiddling it; but if he's just doing
+it because turning a knob is fun, he's frobbing it. The variant
+`frobnosticate' has been recently reported.
+
+
+Node:frobnitz, Next:frog, Previous:frobnicate, Up:= F = 
+
+frobnitz /frob'nits/, pl. `frobnitzem' /frob'nit-zm/ or
+`frobni' /frob'ni:/ n.
+
+[TMRC] An unspecified physical object, a widget. Also refers
+to electronic black boxes. This rare form is usually abbreviated
+to `frotz', or more commonly to frob.
+Also used are `frobnule' (/frob'n[y]ool/) and `frobule'
+(/frob'yool/). Starting perhaps in 1979, `frobozz' /fr*-boz'/
+(plural: `frobbotzim' /fr*-bot'zm/) has also become very popular,
+largely through its exposure as a name via Zork. These variants can also be applied to
+nonphysical objects, such as data structures.
+
+Pete Samson, compiler of the original TMRC lexicon, adds, "Under the TMRC [railroad]
+layout were many storage boxes, managed (in 1958) by David R.
+Sawyer. Several had fanciful designations written on them, such
+as `Frobnitz Coil Oil'. Perhaps DRS intended Frobnitz to be a
+proper name, but the name was quickly taken for the thing". This
+was almost certainly the origin of the term.
+
+
+Node:frog, Next:frogging, Previous:frobnitz, Up:=
+F = 
+
+frog alt. `phrog'
+
+1. interj. Term of disgust (we seem to have a lot of them). 2.
+Used as a name for just about anything. See foo. 3. n. Of things, a crock. 4. n. Of people,
+somewhere in between a turkey and a toad. 5. `froggy': adj.
+Similar to bagbiting, but milder.
+"This froggy program is taking forever to run!"
+
+
+Node:frogging, Next:front end, Previous:frog, Up:= F =
+
+
+frogging [University of Waterloo] v.
+
+1. Partial corruption of a text file or input stream by some
+bug or consistent glitch, as opposed to random events like line
+noise or media failures. Might occur, for example, if one bit of
+each incoming character on a tty were stuck, so that some
+characters were correct and others were not. See terminak for a historical example and compare
+dread high-bit
+disease. 2. By extension, accidental display of text in a
+mode where the output device emits special symbols or mnemonics
+rather than conventional ASCII. This often happens, for example,
+when using a terminal or comm program on a device like an IBM PC
+with a special `high-half' character set and with the bit-parity
+assumption wrong. A hacker sufficiently familiar with ASCII bit
+patterns might be able to read the display anyway.
+
+
+Node:front end, Next:frotz, Previous:frogging, Up:=
+F = 
+
+front end n.
+
+1. An intermediary computer that does set-up and filtering for
+another (usually more powerful but less friendly) machine (a
+`back end'). 2. What you're talking to when you have a
+conversation with someone who is making replies without paying
+attention. "Look at the dancing elephants!" "Uh-huh." "Do you
+know what I just said?" "Sorry, you were talking to the front
+end." 3. Software that provides an interface to another program
+`behind' it, which may not be as user-friendly. Probably from
+analogy with hardware front-ends (see sense 1) that interfaced
+with mainframes.
+
+
+Node:frotz, Next:frotzed, Previous:front end, Up:= F = 
+
+frotz /frots/
+
+1. n. See frobnitz. 2. `mumble
+frotz': An interjection of mildest disgust.
+
+
+Node:frotzed, Next:frowney, Previous:frotz, Up:= F
+= 
+
+frotzed /frotst/ adj.
+
+down because of hardware problems.
+Compare fried. A machine that is
+merely frotzed may be fixable without replacing parts, but a
+fried machine is more seriously damaged.
+
+
+Node:frowney, Next:FRS, Previous:frotzed, Up:= F
+= 
+
+frowney n.
+
+(alt. `frowney face') See emoticon.
+
+
+Node:FRS, Next:fry, Previous:frowney, Up:= F
+= 
+
+FRS // n.,obs.
+
+Abbreviation for "Freely Redistributable Software" which
+entered general use on the Internet in 1995 after years of
+low-level confusion over what exactly to call software written to
+be passed around and shared (contending terms including freeware, shareware, and `sourceware' were never
+universally felt to be satisfactory for various subtle reasons).
+The first formal conference on freely redistributable software
+was held in Cambridge, Massachussetts, in February 1996
+(sponsored by the Free Software Foundation). The conference
+organizers used the FRS abbreviation heavily in its calls for
+papers and other literature during 1995. The term was in steady
+though not common use until 1998 and the invention of open source.
+
+
+Node:fry, Next:fscking, Previous:FRS, Up:= F =
+
+
+fry
+
+1. vi. To fail. Said especially of smoke-producing hardware
+failures. More generally, to become non-working. Usage: never
+said of software, only of hardware and humans. See fried, magic
+smoke. 2. vt. To cause to fail; to roach, toast, or
+hose a piece of hardware. Never used
+of software or humans, but compare fried.
+
+
+Node:fscking, Next:FSF, Previous:fry,
+Up:= F = 
+
+fscking /fus'-king/ or /eff'-seek-ing/ adj.
+
+[Usenet; common] Fucking, in the expletive sense (it refers to
+the Unix filesystem-repair command fsck(1), of which it can be
+said that if you have to use it at all you are having a bad day).
+Originated on scary devil
+monastery and the _bofh.net_ newsgroups, but became
+much more widespread following the passage of CDA. Also occasionally seen in the variant "What
+the fsck?"
+
+
+Node:FSF, Next:FTP, Previous:fscking, Up:= F
+= 
+
+FSF /F-S-F/ abbrev.
+
+Common abbreviation (both spoken and written) for the name of
+the Free Software Foundation, a nonprofit educational association
+formed to support the GNU project.
+
+
+Node:FTP, Next:-fu, Previous:FSF,
+Up:= F = 
+
+FTP /F-T-P/, not /fit'ip/
+
+1. [techspeak] n. The File Transfer Protocol for transmitting
+files between systems on the Internet. 2. vt. To beam a file using the File Transfer Protocol. 3.
+Sometimes used as a generic even for file transfers not using
+FTP. "Lemme get a copy of "Wuthering
+Heights" ftp'd from uunet."
+
+
+Node:-fu, Next:FUBAR, Previous:FTP, Up:= F =
+
+
+-fu
+
+[common; generalized from `kung-fu'] Combining form denoting
+expert practice of a skill. "That's going to take some serious
+code-fu." First sighted in connection with the GIMP's
+remote-scripting facility, script-fu, in 1998.
+
+
+Node:FUBAR, Next:fuck me harder, Previous:-fu, Up:= F = 
+
+FUBAR n.
+
+The Failed UniBus Address Register in a VAX. A good example of
+how jargon can occasionally be snuck past the suits; see foobar,
+and foo for a fuller etymology.
+
+
+Node:fuck me harder, Next:FUD, Previous:FUBAR, Up:= F
+= 
+
+fuck me harder excl.
+
+Sometimes uttered in response to egregious misbehavior, esp.
+in software, and esp. of misbehaviors which seem unfairly
+persistent (as though designed in by the imp of the perverse).
+Often theatrically elaborated: "Aiighhh! Fuck me with a
+piledriver and 16 feet of curare-tipped wrought-iron fence
+and no lubricants!" The phrase is sometimes heard
+abbreviated `FMH' in polite company.
+
+[This entry is an extreme example of the hackish habit of
+coining elaborate and evocative terms for lossage. Here we see a
+quite self-conscious parody of mainstream expletives that has
+become a running gag in part of the hacker culture; it
+illustrates the hackish tendency to turn any situation, even one
+of extreme frustration, into an intellectual game (the point
+being, in this case, to creatively produce a long-winded
+description of the most anatomically absurd mental image possible
+-- the short forms implicitly allude to all the ridiculous long
+forms ever spoken). Scatological language is actually relatively
+uncommon among hackers, and there was some controversy over
+whether this entry ought to be included at all. As it reflects a
+live usage recognizably peculiar to the hacker culture, we feel
+it is in the hackish spirit of truthfulness and opposition to all
+forms of censorship to record it here. --ESR & GLS]
+
+
+Node:FUD, Next:FUD wars, Previous:fuck me harder, Up:= F = 
+
+FUD /fuhd/ n.
+
+Defined by Gene Amdahl after he left IBM to found his own
+company: "FUD is the fear, uncertainty, and doubt that IBM sales
+people instill in the minds of potential customers who might be
+considering [Amdahl] products." The idea, of course, was to
+persuade them to go with safe IBM gear rather than with
+competitors' equipment. This implicit coercion was traditionally
+accomplished by promising that Good Things would happen to people
+who stuck with IBM, but Dark Shadows loomed over the future of
+competitors' equipment or software. See IBM. After 1990 the term FUD was associated
+increasingly frequently with Microsoft, and has become generalized to
+refer to any kind of disinformation used as a competitive
+weapon.
+
+
+Node:FUD wars, Next:fudge, Previous:FUD, Up:= F =
+
+
+FUD wars /fuhd worz/ n.
+
+[from FUD] Political posturing
+engaged in by hardware and software vendors ostensibly committed
+to standardization but actually willing to fragment the market to
+protect their own shares. The Unix International vs. OSF conflict
+about Unix standards was one outstanding example; Microsoft vs.
+Netscape vs. W3C about HTML standards is another.
+
+
+Node:fudge, Next:fudge factor, Previous:FUD wars, Up:= F = 
+
+fudge
+
+1. vt. To perform in an incomplete but marginally acceptable
+way, particularly with respect to the writing of a program. "I
+didn't feel like going through that pain and suffering, so I
+fudged it -- I'll fix it later." 2. n. The resulting code.
+
+
+Node:fudge factor, Next:fuel up, Previous:fudge, Up:= F
+= 
+
+fudge factor n.
+
+[common] A value or parameter that is varied in an ad hoc way
+to produce the desired result. The terms `tolerance' and slop are also used, though these usually
+indicate a one-sided leeway, such as a buffer that is made larger
+than necessary because one isn't sure exactly how large it needs
+to be, and it is better to waste a little space than to lose
+completely for not having enough. A fudge factor, on the other
+hand, can often be tweaked in more than one direction. A good
+example is the `fuzz' typically allowed in floating-point
+calculations: two numbers being compared for equality must be
+allowed to differ by a small amount; if that amount is too small,
+a computation may never terminate, while if it is too large,
+results will be needlessly inaccurate. Fudge factors are
+frequently adjusted incorrectly by programmers who don't fully
+understand their import. See also coefficient of X.
+
+
+Node:fuel up, Next:Full Monty, Previous:fudge factor, Up:= F = 
+
+fuel up vi.
+
+To eat or drink hurriedly in order to get back to hacking.
+"Food-p?" "Yeah, let's fuel up." "Time for a great-wall!" See also oriental food.
+
+
+Node:Full Monty, Next:fum, Previous:fuel up, Up:=
+F = 
+
+Full Monty n.
+
+See monty, sense 2.
+
+
+Node:fum, Next:functino, Previous:Full Monty, Up:= F = 
+
+fum n.
+
+[XEROX PARC] At PARC, often the third of the standard metasyntactic variables
+(after foo and bar). Competes with baz,
+which is more common outside PARC.
+
+
+Node:functino, Next:funky, Previous:fum, Up:= F =
+
+
+functino n.
+
+[uncommon, U.K.; originally a serendipitous typo in 1994] A
+pointer to a function in C and C++. By association with
+sub-atomic particles such as the neutrino, it accurately conveys
+an impression of smallness (one pointer is four bytes on most
+systems) and speed (hackers can and do use arrays of functinos to
+replace a switch() statement).
+
+
+Node:funky, Next:funny money, Previous:functino, Up:= F = 
+
+funky adj.
+
+Said of something that functions, but in a slightly strange,
+klugey way. It does the job and would be difficult to change, so
+its obvious non-optimality is left alone. Often used to describe
+interfaces. The more bugs something has that nobody has bothered
+to fix because workarounds are easier, the funkier it is. TECO and UUCP are funky. The Intel i860's
+exception handling is extraordinarily funky. Most standards
+acquire funkiness as they age. "The new mailer is installed, but
+is still somewhat funky; if it bounces your mail for no reason,
+try resubmitting it." "This UART is pretty funky. The data ready
+line is active-high in interrupt mode and active-low in DMA
+mode."
+
+
+Node:funny money, Next:furrfu, Previous:funky, Up:= F
+= 
+
+funny money n.
+
+1. Notional `dollar' units of computing time and/or storage
+handed to students at the beginning of a computer course; also
+called `play money' or `purple money' (in implicit opposition to
+real or `green' money). In New Zealand and Germany the odd usage
+`paper money' has been recorded; in Germany, the particularly
+amusing synonym `transfer ruble' commemmorates the funny money
+used for trade between COMECON countries back when the Soviet
+Bloc still existed. When your funny money ran out, your account
+froze and you needed to go to a professor to get more.
+Fortunately, the plunging cost of timesharing cycles has made
+this less common. The amounts allocated were almost invariably
+too small, even for the non-hackers who wanted to slide by with
+minimum work. In extreme cases, the practice led to small-scale
+black markets in bootlegged computer accounts. 2. By extension,
+phantom money or quantity tickets of any kind used as a
+resource-allocation hack within a system. Antonym: `real
+money'.
+
+
+Node:furrfu, Next:fuzzball, Previous:funny money, Up:= F = 
+
+furrfu excl.
+
+[Usenet; written, only rarely spoken] Written-only equivalent
+of "Sheesh!"; it is, in fact, "sheesh" modified by rot13. Evolved in mid-1992 as a response to
+notably silly postings repeating urban myths on the Usenet
+newsgroup _alt.folklore.urban_, after some posters
+complained that "Sheesh!" as a response to newbies was being overused. See also FOAF.
+
+
+Node:fuzzball, Next:G, Previous:furrfu,
+Up:= F = 
+
+fuzzball n.
+
+[TCP/IP hackers] A DEC LSI-11 running a particular suite of
+homebrewed software written by Dave Mills and assorted
+co-conspirators, used in the early 1980s for Internet protocol
+testbedding and experimentation. These were used as NSFnet
+backbone sites in its early 56kb-line days; a few were still
+active on the Internet as late as mid-1993, doing odd jobs such
+as network time service.
+
+
+Node:= G =, Next:= H =, Previous:= F =, Up:The Jargon Lexicon 
+
+= G =
+
+
+G:
+
+
+g-file:
+
+
+gabriel:
+
+
+gag:
+
+
+gang bang:
+
+
+garbage collect:
+
+
+garply:
+
+
+gas:
+
+
+gaseous:
+
+
+Gates's Law:
+
+
+gawble:
+
+
+GC:
+
+
+GCOS:
+
+
+GECOS:
+
+
+gedanken:
+
+
+geef:
+
+
+geek code:
+
+
+geek out:
+
+
+gen:
+
+
+gender mender:
+
+
+General Public
+Virus:
+
+
+generate:
+
+
+Genius From Mars
+Technique:
+
+
+gensym:
+
+
+Get a life!:
+
+
+Get a real
+computer!:
+
+
+GFR:
+
+
+gib:
+
+
+GIFs at 11:
+
+
+gig:
+
+
+giga-:
+
+
+GIGO:
+
+
+gilley:
+
+
+gillion:
+
+
+ginger:
+
+
+GIPS:
+
+
+glark:
+
+
+glass:
+
+
+glass tty:
+
+
+glassfet:
+
+
+glitch:
+
+
+glob:
+
+
+glork:
+
+
+glue:
+
+
+gnarly:
+
+
+GNU:
+
+
+gnubie:
+
+
+GNUMACS:
+
+
+go flatline:
+
+
+go root:
+
+
+go-faster stripes:
+
+
+GoAT:
+
+
+gobble:
+
+
+Godwin's Law:
+
+
+Godzillagram:
+
+
+golden:
+
+
+golf-ball printer:
+
+
+gonk:
+
+
+gonkulator:
+
+
+gonzo:
+
+
+Good Thing:
+
+
+gopher:
+
+
+gopher hole:
+
+
+gorets:
+
+
+gorilla arm:
+
+
+gorp:
+
+
+GOSMACS:
+
+
+Gosperism:
+
+
+gotcha:
+
+
+GPL:
+
+
+GPV:
+
+
+grault:
+
+
+gray goo:
+
+
+Great Renaming:
+
+
+Great Runes:
+
+
+Great Worm:
+
+
+great-wall:
+
+
+Green Book:
+
+
+green bytes:
+
+
+green card:
+
+
+green lightning:
+
+
+green machine:
+
+
+Green's Theorem:
+
+
+greenbar:
+
+
+grep:
+
+
+gribble:
+
+
+grilf:
+
+
+grind:
+
+
+grind crank:
+
+
+gripenet:
+
+
+gritch:
+
+
+grok:
+
+
+gronk:
+
+
+gronk out:
+
+
+gronked:
+
+
+grovel:
+
+
+grue:
+
+
+grunge:
+
+
+gubbish:
+
+
+Guido:
+
+
+guiltware:
+
+
+gumby:
+
+
+gun:
+
+
+gunch:
+
+
+gunpowder chicken:
+
+
+gurfle:
+
+
+guru:
+
+
+guru meditation:
+
+
+gweep:
+
+
+Node:G, Next:g-file, Previous:fuzzball, Up:=
+G = 
+
+G pref.,suff.
+
+[SI] See quantifiers.
+
+
+Node:g-file, Next:gabriel, Previous:G, Up:= G = 
+
+g-file n.
+
+[Commodore BBS culture] Any file that is written with the
+intention of being read by a human rather than a machine, such as
+the Jargon File, documentation, humor files, hacker lore, and
+technical materials.
+
+This term survives from the nearly forgotten Commodore 64
+underground and BBS community. In the early 80s, C-Net had
+emerged as the most popular C64 BBS software for systems which
+encouraged messaging (as opposed to file transfer). There were
+three main options for files: Program files (p-files), which
+served the same function as `doors' in today's systems, UD files
+(the user upload/download section), and g-files. Anything that
+was meant to be read was included in g-files.
+
+
+Node:gabriel, Next:gag, Previous:g-file, Up:= G
+= 
+
+gabriel /gay'bree-*l/ n.
+
+[for Dick Gabriel, SAIL LISP hacker and volleyball fanatic] An
+unnecessary (in the opinion of the opponent) stalling tactic,
+e.g., tying one's shoelaces or combing one's hair repeatedly,
+asking the time, etc. Also used to refer to the perpetrator of
+such tactics. Also, `pulling a Gabriel', `Gabriel mode'.
+
+
+Node:gag, Next:gang bang, Previous:gabriel, Up:= G
+= 
+
+gag vi.
+
+Equivalent to choke, but connotes
+more disgust. "Hey, this is FORTRAN code. No wonder the C
+compiler gagged." See also barf.
+
+
+Node:gang bang, Next:garbage collect, Previous:gag, Up:= G = 
+
+gang bang n.
+
+The use of large numbers of loosely coupled programmers in an
+attempt to wedge a great many features into a product in a short
+time. Though there have been memorable gang bangs (e.g., that
+over-the-weekend assembler port mentioned in Steven Levy's
+"Hackers"), most are perpetrated by large companies trying to
+meet deadlines; the inevitable result is enormous buggy masses of
+code entirely lacking in orthogonality. When market-driven managers
+make a list of all the features the competition has and assign
+one programmer to implement each, the probability of maintaining
+a coherent (or even functional) design goes infinitesimal. See
+also firefighting, Mongolian Hordes
+technique, Conway's
+Law.
+
+
+Node:garbage collect, Next:garply, Previous:gang bang, Up:= G = 
+
+garbage collect vi.
+
+(also `garbage collection', n.) See GC.
+
+
+Node:garply, Next:gas, Previous:garbage collect, Up:= G = 
+
+garply /gar'plee/ n.
+
+[Stanford] Another metasyntactic variable (see foo); once popular among SAIL hackers.
+
+
+Node:gas, Next:gaseous, Previous:garply, Up:= G
+= 
+
+gas
+
+[as in `gas chamber'] 1. interj. A term of disgust and hatred,
+implying that gas should be dispensed in generous quantities,
+thereby exterminating the source of irritation. "Some loser just
+reloaded the system for no reason! Gas!" 2. interj. A suggestion
+that someone or something ought to be flushed out of mercy. "The
+system's getting wedged every few
+minutes. Gas!" 3. vt. To flush (sense
+1). "You should gas that old crufty software." 4. [IBM] n. Dead
+space in nonsequentially organized files that was occupied by
+data that has since been deleted; the compression operation that
+removes it is called `degassing' (by analogy, perhaps, with the
+use of the same term in vacuum technology). 5. [IBM] n. Empty
+space on a disk that has been clandestinely allocated against
+future need.
+
+
+Node:gaseous, Next:Gates's Law, Previous:gas, Up:= G
+= 
+
+gaseous adj.
+
+Deserving of being gassed.
+Disseminated by Geoff Goodfellow while at SRI; became
+particularly popular after the Moscone-Milk killings in San
+Francisco, when it was learned that the defendant Dan White (a
+politician who had supported Proposition 7) would get the gas
+chamber under Proposition 7 if convicted of first-degree murder
+(he was eventually convicted of manslaughter).
+
+
+Node:Gates's Law, Next:gawble, Previous:gaseous, Up:= G
+= 
+
+Gates's Law
+
+"The speed of software halves every 18 months." This oft-cited
+law is an ironic comment on the tendency of software bloat to
+outpace the every-18-month doubling in hardware caopacity per
+dollar predicted by Moore's
+Law. The reference is to Bill Gates; Microsoft is widely
+considered among the worst if not the worst of the perpetrators
+of bloat.
+
+
+Node:gawble, Next:GC, Previous:Gates's Law, Up:= G = 
+
+gawble /gaw'bl/ n.
+
+See chawmp.
+
+
+Node:GC, Next:GCOS, Previous:gawble, Up:= G
+= 
+
+GC /G-C/
+
+[from LISP terminology; `Garbage Collect'] 1. vt. To clean up
+and throw away useless things. "I think I'll GC the top of my
+desk today." When said of files, this is equivalent to GFR. 2. vt. To recycle, reclaim, or put to
+another use. 3. n. An instantiation of the garbage collector
+process.
+
+`Garbage collection' is computer-science techspeak for a
+particular class of strategies for dynamically but transparently
+reallocating computer memory (i.e., without requiring explicit
+allocation and deallocation by higher-level software). One such
+strategy involves periodically scanning all the data in memory
+and determining what is no longer accessible; useless data items
+are then discarded so that the memory they occupy can be recycled
+and used for another purpose. Implementations of the LISP
+language usually use garbage collection.
+
+In jargon, the full phrase is sometimes heard but the abbrev GC is more frequently used because
+it is shorter. Note that there is an ambiguity in usage that has
+to be resolved by context: "I'm going to garbage-collect my desk"
+usually means to clean out the drawers, but it could also mean to
+throw away or recycle the desk itself.
+
+
+Node:GCOS, Next:GECOS, Previous:GC,
+Up:= G = 
+
+GCOS /jee'kohs/ n.
+
+A quick-and-dirty clone of System/360 DOS that emerged from
+GE around 1970; originally called GECOS (the General Electric
+Comprehensive Operating System). Later kluged to support
+primitive timesharing and transaction processing. After the
+buyout of GE's computer division by Honeywell, the name was
+changed to General Comprehensive Operating System (GCOS). Other
+OS groups at Honeywell began referring to it as `God's Chosen
+Operating System', allegedly in reaction to the GCOS crowd's
+uninformed and snotty attitude about the superiority of their
+product. All this might be of zero interest, except for two
+facts: (1) The GCOS people won the political war, and this led in
+the orphaning and eventual death of Honeywell Multics, and (2) GECOS/GCOS left one permanent
+mark on Unix. Some early Unix systems at Bell Labs used GCOS
+machines for print spooling and various other services; the field
+added to /etc/passwd to carry GCOS ID information
+was called the `GECOS field' and survives today as the
+pw_gecos member used for the user's full name and
+other human-ID information. GCOS later played a major role in
+keeping Honeywell a dismal also-ran in the mainframe market, and
+was itself mostly ditched for Unix in the late 1980s when
+Honeywell began to retire its aging big
+iron designs.
+
+
+Node:GECOS, Next:gedanken, Previous:GCOS, Up:= G =
+
+
+GECOS /jee'kohs/ n.
+
+See GCOS.
+
+
+Node:gedanken, Next:geef, Previous:GECOS, Up:= G
+= 
+
+gedanken /g*-dahn'kn/ adj.
+
+Ungrounded; impractical; not well-thought-out; untried;
+untested.
+
+`Gedanken' is a German word for `thought'. A thought
+experiment is one you carry out in your head. In physics, the
+term `gedanken experiment' is used to refer to an experiment that
+is impractical to carry out, but useful to consider because it
+can be reasoned about theoretically. (A classic gedanken
+experiment of relativity theory involves thinking about a man in
+an elevator accelerating through space.) Gedanken experiments are
+very useful in physics, but must be used with care. It's too easy
+to idealize away some important aspect of the real world in
+constructing the `apparatus'.
+
+Among hackers, accordingly, the word has a pejorative
+connotation. It is typically used of a project, especially one in
+artificial intelligence research, that is written up in grand
+detail (typically as a Ph.D. thesis) without ever being
+implemented to any great extent. Such a project is usually
+perpetrated by people who aren't very good hackers or find
+programming distasteful or are just in a hurry. A `gedanken
+thesis' is usually marked by an obvious lack of intuition about
+what is programmable and what is not, and about what does and
+does not constitute a clear specification of an algorithm. See
+also AI-complete, DWIM.
+
+
+Node:geef, Next:geek code, Previous:gedanken, Up:=
+G = 
+
+geef v.
+
+[ostensibly from `gefingerpoken'] vt. Syn. mung. See also blinkenlights.
+
+
+Node:geek code, Next:geek out, Previous:geef, Up:= G =
+
+
+geek code n.
+
+(also "Code of the Geeks"). A set of codes commonly used in
+sig blocks to broadcast the
+interests, skills, and aspirations of the poster. Features a G at
+the left margin followed by numerous letter codes, often suffixed
+with plusses or minuses. Because many net users are involved in
+computer science, the most common prefix is `GCS'. To see a copy
+of the current code, browse http://www.geekcode.com. Here is a
+sample geek code (that of Robert Hayden, the code's inventor)
+from that page:
+
+-----BEGIN GEEK CODE BLOCK-----
+Version: 3.1
+GED/J d-- s:++>: a- C++(++++)$ ULUO++ P+>+++ L++ !E---- W+(---) N+++
+o+ K+++ w+(---) O- M+$>++ V-- PS++(+++)>$ PE++(+)>$ Y++ PGP++ t- 5+++
+X++ R+++>$ tv+ b+ DI+++ D+++ G+++++>$ e++$>++++ h r-- y+**
+------END GEEK CODE BLOCK------
+
+
+The geek code originated in 1993; it was inspired (according
+to the inventor) by previous "bear", "smurf" and "twink"
+style-and-sexual-preference codes from lesbian and gay newsgroups. It has in turn spawned
+imitators; there is now even a "Saturn geek code" for owners of
+the Saturn car. See also computer
+geek.
+
+
+Node:geek out, Next:gen, Previous:geek code, Up:= G = 
+
+geek out vi.
+
+To temporarily enter techno-nerd mode while in a non-hackish
+context, for example at parties held near computer equipment.
+Especially used when you need to do or say something highly
+technical and don't have time to explain: "Pardon me while I geek
+out for a moment." See computer
+geek; see also propeller
+head.
+
+
+Node:gen, Next:gender mender, Previous:geek out, Up:= G = 
+
+gen /jen/ n.,v.
+
+Short for generate, used
+frequently in both spoken and written contexts.
+
+
+Node:gender mender, Next:General Public Virus,
+Previous:gen, Up:= G = 
+
+gender mender n.
+
+[common] A cable connector shell with either two male or two
+female connectors on it, used to correct the mismatches that
+result when some loser didn't
+understand the RS232C specification and the distinction between
+DTE and DCE. Used esp. for RS-232C parts in either the original
+D-25 or the IBM PC's bogus D-9 format. Also called `gender
+bender', `gender blender', `sex changer', and even `homosexual
+adapter;' however, there appears to be some confusion as to
+whether a `male homosexual adapter' has pins on both sides (is
+doubly male) or sockets on both sides (connects two males).
+
+
+Node:General Public Virus,
+Next:generate, Previous:gender mender, Up:= G = 
+
+General Public Virus n.
+
+Pejorative name for some versions of the GNU project copyleft or General Public License (GPL),
+which requires that any tools or apps
+incorporating copylefted code must be source-distributed on the
+same anti-proprietary terms as GNU stuff. Thus it is alleged that
+the copyleft `infects' software generated with GNU tools, which
+may in turn infect other software that reuses any of its code.
+The Free Software Foundation's official position as of January
+1991 is that copyright law limits the scope of the GPL to
+"programs textually incorporating significant amounts of GNU
+code", and that the `infection' is not passed on to third parties
+unless actual GNU source is transmitted. Nevertheless, widespread
+suspicion that the copyleft
+language is `boobytrapped' has caused many developers to avoid
+using GNU tools and the GPL. Changes in the language of the
+version 2.0 GPL did not eliminate this problem.
+
+
+Node:generate, Next:Genius From Mars
+Technique, Previous:General Public Virus, Up:= G = 
+
+generate vt.
+
+To produce something according to an algorithm or program or
+set of rules, or as a (possibly unintended) side effect of the
+execution of an algorithm or program. The opposite of parse. This term retains its mechanistic
+connotations (though often humorously) when used of human
+behavior. "The guy is rational most of the time, but mention
+nuclear energy around him and he'll generate infinite flamage."
+
+
+Node:Genius From Mars
+Technique, Next:gensym,
+Previous:generate, Up:= G = 
+
+Genius From Mars Technique n.
+
+[TMRC] A visionary quality which enables one to ignore the
+standard approach and come up with a totally unexpected new
+algorithm. An attack on a problem from an offbeat angle that no
+one has ever thought of before, but that in retrospect makes
+total sense. Compare grok, zen.
+
+
+Node:gensym, Next:Get a life!, Previous:Genius From Mars
+Technique, Up:= G =
+
+
+gensym /jen'sim/
+
+[from MacLISP for `generated symbol'] 1. v. To invent a new
+name for something temporary, in such a way that the name is
+almost certainly not in conflict with one already in use. 2. n.
+The resulting name. The canonical form of a gensym is `Gnnnn'
+where nnnn represents a number; any LISP hacker would recognize
+G0093 (for example) as a gensym. 3. A freshly generated data
+structure with a gensymmed name. Gensymmed names are useful for
+storing or uniquely identifying crufties (see cruft).
+
+
+Node:Get a life!, Next:Get a real
+computer!, Previous:gensym, Up:= G
+= 
+
+Get a life! imp.
+
+Hacker-standard way of suggesting that the person to whom it
+is directed has succumbed to terminal geekdom (see computer geek). Often heard on Usenet, esp. as a way of suggesting that
+the target is taking some obscure issue of theology too seriously. This exhortation was
+popularized by William Shatner on a 1987 "Saturday Night Live"
+episode in a speech that ended "Get a life!", but some
+respondents believe it to have been in use before then. It was
+certainly in wide use among hackers for years before achieving
+mainstream currency via the sitcom "Get A Life" in 1990.
+
+
+Node:Get a real
+computer!, Next:GFR,
+Previous:Get a
+life!, Up:= G = 
+
+Get a real computer! imp.
+
+Typical hacker response to news that somebody is having
+trouble getting work done on a system that (a) is single-tasking,
+(b) has no hard disk, or (c) has an address space smaller than 16
+megabytes. This is as of early 1996; note that the threshold for
+`real computer' rises with time. See bitty box and toy.
+
+
+Node:GFR, Next:gib, Previous:Get a real computer!, Up:= G = 
+
+GFR /G-F-R/ vt.
+
+[ITS: from `Grim File Reaper', an ITS and LISP Machine
+utility] To remove a file or files according to some
+program-automated or semi-automatic manual procedure, especially
+one designed to reclaim mass storage space or reduce name-space
+clutter (the original GFR actually moved files to tape). Often
+generalized to pieces of data below file level. "I used to have
+his phone number, but I guess I GFRed
+it." See also prowler, reaper. Compare GC,
+which discards only provably worthless stuff.
+
+
+Node:gib, Next:GIFs at 11, Previous:GFR, Up:= G
+= 
+
+gib /jib/
+
+1. vi. To destroy utterly. Like frag, but much more violent and final. "There's
+no trace left. You definitely gibbed that bug". 2. n. Remnants
+after total obliteration.
+
+Originated first by id software in the game Quake. It's short
+for giblets (thus pronounced "jib"), and referred to the bloody
+remains of slain opponents. Eventually the word was verbed, and
+leaked into general usage afterward.
+
+
+Node:GIFs at 11, Next:gig, Previous:gib, Up:= G =
+
+
+GIFs at 11
+
+[Fidonet] Fidonet alternative to film at 11, especially in echoes
+(Fidonet topic areas) where uuencoded GIFs are permitted. Other
+formats, especially JPEG and MPEG, may be referenced instead.
+
+
+Node:gig, Next:giga-, Previous:GIFs at 11, Up:= G = 
+
+gig /jig/ or /gig/ n.
+
+[SI] See quantifiers.
+
+
+Node:giga-, Next:GIGO, Previous:gig,
+Up:= G = 
+
+giga- /ji'ga/ or /gi'ga/ pref.
+
+[SI] See quantifiers.
+
+
+Node:GIGO, Next:gilley, Previous:giga-, Up:= G
+= 
+
+GIGO /gi:'goh/ [acronym]
+
+1. `Garbage In, Garbage Out' -- usually said in response to
+lusers who complain that a program
+didn't "do the right thing" when given imperfect input or
+otherwise mistreated in some way. Also commonly used to describe
+failures in human decision making due to faulty, incomplete, or
+imprecise data. 2. `Garbage In, Gospel Out': this more recent
+expansion is a sardonic comment on the tendency human beings have
+to put excessive trust in `computerized' data.
+
+
+Node:gilley, Next:gillion, Previous:GIGO, Up:= G =
+
+
+gilley n.
+
+[Usenet] The unit of analogical bogosity. According to its originator, the
+standard for one gilley was "the act of bogotoficiously comparing
+the shutting down of 1000 machines for a day with the killing of
+one person". The milligilley has been found to suffice for most
+normal conversational exchanges.
+
+
+Node:gillion, Next:ginger, Previous:gilley, Up:= G
+= 
+
+gillion /gil'y*n/ or /jil'y*n/ n.
+
+[formed from giga- by analogy with
+mega/million and tera/trillion] 10^9. Same as an American billion
+or a British `milliard'. How one pronounces this depends on
+whether one speaks giga- with a hard
+or soft `g'.
+
+
+Node:ginger, Next:GIPS, Previous:gillion, Up:= G
+= 
+
+ginger n.
+
+See saga.
+
+
+Node:GIPS, Next:glark, Previous:ginger, Up:= G
+= 
+
+GIPS /gips/ or /jips/ n.
+
+[analogy with MIPS]
+Giga-Instructions per Second (also possibly `Gillions of
+Instructions per Second'; see gillion). In 1991, this is used of only a
+handful of highly parallel machines, but this is expected to
+change. Compare KIPS.
+
+
+Node:glark, Next:glass, Previous:GIPS, Up:= G =
+
+
+glark /glark/ vt.
+
+To figure something out from context. "The System III manuals
+are pretty poor, but you can generally glark the meaning from
+context." Interestingly, the word was originally `glork'; the
+context was "This gubblick contains many nonsklarkish English
+flutzpahs, but the overall pluggandisp can be glorked [sic] from
+context" (David Moser, quoted by Douglas Hofstadter in his
+"Metamagical Themas" column in the January 1981 "Scientific
+American"). It is conjectured that hacker usage mutated the verb
+to `glark' because glork was already
+an established jargon term (some hackers do report using the
+original term). Compare grok, zen.
+
+
+Node:glass, Next:glass tty, Previous:glark, Up:= G
+= 
+
+glass n.
+
+[IBM] Synonym for silicon.
+
+
+Node:glass tty, Next:glassfet, Previous:glass, Up:= G
+= 
+
+glass tty /glas T-T-Y/ or /glas ti'tee/ n.
+
+A terminal that has a display screen but which, because of
+hardware or software limitations, behaves like a teletype or some
+other printing terminal, thereby combining the disadvantages of
+both: like a printing terminal, it can't do fancy display hacks,
+and like a display terminal, it doesn't produce hard copy. An
+example is the early `dumb' version of Lear-Siegler ADM 3
+(without cursor control). See tube,
+tty; compare dumb terminal, smart terminal. See "TV Typewriters" (Appendix A) for an
+interesting true story about a glass tty.
+
+
+Node:glassfet, Next:glitch, Previous:glass tty, Up:= G = 
+
+glassfet /glas'fet/ n.
+
+[by analogy with MOSFET, the acronym for
+`Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistor'] Syn. firebottle, a humorous way to refer to
+a vacuum tube.
+
+
+Node:glitch, Next:glob, Previous:glassfet, Up:=
+G = 
+
+glitch /glich/
+
+[very common; from German `glitschig' to slip, via Yiddish
+`glitshen', to slide or skid] 1. n. A sudden interruption in
+electric service, sanity, continuity, or program function.
+Sometimes recoverable. An interruption in electric service is
+specifically called a `power glitch' (also power hit), of grave concern because it
+usually crashes all the computers. In jargon, though, a hacker
+who got to the middle of a sentence and then forgot how he or she
+intended to complete it might say, "Sorry, I just glitched". 2.
+vi. To commit a glitch. See gritch.
+3. vt. [Stanford] To scroll a display screen, esp. several lines
+at a time. WAITS terminals used to do
+this in order to avoid continuous scrolling, which is distracting
+to the eye. 4. obs. Same as magic
+cookie, sense 2.
+
+All these uses of `glitch' derive from the specific technical
+meaning the term has in the electronic hardware world, where it
+is now techspeak. A glitch can occur when the inputs of a circuit
+change, and the outputs change to some random value for some very brief time before
+they settle down to the correct value. If another circuit
+inspects the output at just the wrong time, reading the random
+value, the results can be very wrong and very hard to debug (a
+glitch is one of many causes of electronic heisenbugs).
+
+
+Node:glob, Next:glork, Previous:glitch, Up:= G
+= 
+
+glob /glob/, not /glohb/ v.,n.
+
+[Unix; common] To expand special characters in a wildcarded
+name, or the act of so doing (the action is also called
+`globbing'). The Unix conventions for filename wildcarding have
+become sufficiently pervasive that many hackers use some of them
+in written English, especially in email or news on technical
+topics. Those commonly encountered include the following:
+
+
+
+*
+
+
+wildcard for any string (see also UN*X)
+
+
+?
+
+
+wildcard for any single character (generally read this way
+only at the beginning or in the middle of a word)
+
+
+[]
+
+
+delimits a wildcard matching any of the enclosed
+characters
+
+
+{}
+
+
+alternation of comma-separated alternatives; thus,
+`foo{baz,qux}' would be read as `foobaz' or `fooqux'
+
+
+
+
+Some examples: "He said his name was [KC]arl" (expresses
+ambiguity). "I don't read talk.politics.*" (any of the
+talk.politics subgroups on Usenet).
+Other examples are given under the entry for X. Note that glob patterns are similar, but not
+identical, to those used in regexps.
+
+Historical note: The jargon usage derives from
+glob, the name of a subprogram that expanded
+wildcards in archaic pre-Bourne versions of the Unix shell.
+
+
+Node:glork, Next:glue, Previous:glob, Up:= G =
+
+
+glork /glork/
+
+1. interj. Term of mild surprise, usually tinged with outrage,
+as when one attempts to save the results of two hours of editing
+and finds that the system has just crashed. 2. Used as a name for
+just about anything. See foo. 3. vt.
+Similar to glitch, but usually used
+reflexively. "My program just glorked itself." 4. Syn. for glark, which see.
+
+
+Node:glue, Next:gnarly, Previous:glork, Up:= G
+= 
+
+glue n.
+
+Generic term for any interface logic or protocol that connects
+two component blocks. For example, Blue
+Glue is IBM's SNA protocol, and hardware designers call
+anything used to connect large VLSI's or circuit blocks `glue
+logic'.
+
+
+Node:gnarly, Next:GNU, Previous:glue,
+Up:= G = 
+
+gnarly /nar'lee/ adj.
+
+Both obscure and hairy (sense 1). "Yow! -- the tuned assembler implementation of
+BitBlt is really gnarly!" From a similar but less specific usage
+in surfer slang.
+
+
+Node:GNU, Next:gnubie, Previous:gnarly, Up:= G
+= 
+
+GNU /gnoo/, not /noo/
+
+1. [acronym: `GNU's Not Unix!', see recursive acronym] A Unix-workalike
+development effort of the Free Software Foundation headed by Richard
+Stallman. GNU EMACS and the GNU C compiler, two tools designed for this
+project, have become very popular in hackerdom and elsewhere. The GNU
+project was designed partly to proselytize for RMS's position that
+information is community property and all software source should be
+shared. One of its slogans is "Help stamp out software hoarding!"
+Though this remains controversial (because it implicitly denies any
+right of designers to own, assign, and sell the results of their
+labors), many hackers who disagree with RMS have nevertheless
+cooperated to produce large amounts of high-quality software for free
+redistribution under the Free Software Foundation's imprimatur. The GNU
+project has a web page at http://www.gnu.org. See EMACS, copyleft,
+General Public Virus, Linux. 2. Noted Unix hacker John Gilmore, founder
+of Usenet's anarchic alt.* hierarchy.
+
+
+Node:gnubie, Next:GNUMACS, Previous:GNU, Up:= G =
+
+
+gnubie /noo'bee/ n.
+
+Written-only variant of newbie in
+common use on IRC channels, which implies specifically someone
+who is new to the Linux/open source/free software world.
+
+
+Node:GNUMACS, Next:go flatline, Previous:gnubie, Up:=
+G = 
+
+GNUMACS /gnoo'maks/ n.
+
+[contraction of `GNU EMACS'] Often-heard abbreviated name for
+the GNU project's flagship tool, EMACS. Used esp. in contrast with
+GOSMACS.
+
+
+Node:go flatline, Next:go root, Previous:GNUMACS, Up:= G
+= 
+
+go flatline v.
+
+[from cyberpunk SF, refers to flattening of EEG traces upon
+brain-death] (also adjectival `flatlined'). 1. To die, terminate, or fail, esp. irreversibly. In
+hacker parlance, this is used of machines only, human death being
+considered somewhat too serious a matter to employ jargon-jokes
+about. 2. To go completely quiescent; said of machines undergoing
+controlled shutdown. "You can suffer file damage if you shut down
+Unix but power off before the system has gone flatline." 3. Of a
+video tube, to fail by losing vertical scan, so all one sees is a
+bright horizontal line bisecting the screen.
+
+
+Node:go root, Next:go-faster stripes, Previous:go flatline, Up:= G = 
+
+go root vi.
+
+[Unix; common] To temporarily enter root mode in order to perform a privileged
+operation. This use is deprecated in Australia, where v. `root'
+is a synonym for "fuck".
+
+
+Node:go-faster stripes, Next:GoAT, Previous:go root, Up:= G = 
+
+go-faster stripes n.
+
+[UK] Syn. chrome. Mainstream in
+some parts of UK.
+
+
+Node:GoAT, Next:gobble, Previous:go-faster stripes, Up:= G = 
+
+GoAT //
+
+[Usenet] Abbreviation: "Go Away, Troll". See troll.
+
+
+Node:gobble, Next:Godwin's Law, Previous:GoAT, Up:= G
+= 
+
+gobble vt.
+
+1. To consume, usu. used with `up'. "The output spy gobbles
+characters out of a tty output buffer."
+2. To obtain, usu. used with `down'. "I guess I'll gobble down a
+copy of the documentation tomorrow." See also snarf.
+
+
+Node:Godwin's Law, Next:Godzillagram, Previous:gobble, Up:= G = 
+
+Godwin's Law prov.
+
+[Usenet] "As a Usenet discussion grows longer, the probability
+of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches one." There
+is a tradition in many groups that, once this occurs, that thread
+is over, and whoever mentioned the Nazis has automatically lost
+whatever argument was in progress. Godwin's Law thus practically
+guarantees the existence of an upper bound on thread length in
+those groups. However there is also a widely- recognized codicil
+that any intentional triggering of Godwin's Law in order
+to invoke its thread-ending effects will be unsuccessful.
+
+
+Node:Godzillagram, Next:golden, Previous:Godwin's Law, Up:= G = 
+
+Godzillagram /god-zil'*-gram/ n.
+
+[from Japan's national hero] 1. A network packet that in
+theory is a broadcast to every machine in the universe. The
+typical case is an IP datagram whose destination IP address is
+[255.255.255.255]. Fortunately, few gateways are foolish enough
+to attempt to implement this case! 2. A network packet of maximum
+size. An IP Godzillagram has 65,536 octets. Compare super source quench, Christmas tree packet,
+martian.
+
+
+Node:golden, Next:golf-ball printer, Previous:Godzillagram, Up:= G = 
+
+golden adj.
+
+[prob. from folklore's `golden egg'] When used to describe a
+magnetic medium (e.g., `golden disk', `golden tape'), describes
+one containing a tested, up-to-spec, ready-to-ship software
+version. Compare platinum-iridium.
+
+
+Node:golf-ball printer, Next:gonk, Previous:golden, Up:=
+G = 
+
+golf-ball printer n. obs.
+
+The IBM 2741, a slow but letter-quality printing device and
+terminal based on the IBM Selectric typewriter. The `golf ball'
+was a little spherical frob bearing reversed embossed images of
+88 different characters arranged on four parallels of latitude;
+one could change the font by swapping in a different golf ball.
+The print element spun and jerked alarmingly in action and when
+in motion was sometimes described as an `infuriated golf ball'.
+This was the technology that enabled APL to use a non-EBCDIC,
+non-ASCII, and in fact completely non-standard character set.
+This put it 10 years ahead of its time -- where it stayed, firmly
+rooted, for the next 20, until character displays gave way to
+programmable bit-mapped devices with the flexibility to support
+other character sets.
+
+
+Node:gonk, Next:gonkulator, Previous:golf-ball printer, Up:= G = 
+
+gonk /gonk/ vi.,n.
+
+1. To prevaricate or to embellish the truth beyond any
+reasonable recognition. In German the term is (mythically)
+`gonken'; in Spanish the verb becomes `gonkar'. "You're gonking
+me. That story you just told me is a bunch of gonk." In German,
+for example, "Du gonkst mich" (You're pulling my leg). See also
+gonkulator. 2. [British] To grab
+some sleep at an odd time; compare gronk out.
+
+
+Node:gonkulator, Next:gonzo, Previous:gonk, Up:= G =
+
+
+gonkulator /gon'kyoo-lay-tr/ n.
+
+[common; from the 1960s "Hogan's Heroes" TV series] A
+pretentious piece of equipment that actually serves no useful
+purpose. Usually used to describe one's least favorite piece of
+computer hardware. See gonk.
+
+
+Node:gonzo, Next:Good Thing, Previous:gonkulator, Up:= G = 
+
+gonzo /gon'zoh/ adj.
+
+[from Hunter S. Thompson] 1. With total commitment, total
+concentration, and a mad sort of panache. (Thompson's original
+sense.) 2. More loosely: Overwhelming; outrageous; over the top;
+very large, esp. used of collections of source code, source
+files, or individual functions. Has some of the connotations of
+moby and hairy, but without the implication of obscurity
+or complexity.
+
+
+Node:Good Thing, Next:gopher, Previous:gonzo, Up:= G
+= 
+
+Good Thing n.,adj.
+
+[very common; often capitalized; always pronounced as if
+capitalized.] 1. Self-evidently wonderful to anyone in a position
+to notice: "A language that manages dynamic memory automatically
+for you is a Good Thing." 2. Something that can't possibly have
+any ill side-effects and may save considerable grief later:
+"Removing the self-modifying code from that shared library would
+be a Good Thing." 3. When said of software tools or libraries, as
+in "YACC is a Good Thing", specifically connotes that the thing
+has drastically reduced a programmer's work load. Oppose Bad Thing.
+
+
+Node:gopher, Next:gopher hole, Previous:Good Thing, Up:= G = 
+
+gopher n.
+
+A type of Internet service first floated around 1991 and
+obsolesced around 1995 by the World Wide Web. Gopher presents a
+menuing interface to a tree or graph of links; the links can be
+to documents, runnable programs, or other gopher menus
+arbitrarily far across the net.
+
+Some claim that the gopher software, which was originally
+developed at the University of Minnesota, was named after the
+Minnesota Gophers (a sports team). Others claim the word derives
+from American slang `gofer' (from "go for", dialectal "go fer"),
+one whose job is to run and fetch things. Finally, observe that
+gophers dig long tunnels, and the idea of tunneling through the
+net to find information was a defining metaphor for the
+developers. Probably all three things were true, but with the
+first two coming first and the gopher-tunnel metaphor
+serendipitously adding flavor and impetus to the project as it
+developed out of its concept stage.
+
+
+Node:gopher hole, Next:gorets, Previous:gopher, Up:= G
+= 
+
+gopher hole n.
+
+1. Any access to a gopher. 2.
+[Amateur Packet Radio] The terrestrial analog of a wormhole (sense 2), from which this term was
+coined. A gopher hole links two amateur packet relays through
+some non-ham radio medium.
+
+
+Node:gorets, Next:gorilla arm, Previous:gopher hole, Up:= G = 
+
+gorets /gor'ets/ n.
+
+The unknown ur-noun, fill in your own meaning. Found esp. on
+the Usenet newsgroup _alt.gorets_, which seems to be a
+running contest to redefine the word by implication in the
+funniest and most peculiar way, with the understanding that no
+definition is ever final. [A correspondent from the Former Soviet
+Union informs me that `gorets' is Russian for `mountain dweller'.
+Another from France informs me that `goret' is archaic French for
+a young pig --ESR] Compare frink.
+
+
+Node:gorilla arm, Next:gorp, Previous:gorets, Up:= G
+= 
+
+gorilla arm n.
+
+The side-effect that destroyed touch-screens as a mainstream
+input technology despite a promising start in the early 1980s. It
+seems the designers of all those spiffy touch-menu systems failed to notice that
+humans aren't designed to hold their arms in front of their faces
+making small motions. After more than a very few selections, the
+arm begins to feel sore, cramped, and oversized -- the operator
+looks like a gorilla while using the touch screen and feels like
+one afterwards. This is now considered a classic cautionary tale
+to human-factors designers; "Remember the gorilla arm!" is
+shorthand for "How is this going to fly in real
+use?".
+
+
+Node:gorp, Next:GOSMACS, Previous:gorilla arm, Up:= G = 
+
+gorp /gorp/ n.
+
+[CMU: perhaps from the canonical hiker's food, Good Old
+Raisins and Peanuts] Another metasyntactic variable, like
+foo and bar.
+
+
+Node:GOSMACS, Next:Gosperism, Previous:gorp, Up:= G =
+
+
+GOSMACS /goz'maks/ n.
+
+[contraction of `Gosling EMACS'] The first EMACS-in-C implementation, predating but now
+largely eclipsed by GNUMACS.
+Originally freeware; a commercial version was modestly popular as
+`UniPress EMACS' during the 1980s. The author, James Gosling,
+went on to invent NeWS and the
+programming language Java; the latter earned him demigod status.
+
+
+Node:Gosperism, Next:gotcha, Previous:GOSMACS, Up:= G
+= 
+
+Gosperism /gos'p*r-izm/ n.
+
+A hack, invention, or saying due to elder days arch-hacker R. William (Bill)
+Gosper. This notion merits its own term because there are so many
+of them. Many of the entries in HAKMEM are Gosperisms; see also life.
+
+
+Node:gotcha, Next:GPL, Previous:Gosperism, Up:= G = 
+
+gotcha n.
+
+A misfeature of a system,
+especially a programming language or environment, that tends to
+breed bugs or mistakes because it both enticingly easy to invoke
+and completely unexpected and/or unreasonable in its outcome. For
+example, a classic gotcha in C is the
+fact that if (a=b) {code;} is syntactically valid
+and sometimes even correct. It puts the value of b
+into a and then executes code if
+a is non-zero. What the programmer probably meant
+was if (a==b) {code;}, which executes
+code if a and b are
+equal.
+
+
+Node:GPL, Next:GPV, Previous:gotcha, Up:= G
+= 
+
+GPL /G-P-L/ n.
+
+Abbreviation for `General Public License' in widespread use;
+see copyleft, General Public Virus. Often
+mis-expanded as `GNU Public License'.
+
+
+Node:GPV, Next:grault, Previous:GPL, Up:= G =
+
+
+GPV /G-P-V/ n.
+
+Abbrev. for General
+Public Virus in widespread use.
+
+
+Node:grault, Next:gray goo, Previous:GPV, Up:= G =
+
+
+grault /grawlt/ n.
+
+Yet another metasyntactic variable,
+invented by Mike Gallaher and propagated by the GOSMACS documentation. See corge.
+
+
+Node:gray goo, Next:Great Renaming, Previous:grault, Up:= G = 
+
+gray goo n.
+
+A hypothetical substance composed of sagans of sub-micron-sized self-replicating
+robots programmed to make copies of themselves out of whatever is
+available. The image that goes with the term is one of the entire
+biosphere of Earth being eventually converted to robot goo. This
+is the simplest of the nanotechnology disaster scenarios,
+easily refuted by arguments from energy requirements and
+elemental abundances. Compare blue
+goo.
+
+
+Node:Great Renaming, Next:Great Runes, Previous:gray goo, Up:= G = 
+
+Great Renaming n.
+
+The flag day in 1987 on which
+all of the non-local groups on the Usenet had their names changed from the net.-
+format to the current multiple-hierarchies scheme. Used esp. in
+discussing the history of newsgroup names. "The oldest sources
+group is _comp.sources.misc_; before the Great Renaming, it
+was _net.sources_." There is a Great Renaming
+FAQ on the Web.
+
+
+Node:Great Runes, Next:Great Worm, Previous:Great Renaming, Up:= G = 
+
+Great Runes n.
+
+Uppercase-only text or display messages. Some archaic
+operating systems still emit these. See also runes, smash
+case, fold case.
+
+There is a widespread legend (repeated by earlier versions of
+this entry, though tagged as folklore) that the uppercase-only
+support of various old character codes and I/O equipment was
+chosen by a religious person in a position of power at the
+Teletype Company because supporting both upper and lower cases
+was too expensive and supporting lower case only would have made
+it impossible to spell `God' correctly. Not true; the upper-case
+interpretation of teleprinter codes was well established by 1870,
+long before Teletype was even founded.
+
+
+Node:Great Worm, Next:great-wall, Previous:Great Runes, Up:= G = 
+
+Great Worm n.
+
+The 1988 Internet worm perpetrated
+by RTM. This is a play on Tolkien
+(compare elvish, elder days). In the fantasy history of
+his Middle Earth books, there were dragons powerful enough to lay
+waste to entire regions; two of these (Scatha and Glaurung) were
+known as "the Great Worms". This usage expresses the connotation
+that the RTM crack was a sort of devastating watershed event in
+hacker history; certainly it did more to make non-hackers nervous
+about the Internet than anything before or since.
+
+
+Node:great-wall, Next:Green Book, Previous:Great Worm, Up:= G = 
+
+great-wall vi.,n.
+
+[from SF fandom] A mass expedition to an oriental restaurant,
+esp. one where food is served family-style and shared. There is a
+common heuristic about the amount of food to order, expressed as
+"Get N - 1 entrees"; the value of N, which is the number of
+people in the group, can be inferred from context (see N). See oriental
+food, ravs, stir-fried random.
+
+
+Node:Green Book, Next:green bytes, Previous:great-wall, Up:= G = 
+
+Green Book n.
+
+1. One of the three standard PostScript references: "PostScript Language
+Program Design", bylined `Adobe Systems' (Addison-Wesley, 1988;
+QA76.73.P67P66 ISBN 0-201-14396-8); see also Red Book, Blue
+Book, and the White
+Book (sense 2). 2. Informal name for one of the three
+standard references on SmallTalk: "Smalltalk-80: Bits of History,
+Words of Advice", by Glenn Krasner (Addison-Wesley, 1983;
+QA76.8.S635S58; ISBN 0-201-11669-3) (this, too, is associated
+with blue and red books). 3. The "X/Open Compatibility Guide",
+which defines an international standard Unix environment that is a proper superset of
+POSIX/SVID; also includes descriptions of a standard utility
+toolkit, systems administrations features, and the like. This
+grimoire is taken with particular seriousness in Europe. See
+Purple Book. 4. The IEEE
+1003.1 POSIX Operating Systems Interface standard has been dubbed
+"The Ugly Green Book". 5. Any of the 1992 standards issued by the
+CCITT's tenth plenary assembly. These include, among other
+things, the X.400 email standard and the Group 1 through 4 fax
+standards. See also book
+titles.
+
+
+Node:green bytes, Next:green card, Previous:Green Book, Up:= G = 
+
+green bytes n.
+
+(also `green words') 1. Meta-information embedded in a file,
+such as the length of the file or its name; as opposed to keeping
+such information in a separate description file or record. The
+term comes from an IBM user's group meeting (ca. 1962) at which
+these two approaches were being debated and the diagram of the
+file on the blackboard had the `green bytes' drawn in green. 2.
+By extension, the non-data bits in any self-describing format. "A
+GIF file contains, among other things, green bytes describing the
+packing method for the image." Compare out-of-band, zigamorph, fence
+(sense 1).
+
+
+Node:green card, Next:green lightning, Previous:green bytes, Up:= G = 
+
+green card n.
+
+[after the "IBM System/360 Reference Data" card] A summary of
+an assembly language, even if the color is not green and not a
+card. Less frequently used now because of the decrease in the use
+of assembly language. "I'll go get my green card so I can check
+the addressing mode for that instruction."
+
+The original green card became a yellow card when the
+System/370 was introduced, and later a yellow booklet. An
+anecdote from IBM refers to a scene that took place in a
+programmers' terminal room at Yorktown in 1978. A luser overheard one of the programmers ask
+another "Do you have a green card?" The other grunted and passed
+the first a thick yellow booklet. At this point the luser turned
+a delicate shade of olive and rapidly left the room, never to
+return.
+
+In fall 2000 it was reported from Electronic Data Systems that
+the green card for 370 machines has been a blue-green booklet
+since 1989.
+
+
+Node:green lightning, Next:green machine, Previous:green card, Up:= G = 
+
+green lightning n.
+
+[IBM] 1. Apparently random flashing streaks on the face of
+3278-9 terminals while a new symbol set is being downloaded. This
+hardware bug was left deliberately unfixed, as some genius within
+IBM suggested it would let the user know that `something is
+happening'. That, it certainly does. Later microprocessor-driven
+IBM color graphics displays were actually programmed to
+produce green lightning! 2. [proposed] Any bug perverted into an
+alleged feature by adroit rationalization or marketing. "Motorola
+calls the CISC cruft in the 88000 architecture `compatibility
+logic', but I call it green lightning". See also feature (sense 6).
+
+
+Node:green machine, Next:Green's Theorem, Previous:green lightning,
+Up:= G = 
+
+green machine n.
+
+A computer or peripheral device that has been designed and
+built to military specifications for field equipment (that is, to
+withstand mechanical shock, extremes of temperature and humidity,
+and so forth). Comes from the olive-drab `uniform' paint used for
+military equipment.
+
+
+Node:Green's Theorem, Next:greenbar, Previous:green machine, Up:= G = 
+
+Green's Theorem prov.
+
+[TMRC] For any story, in any group of people there will be at
+least one person who has not heard the story. A refinement of the
+theorem states that there will be exactly one person (if
+there were more than one, it wouldn't be as bad to re-tell the
+story). [The name of this theorem is a play on a fundamental
+theorem in calculus. --ESR]
+
+
+Node:greenbar, Next:grep, Previous:Green's Theorem, Up:= G = 
+
+greenbar n.
+
+A style of fanfolded continuous-feed paper with alternating
+green and white bars on it, especially used in old-style line
+printers. This slang almost certainly dates way back to mainframe
+days.
+
+
+Node:grep, Next:gribble, Previous:greenbar, Up:=
+G = 
+
+grep /grep/ vi.
+
+[from the qed/ed editor idiom g/_re_/p, where _re_
+stands for a regular expression, to Globally search for the
+Regular Expression and Print the lines containing matches to it,
+via Unix grep(1)] To
+rapidly scan a file or set of files looking for a particular
+string or pattern (when browsing through a large set of files,
+one may speak of `grepping around'). By extension, to look for
+something by pattern. "Grep the bulletin board for the system
+backup schedule, would you?" See also vgrep.
+
+[It has also been alleged that the source is from the title of
+a paper "A General Regular Expression Parser" -ESR]
+
+
+Node:gribble, Next:grilf, Previous:grep, Up:= G =
+
+
+gribble n.
+
+Random binary data rendered as unreadable text. Noise
+characters in a data stream are displayed as gribble. Modems with
+mismatched bitrates usually generate gribble (more specifically,
+baud barf). Dumping a binary
+file to the screen is an excellent source of gribble, and (if the
+bell/speaker is active) headaches.
+
+
+Node:grilf, Next:grind, Previous:gribble, Up:= G
+= 
+
+grilf // n.
+
+Girlfriend. Like newsfroup and
+filk, a typo reincarnated as a new
+word. Seems to have originated sometime in 1992 on Usenet. [A friend tells me there was a Lloyd
+Biggle SF novel "Watchers Of The Dark", in which alien species
+after species goes insane and begins to chant "Grilf! Grilf!". A
+human detective eventually determines that the word means "Liar!"
+I hope this has nothing to do with the popularity of the Usenet
+term. --ESR]
+
+
+Node:grind, Next:grind crank, Previous:grilf, Up:= G
+= 
+
+grind vt.
+
+1. [MIT and Berkeley; now rare] To prettify hardcopy of code,
+especially LISP code, by reindenting lines, printing keywords and
+comments in distinct fonts (if available), etc. This usage was
+associated with the MacLISP community and is now rare;
+prettyprint was and is the generic term for such
+operations. 2. [Unix] To generate the formatted version of a
+document from the nroff, troff, TeX, or Scribe
+source. 3. [common] To run seemingly interminably, esp. (but not
+necessarily) if performing some tedious and inherently useless
+task. Similar to crunch or grovel. Grinding has a connotation of
+using a lot of CPU time, but it is possible to grind a disk,
+network, etc. See also hog. 4. To make
+the whole system slow. "Troff really grinds a PDP-11." 5. `grind
+grind' excl. Roughly, "Isn't the machine slow today!"
+
+
+Node:grind crank, Next:gripenet, Previous:grind, Up:= G
+= 
+
+grind crank n. //
+
+A mythical accessory to a terminal. A crank on the side of a
+monitor, which when operated makes a zizzing noise and causes the
+computer to run faster. Usually one does not refer to a grind
+crank out loud, but merely makes the appropriate gesture and
+noise. See grind.
+
+Historical note: At least one real machine actually had a
+grind crank -- the R1, a research machine built toward the end of
+the days of the great vacuum tube computers, in 1959. R1 (also
+known as `The Rice Institute Computer' (TRIC) and later as `The
+Rice University Computer' (TRUC)) had a single-step/free-run
+switch for use when debugging programs. Since single-stepping
+through a large program was rather tedious, there was also a
+crank with a cam and gear arrangement that repeatedly pushed the
+single-step button. This allowed one to `crank' through a lot of
+code, then slow down to single-step for a bit when you got near
+the code of interest, poke at some registers using the console
+typewriter, and then keep on cranking.
+
+
+Node:gripenet, Next:gritch, Previous:grind crank, Up:= G = 
+
+gripenet n.
+
+[IBM] A wry (and thoroughly unofficial) name for IBM's
+internal VNET system, deriving from its common use by IBMers to
+voice pointed criticism of IBM management that would be taboo in
+more formal channels.
+
+
+Node:gritch, Next:grok, Previous:gripenet, Up:=
+G = 
+
+gritch /grich/
+
+[MIT] 1. n. A complaint (often caused by a glitch). 2. vi. To complain. Often
+verb-doubled: "Gritch gritch". 3. A synonym for glitch (as verb or noun).
+
+Interestingly, this word seems to have a separate history from
+glitch, with which it is often
+confused. Back in the early 1960s, when `glitch' was strictly a
+hardware-tech's term of art, the Burton House dorm at M.I.T.
+maintained a "Gritch Book", a blank volume, into which the
+residents hand-wrote complaints, suggestions, and witticisms.
+Previous years' volumes of this tradition were maintained, dating
+back to antiquity. The word "gritch" was described as a
+portmanteau of "gripe" and "bitch". Thus, sense 3 above is at
+least historically incorrect.
+
+
+Node:grok, Next:gronk, Previous:gritch, Up:= G
+= 
+
+grok /grok/, var. /grohk/ vt.
+
+[from the novel "Stranger in a Strange Land", by Robert A.
+Heinlein, where it is a Martian word meaning literally `to drink'
+and metaphorically `to be one with'] The emphatic form is `grok
+in fullness'. 1. To understand, usually in a global sense.
+Connotes intimate and exhaustive knowledge. Contrast zen, which is similar supernal understanding
+experienced as a single brief flash. See also glark. 2. Used of programs, may connote merely
+sufficient understanding. "Almost all C compilers grok the
+void type these days."
+
+
+Node:gronk, Next:gronk out, Previous:grok, Up:= G =
+
+
+gronk /gronk/ vt.
+
+[popularized by Johnny Hart's comic strip "B.C." but the word
+apparently predates that] 1. To clear the state of a wedged
+device and restart it. More severe than `to frob' (sense 2). 2. [TMRC] To cut, sever, smash,
+or similarly disable. 3. The sound made by many 3.5-inch diskette
+drives. In particular, the microfloppies on a Commodore Amiga go
+"grink, gronk".
+
+
+Node:gronk out, Next:gronked, Previous:gronk, Up:= G
+= 
+
+gronk out vi.
+
+To cease functioning. Of people, to go home and go to sleep.
+"I guess I'll gronk out now; see you all tomorrow."
+
+
+Node:gronked, Next:grovel, Previous:gronk out, Up:= G = 
+
+gronked adj.
+
+1. Broken. "The teletype scanner was gronked, so we took the
+system down." 2. Of people, the condition of feeling very tired
+or (less commonly) sick. "I've been chasing that bug for 17 hours
+now and I am thoroughly gronked!" Compare broken, which means about the same as gronk used of hardware, but connotes
+depression or mental/emotional problems in people.
+
+
+Node:grovel, Next:grue, Previous:gronked, Up:= G
+= 
+
+grovel vi.
+
+1. To work interminably and without apparent progress. Often
+used transitively with `over' or `through'. "The file scavenger
+has been groveling through the /usr directories for 10 minutes
+now." Compare grind and crunch. Emphatic form: `grovel obscenely'. 2.
+To examine minutely or in complete detail. "The compiler grovels
+over the entire source program before beginning to translate it."
+"I grovelled through all the documentation, but I still couldn't
+find the command I wanted."
+
+
+Node:grue, Next:grunge, Previous:grovel, Up:= G
+= 
+
+grue n.
+
+[from archaic English verb for `shudder', as with fear] The
+grue was originated in the game Zork
+(Dave Lebling took the name from Jack Vance's "Dying Earth"
+fantasies) and used in several other Infocom games as a hint that you should
+perhaps look for a lamp, torch or some type of light source.
+Wandering into a dark area would cause the game to prompt you,
+"It is very dark. If you continue you are likely to be eaten by a
+grue." If you failed to locate a light source within the next
+couple of moves this would indeed be the case.
+
+The grue, according to scholars of the Great Underground
+Empire, is a sinister, lurking presence in the dark places of the
+earth. Its favorite diet is either adventurers or enchanters, but
+its insatiable appetite is tempered by its extreme fear of light.
+No grues have ever been seen by the light of day, and only a few
+have been observed in their underground lairs. Of those who have
+seen grues, few have survived their fearsome jaws to tell the
+tale. Grues have sharp claws and fangs, and an uncontrollable
+tendency to slaver and gurgle. They are certainly the most
+evil-tempered of all creatures; to say they are touchy is a
+dangerous understatement. "Sour as a grue" is a common
+expression, even among themselves.
+
+All this folklore is widely known among hackers.
+
+
+Node:grunge, Next:gubbish, Previous:grue, Up:= G =
+
+
+grunge /gruhnj/ n.
+
+1. That which is grungy, or that which makes it so. 2.
+[Cambridge] Code which is inaccessible due to changes in other
+parts of the program. The preferred term in North America is
+dead code.
+
+
+Node:gubbish, Next:Guido, Previous:grunge, Up:= G
+= 
+
+gubbish /guhb'*sh/ n.
+
+[a portmanteau of `garbage' and `rubbish'; may have originated
+with SF author Philip K. Dick] Garbage; crap; nonsense. "What is
+all this gubbish?" The opposite portmanteau `rubbage' is also
+reported; in fact, it was British slang during the 19th century
+and appears in Dickens.
+
+
+Node:Guido, Next:guiltware, Previous:gubbish, Up:= G
+= 
+
+Guido /gwee'do/ or /khwee'do/
+
+Without qualification, Guido van Rossum (author of Python). Note that Guido answers to English
+/gwee'do/ but in Dutch it's /khwee'do/.
+
+
+Node:guiltware, Next:gumby, Previous:Guido, Up:= G
+= 
+
+guiltware /gilt'weir/ n.
+
+1. A piece of freeware
+decorated with a message telling one how long and hard the author
+worked on it and intimating that one is a no-good freeloader if
+one does not immediately send the poor suffering martyr gobs of
+money. 2. A piece of shareware
+that works.
+
+
+Node:gumby, Next:gun, Previous:guiltware, Up:= G = 
+
+gumby /guhm'bee/ n.
+
+[from a class of Monty Python characters, poss. with some
+influence from the 1960s claymation character] 1. An act of minor
+but conspicuous stupidity, often in `gumby maneuver' or `pull a
+gumby'. 2. [NRL] n. A bureaucrat, or other technical incompetent
+who impedes the progress of real work. 3. adj. Relating to things
+typically associated with people in sense 2. (e.g. "Ran would be
+writing code, but Richard gave him gumby work that's due on
+Friday", or, "Dammit! Travel screwed up my plane tickets. I have
+to go out on gumby patrol.")
+
+
+Node:gun, Next:gunch, Previous:gumby, Up:= G
+= 
+
+gun vt.
+
+[ITS, now rare: from the :GUN command] To
+forcibly terminate a program or job (computer, not career). "Some
+idiot left a background process running soaking up half the
+cycles, so I gunned it." Usage: now rare. Compare can, blammo.
+
+
+Node:gunch, Next:gunpowder chicken, Previous:gun, Up:= G = 
+
+gunch /guhnch/ vt.
+
+[TMRC] To push, prod, or poke at a device that has almost (but
+not quite) produced the desired result. Implies a threat to mung.
+
+
+Node:gunpowder chicken, Next:gurfle, Previous:gunch, Up:= G
+= 
+
+gunpowder chicken n.
+
+Same as laser
+chicken.
+
+
+Node:gurfle, Next:guru, Previous:gunpowder chicken, Up:= G = 
+
+gurfle /ger'fl/ interj.
+
+An expression of shocked disbelief. "He said we have to recode
+this thing in FORTRAN by next week. Gurfle!" Compare weeble.
+
+
+Node:guru, Next:guru meditation, Previous:gurfle, Up:= G = 
+
+guru n.
+
+[Unix] An expert. Implies not only wizard skill but also a history of being a
+knowledge resource for others. Less often, used (with a
+qualifier) for other experts on other systems, as in `VMS guru'.
+See source of all
+good bits.
+
+
+Node:guru meditation, Next:gweep, Previous:guru, Up:= G
+= 
+
+guru meditation n.
+
+Amiga equivalent of `panic' in Unix (sometimes just called a
+`guru' or `guru event'). When the system crashes, a cryptic
+message of the form "GURU MEDITATION #XXXXXXXX.YYYYYYYY" may
+appear, indicating what the problem was. An Amiga guru can figure
+things out from the numbers. Sometimes a guru event must be followed by a Vulcan nerve pinch.
+
+This term is (no surprise) an in-joke from the earliest days
+of the Amiga. An earlier product of the Amiga corporation was a
+device called a `Joyboard' which was basically a plastic board
+built onto a joystick-like device; it was sold with a skiing game
+cartridge for the Atari game machine. It is said that whenever
+the prototype OS crashed, the system programmer responsible would
+calm down by concentrating on a solution while sitting
+cross-legged on a Joyboard trying to keep the board in balance.
+This position resembled that of a meditating guru. Sadly, the
+joke was removed fairly early on (but there's a well-known patch
+to restore it in more recent versions).
+
+
+Node:gweep, Next:h, Previous:guru meditation, Up:= G = 
+
+gweep /gweep/
+
+[WPI] 1. v. To hack, usually at
+night. At WPI, from 1975 onwards, one who gweeped could often be
+found at the College Computing Center punching cards or crashing
+the PDP-10 or, later, the DEC-20. A
+correspondent who was there at the time opines that the term was
+originally onomatopoetic, describing the keyclick sound of the
+Datapoint terminals long connected to the PDP-10. The term has
+survived the demise of those technologies, however, and was still
+alive in early 1999. "I'm going to go gweep for a while. See you
+in the morning." "I gweep from 8 PM till 3 AM during the week."
+2. n. One who habitually gweeps in sense 1; a hacker. "He's a hard-core gweep, mumbles code
+in his sleep."
+
+
+Node:= H =, Next:= I =, Previous:= G =, Up:The Jargon Lexicon 
+
+= H =
+
+
+h:
+
+
+ha ha only
+serious:
+
+
+hack:
+
+
+hack attack:
+
+
+hack mode:
+
+
+hack on:
+
+
+hack together:
+
+
+hack up:
+
+
+hack value:
+
+
+hacked off:
+
+
+hacked up:
+
+
+hacker:
+
+
+hacker ethic:
+
+
+hacker humor:
+
+
+Hackers (the
+movie):
+
+
+hacking run:
+
+
+Hacking X for Y:
+
+
+Hackintosh:
+
+
+hackish:
+
+
+hackishness:
+
+
+hackitude:
+
+
+hair:
+
+
+hairball:
+
+
+hairy:
+
+
+HAKMEM:
+
+
+hakspek:
+
+
+Halloween
+Documents:
+
+
+hammer:
+
+
+hamster:
+
+
+HAND:
+
+
+hand cruft:
+
+
+hand-hacking:
+
+
+handle:
+
+
+handle:
+
+
+hand-roll:
+
+
+handshaking:
+
+
+handwave:
+
+
+hang:
+
+
+Hanlon's Razor:
+
+
+happily:
+
+
+haque:
+
+
+hard boot:
+
+
+hardcoded:
+
+
+hardwarily:
+
+
+hardwired:
+
+
+has the X nature:
+
+
+hash bucket:
+
+
+hash collision:
+
+
+hat:
+
+
+HCF:
+
+
+heads down:
+
+
+heartbeat:
+
+
+heatseeker:
+
+
+heavy metal:
+
+
+heavy wizardry:
+
+
+heavyweight:
+
+
+heisenbug:
+
+
+Helen Keller mode:
+
+
+hello sailor!:
+
+
+hello wall!:
+
+
+hello world:
+
+
+hex:
+
+
+hexadecimal:
+
+
+hexit:
+
+
+HHOK:
+
+
+HHOS:
+
+
+hidden flag:
+
+
+high bit:
+
+
+high moby:
+
+
+highly:
+
+
+hing:
+
+
+hired gun:
+
+
+hirsute:
+
+
+HLL:
+
+
+hoarding:
+
+
+hobbit:
+
+
+hog:
+
+
+hole:
+
+
+hollised:
+
+
+holy wars:
+
+
+home box:
+
+
+home machine:
+
+
+home page:
+
+
+honey pot:
+
+
+hook:
+
+
+hop:
+
+
+hose:
+
+
+hosed:
+
+
+hot chat:
+
+
+hot spot:
+
+
+hotlink:
+
+
+house wizard:
+
+
+HP-SUX:
+
+
+HTH:
+
+
+huff:
+
+
+humma:
+
+
+hung:
+
+
+hungry puppy:
+
+
+hungus:
+
+
+hyperspace:
+
+
+hysterical reasons:
+
+
+Node:h, Next:ha ha only serious, Previous:gweep, Up:= H = 
+
+h
+
+[from SF fandom] A method of `marking' common words, i.e.,
+calling attention to the fact that they are being used in a
+nonstandard, ironic, or humorous way. Originated in the fannish
+catchphrase "Bheer is the One True Ghod!" from decades ago.
+H-infix marking of `Ghod' and other words spread into the 1960s
+counterculture via underground comix, and into early hackerdom
+either from the counterculture or from SF fandom (the three
+overlapped heavily at the time). More recently, the h infix has
+become an expected feature of benchmark names (Dhrystone,
+Rhealstone, etc.); this is probably patterning on the original
+Whetstone (the name of a laboratory) but influenced by the
+fannish/counterculture h infix.
+
+
+Node:ha ha only serious,
+Next:hack, Previous:h, Up:= H = 
+
+ha ha only serious
+
+[from SF fandom, orig. as mutation of HHOK, `Ha Ha Only
+Kidding'] A phrase (often seen abbreviated as HHOS) that aptly
+captures the flavor of much hacker discourse. Applied especially
+to parodies, absurdities, and ironic jokes that are both intended
+and perceived to contain a possibly disquieting amount of truth,
+or truths that are constructed on in-joke and self-parody. This
+lexicon contains many examples of ha-ha-only-serious in both form
+and content. Indeed, the entirety of hacker culture is often
+perceived as ha-ha-only-serious by hackers themselves; to take it
+either too lightly or too seriously marks a person as an
+outsider, a wannabee, or in larval stage. For further
+enlightenment on this subject, consult any Zen master. See also
+hacker humor, and AI koans.
+
+
+Node:hack, Next:hack attack, Previous:ha ha only serious, Up:= H = 
+
+hack
+
+[very common] 1. n. Originally, a quick job that produces what
+is needed, but not well. 2. n. An incredibly good, and perhaps
+very time-consuming, piece of work that produces exactly what is
+needed. 3. vt. To bear emotionally or physically. "I can't hack
+this heat!" 4. vt. To work on something (typically a program). In
+an immediate sense: "What are you doing?" "I'm hacking TECO." In
+a general (time-extended) sense: "What do you do around here?" "I
+hack TECO." More generally, "I hack `foo'" is roughly equivalent
+to "`foo' is my major interest (or project)". "I hack solid-state
+physics." See Hacking X for
+Y. 5. vt. To pull a prank on. See sense 2 and hacker (sense 5). 6. vi. To interact with a
+computer in a playful and exploratory rather than goal-directed
+way. "Whatcha up to?" "Oh, just hacking." 7. n. Short for hacker. 8. See nethack. 9. [MIT] v. To explore the basements,
+roof ledges, and steam tunnels of a large, institutional
+building, to the dismay of Physical Plant workers and (since this
+is usually performed at educational institutions) the Campus
+Police. This activity has been found to be eerily similar to
+playing adventure games such as Dungeons and Dragons and Zork. See also vadding.
+
+Constructions on this term abound. They include `happy
+hacking' (a farewell), `how's hacking?' (a friendly greeting
+among hackers) and `hack, hack' (a fairly content-free but
+friendly comment, often used as a temporary farewell). For more
+on this totipotent term see "The Meaning of Hack". See
+also neat hack, real hack.
+
+
+Node:hack attack, Next:hack mode, Previous:hack, Up:= H
+= 
+
+hack attack n.
+
+[poss. by analogy with `Big Mac Attack' from ads for the
+McDonald's fast-food chain; the variant `big hack attack' is
+reported] Nearly synonymous with hacking run, though the latter more
+strongly implies an all-nighter.
+
+
+Node:hack mode, Next:hack on, Previous:hack attack, Up:= H = 
+
+hack mode n.
+
+1. What one is in when hacking, of course. 2. More
+specifically, a Zen-like state of total focus on The Problem that
+may be achieved when one is hacking (this is why every good
+hacker is part mystic). Ability to enter such concentration at
+will correlates strongly with wizardliness; it is one of the most
+important skills learned during larval stage. Sometimes amplified as
+`deep hack mode'.
+
+Being yanked out of hack mode (see priority interrupt) may be
+experienced as a physical shock, and the sensation of being in
+hack mode is more than a little habituating. The intensity of
+this experience is probably by itself sufficient explanation for
+the existence of hackers, and explains why many resist being
+promoted out of positions where they can code. See also cyberspace (sense 2).
+
+Some aspects of hacker etiquette will appear quite odd to an
+observer unaware of the high value placed on hack mode. For
+example, if someone appears at your door, it is perfectly okay to
+hold up a hand (without turning one's eyes away from the screen)
+to avoid being interrupted. One may read, type, and interact with
+the computer for quite some time before further acknowledging the
+other's presence (of course, he or she is reciprocally free to
+leave without a word). The understanding is that you might be in
+hack mode with a lot of
+delicate state (sense 2) in your
+head, and you dare not swap that
+context out until you have reached a good point to pause. See
+also juggling eggs.
+
+
+Node:hack on, Next:hack together, Previous:hack mode, Up:= H = 
+
+hack on vt.
+
+[very common] To hack; implies that
+the subject is some pre-existing hunk of code that one is
+evolving, as opposed to something one might hack up.
+
+
+Node:hack together, Next:hack up, Previous:hack on, Up:= H = 
+
+hack together vt.
+
+[common] To throw something together so it will work. Unlike
+`kluge together' or cruft
+together, this does not necessarily have negative
+connotations.
+
+
+Node:hack up, Next:hack value, Previous:hack together, Up:= H = 
+
+hack up vt.
+
+To hack, but generally implies that
+the result is a hack in sense 1 (a quick hack). Contrast this
+with hack on. To `hack up on'
+implies a quick-and-dirty
+modification to an existing system. Contrast hacked up; compare kluge up, monkey
+up, cruft
+together.
+
+
+Node:hack value, Next:hacked off, Previous:hack up, Up:= H = 
+
+hack value n.
+
+Often adduced as the reason or motivation for expending effort
+toward a seemingly useless goal, the point being that the
+accomplished goal is a hack. For example, MacLISP had features
+for reading and printing Roman numerals, which were installed
+purely for hack value. See display
+hack for one method of computing hack value, but this
+cannot really be explained, only experienced. As Louis Armstrong
+once said when asked to explain jazz: "Man, if you gotta ask
+you'll never know." (Feminists please note Fats Waller's
+explanation of rhythm: "Lady, if you got to ask, you ain't got
+it.")
+
+
+Node:hacked off, Next:hacked up, Previous:hack value, Up:= H = 
+
+hacked off adj.
+
+[analogous to `pissed off'] Said of system administrators who
+have become annoyed, upset, or touchy owing to suspicions that
+their sites have been or are going to be victimized by crackers,
+or used for inappropriate, technically illegal, or even overtly
+criminal activities. For example, having unreadable files in your
+home directory called `worm', `lockpick', or `goroot' would
+probably be an effective (as well as impressively obvious and
+stupid) way to get your sysadmin hacked off at you.
+
+It has been pointed out that there is precedent for this usage
+in U.S. Navy slang, in which officers under discipline are
+sometimes said to be "in hack" and one may speak of "hacking off
+the C.O.".
+
+
+Node:hacked up, Next:hacker, Previous:hacked off, Up:= H = 
+
+hacked up adj.
+
+Sufficiently patched, kluged, and tweaked that the surgical
+scars are beginning to crowd out normal tissue (compare critical mass). Not all programs
+that are hacked become `hacked up'; if modifications are done
+with some eye to coherence and continued maintainability, the
+software may emerge better for the experience. Contrast hack up.
+
+
+Node:hacker, Next:hacker ethic, Previous:hacked up, Up:= H = 
+
+hacker n.
+
+[originally, someone who makes furniture with an axe] 1. A
+person who enjoys exploring the details of programmable systems
+and how to stretch their capabilities, as opposed to most users,
+who prefer to learn only the minimum necessary. 2. One who
+programs enthusiastically (even obsessively) or who enjoys
+programming rather than just theorizing about programming. 3. A
+person capable of appreciating hack
+value. 4. A person who is good at programming quickly. 5.
+An expert at a particular program, or one who frequently does
+work using it or on it; as in `a Unix hacker'. (Definitions 1
+through 5 are correlated, and people who fit them congregate.) 6.
+An expert or enthusiast of any kind. One might be an astronomy
+hacker, for example. 7. One who enjoys the intellectual challenge
+of creatively overcoming or circumventing limitations. 8.
+[deprecated] A malicious meddler who tries to discover sensitive
+information by poking around. Hence `password hacker', `network
+hacker'. The correct term for this sense is cracker.
+
+The term `hacker' also tends to connote membership in the
+global community defined by the net (see the network and Internet address). For discussion
+of some of the basics of this culture, see the How To Become
+A Hacker FAQ. It also implies that the person described is
+seen to subscribe to some version of the hacker ethic (see hacker ethic).
+
+It is better to be described as a hacker by others than to
+describe oneself that way. Hackers consider themselves something
+of an elite (a meritocracy based on ability), though one to which
+new members are gladly welcome. There is thus a certain ego
+satisfaction to be had in identifying yourself as a hacker (but
+if you claim to be one and are not, you'll quickly be labeled
+bogus). See also wannabee.
+
+This term seems to have been first adopted as a badge in the
+1960s by the hacker culture surrounding TMRC and the MIT AI Lab.
+We have a report that it was used in a sense close to this
+entry's by teenage radio hams and electronics tinkerers in the
+mid-1950s.
+
+
+Node:hacker ethic, Next:hacker humor, Previous:hacker, Up:= H = 
+
+hacker ethic n.
+
+1. The belief that information-sharing is a powerful positive
+good, and that it is an ethical duty of hackers to share their
+expertise by writing open-source and facilitating access to
+information and to computing resources wherever possible. 2. The
+belief that system-cracking for fun and exploration is ethically
+OK as long as the cracker commits no theft, vandalism, or breach
+of confidentiality.
+
+Both of these normative ethical principles are widely, but by
+no means universally, accepted among hackers. Most hackers
+subscribe to the hacker ethic in sense 1, and many act on it by
+writing and giving away open-source software. A few go further
+and assert that all information should be free and
+any proprietary control of it is bad; this is the
+philosophy behind the GNU project.
+
+Sense 2 is more controversial: some people consider the act of
+cracking itself to be unethical, like breaking and entering. But
+the belief that `ethical' cracking excludes destruction at least
+moderates the behavior of people who see themselves as `benign'
+crackers (see also samurai). On
+this view, it may be one of the highest forms of hackerly
+courtesy to (a) break into a system, and then (b) explain to the
+sysop, preferably by email from a superuser account, exactly how it was done
+and how the hole can be plugged -- acting as an unpaid (and
+unsolicited) tiger team.
+
+The most reliable manifestation of either version of the
+hacker ethic is that almost all hackers are actively willing to
+share technical tricks, software, and (where possible) computing
+resources with other hackers. Huge cooperative networks such as
+Usenet, FidoNet and Internet (see Internet address) can function
+without central control because of this trait; they both rely on
+and reinforce a sense of community that may be hackerdom's most
+valuable intangible asset.
+
+
+Node:hacker humor, Next:Hackers (the movie),
+Previous:hacker
+ethic, Up:= H = 
+
+hacker humor
+
+A distinctive style of shared intellectual humor found among
+hackers, having the following marked characteristics:
+
+1. Fascination with form-vs.-content jokes, paradoxes, and
+humor having to do with confusion of metalevels (see meta). One way to make a hacker laugh: hold a red
+index card in front of him/her with "GREEN" written on it, or
+vice-versa (note, however, that this is funny only the first
+time).
+
+2. Elaborate deadpan parodies of large intellectual
+constructs, such as specifications (see write-only memory), standards
+documents, language descriptions (see INTERCAL), and even entire scientific
+theories (see quantum
+bogodynamics, computron).
+
+3. Jokes that involve screwily precise reasoning from bizarre,
+ludicrous, or just grossly counter-intuitive premises.
+
+4. Fascination with puns and wordplay.
+
+5. A fondness for apparently mindless humor with subversive
+currents of intelligence in it -- for example, old Warner
+Brothers and Rocky & Bullwinkle cartoons, the Marx brothers,
+the early B-52s, and Monty Python's Flying Circus. Humor that
+combines this trait with elements of high camp and slapstick is
+especially favored.
+
+6. References to the symbol-object antinomies and associated
+ideas in Zen Buddhism and (less often) Taoism. See has the X nature, Discordianism, zen, ha ha
+only serious, koan, AI koans.
+
+See also filk, retrocomputing, and the Portrait of J.
+Random Hacker in Appendix B.
+If you have an itchy feeling that all six of these traits are
+really aspects of one thing that is incredibly difficult to talk
+about exactly, you are (a) correct and (b) responding like a
+hacker. These traits are also recognizable (though in a less
+marked form) throughout science-fiction fandom.
+
+
+Node:Hackers (the movie),
+Next:hacking run,
+Previous:hacker
+humor, Up:= H = 
+
+Hackers (the movie) n.
+
+A notable bomb from 1995. Should have been titled "Crackers",
+because cracking is what the movie was about. It's understandable
+that they didn't however; titles redolent of snack food are
+probably a tough sell in Hollywood.
+
+
+Node:hacking run, Next:Hacking X for Y, Previous:Hackers (the
+movie), Up:= H = 
+
+hacking run n.
+
+[analogy with `bombing run' or `speed run'] A hack session
+extended long outside normal working times, especially one longer
+than 12 hours. May cause you to `change phase the hard way' (see
+phase).
+
+
+Node:Hacking X for Y, Next:Hackintosh, Previous:hacking run, Up:= H = 
+
+Hacking X for Y n.
+
+[ITS] Ritual phrasing of part of the information which ITS
+made publicly available about each user. This information (the
+INQUIR record) was a sort of form in which the user could fill
+out various fields. On display, two of these fields were always
+combined into a project description of the form "Hacking X for Y"
+(e.g., "Hacking perceptrons for Minsky"). This form
+of description became traditional and has since been carried over
+to other systems with more general facilities for
+self-advertisement (such as Unix plan
+files).
+
+
+Node:Hackintosh, Next:hackish, Previous:Hacking X for Y, Up:= H = 
+
+Hackintosh n.
+
+1. An Apple Lisa that has been hacked into emulating a
+Macintosh (also called a `Mac XL'). 2. A Macintosh assembled from
+parts theoretically belonging to different models in the
+line.
+
+
+Node:hackish, Next:hackishness, Previous:Hackintosh, Up:= H = 
+
+hackish /hak'ish/ adj.
+
+(also hackishness n.) 1.
+Said of something that is or involves a hack. 2. Of or pertaining
+to hackers or the hacker subculture. See also true-hacker.
+
+
+Node:hackishness, Next:hackitude, Previous:hackish, Up:= H
+= 
+
+hackishness n.
+
+The quality of being or involving a hack. This term is
+considered mildly silly. Syn. hackitude.
+
+
+Node:hackitude, Next:hair, Previous:hackishness, Up:= H = 
+
+hackitude n.
+
+Syn. hackishness; this word
+is considered sillier.
+
+
+Node:hair, Next:hairball, Previous:hackitude, Up:= H = 
+
+hair n.
+
+[back-formation from hairy] The
+complications that make something hairy. "Decoding TECO commands requires a certain amount of hair."
+Often seen in the phrase `infinite hair', which connotes extreme
+complexity. Also in `hairiferous' (tending to promote hair
+growth): "GNUMACS elisp encourages lusers to write complex
+editing modes." "Yeah, it's pretty hairiferous all right." (or
+just: "Hair squared!")
+
+
+Node:hairball, Next:hairy, Previous:hair, Up:= H =
+
+
+hairball n.
+
+1. [Fidonet] A large batch of messages that a
+store-and-forward network is failing to forward when it should.
+Often used in the phrase "Fido coughed up a hairball today",
+meaning that the stuck messages have just come unstuck, producing
+a flood of mail where there had previously been drought. 2. An
+unmanageably huge mass of source code. "JWZ thought the Mozilla
+effort bogged down because the code was a huge hairball." 3. Any
+large amount of garbage coming out suddenly. "Sendmail is
+coughing up a hairball, so expect some slowness accessing the
+Internet."
+
+
+Node:hairy, Next:HAKMEM, Previous:hairball, Up:=
+H = 
+
+hairy adj.
+
+1. Annoyingly complicated. "DWIM is
+incredibly hairy." 2. Incomprehensible. "DWIM is incredibly hairy." 3. Of people,
+high-powered, authoritative, rare, expert, and/or
+incomprehensible. Hard to explain except in context: "He knows
+this hairy lawyer who says there's nothing to worry about." See
+also hirsute.
+
+A well-known result in topology called the Brouwer Fixed-Point
+Theorem states that any continuous transformation of a 2-sphere
+into itself has at least one fixed point. Mathematically literate
+hackers tend to associate the term `hairy' with the informal
+version of this theorem; "You can't comb a hairy ball
+smooth."
+
+The adjective `long-haired' is well-attested to have been in
+slang use among scientists and engineers during the early 1950s;
+it was equivalent to modern `hairy' senses 1 and 2, and was very
+likely ancestral to the hackish use. In fact the noun `long-hair'
+was at the time used to describe a person satisfying sense 3.
+Both senses probably passed out of use when long hair was adopted
+as a signature trait by the 1960s counterculture, leaving hackish
+`hairy' as a sort of stunted mutant relic.
+
+In British mainstream use, "hairy" means "dangerous", and
+consequently, in British programming terms, "hairy" may be used
+to denote complicated and/or incomprehensible code, but only if
+that complexity or incomprehesiveness is also considered
+dangerous.
+
+
+Node:HAKMEM, Next:hakspek, Previous:hairy, Up:= H
+= 
+
+HAKMEM /hak'mem/ n.
+
+MIT AI Memo 239 (February 1972). A legendary collection of
+neat mathematical and programming hacks contributed by many
+people at MIT and elsewhere. (The title of the memo really is
+"HAKMEM", which is a 6-letterism for `hacks memo'.) Some of them
+are very useful techniques, powerful theorems, or interesting
+unsolved problems, but most fall into the category of
+mathematical and computer trivia. Here is a sampling of the
+entries (with authors), slightly paraphrased:
+
+Item 41 (Gene Salamin): There are exactly 23,000 prime numbers
+less than 2^(18).
+
+Item 46 (Rich Schroeppel): The most probable suit
+distribution in bridge hands is 4-4-3-2, as compared to 4-3-3-3,
+which is the most evenly distributed. This is because
+the world likes to have unequal numbers: a thermodynamic effect
+saying things will not be in the state of lowest energy, but in
+the state of lowest disordered energy.
+
+Item 81 (Rich Schroeppel): Count the magic squares of order 5
+(that is, all the 5-by-5 arrangements of the numbers from 1 to 25
+such that all rows, columns, and diagonals add up to the same
+number). There are about 320 million, not counting those that
+differ only by rotation and reflection.
+
+Item 154 (Bill Gosper): The myth that any given programming
+language is machine independent is easily exploded by computing
+the sum of powers of 2. If the result loops with period = 1 with
+sign +, you are on a sign-magnitude machine. If the result loops
+with period = 1 at -1, you are on a twos-complement machine. If
+the result loops with period greater than 1, including the
+beginning, you are on a ones-complement machine. If the result
+loops with period greater than 1, not including the beginning,
+your machine isn't binary -- the pattern should tell you the
+base. If you run out of memory, you are on a string or bignum
+system. If arithmetic overflow is a fatal error, some fascist pig
+with a read-only mind is trying to enforce machine independence.
+But the very ability to trap overflow is machine dependent. By
+this strategy, consider the universe, or, more precisely,
+algebra: Let X = the sum of many powers of 2 =
+...111111 (base 2). Now add X to itself: X + X =
+...111110. Thus, 2X = X - 1, so X = -1. Therefore
+algebra is run on a machine (the universe) that is
+two's-complement.
+
+Item 174 (Bill Gosper and Stuart Nelson): 21963283741 is the
+only number such that if you represent it on the PDP-10 as both an integer and a floating-point
+number, the bit patterns of the two representations are
+identical.
+
+Item 176 (Gosper): The "banana phenomenon" was encountered
+when processing a character string by taking the last 3 letters
+typed out, searching for a random occurrence of that sequence in
+the text, taking the letter following that occurrence, typing it
+out, and iterating. This ensures that every 4-letter string
+output occurs in the original. The program typed
+BANANANANANANANA.... We note an ambiguity in the
+phrase, "the Nth occurrence of." In one sense, there are five
+00's in 0000000000; in another, there are nine. The editing
+program TECO finds five. Thus it finds only the first ANA in
+BANANA, and is thus obligated to type N next. By Murphy's Law,
+there is but one NAN, thus forcing A, and thus a loop. An option
+to find overlapped instances would be useful, although it would
+require backing up N - 1 characters before seeking the next
+N-character string.
+
+Note: This last item refers to a Dissociated Press implementation.
+See also banana
+problem.
+
+HAKMEM also contains some rather more complicated mathematical
+and technical items, but these examples show some of its fun
+flavor.
+
+An HTML transcription of the entire document is available at
+http://www.inwap.com/pdp10/hbaker/hakmem/hakmem.html.
+
+
+Node:hakspek, Next:Halloween Documents, Previous:HAKMEM, Up:= H = 
+
+hakspek /hak'speek/ n.
+
+A shorthand method of spelling found on many British academic
+bulletin boards and talker
+systems. Syllables and whole words in a sentence are
+replaced by single ASCII characters the names of which are
+phonetically similar or equivalent, while multiple letters are
+usually dropped. Hence, `for' becomes `4'; `two', `too', and `to'
+become `2'; `ck' becomes `k'. "Before I see you tomorrow" becomes
+"b4 i c u 2moro". First appeared in London about 1986, and was
+probably caused by the slowness of available talker systems,
+which operated on archaic machines with outdated operating
+systems and no standard methods of communication. Has become
+rarer since. See also talk
+mode.
+
+
+Node:Halloween Documents,
+Next:hammer, Previous:hakspek, Up:= H = 
+
+Halloween Documents n.
+
+A pair of Microsoft internal strategy memoranda leaked to ESR
+in late 1998 that confirmed everybody's paranoia about the
+current Evil Empire. These documents
+praised the technical excellence of Linux and outlined a counterstrategy of
+attempting to lock in customers by "de-commoditizing" Internet
+protocols and services. They were extensively cited on the
+Internet and in the press and proved so embarrassing that
+Microsoft PR barely said a word in public for six months
+afterwards.
+
+
+Node:hammer, Next:hamster, Previous:Halloween Documents, Up:= H = 
+
+hammer vt.
+
+Commonwealth hackish syn. for bang
+on.
+
+
+Node:hamster, Next:HAND, Previous:hammer, Up:= H
+= 
+
+hamster n.
+
+1. [Fairchild] A particularly slick little piece of code that
+does one thing well; a small, self-contained hack. The image is
+of a hamster happily spinning its
+exercise wheel. 2. A tailless mouse; that is, one with an
+infrared link to a receiver on the machine, as opposed to the
+conventional cable. 3. [UK] Any item of hardware made by Amstrad,
+a company famous for its cheap plastic PC-almost-compatibles.
+
+
+Node:HAND, Next:hand cruft, Previous:hamster, Up:= H
+= 
+
+HAND //
+
+[Usenet: very common] Abbreviation: Have A Nice Day. Typically
+used to close a Usenet posting, but
+also used to informally close emails; often preceded by HTH.
+
+
+Node:hand cruft, Next:hand-hacking, Previous:HAND, Up:= H
+= 
+
+hand cruft vt.
+
+[pun on `hand craft'] See cruft,
+sense 3.
+
+
+Node:hand-hacking, Next:hand-roll, Previous:hand cruft, Up:= H = 
+
+hand-hacking n.
+
+1. [rare] The practice of translating hot spots from an HLL into hand-tuned assembler, as opposed to
+trying to coerce the compiler into generating better code. Both
+the term and the practice are becoming uncommon. See tune, bum, by hand; syn. with v. cruft. 2. [common] More generally, manual
+construction or patching of data sets that would normally be
+generated by a translation utility and interpreted by another
+program, and aren't really designed to be read or modified by
+humans.
+
+
+Node:hand-roll, Next:handle, Previous:hand-hacking, Up:= H = 
+
+hand-roll v.
+
+[from obs. mainstream slang `hand-rolled' in opposition to
+`ready-made', referring to cigarettes] To perform a normally
+automated software installation or configuration process by hand; implies that the normal
+process failed due to bugs in the configurator or was defeated by
+something exceptional in the local environment. "The worst thing
+about being a gateway between four different nets is having to
+hand-roll a new sendmail configuration every time any of them
+upgrades."
+
+
+Node:handle, Next:handshaking, Previous:hand-roll, Up:= H = 
+
+handle n.
+
+1. [from CB slang] An electronic pseudonym; a `nom de guerre'
+intended to conceal the user's true identity. Network and BBS
+handles function as the same sort of simultaneous concealment and
+display one finds on Citizen's Band radio, from which the term
+was adopted. Use of grandiose handles is characteristic of warez d00dz, crackers, weenies, spods, and
+other lower forms of network life; true hackers travel on their
+own reputations rather than invented legendry. Compare nick, screen
+name. 2. A magic
+cookie, often in the form of a numeric index into some
+array somewhere, through which you can manipulate an object like
+a file or window. The form `file handle' is especially common. 3.
+[Mac] A pointer to a pointer to dynamically-allocated memory; the
+extra level of indirection allows on-the-fly memory compaction
+(to cut down on fragmentation) or aging out of unused resources,
+with minimal impact on the (possibly multiple) parts of the
+larger program containing references to the allocated memory.
+Compare snap (to snap a handle would
+defeat its purpose); see also aliasing bug, dangling pointer.
+
+
+Node:handshaking, Next:handwave, Previous:handle, Up:= H
+= 
+
+handshaking n.
+
+[very common] Hardware or software activity designed to start
+or keep two machines or programs in synchronization as they do protocol. Often applied to human
+activity; thus, a hacker might watch two people in conversation
+nodding their heads to indicate that they have heard each others'
+points and say "Oh, they're handshaking!". See also protocol.
+
+
+Node:handwave, Next:hang, Previous:handshaking, Up:= H = 
+
+handwave
+
+[poss. from gestures characteristic of stage magicians] 1. v.
+To gloss over a complex point; to distract a listener; to support
+a (possibly actually valid) point with blatantly faulty logic. 2.
+n. The act of handwaving. "Boy, what a handwave!"
+
+If someone starts a sentence with "Clearly..."
+or "Obviously..." or "It is self-evident
+that...", it is a good bet he is about to handwave
+(alternatively, use of these constructions in a sarcastic tone
+before a paraphrase of someone else's argument suggests that it
+is a handwave). The theory behind this term is that if you wave
+your hands at the right moment, the listener may be sufficiently
+distracted to not notice that what you have said is bogus. Failing that, if a listener does object,
+you might try to dismiss the objection with a wave of your
+hand.
+
+The use of this word is often accompanied by gestures: both
+hands up, palms forward, swinging the hands in a vertical plane
+pivoting at the elbows and/or shoulders (depending on the
+magnitude of the handwave); alternatively, holding the forearms
+in one position while rotating the hands at the wrist to make
+them flutter. In context, the gestures alone can suffice as a
+remark; if a speaker makes an outrageously unsupported
+assumption, you might simply wave your hands in this way, as an
+accusation, far more eloquent than words could express, that his
+logic is faulty.
+
+
+Node:hang, Next:Hanlon's Razor, Previous:handwave, Up:= H = 
+
+hang v.
+
+1. [very common] To wait for an event that will never occur.
+"The system is hanging because it can't read from the crashed
+drive". See wedged, hung. 2. To wait for some event to occur; to hang
+around until something happens. "The program displays a menu and
+then hangs until you type a character." Compare block. 3. To attach a peripheral device, esp. in
+the construction `hang off': "We're going to hang another tape
+drive off the file server." Implies a device attached with
+cables, rather than something that is strictly inside the
+machine's chassis.
+
+
+Node:Hanlon's Razor, Next:happily, Previous:hang, Up:= H
+= 
+
+Hanlon's Razor prov.
+
+A corollary of Finagle's
+Law, similar to Occam's Razor, that reads "Never
+attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by
+stupidity." The derivation of the Hanlon eponym is not definitely
+known, but a very similar remark ("You have attributed conditions
+to villainy that simply result from stupidity.") appears in
+"Logic of Empire", a classic 1941 SF story by Robert A. Heinlein,
+who calls it the `devil theory' of sociology. Heinlein's
+popularity in the hacker culture makes plausible the supposition
+that `Hanlon' is derived from `Heinlein' by phonetic corruption.
+A similar epigram has been attributed to William James, but
+Heinlein more probably got the idea from Alfred Korzybski and
+other practitioners of General Semantics. Quoted here because it
+seems to be a particular favorite of hackers, often showing up in
+sig blocks, fortune cookie files and the login
+banners of BBS systems and commercial networks. This probably
+reflects the hacker's daily experience of environments created by
+well-intentioned but short-sighted people. Compare Sturgeon's Law, Ninety-Ninety Rule.
+
+
+Node:happily, Next:haque, Previous:Hanlon's Razor, Up:= H = 
+
+happily adv.
+
+Of software, used to emphasize that a program is unaware of
+some important fact about its environment, either because it has
+been fooled into believing a lie, or because it doesn't care. The
+sense of `happy' here is not that of elation, but rather that of
+blissful ignorance. "The program continues to run, happily
+unaware that its output is going to /dev/null." Also used to
+suggest that a program or device would really rather be doing
+something destructive, and is being given an opportunity to do
+so. "If you enter an O here instead of a zero, the program will
+happily erase all your data." Neverheless, use of this term
+implies a basically benign attitude towards the program: It
+didn't mean any harm, it was just eager to do its job. We'd like
+to be angry at it but we shouldn't, we should try to understand
+it instead. The adjective "cheerfully" is often used in exactly
+the same way.
+
+
+Node:haque, Next:hard boot, Previous:happily, Up:= H
+= 
+
+haque /hak/ n.
+
+[Usenet] Variant spelling of hack,
+used only for the noun form and connoting an elegant hack. that is a hack in sense 2.
+
+
+Node:hard boot, Next:hardcoded, Previous:haque, Up:= H
+= 
+
+hard boot n.
+
+See boot.
+
+
+Node:hardcoded, Next:hardwarily, Previous:hard boot, Up:= H = 
+
+hardcoded adj.
+
+1. [common] Said of data inserted directly into a program,
+where it cannot be easily modified, as opposed to data in some
+profile, resource (see de-rezz sense 2), or environment variable that
+a user or hacker can easily modify. 2.
+In C, this is esp. applied to use of a literal instead of a
+#define macro (see magic number).
+
+
+Node:hardwarily, Next:hardwired, Previous:hardcoded, Up:= H = 
+
+hardwarily /hard-weir'*-lee/ adv.
+
+In a way pertaining to hardware. "The system is hardwarily
+unreliable." The adjective `hardwary' is not
+traditionally used, though it has recently been reported from the
+U.K. See softwarily.
+
+
+Node:hardwired, Next:has the X nature, Previous:hardwarily, Up:= H = 
+
+hardwired adj.
+
+1. In software, syn. for hardcoded. 2. By extension, anything that is
+not modifiable, especially in the sense of customizable to one's
+particular needs or tastes.
+
+
+Node:has the X nature,
+Next:hash bucket,
+Previous:hardwired, Up:= H = 
+
+has the X nature
+
+[seems to derive from Zen Buddhist koans of the form "Does an
+X have the Buddha-nature?"] adj. Common hacker construction for
+`is an X', used for humorous emphasis. "Anyone who can't even use
+a program with on-screen help embedded in it truly has the loser nature!" See also the
+X that can be Y is not the true X. See also mu.
+
+
+Node:hash bucket, Next:hash collision, Previous:has the X nature,
+Up:= H = 
+
+hash bucket n.
+
+A notional receptacle, a set of which might be used to
+apportion data items for sorting or lookup purposes. When you
+look up a name in the phone book (for example), you typically
+hash it by extracting its first letter; the hash buckets are the
+alphabetically ordered letter sections. This term is used as
+techspeak with respect to code that uses actual hash functions;
+in jargon, it is used for human associative memory as well. Thus,
+two things `in the same hash bucket' are more difficult to
+discriminate, and may be confused. "If you hash English words
+only by length, you get too many common grammar words in the
+first couple of hash buckets." Compare hash collision.
+
+
+Node:hash collision, Next:hat, Previous:hash bucket, Up:= H = 
+
+hash collision n.
+
+[from the techspeak] (var. `hash clash') When used of people,
+signifies a confusion in associative memory or imagination,
+especially a persistent one (see thinko). True story: One of us [ESR] was once
+on the phone with a friend about to move out to Berkeley. When
+asked what he expected Berkeley to be like, the friend replied:
+"Well, I have this mental picture of naked women throwing Molotov
+cocktails, but I think that's just a collision in my hash
+tables." Compare hash
+bucket.
+
+
+Node:hat, Next:HCF, Previous:hash collision, Up:= H = 
+
+hat n.
+
+Common (spoken) name for the circumflex (`^', ASCII 1011110)
+character. See ASCII for other
+synonyms.
+
+
+Node:HCF, Next:heads down, Previous:hat, Up:= H =
+
+
+HCF /H-C-F/ n.
+
+Mnemonic for `Halt and Catch Fire', any of several
+undocumented and semi-mythical machine instructions with
+destructive side-effects, supposedly included for test purposes
+on several well-known architectures going as far back as the IBM
+360. The MC6800 microprocessor was the first for which an HCF
+opcode became widely known. This instruction caused the processor
+to toggle a subset of the bus lines
+as rapidly as it could; in some configurations this could
+actually cause lines to burn up. Compare killer poke.
+
+
+Node:heads down, Next:heartbeat, Previous:HCF, Up:= H =
+
+
+heads down [Sun] adj.
+
+Concentrating, usually so heavily and for so long that
+everything outside the focus area is missed. See also hack mode and larval stage, although this mode is
+hardly confined to fledgling hackers.
+
+
+Node:heartbeat, Next:heatseeker, Previous:heads down, Up:= H = 
+
+heartbeat n.
+
+1. The signal emitted by a Level 2 Ethernet transceiver at the
+end of every packet to show that the collision-detection circuit
+is still connected. 2. A periodic synchronization signal used by
+software or hardware, such as a bus clock or a periodic
+interrupt. 3. The `natural' oscillation frequency of a computer's
+clock crystal, before frequency division down to the machine's
+clock rate. 4. A signal emitted at regular intervals by software
+to demonstrate that it is still alive. Sometimes hardware is
+designed to reboot the machine if it stops hearing a heartbeat.
+See also breath-of-life
+packet.
+
+
+Node:heatseeker, Next:heavy metal, Previous:heartbeat, Up:= H = 
+
+heatseeker n.
+
+[IBM] A customer who can be relied upon to buy, without fail,
+the latest version of an existing product (not quite the same as
+a member of the lunatic
+fringe). A 1993 example of a heatseeker was someone who,
+owning a 286 PC and Windows 3.0, went out and bought Windows 3.1
+(which offers no worthwhile benefits unless you have a 386). If
+all customers were heatseekers, vast amounts of money could be
+made by just fixing some of the bugs in each release (n) and
+selling it to them as release (n+1). Microsoft in fact seems to
+have mastered this technique.
+
+
+Node:heavy metal, Next:heavy wizardry, Previous:heatseeker, Up:= H = 
+
+heavy metal n.
+
+[Cambridge] Syn. big
+iron.
+
+
+Node:heavy wizardry, Next:heavyweight, Previous:heavy metal, Up:= H = 
+
+heavy wizardry n.
+
+Code or designs that trade on a particularly intimate
+knowledge or experience of a particular operating system or
+language or complex application interface. Distinguished from
+deep magic, which trades more
+on arcane theoretical knowledge. Writing device drivers
+is heavy wizardry; so is interfacing to X
+(sense 2) without a toolkit. Esp. found in source-code comments
+of the form "Heavy wizardry begins here". Compare voodoo programming.
+
+
+Node:heavyweight, Next:heisenbug, Previous:heavy wizardry, Up:= H = 
+
+heavyweight adj.
+
+[common] High-overhead; baroque;
+code-intensive; featureful, but costly. Esp. used of
+communication protocols, language designs, and any sort of
+implementation in which maximum generality and/or ease of
+implementation has been pushed at the expense of mundane
+considerations such as speed, memory utilization, and startup
+time. EMACS is a heavyweight editor;
+X is an extremely heavyweight
+window system. This term isn't pejorative, but one hacker's
+heavyweight is another's elephantine and a third's monstrosity. Oppose `lightweight'. Usage:
+now borders on techspeak, especially in the compound `heavyweight
+process'.
+
+
+Node:heisenbug, Next:Helen Keller mode, Previous:heavyweight, Up:= H = 
+
+heisenbug /hi:'zen-buhg/ n.
+
+[from Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle in quantum physics] A
+bug that disappears or alters its behavior when one attempts to
+probe or isolate it. (This usage is not even particularly
+fanciful; the use of a debugger sometimes alters a program's
+operating environment significantly enough that buggy code, such
+as that which relies on the values of uninitialized memory,
+behaves quite differently.) Antonym of Bohr bug; see also mandelbug, schroedinbug. In C, nine out of ten
+heisenbugs result from uninitialized auto variables, fandango on core phenomena (esp.
+lossage related to corruption of the malloc arena) or errors that smash the stack.
+
+
+Node:Helen Keller mode,
+Next:hello sailor!,
+Previous:heisenbug, Up:= H = 
+
+Helen Keller mode n.
+
+1. State of a hardware or software system that is deaf, dumb,
+and blind, i.e., accepting no input and generating no output,
+usually due to an infinite loop or some other excursion into
+deep space. (Unfair to the
+real Helen Keller, whose success at learning speech was
+triumphant.) See also go
+flatline, catatonic. 2.
+On IBM PCs under DOS, refers to a specific failure mode in which
+a screen saver has kicked in over an ill-behaved application which bypasses the
+very interrupts the screen saver watches for activity. Your
+choices are to try to get from the program's current state
+through a successful save-and-exit without being able to see what
+you're doing, or to re-boot the machine. This isn't (strictly
+speaking) a crash.
+
+
+Node:hello sailor!, Next:hello wall!, Previous:Helen Keller mode,
+Up:= H = 
+
+hello sailor! interj.
+
+Occasional West Coast equivalent of hello world; seems to have originated at
+SAIL, later associated with the game Zork (which also included "hello, aviator" and
+"hello, implementor"). Originally from the traditional hooker's
+greeting to a swabbie fresh off the boat, of course. The standard
+response is "Nothing happens here."; of all the Zork/Dungeon
+games, only in Infocom's Zork 3 is "Hello, Sailor" actually
+useful (excluding the unique situation where _knowing_ this fact
+is important in Dungeon...).
+
+
+Node:hello wall!, Next:hello world, Previous:hello sailor!, Up:= H = 
+
+hello, wall! excl.
+
+See wall.
+
+
+Node:hello world, Next:hex, Previous:hello wall!, Up:= H = 
+
+hello world interj.
+
+1. The canonical minimal test message in the C/Unix universe.
+2. Any of the minimal programs that emit this message.
+Traditionally, the first program a C coder is supposed to write
+in a new environment is one that just prints "hello, world" to
+standard output (and indeed it is the first example program in
+K&R). Environments that
+generate an unreasonably large executable for this trivial test
+or which require a hairy
+compiler-linker invocation to generate it are considered to lose (see X). 3.
+Greeting uttered by a hacker making an entrance or requesting
+information from anyone present. "Hello, world! Is the LAN back
+up yet?"
+
+
+Node:hex, Next:hexadecimal, Previous:hello world, Up:= H = 
+
+hex n.
+
+1. Short for hexadecimal,
+base 16. 2. A 6-pack of anything (compare quad, sense 2). Neither usage has anything to do
+with magic or black art, though the pun is appreciated
+and occasionally used by hackers. True story: As a joke, some
+hackers once offered some surplus ICs for sale to be worn as
+protective amulets against hostile magic. The chips were, of
+course, hex inverters.
+
+
+Node:hexadecimal, Next:hexit, Previous:hex, Up:= H =
+
+
+hexadecimal n.
+
+Base 16. Coined in the early 1960s to replace earlier
+`sexadecimal', which was too racy and amusing for stuffy IBM, and
+later adopted by the rest of the industry.
+
+Actually, neither term is etymologically pure. If we take
+`binary' to be paradigmatic, the most etymologically correct term
+for base 10, for example, is `denary', which comes from `deni'
+(ten at a time, ten each), a Latin `distributive' number; the
+corresponding term for base-16 would be something like
+`sendenary'. `Decimal' is from an ordinal number; the
+corresponding prefix for 6 would imply something like
+`sextidecimal'. The `sexa-' prefix is Latin but incorrect in this
+context, and `hexa-' is Greek. The word `octal' is similarly
+incorrect; a correct form would be `octaval' (to go with
+decimal), or `octonary' (to go with binary). If anyone ever
+implements a base-3 computer, computer scientists will be faced
+with the unprecedented dilemma of a choice between two
+correct forms; both `ternary' and `trinary' have a claim
+to this throne.
+
+
+Node:hexit, Next:HHOK, Previous:hexadecimal, Up:= H = 
+
+hexit /hek'sit/ n.
+
+A hexadecimal digit (0-9, and A-F or a-f). Used by people who
+claim that there are only ten digits, dammit;
+sixteen-fingered human beings are rather rare, despite what some
+keyboard designs might seem to imply (see space-cadet keyboard).
+
+
+Node:HHOK, Next:HHOS, Previous:hexit, Up:= H
+= 
+
+HHOK
+
+See ha ha only
+serious.
+
+
+Node:HHOS, Next:hidden flag, Previous:HHOK, Up:= H
+= 
+
+HHOS
+
+See ha ha only
+serious.
+
+
+Node:hidden flag, Next:high bit, Previous:HHOS, Up:= H =
+
+
+hidden flag n.
+
+[scientific computation] An extra option added to a routine
+without changing the calling sequence. For example, instead of
+adding an explicit input variable to instruct a routine to give
+extra diagnostic output, the programmer might just add a test for
+some otherwise meaningless feature of the existing inputs, such
+as a negative mass. The use of hidden flags can make a program
+very hard to debug and understand, but is all too common wherever
+programs are hacked on in a hurry.
+
+
+Node:high bit, Next:high moby, Previous:hidden flag, Up:= H = 
+
+high bit n.
+
+[from `high-order bit'] 1. The most significant bit in a byte.
+2. [common] By extension, the most significant part of something
+other than a data byte: "Spare me the whole saga, just give me the high bit." See also meta bit, hobbit, dread high-bit disease, and
+compare the mainstream slang `bottom line'.
+
+
+Node:high moby, Next:highly, Previous:high bit, Up:= H = 
+
+high moby /hi:' mohb'ee/ n.
+
+The high half of a 512K PDP-10's
+physical address space; the other half was of course the low
+moby. This usage has been generalized in a way that has outlasted
+the PDP-10; for example, at the 1990
+Washington D.C. Area Science Fiction Conclave (Disclave), when a
+miscommunication resulted in two separate wakes being held in
+commemoration of the shutdown of MIT's last ITS machines, the one on the upper floor was
+dubbed the `high moby' and the other the `low moby'. All parties
+involved grokked this instantly. See
+moby.
+
+
+Node:highly, Next:hing, Previous:high moby, Up:= H = 
+
+highly adv.
+
+[scientific computation] The preferred modifier for
+overstating an understatement. As in: `highly nonoptimal', the
+worst possible way to do something; `highly nontrivial', either
+impossible or requiring a major research project; `highly
+nonlinear', completely erratic and unpredictable; `highly
+nontechnical', drivel written for lusers, oversimplified to the point of being
+misleading or incorrect (compare drool-proof paper). In other
+computing cultures, postfixing of in the extreme might be
+preferred.
+
+
+Node:hing, Next:hired gun, Previous:highly, Up:= H
+= 
+
+hing // n.
+
+[IRC] Fortuitous typo for `hint', now in wide intentional use
+among players of initgame. Compare
+newsfroup, filk.
+
+
+Node:hired gun, Next:hirsute, Previous:hing, Up:= H =
+
+
+hired gun n.
+
+A contract programmer, as opposed to a full-time staff member.
+All the connotations of this term suggested by innumerable
+spaghetti Westerns are intentional.
+
+
+Node:hirsute, Next:HLL, Previous:hired gun, Up:= H = 
+
+hirsute adj.
+
+Occasionally used humorously as a synonym for hairy.
+
+
+Node:HLL, Next:hoarding, Previous:hirsute, Up:= H
+= 
+
+HLL /H-L-L/ n.
+
+[High-Level Language (as opposed to assembler)] Found
+primarily in email and news rather than speech. Rarely, the
+variants `VHLL' and `MLL' are found. VHLL stands for
+`Very-High-Level Language' and is used to describe a bondage-and-discipline
+language that the speaker happens to like; Prolog and
+Backus's FP are often called VHLLs. `MLL' stands for
+`Medium-Level Language' and is sometimes used half-jokingly to
+describe C, alluding to its
+`structured-assembler' image. See also languages of choice.
+
+
+Node:hoarding, Next:hobbit, Previous:HLL, Up:= H =
+
+
+hoarding n.
+
+See software
+hoarding.
+
+
+Node:hobbit, Next:hog, Previous:hoarding, Up:=
+H = 
+
+hobbit n.
+
+1. [rare] The High Order BIT of a byte; same as the meta bit or high bit. 2.
+The non-ITS name of vad@ai.mit.edu (*Hobbit*), master of lasers.
+
+
+Node:hog, Next:hole, Previous:hobbit, Up:= H
+= 
+
+hog n.,vt.
+
+1. Favored term to describe programs or hardware that seem to
+eat far more than their share of a system's resources, esp. those
+which noticeably degrade interactive response. Not used
+of programs that are simply extremely large or complex or that
+are merely painfully slow themselves. More often than not
+encountered in qualified forms, e.g., `memory hog', `core hog',
+`hog the processor', `hog the disk'. "A controller that never
+gives up the I/O bus gets killed after the bus-hog timer
+expires." 2. Also said of people who use more than their
+fair share of resources (particularly disk, where it seems that
+10% of the people use 90% of the disk, no matter how big the disk
+is or how many people use it). Of course, once disk hogs fill up
+one filesystem, they typically find some other new one to infect,
+claiming to the sysadmin that they have an important new project
+to complete.
+
+
+Node:hole, Next:hollised, Previous:hog, Up:= H =
+
+
+hole n.
+
+A region in an otherwise flat
+entity which is not actually present. For example, some Unix
+filesystems can store large files with holes so that unused
+regions of the file are never actually stored on disk. (In
+techspeak, these are referred to as `sparse' files.) As another
+example, the region of memory in IBM PCs reserved for
+memory-mapped I/O devices which may not actually be present is
+called `the I/O hole', since memory-management systems must skip
+over this area when filling user requests for memory.
+
+
+Node:hollised, Next:holy wars, Previous:hole, Up:= H =
+
+
+hollised /hol'ist/ adj.
+
+[Usenet: _sci.space_] To be hollised is to have been
+ordered by one's employer not to post any even remotely
+job-related material to Usenet (or, by extension, to other
+Internet media). The original and most notorious case of this
+involved one Ken Hollis, a Lockheed employee and space-program
+enthusiast who posted publicly available material on access to
+Space Shuttle launches to _sci.space_. He was gagged under
+threat of being fired in 1994 at the behest of NASA
+public-relations officers. The result was, of course, a huge
+publicity black eye for NASA. Nevertheless several other NASA
+contractor employees were subsequently hollised for similar
+activities. Use of this term carries the strong connotation that
+the persons doing the gagging are bureaucratic idiots blinded to
+their own best interests by territorial reflexes.
+
+
+Node:holy wars, Next:home box, Previous:hollised, Up:=
+H = 
+
+holy wars n.
+
+[from Usenet, but may predate it;
+common] n. flame wars over
+religious issues. The
+paper by Danny Cohen that popularized the terms big-endian and little-endian in connection with the
+LSB-first/MSB-first controversy was entitled "On Holy Wars and a
+Plea for Peace".
+
+Great holy wars of the past have included ITS vs. Unix, Unix vs. VMS,
+BSD Unix vs. USG Unix, C vs.
+Pascal, C
+vs. FORTRAN, etc. In the year 2000, popular favorites of the day
+are KDE vs, GNOME, vim vs. elvis, Linux vs. [Free|Net|Open]BSD.
+Hardy perennials include EMACS vs.
+vi, my personal computer vs. everyone
+else's personal computer, ad nauseam. The characteristic that
+distinguishes holy wars from normal technical disputes is that in
+a holy war most of the participants spend their time trying to
+pass off personal value choices and cultural attachments as
+objective technical evaluations. This happens precisely because
+in a true holy war, the actual substantive differences between
+the sides are relatively minor. See also theology.
+
+
+Node:home box, Next:home machine, Previous:holy wars, Up:= H = 
+
+home box n.
+
+A hacker's personal machine, especially one he or she owns.
+"Yeah? Well, my home box runs a full 4.4 BSD, so
+there!"
+
+
+Node:home machine, Next:home page, Previous:home box, Up:= H = 
+
+home machine n.
+
+1. Syn. home box. 2. The
+machine that receives your email. These senses might be distinct,
+for example, for a hacker who owns one computer at home, but
+reads email at work.
+
+
+Node:home page, Next:honey pot, Previous:home machine, Up:= H = 
+
+home page n.
+
+1. One's personal billboard on the World Wide Web. The term
+`home page' is perhaps a bit misleading because home directories
+and physical homes in RL are private,
+but home pages are designed to be very public. 2. By extension, a
+WWW repository for information and links related to a project or
+organization. Compare home
+box.
+
+
+Node:honey pot, Next:hook, Previous:home page, Up:= H = 
+
+honey pot n.
+
+A box designed to attract crackers so that they can be observed in
+action. It is usually well isolated from the rest of the network,
+but has extensive logging (usually network layer, on a different
+machine). Different from an iron
+box in that it's purpose is to attract, not merely
+observe. Sometimes, it is also a defensive network security
+tactic - you set up an easy-to-crack box so that your real
+servers don't get messed with. The concept was presented in
+Cheswick & Bellovin's book "Firewalls and Internet
+Security".
+
+
+Node:hook, Next:hop, Previous:honey pot, Up:= H = 
+
+hook n.
+
+A software or hardware feature included in order to simplify
+later additions or changes by a user. For example, a simple
+program that prints numbers might always print them in base 10,
+but a more flexible version would let a variable determine what
+base to use; setting the variable to 5 would make the program
+print numbers in base 5. The variable is a simple hook. An even
+more flexible program might examine the variable and treat a
+value of 16 or less as the base to use, but treat any other
+number as the address of a user-supplied routine for printing a
+number. This is a hairy but powerful
+hook; one can then write a routine to print numbers as Roman
+numerals, say, or as Hebrew characters, and plug it into the
+program through the hook. Often the difference between a good
+program and a superb one is that the latter has useful hooks in
+judiciously chosen places. Both may do the original job about
+equally well, but the one with the hooks is much more flexible
+for future expansion of capabilities (EMACS, for example, is all hooks). The
+term `user exit' is synonymous but much more formal and less
+hackish.
+
+
+Node:hop, Next:hose, Previous:hook, Up:= H =
+
+
+hop
+
+1. n. [common] One file transmission in a series required to
+get a file from point A to point B on a store-and-forward
+network. On such networks (including UUCPNET and FidoNet), an important inter-machine metric is
+the number of hops in the shortest path between them, which can
+be more significant than their geographical separation. See bang path. 2. v. [rare] To log in to
+a remote machine, esp. via rlogin or telnet. "I'll hop over to
+foovax to FTP that."
+
+
+Node:hose, Next:hosed, Previous:hop, Up:= H =
+
+
+hose
+
+1. vt. [common] To make non-functional or greatly degraded in
+performance. "That big ray-tracing program really hoses the
+system." See hosed. 2. n. A narrow
+channel through which data flows under pressure. Generally
+denotes data paths that represent performance bottlenecks. 3. n.
+Cabling, especially thick Ethernet cable. This is sometimes
+called `bit hose' or `hosery' (play on `hosiery') or `etherhose'.
+See also washing
+machine.
+
+
+Node:hosed, Next:hot chat, Previous:hose, Up:= H =
+
+
+hosed adj.
+
+Same as down. Used primarily by
+Unix hackers. Humorous: also implies a condition thought to be
+relatively easy to reverse. Probably derived from the Canadian
+slang `hoser' popularized by the Bob and Doug Mackenzie skits on
+SCTV, but this usage predated SCTV by years in hackerdom (it was
+certainly already live at CMU in the 1970s). See hose. It is also widely used of people in the
+mainstream sense of `in an extremely unfortunate situation'.
+
+Once upon a time, a Cray that had been experiencing periodic
+difficulties crashed, and it was announced to have been hosed. It
+was discovered that the crash was due to the disconnection of
+some coolant hoses. The problem was corrected, and users were
+then assured that everything was OK because the system had been
+rehosed. See also dehose.
+
+
+Node:hot chat, Next:hot spot, Previous:hosed, Up:= H
+= 
+
+hot chat n.
+
+Sexually explicit one-on-one chat. See teledildonics.
+
+
+Node:hot spot, Next:hotlink, Previous:hot chat, Up:= H = 
+
+hot spot n.
+
+1. [primarily used by C/Unix programmers, but spreading] It is
+received wisdom that in most programs, less than 10% of the code
+eats 90% of the execution time; if one were to graph instruction
+visits versus code addresses, one would typically see a few huge
+spikes amidst a lot of low-level noise. Such spikes are called
+`hot spots' and are good candidates for heavy optimization or
+hand-hacking. The term is
+especially used of tight loops and recursions in the code's
+central algorithm, as opposed to (say) initial set-up costs or
+large but infrequent I/O operations. See tune, bum, hand-hacking. 2. The active location of a
+cursor on a bit-map display. "Put the mouse's hot spot on the
+`ON' widget and click the left button." 3. A screen region that
+is sensitive to mouse gestures, which trigger some action. World
+Wide Web pages now provide the canonical examples; WWW browsers present
+hypertext links as hot spots which, when clicked on, point the
+browser at another document (these are specifically called hotlinks). 4. In a massively parallel
+computer with shared memory, the one location that all 10,000
+processors are trying to read or write at once (perhaps because
+they are all doing a busy-wait on
+the same lock). 5. More generally, any place in a hardware design
+that turns into a performance bottleneck due to resource
+contention.
+
+
+Node:hotlink, Next:house wizard, Previous:hot spot, Up:= H = 
+
+hotlink /hot'link/ n.
+
+A hot spot on a World Wide
+Web page; an area, which, when clicked or selected, chases a URL.
+Also spelled `hot link'. Use of this term focuses on the link's
+role as an immediate part of your display, as opposed to the
+timeless sense of logical connection suggested by web pointer. Your screen shows hotlinks
+but your document has web pointers, not (in normal usage) the
+other way around.
+
+
+Node:house wizard, Next:HP-SUX, Previous:hotlink, Up:= H = 
+
+house wizard n.
+
+[prob. from ad-agency tradetalk, `house freak'] A hacker
+occupying a technical-specialist, R&D, or systems position at
+a commercial shop. A really effective house wizard can have
+influence out of all proportion to his/her ostensible rank and
+still not have to wear a suit. Used esp. of Unix wizards. The
+term `house guru' is equivalent.
+
+
+Node:HP-SUX, Next:HTH, Previous:house wizard, Up:= H = 
+
+HP-SUX /H-P suhks/ n.
+
+Unflattering hackerism for HP-UX, Hewlett-Packard's Unix port,
+which features some truly unique bogosities in the filesystem
+internals and elsewhere (these occasionally create portability
+problems). HP-UX is often referred to as `hockey-pux' inside HP,
+and one respondent claims that the proper pronunciation is /H-P
+ukkkhhhh/ as though one were about to spit. Another such
+alternate spelling and pronunciation is "H-PUX" /H-puhks/.
+Hackers at HP/Apollo (the former Apollo Computers which was
+swallowed by HP in 1989) have been heard to complain that Mr.
+Packard should have pushed to have his name first, if for no
+other reason than the greater eloquence of the resulting acronym.
+Compare AIDX, buglix. See also Nominal Semidestructor, Telerat, ScumOS, sun-stools, Slowlaris.
+
+
+Node:HTH, Next:huff, Previous:HP-SUX, Up:= H
+= 
+
+HTH //
+
+[Usenet: very common] Abbreviation: Hope This Helps (e.g.
+following a response to a technical question). Often used just
+before HAND. See also YHBT.
+
+
+Node:huff, Next:humma, Previous:HTH, Up:= H =
+
+
+huff v.
+
+To compress data using a Huffman code. Various programs that
+use such methods have been called `HUFF' or some variant thereof.
+Oppose puff. Compare crunch, compress.
+
+
+Node:humma, Next:hung, Previous:huff, Up:= H =
+
+
+humma // excl.
+
+A filler word used on various `chat' and `talk' programs when
+you had nothing to say but felt that it was important to say
+something. The word apparently originated (at least with this
+definition) on the MECC Timeshare System (MTS, a now-defunct
+educational time-sharing system running in Minnesota during the
+1970s and the early 1980s) but was later sighted on early Unix
+systems. Compare the U.K's wibble.
+
+
+Node:hung, Next:hungry puppy, Previous:humma, Up:= H
+= 
+
+hung adj.
+
+[from `hung up'; common] Equivalent to wedged, but more common at Unix/C sites. Not
+generally used of people. Syn. with locked up, wedged; compare hosed. See also hang.
+A hung state is distinguished from crashed or down,
+where the program or system is also unusable but because it is
+not running rather than because it is waiting for something.
+However, the recovery from both situations is often the same. It
+is also distinguished from the similar but more drastic state
+wedged - hung software can be woken
+up with easy things like interrupt keys, but wedged will need a
+kill -9 or even reboot.
+
+
+Node:hungry puppy, Next:hungus, Previous:hung, Up:= H
+= 
+
+hungry puppy n.
+
+Syn. slopsucker.
+
+
+Node:hungus, Next:hyperspace, Previous:hungry puppy, Up:= H = 
+
+hungus /huhng'g*s/ adj.
+
+[perhaps related to slang `humongous'] Large, unwieldy,
+usually unmanageable. "TCP is a hungus piece of code." "This is a
+hungus set of modifications." The Infocom text adventure game "Beyond Zork"
+included two monsters called hunguses.
+
+
+Node:hyperspace, Next:hysterical reasons, Previous:hungus, Up:= H = 
+
+hyperspace /hi:'per-spays/ n.
+
+A memory location that is far away from where the
+program counter should be pointing, especially a place that is
+inaccessible because it is not even mapped in by the
+virtual-memory system. "Another core dump -- looks like the
+program jumped off to hyperspace somehow." (Compare jump off into
+never-never land.) This usage is from the SF notion of a
+spaceship jumping `into hyperspace', that is, taking a shortcut
+through higher-dimensional space -- in other words, bypassing
+this universe. The variant `east hyperspace' is recorded among
+CMU and Bliss hackers.
+
+
+Node:hysterical reasons,
+Next:I
+didn't change anything!, Previous:hyperspace, Up:= H = 
+
+hysterical reasons n.
+
+(also `hysterical raisins') A variant on the stock phrase "for
+historical reasons", indicating specifically that something must
+be done in some stupid way for backwards compatibility, and
+moreover that the feature it must be compatible with was the
+result of a bad design in the first place. "All IBM PC video
+adapters have to support MDA text mode for hysterical reasons."
+Compare bug-for-bug
+compatible.
+
+
+Node:= I =, Next:= J =, Previous:= H =, Up:The Jargon Lexicon 
+
+= I =
+
+
+I didn't change
+anything!:
+
+
+I see no X
+here.:
+
+
+IANAL:
+
+
+IBM:
+
+
+IBM discount:
+
+
+ICBM address:
+
+
+ice:
+
+
+ID10T error:
+
+
+idempotent:
+
+
+IDP:
+
+
+If
+you want X you know where to find it.:
+
+
+ifdef out:
+
+
+IIRC:
+
+
+ill-behaved:
+
+
+IMHO:
+
+
+Imminent Death
+Of The Net Predicted!:
+
+
+in the extreme:
+
+
+inc:
+
+
+incantation:
+
+
+include:
+
+
+include war:
+
+
+indent style:
+
+
+index of X:
+
+
+infant mortality:
+
+
+infinite:
+
+
+infinite loop:
+
+
+Infinite-Monkey
+Theorem:
+
+
+infinity:
+
+
+inflate:
+
+
+Infocom:
+
+
+initgame:
+
+
+insanely great:
+
+
+installfest:
+
+
+INTERCAL:
+
+
+interesting:
+
+
+Internet:
+
+
+Internet address:
+
+
+Internet Death
+Penalty:
+
+
+Internet Exploder:
+
+
+Internet Exploiter:
+
+
+interrupt:
+
+
+interrupt list:
+
+
+interrupts locked
+out:
+
+
+intro:
+
+
+IRC:
+
+
+iron:
+
+
+Iron Age:
+
+
+iron box:
+
+
+ironmonger:
+
+
+ISO standard cup
+of tea:
+
+
+ISP:
+
+
+ITS:
+
+
+IWBNI:
+
+
+IYFEG:
+
+
+Node:I didn't change
+anything!, Next:I see no X here., Previous:hysterical
+reasons, Up:= I = 
+
+I didn't change anything! interj.
+
+An aggrieved cry often heard as bugs manifest during a
+regression test. The canonical
+reply to this assertion is "Then it works just the same as it did
+before, doesn't it?" See also one-line fix. This is also heard from
+applications programmers trying to blame an obvious applications
+problem on an unrelated systems software change, for example a
+divide-by-0 fault after terminals were added to a network.
+Usually, their statement is found to be false. Upon close
+questioning, they will admit some major restructuring of the
+program that shouldn't have broken anything, in their opinion,
+but which actually hosed the code
+completely.
+
+
+Node:I see no X here.,
+Next:IANAL, Previous:I didn't
+change anything!, Up:= I
+= 
+
+I see no X here.
+
+Hackers (and the interactive computer games they write)
+traditionally favor this slightly marked usage over other
+possible equivalents such as "There's no X here!" or "X is
+missing." or "Where's the X?". This goes back to the original
+PDP-10 ADVENT, which would respond
+in this wise if you asked it to do something involving an object
+not present at your location in the game.
+
+
+Node:IANAL, Next:IBM, Previous:I see no X here., Up:= I = 
+
+IANAL //
+
+[Usenet] Abbreviation, "I Am Not A Lawyer". Usually precedes
+legal advice.
+
+
+Node:IBM, Next:IBM discount, Previous:IANAL, Up:= I
+= 
+
+IBM /I-B-M/
+
+Inferior But Marketable; It's Better Manually; Insidious Black
+Magic; It's Been Malfunctioning; Incontinent Bowel Movement; and
+a near-infinite number of even
+less complimentary expansions, including `International Business
+Machines'. See TLA. These abbreviations
+illustrate the considerable antipathy most hackers long felt
+toward the `industry leader' (see fear and loathing).
+
+What galled hackers about most IBM machines above the PC level
+wasn't so much that they were underpowered and overpriced (though
+that does count against them), but that the designs are
+incredibly archaic, crufty, and
+elephantine ...
+and you can't fix them -- source code is locked up
+tight, and programming tools are expensive, hard to find, and
+bletcherous to use once you've found them. For many years, before
+Microsoft, IBM was the company hackers loved to hate.
+
+But everything changes. In the 1980s IBM had its own troubles
+with Microsoft. In the late 1990s IBM re-invented itself as a
+services company, began to release open-source software through
+its AlphaWorks group, and began shipping Linux systems and building ties to the Linux
+community. To the astonishment of all parties, IBM emerged as a
+friend of the hacker community
+
+This lexicon includes a number of entries attributed to `IBM';
+these derive from some rampantly unofficial jargon lists
+circulated within IBM's own beleaguered hacker underground.
+
+
+Node:IBM discount, Next:ICBM address, Previous:IBM, Up:= I = 
+
+IBM discount n.
+
+A price increase. Outside IBM, this derives from the common
+perception that IBM products are generally overpriced (see clone); inside, it is said to spring from a
+belief that large numbers of IBM employees living in an area
+cause prices to rise.
+
+
+Node:ICBM address, Next:ice, Previous:IBM discount, Up:= I = 
+
+ICBM address n.
+
+(Also `missile address') The form used to register a site with
+the Usenet mapping project, back before the day of pervasive
+Internet, included a blank for longitude and latitude, preferably
+to seconds-of-arc accuracy. This was actually used for generating
+geographically-correct maps of Usenet links on a plotter;
+however, it became traditional to refer to this as one's `ICBM
+address' or `missile address', and some people include it in
+their sig block with that name.
+(A real missile address would include target elevation.)
+
+
+Node:ice, Next:ID10T error, Previous:ICBM address, Up:= I = 
+
+ice n.
+
+[coined by Usenetter Tom Maddox, popularized by William
+Gibson's cyberpunk SF novels: a contrived acronym for `Intrusion
+Countermeasure Electronics'] Security software (in Gibson's
+novels, software that responds to intrusion by attempting to
+immobilize or even literally kill the intruder). Hence,
+`icebreaker': a program designed for cracking security on a
+system.
+
+Neither term is in serious use yet as of early 1999, but many
+hackers find the metaphor attractive, and each may develop a
+denotation in the future. In the meantime, the speculative usage
+could be confused with `ICE', an acronym for "in-circuit
+emulator".
+
+In ironic reference to the speculative usage, however, some
+hackers and computer scientists formed ICE (International
+Cryptographic Experiment) in 1994. ICE is a consortium to promote
+uniform international access to strong cryptography.
+
+
+Node:ID10T error, Next:idempotent, Previous:ice, Up:= I
+= 
+
+ID10T error /I-D-ten-T er'*r/
+
+Synonym for PEBKAC, e.g. "The
+user is being an idiot". Tech-support people passing a problem
+report to someone higher up the food chain (and presumably better
+equipped to deal with idiots) may ask the user to convey that
+there seems to be an I-D-ten-T error. Users never twig.
+
+
+Node:idempotent, Next:IDP, Previous:ID10T error, Up:= I = 
+
+idempotent adj.
+
+[from mathematical techspeak] Acting as if used only once,
+even if used multiple times. This term is often used with respect
+to C header files, which contain common
+definitions and declarations to be included by several source
+files. If a header file is ever included twice during the same
+compilation (perhaps due to nested #include files), compilation
+errors can result unless the header file has protected itself
+against multiple inclusion; a header file so protected is said to
+be idempotent. The term can also be used to describe an
+initialization subroutine that is arranged to perform some
+critical action exactly once, even if the routine is called
+several times.
+
+
+Node:IDP, Next:If
+you want X you know where to find it., Previous:idempotent, Up:= I = 
+
+IDP /I-D-P/ v.,n.
+
+[Usenet] Abbreviation for Internet Death Penalty.
+Common (probably now more so than the full form), and frequently
+verbed. Compare UDP.
+
+
+Node:If
+you want X you know where to find it., Next:ifdef out, Previous:IDP, Up:= I
+= 
+
+If you want X, you know where to find it.
+
+There is a legend that Dennis Ritchie, inventor of C, once responded to demands for features resembling
+those of what at the time was a much more popular language by
+observing "If you want PL/I, you know where to find it." Ever
+since, this has been hackish standard form for fending off
+requests to alter a new design to mimic some older (and, by
+implication, inferior and baroque)
+one. The case X = Pascal manifests
+semi-regularly on Usenet's _comp.lang.c_ newsgroup. Indeed,
+the case X = X has been reported in discussions of graphics
+software (see X).
+
+
+Node:ifdef out, Next:IIRC, Previous:If
+you want X you know where to find it., Up:= I = 
+
+ifdef out /if'def owt/ v.
+
+Syn. for condition out,
+specific to C.
+
+
+Node:IIRC, Next:ill-behaved, Previous:ifdef out, Up:= I = 
+
+IIRC //
+
+Common abbreviation for "If I Recall Correctly".
+
+
+Node:ill-behaved, Next:IMHO, Previous:IIRC, Up:= I =
+
+
+ill-behaved adj.
+
+1. [numerical analysis] Said of an algorithm or computational
+method that tends to blow up because of accumulated roundoff
+error or poor convergence properties. 2. Software that bypasses
+the defined OS interfaces to do things
+(like screen, keyboard, and disk I/O) itself, often in a way that
+depends on the hardware of the machine it is running on or which
+is nonportable or incompatible with other pieces of software. In
+the IBM PC/MS-DOS world, there is a folk theorem (nearly true) to
+the effect that (owing to gross inadequacies and performance
+penalties in the OS interface) all interesting applications are
+ill-behaved. See also bare
+metal. Oppose well-behaved, compare PC-ism. See mess-dos.
+
+
+Node:IMHO, Next:Imminent Death
+Of The Net Predicted!, Previous:ill-behaved, Up:= I = 
+
+IMHO // abbrev.
+
+[from SF fandom via Usenet; abbreviation for `In My Humble
+Opinion'] "IMHO, mixed-case C names should be avoided, as
+mistyping something in the wrong case can cause hard-to-detect
+errors -- and they look too Pascalish anyhow." Also seen in
+variant forms such as IMNSHO (In My Not-So-Humble Opinion) and
+IMAO (In My Arrogant Opinion).
+
+
+Node:Imminent Death
+Of The Net Predicted!, Next:in the extreme, Previous:IMHO, Up:= I = 
+
+Imminent Death Of The Net Predicted! prov.
+
+[Usenet] Since Usenet first got
+off the ground in 1980-81, it has grown exponentially,
+approximately doubling in size every year. On the other hand,
+most people feel the signal-to-noise ratio of
+Usenet has dropped steadily. These trends led, as far back as
+mid-1983, to predictions of the imminent collapse (or death) of
+the net. Ten years and numerous doublings later, enough of these
+gloomy prognostications have been confounded that the phrase
+"Imminent Death Of The Net Predicted!" has become a running joke,
+hauled out any time someone grumbles about the S/N ratio or the huge and steadily
+increasing volume, or the possible loss of a key node or link, or
+the potential for lawsuits when ignoramuses post copyrighted
+material, etc., etc., etc.
+
+
+Node:in the extreme, Next:inc, Previous:Imminent Death
+Of The Net Predicted!, Up:=
+I = 
+
+in the extreme adj.
+
+A preferred superlative suffix for many hackish terms. See,
+for example, `obscure in the extreme' under obscure, and compare highly.
+
+
+Node:inc, Next:incantation, Previous:in the extreme, Up:= I = 
+
+inc /ink/ v.
+
+Verbal (and only rarely written) shorthand for
+_increment_, i.e. `increase by one'. Especially used by
+assembly programmers, as many assembly languages have an
+inc mnemonic. Antonym: dec (see DEC).
+
+
+Node:incantation, Next:include, Previous:inc, Up:= I =
+
+
+incantation n.
+
+Any particularly arbitrary or obscure command that one must
+mutter at a system to attain a desired result. Not used of
+passwords or other explicit security features. Especially used of
+tricks that are so poorly documented that they must be learned
+from a wizard. "This compiler
+normally locates initialized data in the data segment, but if you
+mutter the right incantation they
+will be forced into text space."
+
+
+Node:include, Next:include war, Previous:incantation, Up:= I = 
+
+include vt.
+
+[Usenet] 1. To duplicate a portion (or whole) of another's
+message (typically with attribution to the source) in a reply or
+followup, for clarifying the context of one's response. See the
+discussion of inclusion styles under "Hacker Writing Style". 2.
+[from C] #include
+<disclaimer.h> has appeared in sig blocks to refer to a notional
+`standard disclaimer file'.
+
+
+Node:include war, Next:indent style, Previous:include, Up:= I = 
+
+include war n.
+
+Excessive multi-leveled inclusion within a discussion thread, a practice that tends to annoy
+readers. In a forum with high-traffic newsgroups, such as Usenet,
+this can lead to flames and the urge
+to start a kill file.
+
+
+Node:indent style, Next:index of X, Previous:include war, Up:= I = 
+
+indent style n.
+
+[C, C++, and Java programmers] The rules one uses to indent
+code in a readable fashion. There are four major C indent styles,
+described below; all have the aim of making it easier for the
+reader to visually track the scope of control constructs. They
+have been inherited by C++ and Java, which have C-like syntaxes.
+The significant variable is the placement of { and
+} with respect to the statement(s) they enclose and
+to the guard or controlling statement (if,
+else, for, while, or
+do) on the block, if any.
+
+`K&R style' -- Named after Kernighan & Ritchie,
+because the examples in K&R are
+formatted this way. Also called `kernel style' because the Unix
+kernel is written in it, and the `One True Brace Style' (abbrev.
+1TBS) by its partisans. In C code, the body is typically indented
+by eight spaces (or one tab) per level, as shown here. Four
+spaces are occasionally seen in C, but in C++ and Java four tends
+to be the rule rather than the exception.
+
+if (<cond>) {
+        <body>
+}
+
+
+`Allman style' -- Named for Eric Allman, a Berkeley hacker who
+wrote a lot of the BSD utilities in it (it is sometimes called
+`BSD style'). Resembles normal indent style in Pascal and Algol.
+It is the only style other than K&R in widespread use among
+Java programmers. Basic indent per level shown here is eight
+spaces, but four (or sometimes three) spaces are generally
+preferred by C++ and Java programmers.
+
+if (<cond>)
+{
+        <body>
+}
+
+
+`Whitesmiths style' -- popularized by the examples that came
+with Whitesmiths C, an early commercial C compiler. Basic indent
+per level shown here is eight spaces, but four spaces are
+occasionally seen.
+
+if (<cond>)
+        {
+        <body>
+        }
+
+
+`GNU style' -- Used throughout GNU EMACS and the Free Software
+Foundation code, and just about nowhere else. Indents are always
+four spaces per level, with { and }
+halfway between the outer and inner indent levels.
+
+if (<cond>)
+  {
+    <body>
+  }
+
+
+Surveys have shown the Allman and Whitesmiths styles to be the
+most common, with about equal mind shares. K&R/1TBS used to
+be nearly universal, but is now much less common in C (the
+opening brace tends to get lost against the right paren of the
+guard part in an if or while, which is
+a Bad Thing). Defenders of 1TBS
+argue that any putative gain in readability is less important
+than their style's relative economy with vertical space, which
+enables one to see more code on one's screen at once.
+
+The Java Language Specification legislates not only the
+capitalization of identifiers, but where nouns, adjectives, and
+verbs should be in method, class, interface, and variable names
+(section 6.8). While the specification stops short of also
+standardizing on a bracing style, all source code originating
+from Sun Laboratories uses the K&R style. This has set a
+precedent for Java programmers, which most follow.
+
+Doubtless these issues will continue to be the subject of
+holy wars.
+
+
+Node:index of X, Next:infant mortality, Previous:indent style, Up:= I = 
+
+index of X n.
+
+See coefficient of
+X.
+
+
+Node:infant mortality, Next:infinite, Previous:index of X, Up:= I = 
+
+infant mortality n.
+
+It is common lore among hackers (and in the electronics
+industry at large; this term is possibly techspeak by now) that
+the chances of sudden hardware failure drop off exponentially
+with a machine's time since first use (that is, until the
+relatively distant time at which enough mechanical wear in I/O
+devices and thermal-cycling stress in components has accumulated
+for the machine to start going senile). Up to half of all chip
+and wire failures happen within a new system's first few weeks;
+such failures are often referred to as `infant mortality'
+problems (or, occasionally, as `sudden infant death syndrome').
+See bathtub curve, burn-in period.
+
+
+Node:infinite, Next:infinite loop, Previous:infant mortality, Up:= I = 
+
+infinite adj.
+
+[common] Consisting of a large number of objects; extreme.
+Used very loosely as in: "This program produces infinite
+garbage." "He is an infinite loser." The word most likely to
+follow `infinite', though, is hair.
+(It has been pointed out that fractals are an excellent example
+of infinite hair.) These uses are abuses of the word's
+mathematical meaning. The term `semi-infinite', denoting an
+immoderately large amount of some resource, is also heard. "This
+compiler is taking a semi-infinite amount of time to optimize my
+program." See also semi.
+
+
+Node:infinite loop, Next:Infinite-Monkey
+Theorem, Previous:infinite, Up:=
+I = 
+
+infinite loop n.
+
+One that never terminates (that is, the machine spins or buzzes
+forever and goes catatonic).
+There is a standard joke that has been made about each
+generation's exemplar of the ultra-fast machine: "The Cray-3 is
+so fast it can execute an infinite loop in under 2 seconds!"
+
+
+Node:Infinite-Monkey
+Theorem, Next:infinity,
+Previous:infinite
+loop, Up:= I = 
+
+Infinite-Monkey Theorem n.
+
+"If you put an infinite number
+of monkeys at typewriters, eventually one will bash out the
+script for Hamlet." (One may also hypothesize a small number of
+monkeys and a very long period of time.) This theorem asserts
+nothing about the intelligence of the one random monkey that eventually comes up with the
+script (and note that the mob will also type out all the possible
+incorrect versions of Hamlet). It may be referred to
+semi-seriously when justifying a brute force method; the implication is
+that, with enough resources thrown at it, any technical challenge
+becomes a one-banana
+problem. This argument gets more respect since Linux justified the bazaar mode of development.
+
+
+This theorem was first popularized by the astronomer Sir Arthur Eddington. It
+became part of the idiom of techies via the classic SF short story "Inflexible
+Logic" by Russell Maloney, and many younger hackers know it through a reference
+in Douglas Adams's "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy". On 1 April 2000 the
+usage acquired its own Internet standard, (Infinite Monkey Protocol Suite).
+
+
+Node:infinity, Next:inflate, Previous:Infinite-Monkey Theorem, Up:= I = 
+
+infinity n.
+
+1. The largest value that can be represented in a particular
+type of variable (register, memory location, data type,
+whatever). 2. `minus infinity': The smallest such value, not
+necessarily or even usually the simple negation of plus infinity.
+In N-bit twos-complement arithmetic, infinity is 2^(N-1) - 1 but
+minus infinity is - (2^(N-1)), not -(2^(N-1) - 1). Note also that
+this is different from time T equals minus infinity,
+which is closer to a mathematician's usage of infinity.
+
+
+Node:inflate, Next:Infocom, Previous:infinity, Up:=
+I = 
+
+inflate vt.
+
+To decompress or puff a file. Rare
+among Internet hackers, used primarily by MS-DOS/Windows
+types.
+
+
+Node:Infocom, Next:initgame, Previous:inflate, Up:= I
+= 
+
+Infocom n.
+
+A now-legendary games company, active from 1979 to 1989, that
+commercialized the MDL parser technology used for Zork to produce a line of text adventure games
+that remain favorites among hackers. Infocom's games were
+intelligent, funny, witty, erudite, irreverent, challenging,
+satirical, and most thoroughly hackish in spirit. The physical
+game packages from Infocom are now prized collector's items.
+After being acquired by Activision in 1989 they did a few more
+"modern" (e.g. graphics-intensive) games which were less
+successful than reissues of their classics.
+
+The software, thankfully, is still extant; Infocom games were
+written in a kind of P-code and distributed with a P-code
+interpreter core, and not only freeware emulators for that
+interpreter but an actual compiler as well have been written to
+permit the P-code to be run on platforms the games never
+originally graced. In fact, new games written in this P-code are
+still bering written. (Emulators that can run Infocom game ZIPs,
+and new games, are available at ftp://wuarchive.wustl.edu:/doc/misc/if-archive/infocom.)
+
+
+Node:initgame, Next:insanely great, Previous:Infocom, Up:= I = 
+
+initgame /in-it'gaym/ n.
+
+[IRC] An IRC version of the trivia
+game "Botticelli", in which one user changes his nick to the initials of a famous person or other
+named entity, and the others on the channel ask yes or no
+questions, with the one to guess the person getting to be "it"
+next. As a courtesy, the one picking the initials starts by
+providing a 4-letter hint of the form sex, nationality,
+life-status, reality-status. For example, MAAR means "Male,
+American, Alive, Real" (as opposed to "fictional"). Initgame can
+be surprisingly addictive. See also hing.
+
+[1996 update: a recognizable version of the initgame has
+become a staple of some radio talk shows in the U.S. We had it
+first! - ESR]
+
+
+Node:insanely great, Next:installfest, Previous:initgame, Up:= I = 
+
+insanely great adj.
+
+[Mac community, from Steve Jobs; also BSD Unix people via Bill
+Joy] Something so incredibly elegant that it is imaginable only to someone
+possessing the most puissant of hacker-natures.
+
+
+Node:installfest, Next:INTERCAL, Previous:insanely great, Up:= I = 
+
+installfest
+
+[Linux community since c.1998] Common portmanteau word for
+"installation festival"; Linux user groups frequently run these.
+Computer users are invited to bring their machines to have Linux
+installed on their machines. The idea is to get them painlessly
+over the biggest hump in migrating to Linux, which is initially
+installing and configuring it for the user's machine.
+
+
+Node:INTERCAL, Next:interesting, Previous:installfest, Up:= I = 
+
+INTERCAL /in't*r-kal/ n.
+
+[said by the authors to stand for `Compiler Language With No
+Pronounceable Acronym'] A computer language designed by Don Woods
+and James Lyons in 1972. INTERCAL is purposely different from all
+other computer languages in all ways but one; it is purely a
+written language, being totally unspeakable. An excerpt from the
+INTERCAL Reference Manual will make the style of the language
+clear:
+
+It is a well-known and oft-demonstrated fact that a
+person whose work is incomprehensible is held in high esteem. For
+example, if one were to state that the simplest way to store a
+value of 65536 in a 32-bit INTERCAL variable is:
+
+DO :1 <- #0$#256
+
+
+any sensible programmer would say that that was absurd. Since
+this is indeed the simplest method, the programmer would be made
+to look foolish in front of his boss, who would of course have
+happened to turn up, as bosses are wont to do. The effect would
+be no less devastating for the programmer having been
+correct.
+
+
+INTERCAL has many other peculiar features designed to make it
+even more unspeakable. The Woods-Lyons implementation was
+actually used by many (well, at least several) people at
+Princeton. The language has been recently reimplemented as
+C-INTERCAL and is consequently enjoying an unprecedented level of
+unpopularity; there is even an _alt.lang.intercal_ newsgroup
+devoted to the study and ... appreciation of the
+language on Usenet.
+
+Inevitably, INTERCAL has a home page on the Web: http://www.tuxedo.org/~esr/intercal/.
+An extended version, implemented in (what else?) Perl and adding object-oriented features, is
+available at http://dd-sh.assurdo.com/INTERCAL.
+See also Befunge.
+
+
+Node:interesting, Next:Internet, Previous:INTERCAL, Up:=
+I = 
+
+interesting adj.
+
+In hacker parlance, this word has strong connotations of
+`annoying', or `difficult', or both. Hackers relish a challenge,
+and enjoy wringing all the irony possible out of the ancient
+Chinese curse "May you live in interesting times". Oppose trivial, uninteresting.
+
+
+Node:Internet, Next:Internet address, Previous:interesting, Up:= I = 
+
+Internet n.
+
+The mother of all networks. First incarnated beginning in 1969
+as the ARPANET, a U.S. Department of Defense research testbed.
+Though it has been widely believed that the goal was to develop a
+network architecture for military command-and-control that could
+survive disruptions up to and including nuclear war, this is a
+myth; in fact, ARPANET was conceived from the start as a way to
+get most economical use out of then-scarce large-computer
+resources.
+
+As originally imagined, ARPANET's major use would have been to
+support what is now called remote login and more sophisticated
+forms of distributed computing, but the infant technology of
+electronic mail quickly grew to dominate actual usage.
+Universities, research labs and defense contractors early
+discovered the Internet's potential as a medium of communication
+between humans and linked up in steadily increasing
+numbers, connecting together a quirky mix of academics, techies,
+hippies, SF fans, hackers, and anarchists. The roots of this
+lexicon lie in those early years.
+
+Over the next quarter-century the Internet evolved in many
+ways. The typical machine/OS combination moved from DEC PDP-10s and PDP-20s, running TOPS-10 and TOPS-20, to PDP-11s and VAXes and Suns running
+Unix, and in the 1990s to Unix on
+Intel microcomputers. The Internet's protocols grew more capable,
+most notably in the move from NCP/IP to TCP/IP in 1982 and the implementation of
+Domain Name Service in 1983. It was around this time that people
+began referring to the collection of interconnected networks with
+ARPANET at its core as "the Internet".
+
+The ARPANET had a fairly strict set of participation
+guidelines - connected institutions had to be involved with a
+DOD-related research project. By the mid-80s, many of the
+organizations clamoring to join didn't fit this profile. In 1986,
+the National Science Foundation built NSFnet to open up access to
+its five regional supercomputing centers; NSFnet became the
+backbone of the Internet, replacing the original ARPANET pipes
+(which were formally shut down in 1990). Between 1990 and late
+1994 the pieces of NSFnet were sold to major telecommunications
+companies until the Internet backbone had gone completely
+commercial.
+
+That year, 1994, was also the year the mainstream culture
+discovered the Internet. Once again, the killer app was not the anticipated one -
+rather, what caught the public imagination was the hypertext and
+multimedia features of the World Wide Web. Subsequently the
+Internet has seen off its only serious challenger (the OSI
+protocol stack favored by European telecom monopolies) and is in
+the process of absorbing into itself many of the proprietary
+networks built during the second wave of wide-area networking
+after 1980. It is now (1996) a commonplace even in mainstream
+media to predict that a globally-extended Internet will become
+the key unifying communications technology of the next century.
+See also the network and
+Internet address.
+
+
+Node:Internet address, Next:Internet Death
+Penalty, Previous:Internet, Up:=
+I = 
+
+Internet address n.
+
+1. [techspeak] An absolute network address of the form
+_foo@bar.baz_, where foo is a user name, bar is a sitename, and baz is a `domain' name,
+possibly including periods itself. Contrast with bang path; see also the network and network address. All Internet
+machines and most UUCP sites can now resolve these addresses,
+thanks to a large amount of behind-the-scenes magic and PD software written since 1980 or so. See also
+bang path, domainist. 2. More loosely, any network
+address reachable through Internet; this includes bang path addresses and some internal
+corporate and government networks.
+
+Reading Internet addresses is something of an art. Here are
+the four most important top-level functional Internet domains
+followed by a selection of geographical domains:
+
+
+
+_com_
+
+
+commercial organizations
+
+
+_edu_
+
+
+educational institutions
+
+
+_gov_
+
+
+U.S. government civilian sites
+
+
+_mil_
+
+
+U.S. military sites
+
+
+
+
+Note that most of the sites in the _com_ and _edu_
+domains are in the U.S. or Canada.
+
+
+
+
+_us_
+
+
+sites in the U.S. outside the functional domains
+
+
+_su_
+
+
+sites in the ex-Soviet Union (see kremvax).
+
+
+_uk_
+
+
+sites in the United Kingdom
+
+
+Within the _us_ domain, there are subdomains for the
+fifty states, each generally with a name identical to the state's
+postal abbreviation. Within the _uk_ domain, there is an
+_ac_ subdomain for academic sites and a _co_ domain for
+commercial ones. Other top-level domains may be divided up in
+similar ways.
+
+
+Node:Internet Death
+Penalty, Next:Internet Exploder, Previous:Internet address, Up:= I = 
+
+Internet Death Penalty
+
+[Usenet] (often abbreviated IDP) The ultimate sanction against
+spam-emitting sites - complete
+shunning at the router level of all mail and packets, as well as
+Usenet messages, from the offending domain(s). Compare Usenet Death Penalty,
+with which it is sometimes confused.
+
+
+Node:Internet Exploder, Next:Internet Exploiter,
+Previous:Internet Death Penalty, Up:= I = 
+
+Internet Exploder
+
+[very common] Pejorative hackerism for Microsoft's "Internet
+Explorer" web browser (also "Internet Exploiter"). Compare HP-SUX, AIDX,
+buglix, Macintrash, Telerat, ScumOS,
+sun-stools, Slowlaris.
+
+
+Node:Internet Exploiter,
+Next:interrupt, Previous:Internet Exploder,
+Up:= I = 
+
+Internet Exploiter n.
+
+Another common name-of-insult for Internet Explorer,
+Microsoft's overweight Web Browser; more hostile than Internet Exploder. Reflects
+widespread hostility to Microsoft and a sense that it is seeking
+to hijack, monopolize, and corrupt the Internet. Compare Exploder and the less pejorative Netscrape.
+
+
+Node:interrupt, Next:interrupt list, Previous:Internet Exploiter,
+Up:= I = 
+
+interrupt
+
+1. [techspeak] n. On a computer, an event that interrupts
+normal processing and temporarily diverts flow-of-control through
+an "interrupt handler" routine. See also trap. 2. interj. A request for attention from a
+hacker. Often explicitly spoken. "Interrupt -- have you seen Joe
+recently?" See priority
+interrupt. 3. Under MS-DOS, nearly synonymous with
+`system call', because the OS and BIOS routines are both called
+using the INT instruction (see interrupt list) and because
+programmers so often have to bypass the OS (going directly to a
+BIOS interrupt) to get reasonable performance.
+
+
+Node:interrupt list, Next:interrupts locked
+out, Previous:interrupt, Up:= I = 
+
+interrupt list n.
+
+[MS-DOS] The list of all known software interrupt calls (both
+documented and undocumented) for IBM PCs and compatibles, maintained
+and made available for free redistribution by Ralf Brown. As of late
+1992, it had grown to approximately two megabytes in length.
+
+
+Node:interrupts locked
+out, Next:intro, Previous:interrupt list, Up:= I = 
+
+interrupts locked out adj.
+
+When someone is ignoring you. In a restaurant, after several
+fruitless attempts to get the waitress's attention, a hacker
+might well observe "She must have interrupts locked out". The
+synonym `interrupts disabled' is also common. Variations abound;
+"to have one's interrupt mask bit set" and "interrupts masked
+out" are also heard. See also spl.
+
+
+Node:intro, Next:IRC, Previous:interrupts locked out, Up:= I = 
+
+intro n.
+
+[demoscene] Introductory screen of some production. 2. A short
+demo, usually showing just one or two
+screens. 3. Small, usually 64k, 40k
+or 4k demo. Sizes are generally
+dictated by compo rules. See also
+dentro, demo.
+
+
+Node:IRC, Next:iron, Previous:intro, Up:= I
+= 
+
+IRC /I-R-C/ n.
+
+[Internet Relay Chat] A worldwide "party line" network that
+allows one to converse with others in real time. IRC is
+structured as a network of Internet servers, each of which
+accepts connections from client programs, one per user. The IRC
+community and the Usenet and MUD communities overlap to some extent,
+including both hackers and regular folks who have discovered the
+wonders of computer networks. Some Usenet jargon has been adopted
+on IRC, as have some conventions such as emoticons. There is also a vigorous native
+jargon, represented in this lexicon by entries marked `[IRC]'.
+See also talk mode.
+
+
+Node:iron, Next:Iron Age, Previous:IRC, Up:= I =
+
+
+iron n.
+
+Hardware, especially older and larger hardware of mainframe class with big metal cabinets
+housing relatively low-density electronics (but the term is also
+used of modern supercomputers). Often in the phrase big iron. Oppose silicon. See also dinosaur.
+
+
+Node:Iron Age, Next:iron box, Previous:iron, Up:= I =
+
+
+Iron Age n.
+
+In the history of computing, 1961-1971 -- the formative era of
+commercial mainframe technology,
+when ferrite-core dinosaurs ruled
+the earth. The Iron Age began, ironically enough, with the
+delivery of the first minicomputer (the PDP-1) and ended with the
+introduction of the first commercial microprocessor (the Intel
+4004) in 1971. See also Stone
+Age; compare elder
+days.
+
+
+Node:iron box, Next:ironmonger, Previous:Iron Age, Up:= I = 
+
+iron box n.
+
+[Unix/Internet] A special environment set up to trap a cracker logging in over remote
+connections long enough to be traced. May include a modified
+shell restricting the cracker's
+movements in unobvious ways, and `bait' files designed to keep
+him interested and logged on. See also back door, firewall machine, Venus flytrap, and Clifford Stoll's
+account in "The Cuckoo's
+Egg" of how he made and used one (see the Bibliography in Appendix C). Compare
+padded cell, honey pot.
+
+
+Node:ironmonger, Next:ISO standard cup of
+tea, Previous:iron
+box, Up:= I = 
+
+ironmonger n.
+
+[IBM] A hardware specialist (derogatory). Compare sandbender, polygon pusher.
+
+
+Node:ISO standard cup
+of tea, Next:ISP, Previous:ironmonger, Up:= I = 
+
+ISO standard cup of tea n.
+
+[South Africa] A cup of tea with milk and one teaspoon of
+sugar, where the milk is poured into the cup before the tea.
+Variations are ISO 0, with no sugar; ISO 2, with two spoons of
+sugar; and so on. This may derive from the "NATO standard" cup of
+coffee and tea (milk and two sugars), military slang going back
+to the late 1950s and parodying NATO's relentless bureacratic
+drive to standardize parts across European and U.S.
+militaries.
+
+Like many ISO standards, this one has a faintly alien ring in
+North America, where hackers generally shun the decadent British
+practice of adulterating perfectly good tea with dairy products
+and prefer instead to add a wedge of lemon, if anything. If one
+were feeling extremely silly, one might hypothesize an analogous
+`ANSI standard cup of tea' and wind up with a political situation
+distressingly similar to several that arise in much more serious
+technical contexts. (Milk and lemon don't mix very well.)
+
+[2000 update: There is now, in fact, a `British Standard
+BS6008: How to make a standard cup of tea.' - ESR]
+
+
+Node:ISP, Next:ITS, Previous:ISO standard cup of tea,
+Up:= I = 
+
+ISP /I-S-P/
+
+Common abbreviation for Internet Service Provider, a kind of
+company that barely existed before 1993. ISPs sell Internet
+access to the mass market. While the big nationwide commercial
+BBSs with Internet access (like America Online, CompuServe,
+GEnie, Netcom, etc.) are technically ISPs, the term is usually
+reserved for local or regional small providers (often run by
+hackers turned entrepreneurs) who resell Internet access cheaply
+without themselves being information providers or selling
+advertising. Compare NSP.
+
+
+Node:ITS, Next:IWBNI, Previous:ISP, Up:= I =
+
+
+ITS /I-T-S/ n.
+
+1. Incompatible Time-sharing System, an influential though
+highly idiosyncratic operating system written for PDP-6s and
+PDP-10s at MIT and long used at the MIT AI Lab. Much AI-hacker
+jargon derives from ITS folklore, and to have been `an ITS
+hacker' qualifies one instantly as an old-timer of the most
+venerable sort. ITS pioneered many important innovations,
+including transparent file sharing between machines and
+terminal-independent I/O. After about 1982, most actual work was
+shifted to newer machines, with the remaining ITS boxes run
+essentially as a hobby and service to the hacker community. The
+shutdown of the lab's last ITS machine in May 1990 marked the end
+of an era and sent old-time hackers into mourning nationwide (see
+high moby). 2. A mythical image
+of operating-system perfection worshiped by a bizarre, fervent
+retro-cult of old-time hackers and ex-users (see troglodyte, sense 2). ITS worshipers manage
+somehow to continue believing that an OS maintained by
+assembly-language hand-hacking that supported only monocase
+6-character filenames in one directory per account remains
+superior to today's state of commercial art (their venom against
+Unix is particularly intense). See
+also holy wars, Weenix.
+
+
+Node:IWBNI, Next:IYFEG, Previous:ITS, Up:= I =
+
+
+IWBNI //
+
+Abbreviation for `It Would Be Nice If'. Compare WIBNI.
+
+
+Node:IYFEG, Next:J. Random, Previous:IWBNI, Up:= I
+= 
+
+IYFEG //
+
+[Usenet] Abbreviation for `Insert Your Favorite Ethnic Group'.
+Used as a meta-name when telling ethnic jokes on the net to avoid
+offending anyone. See JEDR.
+
+
+Node:= J =, Next:= K =, Previous:= I =, Up:The Jargon Lexicon 
+
+= J =
+
+
+J. Random:
+
+
+J. Random Hacker:
+
+
+jack in:
+
+
+jaggies:
+
+
+Java:
+
+
+JCL:
+
+
+JEDR:
+
+
+Jeff K.:
+
+
+jello:
+
+
+jiffy:
+
+
+job security:
+
+
+jock:
+
+
+joe code:
+
+
+jolix:
+
+
+juggling eggs:
+
+
+jump off
+into never-never land:
+
+
+jupiter:
+
+
+Node:J. Random, Next:J. Random Hacker, Previous:IYFEG, Up:= J = 
+
+J. Random /J rand'm/ n.
+
+[common; generalized from J. Random Hacker] Arbitrary;
+ordinary; any one; any old. `J. Random' is often prefixed to a
+noun to make a name out of it. It means roughly `some particular'
+or `any specific one'. "Would you let J. Random Loser marry your
+daughter?" The most common uses are `J. Random Hacker', `J.
+Random Loser', and `J. Random Nerd' ("Should J. Random Loser be
+allowed to gun down other people?"),
+but it can be used simply as an elaborate version of random in any sense.
+
+
+Node:J. Random Hacker, Next:jack in, Previous:J. Random, Up:= J = 
+
+J. Random Hacker /J rand'm hak'r/ n.
+
+[very common] A mythical figure like the Unknown Soldier; the
+archetypal hacker nerd. This term is one of the oldest in the
+jargon, apparently going back to MIT in the 1960s. See random, Suzie
+COBOL. This may originally have been inspired by `J. Fred
+Muggs', a show-biz chimpanzee whose name was a household word
+back in the early days of TMRC, and
+was probably influenced by `J. Presper Eckert' (one of the
+co-inventors of the electronic computer). See also Fred Foobar.
+
+
+Node:jack in, Next:jaggies, Previous:J. Random Hacker, Up:= J = 
+
+jack in v.
+
+To log on to a machine or connect to a network or BBS, esp. for purposes of entering a virtual reality simulation such as a
+MUD or IRC
+(leaving is "jacking out"). This term derives from cyberpunk SF, in which it was used for the
+act of plugging an electrode set into neural sockets in order to
+interface the brain directly to a virtual reality. It is
+primarily used by MUD and IRC fans and younger hackers on BBS
+systems.
+
+
+Node:jaggies, Next:Java, Previous:jack in, Up:=
+J = 
+
+jaggies /jag'eez/ n.
+
+The `stairstep' effect observable when an edge (esp. a linear
+edge of very shallow or steep slope) is rendered on a pixel
+device (as opposed to a vector display).
+
+
+Node:Java, Next:JCL, Previous:jaggies, Up:= J
+= 
+
+Java
+
+An object-oriented language originally developed at Sun by
+James Gosling (and known by the name "Oak") with the intention of
+being the successor to C++ (the project
+was however originally sold to Sun as an embedded language for
+use in set-top boxes). After the great Internet explosion of
+1993-1994, Java was hacked into a byte-interpreted language and
+became the focus of a relentless hype campaign by Sun, which
+touted it as the new language of choice for distributed
+applications.
+
+Java is indeed a stronger and cleaner design than C++ and has
+been embraced by many in the hacker community - but it has been a
+considerable source of frustration to many others, for reasons
+ranging from uneven support on different Web browser platforms,
+performance issues, and some notorious deficiencies of some of
+the standard toolkits (AWT in particular). Microsoft's determined attempts to corrupt
+the language (which it rightly sees as a threat to its OS
+monopoly) have not helped. As of 1999, these issues are still in
+the process of being resolved.
+
+Despite many attractive features and a good design, it is
+difficult to find people willing to praise Java who have tried to
+implement a complex, real-world system with it (but to be fair it
+is early days yet, and no other language has ever been forced to
+spend its childhood under the limelight the way Java has). On the
+other hand, Java has already been a big win in academic circles, where it has taken the
+place of Pascal as the preferred
+tool for teaching the basics of good programming to the next
+generation of hackers.
+
+
+Node:JCL, Next:JEDR, Previous:Java, Up:= J =
+
+
+JCL /J-C-L/ n.
+
+1. IBM's supremely rude Job Control
+Language. JCL is the script language used to control the
+execution of programs in IBM's batch systems. JCL has a very
+fascist syntax, and some versions
+will, for example, barf if two spaces
+appear where it expects one. Most programmers confronted with JCL
+simply copy a working file (or card deck), changing the file
+names. Someone who actually understands and generates unique JCL
+is regarded with the mixed respect one gives to someone who
+memorizes the phone book. It is reported that hackers at IBM
+itself sometimes sing "Who's the breeder of the crud that mangles
+you and me? I-B-M, J-C-L, M-o-u-s-e" to the tune of the "Mickey
+Mouse Club" theme to express their opinion of the beast. 2. A
+comparative for any very rude software
+that a hacker is expected to use. "That's as bad as JCL." As with
+COBOL, JCL is often used as an
+archetype of ugliness even by those who haven't experienced it.
+See also IBM, fear and loathing.
+
+A (poorly documented, naturally) shell simulating JCL syntax
+is available at the Retrocomputing Museum http://www.ccil.org/retro.
+
+
+Node:JEDR, Next:Jeff K., Previous:JCL, Up:= J =
+
+
+JEDR // n.
+
+Synonymous with IYFEG. At one
+time, people in the Usenet newsgroup _rec.humor.funny_
+tended to use `JEDR' instead of IYFEG
+or `<ethnic>'; this stemmed from a public attempt to
+suppress the group once made by a loser with initials JEDR after
+he was offended by an ethnic joke posted there. (The practice was
+retconned by the expanding these
+initials as `Joke Ethnic/Denomination/Race'.) After much sound
+and fury JEDR faded away; this term appears to be doing likewise.
+JEDR's only permanent effect on the net.culture was to discredit
+`sensitivity' arguments for censorship so thoroughly that more
+recent attempts to raise them have met with immediate and
+near-universal rejection.
+
+
+Node:Jeff K., Next:jello, Previous:JEDR, Up:= J =
+
+
+Jeff K.
+
+The spiritual successor to B1FF and
+the archetype of script
+kiddies. Jeff K. is a sixteen-year-old suburbanite who
+fancies himself a "l33t haX0r", although his knowledge of
+computers seems to be limited to the procedure for getting Quake
+up and running. His Web page http://www.somethingawful.com/jeffk
+features a number of hopelessly naive articles, essays, and
+rants, all filled with the kind of misspellings, studlycaps, and number-for-letter
+substitutions endemic to the script kiddie and warez d00dz communities. Jeff's
+offerings, among other things, include hardware advice (such as
+"AMD VERSIS PENTIUM" and "HOW TO OVARCLOAK YOUR COMPUTAR"), his
+own Quake clan (Clan 40 OUNSCE), and his own comic strip (Wacky
+Fun Computar Comic Jokes).
+
+Like B1FF, Jeff K. is (fortunately) a hoax. Jeff K. was
+created by internet game journalist Richard "Lowtax" Kyanka,
+whose web site Something Awful (http://www.somethingawful.com)
+highlights unintentionally humorous news items and Web sites, as
+a parody of the kind of teenage luser
+who infests Quake servers, chat rooms, and other places where
+computer enthusiasts congregate. He is well-recognized in the PC
+game community and his influence has spread to hacker fora like Slashdot as well.
+
+
+Node:jello, Next:jiffy, Previous:Jeff K., Up:=
+J = 
+
+jello n.
+
+[Usenet: by analogy with spam] A
+message that is both excessively cross-posted and too frequently
+posted, as opposed to spam (which is
+merely too frequently posted) or velveeta (which is merely excessively
+cross-posted). This term is widely recognized but not commonly
+used; most people refer to both kinds of abuse or their
+combination as spam.
+
+
+Node:jiffy, Next:job security, Previous:jello, Up:= J
+= 
+
+jiffy n.
+
+1. The duration of one tick of the system clock on your
+computer (see tick). Often one AC
+cycle time (1/60 second in the U.S. and Canada, 1/50 most other
+places), but more recently 1/100 sec has become common. "The
+swapper runs every 6 jiffies" means that the virtual memory
+management routine is executed once for every 6 ticks of the
+clock, or about ten times a second. 2. Confusingly, the term is
+sometimes also used for a 1-millisecond wall time interval. 3. Even more
+confusingly, physicists semi-jokingly use `jiffy' to mean the
+time required for light to travel one foot in a vacuum, which
+turns out to be close to one nanosecond. 4.
+Indeterminate time from a few seconds to forever. "I'll do it in
+a jiffy" means certainly not now and possibly never. This is a
+bit contrary to the more widespread use of the word. Oppose nano. See also Real Soon Now.
+
+
+Node:job security, Next:jock, Previous:jiffy, Up:= J
+= 
+
+job security n.
+
+When some piece of code is written in a particularly obscure fashion, and no good reason (such
+as time or space optimization) can be discovered, it is often
+said that the programmer was attempting to increase his job
+security (i.e., by making himself indispensable for maintenance).
+This sour joke seldom has to be said in full; if two hackers are
+looking over some code together and one points at a section and
+says "job security", the other one may just nod.
+
+
+Node:jock, Next:joe code, Previous:job security, Up:= J = 
+
+jock n.
+
+1. A programmer who is characterized by large and somewhat
+brute-force programs. See brute
+force. 2. When modified by another noun, describes a
+specialist in some particular computing area. The compounds
+`compiler jock' and `systems jock' seem to be the
+best-established examples.
+
+
+Node:joe code, Next:jolix, Previous:jock, Up:= J =
+
+
+joe code /joh' kohd`/ n.
+
+1. Code that is overly tense and
+unmaintainable. "Perl may be a handy
+program, but if you look at the source, it's complete joe code."
+2. Badly written, possibly buggy code.
+
+Correspondents wishing to remain anonymous have fingered a
+particular Joe at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory and observed
+that usage has drifted slightly; the original sobriquet `Joe
+code' was intended in sense 1.
+
+1994 update: This term has now generalized to `<name>
+code', used to designate code with distinct characteristics
+traceable to its author. "This section doesn't check for a NULL
+return from malloc()! Oh. No wonder! It's Ed code!". Used most
+often with a programmer who has left the shop and thus is a
+convenient scapegoat for anything that is wrong with the
+project.
+
+
+Node:jolix, Next:juggling eggs, Previous:joe code, Up:= J = 
+
+jolix /joh'liks/ n.,adj.
+
+386BSD, the freeware port of the BSD Net/2 release to the
+Intel i386 architecture by Bill Jolitz, Lynne Greer Jolitz, and
+friends. Used to differentiate from BSDI's port based on the same
+source tape, which used to be called BSD/386 and is now BSD/OS.
+See BSD.
+
+
+Node:juggling eggs, Next:jump off
+into never-never land, Previous:jolix, Up:= J
+= 
+
+juggling eggs vi.
+
+Keeping a lot of state in your
+head while modifying a program. "Don't bother me now, I'm
+juggling eggs", means that an interrupt is likely to result in
+the program's being scrambled. In the classic 1975 first-contact
+SF novel "The Mote in God's Eye", by Larry Niven and Jerry
+Pournelle, an alien describes a very difficult task by saying "We
+juggle priceless eggs in variable gravity." See also hack mode and on the gripping hand.
+
+
+Node:jump off
+into never-never land, Next:jupiter, Previous:juggling eggs, Up:= J = 
+
+jump off into never-never land v.
+
+[from J. M. Barrie's "Peter Pan"] Same as branch to Fishkill, but more
+common in technical cultures associated with non-IBM computers
+that use the term `jump' rather than `branch'. Compare hyperspace.
+
+
+Node:jupiter, Next:K, Previous:jump off into
+never-never land, Up:= J
+= 
+
+jupiter vt.
+
+[IRC] To kill an IRC bot or user and then take its place by adopting
+its nick so that it cannot reconnect.
+Named after a particular IRC user who did this to NickServ, the
+robot in charge of preventing people from inadvertently using a
+nick claimed by another user. Now commonly shortened to
+`jupe'.
+
+
+Node:= K =, Next:= L =, Previous:= J =, Up:The Jargon Lexicon 
+
+= K =
+
+
+K:
+
+
+K&R:
+
+
+k-:
+
+
+kahuna:
+
+
+kamikaze packet:
+
+
+kangaroo code:
+
+
+ken:
+
+
+kernel-of-the-week
+club:
+
+
+kgbvax:
+
+
+KIBO:
+
+
+kiboze:
+
+
+kibozo:
+
+
+kick:
+
+
+kill file:
+
+
+killer app:
+
+
+killer micro:
+
+
+killer poke:
+
+
+kilo-:
+
+
+KIPS:
+
+
+KISS Principle:
+
+
+kit:
+
+
+klone:
+
+
+kludge:
+
+
+kluge:
+
+
+kluge around:
+
+
+kluge up:
+
+
+Knights of
+the Lambda Calculus:
+
+
+knobs:
+
+
+Knuth:
+
+
+koan:
+
+
+kremvax:
+
+
+kyrka:
+
+
+Node:K, Next:K&R, Previous:jupiter, Up:= K
+= 
+
+K /K/ n.
+
+[from kilo-] A kilobyte. Used both
+as a spoken word and a written suffix (like meg and gig for megabyte
+and gigabyte). See quantifiers.
+
+
+Node:K&R, Next:k-, Previous:K, Up:= K = 
+
+K&R [Kernighan and Ritchie] n.
+
+Brian Kernighan and Dennis Ritchie's book "The C Programming
+Language", esp. the classic and influential first edition
+(Prentice-Hall 1978; ISBN 0-13-110163-3). Syn. White Book, Old Testament. See also New Testament.
+
+
+Node:k-, Next:kahuna, Previous:K&R, Up:= K
+= 
+
+k- pref.
+
+[rare; poss fr. `kilo-' prefix] Extremely. Rare among hackers,
+but quite common among crackers and warez d00dz in compounds such as
+`k-kool' /K'kool'/, `k-rad' /K'rad'/, and `k-awesome' /K'aw`sm/.
+Also used to intensify negatives; thus, `k-evil', `k-lame',
+`k-screwed', and `k-annoying'. Overuse of this prefix, or use in
+more formal or technical contexts, is considered an indicator of
+lamer status.
+
+
+Node:kahuna, Next:kamikaze packet, Previous:k-, Up:= K = 
+
+kahuna /k*-hoo'n*/ n.
+
+[IBM: from the Hawaiian title for a shaman] Synonym for wizard, guru.
+
+
+Node:kamikaze packet, Next:kangaroo code, Previous:kahuna, Up:= K = 
+
+kamikaze packet n.
+
+The `official' jargon for what is more commonly called a Christmas tree packet.
+RFC-1025, "TCP and IP Bake Off"
+says:
+
+10 points for correctly being able to process a
+"Kamikaze" packet (AKA nastygram, christmas tree packet, lamp
+test segment, et al.). That is, correctly handle a segment with
+the maximum combination of features at once (e.g., a SYN URG PUSH
+FIN segment with options and data).
+
+
+See also Chernobyl
+packet.
+
+
+Node:kangaroo code, Next:ken, Previous:kamikaze packet, Up:= K = 
+
+kangaroo code n.
+
+Syn. spaghetti
+code.
+
+
+Node:ken, Next:kernel-of-the-week club,
+Previous:kangaroo
+code, Up:= K = 
+
+ken /ken/ n.
+
+1. [Unix] Ken Thompson, principal inventor of Unix. In the
+early days he used to hand-cut distribution tapes, often with a
+note that read "Love, ken". Old-timers still use his first name
+(sometimes uncapitalized, because it's a login name and mail
+address) in third-person reference; it is widely understood (on
+Usenet, in particular) that without a last name `Ken' refers only
+to Ken Thompson. Similarly, Dennis without last name means Dennis
+Ritchie (and he is often known as _dmr_). See also demigod, Unix.
+2. A flaming user. This was originated by the Software Support
+group at Symbolics because the two greatest flamers in the user
+community were both named Ken.
+
+
+Node:kernel-of-the-week
+club, Next:kgbvax,
+Previous:ken, Up:= K = 
+
+kernel-of-the-week club
+
+The fictional society that BSD bigots claim [Linux] users belong to,
+alluding to the release-early-release-often style preferred by
+the kernel maintainers. See bazaar.
+This was almost certainly inspired by the earlier bug-of-the-month club.
+
+
+Node:kgbvax, Next:KIBO, Previous:kernel-of-the-week club, Up:= K = 
+
+kgbvax /K-G-B'vaks/ n.
+
+See kremvax.
+
+
+Node:KIBO, Next:kiboze, Previous:kgbvax, Up:= K
+= 
+
+KIBO /ki:'boh/
+
+1. [acronym] Knowledge In, Bullshit Out. A summary of what
+happens whenever valid data is passed through an organization (or
+person) that deliberately or accidentally disregards or ignores
+its significance. Consider, for example, what an advertising
+campaign can do with a product's actual specifications. Compare
+GIGO; see also SNAFU principle. 2. James Parry
+<kibo@world.std.com>, a Usenetter infamous for various
+surrealist net.pranks and an uncanny, machine-assisted knack for
+joining any thread in which his nom de guerre is mentioned. He
+has a website at http://www.kibo.com/.
+
+
+Node:kiboze, Next:kibozo, Previous:KIBO, Up:= K =
+
+
+kiboze v.
+
+[Usenet] To grep the Usenet news
+for a string, especially with the intention of posting a
+follow-up. This activity was popularised by Kibo (see KIBO, sense 2).
+
+
+Node:kibozo, Next:kick, Previous:kiboze, Up:= K
+= 
+
+kibozo /ki:-boh'zoh/ n.
+
+[Usenet] One who kibozes but is
+not Kibo (see KIBO, sense 2).
+
+
+Node:kick, Next:kill file, Previous:kibozo, Up:= K
+= 
+
+kick v.
+
+1. [IRC] To cause somebody to be removed from a IRC channel, an option only available to channel
+ops. This is an extreme measure, often used to combat extreme
+flamage or flooding, but sometimes used at the CHOP's whim. Compare gun. 2. To reboot a machine or kill a running
+process. "The server's down, let me go kick it."
+
+
+Node:kill file, Next:killer app, Previous:kick, Up:= K
+= 
+
+kill file n.
+
+[Usenet; very common] (alt. `KILL file') Per-user file(s) used
+by some Usenet reading programs
+(originally Larry Wall's rn(1)) to discard summarily
+(without presenting for reading) articles matching some
+particularly uninteresting (or unwanted) patterns of subject,
+author, or other header lines. Thus to add a person (or subject)
+to one's kill file is to arrange for that person to be ignored by
+one's newsreader in future. By extension, it may be used for a
+decision to ignore the person or subject in other media. See also
+plonk.
+
+
+Node:killer app, Next:killer micro, Previous:kill file, Up:= K = 
+
+killer app
+
+The application that actually makes a sustaining market for a
+promising but under-utilized technology. First used in the
+mid-1980s to describe Lotus 1-2-3 once it became evident that
+demand for that product had been the major driver of the early
+business market for IBM PCs. The term was then restrospectively
+applied to VisiCalc, which had played a similar role in the
+success of the Apple II. After 1994 it became commonplace to
+describe the World Wide Web as the Internet's killer app. One of
+the standard questions asked about each new personal-computer
+technology as it emerges has become "what's the killer app?"
+
+
+Node:killer micro, Next:killer poke, Previous:killer app, Up:= K = 
+
+killer micro n.
+
+[popularized by Eugene Brooks] A microprocessor-based machine
+that infringes on mini, mainframe, or supercomputer performance
+turf. Often heard in "No one will survive the attack of the
+killer micros!", the battle cry of the downsizers. Used esp. of
+RISC architectures.
+
+The popularity of the phrase `attack of the killer micros' is
+doubtless reinforced by the title of the movie "Attack Of The
+Killer Tomatoes" (one of the canonical examples of so-bad-it's-wonderful
+among hackers). This has even more flavor now that killer micros have gone on the
+offensive not just individually (in workstations) but in hordes
+(within massively parallel computers).
+
+[1996 update: Eugene Brooks was right. Since this term first
+entered the Jargon File in 1990, the minicomputer has effectively
+vanished, the mainframe sector is
+in deep and apparently terminal decline (with IBM but a shadow of
+its former self), and even the supercomputer business has
+contracted into a smaller niche. It's networked killer micros as
+far as the eye can see. --ESR]
+
+
+Node:killer poke, Next:kilo-, Previous:killer micro, Up:= K = 
+
+killer poke n.
+
+A recipe for inducing hardware damage on a machine via
+insertion of invalid values (see poke)
+into a memory-mapped control register; used esp. of various
+fairly well-known tricks on bitty
+boxes without hardware memory management (such as the IBM
+PC and Commodore PET) that can overload and trash analog
+electronics in the monitor. See also HCF.
+
+
+Node:kilo-, Next:KIPS, Previous:killer poke, Up:= K = 
+
+kilo- pref.
+
+[SI] See quantifiers.
+
+
+Node:KIPS, Next:KISS Principle, Previous:kilo-, Up:= K = 
+
+KIPS /kips/ n.
+
+[abbreviation, by analogy with MIPS
+using K] Thousands (not 1024s)
+of Instructions Per Second. Usage: rare.
+
+
+Node:KISS Principle, Next:kit, Previous:KIPS, Up:= K =
+
+
+KISS Principle /kis' prin'si-pl/ n.
+
+"Keep It Simple, Stupid". A maxim often invoked when
+discussing design to fend off creeping featurism and control
+development complexity. Possibly related to the marketroid maxim on sales presentations,
+"Keep It Short and Simple".
+
+
+Node:kit, Next:klone, Previous:KISS Principle, Up:= K = 
+
+kit n.
+
+[Usenet; poss. fr. DEC slang for a
+full software distribution, as opposed to a patch or upgrade] A
+source software distribution that has been packaged in such a way
+that it can (theoretically) be unpacked and installed according
+to a series of steps using only standard Unix tools, and entirely
+documented by some reasonable chain of references from the
+top-level README file. The
+more general term distribution
+may imply that special tools or more stringent conditions on the
+host environment are required.
+
+
+Node:klone, Next:kludge, Previous:kit, Up:= K =
+
+
+klone /klohn/ n.
+
+See clone, sense 4.
+
+
+Node:kludge, Next:kluge, Previous:klone, Up:= K
+= 
+
+kludge 1. /klooj/ n.
+
+Incorrect (though regrettably common) spelling of kluge (US). These two words have been confused
+in American usage since the early 1960s, and widely confounded in
+Great Britain since the end of World War II. 2. [TMRC] A crock that works. (A long-ago "Datamation"
+article by Jackson Granholme similarly said: "An ill-assorted
+collection of poorly matching parts, forming a distressing
+whole.") 3. v. To use a kludge to get around a problem. "I've
+kludged around it for now, but I'll fix it up properly
+later."
+
+This word appears to have derived from Scots `kludge' or
+`kludgie' for a common toilet, via British military slang. It
+apparently became confused with U.S. kluge during or after World War II; some Britons
+from that era use both words in definably different ways, but
+kluge is now uncommon in Great
+Britain. `Kludge' in Commonwealth hackish differs in meaning from
+`kluge' in that it lacks the positive senses; a kludge is
+something no Commonwealth hacker wants to be associated too
+closely with. Also, `kludge' is more widely known in British
+mainstream slang than `kluge' is in the U.S.
+
+
+Node:kluge, Next:kluge around, Previous:kludge, Up:=
+K = 
+
+kluge /klooj/
+
+[from the German `klug', clever; poss. related to Polish
+`klucz' (a key, a hint, a main point)] 1. n. A Rube Goldberg (or
+Heath Robinson) device, whether in hardware or software. 2. n. A
+clever programming trick intended to solve a particular nasty
+case in an expedient, if not clear, manner. Often used to repair
+bugs. Often involves ad-hockery
+and verges on being a crock. 3. n.
+Something that works for the wrong reason. 4. vt. To insert a
+kluge into a program. "I've kluged this routine to get around
+that weird bug, but there's probably a better way." 5. [WPI] n. A
+feature that is implemented in a rude
+manner.
+
+Nowadays this term is often encountered in the variant
+spelling `kludge'. Reports from old
+farts are consistent that `kluge' was the original
+spelling, reported around computers as far back as the mid-1950s
+and, at that time, used exclusively of hardware kluges.
+In 1947, the "New York Folklore Quarterly" reported a classic
+shaggy-dog story `Murgatroyd the Kluge Maker' then current in the
+Armed Forces, in which a `kluge' was a complex and puzzling
+artifact with a trivial function. Other sources report that
+`kluge' was common Navy slang in the WWII era for any piece of
+electronics that worked well on shore but consistently failed at
+sea.
+
+However, there is reason to believe this slang use may be a
+decade older. Several respondents have connected it to the brand
+name of a device called a "Kluge paper feeder", an adjunct to
+mechanical printing presses. Legend has it that the Kluge feeder
+was designed before small, cheap electric motors and control
+electronics; it relied on a fiendishly complex assortment of
+cams, belts, and linkages to both power and synchronize all its
+operations from one motive driveshaft. It was accordingly
+temperamental, subject to frequent breakdowns, and devilishly
+difficult to repair -- but oh, so clever! People who tell this
+story also aver that `Kluge' was the name of a design
+engineer.
+
+There is in fact a Brandtjen & Kluge Inc., an old family
+business that manufactures printing equipment - interestingly,
+their name is pronounced /kloo'gee/! Henry Brandtjen, president
+of the firm, told me (ESR, 1994) that his company was co-founded
+by his father and an engineer named Kluge /kloo'gee/, who built
+and co-designed the original Kluge automatic feeder in 1919. Mr.
+Brandtjen claims, however, that this was a simple device
+(with only four cams); he says he has no idea how the myth of its
+complexity took hold.
+
+TMRC and the MIT hacker culture of
+the early '60s seems to have developed in a milieu that
+remembered and still used some WWII military slang (see also
+foobar). It seems likely that
+`kluge' came to MIT via alumni of the many military electronics
+projects that had been located in Cambridge (many in MIT's
+venerable Building 20, in which TMRC
+is also located) during the war.
+
+The variant `kludge' was apparently popularized by the Datamation article mentioned above; it
+was titled "How to Design a Kludge" (February 1962, pp. 30, 31).
+This spelling was probably imported from Great Britain, where
+kludge has an independent history
+(though this fact was largely unknown to hackers on either side
+of the Atlantic before a mid-1993 debate in the Usenet group
+_alt.folklore.computers_ over the First and Second Edition
+versions of this entry; everybody used to think kludge was just a mutation of kluge). It now appears that the British, having
+forgotten the etymology of their own `kludge' when `kluge'
+crossed the Atlantic, repaid the U.S. by lobbing the `kludge'
+orthography in the other direction and confusing their American
+cousins' spelling!
+
+The result of this history is a tangle. Many younger U.S.
+hackers pronounce the word as /klooj/ but spell it, incorrectly
+for its meaning and pronunciation, as `kludge'. (Phonetically,
+consider huge, refuge, centrifuge, and deluge as opposed to
+sludge, judge, budge, and fudge. Whatever its failings in other
+areas, English spelling is perfectly consistent about this
+distinction.) British hackers mostly learned /kluhj/ orally, use
+it in a restricted negative sense and are at least consistent.
+European hackers have mostly learned the word from written
+American sources and tend to pronounce it /kluhj/ but use the
+wider American meaning!
+
+Some observers consider this mess appropriate in view of the
+word's meaning.
+
+
+Node:kluge around, Next:kluge up, Previous:kluge, Up:= K = 
+
+kluge around vt.
+
+To avoid a bug or difficult condition by inserting a kluge. Compare workaround.
+
+
+Node:kluge up, Next:Knights of the Lambda
+Calculus, Previous:kluge around, Up:= K = 
+
+kluge up vt.
+
+To lash together a quick hack to perform a task; this is
+milder than cruft together
+and has some of the connotations of hack
+up (note, however, that the construction `kluge on'
+corresponding to hack on is never
+used). "I've kluged up this routine to dump the buffer contents
+to a safe place."
+
+
+Node:Knights of
+the Lambda Calculus, Next:knobs, Previous:kluge up, Up:= K = 
+
+Knights of the Lambda Calculus n.
+
+A semi-mythical organization of wizardly LISP and Scheme
+hackers. The name refers to a mathematical formalism invented by
+Alonzo Church, with which LISP is intimately connected. There is
+no enrollment list and the criteria for induction are unclear,
+but one well-known LISPer has been known to give out buttons and,
+in general, the members know who they
+are....
+
+
+Node:knobs, Next:Knuth, Previous:Knights of the Lambda
+Calculus, Up:= K = 
+
+knobs pl.n.
+
+Configurable options, even in software and even those you
+can't adjust in real time. Anything you can twiddle is a knob. "Has this PNG viewer got an
+alpha knob?" Software may be described as having "knobs and
+switches" or occasionally "knobs and lights".
+
+
+Node:Knuth, Next:koan, Previous:knobs, Up:= K
+= 
+
+Knuth /ka-nooth'/ n.
+
+[Donald E. Knuth's "The Art of Computer Programming"]
+Mythically, the reference that answers all questions about data
+structures or algorithms. A safe answer when you do not know: "I
+think you can find that in Knuth." Contrast the literature. See also bible. There is a Donald Knuth home page at http://www-cs-faculty.Stanford.EDU/~knuth.
+
+
+Node:koan, Next:kremvax, Previous:Knuth, Up:= K
+= 
+
+koan /koh'an/ n.
+
+A Zen teaching riddle. Classically, koans are attractive
+paradoxes to be meditated on; their purpose is to help one to
+enlightenment by temporarily jamming normal cognitive processing
+so that something more interesting can happen (this practice is
+associated with Rinzei Zen Buddhism). Hackers are very fond of
+the koan form and compose their own koans for humororous and/or
+enlightening effect. See Some AI
+Koans, has the X
+nature, hacker
+humor.
+
+
+Node:kremvax, Next:kyrka, Previous:koan, Up:= K =
+
+
+kremvax /krem-vaks/ n.
+
+[from the then large number of Usenet VAXen with
+names of the form _foovax_] Originally, a fictitious Usenet
+site at the Kremlin, announced on April 1, 1984 in a posting
+ostensibly originated there by Soviet leader Konstantin
+Chernenko. The posting was actually forged by Piet Beertema as an
+April Fool's joke. Other fictitious sites mentioned in the hoax
+were _moskvax_ and kgbvax. This
+was probably the funniest of the many April Fool's forgeries
+perpetrated on Usenet (which has negligible security against
+them), because the notion that Usenet might ever penetrate the
+Iron Curtain seemed so totally absurd at the time.
+
+In fact, it was only six years later that the first genuine
+site in Moscow, _demos.su_, joined Usenet. Some readers
+needed convincing that the postings from it weren't just another
+prank. Vadim Antonov, senior programmer at Demos and the major
+poster from there up to mid-1991, was quite aware of all this,
+referred to it frequently in his own postings, and at one point
+twitted some credulous readers by blandly asserting that he
+was a hoax!
+
+Eventually he even arranged to have the domain's gateway site
+named _kremvax_, thus neatly turning fiction into fact and
+demonstrating that the hackish sense of humor transcends cultural
+barriers. [Mr. Antonov also contributed the Russian-language
+material for this lexicon. --ESR]
+
+In an even more ironic historical footnote, _kremvax_
+became an electronic center of the anti-communist resistance
+during the bungled hard-line coup of August 1991. During those
+three days the Soviet UUCP network centered on _kremvax_
+became the only trustworthy news source for many places within
+the USSR. Though the sysops were concentrating on internal
+communications, cross-border postings included immediate
+transliterations of Boris Yeltsin's decrees condemning the coup
+and eyewitness reports of the demonstrations in Moscow's streets.
+In those hours, years of speculation that totalitarianism would
+prove unable to maintain its grip on politically-loaded
+information in the age of computer networking were proved
+devastatingly accurate -- and the original _kremvax_ joke
+became a reality as Yeltsin and the new Russian revolutionaries
+of `glasnost' and `perestroika' made _kremvax_ one of the
+timeliest means of their outreach to the West.
+
+
+Node:kyrka, Next:lace card, Previous:kremvax, Up:= K
+= 
+
+kyrka /chur'ka/ n.
+
+[Swedish] See feature
+key.
+
+
+Node:= L =, Next:= M =, Previous:= K =, Up:The Jargon Lexicon 
+
+= L =
+
+
+lace card:
+
+
+lag:
+
+
+lamer:
+
+
+language lawyer:
+
+
+languages of
+choice:
+
+
+LART:
+
+
+larval stage:
+
+
+lase:
+
+
+laser chicken:
+
+
+lasherism:
+
+
+laundromat:
+
+
+LDB:
+
+
+leaf site:
+
+
+leak:
+
+
+leaky heap:
+
+
+leapfrog attack:
+
+
+leech:
+
+
+leech mode:
+
+
+legal:
+
+
+legalese:
+
+
+LER:
+
+
+LERP:
+
+
+let the smoke
+out:
+
+
+letterbomb:
+
+
+lexer:
+
+
+lexiphage:
+
+
+life:
+
+
+Life is hard:
+
+
+light pipe:
+
+
+lightweight:
+
+
+like
+kicking dead whales down the beach:
+
+
+like
+nailing jelly to a tree:
+
+
+line 666:
+
+
+line eater the:
+
+
+line noise:
+
+
+line starve:
+
+
+linearithmic:
+
+
+link farm:
+
+
+link rot:
+
+
+link-dead:
+
+
+lint:
+
+
+Lintel:
+
+
+Linus:
+
+
+Linux:
+
+
+lion food:
+
+
+Lions Book:
+
+
+LISP:
+
+
+list-bomb:
+
+
+lithium lick:
+
+
+little-endian:
+
+
+live:
+
+
+live data:
+
+
+Live Free Or
+Die!:
+
+
+livelock:
+
+
+liveware:
+
+
+lobotomy:
+
+
+locals the:
+
+
+locked and loaded:
+
+
+locked up:
+
+
+logic bomb:
+
+
+logical:
+
+
+loop through:
+
+
+loose bytes:
+
+
+lord high fixer:
+
+
+lose:
+
+
+lose lose:
+
+
+loser:
+
+
+losing:
+
+
+loss:
+
+
+lossage:
+
+
+lost in the
+noise:
+
+
+lost in the
+underflow:
+
+
+lots of MIPS
+but no I/O:
+
+
+low-bandwidth:
+
+
+LPT:
+
+
+Lubarsky's Law
+of Cybernetic Entomology:
+
+
+Lumber Cartel:
+
+
+lunatic fringe:
+
+
+lurker:
+
+
+luser:
+
+
+Node:lace card, Next:lag, Previous:kyrka, Up:= L
+= 
+
+lace card n. obs.
+
+A punched card with all
+holes punched (also called a `whoopee card' or `ventilator
+card'). Card readers tended to jam when they got to one of these,
+as the resulting card had too little structural strength to avoid
+buckling inside the mechanism. Card punches could also jam trying
+to produce these things owing to power-supply problems. When some
+practical joker fed a lace card through the reader, you needed to
+clear the jam with a `card knife' -- which you used on the joker
+first.
+
+
+Node:lag, Next:lamer, Previous:lace card, Up:= L = 
+
+lag n.
+
+[MUD, IRC; very common] When used without qualification this
+is synomous with netlag. Curiously,
+people will often complain "I'm really lagged" when in fact it is
+their server or network connection that is lagging.
+
+
+Node:lamer, Next:language lawyer, Previous:lag, Up:= L = 
+
+lamer n.
+
+[prob. originated in skateboarder slang] 1. Synonym for luser, not used much by hackers but common
+among warez d00dz, crackers,
+and phreakers. A person who
+downloads much, but who never uploads. (Also known as `leecher').
+Oppose elite. Has the same
+connotations of self-conscious elitism that use of luser does among hackers. 2. Someone who tries
+to crack a BBS. 3. Someone who annoys the sysop or other BBS
+users - for instance, by posting lots of silly messages,
+uploading virus-ridden software, frequently dropping carrier,
+etc.
+
+Crackers also use it to refer to cracker wannabees. In phreak culture, a lamer is one
+who scams codes off others rather than doing cracks or really
+understanding the fundamental concepts. In warez d00dz culture, where the ability
+to wave around cracked commercial software within days of (or
+before) release to the commercial market is much esteemed, the
+lamer might try to upload garbage or shareware or something
+incredibly old (old in this context is read as a few years to
+anything older than 3 days).
+
+`Lamer' is also much used in the IRC world in a similar sense
+to the above.
+
+
+Node:language lawyer, Next:languages of
+choice, Previous:lamer,
+Up:= L = 
+
+language lawyer n.
+
+A person, usually an experienced or senior software engineer,
+who is intimately familiar with many or most of the numerous
+restrictions and features (both useful and esoteric) applicable
+to one or more computer programming languages. A language lawyer
+is distinguished by the ability to show you the five sentences
+scattered through a 200-plus-page manual that together imply the
+answer to your question "if only you had thought to look there".
+Compare wizard, legal, legalese.
+
+
+Node:languages of choice,
+Next:LART, Previous:language lawyer, Up:= L = 
+
+languages of choice n.
+
+C, C++,
+LISP, and Perl. Nearly every hacker knows one of C or LISP,
+and most good ones are fluent in both. C++, despite some serious
+drawbacks, is generally preferred to other object-oriented
+languages (though in 1999 it looks as though Java has displaced it in the affections of
+hackers, if not everywhere). Since around 1990 Perl has rapidly
+been gaining favor, especially as a tool for
+systems-administration utilities and rapid prototyping. Python, Smalltalk and Prolog are also
+popular in small but influential communities.
+
+There is also a rapidly dwindling category of older hackers
+with FORTRAN, or even assembler, as their language of choice.
+They often prefer to be known as Real Programmers, and other hackers
+consider them a bit odd (see "The Story of Mel" in Appendix
+A). Assembler is generally no longer considered interesting or
+appropriate for anything but HLL
+implementation, glue, and a few
+time-critical and hardware-specific uses in systems programs.
+FORTRAN occupies a shrinking niche in scientific programming.
+
+Most hackers tend to frown on languages like Pascal and Ada, which
+don't give them the near-total freedom considered necessary for
+hacking (see bondage-and-discipline
+language), and to regard everything even remotely
+connected with COBOL or other
+traditional card walloper
+languages as a total and unmitigated loss.
+
+
+Node:LART, Next:larval stage, Previous:languages of choice, Up:= L = 
+
+LART //
+
+Luser Attitude Readjustment Tool. 1. n. In the collective
+mythos of scary devil
+monastery, this is an essential item in the toolkit of
+every BOFH. The LART classic is a 2x4
+or other large billet of wood usable as a club, to be applied
+upside the head of spammers and other people who cause sysadmins
+more grief than just naturally goes with the job. Perennial
+debates rage on _alt.sysadmin.recovery_ over what
+constitutes the truly effective LART; knobkerries, semiautomatic
+weapons, flamethrowers, and tactical nukes all have their
+partisans. Compare clue-by-four. 2. v. To use a LART. Some
+would add "in malice", but some sysadmins do prefer to gently
+lart their users as a first (and sometimes final) warning. 3.
+interj. Calling for one's LART, much as a surgeon might call
+"Scalpel!". 4. interj. [rare] Used in flames as a rebuke. "LART! LART! LART!"
+
+
+Node:larval stage, Next:lase, Previous:LART, Up:= L =
+
+
+larval stage n.
+
+Describes a period of monomaniacal concentration on coding
+apparently passed through by all fledgling hackers. Common
+symptoms include the perpetration of more than one 36-hour hacking run in a given week;
+neglect of all other activities including usual basics like food,
+sleep, and personal hygiene; and a chronic case of advanced
+bleary-eye. Can last from 6 months to 2 years, the apparent
+median being around 18 months. A few so afflicted never resume a
+more `normal' life, but the ordeal seems to be necessary to
+produce really wizardly (as opposed to merely competent)
+programmers. See also wannabee. A
+less protracted and intense version of larval stage (typically
+lasting about a month) may recur when one is learning a new OS or programming language.
+
+
+Node:lase, Next:laser chicken, Previous:larval stage, Up:= L = 
+
+lase /layz/ vt.
+
+To print a given document via a laser printer. "OK, let's lase
+that sucker and see if all those graphics-macro calls did the
+right things."
+
+
+Node:laser chicken, Next:lasherism, Previous:lase, Up:= L = 
+
+laser chicken n.
+
+Kung Pao Chicken, a standard Chinese dish containing chicken,
+peanuts, and hot red peppers in a spicy pepper-oil sauce. Many
+hackers call it `laser chicken' for two reasons: It can zap you just like a laser, and the sauce has
+a red color reminiscent of some laser beams. The dish has also
+been called `gunpowder chicken'.
+
+In a variation on this theme, it is reported that some
+Australian hackers have redesignated the common dish `lemon
+chicken' as `Chernobyl Chicken'. The name is derived from the
+color of the sauce, which is considered bright enough to glow in
+the dark (as, mythically, do some of the inhabitants of
+Chernobyl).
+
+
+Node:lasherism, Next:laundromat, Previous:laser chicken, Up:= L = 
+
+lasherism n.
+
+[Harvard] A program that solves a standard problem (such as
+the Eight Queens puzzle or implementing the life algorithm) in a deliberately nonstandard
+way. Distinguished from a crock or
+kluge by the fact that the programmer
+did it on purpose as a mental exercise. Such constructions are
+quite popular in exercises such as the Obfuscated C Contest, and
+occasionally in retrocomputing. Lew Lasher was a
+student at Harvard around 1980 who became notorious for such
+behavior.
+
+
+Node:laundromat, Next:LDB, Previous:lasherism, Up:= L = 
+
+laundromat n.
+
+Syn. disk farm; see washing machine.
+
+
+Node:LDB, Next:leaf site, Previous:laundromat, Up:= L = 
+
+LDB /l*'d*b/ vt.
+
+[from the PDP-10 instruction set] To extract from the middle.
+"LDB me a slice of cake, please." This usage has been kept alive
+by Common LISP's function of the same name. Considered silly. See
+also DPB.
+
+
+Node:leaf site, Next:leak, Previous:LDB, Up:= L =
+
+
+leaf site n.,obs.
+
+Before pervasive TCP/IP, this term was used of a machine that
+merely originated and read Usenet news or mail, and did not relay
+any third-party traffic. It was often uttered in a critical tone;
+when the ratio of leaf sites to backbone, rib, and other relay
+sites got too high, the network tended to develop bottlenecks.
+Compare backbone site,
+rib site. Now that traffic
+patterns depend more on the distribution of routers than of host
+machines this term has largely fallen out of use.
+
+
+Node:leak, Next:leaky heap, Previous:leaf site, Up:= L = 
+
+leak n.
+
+With qualifier, one of a class of resource-management bugs
+that occur when resources are not freed properly after operations
+on them are finished, so they effectively disappear (leak out).
+This leads to eventual exhaustion as new allocation requests come
+in. memory leak and fd leak have their own entries; one
+might also refer, to, say, a `window handle leak' in a window
+system.
+
+
+Node:leaky heap, Next:leapfrog attack, Previous:leak, Up:= L = 
+
+leaky heap n.
+
+[Cambridge] An arena with a memory leak.
+
+
+Node:leapfrog attack, Next:leech, Previous:leaky heap, Up:= L = 
+
+leapfrog attack n.
+
+Use of userid and password information obtained illicitly from
+one host (e.g., downloading a file of account IDs and passwords,
+tapping TELNET, etc.) to compromise another host. Also, the act
+of TELNETting through one or more hosts in order to confuse a
+trace (a standard cracker procedure).
+
+
+Node:leech, Next:leech mode, Previous:leapfrog attack, Up:= L = 
+
+leech
+
+1. n. (Also `leecher'.) Among BBS types, crackers and warez d00dz, one who consumes
+knowledge without generating new software, cracks, or techniques.
+BBS culture specifically defines a leech as someone who downloads
+files with few or no uploads in return, and who does not
+contribute to the message section. Cracker culture extends this
+definition to someone (a lamer,
+usually) who constantly presses informed sources for information
+and/or assistance, but has nothing to contribute. 2. v. [common,
+Toronto area] To instantly fetch a file (other than a mail
+attachment) whether by FTP or IRC file req or any other method.
+Seems to be a holdover from the early 1990s when Toronto had a
+very active BBS and warez scene.
+
+
+Node:leech mode, Next:legal, Previous:leech, Up:= L
+= 
+
+leech mode n.
+
+[warez d00dz] "Leech mode" or "leech access" or (simply
+"leech" as in "You get leech") is the access mode on a FTP site
+where one can download as many files as one wants, without having
+to upload. Leech mode is often promised on banner sites, but
+rarely obtained. See ratio
+site, banner
+site.
+
+
+Node:legal, Next:legalese, Previous:leech mode, Up:= L = 
+
+legal adj.
+
+Loosely used to mean `in accordance with all the relevant
+rules', esp. in connection with some set of constraints defined
+by software. "The older =+ alternate for += is no longer legal
+syntax in ANSI C." "This parser processes each line of legal
+input the moment it sees the trailing linefeed." Hackers often
+model their work as a sort of game played with the environment in
+which the objective is to maneuver through the thicket of
+`natural laws' to achieve a desired objective. Their use of
+`legal' is flavored as much by this game-playing sense as by the
+more conventional one having to do with courts and lawyers.
+Compare language lawyer,
+legalese.
+
+
+Node:legalese, Next:LER, Previous:legal, Up:= L
+= 
+
+legalese n.
+
+Dense, pedantic verbiage in a language description, product
+specification, or interface standard; text that seems designed to
+obfuscate and requires a language
+lawyer to parse it. Though
+hackers are not afraid of high information density and complexity
+in language (indeed, they rather enjoy both), they share a deep
+and abiding loathing for legalese; they associate it with
+deception, suits, and situations in
+which hackers generally get the short end of the stick.
+
+
+Node:LER, Next:LERP, Previous:legalese, Up:=
+L = 
+
+LER /L-E-R/
+
+n. 1. [TMRC, from `Light-Emitting Diode'] A light-emitting
+resistor (that is, one in the process of burning up). Ohm's law
+was broken. See also SED. 2. An
+incandescent light bulb (the filament emits light because it's
+resistively heated).
+
+
+Node:LERP, Next:let the smoke out, Previous:LER, Up:= L = 
+
+LERP /lerp/ vi.,n.
+
+Quasi-acronym for Linear Interpolation, used as a verb or noun
+for the operation. "Bresenham's algorithm lerps incrementally
+between the two endpoints of the line."
+
+
+Node:let the smoke out,
+Next:letterbomb, Previous:LERP, Up:= L = 
+
+let the smoke out v.
+
+To fry hardware (see fried). See
+magic smoke for a discussion
+of the underlying mythology.
+
+
+Node:letterbomb, Next:lexer, Previous:let the smoke out, Up:= L = 
+
+letterbomb
+
+1. n. A piece of email containing
+live data intended to do
+nefarious things to the recipient's machine or terminal. It used
+to be possible, for example, to send letterbombs that would lock
+up some specific kinds of terminals when they are viewed, so
+thoroughly that the user must cycle power (see cycle, sense 3) to unwedge them. Under Unix, a
+letterbomb can also try to get part of its contents interpreted
+as a shell command to the mailer. The results of this could range
+from silly to tragic; fortunately it has been some years since
+any of the standard Unix/Internet mail software was vulnerable to
+such an attack (though, as the Melissa virus attack demonstrated
+in early 1999, Microsoft systems can have serious problems). See
+also Trojan horse; compare
+nastygram. 2. Loosely, a mailbomb.
+
+
+Node:lexer, Next:lexiphage, Previous:letterbomb, Up:= L = 
+
+lexer /lek'sr/ n.
+
+Common hacker shorthand for `lexical analyzer', the
+input-tokenizing stage in the parser for a language (the part
+that breaks it into word-like pieces). "Some C lexers get
+confused by the old-style compound ops like =-."
+
+
+Node:lexiphage, Next:life, Previous:lexer, Up:= L
+= 
+
+lexiphage /lek'si-fayj`/ n.
+
+A notorious word chomper on ITS.
+See bagbiter. This program would
+draw on a selected victim's bitmapped terminal the words "THE
+BAG" in ornate letters, followed a pair of jaws biting pieces of
+it off.
+
+
+Node:life, Next:Life is hard, Previous:lexiphage, Up:= L = 
+
+life n.
+
+1. A cellular-automata game invented by John Horton Conway and
+first introduced publicly by Martin Gardner ("Scientific
+American", October 1970); the game's popularity had to wait a few
+years for computers on which it could reasonably be played, as
+it's no fun to simulate the cells by hand. Many hackers pass
+through a stage of fascination with it, and hackers at various
+places contributed heavily to the mathematical analysis of this
+game (most notably Bill Gosper at MIT, who even implemented life
+in TECO!; see Gosperism). When a hacker mentions `life',
+he is much more likely to mean this game than the magazine, the
+breakfast cereal, or the human state of existence. 2. The
+opposite of Usenet. As in "Get a life!"
+
+
+Node:Life is hard, Next:light pipe, Previous:life, Up:= L = 
+
+Life is hard prov.
+
+[XEROX PARC] This phrase has two possible interpretations: (1)
+"While your suggestion may have some merit, I will behave as
+though I hadn't heard it." (2) "While your suggestion has obvious
+merit, equally obvious circumstances prevent it from being
+seriously considered." The charm of the phrase lies precisely in
+this subtle but important ambiguity.
+
+
+Node:light pipe, Next:lightweight, Previous:Life is hard, Up:= L = 
+
+light pipe n.
+
+Fiber optic cable. Oppose copper.
+
+
+Node:lightweight, Next:like
+kicking dead whales down the beach, Previous:light pipe, Up:= L = 
+
+lightweight adj.
+
+Opposite of heavyweight;
+usually found in combining forms such as `lightweight
+process'.
+
+
+Node:like
+kicking dead whales down the beach, Next:like nailing jelly to a
+tree, Previous:lightweight, Up:= L = 
+
+like kicking dead whales down the beach adj.
+
+Describes a slow, difficult, and disgusting process. First
+popularized by a famous quote about the difficulty of getting
+work done under one of IBM's mainframe OSes. "Well, you
+could write a C compiler in COBOL, but it would be like
+kicking dead whales down the beach." See also fear and loathing.
+
+
+Node:like
+nailing jelly to a tree, Next:line 666, Previous:like
+kicking dead whales down the beach, Up:= L = 
+
+like nailing jelly to a tree adj.
+
+Used to describe a task thought to be impossible, esp. one in
+which the difficulty arises from poor specification or inherent
+slipperiness in the problem domain. "Trying to display the
+`prettiest' arrangement of nodes and arcs that diagrams a given
+graph is like nailing jelly to a tree, because nobody's sure what
+`prettiest' means algorithmically."
+
+Hacker use of this term may recall mainstream slang originated
+early in the 20th century by President Theodore Roosevelt. There
+is a legend that, weary of inconclusive talks with Colombia over
+the right to dig a canal through its then-province Panama, he
+remarked, "Negotiating with those pirates is like trying to nail
+currant jelly to the wall." Roosevelt's government subsequently
+encouraged the anti-Colombian insurgency that created the nation
+of Panama.
+
+
+Node:line 666, Next:line eater the, Previous:like
+nailing jelly to a tree, Up:= L = 
+
+line 666 [from Christian eschatological myth] n.
+
+The notional line of source at which a program fails for
+obscure reasons, implying either that somebody is out to
+get it (when you are the programmer), or that it richly deserves
+to be so gotten (when you are not). "It works when I trace
+through it, but seems to crash on line 666 when I run it." "What
+happens is that whenever a large batch comes through, mmdf dies
+on the Line of the Beast. Probably some twit hardcoded a buffer
+size."
+
+
+Node:line eater the, Next:line noise, Previous:line 666, Up:= L = 
+
+line eater, the n. obs.
+
+[Usenet] 1. A bug in some now-obsolete versions of the netnews
+software that used to eat up to BUFSIZ bytes of the article text.
+The bug was triggered by having the text of the article start
+with a space or tab. This bug was quickly personified as a
+mythical creature called the `line eater', and postings often
+included a dummy line of `line eater food'. Ironically, line
+eater `food' not beginning with a space or tab wasn't actually
+eaten, since the bug was avoided; but if there was a
+space or tab before it, then the line eater would eat the food
+and the beginning of the text it was supposed to be
+protecting. The practice of `sacrificing to the line eater'
+continued for some time after the bug had been nailed to the wall, and is
+still humorously referred to. The bug itself was still
+occasionally reported to be lurking in some mail-to-netnews
+gateways as late as 1991. 2. See NSA line eater.
+
+
+Node:line noise, Next:line starve, Previous:line eater the, Up:= L = 
+
+line noise n.
+
+1. [techspeak] Spurious characters due to electrical noise in
+a communications link, especially an RS-232 serial connection.
+Line noise may be induced by poor connections, interference or
+crosstalk from other circuits, electrical storms, cosmic rays, or (notionally) birds
+crapping on the phone wires. 2. Any chunk of data in a file or
+elsewhere that looks like the results of line noise in sense 1.
+3. Text that is theoretically a readable text or program source
+but employs syntax so bizarre that it looks like line noise in
+senses 1 or 2. Yes, there are languages this ugly. The canonical
+example is TECO; it is often claimed
+that "TECO's input syntax is indistinguishable from line noise."
+Other non-WYSIWYG editors, such as
+Multics qed and Unix ed, in the hands
+of a real hacker, also qualify easily, as do deliberately
+obfuscated languages such as INTERCAL.
+
+
+Node:line starve, Next:linearithmic, Previous:line noise, Up:= L = 
+
+line starve
+
+[MIT] 1. vi. To feed paper through a printer the wrong way by
+one line (most printers can't do this). On a display terminal, to
+move the cursor up to the previous line of the screen. "To print
+`X squared', you just output `X', line starve, `2', line feed."
+(The line starve causes the `2' to appear on the line above the
+`X', and the line feed gets back to the original line.) 2. n. A
+character (or character sequence) that causes a terminal to
+perform this action. ASCII 0011010, also called SUB or control-Z,
+was one common line-starve character in the days before
+microcomputers and the X3.64 terminal standard. Today, the term
+might be used for the ISO reverse line feed character 0x8D.
+Unlike `line feed', `line starve' is not standard ASCII terminology. Even among hackers it is
+considered a bit silly. 3. [proposed] A sequence such as \c (used
+in System V echo, as well as nroff
+and troff) that suppresses a newline or other character(s) that would
+normally be emitted.
+
+
+Node:linearithmic, Next:link farm, Previous:line starve, Up:= L = 
+
+linearithmic adj.
+
+Of an algorithm, having running time that is O(N log N).
+Coined as a portmanteau of `linear' and `logarithmic' in
+"Algorithms In C" by Robert Sedgewick (Addison-Wesley 1990, ISBN
+0-201-51425-7).
+
+
+Node:link farm, Next:link rot, Previous:linearithmic, Up:= L = 
+
+link farm n.
+
+[Unix] A directory tree that contains many links to files in a
+master directory tree of files. Link farms save space when one is
+maintaining several nearly identical copies of the same source
+tree -- for example, when the only difference is
+architecture-dependent object files. "Let's freeze the source and
+then rebuild the FROBOZZ-3 and FROBOZZ-4 link farms." Link farms
+may also be used to get around restrictions on the number of
+-I (include-file directory) arguments on older C
+preprocessors. However, they can also get completely out of hand,
+becoming the filesystem equivalent of spaghetti code.
+
+
+Node:link rot, Next:link-dead, Previous:link farm, Up:= L = 
+
+link rot n.
+
+The natural decay of web links as the sites they're connected
+to change or die. Compare bit
+rot.
+
+
+Node:link-dead, Next:lint, Previous:link rot, Up:= L = 
+
+link-dead adj.
+
+[MUD] The state a player is in when they kill their connection
+to a MUD without leaving it properly.
+The player is then commonly left as a statue in the game, and is
+only removed after a certain period of time (an hour on most
+MUDs). Used on IRC as well, although it
+is inappropriate in that context. Compare netdead.
+
+
+Node:lint, Next:Lintel, Previous:link-dead, Up:= L = 
+
+lint
+
+[from Unix's lint(1), named for the bits of fluff
+it supposedly picks from programs] 1. vt. To examine a program
+closely for style, language usage, and portability problems, esp.
+if in C, esp. if via use of automated analysis tools, most esp.
+if the Unix utility lint(1) is used. This term used
+to be restricted to use of lint(1) itself, but
+(judging by references on Usenet) it has become a shorthand for
+desk check at some non-Unix
+shops, even in languages other than C. Also as v. delint. 2. n. Excess verbiage in a document, as
+in "This draft has too much lint".
+
+
+Node:Lintel, Next:Linus, Previous:lint, Up:= L =
+
+
+Lintel n.
+
+The emerging Linux/Intel alliance.
+This term began to be used in early 1999 after it became clear
+that the Wintel alliance was under
+increasing strain and Intel started taking stakes in Linux
+companies.
+
+
+Node:Linus, Next:Linux, Previous:Lintel, Up:= L
+= 
+
+Linus /leen'us'/ or /lin'us'/, not /li:'nus/
+
+Linus Torvalds, the author of Linux. Nobody in the hacker culture has been as
+readily recognized by first name alone since Ken (Thompson).
+
+
+Node:Linux, Next:lion food, Previous:Linus, Up:= L
+= 
+
+Linux /lee'nuhks/ or /li'nuks/, not
+/li:'nuhks/ n.
+
+The free Unix workalike created by Linus Torvalds and friends
+starting about 1991. The pronunciation /lee'nuhks/ is preferred
+because the name `Linus' has an /ee/ sound in Swedish (Linus's
+family is part of Finland's 6% ethnic-Swedish minority). This may
+be the most remarkable hacker project in history -- an entire
+clone of Unix for 386, 486 and Pentium micros, distributed for
+free with sources over the net (ports to Alpha and Sparc and many
+other machines are also in use).
+
+Linux is what GNU aimed to be, and
+it relies on the GNU toolset. But the Free Software Foundation
+didn't produce the kernel to go with that toolset until 1999,
+which was too late. Other, similar efforts like FreeBSD and
+NetBSD have been technically successful but never caught fire the
+way Linux has; as this is written in 2000, Linux is seriously
+challenging Microsoft's OS dominance. It has already captured 31%
+of the Internet-server market and 25% of general business
+servers.
+
+An earlier version of this entry opined "The secret of Linux's
+success seems to be that Linus worked much harder early on to
+keep the development process open and recruit other hackers,
+creating a snowball effect." Truer than we knew. See bazaar.
+
+(Some people object that the name `Linux' should be used to
+refer only to the kernel, not the entire operating system. This
+claim is a proxy for an underlying territorial dispute; people
+who insist on the term `GNU/Linux' want the the FSF to get most of the credit for Linux because
+RMS and friends wrote many of its user-level tools. Neither this
+theory nor the term `GNU/Linux' has gained more than minority
+acceptance).
+
+
+Node:lion food, Next:Lions Book, Previous:Linux, Up:= L
+= 
+
+lion food n.
+
+[IBM] Middle management or HQ staff (or, by extension,
+administrative drones in general). From an old joke about two
+lions who, escaping from the zoo, split up to increase their
+chances but agree to meet after 2 months. When they finally meet,
+one is skinny and the other overweight. The thin one says: "How
+did you manage? I ate a human just once and they turned out a
+small army to chase me -- guns, nets, it was terrible. Since then
+I've been reduced to eating mice, insects, even grass." The fat
+one replies: "Well, I hid near an IBM office and ate a
+manager a day. And nobody even noticed!"
+
+
+Node:Lions Book, Next:LISP, Previous:lion food, Up:= L = 
+
+Lions Book n.
+
+"Source Code and Commentary on Unix level 6", by John Lions.
+The two parts of this book contained (1) the entire source
+listing of the Unix Version 6 kernel, and (2) a commentary on the
+source discussing the algorithms. These were circulated
+internally at the University of New South Wales beginning
+1976-77, and were, for years after, the only detailed
+kernel documentation available to anyone outside Bell Labs.
+Because Western Electric wished to maintain trade secret status
+on the kernel, the Lions Book was only supposed to be distributed
+to affiliates of source licensees. In spite of this, it soon
+spread by samizdat to a good many
+of the early Unix hackers.
+
+[1996 update: The Lions book lives again! It was put back in
+print as ISBN 1-57398-013-7 from Peer-To-Peer Communications,
+with forewords by Dennis Ritchie and Ken Thompson. In a neat bit
+of reflexivity, the page before the contents quotes this
+entry.]
+
+
+Node:LISP, Next:list-bomb, Previous:Lions Book, Up:= L = 
+
+LISP n.
+
+[from `LISt Processing language', but mythically from `Lots of
+Irritating Superfluous Parentheses'] AI's mother tongue, a
+language based on the ideas of (a) variable-length lists and
+trees as fundamental data types, and (b) the interpretation of
+code as data and vice-versa. Invented by John McCarthy at MIT in
+the late 1950s, it is actually older than any other HLL still in use except FORTRAN. Accordingly, it
+has undergone considerable adaptive radiation over the years;
+modern variants are quite different in detail from the original
+LISP 1.5. The dominant HLL among hackers until the early 1980s,
+LISP now shares the throne with C. Its
+partisans claim it is the only language that is truly beautiful.
+See languages of
+choice.
+
+All LISP functions and programs are expressions that return
+values; this, together with the high memory utilization of LISPs,
+gave rise to Alan Perlis's famous quip (itself a take on an Oscar
+Wilde quote) that "LISP programmers know the value of everything
+and the cost of nothing".
+
+One significant application for LISP has been as a proof by
+example that most newer languages, such as COBOL and Ada, are
+full of unnecessary crocks. When the
+Right Thing has already been
+done once, there is no justification for bogosity in newer languages.
+
+
+Node:list-bomb, Next:lithium lick, Previous:LISP, Up:= L
+= 
+
+list-bomb v.
+
+To mailbomb someone by forging
+messages causing the victim to become a subscriber to many
+mailing lists. This is a self-defeating tactic; it merely forces
+mailing list servers to require confirmation by return message
+for every subscription.
+
+
+Node:lithium lick, Next:little-endian, Previous:list-bomb, Up:= L = 
+
+lithium lick n.
+
+[NeXT] Steve Jobs. Employees who have gotten too much
+attention from their esteemed founder are said to have `lithium
+lick' when they begin to show signs of Jobsian fervor and repeat
+the most recent catch phrases in normal conversation -- for
+example, "It just works, right out of the box!"
+
+
+Node:little-endian, Next:live, Previous:lithium lick, Up:= L = 
+
+little-endian adj.
+
+Describes a computer architecture in which, within a given 16-
+or 32-bit word, bytes at lower addresses have lower significance
+(the word is stored `little-end-first'). The PDP-11 and VAX
+families of computers and Intel microprocessors and a lot of
+communications and networking hardware are little-endian. See
+big-endian, middle-endian, NUXI problem. The term is sometimes
+used to describe the ordering of units other than bytes; most
+often, bits within a byte.
+
+
+Node:live, Next:live data, Previous:little-endian, Up:= L = 
+
+live /li:v/ adj.,adv.
+
+[common] Opposite of `test'. Refers to actual real-world data
+or a program working with it. For example, the response to "I
+think the record deleter is finished" might be "Is it live yet?"
+or "Have you tried it out on live data?" This usage usually
+carries the connotation that live data is more fragile and must
+not be corrupted, or bad things will happen. So a more
+appropriate response might be: "Well, make sure it works
+perfectly before we throw live data at it." The implication here
+is that record deletion is something pretty significant, and a
+haywire record-deleter running amok live would probably cause
+great harm.
+
+
+Node:live data, Next:Live Free Or Die!,
+Previous:live, Up:= L = 
+
+live data n.
+
+1. Data that is written to be interpreted and takes over
+program flow when triggered by some un-obvious operation, such as
+viewing it. One use of such hacks is to break security. For
+example, some smart terminals have commands that allow one to
+download strings to program keys; this can be used to write live
+data that, when listed to the terminal, infects it with a
+security-breaking virus that is
+triggered the next time a hapless user strikes that key. For
+another, there are some well-known bugs in vi that allow certain texts to send arbitrary
+commands back to the machine when they are simply viewed. 2. In C
+code, data that includes pointers to function hooks (executable code). 3. An object, such as a
+trampoline, that is constructed
+on the fly by a program and intended to be executed as code.
+
+
+Node:Live Free Or Die!,
+Next:livelock, Previous:live data, Up:= L = 
+
+Live Free Or Die! imp.
+
+1. The state motto of New Hampshire, which appears on that
+state's automobile license plates. 2. A slogan associated with
+Unix in the romantic days when Unix aficionados saw themselves as
+a tiny, beleaguered underground tilting against the windmills of
+industry. The "free" referred specifically to freedom from the
+fascist design philosophies and
+crufty misfeatures common on competing operating systems. Armando
+Stettner, one of the early Unix developers, used to give out fake
+license plates bearing this motto under a large Unix, all in New
+Hampshire colors of green and white. These are now valued
+collector's items. In 1994 DEC put an
+inferior imitation of these in circulation with a red corporate
+logo added. Compaq (half of which was once DEC) has continued the
+practice.
+
+
+Node:livelock, Next:liveware, Previous:Live Free Or Die!, Up:= L = 
+
+livelock /li:v'lok/ n.
+
+A situation in which some critical stage of a task is unable
+to finish because its clients perpetually create more work for it
+to do after they have been serviced but before it can clear its
+queue. Differs from deadlock in
+that the process is not blocked or waiting for anything, but has
+a virtually infinite amount of work to do and can never catch
+up.
+
+
+Node:liveware, Next:lobotomy, Previous:livelock, Up:=
+L = 
+
+liveware /li:v'weir/ n.
+
+1. Synonym for wetware. Less
+common. 2. [Cambridge] Vermin. "Waiter, there's some liveware in
+my salad..."
+
+
+Node:lobotomy, Next:locals the, Previous:liveware, Up:=
+L = 
+
+lobotomy n.
+
+1. What a hacker subjected to formal management training is
+said to have undergone. At IBM and elsewhere this term is used by
+both hackers and low-level management; the latter doubtless
+intend it as a joke. 2. The act of removing the processor from a
+microcomputer in order to replace or upgrade it. Some very cheap
+clone systems are sold in
+`lobotomized' form -- everything but the brain.
+
+
+Node:locals the, Next:locked and loaded, Previous:lobotomy, Up:= L = 
+
+locals, the pl.n.
+
+The users on one's local network (as opposed, say, to people
+one reaches via public Internet or UUCP connects). The marked
+thing about this usage is how little it has to do with real-space
+distance. "I have to do some tweaking on this mail utility before
+releasing it to the locals."
+
+
+Node:locked and loaded,
+Next:locked up, Previous:locals the, Up:= L = 
+
+locked and loaded adj.,obs.
+
+[from military slang for an M-16 rifle with magazine inserted
+and prepared for firing] Said of a removable disk volume properly
+prepared for use -- that is, locked into the drive and with the
+heads loaded. Ironically, because their heads are `loaded'
+whenever the power is up, this description is never used of Winchester drives (which are named
+after a rifle).
+
+
+Node:locked up, Next:logic bomb, Previous:locked and loaded, Up:= L = 
+
+locked up adj.
+
+Syn. for hung, wedged.
+
+
+Node:logic bomb, Next:logical, Previous:locked up, Up:= L = 
+
+logic bomb n.
+
+Code surreptitiously inserted into an application or OS that
+causes it to perform some destructive or security-compromising
+activity whenever specified conditions are met. Compare back door.
+
+
+Node:logical, Next:loop through, Previous:logic bomb, Up:= L = 
+
+logical adj.
+
+[from the technical term `logical device', wherein a physical
+device is referred to by an arbitrary `logical' name] Having the
+role of. If a person (say, Les Earnest at SAIL) who had long held
+a certain post left and were replaced, the replacement would for
+a while be known as the `logical' Les Earnest. (This does not
+imply any judgment on the replacement.) Compare virtual.
+
+At Stanford, `logical' compass directions denote a coordinate
+system in which `logical north' is toward San Francisco, `logical
+west' is toward the ocean, etc., even though logical north varies
+between physical (true) north near San Francisco and physical
+west near San Jose. (The best rule of thumb here is that, by
+definition, El Camino Real always runs logical north-and-south.)
+In giving directions, one might say: "To get to Rincon Tarasco
+restaurant, get onto El Camino
+Bignum going logical north." Using the word `logical'
+helps to prevent the recipient from worrying about that the fact
+that the sun is setting almost directly in front of him. The
+concept is reinforced by North American highways which are
+almost, but not quite, consistently labeled with logical rather
+than physical directions. A similar situation exists at MIT:
+Route 128 (famous for the electronics industry that has grown up
+along it) is a 3-quarters circle surrounding Boston at a radius
+of 10 miles, terminating near the coastline at each end. It would
+be most precise to describe the two directions along this highway
+as `clockwise' and `counterclockwise', but the road signs all say
+"north" and "south", respectively. A hacker might describe these
+directions as `logical north' and `logical south', to indicate
+that they are conventional directions not corresponding to the
+usual denotation for those words. (If you went logical south
+along the entire length of route 128, you would start out going
+northwest, curve around to the south, and finish headed due east,
+passing along one infamous stretch of pavement that is
+simultaneously route 128 south and Interstate 93 north, and is
+signed as such!)
+
+
+Node:loop through, Next:loose bytes, Previous:logical, Up:= L = 
+
+loop through vt.
+
+To process each element of a list of things. "Hold on, I've
+got to loop through my paper mail." Derives from the
+computer-language notion of an iterative loop; compare `cdr down'
+(under cdr), which is less common among
+C and Unix programmers. ITS hackers used to say `IRP over' after
+an obscure pseudo-op in the MIDAS PDP-10 assembler (the same IRP
+op can nowadays be found in Microsoft's assembler).
+
+
+Node:loose bytes, Next:lord high fixer, Previous:loop through, Up:= L = 
+
+loose bytes n.
+
+Commonwealth hackish term for the padding bytes or shims many compilers insert between members of a
+record or structure to cope with alignment requirements imposed
+by the machine architecture.
+
+
+Node:lord high fixer, Next:lose, Previous:loose bytes, Up:= L = 
+
+lord high fixer n.
+
+[primarily British, from Gilbert & Sullivan's `lord high
+executioner'] The person in an organization who knows the most
+about some aspect of a system. See wizard.
+
+
+Node:lose, Next:lose lose, Previous:lord high fixer, Up:= L = 
+
+lose vi.
+
+1. [very common] To fail. A program loses when it encounters
+an exceptional condition or fails to work in the expected manner.
+2. To be exceptionally unesthetic or crocky. 3. Of people, to be
+obnoxious or unusually stupid (as opposed to ignorant). See also
+deserves to lose. 4.
+n. Refers to something that is losing, especially in the phrases "That's a
+lose!" and "What a lose!"
+
+
+Node:lose lose, Next:loser, Previous:lose, Up:= L =
+
+
+lose lose interj.
+
+A reply to or comment on an undesirable situation. "I
+accidentally deleted all my files!" "Lose, lose."
+
+
+Node:loser, Next:losing, Previous:lose lose, Up:= L = 
+
+loser n.
+
+An unexpectedly bad situation, program, programmer, or person.
+Someone who habitually loses. (Even winners can lose
+occasionally.) Someone who knows not and knows not that he knows
+not. Emphatic forms are `real loser', `total loser', and
+`complete loser' (but not **`moby loser', which would be a
+contradiction in terms). See luser.
+
+
+Node:losing, Next:loss, Previous:loser, Up:= L
+= 
+
+losing adj.
+
+Said of anything that is or causes a lose or lossage.
+"The compiler is losing badly when I try to use templates."
+
+
+Node:loss, Next:lossage, Previous:losing, Up:= L
+= 
+
+loss n.
+
+Something (not a person) that loses; a situation in which
+something is losing. Emphatic forms include `moby loss', and
+`total loss', `complete loss'. Common interjections are "What a
+loss!" and "What a moby loss!" Note that `moby loss' is OK even
+though **`moby loser' is not used; applied to an abstract noun,
+moby is simply a magnifier, whereas when applied to a person it
+implies substance and has positive connotations. Compare lossage.
+
+
+Node:lossage, Next:lost in the noise, Previous:loss, Up:= L = 
+
+lossage /los'*j/ n.
+
+[very common] The result of a bug or malfunction. This is a
+mass or collective noun. "What a loss!" and "What lossage!" are
+nearly synonymous. The former is slightly more particular to the
+speaker's present circumstances; the latter implies a continuing
+lose of which the speaker is currently
+a victim. Thus (for example) a temporary hardware failure is a
+loss, but bugs in an important tool (like a compiler) are serious
+lossage.
+
+
+Node:lost in the noise,
+Next:lost in
+the underflow, Previous:lossage, Up:= L
+= 
+
+lost in the noise adj.
+
+Syn. lost in the
+underflow. This term is from signal processing, where
+signals of very small amplitude cannot be separated from
+low-intensity noise in the system. Though popular among hackers,
+it is not confined to hackerdom; physicists, engineers,
+astronomers, and statisticians all use it.
+
+
+Node:lost in the
+underflow, Next:lots of MIPS but no
+I/O, Previous:lost in the noise, Up:= L = 
+
+lost in the underflow adj.
+
+Too small to be worth considering; more specifically, small
+beyond the limits of accuracy or measurement. This is a reference
+to `floating underflow', a condition that can occur when a
+floating-point arithmetic processor tries to handle quantities
+smaller than its limit of magnitude. It is also a pun on
+`undertow' (a kind of fast, cold current that sometimes runs just
+offshore and can be dangerous to swimmers). "Well, sure, photon
+pressure from the stadium lights alters the path of a thrown
+baseball, but that effect gets lost in the underflow." Compare
+epsilon, epsilon squared; see also overflow bit.
+
+
+Node:lots of MIPS
+but no I/O, Next:low-bandwidth, Previous:lost in the underflow,
+Up:= L = 
+
+lots of MIPS but no I/O adj.
+
+Used to describe a person who is technically brilliant but
+can't seem to communicate with human beings effectively.
+Technically it describes a machine that has lots of processing
+power but is bottlenecked on input-output (in 1991, the IBM Rios,
+a.k.a. RS/6000, was a notorious example).
+
+
+Node:low-bandwidth, Next:LPT, Previous:lots of MIPS but no
+I/O, Up:= L = 
+
+low-bandwidth adj.
+
+[from communication theory] Used to indicate a talk that,
+although not content-free, was
+not terribly informative. "That was a low-bandwidth talk, but
+what can you expect for an audience of suits!" Compare zero-content, bandwidth, math-out.
+
+
+Node:LPT, Next:Lubarsky's Law
+of Cybernetic Entomology, Previous:low-bandwidth, Up:= L = 
+
+LPT /L-P-T/ or /lip'it/ or /lip-it'/ n.
+
+1. Line printer (originally Line Printing Terminal). Rare
+under Unix, more common among hackers who grew up with ITS,
+MS-DOS, CP/M and other operating systems that were strongly
+influenced by early DEC conventions. 2.
+Local PorT. Used among MS-DOS programmers (and so expanded in the
+MS-DOS 5 manual). It seems likely this is a backronym.
+
+
+Node:Lubarsky's Law
+of Cybernetic Entomology, Next:Lumber Cartel, Previous:LPT, Up:= L
+= 
+
+Lubarsky's Law of Cybernetic Entomology prov.
+
+"There is always one more bug."
+
+
+Node:Lumber Cartel, Next:lunatic fringe, Previous:Lubarsky's Law
+of Cybernetic Entomology, Up:= L = 
+
+Lumber Cartel n.
+
+A mythical conspiracy accused by spam-spewers of funding anti-spam activism in
+order to force the direct-mail promotions industry back onto
+paper. Hackers, predictably, responded by forming a "Lumber
+Cartel" spoofing this paranoid theory; the web page is http://come.to/the.lumber.cartel.
+Members often include the tag TINLC ("There Is No Lumber Cartel")
+in their postings; see TINC, backbone cabal and NANA for explanation.
+
+
+Node:lunatic fringe, Next:lurker, Previous:Lumber Cartel, Up:= L = 
+
+lunatic fringe n.
+
+[IBM] Customers who can be relied upon to accept release 1
+versions of software. Compare heatseeker.
+
+
+Node:lurker, Next:luser, Previous:lunatic fringe, Up:= L = 
+
+lurker n.
+
+One of the `silent majority' in a electronic forum; one who
+posts occasionally or not at all but is known to read the group's
+postings regularly. This term is not pejorative and indeed is
+casually used reflexively: "Oh, I'm just lurking." Often used in
+`the lurkers', the hypothetical audience for the group's flamage-emitting regulars. When a lurker
+speaks up for the first time, this is called `delurking'.
+
+The creator of the popular science-fiction TV series "Babylon
+5" has ties to SF fandom and the hacker culture. In that series,
+the use of the term `lurker' for a homeless or displaced person
+is a conscious reference to the jargon term.
+
+
+Node:luser, Next:M, Previous:lurker,
+Up:= L = 
+
+luser /loo'zr/ n.
+
+[common] A user; esp. one who is
+also a loser. (luser and loser are
+pronounced identically.) This word was coined around 1975 at MIT.
+Under ITS, when you first walked up to a terminal at MIT and
+typed Control-Z to get the computer's attention, it printed out
+some status information, including how many people were already
+using the computer; it might print "14 users", for example.
+Someone thought it would be a great joke to patch the system to
+print "14 losers" instead. There ensued a great controversy, as
+some of the users didn't particularly want to be called losers to
+their faces every time they used the computer. For a while
+several hackers struggled covertly, each changing the message
+behind the back of the others; any time you logged into the
+computer it was even money whether it would say "users" or
+"losers". Finally, someone tried the compromise "lusers", and it
+stuck. Later one of the ITS machines supported luser
+as a request-for-help command. ITS died the death in mid-1990,
+except as a museum piece; the usage lives on, however, and the
+term `luser' is often seen in program comments and on Usenet.
+Compare mundane, muggle.
+
+
+Node:= M =, Next:= N =, Previous:= L =, Up:The Jargon Lexicon 
+
+= M =
+
+
+M:
+
+
+M$:
+
+
+macdink:
+
+
+machinable:
+
+
+machoflops:
+
+
+Macintoy:
+
+
+Macintrash:
+
+
+macro:
+
+
+macro-:
+
+
+macrology:
+
+
+macrotape:
+
+
+maggotbox:
+
+
+magic:
+
+
+magic cookie:
+
+
+magic number:
+
+
+magic smoke:
+
+
+mail storm:
+
+
+mailbomb:
+
+
+mailing list:
+
+
+main loop:
+
+
+mainframe:
+
+
+management:
+
+
+mandelbug:
+
+
+manged:
+
+
+mangle:
+
+
+mangled name:
+
+
+mangler:
+
+
+manularity:
+
+
+marbles:
+
+
+marginal:
+
+
+Marginal Hacks:
+
+
+marginally:
+
+
+marketroid:
+
+
+Mars:
+
+
+martian:
+
+
+massage:
+
+
+math-out:
+
+
+Matrix:
+
+
+maximum Maytag
+mode:
+
+
+meatspace:
+
+
+meatware:
+
+
+meeces:
+
+
+meg:
+
+
+mega-:
+
+
+megapenny:
+
+
+MEGO:
+
+
+meltdown network:
+
+
+meme:
+
+
+meme plague:
+
+
+memetics:
+
+
+memory farts:
+
+
+memory leak:
+
+
+memory smash:
+
+
+menuitis:
+
+
+mess-dos:
+
+
+meta:
+
+
+meta bit:
+
+
+metasyntactic
+variable:
+
+
+MFTL:
+
+
+mickey:
+
+
+mickey mouse
+program:
+
+
+micro-:
+
+
+MicroDroid:
+
+
+microfloppies:
+
+
+microfortnight:
+
+
+microLenat:
+
+
+microReid:
+
+
+microserf:
+
+
+Microsloth Windows:
+
+
+Microsoft:
+
+
+micros~1:
+
+
+middle-endian:
+
+
+middle-out
+implementation:
+
+
+milliLampson:
+
+
+minifloppies:
+
+
+MIPS:
+
+
+misbug:
+
+
+misfeature:
+
+
+Missed'em-five:
+
+
+missile address:
+
+
+miswart:
+
+
+MMF:
+
+
+mobo:
+
+
+moby:
+
+
+mockingbird:
+
+
+mod:
+
+
+mode:
+
+
+mode bit:
+
+
+modulo:
+
+
+molly-guard:
+
+
+Mongolian Hordes
+technique:
+
+
+monkey up:
+
+
+monkey scratch:
+
+
+monstrosity:
+
+
+monty:
+
+
+Moof:
+
+
+Moore's Law:
+
+
+moose call:
+
+
+moria:
+
+
+MOTAS:
+
+
+MOTOS:
+
+
+MOTSS:
+
+
+mouse ahead:
+
+
+mouse around:
+
+
+mouse belt:
+
+
+mouse droppings:
+
+
+mouse elbow:
+
+
+mouso:
+
+
+MS-DOS:
+
+
+mu:
+
+
+MUD:
+
+
+muddie:
+
+
+mudhead:
+
+
+muggle:
+
+
+multician:
+
+
+Multics:
+
+
+multitask:
+
+
+mumblage:
+
+
+mumble:
+
+
+munch:
+
+
+munching:
+
+
+munching squares:
+
+
+munchkin:
+
+
+mundane:
+
+
+mung:
+
+
+munge:
+
+
+Murphy's Law:
+
+
+music:
+
+
+mutter:
+
+
+Node:M, Next:M$,
+Previous:luser, Up:= M = 
+
+M pref. (on units) suff. (on numbers)
+
+[SI] See quantifiers.
+
+
+Node:M$, Next:macdink, Previous:M, Up:= M = 
+
+M$
+
+Common net abbreviation for Microsoft, everybody's least
+favorite monopoly.
+
+
+Node:macdink, Next:machinable, Previous:M$, Up:= M = 
+
+macdink /mak'dink/ vt.
+
+[from the Apple Macintosh, which is said to encourage such
+behavior] To make many incremental and unnecessary cosmetic
+changes to a program or file. Often the subject of the macdinking
+would be better off without them. "When I left at 11
+P.M. last night, he was still macdinking the
+slides for his presentation." See also fritterware, window shopping.
+
+
+Node:machinable, Next:machoflops, Previous:macdink, Up:= M = 
+
+machinable adj.
+
+Machine-readable. Having the softcopy nature.
+
+
+Node:machoflops, Next:Macintoy, Previous:machinable, Up:= M = 
+
+machoflops /mach'oh-flops/ n.
+
+[pun on `megaflops', a coinage for `millions of FLoating-point
+Operations Per Second'] Refers to artificially inflated
+performance figures often quoted by computer manufacturers. Real
+applications are lucky to get half the quoted speed. See Your mileage may
+vary, benchmark.
+
+
+Node:Macintoy, Next:Macintrash, Previous:machoflops, Up:= M = 
+
+Macintoy /mak'in-toy/ n.
+
+The Apple Macintosh, considered as a toy. Less pejorative than Macintrash.
+
+
+Node:Macintrash, Next:macro, Previous:Macintoy, Up:=
+M = 
+
+Macintrash /mak'in-trash`/ n.
+
+The Apple Macintosh, as described by a hacker who doesn't
+appreciate being kept away from the real computer by the
+interface. The term maggotbox has
+been reported in regular use in the Research Triangle area of
+North Carolina. Compare Macintoy.
+See also beige toaster,
+WIMP environment, point-and-drool
+interface, drool-proof
+paper, user-friendly.
+
+
+Node:macro, Next:macro-, Previous:Macintrash, Up:= M = 
+
+macro /mak'roh/ n.
+
+[techspeak] A name (possibly followed by a formal arg list) that is equated to a text or symbolic
+expression to which it is to be expanded (possibly with the
+substitution of actual arguments) by a macro expander. This
+definition can be found in any technical dictionary; what those
+won't tell you is how the hackish connotations of the term have
+changed over time.
+
+The term `macro' originated in early assemblers, which
+encouraged the use of macros as a structuring and
+information-hiding device. During the early 1970s, macro
+assemblers became ubiquitous, and sometimes quite as powerful and
+expensive as HLLs, only to fall from
+favor as improving compiler technology marginalized assembler
+programming (see languages
+of choice). Nowadays the term is most often used in
+connection with the C preprocessor, LISP, or one of several
+special-purpose languages built around a macro-expansion facility
+(such as TeX or Unix's [nt]roff suite).
+
+Indeed, the meaning has drifted enough that the collective
+`macros' is now sometimes used for code in any special-purpose
+application control language (whether or not the language is
+actually translated by text expansion), and for macro-like
+entities such as the `keyboard macros' supported in some text
+editors (and PC TSR or Macintosh INIT/CDEV keyboard
+enhancers).
+
+
+Node:macro-, Next:macrology, Previous:macro, Up:= M
+= 
+
+macro- pref.
+
+Large. Opposite of micro-. In the
+mainstream and among other technical cultures (for example,
+medical people) this competes with the prefix mega-, but hackers tend to restrict the latter
+to quantification.
+
+
+Node:macrology, Next:macrotape, Previous:macro-, Up:= M
+= 
+
+macrology /mak-rol'*-jee/ n.
+
+1. Set of usually complex or crufty macros, e.g., as part of a
+large system written in LISP, TECO, or (less commonly) assembler. 2. The
+art and science involved in comprehending a macrology in sense 1.
+Sometimes studying the macrology of a system is not unlike
+archeology, ecology, or theology,
+hence the sound-alike construction. See also boxology.
+
+
+Node:macrotape, Next:maggotbox, Previous:macrology, Up:= M = 
+
+macrotape /mak'roh-tayp/ n.
+
+An industry-standard reel of tape. Originally, as opposed to a
+DEC microtape; nowadays, as opposed to modern QIC and DDS tapes.
+Syn. round tape.
+
+
+Node:maggotbox, Next:magic, Previous:macrotape, Up:= M = 
+
+maggotbox /mag'*t-boks/ n.
+
+See Macintrash. This is even
+more derogatory.
+
+
+Node:magic, Next:magic cookie, Previous:maggotbox, Up:= M = 
+
+magic
+
+1. adj. As yet unexplained, or too complicated to explain;
+compare automagically and
+(Arthur C.) Clarke's Third Law: "Any sufficiently advanced
+technology is indistinguishable from magic." "TTY echoing is
+controlled by a large number of magic bits." "This routine
+magically computes the parity of an 8-bit byte in three
+instructions." 2. adj. Characteristic of something that works
+although no one really understands why (this is especially called
+black magic). 3. n.
+[Stanford] A feature not generally publicized that allows
+something otherwise impossible, or a feature formerly in that
+category but now unveiled. 4. n. The ultimate goal of all
+engineering & development, elegance in the extreme; from the
+first corollary to Clarke's Third Law: "Any technology
+distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced".
+
+Parodies playing on these senses of the term abound; some have
+made their way into serious documentation, as when a MAGIC
+directive was described in the Control Card Reference for GCOS
+c.1978. For more about hackish `magic', see Appendix A. Compare black magic, wizardly, deep
+magic, heavy
+wizardry.
+
+
+Node:magic cookie, Next:magic number, Previous:magic, Up:= M = 
+
+magic cookie n.
+
+[Unix; common] 1. Something passed between routines or
+programs that enables the receiver to perform some operation; a
+capability ticket or opaque identifier. Especially used of small
+data objects that contain data encoded in a strange or
+intrinsically machine-dependent way. E.g., on non-Unix OSes with
+a non-byte-stream model of files, the result of
+ftell(3) may be a magic cookie rather than a byte
+offset; it can be passed to fseek(3), but not
+operated on in any meaningful way. The phrase `it hands you a
+magic cookie' means it returns a result whose contents are not
+defined but which can be passed back to the same or some other
+program later. 2. An in-band code for changing graphic rendition
+(e.g., inverse video or underlining) or performing other control
+functions (see also cookie). Some
+older terminals would leave a blank on the screen corresponding
+to mode-change magic cookies; this was also called a glitch (or occasionally a `turd'; compare mouse droppings). See also
+cookie.
+
+
+Node:magic number, Next:magic smoke, Previous:magic cookie, Up:= M = 
+
+magic number n.
+
+[Unix/C; common] 1. In source code, some non-obvious constant
+whose value is significant to the operation of a program and that
+is inserted inconspicuously in-line (hardcoded), rather than expanded in by a
+symbol set by a commented #define. Magic numbers in
+this sense are bad style. 2. A number that encodes critical
+information used in an algorithm in some opaque way. The classic
+examples of these are the numbers used in hash or CRC functions,
+or the coefficients in a linear congruential generator for
+pseudo-random numbers. This sense actually predates and was
+ancestral to the more commonsense 1. 3. Special data located at
+the beginning of a binary data file to indicate its type to a
+utility. Under Unix, the system and various applications programs
+(especially the linker) distinguish between types of executable
+file by looking for a magic number. Once upon a time, these magic
+numbers were PDP-11 branch instructions that skipped over header
+data to the start of executable code; 0407, for example, was
+octal for `branch 16 bytes relative'. Many other kinds of files
+now have magic numbers somewhere; some magic numbers are, in
+fact, strings, like the !<arch> at the
+beginning of a Unix archive file or the %! leading
+PostScript files. Nowadays only a wizard knows the spells to create magic
+numbers. How do you choose a fresh magic number of your own?
+Simple -- you pick one at random. See? It's magic!
+
+The magic number, on the other hand, is 7+/-2. See
+"The magical number seven, plus or minus two: some limits on our
+capacity for processing information" by George Miller, in the
+"Psychological Review" 63:81-97 (1956). This classic paper
+established the number of distinct items (such as numeric digits)
+that humans can hold in short-term memory. Among other things,
+this strongly influenced the interface design of the phone
+system.
+
+
+Node:magic smoke, Next:mail storm, Previous:magic number, Up:= M = 
+
+magic smoke n.
+
+A substance trapped inside IC packages that enables them to
+function (also called `blue smoke'; this is similar to the
+archaic `phlogiston' hypothesis about combustion). Its existence
+is demonstrated by what happens when a chip burns up -- the magic
+smoke gets let out, so it doesn't work any more. See smoke test, let the smoke out.
+
+Usenetter Jay Maynard tells the following story: "Once, while
+hacking on a dedicated Z80 system, I was testing code by blowing
+EPROMs and plugging them in the system, then seeing what
+happened. One time, I plugged one in backwards. I only discovered
+that after I realized that Intel didn't put power-on
+lights under the quartz windows on the tops of their EPROMs --
+the die was glowing white-hot. Amazingly, the EPROM worked fine
+after I erased it, filled it full of zeros, then erased it again.
+For all I know, it's still in service. Of course, this is because
+the magic smoke didn't get let out." Compare the original
+phrasing of Murphy's
+Law.
+
+
+Node:mail storm, Next:mailbomb, Previous:magic smoke, Up:= M = 
+
+mail storm n.
+
+[from broadcast storm,
+influenced by `maelstrom'] What often happens when a machine with
+an Internet connection and active users re-connects after
+extended downtime -- a flood of incoming mail that brings the
+machine to its knees. See also hairball.
+
+
+Node:mailbomb, Next:mailing list, Previous:mail storm, Up:= M = 
+
+mailbomb
+
+(also _mail bomb_) [Usenet] 1. v. To send, or urge others
+to send, massive amounts of email to
+a single system or person, esp. with intent to crash or spam the recipient's system. Sometimes done
+in retaliation for a perceived serious offense. Mailbombing is
+itself widely regarded as a serious offense -- it can disrupt
+email traffic or other facilities for innocent users on the
+victim's system, and in extreme cases, even at upstream sites. 2.
+n. An automatic procedure with a similar effect. 3. n. The mail
+sent. Compare letterbomb, nastygram, BLOB (sense 2), list-bomb.
+
+
+Node:mailing list, Next:main loop, Previous:mailbomb, Up:= M = 
+
+mailing list n.
+
+(often shortened in context to `list') 1. An email address that is an alias (or macro, though that word is never used in this
+connection) for many other email addresses. Some mailing lists
+are simple `reflectors', redirecting mail sent to them to the
+list of recipients. Others are filtered by humans or programs of
+varying degrees of sophistication; lists filtered by humans are
+said to be `moderated'. 2. The people who receive your email when
+you send it to such an address.
+
+Mailing lists are one of the primary forms of hacker
+interaction, along with Usenet. They
+predate Usenet, having originated with the first UUCP and ARPANET
+connections. They are often used for private information-sharing
+on topics that would be too specialized for or inappropriate to
+public Usenet groups. Though some of these maintain almost purely
+technical content (such as the Internet Engineering Task Force
+mailing list), others (like the `sf-lovers' list maintained for
+many years by Saul Jaffe) are recreational, and many are purely
+social. Perhaps the most infamous of the social lists was the
+eccentric _bandykin_ distribution; its latter-day progeny,
+_lectroids_ and _tanstaafl_, still include a number of
+the oddest and most interesting people in hackerdom.
+
+Mailing lists are easy to create and (unlike Usenet) don't tie
+up a significant amount of machine resources (until they get very
+large, at which point they can become interesting torture tests
+for mail software). Thus, they are often created temporarily by
+working groups, the members of which can then collaborate on a
+project without ever needing to meet face-to-face. Much of the
+material in this lexicon was criticized and polished on just such
+a mailing list (called `jargon-friends'), which included all the
+co-authors of Steele-1983.
+
+
+Node:main loop, Next:mainframe, Previous:mailing list, Up:= M = 
+
+main loop n.
+
+The top-level control flow construct in an input- or
+event-driven program, the one which receives and acts or
+dispatches on the program's input. See also driver.
+
+
+Node:mainframe, Next:management, Previous:main loop, Up:= M = 
+
+mainframe n.
+
+Term originally referring to the cabinet containing the
+central processor unit or `main frame' of a room-filling Stone Age batch machine. After the
+emergence of smaller `minicomputer' designs in the early 1970s,
+the traditional big iron
+machines were described as `mainframe computers' and eventually
+just as mainframes. The term carries the connotation of a machine
+designed for batch rather than interactive use, though possibly
+with an interactive timesharing operating system retrofitted onto
+it; it is especially used of machines built by IBM, Unisys, and
+the other great dinosaurs
+surviving from computing's Stone
+Age.
+
+It has been common wisdom among hackers since the late 1980s
+that the mainframe architectural tradition is essentially dead
+(outside of the tiny market for number-crunching supercomputers (see
+cray)), having been swamped by the
+recent huge advances in IC technology and low-cost personal
+computing. The wave of failures, takeovers, and mergers among
+traditional mainframe makers in the early 1990s bore this out.
+The biggest mainframer of all, IBM, was compelled to re-invent
+itself as a huge systems-consulting house. (See dinosaurs mating and killer micro).
+
+
+Node:management, Next:mandelbug, Previous:mainframe, Up:= M = 
+
+management n.
+
+1. Corporate power elites distinguished primarily by their
+distance from actual productive work and their chronic failure to
+manage (see also suit). Spoken
+derisively, as in "Management decided that
+...". 2. Mythically, a vast bureaucracy
+responsible for all the world's minor irritations. Hackers'
+satirical public notices are often signed `The Mgt'; this derives
+from the "Illuminatus" novels (see the Bibliography in Appendix C).
+
+
+Node:mandelbug, Next:manged, Previous:management, Up:= M = 
+
+mandelbug /man'del-buhg/ n.
+
+[from the Mandelbrot set] A bug whose underlying causes are so
+complex and obscure as to make its behavior appear chaotic or
+even non-deterministic. This term implies that the speaker thinks
+it is a Bohr bug, rather than a
+heisenbug. See also schroedinbug.
+
+
+Node:manged, Next:mangle, Previous:mandelbug, Up:= M = 
+
+manged /mahnjd/ n.
+
+[probably from the French `manger' or Italian `mangiare', to
+eat; perhaps influenced by English `mange', `mangy'] adj. Refers
+to anything that is mangled or damaged, usually beyond repair.
+"The disk was manged after the electrical storm." Compare mung.
+
+
+Node:mangle, Next:mangled name, Previous:manged, Up:=
+M = 
+
+mangle vt.
+
+1. Used similarly to mung or scribble, but more violent in its
+connotations; something that is mangled has been irreversibly and
+totally trashed. 2. To produce the mangled name corresponding to a C++
+declaration.
+
+
+Node:mangled name, Next:mangler, Previous:mangle, Up:=
+M = 
+
+mangled name n.
+
+A name, appearing in a C++ object file, that is a coded
+representation of the object declaration as it appears in the
+source. Mangled names are used because C++ allows multiple
+objects to have the same name, as long as they are
+distinguishable in some other way, such as by having different
+parameter types. Thus, the internal name must have that
+additional information embedded in it, using the limited
+character set allowed by most linkers. For instance, one popular
+compiler encodes the standard library function declaration
+"memchr(const void*,int,unsigned int)" as "@memchr$qpxviui".
+
+
+Node:mangler, Next:manularity, Previous:mangled name, Up:= M = 
+
+mangler n.
+
+[DEC] A manager. Compare management. Note that system mangler is somewhat different
+in connotation.
+
+
+Node:manularity, Next:marbles, Previous:mangler, Up:= M
+= 
+
+manularity /man`yoo-la'ri-tee/ n.
+
+[prob. fr. techspeak `manual' + `granularity'] A notional
+measure of the manual labor required for some task, particularly
+one of the sort that automation is supposed to eliminate.
+"Composing English on paper has much higher manularity than using
+a text editor, especially in the revising stage." Hackers tend to
+consider manularity a symptom of primitive methods; in fact, a
+true hacker confronted with an apparent requirement to do a
+computing task by hand will
+inevitably seize the opportunity to build another tool (see toolsmith).
+
+
+Node:marbles, Next:marginal, Previous:manularity, Up:= M = 
+
+marbles pl.n.
+
+[from mainstream "lost all his/her marbles"] The minimum
+needed to build your way further up some hierarchy of tools or
+abstractions. After a bad system crash, you need to determine if
+the machine has enough marbles to come up on its own, or enough
+marbles to allow a rebuild from backups, or if you need to
+rebuild from scratch. "This compiler doesn't even have enough
+marbles to compile hello
+world."
+
+
+Node:marginal, Next:Marginal Hacks, Previous:marbles, Up:= M = 
+
+marginal adj.
+
+[common] 1. [techspeak] An extremely small change. "A marginal
+increase in core can decrease GC time drastically." In everyday terms, this
+means that it is a lot easier to clean off your desk if you have
+a spare place to put some of the junk while you sort through it.
+2. Of little merit. "This proposed new feature seems rather
+marginal to me." 3. Of extremely small probability of winning. "The power supply was rather marginal
+anyway; no wonder it fried."
+
+
+Node:Marginal Hacks, Next:marginally, Previous:marginal, Up:= M = 
+
+Marginal Hacks n.
+
+Margaret Jacks Hall, a building into which the Stanford AI Lab
+was moved near the beginning of the 1980s (from the D. C. Power Lab).
+
+
+Node:marginally, Next:marketroid, Previous:Marginal Hacks, Up:= M = 
+
+marginally adv.
+
+Slightly. "The ravs here are only marginally better than at
+Small Eating Place." See epsilon.
+
+
+Node:marketroid, Next:Mars, Previous:marginally, Up:= M = 
+
+marketroid /mar'k*-troyd/ n.
+
+alt. `marketing slime', `marketeer', `marketing droid',
+`marketdroid'. A member of a company's marketing department, esp.
+one who promises users that the next version of a product will
+have features that are not actually scheduled for inclusion, are
+extremely difficult to implement, and/or are in violation of the
+laws of physics; and/or one who describes existing features (and
+misfeatures) in ebullient, buzzword-laden adspeak. Derogatory.
+Compare droid.
+
+
+Node:Mars, Next:martian, Previous:marketroid, Up:= M = 
+
+Mars n.
+
+A legendary tragic failure, the archetypal Hacker Dream Gone
+Wrong. Mars was the code name for a family of PDP-10 compatible
+computers built by Systems Concepts (now, The SC Group): the
+multi-processor SC-30M, the small uniprocessor SC-25M, and the
+never-built superprocessor SC-40M. These machines were marvels of
+engineering design; although not much slower than the unique
+Foonly F-1, they were physically
+smaller and consumed less power than the much slower DEC KS10 or Foonly F-2, F-3, or F-4 machines. They
+were also completely compatible with the DEC KL10, and ran all
+KL10 binaries (including the operating system) with no
+modifications at about 2-3 times faster than a KL10.
+
+When DEC cancelled the Jupiter project in 1983, Systems
+Concepts should have made a bundle selling their machine into
+shops with a lot of software investment in PDP-10s, and in fact
+their spring 1984 announcement generated a great deal of
+excitement in the PDP-10 world. TOPS-10 was running on the Mars
+by the summer of 1984, and TOPS-20 by early fall. Unfortunately,
+the hackers running Systems Concepts were much better at
+designing machines than at mass producing or selling them; the
+company allowed itself to be sidetracked by a bout of
+perfectionism into continually improving the design, and lost
+credibility as delivery dates continued to slip. They also
+overpriced the product ridiculously; they believed they were
+competing with the KL10 and VAX 8600 and failed to reckon with
+the likes of Sun Microsystems and other hungry startups building
+workstations with power comparable to the KL10 at a fraction of
+the price. By the time SC shipped the first SC-30M to Stanford in
+late 1985, most customers had already made the traumatic decision
+to abandon the PDP-10, usually for VMS or Unix boxes. Most of the
+Mars computers built ended up being purchased by CompuServe.
+
+This tale and the related saga of Foonly hold a lesson for hackers: if you want
+to play in the Real World, you
+need to learn Real World moves.
+
+
+Node:martian, Next:massage, Previous:Mars, Up:= M =
+
+
+martian n.
+
+A packet sent on a TCP/IP network with a source address of the
+test loopback interface [127.0.0.1]. This means that it will come
+back labeled with a source address that is clearly not of this
+earth. "The domain server is getting lots of packets from Mars.
+Does that gateway have a martian filter?" Compare Christmas tree packet, Godzillagram.
+
+
+Node:massage, Next:math-out, Previous:martian, Up:= M
+= 
+
+massage vt.
+
+[common] Vague term used to describe `smooth' transformations
+of a data set into a different form, esp. transformations that do
+not lose information. Connotes less pain than munch or crunch.
+"He wrote a program that massages X bitmap files into GIF
+format." Compare slurp.
+
+
+Node:math-out, Next:Matrix, Previous:massage, Up:= M
+= 
+
+math-out n.
+
+[poss. from `white-out' (the blizzard variety)] A paper or
+presentation so encrusted with mathematical or other formal
+notation as to be incomprehensible. This may be a device for
+concealing the fact that it is actually content-free. See also numbers, social science number.
+
+
+Node:Matrix, Next:maximum Maytag mode, Previous:math-out, Up:= M = 
+
+Matrix n.
+
+[FidoNet] 1. What the Opus BBS software and sysops call FidoNet. 2. Fanciful term for a cyberspace expected to emerge from
+current networking experiments (see the network). The name of the rather
+good 1999 cypherpunk movie "The
+Matrix" played on this sense, which however had been established
+for years before. 3. The totality of present-day computer
+networks (popularized in this sense by John Quarterman; rare
+outside academic literature).
+
+
+Node:maximum Maytag mode,
+Next:meatspace, Previous:Matrix, Up:= M = 
+
+maximum Maytag mode n.
+
+What a washing machine
+or, by extension, any disk drive is in when it's being used so
+heavily that it's shaking like an old Maytag with an unbalanced
+load. If prolonged for any length of time, can lead to disks
+becoming walking drives.
+In 1999 it's been some years since hard disks were large enough
+to do this, but the same phenomenon has recently been reported
+with 24X CD-ROM drives.
+
+
+Node:meatspace, Next:meatware, Previous:maximum Maytag mode, Up:= M = 
+
+meatspace /meet'spays/ n.
+
+The physical world, where the meat lives - as opposed to cyberspace. Hackers are actually more
+willing to use this term than `cyberspace', because it's not
+speculative - we already have a running meatspace implementation
+(the universe). Compare RL.
+
+
+Node:meatware, Next:meeces, Previous:meatspace, Up:= M = 
+
+meatware n.
+
+Synonym for wetware. Less
+common.
+
+
+Node:meeces, Next:meg, Previous:meatware, Up:=
+M = 
+
+meeces /mees'*z/ n.
+
+[TMRC] Occasional furry visitors who are not urchins. [That is, mice. This may no longer be
+in live use; it clearly derives from the refrain of the
+early-1960s cartoon character Mr. Jinx: "I hate meeces to
+pieces!" -- ESR]
+
+
+Node:meg, Next:mega-, Previous:meeces, Up:= M
+= 
+
+meg /meg/ n.
+
+See quantifiers.
+
+
+Node:mega-, Next:megapenny, Previous:meg, Up:= M =
+
+
+mega- /me'g*/ pref.
+
+[SI] See quantifiers.
+
+
+Node:megapenny, Next:MEGO, Previous:mega-, Up:= M
+= 
+
+megapenny /meg'*-pen`ee/ n.
+
+$10,000 (1 cent * 10^6). Used semi-humorously as a unit in
+comparing computer cost and performance figures.
+
+
+Node:MEGO, Next:meltdown network, Previous:megapenny, Up:= M = 
+
+MEGO /me'goh/ or /mee'goh/
+
+[`My Eyes Glaze Over', often `Mine Eyes Glazeth (sic) Over',
+attributed to the futurologist Herman Kahn] Also `MEGO factor'.
+1. n. A handwave intended to
+confuse the listener and hopefully induce agreement because the
+listener does not want to admit to not understanding what is
+going on. MEGO is usually directed at senior management by
+engineers and contains a high proportion of TLAs. 2. excl. An appropriate response to MEGO
+tactics. 3. Among non-hackers, often refers not to behavior that
+causes the eyes to glaze, but to the eye-glazing reaction itself,
+which may be triggered by the mere threat of technical detail as
+effectively as by an actual excess of it.
+
+
+Node:meltdown network, Next:meme, Previous:MEGO, Up:= M
+= 
+
+meltdown, network n.
+
+See network
+meltdown.
+
+
+Node:meme, Next:meme plague, Previous:meltdown network, Up:= M = 
+
+meme /meem/ n.
+
+[coined by analogy with `gene', by Richard Dawkins] An idea
+considered as a replicator, esp.
+with the connotation that memes parasitize people into
+propagating them much as viruses do. Used esp. in the phrase
+`meme complex' denoting a group of mutually supporting memes that
+form an organized belief system, such as a religion. This lexicon
+is an (epidemiological) vector of the `hacker subculture' meme
+complex; each entry might be considered a meme. However, `meme'
+is often misused to mean `meme complex'. Use of the term connotes
+acceptance of the idea that in humans (and presumably other tool-
+and language-using sophonts) cultural evolution by selection of
+adaptive ideas has superseded biological evolution by selection
+of hereditary traits. Hackers find this idea congenial for
+tolerably obvious reasons.
+
+
+Node:meme plague, Next:memetics, Previous:meme, Up:= M =
+
+
+meme plague n.
+
+The spread of a successful but pernicious meme, esp. one that parasitizes the victims into
+giving their all to propagate it. Astrology, BASIC, and the other
+guy's religion are often considered to be examples. This usage is
+given point by the historical fact that `joiner' ideologies like
+Naziism or various forms of millennarian Christianity have
+exhibited plague-like cycles of exponential growth followed by
+collapses to small reservoir populations.
+
+
+Node:memetics, Next:memory farts, Previous:meme plague, Up:= M = 
+
+memetics /me-met'iks/ n.
+
+[from meme] The study of memes. As
+of early 1999, this is still an extremely informal and
+speculative endeavor, though the first steps towards at least
+statistical rigor have been made by H. Keith Henson and others.
+Memetics is a popular topic for speculation among hackers, who
+like to see themselves as the architects of the new information
+ecologies in which memes live and replicate.
+
+
+Node:memory farts, Next:memory leak, Previous:memetics, Up:= M = 
+
+memory farts n.
+
+The flatulent sounds that some DOS box BIOSes (most notably
+AMI's) make when checking memory on bootup.
+
+
+Node:memory leak, Next:memory smash, Previous:memory farts, Up:= M = 
+
+memory leak n.
+
+An error in a program's dynamic-store allocation logic that
+causes it to fail to reclaim discarded memory, leading to
+eventual collapse due to memory exhaustion. Also (esp. at CMU)
+called core leak. These
+problems were severe on older machines with small, fixed-size
+address spaces, and special "leak detection" tools were commonly
+written to root them out. With the advent of virtual memory, it
+is unfortunately easier to be sloppy about wasting a bit of
+memory (although when you run out of memory on a VM machine, it
+means you've got a real leak!). See aliasing bug, fandango on core, smash the stack, precedence lossage, overrun screw, leaky heap, leak.
+
+
+Node:memory smash, Next:menuitis, Previous:memory leak, Up:= M = 
+
+memory smash n.
+
+[XEROX PARC] Writing through a pointer that doesn't point to
+what you think it does. This occasionally reduces your machine to
+a rubble of bits. Note that this is subtly different from (and
+more general than) related terms such as a memory leak or fandango on core because it
+doesn't imply an allocation error or overrun condition.
+
+
+Node:menuitis, Next:mess-dos, Previous:memory smash, Up:= M = 
+
+menuitis /men`yoo-i:'tis/ n.
+
+Notional disease suffered by software with an obsessively
+simple-minded menu interface and no escape. Hackers find this
+intensely irritating and much prefer the flexibility of
+command-line or language-style interfaces, especially those
+customizable via macros or a special-purpose language in which
+one can encode useful hacks. See user-obsequious, drool-proof paper, WIMP environment, for the rest of us.
+
+
+Node:mess-dos, Next:meta, Previous:menuitis, Up:=
+M = 
+
+mess-dos /mes-dos/ n.
+
+[semi-obsolescent now that DOS is] Derisory term for MS-DOS.
+Often followed by the ritual banishing "Just say No!" See MS-DOS. Most hackers (even many MS-DOS
+hackers) loathed MS-DOS for its single-tasking nature, its limits
+on application size, its nasty primitive interface, and its ties
+to IBMness and Microsoftness (see fear and loathing). Also
+`mess-loss', `messy-dos', `mess-dog', `mess-dross', `mush-dos',
+and various combinations thereof. In Ireland and the U.K. it is
+even sometimes called `Domestos' after a brand of toilet
+cleanser.
+
+
+Node:meta, Next:meta bit, Previous:mess-dos, Up:=
+M = 
+
+meta /me't*/ or /may't*/ or (Commonwealth) /mee't*/
+adj.,pref.
+
+[from analytic philosophy] One level of description up. A
+metasyntactic variable is a variable in notation used to describe
+syntax, and meta-language is language used to describe language.
+This is difficult to explain briefly, but much hacker humor turns
+on deliberate confusion between meta-levels. See hacker humor.
+
+
+Node:meta bit, Next:metasyntactic variable,
+Previous:meta, Up:= M = 
+
+meta bit n.
+
+The top bit of an 8-bit character, which is on in character
+values 128-255. Also called high
+bit, alt bit, or (rarely)
+hobbit. Some terminals and consoles
+(see space-cadet
+keyboard) have a META shift key. Others (including,
+mirabile dictu, keyboards on IBM PC-class machines) have
+an ALT key. See also bucky
+bits.
+
+Historical note: although in modern usage shaped by a universe
+of 8-bit bytes the meta bit is invariably hex 80 (octal 0200),
+things were different on earlier machines with 36-bit words and
+9-bit bytes. The MIT and Stanford keyboards (see space-cadet keyboard) generated
+hex 100 (octal 400) from their meta keys.
+
+
+Node:metasyntactic
+variable, Next:MFTL,
+Previous:meta bit, Up:= M = 
+
+metasyntactic variable n.
+
+A name used in examples and understood to stand for whatever
+thing is under discussion, or any random member of a class of
+things under discussion. The word foo
+is the canonical example. To
+avoid confusion, hackers never (well, hardly ever) use `foo' or
+other words like it as permanent names for anything. In
+filenames, a common convention is that any filename beginning
+with a metasyntactic-variable name is a scratch file that may be deleted at any
+time.
+
+Metasyntactic variables are so called because (1) they are
+variables in the metalanguage used to talk about programs etc;
+(2) they are variables whose values are often variables (as in
+usages usages like "the value of f(foo,bar) is the sum of foo and
+bar"). However, it has been plausibly suggested that the real
+reason for the term "metasyntactic variable" is that it sounds
+good.
+
+To some extent, the list of one's preferred metasyntactic
+variables is a cultural signature. They occur both in series
+(used for related groups of variables or objects) and as
+singletons. Here are a few common signatures:
+
+
+
+foo, bar,
+baz, quux,
+quuux, quuuux...:
+
+
+MIT/Stanford usage, now found everywhere (thanks largely to
+early versions of this lexicon!). At MIT (but not at Stanford),
+baz dropped out of use for a while in
+the 1970s and '80s. A common recent mutation of this sequence
+inserts qux before quux.
+
+
+bazola, ztesch:
+
+
+Stanford (from mid-'70s on).
+
+
+foo, bar,
+thud, grunt:
+
+
+This series was popular at CMU. Other CMU-associated
+variables include gorp.
+
+
+foo, bar,
+fum:
+
+
+This series is reported to be common at XEROX PARC.
+
+
+fred, jim, sheila, barney:
+
+
+See the entry for fred. These tend
+to be Britishisms.
+
+
+corge, grault, flarp:
+
+
+Popular at Rutgers University and among GOSMACS hackers.
+
+
+zxc, spqr, wombat:
+
+
+Cambridge University (England).
+
+
+shme
+
+
+Berkeley, GeoWorks, Ingres. Pronounced /shme/ with a short
+/e/.
+
+
+foo, bar, baz, bongo
+
+
+Yale, late 1970s.
+
+
+spam
+
+
+Python programmers.
+
+
+snork
+
+
+Brown University, early 1970s.
+
+
+foo, bar,
+zot
+
+
+Helsinki University of Technology, Finland.
+
+
+blarg, wibble
+
+
+New Zealand.
+
+
+toto, titi, tata, tutu
+
+
+France.
+
+
+pippo, pluto, paperino
+
+
+Italy. Pippo /pee'po/ and Paperino /pa-per-ee'-no/ are the
+Italian names for Goofy and Donald Duck.
+
+
+aap, noot, mies
+
+
+The Netherlands. These are the first words a child used to
+learn to spell on a Dutch spelling board.
+
+
+oogle, foogle, boogle; zork, gork, bork
+
+
+These two series (which may be continued with other initial
+consonents) are reportedly common in England, and said to go back
+to Lewis Carroll.
+
+
+Of all these, only `foo' and `bar' are universal (and baz nearly so). The compounds foobar and `foobaz' also enjoy very wide
+currency.
+
+Some jargon terms are also used as metasyntactic names; barf and mumble, for example. See also Commonwealth Hackish for
+discussion of numerous metasyntactic variables found in Great
+Britain and the Commonwealth.
+
+
+Node:MFTL, Next:mickey, Previous:metasyntactic variable, Up:= M = 
+
+MFTL /M-F-T-L/
+
+[abbreviation: `My Favorite Toy Language'] 1. adj. Describes a
+talk on a programming language design that is heavy on the syntax
+(with lots of BNF), sometimes even talks about semantics (e.g.,
+type systems), but rarely, if ever, has any content (see content-free). More broadly applied
+to talks -- even when the topic is not a programming language --
+in which the subject matter is gone into in unnecessary and
+meticulous detail at the sacrifice of any conceptual content.
+"Well, it was a typical MFTL talk". 2. n. Describes a language
+about which the developers are passionate (often to the point of
+proselytic zeal) but no one else cares about. Applied to the
+language by those outside the originating group. "He cornered me
+about type resolution in his MFTL."
+
+The first great goal in the mind of the designer of an MFTL is
+usually to write a compiler for it, then bootstrap the design
+away from contamination by lesser languages by writing a compiler
+for it in itself. Thus, the standard put-down question at an MFTL
+talk is "Has it been used for anything besides its own compiler?"
+On the other hand, a (compiled) language that cannot even be used
+to write its own compiler is beneath contempt. (The qualification
+has become necessary because of the increasing popularity of
+interpreted languages like Perl and
+Python. See break-even point.
+
+(On a related note, Doug McIlroy once proposed a test of the
+generality and utility of a language and the operating system
+under which it is compiled: "Is the output of a FORTRAN program
+acceptable as input to the FORTRAN compiler?" In other words, can
+you write programs that write programs? (See toolsmith.) Alarming numbers of (language,
+OS) pairs fail this test, particularly when the language is
+FORTRAN; aficionados are quick to point out that Unix (even using FORTRAN) passes it handily. That
+the test could ever be failed is only surprising to those who
+have had the good fortune to have worked only under modern
+systems which lack OS-supported and -imposed "file types".)
+
+
+Node:mickey, Next:mickey mouse program, Previous:MFTL, Up:= M = 
+
+mickey n.
+
+The resolution unit of mouse movement. It has been suggested
+that the `disney' will become a benchmark unit for animation
+graphics performance.
+
+
+Node:mickey mouse program,
+Next:micro-, Previous:mickey, Up:= M = 
+
+mickey mouse program n.
+
+North American equivalent of a noddy (that is, trivial) program. Doesn't
+necessarily have the belittling connotations of mainstream slang
+"Oh, that's just mickey mouse stuff!"; sometimes trivial programs
+can be very useful.
+
+
+Node:micro-, Next:MicroDroid, Previous:mickey mouse program, Up:= M = 
+
+micro- pref.
+
+1. Very small; this is the root of its use as a quantifier
+prefix. 2. A quantifier prefix, calling for multiplication by
+10^(-6) (see quantifiers).
+Neither of these uses is peculiar to hackers, but hackers tend to
+fling them both around rather more freely than is countenanced in
+standard English. It is recorded, for example, that one CS
+professor used to characterize the standard length of his
+lectures as a microcentury -- that is, about 52.6 minutes (see
+also attoparsec, nanoacre, and especially microfortnight). 3. Personal or
+human-scale -- that is, capable of being maintained or
+comprehended or manipulated by one human being. This sense is
+generalized from `microcomputer', and is esp. used in contrast
+with `macro-' (the corresponding Greek prefix meaning `large').
+4. Local as opposed to global (or macro-). Thus a hacker might say that buying a
+smaller car to reduce pollution only solves a microproblem; the
+macroproblem of getting to work might be better solved by using
+mass transit, moving to within walking distance, or (best of all)
+telecommuting.
+
+
+Node:MicroDroid, Next:microfloppies, Previous:micro-, Up:= M = 
+
+MicroDroid n.
+
+[Usenet] A Microsoft employee, esp. one who posts to various
+operating-system advocacy newsgroups. MicroDroids post follow-ups
+to any messages critical of Microsoft's operating systems, and
+often end up sounding like visiting fundamentalist missionaries.
+See also astroturfing; compare
+microserf.
+
+
+Node:microfloppies, Next:microfortnight, Previous:MicroDroid, Up:= M = 
+
+microfloppies n.
+
+3.5-inch floppies, as opposed to 5.25-inch vanilla or mini-floppies and the now-obsolete
+8-inch variety. This term may be headed for obsolescence as
+5.25-inchers pass out of use, only to be revived if anybody
+floats a sub-3-inch floppy standard. See stiffy, minifloppies.
+
+
+Node:microfortnight, Next:microLenat, Previous:microfloppies, Up:= M = 
+
+microfortnight n.
+
+1/1000000 of the fundamental unit of time in the
+Furlong/Firkin/Fortnight system of measurement; 1.2096 sec. (A
+furlong is 1/8th of a mile; a firkin is 1/4th of a barrel; the
+mass unit of the system is taken to be a firkin of water). The
+VMS operating system has a lot of tuning parameters that you can
+set with the SYSGEN utility, and one of these is TIMEPROMPTWAIT,
+the time the system will wait for an operator to set the correct
+date and time at boot if it realizes that the current value is
+bogus. This time is specified in microfortnights!
+
+Multiple uses of the millifortnight (about 20 minutes) and
+nanofortnight have also been
+reported.
+
+
+Node:microLenat, Next:microReid, Previous:microfortnight, Up:= M = 
+
+microLenat /mi:`-kroh-len'-*t/ n.
+
+The unit of bogosity. consensus
+is that this is the largest unit practical for everyday use. The
+microLenat, originally invented by David Jefferson, was
+promulgated as an attack against noted computer scientist Doug
+Lenat by a tenured
+graduate student at CMU. Doug had failed the student on
+an important exam because the student gave only "AI is bogus" as
+his answer to the questions. The slur is generally considered
+unmerited, but it has become a running gag nevertheless. Some of
+Doug's friends argue that of course a microLenat is
+bogus, since it is only one millionth of a Lenat. Others have
+suggested that the unit should be redesignated after the grad
+student, as the microReid.
+
+
+Node:microReid, Next:microserf, Previous:microLenat, Up:= M = 
+
+microReid /mi:'kroh-reed/ n.
+
+See microLenat.
+
+
+Node:microserf, Next:Microsloth Windows, Previous:microReid, Up:= M = 
+
+microserf /mi:'kro-s*rf/
+
+[popularized, though not originated, by Douglas Copeland's
+book "Microserfs"] A programmer at Microsoft, especially a low-level coder with
+little chance of fame or fortune. Compare MicroDroid.
+
+
+Node:Microsloth Windows,
+Next:Microsoft, Previous:microserf, Up:= M = 
+
+Microsloth Windows /mi:'kroh-sloth` win'dohz/ n.
+
+(Variants combine {Microshift, Macroshaft, Microsuck} with
+{Windoze, WinDOS}. Hackerism(s) for `Microsoft Windows'. A
+thirty-two bit extension and graphical shell to a sixteen bit
+patch to an eight bit operating system originally coded for a
+four bit microprocessor which was written by a two-bit company
+that can't stand one bit of competition. Also just called
+`Windoze', with the implication that you can fall asleep waiting
+for it to do anything; the latter term is extremely common on
+Usenet. See Black
+Screen of Death and Blue Screen of Death;
+compare X, sun-stools.
+
+
+Node:Microsoft, Next:micros~1, Previous:Microsloth Windows, Up:= M = 
+
+Microsoft
+
+The new Evil Empire (the
+old one was IBM). The basic complaints
+are, as formerly with IBM, that (a) their system designs are
+horrible botches, (b) we can't get source to fix them, and (c) they throw their
+weight around a lot. See also Halloween Documents.
+
+
+Node:micros~1, Next:middle-endian, Previous:Microsoft, Up:= M = 
+
+micros~1
+
+An abbreviation of the full name Microsoft resembling the rather bogus way Windows 9x's VFAT filesystem truncates
+long file names to fit in the MS-DOS 8+3 scheme (the real
+filename is stored elsewhere). If other files start with the same
+prefix, they'll be called micros~2 and so on, causing lots of
+problems with backups and other routine system-administration
+problems. During the US Antitrust trial against Microsoft the
+names Micros~1 ans Micros~2 were suggested for the two companies
+that would exist after a break-up.
+
+
+Node:middle-endian, Next:middle-out
+implementation, Previous:micros~1, Up:= M = 
+
+middle-endian adj.
+
+Not big-endian or little-endian. Used of perverse byte
+orders such as 3-4-1-2 or 2-1-4-3, occasionally found in the
+packed-decimal formats of minicomputer manufacturers who shall
+remain nameless. See NUXI
+problem. Non-US hackers use this term to describe the
+American mm/dd/yy style of writing dates (Europeans write
+little-endian dd/mm/yy, and Japanese use big-endian yy/mm/dd for
+Western dates).
+
+
+Node:middle-out
+implementation, Next:milliLampson, Previous:middle-endian, Up:= M = 
+
+middle-out implementation
+
+See bottom-up
+implementation.
+
+
+Node:milliLampson, Next:minifloppies, Previous:middle-out
+implementation, Up:= M
+= 
+
+milliLampson /mil'*-lamp`sn/ n.
+
+A unit of talking speed, abbreviated mL. Most people run about
+200 milliLampsons. The eponymous Butler Lampson (a CS theorist
+and systems implementor highly regarded among hackers) goes at
+1000. A few people speak faster. This unit is sometimes used to
+compare the (sometimes widely disparate) rates at which people
+can generate ideas and actually emit them in speech. For example,
+noted computer architect C. Gordon Bell (designer of the PDP-11)
+is said, with some awe, to think at about 1200 mL but only talk
+at about 300; he is frequently reduced to fragments of sentences
+as his mouth tries to keep up with his speeding brain.
+
+
+Node:minifloppies, Next:MIPS, Previous:milliLampson, Up:= M = 
+
+minifloppies n.,obs.
+
+5.25-inch floppy disks, as opposed to 3.5-inch or microfloppies and the long-obsolescent
+8-inch variety (if there is ever a smaller size, they will
+undoubtedly be tagged `nanofloppies'). At one time, this term was
+a trademark of Shugart Associates for their SA-400 minifloppy
+drive. Nobody paid any attention. See stiffy.
+
+
+Node:MIPS, Next:misbug, Previous:minifloppies, Up:= M = 
+
+MIPS /mips/ n.
+
+[abbreviation] 1. A measure of computing speed; formally,
+`Million Instructions Per Second' (that's 10^6 per second, not
+2^(20)!); often rendered by hackers as `Meaningless Indication of
+Processor Speed' or in other unflattering ways, such as
+`Meaningless Information Provided by Salesmen'. This joke
+expresses an attitude nearly universal among hackers about the
+value of most benchmark claims,
+said attitude being one of the great cultural divides between
+hackers and marketroids (see
+also BogoMIPS). The singular is
+sometimes `1 MIP' even though this is clearly etymologically
+wrong. See also KIPS and GIPS. 2. Computers, especially large computers,
+considered abstractly as sources of computrons. "This is just a workstation; the
+heavy MIPS are hidden in the basement." 3. The corporate name of
+a particular RISC-chip company; among other things, they designed
+the processor chips used in DEC's 3100
+workstation series. 4. Acronym for `Meaningless Information per
+Second' (a joke, prob. from sense 1).
+
+
+Node:misbug, Next:misfeature, Previous:MIPS, Up:= M =
+
+
+misbug /mis-buhg/ n.
+
+[MIT; rare (like its referent)] An unintended property of a
+program that turns out to be useful; something that should have
+been a bug but turns out to be a feature. Compare green lightning. See miswart.
+
+
+Node:misfeature, Next:Missed'em-five, Previous:misbug, Up:= M = 
+
+misfeature /mis-fee'chr/ or /mis'fee`chr/ n.
+
+[common] A feature that eventually causes lossage, possibly
+because it is not adequate for a new situation that has evolved.
+Since it results from a deliberate and properly implemented
+feature, a misfeature is not a bug. Nor is it a simple unforeseen
+side effect; the term implies that the feature in question was
+carefully planned, but its long-term consequences were not
+accurately or adequately predicted (which is quite different from
+not having thought ahead at all). A misfeature can be a
+particularly stubborn problem to resolve, because fixing it
+usually involves a substantial philosophical change to the
+structure of the system involved.
+
+Many misfeatures (especially in user-interface design) arise
+because the designers/implementors mistake their personal tastes
+for laws of nature. Often a former feature becomes a misfeature
+because trade-offs were made whose parameters subsequently change
+(possibly only in the judgment of the implementors). "Well, yeah,
+it is kind of a misfeature that file names are limited to six
+characters, but the original implementors wanted to save
+directory space and we're stuck with it for now."
+
+
+Node:Missed'em-five, Next:missile address, Previous:misfeature, Up:= M = 
+
+Missed'em-five n.
+
+Pejorative hackerism for AT&T System V Unix, generally
+used by BSD partisans in a bigoted
+mood. (The synonym `SysVile' is also encountered.) See software bloat, Berzerkeley.
+
+
+Node:missile address, Next:miswart, Previous:Missed'em-five, Up:= M = 
+
+missile address n.
+
+See ICBM address.
+
+
+Node:miswart, Next:MMF, Previous:missile address, Up:= M = 
+
+miswart /mis-wort/ n.
+
+[from wart by analogy with misbug] A feature that superficially appears to be a
+wart but has been determined to be the
+Right Thing. For example, in
+some versions of the EMACS text
+editor, the `transpose characters' command exchanges the
+character under the cursor with the one before it on the screen,
+except when the cursor is at the end of a line, in which
+case the two characters before the cursor are exchanged. While
+this behavior is perhaps surprising, and certainly inconsistent,
+it has been found through extensive experimentation to be what
+most users want. This feature is a miswart.
+
+
+Node:MMF, Next:mobo, Previous:miswart, Up:= M
+= 
+
+MMF //
+
+[Usenet; common] Abbreviation: "Make Money Fast". Refers to
+any kind of scheme which promises participants large profits with
+little or no risk or effort. Typically, it is a some kind of
+multi-level marketing operation which involves recruiting more
+members, or an illegal pyramid scam. The term is also used to
+refer to any kind of spam which promotes this. For more
+information, see the Make Money Fast Myth
+Page.
+
+
+Node:mobo, Next:moby, Previous:MMF,
+Up:= M = 
+
+mobo /moh'bo/
+
+Written and (rarely) spoken contraction of "motherboard"
+
+
+Node:moby, Next:mockingbird, Previous:mobo, Up:= M =
+
+
+moby /moh'bee/
+
+[MIT: seems to have been in use among model railroad fans
+years ago. Derived from Melville's "Moby Dick" (some say from
+`Moby Pickle'). Now common.] 1. adj. Large, immense, complex,
+impressive. "A Saturn V rocket is a truly moby frob." "Some MIT
+undergrads pulled off a moby hack at the Harvard-Yale game." (See
+Appendix A for discussion.) 2.
+n. obs. The maximum address space of a machine (see below). For a
+680[234]0 or VAX or most modern 32-bit architectures, it is
+4,294,967,296 8-bit bytes (4 gigabytes). 3. A title of address
+(never of third-person reference), usually used to show
+admiration, respect, and/or friendliness to a competent hacker.
+"Greetings, moby Dave. How's that address-book thing for the Mac
+going?" 4. adj. In backgammon, doubles on the dice, as in `moby
+sixes', `moby ones', etc. Compare this with bignum (sense 3): double sixes are both bignums
+and moby sixes, but moby ones are not bignums (the use of `moby'
+to describe double ones is sarcastic). Standard emphatic forms:
+`Moby foo', `moby win', `moby loss'. `Foby moo': a spoonerism due
+to Richard Greenblatt. 5. The largest available unit of something
+which is available in discrete increments. Thus, ordering a "moby
+Coke" at the local fast-food joint is not just a request for a
+large Coke, it's an explicit request for the largest size they
+sell.
+
+This term entered hackerdom with the Fabritek 256K memory
+added to the MIT AI PDP-6 machine, which was considered
+unimaginably huge when it was installed in the 1960s (at a time
+when a more typical memory size for a timesharing system was 72
+kilobytes). Thus, a moby is classically 256K 36-bit words, the
+size of a PDP-6 or PDP-10 moby. Back when address registers were
+narrow the term was more generally useful, because when a
+computer had virtual memory mapping, it might actually have more
+physical memory attached to it than any one program could access
+directly. One could then say "This computer has 6 mobies" meaning
+that the ratio of physical memory to address space is 6, without
+having to say specifically how much memory there actually is.
+That in turn implied that the computer could timeshare six
+`full-sized' programs without having to swap programs between
+memory and disk.
+
+Nowadays the low cost of processor logic means that address
+spaces are usually larger than the most physical memory you can
+cram onto a machine, so most systems have much less than
+one theoretical `native' moby of core.
+Also, more modern memory-management techniques (esp. paging) make
+the `moby count' less significant. However, there is one series
+of widely-used chips for which the term could stand to be revived
+-- the Intel 8088 and 80286 with their incredibly brain-damaged segmented-memory designs.
+On these, a `moby' would be the 1-megabyte address span of a
+segment/offset pair (by coincidence, a PDP-10 moby was exactly 1
+megabyte of 9-bit bytes).
+
+
+Node:mockingbird, Next:mod, Previous:moby, Up:= M =
+
+
+mockingbird n.
+
+Software that intercepts communications (especially login
+transactions) between users and hosts and provides system-like
+responses to the users while saving their responses (especially
+account IDs and passwords). A special case of Trojan horse.
+
+
+Node:mod, Next:mode, Previous:mockingbird, Up:= M = 
+
+mod vt.,n.
+
+[very common] 1. Short for `modify' or `modification'. Very
+commonly used -- in fact the full terms are considered markers
+that one is being formal. The plural `mods' is used esp. with
+reference to bug fixes or minor design changes in hardware or
+software, most esp. with respect to patch sets or a diff.
+2. Short for modulo but used
+only for its techspeak sense.
+
+
+Node:mode, Next:mode bit, Previous:mod, Up:= M =
+
+
+mode n.
+
+[common] A general state, usually used with an adjective
+describing the state. Use of the word `mode' rather than `state'
+implies that the state is extended over time, and probably also
+that some activity characteristic of that state is being carried
+out. "No time to hack; I'm in thesis mode." In its jargon sense,
+`mode' is most often attributed to people, though it is sometimes
+applied to programs and inanimate objects. In particular, see
+hack mode, day mode, night
+mode, demo mode, fireworks mode, and yoyo mode; also talk mode.
+
+One also often hears the verbs `enable' and `disable' used in
+connection with jargon modes. Thus, for example, a sillier way of
+saying "I'm going to crash" is "I'm going to enable crash mode
+now". One might also hear a request to "disable flame mode,
+please".
+
+In a usage much closer to techspeak, a mode is a special state
+that certain user interfaces must pass into in order to perform
+certain functions. For example, in order to insert characters
+into a document in the Unix editor vi, one must type
+the "i" key, which invokes the "Insert" command. The effect of
+this command is to put vi into "insert mode", in which typing the
+"i" key has a quite different effect (to wit, it inserts an "i"
+into the document). One must then hit another special key, "ESC",
+in order to leave "insert mode". Nowadays, modeful interfaces are
+generally considered losing but
+survive in quite a few widely used tools built in less
+enlightened times.
+
+
+Node:mode bit, Next:modulo, Previous:mode, Up:= M =
+
+
+mode bit n.
+
+[common] A flag, usually in
+hardware, that selects between two (usually quite different)
+modes of operation. The connotations are different from flag bit in that mode bits are mainly
+written during a boot or set-up phase, are seldom explicitly
+read, and seldom change over the lifetime of an ordinary program.
+The classic example was the EBCDIC-vs.-ASCII bit (#12) of the
+Program Status Word of the IBM 360.
+
+
+Node:modulo, Next:molly-guard, Previous:mode bit, Up:= M = 
+
+modulo /mod'yu-loh/ prep.
+
+Except for. An overgeneralization of mathematical terminology;
+one can consider saying that 4 equals 22 except for the 9s (4 =
+22 mod 9). "Well, LISP seems to work okay now, modulo that GC bug." "I feel fine today modulo a slight
+headache."
+
+
+Node:molly-guard, Next:Mongolian Hordes
+technique, Previous:modulo, Up:= M
+= 
+
+molly-guard /mol'ee-gard/ n.
+
+[University of Illinois] A shield to prevent tripping of some
+Big Red Switch by clumsy
+or ignorant hands. Originally used of the plexiglass covers
+improvised for the BRS on an IBM 4341 after a programmer's
+toddler daughter (named Molly) frobbed it twice in one day. Later
+generalized to covers over stop/reset switches on disk drives and
+networking equipment. In hardware catalogues, you'll see the much
+less interesting description "guarded button".
+
+
+Node:Mongolian Hordes
+technique, Next:monkey
+up, Previous:molly-guard, Up:= M = 
+
+Mongolian Hordes technique n.
+
+[poss. from the Sixties counterculture expression `Mongolian
+clusterfuck' for a public orgy] Development by gang bang. Implies that large numbers of
+inexperienced programmers are being put on a job better performed
+by a few skilled ones (but see bazaar). Also called `Chinese Army technique';
+see also Brooks's Law.
+
+
+Node:monkey up, Next:monkey scratch, Previous:Mongolian
+Hordes technique, Up:= M
+= 
+
+monkey up vt.
+
+To hack together hardware for a particular task, especially a
+one-shot job. Connotes an extremely crufty and consciously temporary solution.
+Compare hack up, kluge up, cruft together.
+
+
+Node:monkey scratch, Next:monstrosity, Previous:monkey up, Up:= M = 
+
+monkey, scratch n.
+
+See scratch monkey.
+
+
+Node:monstrosity, Next:monty, Previous:monkey scratch, Up:= M = 
+
+monstrosity
+
+1. n. A ridiculously elephantine program or system, esp. one
+that is buggy or only marginally functional. 2. adj. The quality
+of being monstrous (see `Overgeneralization' in the discussion of
+jargonification). See also baroque.
+
+
+Node:monty, Next:Moof, Previous:monstrosity, Up:= M = 
+
+monty /mon'tee/ n.
+
+1. [US Geological Survey] A program with a ludicrously complex
+user interface written to perform extremely trivial tasks. An
+example would be a menu-driven, button clicking, pulldown, pop-up
+windows program for listing directories. The original monty was
+an infamous weather-reporting program, Monty the Amazing Weather
+Man, written at the USGS. Monty had a widget-packed X-window
+interface with over 200 buttons; and all monty actually
+did was FTP files off the
+network. 2. [Great Britain; commonly capitalized as `Monty' or as
+`the Full Monty'] 16 megabytes of memory, when fitted to an
+IBM-PC or compatible. A standard PC-compatible using the AT- or
+ISA-bus with a normal BIOS cannot access more than 16 megabytes
+of RAM. Generally used of a PC, Unix workstation, etc. to mean
+`fully populated with' memory, disk-space or some other desirable
+resource. This usage may be related to a TV commercial for Del
+Monte fruit juice, in which one of the characters insisted on
+"the full Del Monte"; but see the World Wide Words article "The
+Full Monty" for discussion of the rather complex etymology
+that may lie behind this. Compare American moby.
+
+
+Node:Moof, Next:Moore's Law, Previous:monty, Up:= M
+= 
+
+Moof /moof/
+
+[Macintosh users] 1. n. The call of a semi-legendary creature,
+properly called the dogcow. (Some
+previous versions of this entry claimed, incorrectly, that Moof
+was the name of the creature.) 2. adj. Used to flag
+software that's a hack, something untested and on the edge. On
+one Apple CD-ROM, certain folders such as "Tools & Apps
+(Moof!)" and "Development Platforms (Moof!)", are so marked to
+indicate that they contain software not fully tested or
+sanctioned by the powers that be. When you open these folders you
+cross the boundary into hackerland. 3. v. On the Microsoft
+Network, the term `moof' has gained popularity as a verb meaning
+`to be suddenly disconnected by the system'. One might say "I got
+moofed".
+
+
+Node:Moore's Law, Next:moose call, Previous:Moof, Up:= M
+= 
+
+Moore's Law /morz law/ prov.
+
+The observation that the logic density of silicon integrated
+circuits has closely followed the curve (bits per square inch) =
+2^(t - 1962) where t is time in years; that is, the amount of
+information storable on a given amount of silicon has roughly
+doubled every year since the technology was invented. This
+relation, first uttered in 1964 by semiconductor engineer Gordon
+Moore (who co-founded Intel four years later) held until the late
+1970s, at which point the doubling period slowed to 18 months.
+The doubling period remained at that value through time of
+writing (late 1999). Moore's Law is apparently self-fulfilling.
+The implication is that somebody, somewhere is going to be able
+to build a better chip than you if you rest on your laurels, so
+you'd better start pushing hard on the problem. See also Parkinson's Law of
+Data and Gates's
+Law.
+
+
+Node:moose call, Next:moria, Previous:Moore's Law, Up:= M = 
+
+moose call n.
+
+See whalesong.
+
+
+Node:moria, Next:MOTAS, Previous:moose call, Up:= M = 
+
+moria /mor'ee-*/ n.
+
+Like nethack and rogue, one of the large PD
+Dungeons-and-Dragons-like simulation games, available for a wide
+range of machines and operating systems. The name is from
+Tolkien's Mines of Moria; compare elder days, elvish. The game is extremely addictive and a
+major consumer of time better used for hacking. See also nethack, rogue, Angband.
+
+
+Node:MOTAS, Next:MOTOS, Previous:moria, Up:= M
+= 
+
+MOTAS /moh-tahz/ n.
+
+[Usenet: Member Of The Appropriate Sex, after MOTOS and MOTSS] A
+potential or (less often) actual sex partner. See also SO.
+
+
+Node:MOTOS, Next:MOTSS, Previous:MOTAS, Up:= M
+= 
+
+MOTOS /moh-tohs/ n.
+
+[acronym from the 1970 U.S. census forms via Usenet: Member Of
+The Opposite Sex] A potential or (less often) actual sex partner.
+See MOTAS, MOTSS, SO. Less common
+than MOTSS or MOTAS, which has
+largely displaced it.
+
+
+Node:MOTSS, Next:mouse ahead, Previous:MOTOS, Up:= M
+= 
+
+MOTSS /mots/ or /M-O-T-S-S/ n.
+
+[from the 1970 U.S. census forms via Usenet] Member Of The
+Same Sex, esp. one considered as a possible sexual partner. The
+gay-issues newsgroup on Usenet is called _soc.motss_. See
+MOTOS and MOTAS, which derive from it. See also SO.
+
+
+Node:mouse ahead, Next:mouse around, Previous:MOTSS, Up:= M = 
+
+mouse ahead vi.
+
+Point-and-click analog of `type ahead'. To manipulate a
+computer's pointing device (almost always a mouse in this usage,
+but not necessarily) and its selection or command buttons before
+a computer program is ready to accept such input, in anticipation
+of the program accepting the input. Handling this properly is
+rare, but it can help make a WIMP environment much more usable,
+assuming the users are familiar with the behavior of the user
+interface.
+
+
+Node:mouse around, Next:mouse belt, Previous:mouse ahead, Up:= M = 
+
+mouse around vi.
+
+To explore public portions of a large system, esp. a network
+such as Internet via FTP or TELNET, looking for interesting stuff to snarf.
+
+
+Node:mouse belt, Next:mouse droppings, Previous:mouse around, Up:= M = 
+
+mouse belt n.
+
+See rat belt.
+
+
+Node:mouse droppings, Next:mouse elbow, Previous:mouse belt, Up:= M = 
+
+mouse droppings n.
+
+[MS-DOS] Pixels (usually single) that are not properly
+restored when the mouse pointer moves away from a particular
+location on the screen, producing the appearance that the mouse
+pointer has left droppings behind. The major causes for this
+problem are programs that write to the screen memory
+corresponding to the mouse pointer's current location without
+hiding the mouse pointer first, and mouse drivers that do not
+quite support the graphics mode in use.
+
+
+Node:mouse elbow, Next:mouso, Previous:mouse droppings, Up:= M = 
+
+mouse elbow n.
+
+A tennis-elbow-like fatigue syndrome resulting from excessive
+use of a WIMP
+environment. Similarly, `mouse shoulder'; GLS reports
+that he used to get this a lot before he taught himself to be
+ambimoustrous.
+
+
+Node:mouso, Next:MS-DOS, Previous:mouse elbow, Up:= M = 
+
+mouso /mow'soh/ n.
+
+[by analogy with `typo'] An error in mouse usage resulting in
+an inappropriate selection or graphic garbage on the screen.
+Compare thinko, braino.
+
+
+Node:MS-DOS, Next:mu, Previous:mouso,
+Up:= M = 
+
+MS-DOS /M-S-dos/ n.
+
+[MicroSoft Disk Operating System] A clone of CP/M for
+the 8088 crufted together in 6 weeks by hacker Tim Paterson at
+Seattle Computer Products, who called the original QDOS (Quick
+and Dirty Operating System) and is said to have regretted it ever
+since. Microsoft licensed QDOS order to have something to demo
+for IBM on time, and the rest is history. Numerous features,
+including vaguely Unix-like but rather broken support for
+subdirectories, I/O redirection, and pipelines, were hacked into
+Microsoft's 2.0 and subsequent versions; as a result, there are
+two or more incompatible versions of many system calls, and
+MS-DOS programmers can never agree on basic things like what
+character to use as an option switch or whether to be
+case-sensitive. The resulting appalling mess is now the
+highest-unit-volume OS in history. Often known simply as DOS,
+which annoys people familiar with other similarly abbreviated
+operating systems (the name goes back to the mid-1960s, when it
+was attached to IBM's first disk operating system for the 360).
+The name further annoys those who know what the term operating system does (or ought to)
+connote; DOS is more properly a set of relatively simple
+interrupt services. Some people like to pronounce DOS like
+"dose", as in "I don't work on dose, man!", or to compare it to a
+dose of brain-damaging drugs (a slogan button in wide circulation
+among hackers exhorts: "MS-DOS: Just say No!"). See mess-dos, ill-behaved.
+
+
+Node:mu, Next:MUD,
+Previous:MS-DOS, Up:= M = 
+
+mu /moo/
+
+The correct answer to the classic trick question "Have you
+stopped beating your wife yet?". Assuming that you have no wife
+or you have never beaten your wife, the answer "yes" is wrong
+because it implies that you used to beat your wife and then
+stopped, but "no" is worse because it suggests that you have one
+and are still beating her. According to various Discordians and
+Douglas Hofstadter the correct answer is usually "mu", a Japanese
+word alleged to mean "Your question cannot be answered because it
+depends on incorrect assumptions". Hackers tend to be sensitive
+to logical inadequacies in language, and many have adopted this
+suggestion with enthusiasm. The word `mu' is actually from
+Chinese, meaning `nothing'; it is used in mainstream Japanese in
+that sense. Native speakers do not recognize the Discordian
+question-denying use, which almost certainly derives from
+overgeneralization of the answer in the following well-known
+Rinzai Zen koan:
+
+A monk asked Joshu, "Does a dog have the Buddha
+nature?" Joshu retorted, "Mu!"
+
+
+See also has the X
+nature, Some AI
+Koans, and Douglas Hofstadter's "Gödel, Escher,
+Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid" (pointer in the Bibliography in Appendix C.
+
+
+Node:MUD, Next:muddie, Previous:mu, Up:= M = 
+
+MUD /muhd/ n.
+
+[acronym, Multi-User Dungeon; alt. Multi-User Dimension] 1. A
+class of virtual reality
+experiments accessible via the Internet. These are real-time chat
+forums with structure; they have multiple `locations' like an
+adventure game, and may include combat, traps, puzzles, magic, a
+simple economic system, and the capability for characters to
+build more structure onto the database that represents the
+existing world. 2. vi. To play a MUD. The acronym MUD is often
+lowercased and/or verbed; thus, one may speak of `going mudding',
+etc.
+
+Historically, MUDs (and their more recent progeny with names
+of MU- form) derive from a hack by Richard Bartle and Roy
+Trubshaw on the University of Essex's DEC-10 in the early 1980s;
+descendants of that game still exist today and are sometimes
+generically called _BartleMUD_s. There is a widespread myth
+(repeated, unfortunately, by earlier versions of this lexicon)
+that the name MUD was trademarked to the commercial MUD run by
+Bartle on British Telecom (the motto: "You haven't lived
+'til you've died on MUD!"); however, this is false --
+Richard Bartle explicitly placed `MUD' in the public domain in
+1985. BT was upset at this, as they had already printed trademark
+claims on some maps and posters, which were released and created
+the myth.
+
+Students on the European academic networks quickly improved on
+the MUD concept, spawning several new MUDs (VAXMUD, AberMUD,
+LPMUD). Many of these had associated bulletin-board systems for
+social interaction. Because these had an image as `research' they
+often survived administrative hostility to BBSs in general. This,
+together with the fact that Usenet feeds were often spotty and
+difficult to get in the U.K., made the MUDs major foci of hackish
+social interaction there.
+
+AberMUD and other variants crossed the Atlantic around 1988
+and quickly gained popularity in the U.S.; they became nuclei for
+large hacker communities with only loose ties to traditional
+hackerdom (some observers see parallels with the growth of Usenet
+in the early 1980s). The second wave of MUDs (TinyMUD and
+variants) tended to emphasize social interaction, puzzles, and
+cooperative world-building as opposed to combat and competition
+(in writing, these social MUDs are sometimes referred to as
+`MU*', with `MUD' implicitly reserved for the more game-oriented
+ones). By 1991, over 50% of MUD sites were of a third major
+variety, LPMUD, which synthesizes the combat/puzzle aspects of
+AberMUD and older systems with the extensibility of TinyMud. In
+1996 the cutting edge of the technology is Pavel Curtis's MOO,
+even more extensible using a built-in object-oriented language.
+The trend toward greater programmability and flexibility will
+doubtless continue.
+
+The state of the art in MUD design is still moving very
+rapidly, with new simulation designs appearing (seemingly) every
+month. Around 1991 there was an unsuccessful movement to
+deprecate the term MUD itself, as newer
+designs exhibit an exploding variety of names corresponding to
+the different simulation styles being explored. It survived. See
+also bonk/oif, FOD, link-dead,
+mudhead, talk mode.
+
+
+Node:muddie, Next:mudhead, Previous:MUD, Up:= M =
+
+
+muddie n.
+
+Syn. mudhead. More common in
+Great Britain, possibly because system administrators there like
+to mutter "bloody muddies" when annoyed at the species.
+
+
+Node:mudhead, Next:muggle, Previous:muddie, Up:= M
+= 
+
+mudhead n.
+
+Commonly used to refer to a MUD
+player who eats, sleeps, and breathes MUD. Mudheads have been
+known to fail their degrees, drop out, etc., with the
+consolation, however, that they made wizard level. When
+encountered in person, on a MUD, or in a chat system, all a
+mudhead will talk about is three topics: the tactic, character,
+or wizard that is supposedly always unfairly stopping him/her
+from becoming a wizard or beating a favorite MUD; why the
+specific game he/she has experience with is so much better than
+any other; and the MUD he or she is writing or going to write
+because his/her design ideas are so much better than in any
+existing MUD. See also wannabee.
+
+To the anthropologically literate, this term may recall the
+Zuni/Hopi legend of the mudheads or `koyemshi', mythical
+half-formed children of an unnatural union. Figures representing
+them act as clowns in Zuni sacred ceremonies. Others may recall
+the `High School Madness' sequence from the Firesign Theatre
+album "Don't Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me the Pliers", in which
+there is a character named "Mudhead".
+
+
+Node:muggle, Next:multician, Previous:mudhead, Up:= M
+= 
+
+muggle
+
+[from J.K. Rowling's `Harry Potter' books, 1998] A non-wizard. Not as disparaging as luser; implies vague pity rather than contempt.
+In the universe of Rowling's enormously (and deservedly) popular
+children's series, muggles and wizards inhabit the same modern
+world, but each group is ignorant of the commonplaces of the
+others' existence - most muggles are unaware that wizards exist,
+and wizards (used to magical ways of doing everything) are
+perplexed and fascinated by muggle artifacts.
+
+In retrospect it seems completely inevitable that hackers
+would adopt this metaphor, and in hacker usage it readily forms
+compounds such as `muggle-friendly'. Compare luser, mundane.
+
+
+Node:multician, Next:Multics, Previous:muggle, Up:= M
+= 
+
+multician /muhl-ti'shn/ n.
+
+[coined at Honeywell, ca. 1970] Competent user of Multics. Perhaps oddly, no one has ever
+promoted the analogous `Unician'.
+
+
+Node:Multics, Next:multitask, Previous:multician, Up:= M = 
+
+Multics /muhl'tiks/ n.
+
+[from "MULTiplexed Information and Computing Service"] An
+early time-sharing operating
+system co-designed by a consortium including MIT, GE, and
+Bell Laboratories as a successor to CTSS. The design was first presented in 1965,
+planned for operation in 1967, first operational in 1969, and
+took several more years to achieve respectable performance and
+stability.
+
+Multics was very innovative for its time -- among other
+things, it provided a hierarchical file system with access
+control on individual files and introduced the idea of treating
+all devices uniformly as special files. It was also the first OS
+to run on a symmetric multiprocessor, and the only
+general-purpose system to be awarded a B2 security rating by the
+NSA (see Orange Book).
+
+Bell Labs left the development effort in 1969 after judging
+that second-system
+effect had bloated Multics to the point of practical
+unusability. Honeywell commercialized Multics in 1972 after
+buying out GE's computer group, but it was never very successful:
+at its peak in the 1980s, there were between 75 and 100 Multics
+sites, each a multi-million dollar mainframe.
+
+One of the former Multics developers from Bell Labs was Ken
+Thompson, and Unix deliberately
+carried through and extended many of Multics' design ideas;
+indeed, Thompson described the very name `Unix' as `a weak pun on
+Multics'. For this and other reasons, aspects of the Multics
+design remain a topic of occasional debate among hackers. See
+also brain-damaged and GCOS.
+
+MIT ended its development association with Multics in 1977.
+Honeywell sold its computer business to Bull in the mid 80s, and
+development on Multics was stopped in 1988. Four Multics sites
+were known to be still in use as late as 1998. There is a Multics
+page at http://www.stratus.com/pub/vos/multics/tvv/multics.html.
+
+
+Node:multitask, Next:mumblage, Previous:Multics, Up:= M
+= 
+
+multitask n.
+
+Often used of humans in the same meaning it has for computers,
+to describe a person doing several things at once (but see thrash). The term `multiplex', from
+communications technology (meaning to handle more than one
+channel at the same time), is used similarly.
+
+
+Node:mumblage, Next:mumble, Previous:multitask, Up:= M = 
+
+mumblage /muhm'bl*j/ n.
+
+The topic of one's mumbling (see mumble). "All that mumblage" is used like "all
+that stuff" when it is not quite clear how the subject of
+discussion works, or like "all that crap" when `mumble' is being
+used as an implicit replacement for pejoratives.
+
+
+Node:mumble, Next:munch, Previous:mumblage, Up:=
+M = 
+
+mumble interj.
+
+1. Said when the correct response is too complicated to
+enunciate, or the speaker has not thought it out. Often prefaces
+a longer answer, or indicates a general reluctance to get into a
+long discussion. "Don't you think that we could improve LISP
+performance by using a hybrid reference-count transaction garbage
+collector, if the cache is big enough and there are some extra
+cache bits for the microcode to use?" "Well, mumble
+... I'll have to think about it." 2. [MIT]
+Expression of not-quite-articulated agreement, often used as an
+informal vote of consensus in a meeting: "So, shall we dike out
+the COBOL emulation?" "Mumble!" 3. Sometimes used as an
+expression of disagreement (distinguished from sense 2 by tone of
+voice and other cues). "I think we should buy a VAX." "Mumble!" Common variant: `mumble frotz'
+(see frotz; interestingly, one does
+not say `mumble frobnitz' even though `frotz' is short for
+`frobnitz'). 4. Yet another metasyntactic variable, like
+foo. 5. When used as a question
+("Mumble?") means "I didn't understand you". 6. Sometimes used in
+`public' contexts on-line as a placefiller for things one is
+barred from giving details about. For example, a poster with
+pre-released hardware in his machine might say "Yup, my machine
+now has an extra 16M of memory, thanks to the card I'm testing
+for Mumbleco." 7. A conversational wild card used to designate
+something one doesn't want to bother spelling out, but which can
+be glarked from context. Compare
+blurgle. 8. [XEROX PARC] A
+colloquialism used to suggest that further discussion would be
+fruitless.
+
+
+Node:munch, Next:munching, Previous:mumble, Up:= M
+= 
+
+munch vt.
+
+[often confused with mung, q.v.] To
+transform information in a serial fashion, often requiring large
+amounts of computation. To trace down a data structure. Related
+to crunch and nearly synonymous with
+grovel, but connotes less pain.
+
+
+Node:munching, Next:munching squares, Previous:munch, Up:= M = 
+
+munching n.
+
+Exploration of security holes of someone else's computer for
+thrills, notoriety, or to annoy the system manager. Compare cracker. See also hacked off.
+
+
+Node:munching squares, Next:munchkin, Previous:munching, Up:= M = 
+
+munching squares n.
+
+A display hack dating
+back to the PDP-1 (ca. 1962, reportedly discovered by Jackson
+Wright), which employs a trivial computation (repeatedly plotting
+the graph Y = X XOR T for successive values of T -- see HAKMEM items 146-148) to produce an
+impressive display of moving and growing squares that devour the
+screen. The initial value of T is treated as a parameter, which,
+when well-chosen, can produce amazing effects. Some of these,
+later (re)discovered on the LISP machine, have been christened
+`munching triangles' (try AND for XOR and toggling points instead
+of plotting them), `munching w's', and `munching mazes'. More
+generally, suppose a graphics program produces an impressive and
+ever-changing display of some basic form, foo, on a display
+terminal, and does it using a relatively simple program; then the
+program (or the resulting display) is likely to be referred to as
+`munching foos'. [This is a good example of the use of the word
+foo as a metasyntactic variable.]
+
+
+Node:munchkin, Next:mundane, Previous:munching squares, Up:= M = 
+
+munchkin /muhnch'kin/ n.
+
+[from the squeaky-voiced little people in L. Frank Baum's "The
+Wizard of Oz"] A teenage-or-younger micro enthusiast hacking
+BASIC or something else equally constricted. A term of mild
+derision -- munchkins are annoying but some grow up to be hackers
+after passing through a larval
+stage. The term urchin is
+also used. See also wannabee,
+bitty box.
+
+
+Node:mundane, Next:mung, Previous:munchkin, Up:=
+M = 
+
+mundane n.
+
+[from SF fandom] 1. A person who is not in science fiction
+fandom. 2. A person who is not in the computer industry. In this
+sense, most often an adjectival modifier as in "in my mundane
+life...." See also Real
+World, muggle.
+
+
+Node:mung, Next:munge, Previous:mundane, Up:= M
+= 
+
+mung /muhng/ vt.
+
+[in 1960 at MIT, `Mash Until No Good'; sometime after that the
+derivation from the recursive
+acronym `Mung Until No Good' became standard; but see
+munge] 1. To make changes to a file,
+esp. large-scale and irrevocable changes. See BLT. 2. To destroy, usually accidentally,
+occasionally maliciously. The system only mungs things
+maliciously; this is a consequence of Finagle's Law. See scribble, mangle, trash,
+nuke. Reports from Usenet suggest that the pronunciation /muhnj/
+is now usual in speech, but the spelling `mung' is still common
+in program comments (compare the widespread confusion over the
+proper spelling of kluge). 3. The
+kind of beans the sprouts of which are used in Chinese food.
+(That's their real name! Mung beans! Really!)
+
+Like many early hacker terms, this one seems to have
+originated at TMRC; it was already in
+use there in 1958. Peter Samson (compiler of the original TMRC
+lexicon) thinks it may originally have been onomatopoeic for the
+sound of a relay spring (contact) being twanged. However, it is
+known that during the World Wars, `mung' was U.S. army slang for
+the ersatz creamed chipped beef better known as `SOS', and it
+seems quite likely that the word in fact goes back to
+Scots-dialect munge.
+
+
+Node:munge, Next:Murphy's Law, Previous:mung, Up:= M
+= 
+
+munge /muhnj/ vt.
+
+1. [derogatory] To imperfectly transform information. 2. A
+comprehensive rewrite of a routine, data structure or the whole
+program. 3. To modify data in some way the speaker doesn't need
+to go into right now or cannot describe succinctly (compare mumble). 4. To add spamblock to an email address.
+
+This term is often confused with mung, which probably was derived from it.
+However, it also appears the word `munge' was in common use in
+Scotland in the 1940s, and in Yorkshire in the 1950s, as a verb,
+meaning to munch up into a masticated mess, and as a noun,
+meaning the result of munging something up (the parallel with the
+kluge/kludge pair is amusing). The OED reports
+`munge' as an archaic verb nmeaning "to wipe (a person's
+nose)".
+
+
+Node:Murphy's Law, Next:music, Previous:munge, Up:= M
+= 
+
+Murphy's Law prov.
+
+The correct, original Murphy's Law reads: "If there
+are two or more ways to do something, and one of those ways can
+result in a catastrophe, then someone will do it." This is a
+principle of defensive design, cited here because it is usually
+given in mutant forms less descriptive of the challenges of
+design for lusers. For example, you
+don't make a two-pin plug symmetrical and then label it `THIS WAY
+UP'; if it matters which way it is plugged in, then you make the
+design asymmetrical (see also the anecdote under magic smoke).
+
+Edward A. Murphy, Jr. was one of the engineers on the
+rocket-sled experiments that were done by the U.S. Air Force in
+1949 to test human acceleration tolerances (USAF project MX981).
+One experiment involved a set of 16 accelerometers mounted to
+different parts of the subject's body. There were two ways each
+sensor could be glued to its mount, and somebody methodically
+installed all 16 the wrong way around. Murphy then made the
+original form of his pronouncement, which the test subject (Major
+John Paul Stapp) quoted at a news conference a few days
+later.
+
+Within months `Murphy's Law' had spread to various technical
+cultures connected to aerospace engineering. Before too many
+years had gone by variants had passed into the popular
+imagination, changing as they went. Most of these are variants on
+"Anything that can go wrong, will"; this is correctly referred to
+as Finagle's Law. The
+memetic drift apparent in these mutants clearly demonstrates
+Murphy's Law acting on itself!
+
+
+Node:music, Next:mutter, Previous:Murphy's Law, Up:= M = 
+
+music n.
+
+A common extracurricular interest of hackers (compare science-fiction fandom,
+oriental food; see also
+filk). Hackish folklore has long
+claimed that musical and programming abilities are closely
+related, and there has been at least one large-scale statistical
+study that supports this. Hackers, as a rule, like music and
+often develop musical appreciation in unusual and interesting
+directions. Folk music is very big in hacker circles; so is
+electronic music, and the sort of elaborate instrumental
+jazz/rock that used to be called `progressive' and isn't recorded
+much any more. The hacker's musical range tends to be wide; many
+can listen with equal appreciation to (say) Talking Heads, Yes,
+Gentle Giant, Pat Metheny, Scott Joplin, Tangerine Dream, Dream
+Theater, King Sunny Ade, The Pretenders, Screaming Trees, or the
+Brandenburg Concerti. It is also apparently true that hackerdom
+includes a much higher concentration of talented amateur
+musicians than one would expect from a similar-sized control
+group of mundane types.
+
+
+Node:mutter, Next:N, Previous:music,
+Up:= M = 
+
+mutter vt.
+
+To quietly enter a command not meant for the ears, eyes, or
+fingers of ordinary mortals. Often used in `mutter an incantation'. See also wizard.
+
+
+Node:= N =, Next:= O =, Previous:= M =, Up:The Jargon Lexicon 
+
+= N =
+
+
+N:
+
+
+nadger:
+
+
+nagware:
+
+
+nailed to the
+wall:
+
+
+nailing jelly:
+
+
+naive:
+
+
+naive user:
+
+
+NAK:
+
+
+NANA:
+
+
+nano:
+
+
+nano-:
+
+
+nanoacre:
+
+
+nanobot:
+
+
+nanocomputer:
+
+
+nanofortnight:
+
+
+nanotechnology:
+
+
+nasal demons:
+
+
+nastygram:
+
+
+Nathan Hale:
+
+
+nature:
+
+
+neat hack:
+
+
+neats vs.
+scruffies:
+
+
+neep-neep:
+
+
+neophilia:
+
+
+nerd:
+
+
+nerd knob:
+
+
+net.-:
+
+
+net.god:
+
+
+net.personality:
+
+
+net.police:
+
+
+NetBOLLIX:
+
+
+netburp:
+
+
+netdead:
+
+
+nethack:
+
+
+netiquette:
+
+
+netlag:
+
+
+netnews:
+
+
+netrock:
+
+
+Netscrape:
+
+
+netsplit:
+
+
+netter:
+
+
+network address:
+
+
+network meltdown:
+
+
+New Jersey:
+
+
+New Testament:
+
+
+newbie:
+
+
+newgroup wars:
+
+
+newline:
+
+
+NeWS:
+
+
+newsfroup:
+
+
+newsgroup:
+
+
+nick:
+
+
+nickle:
+
+
+night mode:
+
+
+Nightmare File
+System:
+
+
+NIL:
+
+
+Ninety-Ninety Rule:
+
+
+nipple mouse:
+
+
+NMI:
+
+
+no-op:
+
+
+noddy:
+
+
+node:
+
+
+Nominal
+Semidestructor:
+
+
+non-optimal
+solution:
+
+
+nonlinear:
+
+
+nontrivial:
+
+
+not ready for
+prime time:
+
+
+notwork:
+
+
+NP-:
+
+
+nroff:
+
+
+NSA line eater:
+
+
+NSP:
+
+
+nude:
+
+
+nugry:
+
+
+nuke:
+
+
+number-crunching:
+
+
+numbers:
+
+
+NUXI problem:
+
+
+nybble:
+
+
+nyetwork:
+
+
+Node:N, Next:nadger, Previous:mutter, Up:= N
+= 
+
+N /N/ quant.
+
+1. A large and indeterminate number of objects: "There were N
+bugs in that crock!" Also used in its original sense of a
+variable name: "This crock has N bugs, as N goes to infinity."
+(The true number of bugs is always at least N + 1; see Lubarsky's Law
+of Cybernetic Entomology.) 2. A variable whose value is
+inherited from the current context. For example, when a meal is
+being ordered at a restaurant, N may be understood to mean
+however many people there are at the table. From the remark "We'd
+like to order N wonton soups and a family dinner for N - 1" you
+can deduce that one person at the table wants to eat only soup,
+even though you don't know how many people there are (see great-wall). 3. `Nth': adj. The
+ordinal counterpart of N, senses 1 and 2. "Now for the Nth and
+last time..." In the specific context "Nth-year
+grad student", N is generally assumed to be at least 4, and is
+usually 5 or more (see tenured graduate
+student). See also random
+numbers, two-to-the-N.
+
+
+Node:nadger, Next:nagware, Previous:N, Up:= N = 
+
+nadger /nad'jr/ v.
+
+[UK, from rude slang noun `nadgers' for testicles; compare
+American & British `bollixed'] Of software or hardware (not
+people), to twiddle some object in a hidden manner, generally so
+that it conforms better to some format. For instance, string
+printing routines on 8-bit processors often take the string text
+from the instruction stream, thus a print call looks like
+jsr print:"Hello world". The print routine has to
+`nadger' the saved instruction pointer so that the processor
+doesn't try to execute the text as instructions when the
+subroutine returns. See adger.
+
+
+Node:nagware, Next:nailed to the wall, Previous:nadger, Up:= N = 
+
+nagware /nag'weir/ n.
+
+[Usenet] The variety of shareware that displays a large screen at
+the beginning or end reminding you to register, typically
+requiring some sort of keystroke to continue so that you can't
+use the software in batch mode. Compare annoyware, crippleware.
+
+
+Node:nailed to the wall,
+Next:nailing jelly,
+Previous:nagware, Up:= N = 
+
+nailed to the wall adj.
+
+[like a trophy] Said of a bug finally eliminated after
+protracted, and even heroic, effort.
+
+
+Node:nailing jelly, Next:naive, Previous:nailed to the wall, Up:= N = 
+
+nailing jelly vi.
+
+See like
+nailing jelly to a tree.
+
+
+Node:naive, Next:naive user, Previous:nailing jelly, Up:= N = 
+
+naive adj.
+
+1. Untutored in the perversities of some particular program or
+system; one who still tries to do things in an intuitive way,
+rather than the right way (in really good designs these coincide,
+but most designs aren't `really good' in the appropriate sense).
+This trait is completely unrelated to general maturity or
+competence, or even competence at any other specific program. It
+is a sad commentary on the primitive state of computing that the
+natural opposite of this term is often claimed to be `experienced
+user' but is really more like `cynical user'. 2. Said of an
+algorithm that doesn't take advantage of some superior but
+advanced technique, e.g., the bubble
+sort. It may imply naivete on the part of the programmer,
+although there are situations where a naive algorithm is
+preferred, because it is more important to keep the code
+comprehensible than to go for maximum performance. "I know the
+linear search is naive, but in this case the list typically only
+has half a dozen items."
+
+
+Node:naive user, Next:NAK, Previous:naive, Up:= N
+= 
+
+naive user n.
+
+A luser. Tends to imply someone
+who is ignorant mainly owing to inexperience. When this is
+applied to someone who has experience, there is a
+definite implication of stupidity.
+
+
+Node:NAK, Next:NANA, Previous:naive user, Up:= N = 
+
+NAK /nak/ interj.
+
+[from the ASCII mnemonic for 0010101] 1. On-line joke answer
+to ACK?: "I'm not here." 2. On-line
+answer to a request for chat: "I'm not available." 3. Used to
+politely interrupt someone to tell them you don't understand
+their point or that they have suddenly stopped making sense. See
+ACK, sense 3. "And then, after we
+recode the project in COBOL...." "Nak, Nak, Nak! I
+thought I heard you say COBOL!" 4. A negative answer. "OK if I
+boot the server?" "NAK!"
+
+
+Node:NANA, Next:nano, Previous:NAK,
+Up:= N = 
+
+NANA //
+
+[Usenet] The newsgroups news.admin.net-abuse.*, devoted to
+fighting spam and network abuse. Each
+individual newsgroup is often referred to by adding a letter to
+NANA. For example, NANAU would refer to
+news.admin.net-abuse.usenet.
+
+When spam began to be a serious problem around 1995, and a
+loose network of anti-spammers formed to combat it, spammers
+immediately accused them of being the backbone cabal, or the Cabal reborn.
+Though this was not true, spam-fighters ironically accepted the
+label and the tag line "There is No Cabal" reappeared (later, and
+now commonly, abbreviated to "TINC"). Nowadays "the Cabal" is
+generally understood to refer to the NANA regulars.
+
+
+Node:nano, Next:nano-, Previous:NANA, Up:= N =
+
+
+nano /nan'oh/ n.
+
+[CMU: from `nanosecond'] A brief period of time. "Be with you
+in a nano" means you really will be free shortly, i.e., implies
+what mainstream people mean by "in a jiffy" (whereas the hackish
+use of `jiffy' is quite different -- see jiffy).
+
+
+Node:nano-, Next:nanoacre, Previous:nano, Up:= N =
+
+
+nano- pref.
+
+[SI: the next quantifier below micro-; meaning * 10^(-9)] Smaller than micro-, and used in the same rather loose
+and connotative way. Thus, one has nanotechnology (coined by hacker K.
+Eric Drexler) by analogy with `microtechnology'; and a few
+machine architectures have a `nanocode' level below `microcode'.
+Tom Duff at Bell Labs has also pointed out that "Pi seconds is a
+nanocentury". See also quantifiers, pico-, nanoacre,
+nanobot, nanocomputer, nanofortnight.
+
+
+Node:nanoacre, Next:nanobot, Previous:nano-, Up:= N
+= 
+
+nanoacre /nan'oh-ay`kr/ n.
+
+A unit (about 2 mm square) of real estate on a VLSI chip. The
+term gets its giggle value from the fact that VLSI nanoacres have
+costs in the same range as real acres once one figures in design
+and fabrication-setup costs.
+
+
+Node:nanobot, Next:nanocomputer, Previous:nanoacre, Up:= N = 
+
+nanobot /nan'oh-bot/ n.
+
+A robot of microscopic proportions, presumably built by means
+of nanotechnology. As yet,
+only used informally (and speculatively!). Also called a
+`nanoagent'.
+
+
+Node:nanocomputer, Next:nanofortnight, Previous:nanobot, Up:= N = 
+
+nanocomputer /nan'oh-k*m-pyoo'tr/ n.
+
+A computer with molecular-sized switching elements. Designs
+for mechanical nanocomputers which use single-molecule sliding
+rods for their logic have been proposed. The controller for a
+nanobot would be a
+nanocomputer.
+
+
+Node:nanofortnight, Next:nanotechnology, Previous:nanocomputer, Up:= N = 
+
+nanofortnight n.
+
+[Adelaide University] 1 fortnight * 10^(-9), or about 1.2
+msec. This unit was used largely by students doing undergraduate
+practicals. See microfortnight, attoparsec, and micro-.
+
+
+Node:nanotechnology, Next:nasal demons, Previous:nanofortnight, Up:= N = 
+
+nanotechnology /nan'-oh-tek-no`l*-jee/ n.
+
+A hypothetical fabrication technology in which objects are
+designed and built with the individual specification and
+placement of each separate atom. The first unequivocal
+nanofabrication experiments took place in 1990, for example with
+the deposition of individual xenon atoms on a nickel substrate to
+spell the logo of a certain very large computer company.
+Nanotechnology has been a hot topic in the hacker subculture ever
+since the term was coined by K. Eric Drexler in his book "Engines
+of Creation" (Anchor/Doubleday, ISBN 0-385-19973-2), where he
+predicted that nanotechnology could give rise to replicating
+assemblers, permitting an exponential growth of productivity and
+personal wealth (there's an authorized transcription at http://www.foresight.org/EOC/index.html.).
+See also blue goo, gray goo, nanobot.
+
+
+Node:nasal demons, Next:nastygram, Previous:nanotechnology, Up:= N = 
+
+nasal demons n.
+
+Recognized shorthand on the Usenet group _comp.std.c_ for
+any unexpected behavior of a C compiler on encountering an
+undefined construct. During a discussion on that group in early
+1992, a regular remarked "When the compiler encounters [a given
+undefined construct] it is legal for it to make demons fly out of
+your nose" (the implication is that the compiler may choose any
+arbitrarily bizarre way to interpret the code without violating
+the ANSI C standard). Someone else followed up with a reference
+to "nasal demons", which quickly became established.
+
+
+Node:nastygram, Next:Nathan Hale, Previous:nasal demons, Up:= N = 
+
+nastygram /nas'tee-gram/ n.
+
+1. A protocol packet or item of email (the latter is also
+called a letterbomb) that takes
+advantage of misfeatures or security holes on the target system
+to do untoward things. 2. Disapproving mail, esp. from a net.god, pursuant to a violation of netiquette or a complaint about
+failure to correct some mail- or news-transmission problem.
+Compare shitogram, mailbomb. 3. A status report from an unhappy,
+and probably picky, customer. "What'd Corporate say in today's
+nastygram?" 4. [deprecated] An error reply by mail from a daemon; in particular, a bounce message.
+
+
+Node:Nathan Hale, Next:nature, Previous:nastygram, Up:= N = 
+
+Nathan Hale n.
+
+An asterisk (see also splat, ASCII). Oh, you want an etymology?
+Notionally, from "I regret that I have only one asterisk for my
+country!", a misquote of the famous remark uttered by Nathan Hale
+just before he was hanged. Hale was a (failed) spy for the rebels
+in the American War of Independence.
+
+
+Node:nature, Next:neat hack, Previous:Nathan Hale, Up:= N = 
+
+nature n.
+
+See has the X
+nature.
+
+
+Node:neat hack, Next:neats vs. scruffies,
+Previous:nature, Up:= N = 
+
+neat hack n.
+
+[very common] 1. A clever technique. 2. A brilliant practical
+joke, where neatness is correlated with cleverness, harmlessness,
+and surprise value. Example: the Caltech Rose Bowl card display
+switch (see Appendix A for
+discussion). See also hack.
+
+
+Node:neats vs. scruffies,
+Next:neep-neep, Previous:neat hack, Up:= N = 
+
+neats vs. scruffies n.
+
+The label used to refer to one of the continuing holy wars in AI research. This conflict
+tangles together two separate issues. One is the relationship
+between human reasoning and AI; `neats' tend to try to build
+systems that `reason' in some way identifiably similar to the way
+humans report themselves as doing, while `scruffies' profess not
+to care whether an algorithm resembles human reasoning in the
+least as long as it works. More importantly, neats tend to
+believe that logic is king, while scruffies favor looser, more
+ad-hoc methods driven by empirical knowledge. To a neat, scruffy
+methods appear promiscuous, successful only by accident, and not
+productive of insights about how intelligence actually works; to
+a scruffy, neat methods appear to be hung up on formalism and
+irrelevant to the hard-to-capture `common sense' of living
+intelligences.
+
+
+Node:neep-neep, Next:neophilia, Previous:neats vs. scruffies, Up:= N = 
+
+neep-neep /neep neep/ n.
+
+[onomatopoeic, widely spread through SF fandom but reported to
+have originated at Caltech in the 1970s] One who is fascinated by
+computers. Less specific than hacker, as it need not imply more skill than is
+required to boot games on a PC. The derived noun `neeping'
+applies specifically to the long conversations about computers
+that tend to develop in the corners at most SF-convention parties
+(the term `neepery' is also in wide use). Fandom has a related
+proverb to the effect that "Hacking is a conversational black
+hole!".
+
+
+Node:neophilia, Next:nerd, Previous:neep-neep, Up:= N = 
+
+neophilia /nee`oh-fil'-ee-*/ n.
+
+The trait of being excited and pleased by novelty. Common
+among most hackers, SF fans, and members of several other
+connected leading-edge subcultures, including the pro-technology
+`Whole Earth' wing of the ecology movement, space activists, many
+members of Mensa, and the Discordian/neo-pagan underground. All
+these groups overlap heavily and (where evidence is available)
+seem to share characteristic hacker tropisms for science fiction,
+music, and oriental food. The opposite tendency
+is `neophobia'.
+
+
+Node:nerd, Next:nerd knob, Previous:neophilia, Up:= N = 
+
+nerd n.
+
+1. [mainstream slang] Pejorative applied to anyone with an
+above-average IQ and few gifts at small talk and ordinary social
+rituals. 2. [jargon] Term of praise applied (in conscious ironic
+reference to sense 1) to someone who knows what's really
+important and interesting and doesn't care to be distracted by
+trivial chatter and silly status games. Compare the two senses of
+computer geek.
+
+The word itself appears to derive from the lines "And then,
+just to show them, I'll sail to Ka-Troo / And Bring Back an
+It-Kutch, a Preep and a Proo, / A Nerkle, a Nerd, and a
+Seersucker, too!" in the Dr. Seuss book "If I Ran the Zoo"
+(1950). (The spellings `nurd' and `gnurd' also used to be current
+at MIT, where `nurd' is reported from as far back as 1957.) How
+it developed its mainstream meaning is unclear, but sense 1 seems
+to have entered mass culture in the early 1970s (there are
+reports that in the mid-1960s it meant roughly "annoying misfit"
+without the connotation of intelligence).
+
+An IEEE Spectrum article (4/95, page 16) once derived `nerd'
+in its variant form `knurd' from the word `drunk' backwards, but
+this bears all the hallmarks of a bogus folk etymology.
+
+Hackers developed sense 2 in self-defense perhaps ten years
+later, and some actually wear "Nerd Pride" buttons, only half as
+a joke. At MIT one can find not only buttons but (what else?)
+pocket protectors bearing the slogan and the MIT seal.
+
+
+Node:nerd knob, Next:net.-, Previous:nerd, Up:= N =
+
+
+nerd knob n.
+
+[Cisco] a command in a complex piece of software which is more
+likely to be used by an extremely experienced user to tweak a
+setting of one sort or another - a setting which the average user
+may not even know exists. Nerd knobs tend to be toggles, turning
+on or off a particular, specific, narrowly defined behavior.
+
+
+Node:net.-, Next:net.god, Previous:nerd knob, Up:= N = 
+
+net.- /net dot/ pref.
+
+[Usenet] Prefix used to describe people and events related to
+Usenet. From the time before the Great Renaming, when most non-local
+newsgroups had names beginning `net.'. Includes net.gods, `net.goddesses' (various charismatic
+net.women with circles of on-line admirers), `net.lurkers' (see
+lurker), `net.person', `net.parties'
+(a synonym for boink, sense 2), and
+many similar constructs. See also net.police.
+
+
+Node:net.god, Next:net.personality, Previous:net.-, Up:= N = 
+
+net.god /net god/ n.
+
+Accolade referring to anyone who satisfies some combination of
+the following conditions: has been visible on Usenet for more
+than 5 years, ran one of the original backbone sites, moderated
+an important newsgroup, wrote news software, or knows Gene, Mark,
+Rick, Mel, Henry, Chuq, and Greg personally. See demigod. Net.goddesses such as Rissa or the
+Slime Sisters have (so far) been distinguished more by
+personality than by authority.
+
+
+Node:net.personality, Next:net.police, Previous:net.god, Up:= N = 
+
+net.personality /net per`sn-al'-*-tee/ n.
+
+Someone who has made a name for him or herself on Usenet, through either longevity or
+attention-getting posts, but doesn't meet the other requirements
+of net.godhood.
+
+
+Node:net.police, Next:NetBOLLIX, Previous:net.personality, Up:= N = 
+
+net.police /net-p*-lees'/ n.
+
+(var. `net.cops') Those Usenet readers who feel it is their
+responsibility to pounce on and flame
+any posting which they regard as offensive or in violation of
+their understanding of netiquette. Generally used sarcastically or
+pejoratively. Also spelled `net police'. See also net.-, code
+police.
+
+
+Node:NetBOLLIX, Next:netburp, Previous:net.police, Up:= N = 
+
+NetBOLLIX n.
+
+[from bollix: to bungle, or British `bollocks'] IBM's NetBIOS, an extremely brain-damaged network protocol that,
+like Blue Glue, is used at
+commercial shops that don't know any better.
+
+
+Node:netburp, Next:netdead, Previous:NetBOLLIX, Up:= N = 
+
+netburp n.
+
+[IRC] When netlag gets really
+bad, and delays between servers exceed a certain threshhold, the
+IRC network effectively becomes
+partitioned for a period of time, and large numbers of people
+seem to be signing off at the same time and then signing back on
+again when things get better. An instance of this is called a
+`netburp' (or, sometimes, netsplit).
+
+
+Node:netdead, Next:nethack, Previous:netburp, Up:= N
+= 
+
+netdead n.
+
+[IRC] The state of someone who signs off IRC, perhaps during a netburp, and doesn't sign back on until later.
+In the interim, he is "dead to the net". Compare link-dead.
+
+
+Node:nethack, Next:netiquette, Previous:netdead, Up:= N
+= 
+
+nethack /net'hak/ n.
+
+[Unix] A dungeon game similar to rogue but more elaborate, distributed in C
+source over Usenet and very popular
+at Unix sites and on PC-class machines (nethack is probably the
+most widely distributed of the freeware dungeon games). The
+earliest versions, written by Jay Fenlason and later considerably
+enhanced by Andries Brouwer, were simply called `hack'. The name
+changed when maintenance was taken over by a group of hackers
+originally organized by Mike Stephenson. There is now an official
+site one at http://www.nethack.org/. See also
+moria, rogue, Angband.
+
+
+Node:netiquette, Next:netlag, Previous:nethack, Up:= N
+= 
+
+netiquette /net'ee-ket/ or /net'i-ket/ n.
+
+[portmanteau, network + etiquette] The conventions of
+politeness recognized on Usenet,
+such as avoidance of cross-posting to inappropriate groups and
+refraining from commercial pluggery outside the _biz_
+groups.
+
+
+Node:netlag, Next:netnews, Previous:netiquette, Up:= N = 
+
+netlag n.
+
+[IRC, MUD] A condition that occurs when the delays in the
+IRC network or on a MUD become severe enough that servers briefly lose
+and then reestablish contact, causing messages to be delivered in
+bursts, often with delays of up to a minute. (Note that this term
+has nothing to do with mainstream "jet lag", a condition which
+hackers tend not to be much bothered by.) Often shortened to just
+`lag'.
+
+
+Node:netnews, Next:netrock, Previous:netlag, Up:= N
+= 
+
+netnews /net'n[y]ooz/ n.
+
+1. The software that makes Usenet
+run. 2. The content of Usenet. "I read netnews right after my
+mail most mornings."
+
+
+Node:netrock, Next:Netscrape, Previous:netnews, Up:= N
+= 
+
+netrock /net'rok/ n.
+
+[IBM] A flame; used esp. on VNET,
+IBM's internal corporate network.
+
+
+Node:Netscrape, Next:netsplit, Previous:netrock, Up:= N
+= 
+
+Netscrape n.
+
+[sometimes elaborated to `Netscrape Fornicator', also
+`Nutscrape'] Standard name-of-insult for Netscape
+Navigator/Communicator, Netscape's overweight Web browser.
+Compare Internet
+Exploiter.
+
+
+Node:netsplit, Next:netter, Previous:Netscrape, Up:= N = 
+
+netsplit n.
+
+Syn. netburp.
+
+
+Node:netter, Next:network address, Previous:netsplit, Up:= N = 
+
+netter n.
+
+1. Loosely, anyone with a network address. 2. More
+specifically, a Usenet regular. Most
+often found in the plural. "If you post that in a
+technical group, you're going to be flamed by angry netters for
+the rest of time!"
+
+
+Node:network address, Next:network meltdown,
+Previous:netter, Up:= N = 
+
+network address n.
+
+(also `net address') As used by hackers, means an address on
+`the' network (see the
+network; this used to include bang path addresses but now almost always
+implies an Internet
+address). Net addresses are often used in email text as a
+more concise substitute for personal names; indeed, hackers may
+come to know each other quite well by network names without ever
+learning each others' `legal' monikers. Indeed, display of a
+network address (e.g on business cards) used to function as an
+important hacker identification signal, like lodge pins among
+Masons or tie-dyed T-shirts among Grateful Dead fans. In the day
+of pervasive Internet this is less true, but you can still be
+fairly sure that anyone with a network address handwritten on his
+or her convention badge is a hacker.
+
+
+Node:network meltdown, Next:New Jersey, Previous:network address, Up:= N = 
+
+network meltdown n.
+
+A state of complete network overload; the network equivalent
+of thrashing. This may be induced by
+a Chernobyl packet. See
+also broadcast storm,
+kamikaze packet.
+
+Network meltdown is often a result of network designs that are
+optimized for a steady state of moderate load and don't cope well
+with the very jagged, bursty usage patterns of the real world.
+One amusing instance of this is triggered by the popular and very
+bloody shoot-'em-up game _Doom_ on the PC. When used in
+multiplayer mode over a network, the game uses broadcast packets
+to inform other machines when bullets are fired. This causes
+problems with weapons like the chain gun which fire rapidly -- it
+can blast the network into a meltdown state just as easily as it
+shreds opposing monsters.
+
+
+Node:New Jersey, Next:New Testament, Previous:network meltdown, Up:= N = 
+
+New Jersey adj.
+
+[primarily Stanford/Silicon Valley] Brain-damaged or of poor
+design. This refers to the allegedly wretched quality of such
+software as C, C++, and Unix (which originated at Bell Labs in
+Murray Hill, New Jersey). "This compiler bites the bag, but what
+can you expect from a compiler designed in New Jersey?" Compare
+Berkeley Quality
+Software. See also Unix
+conspiracy.
+
+
+Node:New Testament, Next:newbie, Previous:New Jersey, Up:= N = 
+
+New Testament n.
+
+[C programmers] The second edition of K&R's "The C
+Programming Language" (Prentice-Hall, 1988; ISBN 0-13-110362-8),
+describing ANSI Standard C. See K&R; this version is also called
+`K&R2'.
+
+
+Node:newbie, Next:newgroup wars, Previous:New Testament, Up:= N = 
+
+newbie /n[y]oo'bee/ n.
+
+[verry common; orig. from British public-school and military
+slang variant of `new boy'] A Usenet neophyte. This term surfaced
+in the newsgroup
+_talk.bizarre_ but is now in wide use (the combination
+"clueless newbie" is especially common). Criteria for being
+considered a newbie vary wildly; a person can be called a newbie
+in one newsgroup while remaining a respected regular in another.
+The label `newbie' is sometimes applied as a serious insult to a
+person who has been around Usenet for a long time but who
+carefully hides all evidence of having a clue. See B1FF; see also gnubie.
+
+
+Node:newgroup wars, Next:newline, Previous:newbie, Up:=
+N = 
+
+newgroup wars /n[y]oo'groop worz/ n.
+
+[Usenet] The salvos of dueling newgroup and
+rmgroup messages sometimes exchanged by persons on
+opposite sides of a dispute over whether a newsgroup should be created net-wide, or
+(even more frequently) whether an obsolete one should be removed.
+These usually settle out within a week or two as it becomes clear
+whether the group has a natural constituency (usually, it
+doesn't). At times, especially in the completely anarchic
+_alt_ hierarchy, the names of newsgroups themselves become a
+form of comment or humor; e.g., the group
+_alt.swedish.chef.bork.bork.bork_ which originated as a
+birthday joke for a Muppets fan, or any number of specialized
+abuse groups named after particularly notorious flamers, e.g., _alt.weemba_.
+
+
+Node:newline, Next:NeWS, Previous:newgroup wars, Up:= N = 
+
+newline /n[y]oo'li:n/ n.
+
+1. [techspeak, primarily Unix] The ASCII LF character
+(0001010), used under Unix as a text
+line terminator. Though the term `newline' appears in ASCII
+standards, it never caught on in the general computing world
+before Unix. 2. More generally, any magic character, character
+sequence, or operation (like Pascal's writeln procedure) required
+to terminate a text record or separate lines. See crlf, terpri.
+
+
+Node:NeWS, Next:newsfroup, Previous:newline, Up:= N
+= 
+
+NeWS /nee'wis/, /n[y]oo'is/ or /n[y]ooz/ n.
+
+[acronym; the `Network Window System'] The road not taken in
+window systems, an elegant PostScript-based environment that would
+almost certainly have won the standards war with X if it hadn't been proprietary to Sun Microsystems. There is
+a lesson here that too many software vendors haven't yet heeded.
+Many hackers insist on the two-syllable pronunciations above as a
+way of distinguishing NeWS from Usenet news (the netnews software).
+
+
+Node:newsfroup, Next:newsgroup, Previous:NeWS, Up:= N =
+
+
+newsfroup // n.
+
+[Usenet] Silly synonym for newsgroup, originally a typo but now in
+regular use on Usenet's talk.bizarre, and other lunatic-fringe
+groups. Compare hing, grilf, pr0n and filk.
+
+
+Node:newsgroup, Next:nick, Previous:newsfroup, Up:= N = 
+
+newsgroup n.
+
+[Usenet] One of Usenet's huge
+collection of topic groups or fora.
+Usenet groups can be `unmoderated' (anyone can post) or
+`moderated' (submissions are automatically directed to a
+moderator, who edits or filters and then posts the results). Some
+newsgroups have parallel mailing
+lists for Internet people with no netnews access, with
+postings to the group automatically propagated to the list and
+vice versa. Some moderated groups (especially those which are
+actually gatewayed Internet mailing lists) are distributed as
+`digests', with groups of postings periodically collected into a
+single large posting with an index.
+
+Among the best-known are _comp.lang.c_ (the C-language
+forum), _comp.arch_ (on computer architectures),
+_comp.unix.wizards_ (for Unix wizards),
+_rec.arts.sf.written_ and siblings (for science-fiction
+fans), and _talk.politics.misc_ (miscellaneous political
+discussions and flamage).
+
+
+Node:nick, Next:nickle, Previous:newsgroup, Up:= N = 
+
+nick n.
+
+[IRC; very common] Short for nickname. On IRC, every user must pick a nick, which is
+sometimes the same as the user's real name or login name, but is
+often more fanciful. Compare handle,
+screen name.
+
+
+Node:nickle, Next:night mode, Previous:nick, Up:= N =
+
+
+nickle /ni'kl/ n.
+
+[from `nickel', common name for the U.S. 5-cent coin] A nybble + 1; 5 bits. Reported among
+developers for Mattel's GI 1600 (the Intellivision games
+processor), a chip with 16-bit-wide RAM but 10-bit-wide ROM. See
+also deckle, and nybble for names of other bit units.
+
+
+Node:night mode, Next:Nightmare File System,
+Previous:nickle, Up:= N = 
+
+night mode n.
+
+See phase (of people).
+
+
+Node:Nightmare File
+System, Next:NIL, Previous:night mode, Up:= N = 
+
+Nightmare File System n.
+
+Pejorative hackerism for Sun's Network File System (NFS). In
+any nontrivial network of Suns where there is a lot of NFS
+cross-mounting, when one Sun goes down, the others often freeze
+up. Some machine tries to access the down one, and (getting no
+response) repeats indefinitely. This causes it to appear dead to
+some messages (what is actually happening is that it is locked up
+in what should have been a brief excursion to a higher spl level). Then another machine tries to
+reach either the down machine or the pseudo-down machine, and
+itself becomes pseudo-down. The first machine to discover the
+down one is now trying both to access the down one and to respond
+to the pseudo-down one, so it is even harder to reach. This
+situation snowballs very quickly, and soon the entire network of
+machines is frozen -- worst of all, the user can't even abort the
+file access that started the problem! Many of NFS's problems are
+excused by partisans as being an inevitable result of its
+statelessness, which is held to be a great feature (critics, of
+course, call it a great misfeature). (ITS partisans are apt to cite
+this as proof of Unix's alleged bogosity; ITS had a working
+NFS-like shared file system with none of these problems in the
+early 1970s.) See also broadcast
+storm.
+
+
+Node:NIL, Next:Ninety-Ninety Rule, Previous:Nightmare File
+System, Up:= N = 
+
+NIL /nil/
+
+No. Used in reply to a question, particularly one asked using
+the `-P' convention. Most hackers assume this derives simply from
+LISP terminology for `false' (see also T), but NIL as a negative reply was well-established
+among radio hams decades before the advent of LISP. The
+historical connection between early hackerdom and the ham radio
+world was strong enough that this may have been an influence.
+
+
+Node:Ninety-Ninety Rule,
+Next:nipple mouse,
+Previous:NIL, Up:= N = 
+
+Ninety-Ninety Rule n.
+
+"The first 90% of the code accounts for the first 90% of the
+development time. The remaining 10% of the code accounts for the
+other 90% of the development time." Attributed to Tom Cargill of
+Bell Labs, and popularized by Jon Bentley's September 1985
+"Bumper-Sticker Computer Science" column in "Communications of
+the ACM". It was there called the "Rule of Credibility", a name
+which seems not to have stuck. Other maxims in the same vein
+include the law attributed to the early British computer
+scientist Douglas Hartree: "The time from now until the
+completion of the project tends to become constant."
+
+
+Node:nipple mouse, Next:NMI, Previous:Ninety-Ninety Rule, Up:= N = 
+
+nipple mouse n.
+
+Var. `clit mouse, clitoris' Common term for the pointing
+device used on IBM ThinkPads and a few other laptop computers.
+The device, which sits between the `g' and `h' keys on the
+keyboard, indeed resembles a rubber nipple intended to be tweaked
+by a forefinger. Many hackers consider these superior to the
+glide pads found on most laptops, which are harder to control
+precisely.
+
+
+Node:NMI, Next:no-op, Previous:nipple mouse, Up:= N = 
+
+NMI /N-M-I/ n.
+
+Non-Maskable Interrupt. An IRQ 7 on the PDP-11 or 680[01234]0;
+the NMI line on an 80[1234]86. In contrast with a priority interrupt (which might
+be ignored, although that is unlikely), an NMI is never
+ignored. Except, that is, on clone
+boxes, where NMI is often ignored on the motherboard because
+flaky hardware can generate many spurious ones.
+
+
+Node:no-op, Next:noddy, Previous:NMI, Up:= N =
+
+
+no-op /noh'op/ n.,v.
+
+alt. NOP /nop/ [no operation] 1. A machine instruction that
+does nothing (sometimes used in assembler-level programming as
+filler for data or patch areas, or to overwrite code to be
+removed in binaries). 2. A person who contributes nothing to a
+project, or has nothing going on upstairs, or both. As in "He's a
+no-op." 3. Any operation or sequence of operations with no
+effect, such as circling the block without finding a parking
+space, or putting money into a vending machine and having it fall
+immediately into the coin-return box, or asking someone for help
+and being told to go away. "Oh, well, that was a no-op."
+Hot-and-sour soup (see great-wall) that is insufficiently either
+is `no-op soup'; so is wonton soup if everybody else is having
+hot-and-sour.
+
+
+Node:noddy, Next:node, Previous:no-op, Up:= N
+= 
+
+noddy /nod'ee/ adj.
+
+[UK: from the children's books] 1. Small and un-useful, but
+demonstrating a point. Noddy programs are often written by people
+learning a new language or system. The archetypal noddy program
+is hello world. Noddy code
+may be used to demonstrate a feature or bug of a compiler. May be
+used of real hardware or software to imply that it isn't worth
+using. "This editor's a bit noddy." 2. A program that is more or
+less instant to produce. In this use, the term does not
+necessarily connote uselessness, but describes a hack sufficiently trivial that it can be written
+and debugged while carrying on (and during the space of) a normal
+conversation. "I'll just throw together a noddy awk script to dump all the first fields." In North
+America this might be called a mickey mouse program. See
+toy program.
+
+
+Node:node, Next:Nominal Semidestructor,
+Previous:noddy, Up:= N = 
+
+node n.
+
+1. [Internet, UUCP] A host machine on the network. 2. [MS-DOS
+BBSes] A dial-in line on a BBS. Thus an MS-DOS sysop might say that his BBS has 4 nodes even
+though it has a single machine and no Internet link, confusing an
+Internet hacker no end.
+
+
+Node:Nominal
+Semidestructor, Next:non-optimal solution, Previous:node, Up:= N = 
+
+Nominal Semidestructor n.
+
+Soundalike slang for `National Semiconductor', found among
+other places in the Networking/2 networking sources. During the
+late 1970s to mid-1980s this company marketed a series of
+microprocessors including the NS16000 and NS32000 and several
+variants. At one point early in the great microprocessor race,
+the specs on these chips made them look like serious competition
+for the rising Intel 80x86 and Motorola 680x0 series.
+Unfortunately, the actual parts were notoriously flaky and never
+implemented the full instruction set promised in their
+literature, apparently because the company couldn't get any of
+the mask steppings to work as designed. They eventually sank
+without trace, joining the Zilog Z8000 and a few even more
+obscure also-rans in the graveyard of forgotten microprocessors.
+Compare HP-SUX, AIDX, buglix, Macintrash, Telerat, ScumOS,
+sun-stools, Slowlaris, Internet Exploder.
+
+
+Node:non-optimal solution,
+Next:nonlinear, Previous:Nominal
+Semidestructor, Up:= N
+= 
+
+non-optimal solution n.
+
+(also `sub-optimal solution') An astoundingly stupid way to do
+something. This term is generally used in deadpan sarcasm, as its
+impact is greatest when the person speaking looks completely
+serious. Compare stunning. See
+also Bad Thing.
+
+
+Node:nonlinear, Next:nontrivial, Previous:non-optimal solution, Up:= N = 
+
+nonlinear adj.
+
+[scientific computation] 1. Behaving in an erratic and
+unpredictable fashion; unstable. When used to describe the
+behavior of a machine or program, it suggests that said machine
+or program is being forced to run far outside of design
+specifications. This behavior may be induced by unreasonable
+inputs, or may be triggered when a more mundane bug sends the
+computation far off from its expected course. 2. When describing
+the behavior of a person, suggests a tantrum or a flame. "When you talk to Bob, don't mention the
+drug problem or he'll go nonlinear for hours." In this context,
+`go nonlinear' connotes `blow up out of proportion' (proportion
+connotes linearity).
+
+
+Node:nontrivial, Next:not ready for prime
+time, Previous:nonlinear, Up:= N = 
+
+nontrivial adj.
+
+Requiring real thought or significant computing power. Often
+used as an understated way of saying that a problem is quite
+difficult or impractical, or even entirely unsolvable ("Proving
+P=NP is nontrivial"). The preferred emphatic form is `decidedly
+nontrivial'. See trivial, uninteresting, interesting.
+
+
+Node:not ready for
+prime time, Next:notwork,
+Previous:nontrivial,
+Up:= N = 
+
+not ready for prime time adj.
+
+Usable, but only just so; not very robust; for internal use
+only. Said of a program or device. Often connotes that the thing
+will be made more solid Real Soon
+Now. This term comes from the ensemble name of the
+original cast of "Saturday Night Live", the "Not Ready for Prime
+Time Players". It has extra flavor for hackers because of the
+special (though now semi-obsolescent) meaning of prime time. Compare beta.
+
+
+Node:notwork, Next:NP-, Previous:not ready for prime time,
+Up:= N = 
+
+notwork /not'werk/ n.
+
+A network, when it is acting flaky
+or is down. Compare nyetwork. Said at IBM to have originally
+referred to a particular period of flakiness on IBM's VNET
+corporate network ca. 1988; but there are independent reports of
+the term from elsewhere.
+
+
+Node:NP-, Next:nroff, Previous:notwork, Up:= N
+= 
+
+NP- /N-P/ pref.
+
+Extremely. Used to modify adjectives describing a level or
+quality of difficulty; the connotation is often `more so than it
+should be' This is generalized from the computer-science terms
+`NP-hard' and `NP-complete'; NP-complete problems all seem to be
+very hard, but so far no one has found a proof that they are. NP
+is the set of Nondeterministic-Polynomial algorithms, those that
+can be completed by a nondeterministic Turing machine in an
+amount of time that is a polynomial function of the size of the
+input; a solution for one NP-complete problem would solve all the
+others. "Coding a BitBlt implementation to perform correctly in
+every case is NP-annoying."
+
+Note, however, that strictly speaking this usage is
+misleading; there are plenty of easy problems in class NP.
+NP-complete problems are hard not because they are in class NP,
+but because they are the hardest problems in class NP.
+
+
+Node:nroff, Next:NSA line eater, Previous:NP-, Up:= N = 
+
+nroff /N'rof/
+
+n. [Unix, from "new roff" (see troff)] A companion program to the Unix
+typesetter troff, accepting identical
+input but preparing output for terminals and line printers.
+
+
+Node:NSA line eater, Next:NSP, Previous:nroff, Up:= N
+= 
+
+NSA line eater n.
+
+The National Security Agency trawling program sometimes
+assumed to be reading the net for the U.S. Government's spooks.
+Most hackers used to think it was mythical but believed in acting
+as though existed just in case. since the mid-1990s it has
+gradually become known that the NSA actually does this, quite
+illegaly, through its Echelon program.
+
+The standard countermeasure is to put loaded phrases like
+`KGB', `Uzi', `nuclear materials', `Palestine', `cocaine', and
+`assassination' in their sig
+blocks in a (probably futile) attempt to confuse and
+overload the creature. The GNU version
+of EMACS actually has a command that
+randomly inserts a bunch of insidious anarcho-verbiage into your
+edited text.
+
+As far back as the 1970s there was a mainstream variant of
+this myth involving a `Trunk Line Monitor', which supposedly used
+speech recognition to extract words from telephone trunks. This
+is much harder than noticing keywords in email, and most of the
+people who originally propagated it had no idea of then-current
+technology or the storage, signal-processing, or speech
+recognition needs of such a project. On the basis of mass-storage
+costs alone it would have been cheaper to hire 50 high-school
+students and just let them listen in. Twenty years and several
+orders of technological magnitude later, however, there are clear
+indications that the NSA has actually deployed such filtering
+(again, very much against U.S. law).
+
+
+Node:NSP, Next:nude, Previous:NSA line eater, Up:= N = 
+
+NSP /N-S-P/ n.
+
+Common abbreviation for `Network Service Provider', one of the
+big national or regional companies that maintains a portion of
+the Internet backbone and resells connectivity to ISPs. In 1996, major NSPs include ANS, MCI, UUNET,
+and Sprint. An Internet wholesaler.
+
+
+Node:nude, Next:nugry, Previous:NSP, Up:= N =
+
+
+nude adj.
+
+Said of machines delivered without an operating system
+(compare bare metal). "We
+ordered 50 systems, but they all arrived nude, so we had to spend
+a an extra weekend with the installation disks." This usage is a
+recent innovation reflecting the fact that most IBM-PC clones are
+now delivered with an operating system pre-installed at the
+factory. Other kinds of hardware are still normally delivered
+without OS, so this term is particular to PC support groups.
+
+
+Node:nugry, Next:nuke, Previous:nude, Up:= N =
+
+
+nugry /n[y]oo'gree/
+
+[Usenet, 'newbie' + '-gry'] `. n. A newbie who posts a FAQ in the rec.puzzles newsgroup, especially if it
+is a variant of the notorious and unanswerable "What, besides
+`angry' and `hungry', is the third common English word that ends
+in -GRY?". In the newsgroup, the canonical answer is of course
+`nugry' itself. Plural is `nusgry' /n[y]oos'gree/. 2. adj. Having
+the qualities of a nugry.
+
+
+Node:nuke, Next:number-crunching, Previous:nugry, Up:= N = 
+
+nuke /n[y]ook/ vt.
+
+[common] 1. To intentionally delete the entire contents of a
+given directory or storage volume. "On Unix, rm -r
+/usr will nuke everything in the usr filesystem." Never
+used for accidental deletion; contrast blow away. 2. Syn. for dike, applied to smaller things such as files,
+features, or code sections. Often used to express a final
+verdict. "What do you want me to do with that 80-meg wallpaper file?" "Nuke it." 3. Used of
+processes as well as files; nuke is a frequent verbal alias for
+kill -9 on Unix. 4. On IBM PCs, a bug that results
+in fandango on core
+can trash the operating system, including the FAT (the in-core
+copy of the disk block chaining information). This can utterly
+scramble attached disks, which are then said to have been
+`nuked'. This term is also used of analogous lossages on
+Macintoshes and other micros without memory protection.
+
+
+Node:number-crunching, Next:numbers, Previous:nuke, Up:= N = 
+
+number-crunching n.
+
+[common] Computations of a numerical nature, esp. those that
+make extensive use of floating-point numbers. The only thing
+Fortrash is good for. This term is
+in widespread informal use outside hackerdom and even in
+mainstream slang, but has additional hackish connotations:
+namely, that the computations are mindless and involve massive
+use of brute force. This is
+not always evil, esp. if it involves
+ray tracing or fractals or some other use that makes pretty pictures, esp. if such
+pictures can be used as wallpaper. See also crunch.
+
+
+Node:numbers, Next:NUXI problem, Previous:number-crunching, Up:= N = 
+
+numbers n.
+
+[scientific computation] Output of a computation that may not
+be significant results but at least indicate that the program is
+running. May be used to placate management, grant sponsors, etc.
+`Making numbers' means running a program because output -- any
+output, not necessarily meaningful output -- is needed as a
+demonstration of progress. See pretty pictures, math-out, social science number.
+
+
+Node:NUXI problem, Next:nybble, Previous:numbers, Up:= N = 
+
+NUXI problem /nuk'see pro'bl*m/ n.
+
+Refers to the problem of transferring data between machines
+with differing byte-order. The string `UNIX' might look like
+`NUXI' on a machine with a different `byte sex' (e.g., when
+transferring data from a little-endian to a big-endian, or vice-versa). See also middle-endian, swab, and bytesexual.
+
+
+Node:nybble, Next:nyetwork, Previous:NUXI problem, Up:= N = 
+
+nybble /nib'l/ (alt. `nibble') n.
+
+[from v. `nibble' by analogy with `bite' => `byte'] Four
+bits; one hex digit; a half-byte.
+Though `byte' is now techspeak, this useful relative is still
+jargon. Compare byte; see also bit. The more mundane spelling "nibble" is
+also commonly used. Apparently the `nybble' spelling is uncommon
+in Commonwealth Hackish, as British orthography would suggest the
+pronunciation /ni:'bl/.
+
+Following `bit', `byte' and `nybble' there have been quite a
+few analogical attempts to construct unambiguous terms for bit
+blocks of other sizes. All of these are strictly jargon, not
+techspeak, and not very common jargon at that (most hackers would
+recognize them in context but not use them spontaneously). We
+collect them here for reference together with the ambiguous
+techspeak terms `word', `half-word' and `double word'; some
+(indicated) have substantial information separate entries.
+
+
+
+2 bits:
+
+
+crumb, quad, quarter,
+tayste, tydbit
+
+
+4 bits:
+
+
+nybble
+
+
+5 bits:
+
+
+nickle
+
+
+10 bits:
+
+
+deckle
+
+
+16 bits:
+
+
+playte, chawmp (on a 32-bit
+machine), word (on a 16-bit machine), half-word (on a 32-bit
+machine).
+
+
+18 bits:
+
+
+chawmp (on a 36-bit machine),
+half-word (on a 36-bit machine)
+
+
+32 bits:
+
+
+dynner, gawble (on a 32-bit
+machine), word (on a 32-bit machine), longword (on a 16-bit
+machine).
+
+
+36:
+
+
+word (on a 36-bit machine)
+
+
+48 bits:
+
+
+gawble (under circumstances that
+remain obscure)
+
+
+64 bits
+
+
+double word (on a 32-bit machine)
+
+
+The fundamental motivation for most of these jargon terms
+(aside from the normal hackerly enjoyment of punning wordplay) is
+the extreme ambiguity of the term `word' and its derivatives.
+
+
+Node:nyetwork, Next:Ob-, Previous:nybble, Up:= N
+= 
+
+nyetwork /nyet'werk/ n.
+
+[from Russian `nyet' = no] A network, when it is acting flaky or is down. Compare notwork.
+
+
+Node:= O =, Next:= P =, Previous:= N =, Up:The Jargon Lexicon 
+
+= O =
+
+
+Ob-:
+
+
+Obfuscated C
+Contest:
+
+
+obi-wan error:
+
+
+Objectionable-C:
+
+
+obscure:
+
+
+octal forty:
+
+
+off the trolley:
+
+
+off-by-one error:
+
+
+offline:
+
+
+ogg:
+
+
+-oid:
+
+
+old fart:
+
+
+Old Testament:
+
+
+on the gripping
+hand:
+
+
+one-banana problem:
+
+
+one-line fix:
+
+
+one-liner wars:
+
+
+ooblick:
+
+
+op:
+
+
+open:
+
+
+open source:
+
+
+open switch:
+
+
+operating system:
+
+
+optical diff:
+
+
+optical grep:
+
+
+optimism:
+
+
+Oracle the:
+
+
+Orange Book:
+
+
+oriental food:
+
+
+orphan:
+
+
+orphaned i-node:
+
+
+orthogonal:
+
+
+OS:
+
+
+OS/2:
+
+
+OSS:
+
+
+OSU:
+
+
+OTOH:
+
+
+out-of-band:
+
+
+overclock:
+
+
+overflow bit:
+
+
+overflow pdl:
+
+
+overrun:
+
+
+overrun screw:
+
+
+Node:Ob-, Next:Obfuscated C Contest, Previous:nyetwork, Up:= O = 
+
+Ob- /ob/ pref.
+
+Obligatory. A piece of netiquette acknowledging that the author
+has been straying from the newsgroup's charter topic. For
+example, if a posting in alt.sex is a response to a part of
+someone else's posting that has nothing particularly to do with
+sex, the author may append `ObSex' (or `Obsex') and toss off a
+question or vignette about some unusual erotic act. It is
+considered a sign of great winnitude when one's Obs are more
+interesting than other people's whole postings.
+
+
+Node:Obfuscated C Contest,
+Next:obi-wan error,
+Previous:Ob-, Up:= O = 
+
+Obfuscated C Contest n.
+
+(in full, the `International Obfuscated C Code Contest', or
+IOCCC) An annual contest run since 1984 over Usenet by Landon
+Curt Noll and friends. The overall winner is whoever produces the
+most unreadable, creative, and bizarre (but working) C program;
+various other prizes are awarded at the judges' whim. C's terse
+syntax and macro-preprocessor facilities give contestants a lot
+of maneuvering room. The winning programs often manage to be
+simultaneously (a) funny, (b) breathtaking works of art, and (c)
+horrible examples of how not to code in C.
+
+This relatively short and sweet entry might help convey the
+flavor of obfuscated C:
+
+/*
+ * HELLO WORLD program
+ * by Jack Applin and Robert Heckendorn, 1985
+ * (Note: depends on being able to modify elements of argv[],
+ * which is not guaranteed by ANSI and often not possible.)
+ */
+main(v,c)char**c;{for(v[c++]="Hello, world!\n)";
+(!!c)[*c]&&(v--||--c&&execlp(*c,*c,c[!!c]+!!c,!c));
+**c=!c)write(!!*c,*c,!!**c);}
+
+
+Here's another good one:
+
+/*
+ * Program to compute an approximation of pi
+ * by Brian Westley, 1988
+ * (requires pcc macro concatenation; try gcc -traditional-cpp)
+ */
+
+#define _ -F<00||--F-OO--;
+int F=00,OO=00;
+main(){F_OO();printf("%1.3f\n",4.*-F/OO/OO);}F_OO()
+{
+            _-_-_-_
+       _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
+    _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
+  _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
+ _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
+ _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
+_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
+_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
+_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
+_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
+ _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
+ _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
+  _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
+    _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
+        _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
+            _-_-_-_
+}
+
+
+Note that this program works by computing its own area. For
+more digits, write a bigger program. See also hello world.
+
+The IOCCC has an official home page at http://www.ioccc.org.
+
+
+Node:obi-wan error, Next:Objectionable-C, Previous:Obfuscated C
+Contest, Up:= O = 
+
+obi-wan error /oh'bee-won` er'*r/ n.
+
+[RPI, from `off-by-one' and the Obi-Wan Kenobi character in
+"Star Wars"] A loop of some sort in which the index is off by 1.
+Common when the index should have started from 0 but instead
+started from 1. A kind of off-by-one error. See also zeroth.
+
+
+Node:Objectionable-C, Next:obscure, Previous:obi-wan error, Up:= O = 
+
+Objectionable-C n.
+
+Hackish take on "Objective-C", the name of an object-oriented
+dialect of C in competition with the better-known C++ (it is used
+to write native applications on the NeXT machine).
+Objectionable-C uses a Smalltalk-like syntax, but lacks the
+flexibility of Smalltalk method calls, and (like many such
+efforts) comes frustratingly close to attaining the Right Thing without actually doing
+so.
+
+
+Node:obscure, Next:octal forty, Previous:Objectionable-C, Up:= O = 
+
+obscure adj.
+
+Used in an exaggeration of its normal meaning, to imply total
+incomprehensibility. "The reason for that last crash is obscure."
+"The find(1) command's syntax is obscure!" The
+phrase `moderately obscure' implies that something could be
+figured out but probably isn't worth the trouble. The
+construction `obscure in the extreme' is the preferred emphatic
+form.
+
+
+Node:octal forty, Next:off the trolley, Previous:obscure, Up:= O = 
+
+octal forty /ok'tl for'tee/ n.
+
+Hackish way of saying "I'm drawing a blank." Octal 40 is the
+ASCII space character, 0100000; by an
+odd coincidence, hex 40 (01000000) is
+the EBCDIC space character. See
+wall.
+
+
+Node:off the trolley, Next:off-by-one error,
+Previous:octal forty,
+Up:= O = 
+
+off the trolley adj.
+
+Describes the behavior of a program that malfunctions and goes
+catatonic, but doesn't actually crash
+or abort. See glitch, bug, deep
+space, wedged.
+
+This term is much older than computing, and is (uncommon)
+slang elsewhere. A trolley is the small wheel that trolls, or
+runs against, the heavy wire that carries the current to run a
+streetcar. It's at the end of the long pole (the trolley pole)
+that reaches from the roof of the streetcar to the overhead line.
+When the trolley stops making contact with the wire (from passing
+through a switch, going over bumpy track, or whatever), the
+streetcar comes to a halt, (usually) without crashing. The
+streetcar is then said to be off the trolley, or off the wire.
+Later on, trolley came to mean the streetcar itself. Since
+streetcars became common in the 1890s, the term is more than 100
+years old. Nowadays, trolleys are only seen on historic
+streetcars, since modern streetcars use pantographs to contact
+the wire.
+
+
+Node:off-by-one error, Next:offline, Previous:off the trolley, Up:= O = 
+
+off-by-one error n.
+
+[common] Exceedingly common error induced in many ways, such
+as by starting at 0 when you should have started at 1 or
+vice-versa, or by writing < N instead of
+<= N or vice-versa. Also applied to giving
+something to the person next to the one who should have gotten
+it. Often confounded with fencepost error, which is properly a
+particular subtype of it.
+
+
+Node:offline, Next:ogg, Previous:off-by-one error, Up:= O = 
+
+offline adv.
+
+Not now or not here. "Let's take this discussion offline."
+Specifically used on Usenet to
+suggest that a discussion be moved off a public newsgroup to
+email.
+
+
+Node:ogg, Next:-oid, Previous:offline, Up:= O
+= 
+
+ogg /og/ v.
+
+[CMU] 1. In the multi-player space combat game Netrek, to
+execute kamikaze attacks against enemy ships which are carrying
+armies or occupying strategic positions. Named during a game in
+which one of the players repeatedly used the tactic while playing
+Orion ship G, showing up in the player list as "Og". This trick
+has been roundly denounced by those who would return to the good
+old days when the tactic of dogfighting was dominant, but as Sun
+Tzu wrote, "What is of supreme importance in war is to attack the
+enemy's strategy, not his tactics." However, the traditional
+answer to the newbie question "What does ogg mean?" is just "Pick
+up some armies and I'll show you." 2. In other games, to
+forcefully attack an opponent with the expectation that the
+resources expended will be renewed faster than the opponent will
+be able to regain his previous advantage. Taken more seriously as
+a tactic since it has gained a simple name. 3. To do anything
+forcefully, possibly without consideration of the drain on future
+resources. "I guess I'd better go ogg the problem set that's due
+tomorrow." "Whoops! I looked down at the map for a sec and almost
+ogged that oncoming car."
+
+
+Node:-oid, Next:old fart, Previous:ogg, Up:= O =
+
+
+-oid suff.
+
+[from Greek suffix -oid = `in the image of'] 1. Used as in
+mainstream slang English to indicate a poor imitation, a
+counterfeit, or some otherwise slightly bogus resemblance.
+Hackers will happily use it with all sorts of non-Greco/Latin
+stem words that wouldn't keep company with it in mainstream
+English. For example, "He's a nerdoid" means that he
+superficially resembles a nerd but can't make the grade; a
+`modemoid' might be a 300-baud box (Real Modems run at 28.8 or
+up); a `computeroid' might be any bitty
+box. The word `keyboid' could be used to describe a chiclet keyboard, but would
+have to be written; spoken, it would confuse the listener as to
+the speaker's city of origin. 2. More specifically, an indicator
+for `resembling an android' which in the past has been confined
+to science-fiction fans and hackers. It too has recently (in
+1991) started to go mainstream (most notably in the term
+`trendoid' for victims of terminal hipness). This is probably
+traceable to the popularization of the term droid in "Star Wars" and its sequels. (See also
+windoid.)
+
+Coinages in both forms have been common in science fiction for
+at least fifty years, and hackers (who are often SF fans) have
+probably been making `-oid' jargon for almost that long [though
+GLS and I can personally confirm only that they were already
+common in the mid-1970s --ESR].
+
+
+Node:old fart, Next:Old Testament, Previous:-oid, Up:= O
+= 
+
+old fart n.
+
+Tribal elder. A title self-assumed with remarkable frequency
+by (esp.) Usenetters who have been programming for more than
+about 25 years; often appears in sig
+blocks attached to Jargon File contributions of great
+archeological significance. This is a term of insult in the
+second or third person but one of pride in first person.
+
+
+Node:Old Testament, Next:on the gripping
+hand, Previous:old
+fart, Up:= O = 
+
+Old Testament n.
+
+[C programmers] The first edition of K&R, the sacred text describing Classic C.
+
+
+Node:on the gripping
+hand, Next:one-banana problem, Previous:Old Testament, Up:= O = 
+
+on the gripping hand
+
+In the progression that starts "On the one hand..." and
+continues "On the other hand..." mainstream English may add "on
+the third hand..." even though most people don't have three
+hands. Among hackers, it is just as likely to be "on the gripping
+hand". This metaphor supplied the title of Larry Niven &
+Jerry Pournelle's 1993 SF novel "The Gripping Hand" which
+involved a species of hostile aliens with three arms (the same
+species, in fact, referenced in juggling eggs). As with TANSTAAFL and con,
+this usage one of the naturalized imports from SF fandom
+frequently observed among hackers.
+
+
+Node:one-banana problem,
+Next:one-line fix,
+Previous:on
+the gripping hand, Up:= O
+= 
+
+one-banana problem n.
+
+At mainframe shops, where the computers have operators for
+routine administrivia, the programmers and hardware people tend
+to look down on the operators and claim that a trained monkey
+could do their job. It is frequently observed that the incentives
+that would be offered said monkeys can be used as a scale to
+describe the difficulty of a task. A one-banana problem is
+simple; hence, "It's only a one-banana job at the most; what's
+taking them so long?"
+
+At IBM, folklore divides the world into one-, two-, and
+three-banana problems. Other cultures have different hierarchies
+and may divide them more finely; at ICL, for example, five grapes
+(a bunch) equals a banana. Their upper limit for the in-house
+sysapes is said to be two bananas
+and three grapes (another source claims it's three bananas and
+one grape, but observes "However, this is subject to local
+variations, cosmic rays and ISO"). At a complication level any
+higher than that, one asks the manufacturers to send someone
+around to check things.
+
+See also Infinite-Monkey Theorem.
+
+
+Node:one-line fix, Next:one-liner wars, Previous:one-banana
+problem, Up:= O = 
+
+one-line fix n.
+
+Used (often sarcastically) of a change to a program that is
+thought to be trivial or insignificant right up to the moment it
+crashes the system. Usually `cured' by another one-line fix. See
+also I didn't
+change anything!
+
+
+Node:one-liner wars, Next:ooblick, Previous:one-line fix, Up:= O = 
+
+one-liner wars n.
+
+A game popular among hackers who code in the language APL (see
+write-only language
+and line noise). The objective
+is to see who can code the most interesting and/or useful routine
+in one line of operators chosen from APL's exceedingly hairy primitive set. A similar amusement
+was practiced among TECO hackers and
+is now popular among Perl
+aficionados.
+
+Ken Iverson, the inventor of APL, has been credited with a
+one-liner that, given a number N, produces a list of the prime
+numbers from 1 to N inclusive. It looks like this:
+
+(2 = 0 +.= T o.| T) / T <- iN
+
+where `o' is the APL null character, the assignment arrow is a
+single character, and `i' represents the APL iota.
+
+Here's a Perl program that prints
+primes:
+
+        perl -wle '(1 x $_) !~ /^(11+)\1+$/ && print while ++ $_'
+
+
+In the Perl world this game is sometimes called Perl Golf
+because the player with the fewest (key)strokes wins.
+
+
+Node:ooblick, Next:op, Previous:one-liner wars, Up:= O = 
+
+ooblick /oo'blik/ n.
+
+[from the Dr. Seuss title "Bartholomew and the Oobleck"; the
+spelling `oobleck' is still current in the mainstream] A bizarre
+semi-liquid sludge made from cornstarch and water. Enjoyed among
+hackers who make batches during playtime at parties for its
+amusing and extremely non-Newtonian behavior; it pours and
+splatters, but resists rapid motion like a solid and will even
+crack when hit by a hammer. Often found near lasers.
+
+Here is a field-tested ooblick recipe contributed by GLS:
+
+
+1 cup cornstarch
+
+
+1 cup baking soda
+
+
+3/4 cup water
+
+
+N drops of food coloring
+
+This recipe isn't quite as non-Newtonian as a pure cornstarch
+ooblick, but has an appropriately slimy feel.
+
+Some, however, insist that the notion of an ooblick
+recipe is far too mechanical, and that it is best to add
+the water in small increments so that the various mixed states
+the cornstarch goes through as it becomes ooblick can be
+grokked in fullness by many hands. For optional ingredients of
+this experience, see the "Ceremonial Chemicals" section
+of Appendix B.
+
+
+Node:op, Next:open, Previous:ooblick, Up:= O
+= 
+
+op /op/ n.
+
+1. In England and Ireland, common verbal abbreviation for
+`operator', as in system operator. Less common in the U.S., where
+sysop seems to be preferred. 2. [IRC]
+Someone who is endowed with privileges on IRC, not limited to a particular channel. These
+are generally people who are in charge of the IRC server at their
+particular site. Sometimes used interchangeably with CHOP. Compare sysop.
+
+
+Node:open, Next:open source, Previous:op, Up:= O =
+
+
+open n.
+
+Abbreviation for `open (or left) parenthesis' -- used when
+necessary to eliminate oral ambiguity. To read aloud the LISP
+form (DEFUN FOO (X) (PLUS X 1)) one might say: "Open defun foo,
+open eks close, open, plus eks one, close close."
+
+
+Node:open source, Next:open switch, Previous:open, Up:= O
+= 
+
+open source n.
+
+[common; also adj. `open-source'] Term coined in March 1998
+following the Mozilla release to describe software distributed in
+source under licenses guaranteeing anybody rights to freely use,
+modify, and redistribute, the code. The intent was to be able to
+sell the hackers' ways of doing software to industry and the
+mainstream by avoid the negative connotations (to suits) of the term "free software". For discussion of the
+followon tactics and their consequences, see the Open Source Initiative site.
+
+
+Node:open switch, Next:operating system, Previous:open source, Up:= O = 
+
+open switch n.
+
+[IBM: prob. from railroading] An unresolved question, issue,
+or problem.
+
+
+Node:operating system, Next:optical diff, Previous:open switch, Up:= O = 
+
+operating system n.
+
+[techspeak] (Often abbreviated `OS') The foundation software
+of a machine; that which schedules tasks, allocates storage, and
+presents a default interface to the user between applications.
+The facilities an operating system provides and its general
+design philosophy exert an extremely strong influence on
+programming style and on the technical cultures that grow up
+around its host machines. Hacker folklore has been shaped
+primarily by the Unix, ITS, TOPS-10, TOPS-20/TWENEX, WAITS,
+CP/M, MS-DOS, and Multics operating systems (most importantly by
+ITS and Unix).
+
+
+Node:optical diff, Next:optical grep, Previous:operating system, Up:= O = 
+
+optical diff n.
+
+See vdiff.
+
+
+Node:optical grep, Next:optimism, Previous:optical diff, Up:= O = 
+
+optical grep n.
+
+See vgrep.
+
+
+Node:optimism, Next:Oracle the, Previous:optical grep, Up:= O = 
+
+optimism n.
+
+What a programmer is full of after fixing the last bug and
+before discovering the next last bug. Fred Brooks's book
+"The Mythical Man-Month" (See "Brooks's Law") contains the
+following paragraph that describes this extremely well:
+
+All programmers are optimists. Perhaps this modern
+sorcery especially attracts those who believe in happy endings
+and fairy godmothers. Perhaps the hundreds of nitty frustrations
+drive away all but those who habitually focus on the end goal.
+Perhaps it is merely that computers are young, programmers are
+younger, and the young are always optimists. But however the
+selection process works, the result is indisputable: "This time
+it will surely run," or "I just found the last
+bug.".
+
+
+See also Lubarsky's Law
+of Cybernetic Entomology.
+
+
+Node:Oracle the, Next:Orange Book, Previous:optimism, Up:= O = 
+
+Oracle, the
+
+The all-knowing, all-wise Internet Oracle
+_rec.humor.oracle_), or one of the foreign language
+derivatives of same. Newbies frequently confuse the Oracle with
+Oracle, a database vendor. As a result, the unmoderated
+_rec.humor.oracle.d_ is frequently crossposted to by the
+clueless, looking for advice on SQL. As more than one person has
+said in similar situations, "Don't people bother to look at the
+newsgroup description line anymore?" (To which the standard
+response is, "Did people ever read it in the first place?")
+
+
+Node:Orange Book, Next:oriental food, Previous:Oracle the, Up:= O = 
+
+Orange Book n.
+
+The U.S. Government's standards document "Trusted Computer
+System Evaluation Criteria, DOD standard 5200.28-STD, December,
+1985" which characterize secure computing architectures and
+defines levels A1 (most secure) through D (least). Modern Unixes
+are roughly C2. See also crayola
+books, book
+titles.
+
+
+Node:oriental food, Next:orphan, Previous:Orange Book, Up:= O = 
+
+oriental food n.
+
+Hackers display an intense tropism towards oriental cuisine,
+especially Chinese, and especially of the spicier varieties such
+as Szechuan and Hunan. This phenomenon (which has also been
+observed in subcultures that overlap heavily with hackerdom, most
+notably science-fiction fandom) has never been satisfactorily
+explained, but is sufficiently intense that one can assume the
+target of a hackish dinner expedition to be the best local
+Chinese place and be right at least three times out of four. See
+also ravs, great-wall, stir-fried random, laser chicken, Yu-Shiang Whole Fish. Thai,
+Indian, Korean, and Vietnamese cuisines are also quite
+popular.
+
+
+Node:orphan, Next:orphaned i-node, Previous:oriental food, Up:= O = 
+
+orphan n.
+
+[Unix] A process whose parent has died; one inherited by
+init(1). Compare zombie.
+
+
+Node:orphaned i-node, Next:orthogonal, Previous:orphan, Up:= O = 
+
+orphaned i-node /or'f*nd i:'nohd/ n.
+
+[Unix] 1. [techspeak] A file that retains storage but no
+longer appears in the directories of a filesystem. 2. By
+extension, a pejorative for any person no longer serving a useful
+function within some organization, esp. lion food without subordinates.
+
+
+Node:orthogonal, Next:OS, Previous:orphaned i-node, Up:= O = 
+
+orthogonal adj.
+
+[from mathematics] Mutually independent; well separated;
+sometimes, irrelevant to. Used in a generalization of its
+mathematical meaning to describe sets of primitives or
+capabilities that, like a vector basis in geometry, span the
+entire `capability space' of the system and are in some sense
+non-overlapping or mutually independent. For example, in
+architectures such as the PDP-11 or VAX where all or nearly all
+registers can be used interchangeably in any role with respect to
+any instruction, the register set is said to be orthogonal. Or,
+in logic, the set of operators `not' and `or' is orthogonal, but
+the set `nand', `or', and `not' is not (because any one of these
+can be expressed in terms of the others). Also used in comments
+on human discourse: "This may be orthogonal to the discussion,
+but...."
+
+
+Node:OS, Next:OS/2, Previous:orthogonal, Up:= O = 
+
+OS /O-S/
+
+1. [Operating System] n. An abbreviation heavily used in
+email, occasionally in speech. 2. n. obs. On ITS, an output spy.
+See "OS and JEDGAR" in
+Appendix A.
+
+
+Node:OS/2, Next:OSS, Previous:OS,
+Up:= O = 
+
+OS/2 /O S too/ n.
+
+The anointed successor to MS-DOS for Intel 286- and 386-based
+micros; proof that IBM/Microsoft couldn't get it right the second
+time, either. Often called `Half-an-OS'. Mentioning it is usually
+good for a cheap laugh among hackers -- the design was so baroque, and the implementation of 1.x so
+bad, that 3 years after introduction you could still count the
+major apps shipping for it on the
+fingers of two hands -- in unary. The 2.x versions are said to
+have improved somewhat, and informed hackers now rate them
+superior to Microsoft Windows (an endorsement which, however,
+could easily be construed as damning with faint praise). See
+monstrosity, cretinous, second-system effect.
+
+
+Node:OSS, Next:OSU, Previous:OS/2, Up:= O
+= 
+
+OSS
+
+Written-only acronym for "Open Source Software" (see open source. This is a rather ugly
+TLA, and the principals in the
+open-source movement don't use it, but it has (perhaps
+inevitably) spread through the trade press like kudzu.
+
+
+Node:OSU, Next:OTOH, Previous:OSS,
+Up:= O = 
+
+OSU /O-S-U/ n. obs.
+
+[TMRC] Acronym for Officially Sanctioned User; a user who is
+recognized as such by the computer authorities and allowed to use
+the computer above the objections of the security monitor.
+
+
+Node:OTOH, Next:out-of-band, Previous:OSU, Up:= O =
+
+
+OTOH //
+
+[Usenet; very common] On The Other Hand.
+
+
+Node:out-of-band, Next:overclock, Previous:OTOH, Up:= O =
+
+
+out-of-band adj.
+
+[from telecommunications and network theory] 1. In software,
+describes values of a function which are not in its `natural'
+range of return values, but are rather signals that some kind of
+exception has occurred. Many C functions, for example, return a
+nonnegative integral value, but indicate failure with an
+out-of-band return value of -1. Compare hidden flag, green bytes, fence. 2. Also sometimes used to describe what
+communications people call `shift characters', such as the ESC
+that leads control sequences for many terminals, or the level
+shift indicators in the old 5-bit Baudot codes. 3. In personal
+communication, using methods other than email, such as telephones
+or snail-mail.
+
+
+Node:overclock, Next:overflow bit, Previous:out-of-band, Up:= O = 
+
+overclock /oh'vr-klok'/ vt.
+
+To operate a CPU or other digital logic device at a rate
+higher than it was designed for, under the assumption that the
+manufacturer put some slop into the
+specification to account for manufacturing tolerances.
+Overclocking something can result in intermittent crashes, and can even burn things out, since
+power dissipation is directly proportional to clock frequency. People who make a hobby of this
+are sometimes called "overclockers"; they are thrilled that they
+can run their 450MHz CPU at 500MHz, even though they can only
+tell the difference by running a benchmark program.
+
+
+Node:overflow bit, Next:overflow pdl, Previous:overclock, Up:= O = 
+
+overflow bit n.
+
+1. [techspeak] A flag on some
+processors indicating an attempt to calculate a result too large
+for a register to hold. 2. More generally, an indication of any
+kind of capacity overload condition. "Well, the Ada description was baroque all right, but I could hack it OK
+until they got to the exception handling ... that
+set my overflow bit." 3. The hypothetical bit that will be set if
+a hacker doesn't get to make a trip to the Room of Porcelain
+Fixtures: "I'd better process an internal interrupt before the
+overflow bit gets set."
+
+
+Node:overflow pdl, Next:overrun, Previous:overflow bit, Up:= O = 
+
+overflow pdl n.
+
+[MIT] The place where you put things when your PDL is full. If you don't have one and too many
+things get pushed, you forget something. The overflow pdl for a
+person's memory might be a memo pad. This usage inspired the
+following doggerel:
+
+Hey, diddle, diddle
+
+The overflow pdl
+
+ To get a little more stack;
+
+If that's not enough
+
+Then you lose it all,
+
+ And have to pop all the way back.
+
+ -The Great Quux
+
+
+The term `pdl' (see PDL) seems to be
+primarily an MITism; outside MIT this term is replaced by
+`overflow stack' (but that wouldn't
+rhyme with `diddle').
+
+
+Node:overrun, Next:overrun screw, Previous:overflow pdl, Up:= O = 
+
+overrun n.
+
+1. [techspeak] Term for a frequent consequence of data
+arriving faster than it can be consumed, esp. in serial line
+communications. For example, at 9600 baud there is almost exactly
+one character per millisecond, so if a silo can hold only two characters and the machine
+takes longer than 2 msec to get to service the interrupt, at
+least one character will be lost. 2. Also applied to
+non-serial-I/O communications. "I forgot to pay my electric bill
+due to mail overrun." "Sorry, I got four phone calls in 3 minutes
+last night and lost your message to overrun." When thrashing at tasks, the next person to make a
+request might be told "Overrun!" Compare firehose syndrome. 3. More
+loosely, may refer to a buffer
+overflow not necessarily related to processing time (as
+in overrun screw).
+
+
+Node:overrun screw, Next:P-mail, Previous:overrun, Up:= O = 
+
+overrun screw n.
+
+[C programming] A variety of fandango on core produced by
+scribbling past the end of an array (C implementations typically
+have no checks for this error). This is relatively benign and
+easy to spot if the array is static; if it is auto, the result
+may be to smash the
+stack -- often resulting in heisenbugs of the most diabolical subtlety.
+The term `overrun screw' is used esp. of scribbles beyond the end
+of arrays allocated with malloc(3); this typically
+trashes the allocation header for the next block in the arena, producing massive lossage within
+malloc and often a core dump on the next operation to use
+stdio(3) or malloc(3) itself. See spam, overrun;
+see also memory leak, memory smash, aliasing bug, precedence lossage, fandango on core, secondary damage.
+
+
+Node:= P =, Next:= Q =, Previous:= O =, Up:The Jargon Lexicon 
+
+= P =
+
+
+P-mail:
+
+
+P.O.D.:
+
+
+packet over air:
+
+
+padded cell:
+
+
+page in:
+
+
+page out:
+
+
+pain in the net:
+
+
+Pangloss parity:
+
+
+paper-net:
+
+
+param:
+
+
+PARC:
+
+
+parent message:
+
+
+parity errors:
+
+
+Parkinson's Law of
+Data:
+
+
+parm:
+
+
+parse:
+
+
+Pascal:
+
+
+pastie:
+
+
+patch:
+
+
+patch pumpkin:
+
+
+patch space:
+
+
+path:
+
+
+pathological:
+
+
+payware:
+
+
+PBD:
+
+
+PC-ism:
+
+
+PD:
+
+
+PDL:
+
+
+PDP-10:
+
+
+PDP-20:
+
+
+PEBKAC:
+
+
+peek:
+
+
+pencil and paper:
+
+
+Pentagram Pro:
+
+
+Pentium:
+
+
+peon:
+
+
+percent-S:
+
+
+perf:
+
+
+perfect programmer
+syndrome:
+
+
+Perl:
+
+
+person of no
+account:
+
+
+pessimal:
+
+
+pessimizing
+compiler:
+
+
+peta-:
+
+
+PETSCII:
+
+
+PFY:
+
+
+phage:
+
+
+phase:
+
+
+phase of the
+moon:
+
+
+phase-wrapping:
+
+
+PHB:
+
+
+phreaker:
+
+
+phreaking:
+
+
+pico-:
+
+
+pig-tail:
+
+
+pilot error:
+
+
+ping:
+
+
+Ping O' Death:
+
+
+ping storm:
+
+
+pink wire:
+
+
+pipe:
+
+
+pistol:
+
+
+pixel sort:
+
+
+pizza box:
+
+
+plaid screen:
+
+
+plain-ASCII:
+
+
+plan file:
+
+
+platinum-iridium:
+
+
+playpen:
+
+
+playte:
+
+
+plingnet:
+
+
+plokta:
+
+
+plonk:
+
+
+plug-and-pray:
+
+
+plugh:
+
+
+plumbing:
+
+
+PM:
+
+
+pnambic:
+
+
+pod:
+
+
+point-and-drool
+interface:
+
+
+pointy hat:
+
+
+pointy-haired:
+
+
+poke:
+
+
+poll:
+
+
+polygon pusher:
+
+
+POM:
+
+
+pop:
+
+
+POPJ:
+
+
+poser:
+
+
+post:
+
+
+postcardware:
+
+
+posting:
+
+
+postmaster:
+
+
+PostScript:
+
+
+pound on:
+
+
+power cycle:
+
+
+power hit:
+
+
+PPN:
+
+
+pr0n:
+
+
+precedence lossage:
+
+
+prepend:
+
+
+prestidigitization:
+
+
+pretty pictures:
+
+
+prettyprint:
+
+
+pretzel key:
+
+
+priesthood:
+
+
+prime time:
+
+
+print:
+
+
+printing
+discussion:
+
+
+priority interrupt:
+
+
+profile:
+
+
+progasm:
+
+
+proggy:
+
+
+proglet:
+
+
+program:
+
+
+Programmer's Cheer:
+
+
+programming:
+
+
+programming fluid:
+
+
+propeller head:
+
+
+propeller key:
+
+
+proprietary:
+
+
+protocol:
+
+
+provocative
+maintenance:
+
+
+prowler:
+
+
+pseudo:
+
+
+pseudoprime:
+
+
+pseudosuit:
+
+
+psychedelicware:
+
+
+psyton:
+
+
+pubic directory:
+
+
+puff:
+
+
+pumpkin holder:
+
+
+pumpking:
+
+
+punched card:
+
+
+punt:
+
+
+Purple Book:
+
+
+purple wire:
+
+
+push:
+
+
+Python:
+
+
+Node:P-mail, Next:P.O.D., Previous:overrun screw, Up:= P = 
+
+P-mail n.
+
+[rare] Physical mail, as opposed to email. Synonymous with snail-mail, but much less common.
+
+
+Node:P.O.D., Next:packet over air, Previous:P-mail, Up:= P = 
+
+P.O.D. /P-O-D/
+
+[rare] Acronym for `Piece Of Data' (as opposed to a code
+section). See also pod.
+
+
+Node:packet over air, Next:padded cell, Previous:P.O.D., Up:= P = 
+
+packet over air
+
+[common among backbone ISPs] The protocol notionally being
+used by Internet data attempting to traverse a physical gap or
+break in the network, such as might be caused by a fiber-seeking backhoe. "I see
+why you're dropping packets. You seem to have a packet over air
+problem.
+
+
+Node:padded cell, Next:page in, Previous:packet over air, Up:= P = 
+
+padded cell n.
+
+Where you put lusers so they can't
+hurt anything. A program that limits a luser to a carefully
+restricted subset of the capabilities of the host system (for
+example, the rsh(1) utility on USG Unix). Note that
+this is different from an iron
+box because it is overt and not aimed at enforcing
+security so much as protecting others (and the luser) from the
+consequences of the luser's boundless naivete (see naive). Also `padded cell environment'.
+
+
+Node:page in, Next:page out, Previous:padded cell, Up:= P = 
+
+page in v.
+
+[MIT] 1. To become aware of one's surroundings again after
+having paged out (see page out).
+Usually confined to the sarcastic comment: "Eric pages in, film at 11!" 2. Syn. `swap in';
+see swap.
+
+
+Node:page out, Next:pain in the net, Previous:page in, Up:= P = 
+
+page out vi.
+
+[MIT] 1. To become unaware of one's surroundings temporarily,
+due to daydreaming or preoccupation. "Can you repeat that? I
+paged out for a minute." See page
+in. Compare glitch, thinko. 2. Syn. `swap out'; see swap.
+
+
+Node:pain in the net, Next:Pangloss parity,
+Previous:page out, Up:= P = 
+
+pain in the net n.
+
+A flamer.
+
+
+Node:Pangloss parity, Next:paper-net, Previous:pain in the net,
+Up:= P = 
+
+Pangloss parity n.
+
+[from Dr. Pangloss, the eternal optimist in Voltaire's
+"Candide"] In corporate DP shops, a common condition of severe
+but equally shared lossage
+resulting from the theory that as long as everyone in the
+organization has the exactly the same model of obsolete
+computer, everything will be fine.
+
+
+Node:paper-net, Next:param, Previous:Pangloss parity, Up:= P = 
+
+paper-net n.
+
+Hackish way of referring to the postal service, analogizing it
+to a very slow, low-reliability network. Usenet sig blocks sometimes include a
+"Paper-Net:" header just before the sender's postal address;
+common variants of this are "Papernet" and "P-Net". Note that the
+standard netiquette guidelines
+discourage this practice as a waste of bandwidth, since netters
+are quite unlikely to casually use postal addresses. Compare
+voice-net, snail-mail, P-mail.
+
+
+Node:param, Next:PARC, Previous:paper-net, Up:= P = 
+
+param /p*-ram'/ n.
+
+[common] Shorthand for `parameter'. See also parm; compare arg,
+var.
+
+
+Node:PARC, Next:parent message, Previous:param, Up:= P = 
+
+PARC n.
+
+See XEROX PARC.
+
+
+Node:parent message, Next:parity errors, Previous:PARC, Up:= P = 
+
+parent message n.
+
+What a followup follows up.
+
+
+Node:parity errors, Next:Parkinson's Law of
+Data, Previous:parent message, Up:= P = 
+
+parity errors pl.n.
+
+Little lapses of attention or (in more severe cases)
+consciousness, usually brought on by having spent all night and
+most of the next day hacking. "I need to go home and crash; I'm
+starting to get a lot of parity errors." Derives from a
+relatively common but nearly always correctable transient error
+in memory hardware. It predates RAM; in fact, this term is
+reported to have already have been in use in its jargoin sense
+back in the 1960s when magnetic cores ruled. Parity errors can
+also afflict mass storage and serial communication lines; this is
+more serious because not always correctable.
+
+
+Node:Parkinson's Law of
+Data, Next:parm, Previous:parity errors, Up:= P = 
+
+Parkinson's Law of Data prov.
+
+"Data expands to fill the space available for storage"; buying
+more memory encourages the use of more memory-intensive
+techniques. It has been observed since the mid-1980s that the
+memory usage of evolving systems tends to double roughly once
+every 18 months. Fortunately, memory density available for
+constant dollars also tends to about double once every 18 months
+(see Moore's Law);
+unfortunately, the laws of physics guarantee that the latter
+cannot continue indefinitely.
+
+
+Node:parm, Next:parse, Previous:Parkinson's Law of Data,
+Up:= P = 
+
+parm /parm/ n.
+
+Further-compressed form of param.
+This term is an IBMism, and written use is almost unknown outside
+IBM shops; spoken /parm/ is more widely distributed, but the
+synonym arg is favored among hackers.
+Compare arg, var.
+
+
+Node:parse, Next:Pascal, Previous:parm, Up:= P =
+
+
+parse [from linguistic terminology] vt.
+
+1. To determine the syntactic structure of a sentence or other
+utterance (close to the standard English meaning). "That was the
+one I saw you." "I can't parse that." 2. More generally, to
+understand or comprehend. "It's very simple; you just kretch the
+glims and then aos the zotz." "I can't parse that." 3. Of fish,
+to have to remove the bones yourself. "I object to parsing fish",
+means "I don't want to get a whole fish, but a sliced one is
+okay". A `parsed fish' has been deboned. There is some
+controversy over whether `unparsed' should mean `bony', or also
+mean `deboned'.
+
+
+Node:Pascal, Next:pastie, Previous:parse, Up:= P
+= 
+
+Pascal n.
+
+An Algol-descended language designed by Niklaus Wirth on the
+CDC 6600 around 1967-68 as an instructional tool for elementary
+programming. This language, designed primarily to keep students
+from shooting themselves in the foot and thus extremely
+restrictive from a general-purpose-programming point of view, was
+later promoted as a general-purpose tool and, in fact, became the
+ancestor of a large family of languages including Modula-2 and
+Ada (see also bondage-and-discipline
+language). The hackish point of view on Pascal was
+probably best summed up by a devastating (and, in its deadpan
+way, screamingly funny) 1981 paper by Brian Kernighan (of K&R fame) entitled "Why Pascal is Not
+My Favorite Programming Language", which was turned down by the
+technical journals but circulated widely via photocopies. It was
+eventually published in "Comparing and Assessing Programming
+Languages", edited by Alan Feuer and Narain Gehani
+(Prentice-Hall, 1984). Part of his discussion is worth repeating
+here, because its criticisms are still apposite to Pascal itself
+after ten years of improvement and could also stand as an
+indictment of many other bondage-and-discipline languages. At the
+end of a summary of the case against Pascal, Kernighan wrote:
+
+9. There is no escape
+
+This last point is perhaps the most important. The language is
+inadequate but circumscribed, because there is no way to escape
+its limitations. There are no casts to disable the type-checking
+when necessary. There is no way to replace the defective run-time
+environment with a sensible one, unless one controls the compiler
+that defines the "standard procedures". The language is
+closed.
+
+People who use Pascal for serious programming fall into a
+fatal trap. Because the language is impotent, it must be
+extended. But each group extends Pascal in its own direction, to
+make it look like whatever language they really want. Extensions
+for separate compilation, FORTRAN-like COMMON, string data types,
+internal static variables, initialization, octal numbers, bit
+operators, etc., all add to the utility of the language for one
+group but destroy its portability to others.
+
+I feel that it is a mistake to use Pascal for anything much
+beyond its original target. In its pure form, Pascal is a toy
+language, suitable for teaching but not for real programming.
+
+
+Pascal has since been almost entirely displaced (by C) from the niches it had acquired in serious
+applications and systems programming, but retains some popularity
+as a hobbyist language in the MS-DOS and Macintosh worlds.
+
+
+Node:pastie, Next:patch, Previous:Pascal, Up:= P
+= 
+
+pastie /pay'stee/ n.
+
+An adhesive-backed label designed to be attached to a key on a
+keyboard to indicate some non-standard character which can be
+accessed through that key. Pasties are likely to be used in APL
+environments, where almost every key is associated with a special
+character. A pastie on the R key, for example, might remind the
+user that it is used to generate the rho character. The term
+properly refers to nipple-concealing devices formerly worn by
+strippers in concession to indecent-exposure laws; compare tits on a keyboard.
+
+
+Node:patch, Next:patch pumpkin, Previous:pastie, Up:=
+P = 
+
+patch
+
+1. n. A temporary addition to a piece of code, usually as a
+quick-and-dirty remedy to
+an existing bug or misfeature. A patch may or may not work, and
+may or may not eventually be incorporated permanently into the
+program. Distinguished from a diff or
+mod by the fact that a patch is
+generated by more primitive means than the rest of the program;
+the classical examples are instructions modified by using the
+front panel switches, and changes made directly to the binary
+executable of a program originally written in an HLL. Compare one-line
+fix. 2. vt. To insert a patch into a piece of code. 3.
+[in the Unix world] n. A diff (sense
+2). 4. A set of modifications to binaries to be applied by a
+patching program. IBM operating systems often receive updates to
+the operating system in the form of absolute hexadecimal patches.
+If you have modified your OS, you have to disassemble these back
+to the source. The patches might later be corrected by other
+patches on top of them (patches were said to "grow scar tissue").
+The result was often a convoluted patch space and headaches galore. 5.
+[Unix] the patch(1) program, written by Larry Wall,
+which automatically applies a patch (sense 3) to a set of source
+code.
+
+There is a classic story of a tiger
+team penetrating a secure military computer that
+illustrates the danger inherent in binary patches (or, indeed,
+any patches that you can't -- or don't -- inspect and examine
+before installing). They couldn't find any trap doors or any way to penetrate
+security of IBM's OS, so they made a site visit to an IBM office
+(remember, these were official military types who were
+purportedly on official business), swiped some IBM stationery,
+and created a fake patch. The patch was actually the trapdoor
+they needed. The patch was distributed at about the right time
+for an IBM patch, had official stationery and all accompanying
+documentation, and was dutifully installed. The installation
+manager very shortly thereafter learned something about proper
+procedures.
+
+
+Node:patch pumpkin, Next:patch space, Previous:patch, Up:= P = 
+
+patch pumpkin n.
+
+[Perl hackers] A notional token passed around among the
+members of a project. Possession of the patch pumpkin means one
+has the exclusive authority to make changes on the project's
+master source tree. The implicit assumption is that `pumpkin
+holder' status is temporary and rotates periodically among senior
+project members.
+
+This term comes from the Perl development community, but has
+been sighted elsewhere. It derives from a stuffed-toy pumpkin
+that was passed around at a development shop years ago as the
+access control for a shared backup-tape drive.
+
+
+Node:patch space, Next:path, Previous:patch pumpkin, Up:= P = 
+
+patch space n.
+
+An unused block of bits left in a binary so that it can later
+be modified by insertion of machine-language instructions there
+(typically, the patch space is modified to contain new code, and
+the superseded code is patched to contain a jump or call to the
+patch space). The near-universal use of compilers and
+interpreters has made this term rare; it is now primarily
+historical outside IBM shops. See patch (sense 4), zap
+(sense 4), hook.
+
+
+Node:path, Next:pathological, Previous:patch space, Up:= P = 
+
+path n.
+
+1. A bang path or explicitly
+routed Internet address;
+a node-by-node specification of a link between two machines.
+Though these are now obsolete as a form of addressing, they still
+show up in diagnostics and trace headers ocvcasionally (e.g. in
+NNTP headers). 2. [Unix] A filename, fully specified relative to
+the root directory (as opposed to relative to the current
+directory; the latter is sometimes called a `relative path').
+This is also called a `pathname'. 3. [Unix and MS-DOS] The
+`search path', an environment variable specifying the directories
+in which the shell (COMMAND.COM,
+under MS-DOS) should look for commands. Other, similar constructs
+abound under Unix (for example, the C preprocessor has a `search
+path' it uses in looking for #include files).
+
+
+Node:pathological, Next:payware, Previous:path, Up:= P =
+
+
+pathological adj.
+
+1. [scientific computation] Used of a data set that is grossly
+atypical of normal expected input, esp. one that exposes a
+weakness or bug in whatever algorithm one is using. An algorithm
+that can be broken by pathological inputs may still be useful if
+such inputs are very unlikely to occur in practice. 2. When used
+of test input, implies that it was purposefully engineered as a
+worst case. The implication in both senses is that the data is
+spectacularly ill-conditioned or that someone had to explicitly
+set out to break the algorithm in order to come up with such a
+crazy example. 3. Also said of an unlikely collection of
+circumstances. "If the network is down and comes up halfway
+through the execution of that command by root, the system may
+just crash." "Yes, but that's a pathological case." Often used to
+dismiss the case from discussion, with the implication that the
+consequences are acceptable, since they will happen so
+infrequently (if at all) that it doesn't seem worth going to the
+extra trouble to handle that case (see sense 1).
+
+
+Node:payware, Next:PBD, Previous:pathological, Up:= P = 
+
+payware /pay'weir/ n.
+
+Commercial software. Oppose shareware or freeware.
+
+
+Node:PBD, Next:PC-ism, Previous:payware, Up:= P
+= 
+
+PBD /P-B-D/ n.
+
+[abbrev. of `Programmer Brain Damage'] Applied to bug reports
+revealing places where the program was obviously broken by an
+incompetent or short-sighted programmer. Compare UBD; see also brain-damaged.
+
+
+Node:PC-ism, Next:PD, Previous:PBD,
+Up:= P = 
+
+PC-ism /P-C-izm/ n.
+
+A piece of code or coding technique that takes advantage of
+the unprotected single-tasking environment in IBM PCs and the
+like running DOS, e.g., by busy-waiting on a hardware register,
+direct diddling of screen memory, or using hard timing loops.
+Compare ill-behaved, vaxism, unixism. Also, `PC-ware' n., a program full of
+PC-isms on a machine with a more capable operating system.
+Pejorative.
+
+
+Node:PD, Next:PDL,
+Previous:PC-ism, Up:= P = 
+
+PD /P-D/ adj.
+
+[common] Abbreviation for `public domain', applied to software
+distributed over Usenet and from
+Internet archive sites. Much of this software is not in fact
+public domain in the legal sense but travels under various
+copyrights granting reproduction and use rights to anyone who can
+snarf a copy. See copyleft.
+
+
+Node:PDL, Next:PDP-10, Previous:PD, Up:= P = 
+
+PDL /P-D-L/, /pid'l/, /p*d'l/ or /puhd'l/
+
+1. n. `Program Design Language'. Any of a large class of
+formal and profoundly useless pseudo-languages in which management forces one to design
+programs. Too often, management expects PDL descriptions to be
+maintained in parallel with the code, imposing massive overhead
+to little or no benefit. See also flowchart. 2. v. To design using a program
+design language. "I've been pdling so long my eyes won't focus
+beyond 2 feet." 3. n. `Page Description Language'. Refers to any
+language which is used to control a graphics device, usually a
+laserprinter. The most common example is, of course, Adobe's
+PostScript language, but there
+are many others, such as Xerox InterPress, etc. 4. In ITS days,
+the preferred MITism for stack. See
+overflow pdl. 5. Dave
+Lebling, one of the co-authors of Zork; (his network address on the ITS machines
+was at one time pdl@dms).
+
+
+Node:PDP-10, Next:PDP-20, Previous:PDL, Up:= P =
+
+
+PDP-10 n.
+
+[Programmed Data Processor model 10] The machine that made
+timesharing real. It looms large in hacker folklore because of
+its adoption in the mid-1970s by many university computing
+facilities and research labs, including the MIT AI Lab, Stanford,
+and CMU. Some aspects of the instruction set (most notably the
+bit-field instructions) are still considered unsurpassed. The 10
+was eventually eclipsed by the VAX machines (descendants of the
+PDP-11) when DEC recognized that the 10
+and VAX product lines were competing with each other and decided
+to concentrate its software development effort on the more
+profitable VAX. The machine was finally dropped from DEC's line
+in 1983, following the failure of the Jupiter Project at DEC to
+build a viable new model. (Some attempts by other companies to
+market clones came to nothing; see Foonly and Mars.)
+This event spelled the doom of ITS and
+the technical cultures that had spawned the original Jargon File,
+but by mid-1991 it had become something of a badge of honorable
+old-timerhood among hackers to have cut one's teeth on a PDP-10.
+See TOPS-10, ITS, BLT, DDT, DPB, EXCH, HAKMEM, LDB, pop, push. See also http://www.inwap.com/pdp10/.
+
+
+Node:PDP-20, Next:PEBKAC, Previous:PDP-10, Up:= P
+= 
+
+PDP-20 n.
+
+The most famous computer that never was. PDP-10 computers running the TOPS-10 operating system were labeled
+`DECsystem-10' as a way of differentiating them from the PDP-11.
+Later on, those systems running TOPS-20 were labeled `DECSYSTEM-20' (the block
+capitals being the result of a lawsuit brought against DEC by
+Singer, which once made a computer called `system-10'), but
+contrary to popular lore there was never a `PDP-20'; the only
+difference between a 10 and a 20 was the operating system and the
+color of the paint. Most (but not all) machines sold to run
+TOPS-10 were painted `Basil Blue', whereas most TOPS-20 machines
+were painted `Chinese Red' (often mistakenly called orange).
+
+
+Node:PEBKAC, Next:peek, Previous:PDP-20, Up:= P
+= 
+
+PEBKAC /peb'kak/
+
+[Abbrev., "Problem Exists Between Keyboard And Chair"] Used by
+support people, particularly at call centers and help desks. Not
+used with the public. Denotes pilot error as the cause of the
+crash, especially stupid errors that even a luser could figure out. Very derogatory. Usage:
+"Did you ever figure out why that guy couldn't print?" "Yeah, he
+kept cancelling the operation before it could finish.
+PEBKAC."
+
+
+Node:peek, Next:pencil and paper, Previous:PEBKAC, Up:= P = 
+
+peek n.,vt.
+
+(and poke) The commands in most
+microcomputer BASICs for directly accessing memory contents at an
+absolute address; often extended to mean the corresponding
+constructs in any HLL (peek reads
+memory, poke modifies it). Much hacking on small, non-MMU micros
+used to consist of `peek'ing around memory, more or less at
+random, to find the location where the system keeps interesting
+stuff. Long (and variably accurate) lists of such addresses for
+various computers circulated (see interrupt list). The results of
+`poke's at these addresses may be highly useful, mildly amusing,
+useless but neat, or (most likely) total lossage (see killer poke).
+
+Since a real operating
+system provides useful, higher-level services for the
+tasks commonly performed with peeks and pokes on micros, and real
+languages tend not to encourage low-level memory groveling, a
+question like "How do I do a peek in C?" is diagnostic of the
+newbie. (Of course, OS kernels often
+have to do exactly this; a real kernel hacker would
+unhesitatingly, if unportably, assign an absolute address to a
+pointer variable and indirect through it.)
+
+
+Node:pencil and paper, Next:Pentagram Pro, Previous:peek, Up:= P = 
+
+pencil and paper n.
+
+An archaic information storage and transmission device that
+works by depositing smears of graphite on bleached wood pulp.
+More recent developments in paper-based technology include
+improved `write-once' update devices which use tiny rolling heads
+similar to mouse balls to deposit colored pigment. All these
+devices require an operator skilled at so-called `handwriting'
+technique. These technologies are ubiquitous outside hackerdom,
+but nearly forgotten inside it. Most hackers had terrible
+handwriting to begin with, and years of keyboarding tend to have
+encouraged it to degrade further. Perhaps for this reason,
+hackers deprecate pencil-and-paper technology and often resist
+using it in any but the most trivial contexts.
+
+
+Node:Pentagram Pro, Next:Pentium, Previous:pencil and paper, Up:= P = 
+
+Pentagram Pro n.
+
+A humorous corruption of "Pentium Pro", with a Satanic
+reference, implying that the chip is inherently evil. Often used with "666 MHz"; there is a
+T-shirt. See Pentium
+
+
+Node:Pentium, Next:peon, Previous:Pentagram Pro, Up:= P = 
+
+Pentium n.
+
+The name given to Intel's P5 chip, the successor to the 80486.
+The name was chosen because of difficulties Intel had in
+trademarking a number. It suggests the number five (implying 586)
+while (according to Intel) conveying a meaning of strength "like
+titanium". Among hackers, the plural is frequently `pentia'. See
+also Pentagram Pro.
+
+Intel did not stick to this convention when naming its P6
+processor the Pentium Pro; many believe this is due to
+difficulties in selling a chip with "sex" in its name. Successor
+chips have been called `Pentium II' and `Pentium III'.
+
+
+Node:peon, Next:percent-S, Previous:Pentium, Up:= P
+= 
+
+peon n.
+
+A person with no special (root or
+wheel) privileges on a computer
+system. "I can't create an account on foovax for you;
+I'm only a peon there."
+
+
+Node:percent-S, Next:perf, Previous:peon, Up:= P =
+
+
+percent-S /per-sent' es'/ n.
+
+[From the code in C's printf(3) library function
+used to insert an arbitrary string argument] An unspecified
+person or object. "I was just talking to some percent-s in
+administration." Compare random.
+
+
+Node:perf, Next:perfect programmer
+syndrome, Previous:percent-S, Up:= P = 
+
+perf /perf/ n.
+
+Syn. chad (sense 1). The term
+`perfory' /per'f*-ree/ is also heard. The term perf may also refer to the perforations
+themselves, rather than the chad they produce when torn
+(philatelists use it this way).
+
+
+Node:perfect programmer
+syndrome, Next:Perl,
+Previous:perf, Up:= P = 
+
+perfect programmer syndrome n.
+
+Arrogance; the egotistical conviction that one is above normal
+human error. Most frequently found among programmers of some
+native ability but relatively little experience (especially new
+graduates; their perceptions may be distorted by a history of
+excellent performance at solving toy
+problems). "Of course my program is correct, there is no
+need to test it." "Yes, I can see there may be a problem here,
+but I'll never type rm -r / while in root mode."
+
+
+Node:Perl, Next:person of no account,
+Previous:perfect programmer
+syndrome, Up:= P = 
+
+Perl /perl/ n.
+
+[Practical Extraction and Report Language, a.k.a. Pathologically
+Eclectic Rubbish Lister] An interpreted language developed by Larry
+Wall (author of patch(1) and rn(1)) and distributed over Usenet.
+Superficially resembles awk, but is much hairier, including many
+facilities reminiscent of sed(1) and shells and a comprehensive Unix
+system-call interface. Unix sysadmins, who are almost always
+incorrigible hackers, generally consider it one of the languages of
+choice, and it is by far the most widely used tool for making `live'
+web pages via CGI. Perl has been described, in a parody of a famous
+remark about lex(1), as the "Swiss-Army chainsaw" of Unix programming.
+Though Perl is very useful, it would be a stretch to describe it as
+pretty or elegant; people who like clean, spare design generally prefer
+Python. See also Camel Book, TMTOWTDI.
+
+
+Node:person of no
+account, Next:pessimal,
+Previous:Perl, Up:= P = 
+
+person of no account n.
+
+[University of California at Santa Cruz] Used when referring
+to a person with no network
+address, frequently to forestall confusion. Most often as
+part of an introduction: "This is Bill, a person of no account,
+but he used to be bill@random.com". Compare return from the dead.
+
+
+Node:pessimal, Next:pessimizing compiler, Previous:person of no
+account, Up:= P = 
+
+pessimal /pes'im-l/ adj.
+
+[Latin-based antonym for `optimal'] Maximally bad. "This is a
+pessimal situation." Also `pessimize' vt. To make as bad as
+possible. These words are the obvious Latin-based antonyms for
+`optimal' and `optimize', but for some reason they do not appear
+in most English dictionaries, although `pessimize' is listed in
+the OED.
+
+
+Node:pessimizing compiler,
+Next:peta-, Previous:pessimal, Up:= P = 
+
+pessimizing compiler /pes'*-mi:z`ing k*m-pi:l'r/ n.
+
+A compiler that produces object [antonym of techspeak
+`optimizing compiler'] code that is worse than the
+straightforward or obvious hand translation. The implication is
+that the compiler is actually trying to optimize the program, but
+through excessive cleverness is doing the opposite. A few
+pessimizing compilers have been written on purpose, however, as
+pranks or burlesques.
+
+
+Node:peta-, Next:PETSCII, Previous:pessimizing compiler, Up:= P = 
+
+peta- /pe't*/ pref
+
+[SI] See quantifiers.
+
+
+Node:PETSCII, Next:PFY, Previous:peta-, Up:= P
+= 
+
+PETSCII /pet'skee/ n. obs.
+
+[abbreviation of PET ASCII] The variation (many would say
+perversion) of the ASCII character
+set used by the Commodore Business Machines PET series of
+personal computers and the later Commodore C64, C16, C128, and
+VIC20 machines. The PETSCII set used left-arrow and up-arrow (as
+in old-style ASCII) instead of underscore and caret, placed the
+unshifted alphabet at positions 65-90, put the shifted alphabet
+at positions 193-218, and added graphics characters.
+
+
+Node:PFY, Next:phage, Previous:PETSCII, Up:= P
+= 
+
+PFY n.
+
+[Usenet; common] Abbreviation for `Pimply-Faced Youth'. A
+BOFH in training, esp. one apprenticed
+to an elder BOFH aged in evil.
+
+
+Node:phage, Next:phase, Previous:PFY, Up:= P =
+
+
+phage n.
+
+A program that modifies other programs or databases in
+unauthorized ways; esp. one that propagates a virus or Trojan
+horse. See also worm, mockingbird. The analogy, of course,
+is with phage viruses in biology.
+
+
+Node:phase, Next:phase of the moon, Previous:phage, Up:= P = 
+
+phase
+
+1. n. The offset of one's waking-sleeping schedule with
+respect to the standard 24-hour cycle; a useful concept among
+people who often work at night and/or according to no fixed
+schedule. It is not uncommon to change one's phase by as much as
+6 hours per day on a regular basis. "What's your phase?" "I've
+been getting in about 8 P.M. lately, but I'm going
+to wrap around to the day
+schedule by Friday." A person who is roughly 12 hours out of
+phase is sometimes said to be in `night mode'. (The term `day
+mode' is also (but less frequently) used, meaning you're working
+9 to 5 (or, more likely, 10 to 6).) The act of altering one's
+cycle is called `changing phase'; `phase shifting' has also been
+recently reported from Caltech. 2. `change phase the hard way':
+To stay awake for a very long time in order to get into a
+different phase. 3. `change phase the easy way': To stay asleep,
+etc. However, some claim that either staying awake longer or
+sleeping longer is easy, and that it is shortening your
+day or night that is really hard (see wrap around). The `jet lag' that
+afflicts travelers who cross many time-zone boundaries may be
+attributed to two distinct causes: the strain of travel per se,
+and the strain of changing phase. Hackers who suddenly find that
+they must change phase drastically in a short period of time,
+particularly the hard way, experience something very like jet lag
+without traveling.
+
+
+Node:phase of the moon,
+Next:phase-wrapping,
+Previous:phase, Up:= P = 
+
+phase of the moon n.
+
+Used humorously as a random parameter on which something is
+said to depend. Sometimes implies unreliability of whatever is
+dependent, or that reliability seems to be dependent on
+conditions nobody has been able to determine. "This feature
+depends on having the channel open in mumble mode, having the foo
+switch set, and on the phase of the moon." See also heisenbug.
+
+True story: Once upon a time there was a program bug that
+really did depend on the phase of the moon. There was a little
+subroutine that had traditionally been used in various programs
+at MIT to calculate an approximation to the moon's true phase.
+GLS incorporated this routine into a LISP program that, when it
+wrote out a file, would print a timestamp line almost 80
+characters long. Very occasionally the first line of the message
+would be too long and would overflow onto the next line, and when
+the file was later read back in the program would barf. The length of the first line depended on
+both the precise date and time and the length of the phase
+specification when the timestamp was printed, and so the bug
+literally depended on the phase of the moon!
+
+The first paper edition of the Jargon File (Steele-1983)
+included an example of one of the timestamp lines that exhibited
+this bug, but the typesetter `corrected' it. This has since been
+described as the phase-of-the-moon-bug bug.
+
+However, beware of assumptions. A few years ago, engineers of
+CERN (European Center for Nuclear Research) were baffled by some
+errors in experiments conducted with the LEP particle
+accelerator. As the formidable amount of data generated by such
+devices is heavily processed by computers before being seen by
+humans, many people suggested the software was somehow sensitive
+to the phase of the moon. A few desperate engineers discovered
+the truth; the error turned out to be the result of a tiny change
+in the geometry of the 27km circumference ring, physically caused
+by the deformation of the Earth by the passage of the Moon! This
+story has entered physics folklore as a Newtonian vengeance on
+particle physics and as an example of the relevance of the
+simplest and oldest physical laws to the most modern science.
+
+
+Node:phase-wrapping, Next:PHB, Previous:phase of the moon, Up:= P = 
+
+phase-wrapping n.
+
+[MIT] Syn. wrap around,
+sense 2.
+
+
+Node:PHB, Next:phreaker, Previous:phase-wrapping, Up:= P = 
+
+PHB /P-H-B/
+
+[Usenet; common; rarely spoken] Abbreviation, "Pointy-Haired
+Boss". From the Dilbert character,
+the archetypal halfwitted middle-management type. See also pointy-haired.
+
+
+Node:phreaker, Next:phreaking, Previous:PHB, Up:= P =
+
+
+phreaker /freek'r/ n.
+
+One who engages in phreaking.
+See also blue box.
+
+
+Node:phreaking, Next:pico-, Previous:phreaker, Up:=
+P = 
+
+phreaking /freek'ing/ n.
+
+[from `phone phreak'] 1. The art and science of cracking the phone network (so as, for
+example, to make free long-distance calls). 2. By extension,
+security-cracking in any other context (especially, but not
+exclusively, on communications networks) (see cracking).
+
+At one time phreaking was a semi-respectable activity among
+hackers; there was a gentleman's agreement that phreaking as an
+intellectual game and a form of exploration was OK, but serious
+theft of services was taboo. There was significant crossover
+between the hacker community and the hard-core phone phreaks who
+ran semi-underground networks of their own through such media as
+the legendary "TAP Newsletter". This ethos began to break down in
+the mid-1980s as wider dissemination of the techniques put them
+in the hands of less responsible phreaks. Around the same time,
+changes in the phone network made old-style technical ingenuity
+less effective as a way of hacking it, so phreaking came to
+depend more on overtly criminal acts such as stealing phone-card
+numbers. The crimes and punishments of gangs like the `414 group'
+turned that game very ugly. A few old-time hackers still phreak
+casually just to keep their hand in, but most these days have
+hardly even heard of `blue boxes' or any of the other
+paraphernalia of the great phreaks of yore.
+
+
+Node:pico-, Next:pig-tail, Previous:phreaking, Up:= P = 
+
+pico- pref.
+
+[SI: a quantifier meaning * 10^-12] Smaller than nano-; used in the same rather loose connotative
+way as nano- and micro-. This
+usage is not yet common in the way nano- and micro-
+are, but should be instantly recognizable to any hacker. See also
+quantifiers, micro-.
+
+
+Node:pig-tail, Next:pilot error, Previous:pico-, Up:= P
+= 
+
+pig-tail
+
+[radio hams] A short piece of cable with two connectors on
+each end for converting between one connector type and another.
+Common pig-tails are 9-to-25-pin serial-port converters and
+cables to connect PCMCIA network cards to an RJ-45 network
+cable.
+
+
+Node:pilot error, Next:ping, Previous:pig-tail, Up:=
+P = 
+
+pilot error n.
+
+[Sun: from aviation] A user's misconfiguration or misuse of a
+piece of software, producing apparently buglike results (compare
+UBD). "Joe Luser reported a bug in
+sendmail that causes it to generate bogus headers." "That's not a
+bug, that's pilot error. His sendmail.cf is
+hosed."
+
+
+Node:ping, Next:Ping O' Death, Previous:pilot error, Up:= P = 
+
+ping
+
+[from the submariners' term for a sonar pulse] 1. n. Slang
+term for a small network message (ICMP ECHO) sent by a computer
+to check for the presence and alertness of another. The Unix
+command ping(8) can be used to do this manually
+(note that ping(8)'s author denies the widespread
+folk etymology that the name was ever intended as acronym for
+`Packet INternet Groper'). Occasionally used as a phone greeting.
+See ACK, also ENQ. 2. vt. To verify the presence of. 3. vt. To
+get the attention of. 4. vt. To send a message to all members of
+a mailing list requesting an
+ACK (in order to verify that
+everybody's addresses are reachable). "We haven't heard much of
+anything from Geoff, but he did respond with an ACK both times I
+pinged jargon-friends." 5. n. A quantum packet of happiness.
+People who are very happy tend to exude pings; furthermore, one
+can intentionally create pings and aim them at a needy party
+(e.g., a depressed person). This sense of ping may appear as an
+exclamation; "Ping!" (I'm happy; I am emitting a quantum of
+happiness; I have been struck by a quantum of happiness). The
+form "pingfulness", which is used to describe people who exude
+pings, also occurs. (In the standard abuse of language,
+"pingfulness" can also be used as an exclamation, in which case
+it's a much stronger exclamation than just "ping"!). Oppose blargh.
+
+The funniest use of `ping' to date was described in January
+1991 by Steve Hayman on the Usenet group _comp.sys.next_. He
+was trying to isolate a faulty cable segment on a TCP/IP Ethernet
+hooked up to a NeXT machine, and got tired of having to run back
+to his console after each cabling tweak to see if the ping
+packets were getting through. So he used the sound-recording
+feature on the NeXT, then wrote a script that repeatedly invoked
+ping(8), listened for an echo, and played back the
+recording on each returned packet. Result? A program that caused
+the machine to repeat, over and over, "Ping ...
+ping ... ping ..." as long as the
+network was up. He turned the volume to maximum, ferreted through
+the building with one ear cocked, and found a faulty tee
+connector in no time.
+
+
+Node:Ping O' Death, Next:ping storm, Previous:ping, Up:= P = 
+
+Ping O' Death n.
+
+A notorious exploit that (when
+first discovered) could be easily used to crash a wide variety of
+machines by overunning size limits in their TCP/IP stacks. First
+revealed in late 1996. The open-source Unix community patched its
+systems to remove the vulnerability within days or weeks, the
+closed-source OS vendors generally took months. While the
+difference in response times repeated a pattern familiar from
+other security incidents, the accompanying glare of Web-fueled
+publicity proved unusually embarrassing to the OS vendors and so
+passed into history and myth. The term is now used to refer to
+any nudge delivered by network wizards over the network that
+causes bad things to happen on the system being nudged. For the
+full story on the original exploit, see http://www.insecure.org/sploits/ping-o-death.html.
+
+Compare with 'kamikaze packet,' 'Finger of Death' and
+'Chernobyl packet.'
+
+
+Node:ping storm, Next:pink wire, Previous:Ping O' Death, Up:= P = 
+
+ping storm n.
+
+A form of DoS attack
+consisting of a flood of ping requests
+(normally used to check network conditions) designed to disrupt
+the normal activity of a system. This act is sometimes called
+`ping lashing' or `ping flood'. Compare mail storm, broadcast storm.
+
+
+Node:pink wire, Next:pipe, Previous:ping storm, Up:= P = 
+
+pink wire n.
+
+[from the pink PTFE wire used in military equipment] As blue wire, but used in military
+applications. 2. vi. To add a pink wire to a board.
+
+
+Node:pipe, Next:pistol, Previous:pink wire, Up:= P = 
+
+pipe n.
+
+[common] Idiomatically, one's connection to the Internet; in
+context, the expansion "bit pipe" is understood. A "fat pipe" is
+a line with T1 or higher capacity. A person with a 28.8 modem
+might be heard to complain "I need a bigger pipe".
+
+
+Node:pistol, Next:pixel sort, Previous:pipe, Up:= P =
+
+
+pistol n.
+
+[IBM] A tool that makes it all too easy for you to shoot
+yourself in the foot. "Unix rm * makes such a nice
+pistol!"
+
+
+Node:pixel sort, Next:pizza box, Previous:pistol, Up:=
+P = 
+
+pixel sort n.
+
+[Commodore users] Any compression routine which irretrievably
+loses valuable data in the process of crunching it. Disparagingly used for `lossy'
+methods such as JPEG. The theory, of course, is that these
+methods are only used on photographic images in which minor
+loss-of-data is not visible to the human eye. The term `pixel
+sort' implies distrust of this theory. Compare bogo-sort.
+
+
+Node:pizza box, Next:plaid screen, Previous:pixel sort, Up:= P = 
+
+pizza box n.
+
+[Sun] The largish thin box housing the electronics in
+(especially Sun) desktop workstations, so named because of its
+size and shape and the dimpled pattern that looks like air
+holes.
+
+Two meg single-platter removable disk packs used to be called
+pizzas, and the huge drive they were stuck into was referred to
+as a pizza oven. It's an index of progress that in the old days
+just the disk was pizza-sized, while now the entire computer
+is.
+
+
+Node:plaid screen, Next:plain-ASCII, Previous:pizza box, Up:= P = 
+
+plaid screen n.
+
+[XEROX PARC] A `special effect' that occurs when certain kinds
+of memory smashes overwrite
+the control blocks or image memory of a bit-mapped display. The
+term "salt and pepper" may refer to a different pattern of
+similar origin. Though the term as coined at PARC refers to the
+result of an error, some of the X demos
+induce plaid-screen effects deliberately as a display hack.
+
+
+Node:plain-ASCII, Next:plan file, Previous:plaid screen, Up:= P = 
+
+plain-ASCII /playn-as'kee/
+
+Syn. flat-ASCII.
+
+
+Node:plan file, Next:platinum-iridium, Previous:plain-ASCII, Up:= P = 
+
+plan file n.
+
+[Unix] On systems that support finger, the `.plan' file in a user's home
+directory is displayed when the user is fingered. This feature
+was originally intended to be used to keep potential fingerers
+apprised of one's location and near-future plans, but has been
+turned almost universally to humorous and self-expressive
+purposes (like a sig block).
+See also Hacking X for
+Y.
+
+A recent innovation in plan files has been the introduction of
+"scrolling plan files" which are one-dimensional animations made
+using only the printable ASCII character set, carriage return and
+line feed, avoiding terminal specific escape sequences, since the
+finger command will (for security
+reasons; see letterbomb) not
+pass the escape character.
+
+Scrolling .plan files have become art forms in miniature, and
+some sites have started competitions to find who can create the
+longest running, funniest, and most original animations. Various
+animation characters include:
+
+
+Centipede:
+
+
+mmmmme
+
+Lorry/Truck:
+
+
+oo-oP
+
+Andalusian Video Snail:
+
+
+_@/
+
+
+
+and a compiler (ASP) is available on Usenet for producing
+them. See also twirling
+baton.
+
+
+Node:platinum-iridium, Next:playpen, Previous:plan file, Up:= P = 
+
+platinum-iridium adj.
+
+Standard, against which all others of the same category are
+measured. Usage: silly. The notion is that one of whatever it is
+has actually been cast in platinum-iridium alloy and placed in
+the vault beside the Standard Kilogram at the International
+Bureau of Weights and Measures near Paris. (From 1889 to 1960,
+the meter was defined to be the distance between two scratches in
+a platinum-iridium bar kept in that same vault -- this replaced
+an earlier definition as 10^(-7) times the distance between the
+North Pole and the Equator along a meridian through Paris;
+unfortunately, this had been based on an inexact value of the
+circumference of the Earth. From 1960 to 1984 it was defined to
+be 1650763.73 wavelengths of the orange-red line of krypton-86
+propagating in a vacuum. It is now defined as the length of the
+path traveled by light in a vacuum in the time interval of
+1/299,792,458 of a second. The kilogram is now the only unit of
+measure officially defined in terms of a unique artifact.) "This
+garbage-collection algorithm has been tested against the
+platinum-iridium cons cell in Paris." Compare golden.
+
+
+Node:playpen, Next:playte, Previous:platinum-iridium, Up:= P = 
+
+playpen n.
+
+[IBM] A room where programmers work. Compare salt mines.
+
+
+Node:playte, Next:plingnet, Previous:playpen, Up:= P
+= 
+
+playte /playt/
+
+16 bits, by analogy with nybble
+and byte. Usage: rare and extremely
+silly. See also dynner and crumb. General discussion of such terms is
+under nybble.
+
+
+Node:plingnet, Next:plokta, Previous:playte, Up:= P
+= 
+
+plingnet /pling'net/ n.
+
+Syn. UUCPNET. Also see Commonwealth Hackish,
+which uses `pling' for bang (as in
+bang path).
+
+
+Node:plokta, Next:plonk, Previous:plingnet, Up:=
+P = 
+
+plokta /plok't*/ v.
+
+[acronym: Press Lots Of Keys To Abort] To press random keys in
+an attempt to get some response from the system. One might plokta
+when the abort procedure for a program is not known, or when
+trying to figure out if the system is just sluggish or really
+hung. Plokta can also be used while trying to figure out any
+unknown key sequence for a particular operation. Someone going
+into `plokta mode' usually places both hands flat on the keyboard
+and mashes them down, hoping for some useful response.
+
+A slightly more directed form of plokta can often be seen in
+mail messages or Usenet articles from new users -- the text might
+end with
+
+        ^X^C
+        q
+        quit
+        :q
+        ^C
+        end
+        x
+        exit
+        ZZ
+        ^D
+        ?
+        help
+
+
+as the user vainly tries to find the right exit sequence, with
+the incorrect tries piling up at the end of the
+message....
+
+
+Node:plonk, Next:plug-and-pray, Previous:plokta, Up:=
+P = 
+
+plonk excl.,vt.
+
+[Usenet: possibly influenced by British slang `plonk' for
+cheap booze, or `plonker' for someone behaving stupidly (latter
+is lit. equivalent to Yiddish `schmuck')] The sound a newbie makes as he falls to the bottom of a
+kill file. While it originated
+in the newsgroup
+_talk.bizarre_, this term (usually written "*plonk*") is now
+(1994) widespread on Usenet as a form of public ridicule.
+
+
+Node:plug-and-pray, Next:plugh, Previous:plonk, Up:= P
+= 
+
+plug-and-pray adj.,vi.
+
+Parody of the techspeak term `plug-and-play', describing a PC
+peripheral card which is claimed to have no need for hardware
+configuration via DIP switches, and which should be work as soon
+as it is inserted in the PC. Unfortunately, even the PCI bus is
+not up to pulling this off reliably, and people who have to do
+installation or troubleshoot PCs soon find themselves longing for
+the DIP switches.
+
+
+Node:plugh, Next:plumbing, Previous:plug-and-pray, Up:= P = 
+
+plugh /ploogh/ v.
+
+[from the ADVENT game] See xyzzy.
+
+
+Node:plumbing, Next:PM, Previous:plugh,
+Up:= P = 
+
+plumbing n.
+
+[Unix] Term used for shell code,
+so called because of the prevalence of `pipelines' that feed the
+output of one program to the input of another. Under Unix, user
+utilities can often be implemented or at least prototyped by a
+suitable collection of pipelines and temp-file grinding
+encapsulated in a shell script; this is much less effort than
+writing C every time, and the capability is considered one of
+Unix's major winning features. A few other OSs such as IBM's
+VM/CMS support similar facilities. Esp. used in the construction
+`hairy plumbing' (see hairy). "You
+can kluge together a basic spell-checker out of
+sort(1), comm(1), and
+tr(1) with a little plumbing." See also tee.
+
+
+Node:PM, Next:pnambic, Previous:plumbing, Up:=
+P = 
+
+PM /P-M/
+
+1. v. (from `preventive maintenance') To bring down a machine
+for inspection or test purposes. See provocative maintenance; see
+also scratch monkey. 2. n.
+Abbrev. for `Presentation Manager', an elephantine OS/2 graphical user
+interface.
+
+
+Node:pnambic, Next:pod, Previous:PM,
+Up:= P = 
+
+pnambic /p*-nam'bik/
+
+[Acronym from the scene in the film version of "The Wizard of
+Oz" in which the true nature of the wizard is first discovered:
+"Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain."] 1. A stage of
+development of a process or function that, owing to incomplete
+implementation or to the complexity of the system, requires human
+interaction to simulate or replace some or all of the actions,
+inputs, or outputs of the process or function. 2. Of or
+pertaining to a process or function whose apparent operations are
+wholly or partially falsified. 3. Requiring prestidigitization.
+
+The ultimate pnambic product was "Dan Bricklin's Demo", a
+program which supported flashy user-interface design prototyping.
+There is a related maxim among hackers: "Any sufficiently
+advanced technology is indistinguishable from a rigged demo." See
+magic, sense 1, for illumination of
+this point.
+
+
+Node:pod, Next:point-and-drool interface,
+Previous:pnambic, Up:= P = 
+
+pod n.
+
+[allegedly from abbreviation POD for `Prince Of Darkness'] A
+Diablo 630 (or, latterly, any letter-quality impact printer).
+From the DEC-10 PODTYPE program used to feed formatted text to
+it. Not to be confused with P.O.D..
+
+
+Node:point-and-drool
+interface, Next:pointy
+hat, Previous:pod, Up:= P = 
+
+point-and-drool interface n.
+
+Parody of the techspeak term `point-and-shoot interface',
+describing a windows, icons, and mouse-based interface such as is
+found on the Macintosh. The implication, of course, is that such
+an interface is only suitable for idiots. See for the rest of us, WIMP environment, Macintrash, drool-proof paper. Also
+`point-and-grunt interface'.
+
+
+Node:pointy hat, Next:pointy-haired, Previous:point-and-drool
+interface, Up:= P =
+
+
+pointy hat n.
+
+See wizard hat. This
+synonym specifically refers to the wizards of Unseen University
+in Terry Pratchett's "Discworld" serious of humorous fantasies;
+these books are extremely popular among hackers.
+
+
+Node:pointy-haired, Next:poke, Previous:pointy hat, Up:= P = 
+
+pointy-haired adj.
+
+[after the character in the Dilbert comic strip] Describes the extreme
+form of the property that separates suits and marketroids from hackers. Compare brain-dead; demented; see PHB.
+Always applied to people, never to ideas. The plural form is
+often used as a noun. "The pointy-haireds ordered me to use
+Windows NT, but I set up a Linux server with Samba instead."
+
+
+Node:poke, Next:poll, Previous:pointy-haired, Up:= P = 
+
+poke n.,vt.
+
+See peek.
+
+
+Node:poll, Next:polygon pusher, Previous:poke, Up:= P = 
+
+poll v.,n.
+
+1. [techspeak] The action of checking the status of an input
+line, sensor, or memory location to see if a particular external
+event has been registered. 2. To repeatedly call or check with
+someone: "I keep polling him, but he's not answering his phone;
+he must be swapped out." 3. To ask. "Lunch? I poll for a takeout
+order daily."
+
+
+Node:polygon pusher, Next:POM, Previous:poll, Up:= P =
+
+
+polygon pusher n.
+
+A chip designer who spends most of his or her time at the
+physical layout level (which requires drawing lots of
+multi-colored polygons). Also `rectangle slinger'.
+
+
+Node:POM, Next:pop, Previous:polygon pusher, Up:= P = 
+
+POM /P-O-M/ n.
+
+Common abbreviation for phase of the moon. Usage:
+usually in the phrase `POM-dependent', which means flaky.
+
+
+Node:pop, Next:POPJ, Previous:POM,
+Up:= P = 
+
+pop /pop/
+
+[from the operation that removes the top of a stack, and the
+fact that procedure return addresses are usually saved on the
+stack] (also capitalized `POP') 1. vt. To remove something from a
+stack or PDL. If a person says he/she has popped something
+from his stack, that means he/she has finally finished working on
+it and can now remove it from the list of things hanging
+overhead. 2. When a discussion gets to a level of detail so deep
+that the main point of the discussion is being lost, someone will
+shout "Pop!", meaning "Get back up to a higher level!" The shout
+is frequently accompanied by an upthrust arm with a finger
+pointing to the ceiling. 3. [all-caps, as `POP'] Point of
+Presence, a bank of dial-in lines allowing customers to make
+(local) calls into an ISP. This is borderline techspeak.
+
+
+Node:POPJ, Next:poser, Previous:pop, Up:= P =
+
+
+POPJ /pop'J/ n.,v.
+
+[from a PDP-10
+return-from-subroutine instruction] To return from a digression.
+By verb doubling, "Popj, popj" means roughly "Now let's see,
+where were we?" See RTI.
+
+
+Node:poser, Next:post, Previous:POPJ, Up:= P =
+
+
+poser n.
+
+A wannabee; not hacker slang,
+but used among crackers, phreaks and warez d00dz. Not as negative as lamer or leech.
+Probably derives from a similar usage among punk-rockers and
+metalheads, putting down those who "talk the talk but don't walk
+the walk".
+
+
+Node:post, Next:postcardware, Previous:poser, Up:= P
+= 
+
+post v.
+
+To send a message to a mailing
+list or newsgroup.
+Distinguished in context from `mail'; one might ask, for example:
+"Are you going to post the patch or mail it to known users?"
+
+
+Node:postcardware, Next:posting, Previous:post, Up:= P =
+
+
+postcardware n.
+
+A kind of shareware that
+borders on freeware, in that the
+author requests only that satisfied users send a postcard of
+their home town or something. (This practice, silly as it might
+seem, serves to remind users that they are otherwise getting
+something for nothing, and may also be psychologically related to
+real estate `sales' in which $1 changes hands just to keep the
+transaction from being a gift.)
+
+
+Node:posting, Next:postmaster, Previous:postcardware, Up:= P = 
+
+posting n.
+
+Noun corresp. to v. post (but note
+that post can be nouned).
+Distinguished from a `letter' or ordinary email message by the fact that it is broadcast
+rather than point-to-point. It is not clear whether messages sent
+to a small mailing list are postings or email; perhaps the best
+dividing line is that if you don't know the names of all the
+potential recipients, it is a posting.
+
+
+Node:postmaster, Next:PostScript, Previous:posting, Up:= P = 
+
+postmaster n.
+
+The email contact and maintenance person at a site connected
+to the Internet or UUCPNET. Often, but not always, the same as
+the admin. The Internet standard for
+electronic mail (RFC-822) requires each
+machine to have a `postmaster' address; usually it is aliased to
+this person.
+
+
+Node:PostScript, Next:pound on, Previous:postmaster, Up:= P = 
+
+PostScript n.
+
+A Page Description Language (PDL),
+based on work originally done by John Gaffney at Evans and
+Sutherland in 1976, evolving through `JaM' (`John and Martin',
+Martin Newell) at XEROX PARC,
+and finally implemented in its current form by John Warnock et
+al. after he and Chuck Geschke founded Adobe Systems Incorporated
+in 1982. PostScript gets its leverage by using a full programming
+language, rather than a series of low-level escape sequences, to
+describe an image to be printed on a laser printer or other
+output device (in this it parallels EMACS, which exploited a similar insight about
+editing tasks). It is also noteworthy for implementing on-the fly
+rasterization, from Bezier curve descriptions, of high-quality
+fonts at low (e.g. 300 dpi) resolution (it was formerly believed
+that hand-tuned bitmap fonts were required for this task).
+Hackers consider PostScript to be among the most elegant hacks of
+all time, and the combination of technical merits and widespread
+availability has made PostScript the language of choice for
+graphical output.
+
+
+Node:pound on, Next:power cycle, Previous:PostScript, Up:= P = 
+
+pound on vt.
+
+Syn. bang on.
+
+
+Node:power cycle, Next:power hit, Previous:pound on, Up:= P = 
+
+power cycle vt.
+
+(also, `cycle power' or just `cycle') To power off a machine
+and then power it on immediately, with the intention of clearing
+some kind of hung or gronked state. Syn. 120 reset; see also Big Red Switch. Compare Vulcan nerve pinch, bounce (sense 4), and boot, and see the "Some AI Koans" (in Appendix A) about
+Tom Knight and the novice.
+
+
+Node:power hit, Next:PPN, Previous:power cycle, Up:= P = 
+
+power hit n.
+
+A spike or drop-out in the electricity supplying your machine;
+a power glitch. These can cause
+crashes and even permanent damage to your machine(s).
+
+
+Node:PPN, Next:pr0n, Previous:power hit, Up:= P = 
+
+PPN /P-P-N/, /pip'n/ n. obs.
+
+[from `Project-Programmer Number'] A user-ID under TOPS-10 and its various mutant progeny at
+SAIL, BBN, CompuServe, and elsewhere. Old-time hackers from the
+PDP-10 era sometimes use this to refer to user IDs on other
+systems as well.
+
+
+Node:pr0n, Next:precedence lossage, Previous:PPN, Up:= P = 
+
+pr0n //
+
+[Usenet, IRC] Pornography. Originally this referred only to
+Internet porn but since then it has expanded to refer to just
+about anything. The term comes from the warez kiddies tendency to replace
+letters with numbers. At some point on IRC someone mistyped,
+swapped the middle two letters, and the name stuck, then
+propagated over into mainstream hacker usage. Compare filk, grilf, hing and newsfroup.
+
+
+Node:precedence lossage,
+Next:prepend, Previous:pr0n, Up:= P = 
+
+precedence lossage /pre's*-dens los'*j/ n.
+
+[C programmers] Coding error in an expression due to
+unexpected grouping of arithmetic or logical operators by the
+compiler. Used esp. of certain common coding errors in C due to
+the nonintuitively low precedence levels of &,
+|, ^, <<, and
+>> (for this reason, experienced C programmers
+deliberately forget the language's baroque precedence hierarchy and parenthesize
+defensively). Can always be avoided by suitable use of
+parentheses. LISP fans enjoy pointing
+out that this can't happen in their favorite language,
+which eschews precedence entirely, requiring one to use explicit
+parentheses everywhere. See aliasing
+bug, memory leak,
+memory smash, smash the stack, fandango on core, overrun screw.
+
+
+Node:prepend, Next:prestidigitization, Previous:precedence lossage,
+Up:= P = 
+
+prepend /pree`pend'/ vt.
+
+[by analogy with `append'] To prefix. As with `append' (but
+not `prefix' or `suffix' as a verb), the direct object is always
+the thing being added and not the original word (or character
+string, or whatever). "If you prepend a semicolon to the line,
+the translation routine will pass it through unaltered."
+
+
+Node:prestidigitization, Next:pretty pictures,
+Previous:prepend, Up:= P = 
+
+prestidigitization /pres`t*-di`j*-ti:-zay'sh*n/ n.
+
+1. The act of putting something into digital notation via
+sleight of hand. 2. Data entry through legerdemain.
+
+
+Node:pretty pictures, Next:prettyprint, Previous:prestidigitization,
+Up:= P = 
+
+pretty pictures n.
+
+[scientific computation] The next step up from numbers. Interesting graphical output from a
+program that may not have any sensible relationship to the system
+the program is intended to model. Good for showing to management.
+
+
+Node:prettyprint, Next:pretzel key, Previous:pretty pictures, Up:= P = 
+
+prettyprint /prit'ee-print/ v.
+
+(alt. `pretty-print') 1. To generate `pretty' human-readable
+output from a hairy internal
+representation; esp. used for the process of grinding (sense 1) program code, and most esp.
+for LISP code. 2. To format in some particularly slick and
+nontrivial way.
+
+
+Node:pretzel key, Next:priesthood, Previous:prettyprint, Up:= P = 
+
+pretzel key n.
+
+[Mac users] See feature
+key.
+
+
+Node:priesthood, Next:prime time, Previous:pretzel key, Up:= P = 
+
+priesthood n. obs.
+
+[TMRC] The select group of system managers responsible for the
+operation and maintenance of a batch operated computer system. On
+these computers, a user never had direct access to a computer,
+but had to submit his/her data and programs to a priest for
+execution. Results were returned days or even weeks later. See
+acolyte.
+
+
+Node:prime time, Next:print, Previous:priesthood, Up:= P = 
+
+prime time n.
+
+[from TV programming] Normal high-usage hours on a system or
+network. Back in the days of big timesharing machines `prime
+time' was when lots of people were competing for limited cycles,
+usually the day shift. Avoidance of prime time was traditionally
+given as a major reason for night
+mode hacking. The term fell into disuse during the early
+PC era, but has been revived to refer to times of day or evening
+at which the Internet tends to be heavily loaded, making Web
+access slow. The hackish tendency to late-night hacking runs has changed not a bit.
+
+
+Node:print, Next:printing discussion, Previous:prime time, Up:= P = 
+
+print v.
+
+To output, even if to a screen. If a hacker says that a
+program "printed a message", he means this; if he refers to
+printing a file, he probably means it in the conventional sense
+of writing to a hardcopy device (compounds like `print job' and
+`printout', on the other hand, always refer to the latter). This
+very common term is likely a holdover from the days when printing
+terminals were the norm, perpetuated by programming language
+constructs like C's printf(3). See senses
+1 and 2 of tty.
+
+
+Node:printing discussion,
+Next:priority
+interrupt, Previous:print, Up:= P
+= 
+
+printing discussion n.
+
+[XEROX PARC] A protracted, low-level, time-consuming,
+generally pointless discussion of something only peripherally
+interesting to all.
+
+
+Node:priority interrupt,
+Next:profile, Previous:printing discussion,
+Up:= P = 
+
+priority interrupt n.
+
+[from the hardware term] Describes any stimulus compelling
+enough to yank one right out of hack
+mode. Classically used to describe being dragged away by
+an SO for immediate sex, but may also
+refer to more mundane interruptions such as a fire alarm going
+off in the near vicinity. Also called an NMI (non-maskable interrupt), especially in
+PC-land.
+
+
+Node:profile, Next:progasm, Previous:priority interrupt, Up:= P = 
+
+profile n.
+
+1. A control file for a program, esp. a text file
+automatically read from each user's home directory and intended
+to be easily modified by the user in order to customize the
+program's behavior. Used to avoid hardcoded choices (see also dot file, rc
+file). 2. [techspeak] A report on the amounts of time
+spent in each routine of a program, used to find and tune away the hot
+spots in it. This sense is often verbed. Some profiling
+modes report units other than time (such as call counts) and/or
+report at granularities other than per-routine, but the idea is
+similar. 3.[techspeak] A subset of a standard used for a
+particular purpose. This sense confuses hackers who wander into
+the weird world of ISO standards no end!
+
+
+Node:progasm, Next:proggy, Previous:profile, Up:= P
+= 
+
+progasm /proh'gaz-m/ n.
+
+[University of Wisconsin] The euphoria experienced upon the
+completion of a program or other computer-related project.
+
+
+Node:proggy, Next:proglet, Previous:progasm, Up:= P
+= 
+
+proggy n.
+
+1. Any computer program that is considered a full application.
+2. Any computer program that is made up of or otherwise contains
+proglets. 3. Any computer program
+that is large enough to be normally distributed as an RPM or
+tarball.
+
+
+Node:proglet, Next:program, Previous:proggy, Up:= P
+= 
+
+proglet /prog'let/ n.
+
+[UK] A short _extempore_ program written to meet an
+immediate, transient need. Often written in BASIC, rarely more
+than a dozen lines long, and containing no subroutines. The
+largest amount of code that can be written off the top of one's
+head, that does not need any editing, and that runs correctly the
+first time (this amount varies significantly according to one's
+skill and the language one is using). Compare toy program, noddy, one-liner
+wars.
+
+
+Node:program, Next:Programmer's Cheer, Previous:proglet, Up:= P = 
+
+program n.
+
+1. A magic spell cast over a computer allowing it to turn
+one's input into error messages. 2. An exercise in experimental
+epistemology. 3. A form of art, ostensibly intended for the
+instruction of computers, which is nevertheless almost inevitably
+a failure if other programmers can't understand it.
+
+
+Node:Programmer's Cheer,
+Next:programming,
+Previous:program, Up:= P = 
+
+Programmer's Cheer
+
+"Shift to the left! Shift to the right! Pop up, push down!
+Byte! Byte! Byte!" A joke so old it has hair on it.
+
+
+Node:programming, Next:programming fluid, Previous:Programmer's
+Cheer, Up:= P = 
+
+programming n.
+
+1. The art of debugging a blank sheet of paper (or, in these
+days of on-line editing, the art of debugging an empty file).
+"Bloody instructions which, being taught, return to plague their
+inventor" ("Macbeth", Act 1, Scene 7) 2. A pastime similar to
+banging one's head against a wall, but with fewer opportunities
+for reward. 3. The most fun you can have with your clothes on. 4.
+The least fun you can have with your clothes off.
+
+
+Node:programming fluid, Next:propeller head,
+Previous:programming,
+Up:= P = 
+
+programming fluid n.
+
+1. Coffee. 2. Cola. 3. Any caffeinacious stimulant. Many
+hackers consider these essential for those all-night hacking
+runs. See wirewater.
+
+
+Node:propeller head, Next:propeller key, Previous:programming fluid,
+Up:= P = 
+
+propeller head n.
+
+Used by hackers, this is syn. with computer geek. Non-hackers sometimes
+use it to describe all techies. Prob. derives from SF fandom's
+tradition (originally invented by old-time fan Ray Faraday
+Nelson) of propeller beanies as fannish insignia (though nobody
+actually wears them except as a joke).
+
+
+Node:propeller key, Next:proprietary, Previous:propeller head, Up:= P = 
+
+propeller key n.
+
+[Mac users] See feature
+key.
+
+
+Node:proprietary, Next:protocol, Previous:propeller key, Up:= P = 
+
+proprietary adj.
+
+1. In marketroid-speak,
+superior; implies a product imbued with exclusive magic by the
+unmatched brilliance of the company's own hardware or software
+designers. 2. In the language of hackers and users, inferior;
+implies a product not conforming to open-systems standards, and
+thus one that puts the customer at the mercy of a vendor able to
+gouge freely on service and upgrade charges after the initial
+sale has locked the customer in. Often in the phrase "proprietary
+crap". 3. Synonym for closed-source, e.g. software issued in
+binary without source and under a restructive license.
+
+Since the coining of the term open
+source, many hackers have made a conscious effort to
+distinguish between `proprietary' and `commercial' software. It
+is possible for software to be commercial (that is, intended to
+make a profit for the producers) without being proprietary. The
+reverse is also possible, for example in binary-only
+freeware.
+
+
+Node:protocol, Next:provocative maintenance,
+Previous:proprietary,
+Up:= P = 
+
+protocol n.
+
+As used by hackers, this never refers to niceties about the
+proper form for addressing letters to the Papal Nuncio or the
+order in which one should use the forks in a Russian-style place
+setting; hackers don't care about such things. It is used instead
+to describe any set of rules that allow different machines or
+pieces of software to coordinate with each other without
+ambiguity. So, for example, it does include niceties about the
+proper form for addressing packets on a network or the order in
+which one should use the forks in the Dining Philosophers
+Problem. It implies that there is some common message format and
+an accepted set of primitives or commands that all parties
+involved understand, and that transactions among them follow
+predictable logical sequences. See also handshaking, do protocol.
+
+
+Node:provocative
+maintenance, Next:prowler,
+Previous:protocol, Up:= P = 
+
+provocative maintenance n.
+
+[common ironic mutation of `preventive maintenance'] Actions
+performed upon a machine at regularly scheduled intervals to
+ensure that the system remains in a usable state. So called
+because it is all too often performed by a field servoid who doesn't know what he
+is doing; such `maintenance' often induces problems, or
+otherwise results in the machine's remaining in an
+unusable state for an indeterminate amount of time. See
+also scratch monkey.
+
+
+Node:prowler, Next:pseudo, Previous:provocative maintenance, Up:= P = 
+
+prowler n.
+
+[Unix] A daemon that is run
+periodically (typically once a week) to seek out and erase core files, truncate administrative
+logfiles, nuke lost+found directories, and otherwise
+clean up the cruft that tends to pile
+up in the corners of a file system. See also GFR, reaper, skulker.
+
+
+Node:pseudo, Next:pseudoprime, Previous:prowler, Up:= P
+= 
+
+pseudo /soo'doh/ n.
+
+[Usenet: truncation of `pseudonym'] 1. An electronic-mail or
+Usenet persona adopted by a human
+for amusement value or as a means of avoiding negative
+repercussions of one's net.behavior; a `nom de Usenet', often
+associated with forged postings designed to conceal message
+origins. Perhaps the best-known and funniest hoax of this type is
+B1FF. See also tentacle. 2. Notionally, a flamage-generating AI program simulating a
+Usenet user. Many flamers have been accused of actually being
+such entities, despite the fact that no AI program of the
+required sophistication yet exists. However, in 1989 there was a
+famous series of forged postings that used a
+phrase-frequency-based travesty generator to simulate the styles
+of several well-known flamers; it was based on large samples of
+their back postings (compare Dissociated Press). A significant
+number of people were fooled by the forgeries, and the debate
+over their authenticity was settled only when the perpetrator
+came forward to publicly admit the hoax.
+
+
+Node:pseudoprime, Next:pseudosuit, Previous:pseudo, Up:=
+P = 
+
+pseudoprime n.
+
+A backgammon prime (six consecutive occupied points) with one
+point missing. This term is an esoteric pun derived from number
+theory: a number that passes a certain kind of "primality test"
+may be called a `pseudoprime' (all primes pass any such test, but
+so do some composite numbers), and any number that passes several
+is, in some sense, almost certainly prime. The hacker backgammon
+usage stems from the idea that a pseudoprime is almost as good as
+a prime: it will do the same job unless you are unlucky.
+
+
+Node:pseudosuit, Next:psychedelicware, Previous:pseudoprime, Up:= P = 
+
+pseudosuit /soo'doh-s[y]oot`/ n.
+
+A suit wannabee; a hacker who has
+decided that he wants to be in management or administration and
+begins wearing ties, sport coats, and (shudder!) suits
+voluntarily. It's his funeral. See also lobotomy.
+
+
+Node:psychedelicware, Next:psyton, Previous:pseudosuit, Up:= P = 
+
+psychedelicware /si:`k*-del'-ik-weir/ n.
+
+[UK] Syn. display hack.
+See also smoking
+clover.
+
+
+Node:psyton, Next:pubic directory, Previous:psychedelicware, Up:= P = 
+
+psyton /si:'ton/ n.
+
+[TMRC] The elementary particle carrying the sinister force.
+The probability of a process losing is proportional to the number
+of psytons falling on it. Psytons are generated by observers,
+which is why demos are more likely to fail when lots of people
+are watching. [This term appears to have been largely superseded
+by bogon; see also quantum bogodynamics.
+--ESR]
+
+
+Node:pubic directory, Next:puff, Previous:psyton, Up:=
+P = 
+
+pubic directory /pyoob'ik d*-rek't*-ree/) n.
+
+[NYU] (also `pube directory' /pyoob' d*-rek't*-ree/) The `pub'
+(public) directory on a machine that allows FTP access. So called because it is the default
+location for SEX (sense 1). "I'll have
+the source in the pube directory by Friday."
+
+
+Node:puff, Next:pumpkin holder, Previous:pubic directory, Up:= P = 
+
+puff vt.
+
+To decompress data that has been crunched by Huffman coding.
+At least one widely distributed Huffman decoder program was
+actually named `PUFF', but these days it is usually
+packaged with the encoder. Oppose huff, see inflate.
+
+
+Node:pumpkin holder, Next:pumpking, Previous:puff, Up:= P
+= 
+
+pumpkin holder n.
+
+See patch pumpkin.
+
+
+Node:pumpking, Next:punched card, Previous:pumpkin holder, Up:= P = 
+
+pumpking n.
+
+Syn. for pumpkin
+holder; see patch
+pumpkin.
+
+
+Node:punched card, Next:punt, Previous:pumpking, Up:=
+P = 
+
+punched card n.obs.
+
+[techspeak] (alt. `punch card') The signature medium of
+computing's Stone Age, now
+obsolescent outside of some IBM shops. The punched card actually
+predated computers considerably, originating in 1801 as a control
+device for mechanical looms. The version patented by Hollerith
+and used with mechanical tabulating machines in the 1890 U.S.
+Census was a piece of cardboard about 90 mm by 215 mm. There is a
+widespread myth that it was designed to fit in the currency trays
+used for that era's larger dollar bills, but recent
+investigations have falsified this.
+
+IBM (which originated as a tabulating-machine manufacturer)
+married the punched card to computers, encoding binary
+information as patterns of small rectangular holes; one character
+per column, 80 columns per card. Other coding schemes, sizes of
+card, and hole shapes were tried at various times.
+
+The 80-column width of most character terminals is a legacy of
+the IBM punched card; so is the size of the quick-reference cards
+distributed with many varieties of computers even today. See
+chad, chad
+box, eighty-column
+mind, green card,
+dusty deck, lace card, card walloper.
+
+
+Node:punt, Next:Purple Book, Previous:punched card, Up:= P = 
+
+punt v.
+
+[from the punch line of an old joke referring to American
+football: "Drop back 15 yards and punt!"] 1. To give up,
+typically without any intention of retrying. "Let's punt the
+movie tonight." "I was going to hack all night to get this
+feature in, but I decided to punt" may mean that you've decided
+not to stay up all night, and may also mean you're not ever even
+going to put in the feature. 2. More specifically, to give up on
+figuring out what the Right
+Thing is and resort to an inefficient hack. 3. A design
+decision to defer solving a problem, typically because one cannot
+define what is desirable sufficiently well to frame an
+algorithmic solution. "No way to know what the right form to dump
+the graph in is -- we'll punt that for now." 4. To hand a tricky
+implementation problem off to some other section of the design.
+"It's too hard to get the compiler to do that; let's punt to the
+runtime system." 5. To knock someone off an Internet or chat
+connection; a `punter' thus, is a person or program that does
+this.
+
+
+Node:Purple Book, Next:purple wire, Previous:punt, Up:= P
+= 
+
+Purple Book n.
+
+1. The "System V Interface Definition". The covers of the
+first editions were an amazingly nauseating shade of
+off-lavender. 2. Syn. Wizard
+Book. Donald Lewine's "POSIX Programmer's Guide"
+(O'Reilly, 1991, ISBN 0-937175-73-0). See also book titles.
+
+
+Node:purple wire, Next:push, Previous:Purple Book, Up:= P = 
+
+purple wire n.
+
+[IBM] Wire installed by Field Engineers to work around
+problems discovered during testing or debugging. These are called
+`purple wires' even when (as is frequently the case) their actual
+physical color is yellow.... Compare blue wire, yellow wire, and red wire.
+
+
+Node:push, Next:Python, Previous:purple wire, Up:= P = 
+
+push
+
+[from the operation that puts the current information on a
+stack, and the fact that procedure return addresses are saved on
+a stack] (Also PUSH /push/ or PUSHJ /push'J/, the latter based on
+the PDP-10 procedure call instruction.) 1. To put something onto
+a stack or PDL. If one says that something has been pushed
+onto one's stack, it means that the Damoclean list of things
+hanging over ones's head has grown longer and heavier yet. This
+may also imply that one will deal with it before other
+pending items; otherwise one might say that the thing was `added
+to my queue'. 2. vi. To enter upon a digression, to save the
+current discussion for later. Antonym of pop; see also stack,
+PDL.
+
+
+Node:Python, Next:quad, Previous:push, Up:= P =
+
+
+Python /pi:'thon/
+
+In the words of its author, "the other scripting language" (other than
+Perl, that is). Python's design is notably clean, elegant, and well
+thought through; it tends to attract the sort of programmers who find
+Perl grubby and exiguous. Python's relationship with Perl is rather
+like the BSD community's relationship to Linux - it's the smaller party
+in a (usually friendly) rivalry, but the average quality of its
+developers is generally conceded to be rather higher than in the larger
+community it competes with. There's a Python resource page at
+http://www.python.org. See also Guido.
+
+
+Node:= Q =, Next:= R =, Previous:= P =, Up:The Jargon Lexicon 
+
+= Q =
+
+
+quad:
+
+
+quadruple bucky:
+
+
+quantifiers:
+
+
+quantum
+bogodynamics:
+
+
+quarter:
+
+
+ques:
+
+
+quick-and-dirty:
+
+
+quine:
+
+
+quote chapter and
+verse:
+
+
+quotient:
+
+
+quux:
+
+
+qux:
+
+
+QWERTY:
+
+
+Node:quad, Next:quadruple bucky, Previous:Python, Up:= Q = 
+
+quad n.
+
+1. Two bits; syn. for quarter,
+crumb, tayste. 2. A four-pack of anything (compare
+hex, sense 2). 3. The rectangle or box
+glyph used in the APL language for various arcane purposes mostly
+related to I/O. Former Ivy-Leaguers and Oxford types are said to
+associate it with nostalgic memories of dear old University.
+
+
+Node:quadruple bucky, Next:quantifiers, Previous:quad, Up:= Q = 
+
+quadruple bucky n. obs.
+
+1. On an MIT space-cadet
+keyboard, use of all four of the shifting keys (control,
+meta, hyper, and super) while typing a character key. 2. On a
+Stanford or MIT keyboard in raw
+mode, use of four shift keys while typing a fifth
+character, where the four shift keys are the control and meta
+keys on both sides of the keyboard. This was very
+difficult to do! One accepted technique was to press the
+left-control and left-meta keys with your left hand, the
+right-control and right-meta keys with your right hand, and the
+fifth key with your nose.
+
+Quadruple-bucky combinations were very seldom used in
+practice, because when one invented a new command one usually
+assigned it to some character that was easier to type. If you
+want to imply that a program has ridiculously many commands or
+features, you can say something like: "Oh, the command that makes
+it spin the tapes while whistling Beethoven's Fifth Symphony is
+quadruple-bucky-cokebottle." See double bucky, bucky bits, cokebottle.
+
+
+Node:quantifiers, Next:quantum bogodynamics,
+Previous:quadruple
+bucky, Up:= Q = 
+
+quantifiers
+
+In techspeak and jargon, the standard metric prefixes used in
+the SI (Système International) conventions for scientific
+measurement have dual uses. With units of time or things that
+come in powers of 10, such as money, they retain their usual
+meanings of multiplication by powers of 1000 = 10^3. But when
+used with bytes or other things that naturally come in powers of
+2, they usually denote multiplication by powers of 1024 =
+2^(10).
+
+Here are the SI magnifying prefixes, along with the
+corresponding binary interpretations in common use:
+
+prefix  decimal  binary
+kilo-   1000^1   1024^1 = 2^10 = 1,024
+
+mega-   1000^2   1024^2 = 2^20 = 1,048,576
+
+giga-   1000^3   1024^3 = 2^30 = 1,073,741,824
+
+tera-   1000^4   1024^4 = 2^40 = 1,099,511,627,776
+
+peta-   1000^5   1024^5 = 2^50 = 1,125,899,906,842,624
+
+exa-    1000^6   1024^6 = 2^60 = 1,152,921,504,606,846,976
+
+zetta-  1000^7   1024^7 = 2^70 = 1,180,591,620,717,411,303,424
+
+yotta-  1000^8   1024^8 = 2^80 = 1,208,925,819,614,629,174,706,176
+
+Here are the SI fractional prefixes:
+
+prefix  decimal     jargon usage
+milli-  1000^-1     (seldom used in jargon)
+micro-  1000^-2     small or human-scale (see micro-)
+nano-   1000^-3     even smaller (see nano-)
+pico-   1000^-4     even smaller yet (see pico-)
+femto-  1000^-5     (not used in jargon---yet)
+atto-   1000^-6     (not used in jargon---yet)
+zepto-  1000^-7     (not used in jargon---yet)
+yocto-  1000^-8     (not used in jargon---yet)
+
+
+The prefixes zetta-, yotta-, zepto-, and yocto- have been
+included in these tables purely for completeness and giggle
+value; they were adopted in 1990 by the `19th Conference Generale
+des Poids et Mesures'. The binary peta- and exa- loadings, though
+well established, are not in jargon use either -- yet. The prefix
+milli-, denoting multiplication by 1/1000, has always been rare
+in jargon (there is, however, a standard joke about the
+`millihelen' -- notionally, the amount of beauty required to
+launch one ship). See the entries on micro-, pico-, and
+nano- for more information on
+connotative jargon use of these terms. `Femto' and `atto' (which,
+interestingly, derive not from Greek but from Danish) have not
+yet acquired jargon loadings, though it is easy to predict what
+those will be once computing technology enters the required
+realms of magnitude (however, see attoparsec).
+
+There are, of course, some standard unit prefixes for powers
+of 10. In the following table, the `prefix' column is the
+international standard suffix for the appropriate power of ten;
+the `binary' column lists jargon abbreviations and words for the
+corresponding power of 2. The B-suffixed forms are commonly used
+for byte quantities; the words `meg' and `gig' are nouns that may
+(but do not always) pluralize with `s'.
+
+_prefix   decimal   binary       pronunciation_
+kilo-       k      K, KB,       /kay/
+mega-       M      M, MB, meg   /meg/
+giga-       G      G, GB, gig   /gig/,/jig/
+
+
+Confusingly, hackers often use K or M as though they were
+suffix or numeric multipliers rather than a prefix; thus "2K
+dollars", "2M of disk space". This is also true (though less
+commonly) of G.
+
+Note that the formal SI metric prefix for 1000 is `k'; some
+use this strictly, reserving `K' for multiplication by 1024 (KB
+is thus `kilobytes').
+
+K, M, and G used alone refer to quantities of bytes; thus, 64G
+is 64 gigabytes and `a K' is a kilobyte (compare mainstream use
+of `a G' as short for `a grand', that is, $1000). Whether one
+pronounces `gig' with hard or soft `g' depends on what one thinks
+the proper pronunciation of `giga-' is.
+
+Confusing 1000 and 1024 (or other powers of 2 and 10 close in
+magnitude) -- for example, describing a memory in units of 500K
+or 524K instead of 512K -- is a sure sign of the marketroid. One example of this: it is
+common to refer to the capacity of 3.5" microfloppies as `1.44 MB' In fact, this
+is a completely bogus number. The
+correct size is 1440 KB, that is, 1440 * 1024 = 1474560 bytes. So
+the `mega' in `1.44 MB' is compounded of two `kilos', one of
+which is 1024 and the other of which is 1000. The correct number
+of megabytes would of course be 1440 / 1024 = 1.40625. Alas, this
+fine point is probably lost on the world forever.
+
+[1993 update: hacker Morgan Burke has proposed, to general
+approval on Usenet, the following additional prefixes:
+
+
+groucho
+
+
+10^(-30)
+
+
+harpo
+
+
+10^(-27)
+
+
+harpi
+
+
+10^(27)
+
+
+grouchi
+
+
+10^(30)
+
+We observe that this would leave the prefixes zeppo-, gummo-,
+and chico- available for future expansion. Sadly, there is little
+immediate prospect that Mr. Burke's eminently sensible proposal
+will be ratified.]
+
+[1999 upate: there is an 
+IEC proposal for binary multipliers, but no evidence that any
+of its proposals are in live use.]
+
+
+Node:quantum bogodynamics,
+Next:quarter, Previous:quantifiers, Up:= Q = 
+
+quantum bogodynamics /kwon'tm boh`goh-di:-nam'iks/
+n.
+
+A theory that characterizes the universe in terms of bogon
+sources (such as politicians, used-car salesmen, TV evangelists,
+and suits in general), bogon sinks
+(such as taxpayers and computers), and bogosity potential fields.
+Bogon absorption, of course, causes human beings to behave
+mindlessly and machines to fail (and may also cause both to emit
+secondary bogons); however, the precise mechanics of the
+bogon-computron interaction are not yet understood and remain to
+be elucidated. Quantum bogodynamics is most often invoked to
+explain the sharp increase in hardware and software failures in
+the presence of suits; the latter emit bogons, which the former
+absorb. See bogon, computron, suit,
+psyton.
+
+
+Node:quarter, Next:ques, Previous:quantum bogodynamics, Up:= Q = 
+
+quarter n.
+
+Two bits. This in turn comes from the `pieces of eight' famed
+in pirate movies -- Spanish silver crowns that could be broken
+into eight pie-slice-shaped `bits' to make change. Early in
+American history the Spanish coin was considered equal to a
+dollar, so each of these `bits' was considered worth 12.5 cents.
+Syn. tayste, crumb, quad. Usage:
+rare. General discussion of such terms is under nybble.
+
+
+Node:ques, Next:quick-and-dirty, Previous:quarter, Up:= Q = 
+
+ques /kwes/
+
+1. n. The question mark character (?, ASCII
+0111111). 2. interj. What? Also frequently verb-doubled as "Ques
+ques?" See wall.
+
+
+Node:quick-and-dirty, Next:quine, Previous:ques, Up:= Q =
+
+
+quick-and-dirty adj.
+
+[common] Describes a crock put
+together under time or user pressure. Used esp. when you want to
+convey that you think the fast way might lead to trouble further
+down the road. "I can have a quick-and-dirty fix in place
+tonight, but I'll have to rewrite the whole module to solve the
+underlying design problem." See also kluge.
+
+
+Node:quine, Next:quote chapter and verse,
+Previous:quick-and-dirty, Up:= Q = 
+
+quine /kwi:n/ n.
+
+[from the name of the logician Willard van Orman Quine, via
+Douglas Hofstadter] A program that generates a copy of its own
+source text as its complete output. Devising the shortest
+possible quine in some given programming language is a common
+hackish amusement. (We ignore some variants of BASIC in which a
+program consisting of a single empty string literal reproduces
+itself trivially.) Here is one classic quine:
+
+((lambda (x)
+  (list x (list (quote quote) x)))
+ (quote
+    (lambda (x)
+      (list x (list (quote quote) x)))))
+
+
+This one works in LISP or Scheme. It's relatively easy to
+write quines in other languages such as Postscript which readily
+handle programs as data; much harder (and thus more challenging!)
+in languages like C which do not. Here is a classic C quine for
+ASCII machines:
+
+char*f="char*f=%c%s%c;main()
+{printf(f,34,f,34,10);}%c";
+main(){printf(f,34,f,34,10);}
+
+
+For excruciatingly exact quinishness, remove the interior line
+breaks. Here is another elegant quine in ANSI C:
+
+#define q(k)main(){return!puts(#k"\nq("#k")");}
+q(#define q(k)main(){return!puts(#k"\nq("#k")");})
+
+
+Some infamous Obfuscated C Contest entries
+have been quines that reproduced in exotic ways. There is an
+amusing Quine
+Home Page.
+
+
+Node:quote chapter and
+verse, Next:quotient,
+Previous:quine, Up:= Q = 
+
+quote chapter and verse v.
+
+[by analogy with the mainstream phrase] To cite a relevant
+excerpt from an appropriate bible. "I
+don't care if rn gets it wrong; `Followup-To:
+poster' is explicitly permitted by RFC-1036. I'll quote chapter and verse if you
+don't believe me." See also legalese, language lawyer, RTFS (sense 2).
+
+
+Node:quotient, Next:quux, Previous:quote chapter and verse,
+Up:= Q = 
+
+quotient n.
+
+See coefficient of
+X.
+
+
+Node:quux, Next:qux, Previous:quotient, Up:=
+Q = 
+
+quux /kwuhks/ n.
+
+[Mythically, from the Latin semi-deponent verb quuxo, quuxare,
+quuxandum iri; noun form variously `quux' (plural `quuces',
+anglicized to `quuxes') and `quuxu' (genitive plural is
+`quuxuum', for four u-letters out of seven in all, using up all
+the `u' letters in Scrabble).] 1. Originally, a metasyntactic variable like
+foo and foobar. Invented by Guy Steele for precisely
+this purpose when he was young and naive and not yet interacting
+with the real computing community. Many people invent such words;
+this one seems simply to have been lucky enough to have spread a
+little. In an eloquent display of poetic justice, it has returned
+to the originator in the form of a nickname. 2. interj. See foo; however, denotes very little disgust,
+and is uttered mostly for the sake of the sound of it. 3. Guy
+Steele in his persona as `The Great Quux', which is somewhat
+infamous for light verse and for the `Crunchly' cartoons. 4. In
+some circles, used as a punning opposite of `crux'. "Ah, that's
+the quux of the matter!" implies that the point is not
+crucial (compare tip of
+the ice-cube). 5. quuxy: adj. Of or pertaining to a
+quux.
+
+
+Node:qux, Next:QWERTY, Previous:quux, Up:= Q =
+
+
+qux /kwuhks/
+
+The fourth of the standard metasyntactic variable, after
+baz and before the
+quu(u...)x series. See foo, bar, baz, quux. This appears
+to be a recent mutation from quux, and
+many versions (especially older versions) of the standard series
+just run foo, bar, baz, quux, ....
+
+
+Node:QWERTY, Next:rabbit job, Previous:qux, Up:= Q =
+
+
+QWERTY /kwer'tee/ adj.
+
+[from the keycaps at the upper left] Pertaining to a standard
+English-language typewriter keyboard (sometimes called the Sholes
+keyboard after its inventor), as opposed to Dvorak or
+non-US-ASCII layouts or a space-cadet keyboard or APL
+keyboard.
+
+Historical note: The QWERTY layout is a fine example of a
+fossil. It is sometimes said that it
+was designed to slow down the typist, but this is wrong; it was
+designed to allow faster typing -- under a constraint
+now long obsolete. In early typewriters, fast typing using nearby
+type-bars jammed the mechanism. So Sholes fiddled the layout to
+separate the letters of many common digraphs (he did a far from
+perfect job, though; `th', `tr', `ed', and `er', for example,
+each use two nearby keys). Also, putting the letters of
+`typewriter' on one line allowed it to be typed with particular
+speed and accuracy for demos. The
+jamming problem was essentially solved soon afterward by a
+suitable use of springs, but the keyboard layout lives on.
+
+The QWERTY keyboard has also spawned some unhelpful economic
+myths about how technical standards get and stay established; see
+http://www.reasonmag.com/9606/Fe.QWERTY.html.
+
+
+Node:= R =, Next:= S =, Previous:= Q =, Up:The Jargon Lexicon 
+
+= R =
+
+
+rabbit job:
+
+
+rain dance:
+
+
+rainbow series:
+
+
+random:
+
+
+Random Number God:
+
+
+random numbers:
+
+
+randomness:
+
+
+rape:
+
+
+rare mode:
+
+
+raster blaster:
+
+
+raster burn:
+
+
+rasterbation:
+
+
+rat belt:
+
+
+rat dance:
+
+
+ratio site:
+
+
+rave:
+
+
+rave on!:
+
+
+ravs:
+
+
+raw mode:
+
+
+RBL:
+
+
+rc file:
+
+
+RE:
+
+
+read-only user:
+
+
+README file:
+
+
+real:
+
+
+real estate:
+
+
+real hack:
+
+
+real operating
+system:
+
+
+Real Programmer:
+
+
+Real Soon Now:
+
+
+real time:
+
+
+real user:
+
+
+Real World:
+
+
+reality check:
+
+
+reality-distortion
+field:
+
+
+reaper:
+
+
+recompile the
+world:
+
+
+rectangle slinger:
+
+
+recursion:
+
+
+recursive acronym:
+
+
+Red Book:
+
+
+red wire:
+
+
+regexp:
+
+
+register dancing:
+
+
+rehi:
+
+
+reincarnation cycle
+of:
+
+
+reinvent the
+wheel:
+
+
+relay rape:
+
+
+religion of CHI:
+
+
+religious issues:
+
+
+replicator:
+
+
+reply:
+
+
+restriction:
+
+
+retcon:
+
+
+RETI:
+
+
+retrocomputing:
+
+
+return from the
+dead:
+
+
+RFC:
+
+
+RFE:
+
+
+rib site:
+
+
+rice box:
+
+
+Right Thing:
+
+
+rip:
+
+
+ripoff:
+
+
+RL:
+
+
+roach:
+
+
+robocanceller:
+
+
+robot:
+
+
+robust:
+
+
+rococo:
+
+
+rogue:
+
+
+room-temperature
+IQ:
+
+
+root:
+
+
+root mode:
+
+
+rot13:
+
+
+rotary debugger:
+
+
+round tape:
+
+
+RSN:
+
+
+RTBM:
+
+
+RTFAQ:
+
+
+RTFB:
+
+
+RTFM:
+
+
+RTFS:
+
+
+RTI:
+
+
+RTM:
+
+
+RTS:
+
+
+rude:
+
+
+runes:
+
+
+runic:
+
+
+rusty iron:
+
+
+rusty memory:
+
+
+rusty wire:
+
+
+Node:rabbit job, Next:rain dance, Previous:QWERTY, Up:=
+R = 
+
+rabbit job n.
+
+[Cambridge] A batch job that does little, if any, real work,
+but creates one or more copies of itself, breeding like rabbits.
+Compare wabbit, fork bomb.
+
+
+Node:rain dance, Next:rainbow series, Previous:rabbit job, Up:= R = 
+
+rain dance n.
+
+1. Any ceremonial action taken to correct a hardware problem,
+with the expectation that nothing will be accomplished. This
+especially applies to reseating printed circuit boards,
+reconnecting cables, etc. "I can't boot up the machine. We'll
+have to wait for Greg to do his rain dance." 2. Any arcane
+sequence of actions performed with computers or software in order
+to achieve some goal; the term is usually restricted to rituals
+that include both an incantation or two and physical activity
+or motion. Compare magic, voodoo programming, black art, cargo cult programming,
+wave a dead
+chicken; see also casting the runes.
+
+
+Node:rainbow series, Next:random, Previous:rain dance, Up:= R = 
+
+rainbow series n.
+
+Any of several series of technical manuals distinguished by
+cover color. The original rainbow series was the NCSC security
+manuals (see Orange Book,
+crayola books); the term
+has also been commonly applied to the PostScript reference set
+(see Red Book, Green Book, Blue Book, White Book). Which books are meant by
+"`the' rainbow series" unqualified is thus dependent on one's
+local technical culture.
+
+
+Node:random, Next:Random Number God, Previous:rainbow series, Up:= R = 
+
+random adj.
+
+1. Unpredictable (closest to mathematical definition); weird.
+"The system's been behaving pretty randomly." 2. Assorted;
+undistinguished. "Who was at the conference?" "Just a bunch of
+random business types." 3. (pejorative) Frivolous; unproductive;
+undirected. "He's just a random loser." 4. Incoherent or
+inelegant; poorly chosen; not well organized. "The program has a
+random set of misfeatures." "That's a random name for that
+function." "Well, all the names were chosen pretty randomly." 5.
+In no particular order, though deterministic. "The I/O channels
+are in a pool, and when a file is opened one is chosen randomly."
+6. Arbitrary. "It generates a random name for the scratch file."
+7. Gratuitously wrong, i.e., poorly done and for no good apparent
+reason. For example, a program that handles file name defaulting
+in a particularly useless way, or an assembler routine that could
+easily have been coded using only three registers, but
+redundantly uses seven for values with non-overlapping lifetimes,
+so that no one else can invoke it without first saving four extra
+registers. What randomness! 8.
+n. A random hacker; used particularly of high-school students who
+soak up computer time and generally get in the way. 9. n. Anyone
+who is not a hacker (or, sometimes, anyone not known to the
+hacker speaking); the noun form of sense 2. "I went to the talk,
+but the audience was full of randoms asking bogus questions". 10.
+n. (occasional MIT usage) One who lives at Random Hall. See also
+J. Random, some random X. 11. [UK]
+Conversationally, a non sequitur or something similarly
+out-of-the-blue. As in: "Stop being so random!" This sense
+equates to `hatstand', taken from the Viz comic character "Roger
+Irrelevant - He's completely Hatstand."
+
+
+Node:Random Number God,
+Next:random numbers,
+Previous:random, Up:= R = 
+
+Random Number God
+
+[rec.games.roguelike.angband; often abbreviated `RNG'] The
+malign force which lurks behind the random number generator in
+Angband (and by extension
+elsewhere). A dark god that demands sacrifices and toys with its
+victims. "I just found a really great item; I suppose the RNG is
+about to punish me..." Apparently, Angband's random number
+generator occasionally gets locked in a repetition, so you get
+something with a 3% chance happening 8 times in a row.
+Improbable, but far too common to be pure chance. Compare Shub-Internet.
+
+
+Node:random numbers, Next:randomness, Previous:Random Number God,
+Up:= R = 
+
+random numbers n.
+
+When one wishes to specify a large but random number of
+things, and the context is inappropriate for N, certain numbers are preferred by hacker tradition
+(that is, easily recognized as placeholders). These include the
+following:
+
+
+
+17
+
+
+Long described at MIT as `the least random number'; see
+23.
+
+23
+
+
+Sacred number of Eris, Goddess of Discord (along with 17 and
+5).
+
+42
+
+
+The Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe,
+and Everything. (Note that this answer is completely fortuitous.
+:-))
+
+69
+
+
+From the sexual act. This one was favored in MIT's ITS
+culture.
+
+105
+
+
+69 hex = 105 decimal, and 69 decimal = 105 octal.
+
+666
+
+
+The Number of the Beast.
+
+
+For further enlightenment, study the "Principia Discordia",
+"The
+Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", "The Joy of Sex", and
+the Christian Bible (Revelation 13:18). See also Discordianism or consult your pineal
+gland. See also for values
+of.
+
+
+Node:randomness, Next:rape, Previous:random numbers, Up:= R = 
+
+randomness n.
+
+1. An inexplicable misfeature; gratuitous inelegance. 2. A
+hack or crock that depends on a complex combination of
+coincidences (or, possibly, the combination upon which the crock
+depends for its accidental failure to malfunction). "This hack
+can output characters 40-57 by putting the character in the
+four-bit accumulator field of an XCT and then extracting six bits
+-- the low 2 bits of the XCT opcode are the right thing." "What
+randomness!" 3. Of people, synonymous with `flakiness'. The
+connotation is that the person so described is behaving weirdly,
+incompetently, or inappropriately for reasons which are (a) too
+tiresome to bother inquiring into, (b) are probably as
+inscrutable as quantum phenomena anyway, and (c) are likely to
+pass with time. "Maybe he has a real complaint, or maybe it's
+just randomness. See if he calls back."
+
+Despite the negative connotations jargon uses of this term
+have, it is worth noting that randomness can actually be a
+valuable resource, very useful for applications in cryptography
+and elsewhere. Computers are so thoroughly deterministic that
+they have a hard time generating high-quality randomess, so
+hackers have sometimes felt the need to built special-purpose
+contraptions for this purpose alone. One well-known website
+offers random bits generated by radioactive
+decay. Another derives random bits from images of Lava Lite lamps.
+(Hackers invariably find the latter hilarious. If you have to ask
+why, you'll never get it.)
+
+
+Node:rape, Next:rare mode, Previous:randomness, Up:= R = 
+
+rape vt.
+
+1. To screw someone or something,
+violently; in particular, to destroy a program or information
+irrecoverably. Often used in describing file-system damage.
+"So-and-so was running a program that did absolute disk I/O and
+ended up raping the master directory." 2. To strip a piece of
+hardware for parts. 3. [CMU/Pitt] To mass-copy files from an
+anonymous ftp site. "Last night I raped Simtel's dskutl
+directory."
+
+
+Node:rare mode, Next:raster blaster, Previous:rape, Up:= R = 
+
+rare mode adj.
+
+[Unix] CBREAK mode (character-by-character with interrupts
+enabled). Distinguished from raw
+mode and cooked mode;
+the phrase "a sort of half-cooked (rare?) mode" is used in the
+V7/BSD manuals to describe the mode. Usage: rare.
+
+
+Node:raster blaster, Next:raster burn, Previous:rare mode, Up:= R = 
+
+raster blaster n.
+
+[Cambridge] Specialized hardware for bitblt operations (a blitter). Allegedly inspired by `Rasta
+Blasta', British slang for the sort of portable stereo Americans
+call a `boom box' or `ghetto blaster'.
+
+
+Node:raster burn, Next:rasterbation, Previous:raster blaster, Up:= R = 
+
+raster burn n.
+
+Eyestrain brought on by too many hours of looking at low-res,
+poorly tuned, or glare-ridden monitors, esp. graphics monitors.
+See terminal
+illness.
+
+
+Node:rasterbation, Next:rat belt, Previous:raster burn, Up:= R = 
+
+rasterbation n.
+
+[portmanteau: raster + masturbation] The gratuituous use of
+comuputer generated images and effects in movies and graphic art
+which would have been better without them. Especially employed as
+a term of abuse by Photoshop/GIMP users and graphic artists.
+
+
+Node:rat belt, Next:rat dance, Previous:rasterbation, Up:= R = 
+
+rat belt n.
+
+A cable tie, esp. the sawtoothed, self-locking plastic kind
+that you can remove only by cutting (as opposed to a random twist
+of wire or a twist tie or one of those humongous metal clip
+frobs). Small cable ties are `mouse belts'.
+
+
+Node:rat dance, Next:ratio site, Previous:rat belt, Up:= R = 
+
+rat dance n.
+
+[From the Dilbert comic strip of
+November 14, 1995] A hacking
+run that produces results which, while superficially
+coherent, have little or nothing to do with its original
+objectives. There are strong connotations that the coding process
+and the objectives themselves were pretty random. (In the original comic strip, the
+Ratbert is invited to dance on Dilbert's keyboard in order to
+produce bugs for him to fix, and authors a Web browser instead.)
+Compare Infinite-Monkey
+Theorem.
+
+This term seems to have become widely recognized quite rapidly
+after the original strip, a fact which testifies to Dilbert's
+huge popularity among hackers. All too many find the perverse
+incentives and Kafkaesque atmosphere of Dilbert's mythical
+workplace reflective of their own experiences.
+
+
+Node:ratio site, Next:rave, Previous:rat dance, Up:= R = 
+
+ratio site
+
+[warez d00dz] A FTP site storing pirated files where one must
+first upload something before being able to download. There is a
+ratio, based on bytes or files count, between the uploads and
+download. For instance, on a 2:1 site, to download a 4 Mb file,
+one must first upload at least 2 Mb of files. The hotter the
+contents of the server are, the smaller the ratio is. More often
+than not, the server refuses uploads because its disk is full,
+making it useless for downloading - or the connection magically
+breaks after one has uploaded a large amount of files, just
+before the downloading phase begins. See also banner site, leech mode.
+
+
+Node:rave, Next:rave on!, Previous:ratio site, Up:= R = 
+
+rave vi.
+
+[WPI] 1. To persist in discussing a specific subject. 2. To
+speak authoritatively on a subject about which one knows very
+little. 3. To complain to a person who is not in a position to
+correct the difficulty. 4. To purposely annoy another person
+verbally. 5. To evangelize. See flame. 6. Also used to describe a less negative
+form of blather, such as friendly bullshitting. `Rave' differs
+slightly from flame in that `rave'
+implies that it is the persistence or obliviousness of the person
+speaking that is annoying, while flame implies somewhat more strongly that the
+tone or content is offensive as well.
+
+
+Node:rave on!, Next:ravs, Previous:rave, Up:= R =
+
+
+rave on! imp.
+
+Sarcastic invitation to continue a rave, often by someone who wishes the raver would
+get a clue but realizes this is unlikely.
+
+
+Node:ravs, Next:raw mode, Previous:rave on!, Up:= R = 
+
+ravs /ravz/, also `Chinese ravs' n.
+
+[primarily MIT/Boston usage] Jiao-zi (steamed or boiled) or
+Guo-tie (pan-fried). A Chinese appetizer, known variously in the
+plural as dumplings, pot stickers (the literal translation of
+guo-tie), and (around Boston) `Peking Ravioli'. The term `rav' is
+short for `ravioli', and among hackers always means the Chinese
+kind rather than the Italian kind. Both consist of a filling in a
+pasta shell, but the Chinese kind includes no cheese, uses a
+thinner pasta, has a pork-vegetable filling (good ones include
+Chinese chives), and is cooked differently, either by steaming or
+frying. A rav or dumpling can be cooked any way, but a potsticker
+is always the pan-fried kind (so called because it sticks to the
+frying pot and has to be scraped off). "Let's get hot-and-sour
+soup and three orders of ravs." See also oriental food.
+
+
+Node:raw mode, Next:RBL, Previous:ravs,
+Up:= R = 
+
+raw mode n.
+
+A mode that allows a program to transfer bits directly to or
+from an I/O device (or, under bogus
+operating systems that make a distinction, a disk file) without
+any processing, abstraction, or interpretation by the operating
+system. Compare rare mode,
+cooked mode. This is
+techspeak under Unix, jargon elsewhere.
+
+
+Node:RBL, Next:rc file, Previous:raw mode, Up:= R = 
+
+RBL /R-B-L/
+
+Abbreviation: "Realtime Blackhole List". A service that allows
+people to blacklist sites for emitting spam, and makes the blacklist available in real
+time to electronic-mail transport programs that know how to use
+RBL so they can filter out mail from those sites. Drastic (and
+controversial) but effective. There is an RBL home page.
+
+
+Node:rc file, Next:RE, Previous:RBL,
+Up:= R = 
+
+rc file /R-C fi:l/ n.
+
+[Unix: from `runcom files' on the CTSS system 1962-63, via the startup script
+/etc/rc] Script file containing startup instructions
+for an application program (or an entire operating system),
+usually a text file containing commands of the sort that might
+have been invoked manually once the system was running but are to
+be executed automatically each time the system starts up. See
+also dot file, profile (sense 1).
+
+
+Node:RE, Next:read-only user, Previous:rc file, Up:= R = 
+
+RE /R-E/ n.
+
+Common spoken and written shorthand for regexp.
+
+
+Node:read-only user, Next:README file, Previous:RE, Up:= R = 
+
+read-only user n.
+
+Describes a luser who uses
+computers almost exclusively for reading Usenet, bulletin boards,
+and/or email, rather than writing code or purveying useful
+information. See twink, terminal junkie, lurker.
+
+
+Node:README file, Next:real, Previous:read-only user, Up:= R = 
+
+README file n.
+
+Hacker's-eye introduction traditionally included in the
+top-level directory of a Unix source distribution, containing a
+pointer to more detailed documentation, credits, miscellaneous
+revision history, notes, etc. (The file may be named README, or
+READ.ME, or rarely ReadMe or readme.txt or some other variant.)
+In the Mac and PC worlds, software is not usually distributed in
+source form, and the README is more likely to contain
+user-oriented material like last-minute documentation changes,
+error workarounds, and restrictions. When asked, hackers
+invariably relate the README convention to the famous scene in
+Lewis Carroll's "Alice's Adventures In Wonderland" in which Alice
+confronts magic munchies labeled "Eat Me" and "Drink Me".
+
+
+Node:real, Next:real estate, Previous:README file, Up:= R = 
+
+real adj.
+
+Not simulated. Often used as a specific antonym to virtual in any of its jargon senses.
+
+
+Node:real estate, Next:real hack, Previous:real, Up:= R
+= 
+
+real estate n.
+
+May be used for any critical resource measured in units of
+area. Most frequently used of `chip real estate', the area
+available for logic on the surface of an integrated circuit (see
+also nanoacre). May also be used
+of floor space in a dinosaur
+pen, or even space on a crowded desktop (whether physical
+or electronic).
+
+
+Node:real hack, Next:real operating system,
+Previous:real estate,
+Up:= R = 
+
+real hack n.
+
+A crock. This is sometimes used
+affectionately; see hack.
+
+
+Node:real operating
+system, Next:Real
+Programmer, Previous:real hack, Up:= R = 
+
+real operating system n.
+
+The sort the speaker is used to. People from the BSDophilic
+academic community are likely to issue comments like "System V?
+Why don't you use a real operating system?", people from
+the commercial/industrial Unix sector are known to complain "BSD?
+Why don't you use a real operating system?", and people
+from IBM object "Unix? Why don't you use a real
+operating system?" Only MS-DOS is
+universally considered unreal. See holy
+wars, religious
+issues, proprietary,
+Get a real
+computer!
+
+
+Node:Real Programmer, Next:Real Soon Now,
+Previous:real
+operating system, Up:= R
+= 
+
+Real Programmer n.
+
+[indirectly, from the book "Real Men Don't Eat Quiche"] A
+particular sub-variety of hacker: one possessed of a flippant
+attitude toward complexity that is arrogant even when justified
+by experience. The archetypal `Real Programmer' likes to program
+on the bare metal and is very
+good at same, remembers the binary opcodes for every machine he
+has ever programmed, thinks that HLLs are sissy, and uses a
+debugger to edit his code because full-screen editors are for
+wimps. Real Programmers aren't satisfied with code that hasn't
+been bummed into a state of tenseness just short of rupture. Real
+Programmers never use comments or write documentation: "If it was
+hard to write", says the Real Programmer, "it should be hard to
+understand." Real Programmers can make machines do things that
+were never in their spec sheets; in fact, they are seldom really
+happy unless doing so. A Real Programmer's code can awe with its
+fiendish brilliance, even as its crockishness appalls. Real
+Programmers live on junk food and coffee, hang line-printer art
+on their walls, and terrify the crap out of other programmers --
+because someday, somebody else might have to try to understand
+their code in order to change it. Their successors generally
+consider it a Good Thing that
+there aren't many Real Programmers around any more. For a famous
+(and somewhat more positive) portrait of a Real Programmer, see
+"The Story of Mel"
+in Appendix A. The term itself was popularized by a 1983
+Datamation article "Real Programmers Don't Use Pascal" by Ed
+Post, still circulating on Usenet and Internet in on-line form.
+You can browse "Real Programmers Don't Use Pascal" from the
+Datamation home page http://www.datamation.com.
+
+
+Node:Real Soon Now, Next:real time, Previous:Real Programmer, Up:= R = 
+
+Real Soon Now adv.
+
+[orig. from SF's fanzine community, popularized by Jerry
+Pournelle's column in "BYTE"] 1. Supposed to be available (or
+fixed, or cheap, or whatever) real soon now according to
+somebody, but the speaker is quite skeptical. 2. When one's gods,
+fates, or other time commitments permit one to get to it (in
+other words, don't hold your breath). Often abbreviated RSN.
+Compare copious free
+time.
+
+
+Node:real time, Next:real user, Previous:Real Soon Now, Up:= R = 
+
+real time
+
+1. [techspeak] adj. Describes an application which requires a
+program to respond to stimuli within some small upper limit of
+response time (typically milli- or microseconds). Process control
+at a chemical plant is the canonical example. Such applications often
+require special operating systems (because everything else must
+take a back seat to response time) and speed-tuned hardware. 2.
+adv. In jargon, refers to doing something while people are
+watching or waiting. "I asked her how to find the calling
+procedure's program counter on the stack and she came up with an
+algorithm in real time."
+
+
+Node:real user, Next:Real World, Previous:real time, Up:= R = 
+
+real user n.
+
+1. A commercial user. One who is paying real money
+for his computer usage. 2. A non-hacker. Someone using the system
+for an explicit purpose (a research project, a course, etc.)
+other than pure exploration. See user.
+Hackers who are also students may also be real users. "I need
+this fixed so I can do a problem set. I'm not complaining out of
+randomness, but as a real user." See also luser.
+
+
+Node:Real World, Next:reality check, Previous:real user, Up:= R = 
+
+Real World n.
+
+1. Those institutions at which `programming' may be used in
+the same sentence as `FORTRAN', `COBOL', `RPG', `IBM',
+`DBASE', etc. Places where programs do such commercially
+necessary but intellectually uninspiring things as generating
+payroll checks and invoices. 2. The location of non-programmers
+and activities not related to programming. 3. A bizarre dimension
+in which the standard dress is shirt and tie and in which a
+person's working hours are defined as 9 to 5 (see code grinder). 4. Anywhere outside a
+university. "Poor fellow, he's left MIT and gone into the Real
+World." Used pejoratively by those not in residence there. In
+conversation, talking of someone who has entered the Real World
+is not unlike speaking of a deceased person. It is also
+noteworthy that on the campus of Cambridge University in England,
+there is a gaily-painted lamp-post which bears the label `REALITY
+CHECKPOINT'. It marks the boundary between university and the
+Real World; check your notions of reality before passing. This
+joke is funnier because the Cambridge `campus' is actually
+coextensive with the center of Cambridge town. See also fear and loathing, mundane, and uninteresting.
+
+
+Node:reality check, Next:reality-distortion
+field, Previous:Real
+World, Up:= R = 
+
+reality check n.
+
+1. The simplest kind of test of software or hardware; doing
+the equivalent of asking it what 2 + 2 is and seeing if you get
+4. The software equivalent of a smoke
+test. 2. The act of letting a real user try out prototype software.
+Compare sanity check.
+
+
+Node:reality-distortion
+field, Next:reaper,
+Previous:reality
+check, Up:= R = 
+
+reality-distortion field n.
+
+An expression used to describe the persuasive ability of
+managers like Steve Jobs (the term originated at Apple in the
+1980s to describe his peculiar charisma). Those close to these
+managers become passionately committed to possibly insane
+projects, without regard to the practicality of their
+implementation or competitive forces in the marketpace.
+
+
+Node:reaper, Next:recompile the world, Previous:reality-distortion field, Up:= R = 
+
+reaper n.
+
+A prowler that GFRs files. A file removed in this way is said to
+have been `reaped'.
+
+
+Node:recompile the world,
+Next:rectangle
+slinger, Previous:reaper, Up:= R
+= 
+
+recompile the world
+
+The surprisingly large amount of work that needs to be done as
+the result of any small but globally visible program change. "The
+world" may mean the entirety of some huge program, or may in
+theory refer to every program of a certain class in the entire
+known universe. For instance, "Add one #define to stdio.h, and
+you have to recompile the world." This means that any minor
+change to the standard-I/O header file theoretically mandates
+recompiling every C program in existence, even if only to verify
+that the change didn't screw something else up. In practice, you
+may not actually have to recompile the world, but the implication
+is that some human cleverness is required to figure out what
+parts can be safely left out.
+
+
+Node:rectangle slinger, Next:recursion, Previous:recompile the
+world, Up:= R = 
+
+rectangle slinger n.
+
+See polygon pusher.
+
+
+Node:recursion, Next:recursive acronym, Previous:rectangle slinger,
+Up:= R = 
+
+recursion n.
+
+See recursion. See also tail recursion.
+
+
+Node:recursive acronym, Next:Red Book, Previous:recursion, Up:= R = 
+
+recursive acronym n.
+
+A hackish (and especially MIT) tradition is to choose
+acronyms/abbreviations that refer humorously to themselves or to
+other acronyms/abbreviations. The classic examples were two MIT
+editors called EINE ("EINE Is Not EMACS") and ZWEI ("ZWEI Was
+EINE Initially"). More recently, there is a Scheme compiler
+called LIAR (Liar Imitates Apply Recursively), and GNU (q.v., sense 1) stands for "GNU's Not Unix!"
+-- and a company with the name Cygnus, which expands to "Cygnus,
+Your GNU Support" (though Cygnus people say this is a backronym). See also mung, EMACS.
+
+
+Node:Red Book, Next:red wire, Previous:recursive acronym, Up:= R = 
+
+Red Book n.
+
+1. Informal name for one of the four standard references on
+PostScript ("PostScript Language
+Reference Manual", Adobe Systems (Addison-Wesley, 1985;
+QA76.73.P67P67; ISBN 0-201-10174-2, or the 1990 second edition
+ISBN 0-201-18127-4); the others are known as the Green Book, the Blue Book, and the White Book (sense 2). 2. Informal name
+for one of the 3 standard references on Smalltalk ("Smalltalk-80:
+The Interactive Programming Environment" by Adele Goldberg
+(Addison-Wesley, 1984; QA76.8.S635G638; ISBN 0-201-11372-4); this
+too is associated with blue and green books). 3. Any of the 1984
+standards issued by the CCITT eighth plenary assembly. These
+include, among other things, the X.400 email spec and the Group 1
+through 4 fax standards. 4. The new version of the Green Book (sense 4) -- IEEE 1003.1-1990,
+a.k.a ISO 9945-1 -- is (because of the color and the fact that it
+is printed on A4 paper) known in the USA as "the Ugly Red Book
+That Won't Fit On The Shelf" and in Europe as "the Ugly Red Book
+That's A Sensible Size". 5. The NSA "Trusted Network
+Interpretation" companion to the Orange Book. 6. Nemeth, Snyder, Seebass,
+Hein; "Unix System Administration Handbook, Second Edition"
+(Prentice Hall PTR, New Jersey; 1995; QA76.76.063N45; ISBN
+0-13-151051-7). See also book
+titles.
+
+
+Node:red wire, Next:regexp, Previous:Red Book, Up:= R = 
+
+red wire n.
+
+[IBM] Patch wires installed by programmers who have no
+business mucking with the hardware. It is said that the only
+thing more dangerous than a hardware guy with a code patch is a
+softy with a soldering
+iron.... Compare blue
+wire, yellow wire,
+purple wire.
+
+
+Node:regexp, Next:register dancing, Previous:red wire, Up:= R = 
+
+regexp /reg'eksp/ n.
+
+[Unix] (alt. `regex' or `reg-ex') 1. Common written and spoken
+abbreviation for `regular expression', one of the wildcard patterns
+used, e.g., by Unix utilities such as grep(1), sed(1), and awk(1).
+These use conventions similar to but more elaborate than those
+described under glob. For purposes of this lexicon, it is sufficient to
+note that regexps also allow complemented character sets using ^; thus,
+one can specify `any non-alphabetic character' with [^A-Za-z]. 2. Name
+of a well-known PD regexp-handling package in portable C, written by
+revered Usenetter Henry Spencer.
+
+
+Node:register dancing, Next:rehi, Previous:regexp, Up:=
+R = 
+
+register dancing n.
+
+Many older processor architectures suffer from a serious
+shortage of general-purpose registers. This is especially a
+problem for compiler-writers, because their generated code needs
+places to store temporaries for things like intermediate values
+in expression evaluation. Some designs with this problem, like
+the Intel 80x86, do have a handful of special-purpose registers
+that can be pressed into service, providing suitable care is
+taken to avoid unpleasant side effects on the state of the
+processor: while the special-purpose register is being used to
+hold an intermediate value, a delicate minuet is required in
+which the previous value of the register is saved and then
+restored just before the official function (and value) of the
+special-purpose register is again needed.
+
+
+Node:rehi, Next:reincarnation cycle of,
+Previous:register
+dancing, Up:= R = 
+
+rehi
+
+[IRC, MUD] "Hello again." Very commonly used to greet people
+upon returning to an IRC channel after channel hopping.
+
+
+Node:reincarnation cycle
+of, Next:reinvent the wheel, Previous:rehi, Up:= R = 
+
+reincarnation, cycle of n.
+
+See cycle of
+reincarnation.
+
+
+Node:reinvent the wheel,
+Next:relay rape,
+Previous:reincarnation cycle of, Up:= R = 
+
+reinvent the wheel v.
+
+To design or implement a tool equivalent to an existing one or
+part of one, with the implication that doing so is silly or a
+waste of time. This is often a valid criticism. On the other
+hand, automobiles don't use wooden rollers, and some kinds of
+wheel have to be reinvented many times before you get them right.
+On the third hand, people reinventing the wheel do tend to come
+up with the moral equivalent of a trapezoid with an offset
+axle.
+
+
+Node:relay rape, Next:religion of CHI, Previous:reinvent the wheel,
+Up:= R = 
+
+relay rape n.
+
+The hijacking of a third party's unsecured mail server to
+deliver spam.
+
+
+Node:religion of CHI, Next:religious issues,
+Previous:relay rape,
+Up:= R = 
+
+religion of CHI /ki:/ n.
+
+[Case Western Reserve University] Yet another hackish parody
+religion (see also Church of the SubGenius,
+Discordianism). In the
+mid-70s, the canonical "Introduction to Programming" courses at
+CWRU were taught in Algol, and student exercises were punched on
+cards and run on a Univac 1108 system using a homebrew operating
+system named CHI. The religion had no doctrines and but one
+ritual: whenever the worshipper noted that a digital clock read
+11:08, he or she would recite the phrase "It is 11:08; ABS,
+ALPHABETIC, ARCSIN, ARCCOS, ARCTAN." The last five words were the
+first five functions in the appropriate chapter of the Algol
+manual; note the special pronunciations /obz/ and /ark'sin/
+rather than the more common /ahbz/ and /ark'si:n/. Using an alarm
+clock to warn of 11:08's arrival was considered harmful.
+
+
+Node:religious issues, Next:replicator, Previous:religion of CHI, Up:= R = 
+
+religious issues n.
+
+Questions which seemingly cannot be raised without touching
+off holy wars, such as "What is
+the best operating system (or editor, language, architecture,
+shell, mail reader, news reader)?", "What about that Heinlein
+guy, eh?", "What should we add to the new Jargon File?" See holy wars; see also theology, bigot.
+
+This term is a prime example of ha ha only serious. People
+actually develop the most amazing and religiously intense
+attachments to their tools, even when the tools are intangible.
+The most constructive thing one can do when one stumbles into the
+crossfire is mumble Get a
+life! and leave -- unless, of course, one's own
+unassailably rational and obviously correct choices are being
+slammed.
+
+
+Node:replicator, Next:reply, Previous:religious issues, Up:= R = 
+
+replicator n.
+
+Any construct that acts to produce copies of itself; this
+could be a living organism, an idea (see meme), a program (see quine, worm, wabbit, fork
+bomb, and virus), a pattern
+in a cellular automaton (see life,
+sense 1), or (speculatively) a robot or nanobot. It is even claimed by some that Unix and C are the
+symbiotic halves of an extremely successful replicator; see Unix conspiracy.
+
+
+Node:reply, Next:restriction, Previous:replicator, Up:= R = 
+
+reply n.
+
+See followup.
+
+
+Node:restriction, Next:retcon, Previous:reply, Up:= R
+= 
+
+restriction n.
+
+A bug or design error that limits a
+program's capabilities, and which is sufficiently egregious that
+nobody can quite work up enough nerve to describe it as a feature. Often used (esp. by marketroid types) to make it sound as
+though some crippling bogosity had been intended by the designers
+all along, or was forced upon them by arcane technical
+constraints of a nature no mere user could possibly comprehend
+(these claims are almost invariably false).
+
+Old-time hacker Joseph M. Newcomer advises that whenever
+choosing a quantifiable but arbitrary restriction, you should
+make it either a power of 2 or a power of 2 minus 1. If you
+impose a limit of 107 items in a list, everyone will know it is a
+random number -- on the other hand, a limit of 15 or 16 suggests
+some deep reason (involving 0- or 1-based indexing in binary) and
+you will get less flamage for it.
+Limits which are round numbers in base 10 are always especially
+suspect.
+
+
+Node:retcon, Next:RETI, Previous:restriction, Up:= R = 
+
+retcon /ret'kon/
+
+[short for `retroactive continuity', from the Usenet newsgroup
+_rec.arts.comics_] 1. n. The common situation in pulp
+fiction (esp. comics or soap operas) where a new story `reveals'
+things about events in previous stories, usually leaving the
+`facts' the same (thus preserving continuity) while completely
+changing their interpretation. For example, revealing that a
+whole season of "Dallas" was a dream was a retcon. 2. vt. To
+write such a story about a character or fictitious object. "Byrne
+has retconned Superman's cape so that it is no longer
+unbreakable." "Marvelman's old adventures were retconned into
+synthetic dreams." "Swamp Thing was retconned from a transformed
+person into a sentient vegetable." "Darth Vader was retconned
+into Luke Skywalker's father in "The Empire Strikes Back".
+
+[This term is included because it is a good example of hackish
+linguistic innovation in a field completely unrelated to
+computers. The word `retcon' will probably spread through comics
+fandom and lose its association with hackerdom within a couple of
+years; for the record, it started here. --ESR]
+
+[1993 update: some comics fans on the net now claim that
+retcon was independently in use in comics fandom before
+_rec.arts.comics_. In lexicography, nothing is ever simple.
+--ESR]
+
+
+Node:RETI, Next:retrocomputing, Previous:retcon, Up:=
+R = 
+
+RETI v.
+
+Syn. RTI
+
+
+Node:retrocomputing, Next:return from the
+dead, Previous:RETI, Up:= R = 
+
+retrocomputing /ret'-roh-k*m-pyoo'ting/ n.
+
+Refers to emulations of way-behind-the-state-of-the-art
+hardware or software, or implementations of
+never-was-state-of-the-art; esp. if such implementations are
+elaborate practical jokes and/or parodies, written mostly for
+hack value, of more `serious'
+designs. Perhaps the most widely distributed retrocomputing
+utility was the pnch(6) or bcd(6)
+program on V7 and other early Unix versions, which would accept
+up to 80 characters of text argument and display the
+corresponding pattern in punched
+card code. Other well-known retrocomputing hacks have
+included the programming language INTERCAL, a JCL-emulating shell for Unix, the
+card-punch-emulating editor named 029, and various elaborate
+PDP-11 hardware emulators and RT-11 OS emulators written just to
+keep an old, sourceless Zork binary
+running.
+
+A tasty selection of retrocomputing programs are made
+available at the Retrocomputing Museum, http://www.ccil.org/retro.
+
+
+Node:return from the
+dead, Next:RFC, Previous:retrocomputing, Up:= R = 
+
+return from the dead v.
+
+To regain access to the net after a long absence. Compare
+person of no
+account.
+
+
+Node:RFC, Next:RFE, Previous:return from the dead, Up:= R = 
+
+RFC /R-F-C/ n.
+
+[Request For Comment] One of a long-established series of
+numbered Internet informational documents and standards widely
+followed by commercial software and freeware in the Internet and
+Unix communities. Perhaps the single most influential one has
+been RFC-822 (the Internet mail-format standard). The RFCs are
+unusual in that they are floated by technical experts acting on
+their own initiative and reviewed by the Internet at large,
+rather than formally promulgated through an institution such as
+ANSI. For this reason, they remain known as RFCs even once
+adopted as standards.
+
+The RFC tradition of pragmatic, experience-driven,
+after-the-fact standard writing done by individuals or small
+working groups has important advantages over the more formal,
+committee-driven process typical of ANSI or ISO. Emblematic of
+some of these advantages is the existence of a flourishing
+tradition of `joke' RFCs; usually at least one a year is
+published, usually on April 1st. Well-known joke RFCs have
+included 527 ("ARPAWOCKY", R. Merryman, UCSD; 22 June 1973), 748
+("Telnet Randomly-Lose Option", Mark R. Crispin; 1 April 1978),
+and 1149 ("A Standard for the Transmission of IP Datagrams on
+Avian Carriers", D. Waitzman, BBN STC; 1 April 1990). The first
+was a Lewis Carroll pastiche; the second a parody of the TCP-IP
+documentation style, and the third a deadpan skewering of
+standards-document legalese, describing protocols for
+transmitting Internet data packets by carrier pigeon.
+
+The RFCs are most remarkable for how well they work -- they
+manage to have neither the ambiguities that are usually rife in
+informal specifications, nor the committee-perpetrated
+misfeatures that often haunt formal standards, and they define a
+network that has grown to truly worldwide proportions.
+
+
+Node:RFE, Next:rib site, Previous:RFC, Up:= R =
+
+
+RFE /R-F-E/ n.
+
+1. [techspeak] Request For Enhancement (compare RFC). 2. [from `Radio Free Europe', Bellcore and
+Sun] Radio Free Ethernet, a system (originated by Peter Langston)
+for broadcasting audio among Sun SPARCstations over the
+ethernet.
+
+
+Node:rib site, Next:rice box, Previous:RFE, Up:= R =
+
+
+rib site n.
+
+[by analogy with backbone
+site] A machine that has an on-demand high-speed link to
+a backbone site and serves
+as a regional distribution point for lots of third-party traffic
+in email and Usenet news. Compare leaf
+site, backbone
+site.
+
+
+Node:rice box, Next:Right Thing, Previous:rib site, Up:= R = 
+
+rice box n.
+
+[from ham radio slang] Any Asian-made commodity computer, esp.
+an 80x86-based machine built to IBM PC-compatible ISA or EISA-bus
+standards.
+
+
+Node:Right Thing, Next:rip, Previous:rice box, Up:= R = 
+
+Right Thing n.
+
+That which is compellingly the correct or appropriate
+thing to use, do, say, etc. Often capitalized, always emphasized
+in speech as though capitalized. Use of this term often implies
+that in fact reasonable people may disagree. "What's the right
+thing for LISP to do when it sees (mod a 0)? Should
+it return a, or give a divide-by-0 error?" Oppose
+Wrong Thing.
+
+
+Node:rip, Next:ripoff, Previous:Right Thing, Up:= R = 
+
+rip v.
+
+1. To extract the digital representation of a piece of music
+from an audio CD. Software that does this is often called a "CD
+ripper". 2. [Amiga hackers] To extract sound or graphics from a
+program that they have been compiled/assembled into, or which
+generates them at run-time. In the case of older Amiga games this
+entails searching through memory shortly after a reboot. This
+sense has been in use for many years and probably gave rise to
+the (now more common) sense 1.
+
+
+Node:ripoff, Next:RL, Previous:rip,
+Up:= R = 
+
+ripoff n.
+
+Synonym for chad, sense 1.
+
+
+Node:RL, Next:roach, Previous:ripoff, Up:= R
+= 
+
+RL // n.
+
+[MUD community] Real Life. "Firiss laughs in RL" means that
+Firiss's player is laughing. Compare meatspace; oppose VR.
+
+
+Node:roach, Next:robocanceller, Previous:RL, Up:= R =
+
+
+roach vt.
+
+[Bell Labs] To destroy, esp. of a data structure. Hardware
+gets toasted or fried, software gets roached.
+
+
+Node:robocanceller, Next:robot, Previous:roach, Up:= R
+= 
+
+robocanceller /roh-boh-kan'sel-*r/
+
+A program that monitors Usenet feeds, attempting to detect and
+eliminate spam by sending appropriate
+cancel messages . Robocancellers may use the Breidbart Index as a trigger.
+Programming them is not a game for amateurs; see ARMM. See also Dave the Resurrector.
+
+
+Node:robot, Next:robust, Previous:robocanceller, Up:= R = 
+
+robot n.
+
+See bot.
+
+
+Node:robust, Next:rococo, Previous:robot, Up:= R
+= 
+
+robust adj.
+
+Said of a system that has demonstrated an ability to recover
+gracefully from the whole range of exceptional inputs and
+situations in a given environment. One step below bulletproof. Carries the additional
+connotation of elegance in addition to just careful attention to
+detail. Compare smart, oppose brittle.
+
+
+Node:rococo, Next:rogue, Previous:robust, Up:= R
+= 
+
+rococo adj.
+
+Terminally baroque. Used to
+imply that a program has become so encrusted with the software
+equivalent of gold leaf and curlicues that they have completely
+swamped the underlying design. Called after the later and more
+extreme forms of Baroque architecture and decoration prevalent
+during the mid-1700s in Europe. Alan Perlis said: "Every program
+eventually becomes rococo, and then rubble." Compare critical mass.
+
+
+Node:rogue, Next:room-temperature IQ, Previous:rococo, Up:= R = 
+
+rogue
+
+1. [Unix] n. A Dungeons-and-Dragons-like game using character
+graphics, written under BSD Unix and subsequently ported to other
+Unix systems. The original BSD curses(3)
+screen-handling package was hacked together by Ken Arnold
+primarily to support games, and the development of
+rogue(6) popularized its use; it has since become
+one of Unix's most important and heavily used application
+libraries. Nethack, Omega, Larn, Angband, and an entire subgenre
+of computer dungeon games (all known as `roguelikes') all took
+off from the inspiration provided by rogue(6); the
+popular Windows game Diablo, though graphics-intensive, has very
+similar play logic. See also nethack. 2. [Usenet] adj. An ISP which permits net abuse (usually in the form
+of spamming) by its customers, or
+which itself engages in such activities. Rogue ISPs are sometimes
+subject to IDPs or UDPs. Sometimes deliberately mispelled as "rouge".
+See also nethack, moria, Angband.
+
+
+Node:room-temperature IQ,
+Next:root, Previous:rogue, Up:= R = 
+
+room-temperature IQ quant.
+
+[IBM] 80 or below (nominal room temperature is 72 degrees
+Fahrenheit, 22 degrees Celsius). Used in describing the expected
+intelligence range of the luser.
+"Well, but how's this interface going to play with the
+room-temperature IQ crowd?" See drool-proof paper. This is a much
+more insulting phrase in countries that use Celsius
+thermometers.
+
+
+Node:root, Next:root mode, Previous:room-temperature IQ, Up:= R = 
+
+root n.
+
+[Unix] 1. The superuser
+account (with user name `root') that ignores permission bits,
+user number 0 on a Unix system. The term avatar is also used. 2. The top node of the
+system directory structure; historically the home directory of
+the root user, but probably named after the root of an (inverted)
+tree. 3. By extension, the privileged system-maintenance login on
+any OS. See root mode, go root, see also wheel.
+
+
+Node:root mode, Next:rot13, Previous:root, Up:= R =
+
+
+root mode n.
+
+Syn. with wizard mode or
+`wheel mode'. Like these, it is often generalized to describe
+privileged states in systems other than OSes.
+
+
+Node:rot13, Next:rotary debugger, Previous:root mode, Up:= R = 
+
+rot13 /rot ther'teen/ n.,v.
+
+[Usenet: from `rotate alphabet 13 places'] The simple
+Caesar-cypher encryption that replaces each English letter with
+the one 13 places forward or back along the alphabet, so that
+"The butler did it!" becomes "Gur ohgyre qvq vg!" Most Usenet
+news reading and posting programs include a rot13 feature. It is
+used to enclose the text in a sealed wrapper that the reader must
+choose to open -- e.g., for posting things that might offend some
+readers, or spoilers. A major
+advantage of rot13 over rot(N) for other N is that it is
+self-inverse, so the same code can be used for encoding and
+decoding. See also spoiler
+space, which has partly displaced rot13 since
+non-Unix-based newsreaders became common.
+
+
+Node:rotary debugger, Next:round tape, Previous:rot13, Up:= R = 
+
+rotary debugger n.
+
+[Commodore] Essential equipment for those late-night or
+early-morning debugging sessions. Mainly used as sustenance for
+the hacker. Comes in many decorator colors, such as Sausage,
+Pepperoni, and Garbage. See ANSI standard pizza.
+
+
+Node:round tape, Next:RSN, Previous:rotary debugger, Up:= R = 
+
+round tape n.
+
+Industry-standard 1/2-inch magnetic tape (7- or 9-track) on
+traditional circular reels. See macrotape, oppose square tape.
+
+
+Node:RSN, Next:RTBM, Previous:round tape, Up:= R = 
+
+RSN /R-S-N/ adj.
+
+See Real Soon Now.
+
+
+Node:RTBM, Next:RTFAQ, Previous:RSN, Up:= R =
+
+
+RTBM /R-T-B-M/ imp.
+
+[Unix] Commonwealth Hackish variant of RTFM; expands to `Read The Bloody Manual'. RTBM
+is often the entire text of the first reply to a question from a
+newbie; the second would
+escalate to "RTFM".
+
+
+Node:RTFAQ, Next:RTFB, Previous:RTBM, Up:= R =
+
+
+RTFAQ /R-T-F-A-Q/ imp.
+
+[Usenet: primarily written, by analogy with RTFM] Abbrev. for `Read the FAQ!', an exhortation
+that the person addressed ought to read the newsgroup's FAQ list before posting questions.
+
+
+Node:RTFB, Next:RTFM, Previous:RTFAQ, Up:= R
+= 
+
+RTFB /R-T-F-B/ imp.
+
+[Unix] Abbreviation for `Read The Fucking Binary'. Used when
+neither documentation nor source for the problem at hand exists,
+and the only thing to do is use some debugger or monitor and
+directly analyze the assembler or even the machine code. "No
+source for the buggy port driver? Aaargh! I hate
+proprietary operating systems. Time to RTFB."
+
+Of the various RTF? forms, `RTFB' is the least pejorative
+against anyone asking a question for which RTFB is the answer;
+the anger here is directed at the absence of both source
+and adequate documentation.
+
+
+Node:RTFM, Next:RTFS, Previous:RTFB, Up:= R =
+
+
+RTFM /R-T-F-M/ imp.
+
+[Unix] Abbreviation for `Read The Fucking Manual'. 1. Used by
+gurus to brush off questions they
+consider trivial or annoying. Compare Don't do that then!. 2. Used
+when reporting a problem to indicate that you aren't just asking
+out of randomness. "No, I can't
+figure out how to interface Unix to my toaster, and yes, I have
+RTFM." Unlike sense 1, this use is considered polite. See also
+FM, RTFAQ,
+RTFB, RTFS,
+STFW, RTM,
+all of which mutated from RTFM, and compare UTSL.
+
+
+Node:RTFS, Next:RTI, Previous:RTFM,
+Up:= R = 
+
+RTFS /R-T-F-S/
+
+[Unix] 1. imp. Abbreviation for `Read The Fucking Source'.
+Variant form of RTFM, used when the
+problem at hand is not necessarily obvious and not answerable
+from the manuals -- or the manuals are not yet written and maybe
+never will be. For even trickier situations, see RTFB. Unlike RTFM, the anger inherent in RTFS is
+not usually directed at the person asking the question, but
+rather at the people who failed to provide adequate
+documentation. 2. imp. `Read The Fucking Standard'; this oath can
+only be used when the problem area (e.g., a language or operating
+system interface) has actually been codified in a ratified
+standards document. The existence of these standards documents
+(and the technically inappropriate but politically mandated
+compromises that they inevitably contain, and the impenetrable
+legalese in which they are
+invariably written, and the unbelievably tedious bureaucratic
+process by which they are produced) can be unnerving to hackers,
+who are used to a certain amount of ambiguity in the
+specifications of the systems they use. (Hackers feel that such
+ambiguities are acceptable as long as the Right Thing to do is obvious to any
+thinking observer; sadly, this casual attitude towards
+specifications becomes unworkable when a system becomes popular
+in the Real World.) Since a
+hacker is likely to feel that a standards document is both
+unnecessary and technically deficient, the deprecation inherent
+in this term may be directed as much against the standard as
+against the person who ought to read it.
+
+
+Node:RTI, Next:RTM, Previous:RTFS,
+Up:= R = 
+
+RTI /R-T-I/ interj.
+
+The mnemonic for the `return from interrupt' instruction on
+many computers including the 6502 and 6800. The variant `RETI' is
+found among former Z80 hackers (almost nobody programs these
+things in assembler anymore). Equivalent to "Now, where was I?"
+or used to end a conversational digression. See pop; see also POPJ.
+
+
+Node:RTM, Next:RTS, Previous:RTI,
+Up:= R = 
+
+RTM /R-T-M/
+
+[Usenet: abbreviation for `Read The Manual'] 1. Politer
+variant of RTFM. 2. Robert Tappan
+Morris, perpetrator of the great Internet worm of 1988 (see Great Worm); villain to many, naive
+hacker gone wrong to a few. Morris claimed that the worm that
+brought the Internet to its knees was a benign experiment that
+got out of control as the result of a coding error. After the
+storm of negative publicity that followed this blunder, Morris's
+username on ITS was hacked from RTM to RTFM.
+
+
+Node:RTS, Next:rude, Previous:RTM,
+Up:= R = 
+
+RTS /R-T-S/ imp.
+
+Abbreviation for `Read The Screen'. Mainly used by hackers in
+the microcomputer world. Refers to what one would like to tell
+the suit one is forced to explain an
+extremely simple application to. Particularly appropriate when
+the suit failed to notice the `Press any key to continue' prompt,
+and wishes to know `why won't it do anything'. Also seen as
+`RTFS' in especially deserving cases.
+
+
+Node:rude, Next:runes, Previous:RTS, Up:= R =
+
+
+rude [WPI] adj.
+
+1. (of a program) Badly written. 2. Functionally poor, e.g., a
+program that is very difficult to use because of gratuitously
+poor (random?) design decisions. Oppose cuspy. 3. Anything that manipulates a shared
+resource without regard for its other users in such a way as to
+cause a (non-fatal) problem. Examples: programs that change tty
+modes without resetting them on exit, or windowing programs that
+keep forcing themselves to the top of the window stack. Compare
+all-elbows.
+
+
+Node:runes, Next:runic, Previous:rude, Up:= R =
+
+
+runes pl.n.
+
+1. Anything that requires heavy
+wizardry or black art
+to parse: core dumps, JCL commands,
+APL, or code in a language you haven't a clue how to read. Not
+quite as bad as line noise,
+but close. Compare casting
+the runes, Great
+Runes. 2. Special display characters (for example, the
+high-half graphics on an IBM PC). 3. [borderline techspeak]
+16-bit characters from the Unicode multilingual character
+set.
+
+
+Node:runic, Next:rusty iron, Previous:runes, Up:= R
+= 
+
+runic adj.
+
+Syn. obscure. VMS fans sometimes
+refer to Unix as `Runix'; Unix fans return the compliment by
+expanding VMS to `Very Messy Syntax' or `Vachement Mauvais
+Système' (French idiom, "Hugely Bad System").
+
+
+Node:rusty iron, Next:rusty memory, Previous:runic, Up:= R = 
+
+rusty iron n.
+
+Syn. tired iron. It has
+been claimed that this is the inevitable fate of water MIPS.
+
+
+Node:rusty memory, Next:rusty wire, Previous:rusty iron, Up:= R = 
+
+rusty memory n.
+
+Mass-storage that uses iron-oxide-based magnetic media (esp.
+tape and the pre-Winchester removable disk packs used in washing machines). Compare
+donuts.
+
+
+Node:rusty wire, Next:S/N ratio, Previous:rusty memory, Up:= R = 
+
+rusty wire n.
+
+[Amateur Packet Radio] Any very noisy network medium, in which
+the packets are subject to frequent corruption. Most prevalent in
+reference to wireless links subject to all the vagaries of RF
+noise and marginal propagation conditions. "Yes, but how good is
+your whizbang new protocol on really rusty wire?".
+
+
+Node:= S =, Next:= T =, Previous:= R =, Up:The Jargon Lexicon 
+
+= S =
+
+
+S/N ratio:
+
+
+sacred:
+
+
+saga:
+
+
+sagan:
+
+
+SAIL:
+
+
+salescritter:
+
+
+salt:
+
+
+salt mines:
+
+
+salt substrate:
+
+
+same-day service:
+
+
+samizdat:
+
+
+samurai:
+
+
+sandbender:
+
+
+sandbox:
+
+
+sanity check:
+
+
+Saturday-night
+special:
+
+
+say:
+
+
+scag:
+
+
+scanno:
+
+
+scary devil
+monastery:
+
+
+schroedinbug:
+
+
+science-fiction
+fandom:
+
+
+scram switch:
+
+
+scratch:
+
+
+scratch monkey:
+
+
+scream and die:
+
+
+screaming tty:
+
+
+screen:
+
+
+screen name:
+
+
+screw:
+
+
+screwage:
+
+
+scribble:
+
+
+script kiddies:
+
+
+scrog:
+
+
+scrool:
+
+
+scrozzle:
+
+
+scruffies:
+
+
+SCSI:
+
+
+ScumOS:
+
+
+search-and-destroy
+mode:
+
+
+second-system
+effect:
+
+
+secondary damage:
+
+
+security through
+obscurity:
+
+
+SED:
+
+
+segfault:
+
+
+seggie:
+
+
+segment:
+
+
+segmentation fault:
+
+
+segv:
+
+
+self-reference:
+
+
+selvage:
+
+
+semi:
+
+
+semi-automated:
+
+
+semi-infinite:
+
+
+senior bit:
+
+
+September that
+never ended:
+
+
+server:
+
+
+SEX:
+
+
+sex changer:
+
+
+shambolic link:
+
+
+shar file:
+
+
+sharchive:
+
+
+Share and enjoy!:
+
+
+shareware:
+
+
+sharing violation:
+
+
+shebang:
+
+
+shelfware:
+
+
+shell:
+
+
+shell out:
+
+
+shift left
+(or right) logical:
+
+
+shim:
+
+
+shitogram:
+
+
+short card:
+
+
+shotgun debugging:
+
+
+shovelware:
+
+
+showstopper:
+
+
+shriek:
+
+
+Shub-Internet:
+
+
+sidecar:
+
+
+SIG:
+
+
+sig block:
+
+
+sig quote:
+
+
+sig virus:
+
+
+signal-to-noise
+ratio:
+
+
+silicon:
+
+
+silly walk:
+
+
+silo:
+
+
+Silver Book:
+
+
+since
+time T equals minus infinity:
+
+
+sitename:
+
+
+skrog:
+
+
+skulker:
+
+
+slab:
+
+
+slack:
+
+
+slap on the side:
+
+
+slash:
+
+
+slashdot effect:
+
+
+sleep:
+
+
+slim:
+
+
+slop:
+
+
+slopsucker:
+
+
+Slowlaris:
+
+
+slurp:
+
+
+smart:
+
+
+smart terminal:
+
+
+smash case:
+
+
+smash the stack:
+
+
+smiley:
+
+
+smoke:
+
+
+smoke and mirrors:
+
+
+smoke test:
+
+
+smoking clover:
+
+
+smoot:
+
+
+SMOP:
+
+
+smurf:
+
+
+SNAFU principle:
+
+
+snail:
+
+
+snail-mail:
+
+
+snap:
+
+
+snarf:
+
+
+snarf & barf:
+
+
+snarf down:
+
+
+snark:
+
+
+sneaker:
+
+
+sneakernet:
+
+
+sniff:
+
+
+snivitz:
+
+
+'Snooze:
+
+
+SO:
+
+
+social engineering:
+
+
+social science
+number:
+
+
+sock puppet:
+
+
+sodium substrate:
+
+
+soft boot:
+
+
+softcopy:
+
+
+software bloat:
+
+
+software hoarding:
+
+
+software laser:
+
+
+software rot:
+
+
+softwarily:
+
+
+softy:
+
+
+some random X:
+
+
+sorcerer's
+apprentice mode:
+
+
+SOS:
+
+
+source:
+
+
+source of all good
+bits:
+
+
+space-cadet
+keyboard:
+
+
+spaceship operator:
+
+
+SPACEWAR:
+
+
+spaghetti code:
+
+
+spaghetti
+inheritance:
+
+
+spam:
+
+
+spam bait:
+
+
+spamblock:
+
+
+spamhaus:
+
+
+spamvertize:
+
+
+spangle:
+
+
+spawn:
+
+
+special-case:
+
+
+speedometer:
+
+
+spell:
+
+
+spelling flame:
+
+
+spider:
+
+
+spider food:
+
+
+spiffy:
+
+
+spike:
+
+
+spin:
+
+
+spl:
+
+
+splash screen:
+
+
+splat:
+
+
+splat out:
+
+
+spod:
+
+
+spoiler:
+
+
+spoiler space:
+
+
+sponge:
+
+
+spoof:
+
+
+spool:
+
+
+spool file:
+
+
+spungle:
+
+
+square tape:
+
+
+squirrelcide:
+
+
+stack:
+
+
+stack puke:
+
+
+stale pointer bug:
+
+
+star out:
+
+
+state:
+
+
+stealth manager:
+
+
+steam-powered:
+
+
+STFW:
+
+
+stiffy:
+
+
+stir-fried random:
+
+
+stomp on:
+
+
+Stone Age:
+
+
+stone knives and
+bearskins:
+
+
+stoppage:
+
+
+store:
+
+
+strided:
+
+
+stroke:
+
+
+strudel:
+
+
+stubroutine:
+
+
+studly:
+
+
+studlycaps:
+
+
+stunning:
+
+
+stupid-sort:
+
+
+Stupids:
+
+
+Sturgeon's Law:
+
+
+sucking mud:
+
+
+sufficiently small:
+
+
+suit:
+
+
+suitable win:
+
+
+suitably small:
+
+
+Sun:
+
+
+sun lounge:
+
+
+sun-stools:
+
+
+sunspots:
+
+
+super source
+quench:
+
+
+superloser:
+
+
+superprogrammer:
+
+
+superuser:
+
+
+support:
+
+
+surf:
+
+
+Suzie COBOL:
+
+
+swab:
+
+
+swap:
+
+
+swap space:
+
+
+swapped in:
+
+
+swapped out:
+
+
+swizzle:
+
+
+sync:
+
+
+syntactic salt:
+
+
+syntactic sugar:
+
+
+sys-frog:
+
+
+sysadmin:
+
+
+sysape:
+
+
+sysop:
+
+
+system:
+
+
+systems jock:
+
+
+system mangler:
+
+
+SysVile:
+
+
+Node:S/N ratio, Next:sacred, Previous:rusty wire, Up:= S = 
+
+S/N ratio // n.
+
+(also `s/n ratio', `s:n ratio'). Syn. signal-to-noise ratio. Often
+abbreviated `SNR'.
+
+
+Node:sacred, Next:saga, Previous:S/N ratio, Up:= S = 
+
+sacred adj.
+
+Reserved for the exclusive use of something (an extension of
+the standard meaning). Often means that anyone may look at the
+sacred object, but clobbering it will screw whatever it is sacred
+to. The comment "Register 7 is sacred to the interrupt handler"
+appearing in a program would be interpreted by a hacker to mean
+that if any other part of the program changes the
+contents of register 7, dire consequences are likely to
+ensue.
+
+
+Node:saga, Next:sagan, Previous:sacred, Up:= S
+= 
+
+saga n.
+
+[WPI] A cuspy but bogus raving story about N random broken
+people.
+
+Here is a classic example of the saga form, as told by Guy L.
+Steele:
+
+Jon L. White (login name JONL) and I (GLS) were
+office mates at MIT for many years. One April, we both flew from
+Boston to California for a week on research business, to consult
+face-to-face with some people at Stanford, particularly our
+mutual friend Richard P. Gabriel (RPG; see gabriel).
+
+RPG picked us up at the San Francisco airport and drove us
+back to Palo Alto (going logical
+south on route 101, parallel to El Camino Bignum). Palo Alto is
+adjacent to Stanford University and about 40 miles south of San
+Francisco. We ate at The Good Earth, a `health food' restaurant,
+very popular, the sort whose milkshakes all contain honey and
+protein powder. JONL ordered such a shake -- the waitress claimed
+the flavor of the day was "lalaberry". I still have no idea what
+that might be, but it became a running joke. It was the color of
+raspberry, and JONL said it tasted rather bitter. I ate a better
+tostada there than I have ever had in a Mexican restaurant.
+
+After this we went to the local Uncle Gaylord's Old Fashioned
+Ice Cream Parlor. They make ice cream fresh daily, in a variety
+of intriguing flavors. It's a chain, and they have a slogan: "If
+you don't live near an Uncle Gaylord's -- MOVE!" Also, Uncle
+Gaylord (a real person) wages a constant battle to force big-name
+ice cream makers to print their ingredients on the package (like
+air and plastic and other non-natural garbage). JONL and I had
+first discovered Uncle Gaylord's the previous August, when we had
+flown to a computer-science conference in Berkeley, California,
+the first time either of us had been on the West Coast. When not
+in the conference sessions, we had spent our time wandering the
+length of Telegraph Avenue, which (like Harvard Square in
+Cambridge) was lined with picturesque street vendors and
+interesting little shops. On that street we discovered Uncle
+Gaylord's Berkeley store. The ice cream there was very good.
+During that August visit JONL went absolutely bananas (so to
+speak) over one particular flavor, ginger honey.
+
+Therefore, after eating at The Good Earth -- indeed, after
+every lunch and dinner and before bed during our April visit -- a
+trip to Uncle Gaylord's (the one in Palo Alto) was mandatory. We
+had arrived on a Wednesday, and by Thursday evening we had been
+there at least four times. Each time, JONL would get ginger honey
+ice cream, and proclaim to all bystanders that "Ginger was the
+spice that drove the Europeans mad! That's why they sought a
+route to the East! They used it to preserve their otherwise
+off-taste meat." After the third or fourth repetition RPG and I
+were getting a little tired of this spiel, and began to
+paraphrase him: "Wow! Ginger! The spice that makes rotten meat
+taste good!" "Say! Why don't we find some dog that's been run
+over and sat in the sun for a week and put some ginger
+on it for dinner?!" "Right! With a lalaberry shake!" And so on.
+This failed to faze JONL; he took it in good humor, as long as we
+kept returning to Uncle Gaylord's. He loves ginger honey ice
+cream.
+
+Now RPG and his then-wife KBT (Kathy Tracy) were putting us up
+(putting up with us?) in their home for our visit, so to thank
+them JONL and I took them out to a nice French restaurant of
+their choosing. I unadventurously chose the filet mignon, and KBT
+had _je ne sais quoi du jour_, but RPG and JONL had
+_lapin_ (rabbit). (Waitress: "_Oui_, we have fresh
+rabbit, fresh today." RPG: "Well, JONL, I guess we won't need any
+ginger!")
+
+We finished the meal late, about 11 P.M., which
+is 2 A.M Boston time, so JONL and I were rather
+droopy. But it wasn't yet midnight. Off to Uncle Gaylord's!
+
+Now the French restaurant was in Redwood City, north of Palo
+Alto. In leaving Redwood City, we somehow got onto route 101
+going north instead of south. JONL and I wouldn't have known the
+difference had RPG not mentioned it. We still knew very little of
+the local geography. I did figure out, however, that we were
+headed in the direction of Berkeley, and half-jokingly suggested
+that we continue north and go to Uncle Gaylord's in Berkeley.
+
+RPG said "Fine!" and we drove on for a while and talked. I was
+drowsy, and JONL actually dropped off to sleep for 5 minutes.
+When he awoke, RPG said, "Gee, JONL, you must have slept all the
+way over the bridge!", referring to the one spanning San
+Francisco Bay. Just then we came to a sign that said "University
+Avenue". I mumbled something about working our way over to
+Telegraph Avenue; RPG said "Right!" and maneuvered some more.
+Eventually we pulled up in front of an Uncle Gaylord's.
+
+Now, I hadn't really been paying attention because I was so
+sleepy, and I didn't really understand what was happening until
+RPG let me in on it a few moments later, but I was just alert
+enough to notice that we had somehow come to the Palo Alto Uncle
+Gaylord's after all.
+
+JONL noticed the resemblance to the Palo Alto store, but
+hadn't caught on. (The place is lit with red and yellow lights at
+night, and looks much different from the way it does in
+daylight.) He said, "This isn't the Uncle Gaylord's I went to in
+Berkeley! It looked like a barn! But this place looks just
+like the one back in Palo Alto!"
+
+RPG deadpanned, "Well, this is the one I always come
+to when I'm in Berkeley. They've got two in San Francisco, too.
+Remember, they're a chain."
+
+JONL accepted this bit of wisdom. And he was not totally
+ignorant -- he knew perfectly well that University Avenue was in
+Berkeley, not far from Telegraph Avenue. What he didn't know was
+that there is a completely different University Avenue in Palo
+Alto.
+
+JONL went up to the counter and asked for ginger honey. The
+guy at the counter asked whether JONL would like to taste it
+first, evidently their standard procedure with that flavor, as
+not too many people like it.
+
+JONL said, "I'm sure I like it. Just give me a cone." The guy
+behind the counter insisted that JONL try just a taste first.
+"Some people think it tastes like soap." JONL insisted, "Look, I
+love ginger. I eat Chinese food. I eat raw ginger roots.
+I already went through this hassle with the guy back in Palo
+Alto. I know I like that flavor!"
+
+At the words "back in Palo Alto" the guy behind the counter
+got a very strange look on his face, but said nothing. KBT caught
+his eye and winked. Through my stupor I still hadn't quite
+grasped what was going on, and thought RPG was rolling on the
+floor laughing and clutching his stomach just because JONL had
+launched into his spiel ("makes rotten meat a dish for princes")
+for the forty-third time. At this point, RPG clued me in
+fully.
+
+RPG, KBT, and I retreated to a table, trying to stifle our
+chuckles. JONL remained at the counter, talking about ice cream
+with the guy b.t.c., comparing Uncle Gaylord's to other ice cream
+shops and generally having a good old time.
+
+At length the g.b.t.c. said, "How's the ginger honey?" JONL
+said, "Fine! I wonder what exactly is in it?" Now Uncle Gaylord
+publishes all his recipes and even teaches classes on how to make
+his ice cream at home. So the g.b.t.c. got out the recipe, and he
+and JONL pored over it for a while. But the g.b.t.c. could
+contain his curiosity no longer, and asked again, "You really
+like that stuff, huh?" JONL said, "Yeah, I've been eating it
+constantly back in Palo Alto for the past two days. In fact, I
+think this batch is about as good as the cones I got back in Palo
+Alto!"
+
+G.b.t.c. looked him straight in the eye and said, "You're
+in Palo Alto!"
+
+JONL turned slowly around, and saw the three of us collapse in
+a fit of giggles. He clapped a hand to his forehead and
+exclaimed, "I've been hacked!"
+
+
+[My spies on the West Coast inform me that there is a close
+relative of the raspberry found out there called an
+`ollalieberry' --ESR]
+
+[Ironic footnote: the meme about
+ginger vs. rotting meat is an urban legend. It's not borne out by
+an examination of medieval recipes or period purchase records for
+spices, and appears full-blown in the works of Samuel Pegge, a
+gourmand and notorious flake case who originated numerous food
+myths. The truth seems to be that ginger was used to cover not
+rot but the extreme salt taste of meat packed in brine, which was
+the best method available before refrigeration. --ESR]
+
+
+Node:sagan, Next:SAIL, Previous:saga, Up:= S =
+
+
+sagan /say'gn/ n.
+
+[from Carl Sagan's TV series "Cosmos"; think "billions and
+billions"] A large quantity of anything. "There's a sagan
+different ways to tweak EMACS." "The U.S. Government spends
+sagans on bombs and welfare -- hard to say which is more
+destructive."
+
+
+Node:SAIL, Next:salescritter, Previous:sagan, Up:= S
+= 
+
+SAIL /sayl/, not /S-A-I-L/ n.
+
+1. The Stanford Artificial Intelligence Lab. An important site
+in the early development of LISP; with the MIT AI Lab, BBN, CMU,
+XEROX PARC, and the Unix community, one of the major wellsprings
+of technical innovation and hacker-culture traditions (see the
+WAITS entry for details). The SAIL
+machines were shut down in late May 1990, scant weeks after the
+MIT AI Lab's ITS cluster was officially decommissioned. 2. The
+Stanford Artificial Intelligence Language used at SAIL (sense 1).
+It was an Algol-60 derivative with a coroutining facility and
+some new data types intended for building search trees and
+association lists.
+
+
+Node:salescritter, Next:salt, Previous:SAIL, Up:= S =
+
+
+salescritter /sayls'kri`tr/ n.
+
+Pejorative hackerism for a computer salesperson. Hackers tell
+the following joke:
+
+Q. What's the difference between a used-car dealer and a
+   computer salesman?
+A. The used-car dealer knows he's lying.  [Some versions add:
+   ...and probably knows how to drive.]
+
+
+This reflects the widespread hacker belief that salescritters
+are self-selected for stupidity (after all, if they had brains
+and the inclination to use them, they'd be in programming). The
+terms `salesthing' and `salesdroid' are also common. Compare
+marketroid, suit, droid.
+
+
+Node:salt, Next:salt mines, Previous:salescritter, Up:= S = 
+
+salt n.
+
+A tiny bit of near-random data inserted where too much
+regularity would be undesirable; a data frob (sense 1). For example, the Unix crypt(3)
+man page mentions that "the salt string is used to perturb the
+DES algorithm in one of 4096 different ways."
+
+
+Node:salt mines, Next:salt substrate, Previous:salt, Up:= S = 
+
+salt mines n.
+
+Dense quarters housing large numbers of programmers working
+long hours on grungy projects, with some hope of seeing the end
+of the tunnel in N years. Noted for their absence of sunshine.
+Compare playpen, sandbox.
+
+
+Node:salt substrate, Next:same-day service,
+Previous:salt mines,
+Up:= S = 
+
+salt substrate n.
+
+[MIT] Collective noun used to refer to potato chips, pretzels,
+saltines, or any other form of snack food designed primarily as a
+carrier for sodium chloride. Also `sodium substrate'. From the
+technical term `chip substrate', used to refer to the silicon on
+the top of which the active parts of integrated circuits are
+deposited.
+
+
+Node:same-day service, Next:samizdat, Previous:salt substrate, Up:= S = 
+
+same-day service n.
+
+Ironic term used to describe long response time, particularly
+with respect to MS-DOS system calls
+(which ought to require only a tiny fraction of a second to
+execute). Such response time is a major incentive for programmers
+to write programs that are not well-behaved. See also PC-ism.
+
+
+Node:samizdat, Next:samurai, Previous:same-day service, Up:= S = 
+
+samizdat /sahm-iz-daht/ n.
+
+[Russian, literally "self publishing"] The process of
+disseminating documentation via underground channels. Originally
+referred to underground duplication and distribution of banned
+books in the Soviet Union; now refers by obvious extension to any
+less-than-official promulgation of textual material, esp. rare,
+obsolete, or never-formally-published computer documentation.
+Samizdat is obviously much easier when one has access to
+high-bandwidth networks and high-quality laser printers. Note
+that samizdat is properly used only with respect to documents
+which contain needed information (see also hacker ethic) but which are for some
+reason otherwise unavailable, but not in the context of
+documents which are available through normal channels, for which
+unauthorized duplication would be unethical copyright violation.
+See Lions Book for a
+historical example.
+
+
+Node:samurai, Next:sandbender, Previous:samizdat, Up:=
+S = 
+
+samurai n.
+
+A hacker who hires out for legal cracking jobs, snooping for
+factions in corporate political fights, lawyers pursuing
+privacy-rights and First Amendment cases, and other parties with
+legitimate reasons to need an electronic locksmith. In 1991,
+mainstream media reported the existence of a loose-knit culture
+of samurai that meets electronically on BBS systems, mostly
+bright teenagers with personal micros; they have modeled
+themselves explicitly on the historical samurai of Japan and on
+the "net cowboys" of William Gibson's cyberpunk novels. Those interviewed claim to
+adhere to a rigid ethic of loyalty to their employers and to
+disdain the vandalism and theft practiced by criminal crackers as
+beneath them and contrary to the hacker ethic; some quote
+Miyamoto Musashi's "Book of Five Rings", a classic of historical
+samurai doctrine, in support of these principles. See also sneaker, Stupids, social engineering, cracker, hacker
+ethic, and dark-side
+hacker.
+
+
+Node:sandbender, Next:sandbox, Previous:samurai, Up:= S
+= 
+
+sandbender n.
+
+[IBM] A person involved with silicon lithography and the
+physical design of chips. Compare ironmonger, polygon pusher.
+
+
+Node:sandbox, Next:sanity check, Previous:sandbender, Up:= S = 
+
+sandbox n.
+
+1. (also `sandbox, the') Common term for the R&D
+department at many software and computer companies (where hackers
+in commercial environments are likely to be found).
+Half-derisive, but reflects the truth that research is a form of
+creative play. Compare playpen. 2.
+Syn. link farm. 3. A controlled
+environment within which potentially dangerous programs are run.
+Used esp. in reference to Java implementations.
+
+
+Node:sanity check, Next:Saturday-night
+special, Previous:sandbox, Up:= S
+= 
+
+sanity check n.
+
+[very common] 1. The act of checking a piece of code (or
+anything else, e.g., a Usenet posting) for completely stupid
+mistakes. Implies that the check is to make sure the author was
+sane when it was written; e.g., if a piece of scientific software
+relied on a particular formula and was giving unexpected results,
+one might first look at the nesting of parentheses or the coding
+of the formula, as a `sanity check', before looking at the more
+complex I/O or data structure manipulation routines, much less
+the algorithm itself. Compare reality check. 2. A run-time test,
+either validating input or ensuring that the program hasn't
+screwed up internally (producing an inconsistent value or
+state).
+
+
+Node:Saturday-night
+special, Next:say, Previous:sanity check, Up:= S = 
+
+Saturday-night special n.
+
+[from police slang for a cheap handgun] A quick-and-dirty program or feature
+kluged together during off hours, under a deadline, and in
+response to pressure from a salescritter. Such hacks are dangerously
+unreliable, but all too often sneak into a production release
+after insufficient review.
+
+
+Node:say, Next:scag, Previous:Saturday-night special, Up:= S = 
+
+say vt.
+
+1. To type to a terminal. "To list a directory verbosely, you
+have to say ls -l." Tends to imply a newline-terminated command (a `sentence'). 2.
+A computer may also be said to `say' things to you, even if it
+doesn't have a speech synthesizer, by displaying them on a
+terminal in response to your commands. Hackers find it odd that
+this usage confuses mundanes.
+
+
+Node:scag, Next:scanno, Previous:say, Up:= S =
+
+
+scag vt.
+
+To destroy the data on a disk, either by corrupting the
+filesystem or by causing media damage. "That last power hit
+scagged the system disk." Compare scrog, roach.
+
+
+Node:scanno, Next:scary devil monastery,
+Previous:scag, Up:= S = 
+
+scanno /skan'oh/ n.
+
+An error in a document caused by a scanner glitch, analogous
+to a typo or thinko.
+
+
+Node:scary devil
+monastery, Next:schroedinbug, Previous:scanno, Up:=
+S = 
+
+scary devil monastery n.
+
+Anagram frequently used to refer to the newsgroup
+_alt.sysadmin.recovery_, which is populated with characters
+that rather justify the reference.
+
+
+Node:schroedinbug, Next:science-fiction fandom,
+Previous:scary devil monastery, Up:= S = 
+
+schroedinbug /shroh'din-buhg/ n.
+
+[MIT: from the Schroedinger's Cat thought-experiment in
+quantum physics] A design or implementation bug in a program that
+doesn't manifest until someone reading source or using the
+program in an unusual way notices that it never should have
+worked, at which point the program promptly stops working for
+everybody until fixed. Though (like bit
+rot) this sounds impossible, it happens; some programs
+have harbored latent schroedinbugs for years. Compare heisenbug, Bohr
+bug, mandelbug.
+
+
+Node:science-fiction
+fandom, Next:scram
+switch, Previous:schroedinbug, Up:= S = 
+
+science-fiction fandom n.
+
+Another voluntary subculture having a very heavy overlap with
+hackerdom; most hackers read SF and/or fantasy fiction avidly,
+and many go to `cons' (SF conventions) or are involved in
+fandom-connected activities such as the Society for Creative
+Anachronism. Some hacker jargon originated in SF fandom; see
+defenestration, great-wall, cyberpunk, h, ha ha only serious,
+IMHO, mundane, neep-neep, Real Soon Now. Additionally, the
+jargon terms cowboy, cyberspace, de-rezz, go
+flatline, ice, phage, virus, wetware, wirehead, and worm
+originated in SF stories.
+
+
+Node:scram switch, Next:scratch, Previous:science-fiction fandom,
+Up:= S = 
+
+scram switch n.
+
+[from the nuclear power industry] An emergency-power-off
+switch (see Big Red
+Switch), esp. one positioned to be easily hit by
+evacuating personnel. In general, this is not something
+you frob lightly; these often initiate
+expensive events (such as Halon dumps) and are installed in a
+dinosaur pen for use in case
+of electrical fire or in case some luckless field servoid should put 120 volts
+across himself while Easter
+egging. (See also molly-guard, TMRC.)
+
+A correspondent reports a legend that "Scram" is an acronym
+for "Start Cutting Right Away, Man" (another less plausible
+variant of this legend refers to "Safety Control Rod Axe Man";
+these are almost certainly both backronyms). The story goes that in the
+earliest nuclear power experiments the engineers recognized the
+possibility that the reactor wouldn't behave exactly as predicted
+by their mathematical models. Accordingly, they made sure that
+they had mechanisms in place that would rapidly drop the control
+rods back into the reactor. One mechanism took the form of `scram
+technicians'. These individuals stood next to the ropes or cables
+that raised and lowered the control rods. Equipped with axes or
+cable-cutters, these technicians stood ready for the (literal)
+`scram' command. If necessary, they would cut the cables, and
+gravity would expeditiously return the control rods to the
+reactor, thereby averting yet another kind of core dump.
+
+Modern reactor control rods are held in place with claw-like
+devices, held closed by current. SCRAM switches are circuit
+breakers that immediately open the circuit to the rod arms,
+resulting in the rapid insertion and subsequent bottoming of the
+control rods.
+
+
+Node:scratch, Next:scratch monkey, Previous:scram switch, Up:= S = 
+
+scratch
+
+1. [from `scratchpad'] adj. Describes a data structure or
+recording medium attached to a machine for testing or
+temporary-use purposes; one that can be scribbled on without loss. Usually in the
+combining forms `scratch memory', `scratch register', `scratch
+disk', `scratch tape', `scratch volume'. See also scratch monkey. 2. [primarily IBM]
+vt. To delete (as in a file).
+
+
+Node:scratch monkey, Next:scream and die, Previous:scratch, Up:= S = 
+
+scratch monkey n.
+
+As in "Before testing or reconfiguring, always mount a scratch monkey", a proverb used
+to advise caution when dealing with irreplaceable data or
+devices. Used to refer to any scratch volume hooked to a computer
+during any risky operation as a replacement for some precious
+resource or data that might otherwise get trashed.
+
+This term preserves the memory of Mabel, the Swimming Wonder
+Monkey, star of a biological research program at the University
+of Toronto. Mabel was not (so the legend goes) your ordinary
+monkey; the university had spent years teaching her how to swim,
+breathing through a regulator, in order to study the effects of
+different gas mixtures on her physiology. Mabel suffered an
+untimely demise one day when a DEC
+field circus engineer
+troubleshooting a crash on the program's VAX inadvertently
+interfered with some custom hardware that was wired to Mabel.
+
+It is reported that, after calming down an understandably
+irate customer sufficiently to ascertain the facts of the matter,
+a DEC troubleshooter called up the field circus manager responsible and
+asked him sweetly, "Can you swim?"
+
+Not all the consequences to humans were so amusing; the sysop
+of the machine in question was nearly thrown in jail at the
+behest of certain clueless droids at
+the local `humane' society. The moral is clear: When in doubt,
+always mount a scratch monkey.
+
+[The actual incident occured in 1979 or 1980. There is a
+version of this story, complete with reported dialogue between
+one of the project people and DEC field service, that has been
+circulating on Internet since 1986. It is hilarious and mythic,
+but gets some facts wrong. For example, it reports the machine as
+a PDP-11 and alleges that Mabel's demise occurred when DEC PMed the machine. Earlier versions of this
+entry were based on that story; this one has been corrected from
+an interview with the hapless sysop. --ESR]
+
+
+Node:scream and die, Next:screaming tty, Previous:scratch monkey, Up:= S = 
+
+scream and die v.
+
+Syn. cough and die,
+but connotes that an error message was printed or displayed
+before the program crashed.
+
+
+Node:screaming tty, Next:screen, Previous:scream and die, Up:= S = 
+
+screaming tty n.
+
+[Unix] A terminal line which spews an infinite number of
+random characters at the operating system. This can happen if the
+terminal is either disconnected or connected to a powered-off
+terminal but still enabled for login; misconfiguration,
+misimplementation, or simple bad luck can start such a terminal
+screaming. A screaming tty or two can seriously degrade the
+performance of a vanilla Unix system; the arriving "characters"
+are treated as userid/password pairs and tested as such. The Unix
+password encryption algorithm is designed to be computationally
+intensive in order to foil brute-force crack attacks, so although
+none of the logins succeeds; the overhead of rejecting them all
+can be substantial.
+
+
+Node:screen, Next:screen name, Previous:screaming tty, Up:= S = 
+
+screen n.
+
+[Atari ST demoscene] One demoeffect or one screenful of them.
+Probably comes from old Sierra-style adventures or shoot-em-ups
+where one travels from one place to another one screenful at a
+time.
+
+
+Node:screen name, Next:screw, Previous:screen, Up:= S
+= 
+
+screen name n.
+
+A handle sense 1. This term has
+been common among users of IRC, MUDs, and commercial on-line
+services since the mid-1990s. Hackers recognize the term but
+don't generally use it.
+
+
+Node:screw, Next:screwage, Previous:screen name, Up:= S = 
+
+screw n.
+
+[MIT] A lose, usually in software.
+Especially used for user-visible misbehavior caused by a bug or
+misfeature. This use has become quite widespread outside MIT.
+
+
+Node:screwage, Next:scribble, Previous:screw, Up:= S
+= 
+
+screwage /skroo'*j/ n.
+
+Like lossage but connotes that
+the failure is due to a designed-in misfeature rather than a
+simple inadequacy or a mere bug.
+
+
+Node:scribble, Next:script kiddies, Previous:screwage, Up:= S = 
+
+scribble n.
+
+To modify a data structure in a random and unintentionally
+destructive way. "Bletch! Somebody's disk-compactor program went
+berserk and scribbled on the i-node table." "It was working fine
+until one of the allocation routines scribbled on low core."
+Synonymous with trash; compare mung, which conveys a bit more intention,
+and mangle, which is more violent
+and final.
+
+
+Node:script kiddies, Next:scrog, Previous:scribble, Up:=
+S = 
+
+script kiddies pl.n.
+
+1. The lowest form of cracker;
+script kiddies do mischief with scripts and programs written by
+others, often without understanding the exploit. 2. People who cannot program, but who
+create tacky HTML pages by copying JavaScript routines from other
+tacky HTML pages. More generally, a script kiddie writes (or more
+likely cuts and pastes) code without either having or desiring to
+have a mental model of what the code does; someone who thinks of
+code as magical incantations and asks only "what do I need to
+type to make this happen?"
+
+
+Node:scrog, Next:scrool, Previous:script kiddies, Up:= S = 
+
+scrog /skrog/ vt.
+
+[Bell Labs] To damage, trash, or corrupt a data structure.
+"The list header got scrogged." Also reported as `skrog', and
+ascribed to the comic strip "The Wizard of Id". Compare scag; possibly the two are related.
+Equivalent to scribble or mangle.
+
+
+Node:scrool, Next:scrozzle, Previous:scrog, Up:= S
+= 
+
+scrool /skrool/ n.
+
+[from the pioneering Roundtable chat system in Houston ca.
+1984; prob. originated as a typo for `scroll'] The log of old
+messages, available for later perusal or to help one get back in
+synch with the conversation. It was originally called the `scrool
+monster', because an early version of the roundtable software had
+a bug where it would dump all 8K of scrool on a user's
+terminal.
+
+
+Node:scrozzle, Next:scruffies, Previous:scrool, Up:= S
+= 
+
+scrozzle /skroz'l/ vt.
+
+Used when a self-modifying code segment runs incorrectly and
+corrupts the running program or vital data. "The damn compiler
+scrozzled itself again!"
+
+
+Node:scruffies, Next:SCSI, Previous:scrozzle, Up:=
+S = 
+
+scruffies n.
+
+See neats vs.
+scruffies.
+
+
+Node:SCSI, Next:ScumOS, Previous:scruffies, Up:= S = 
+
+SCSI n.
+
+[Small Computer System Interface] A bus-independent standard
+for system-level interfacing between a computer and intelligent
+devices. Typically annotated in literature with `sexy'
+(/sek'see/), `sissy' (/sis'ee/), and `scuzzy' (/skuh'zee/) as
+pronunciation guides -- the last being the overwhelmingly
+predominant form, much to the dismay of the designers and their
+marketing people. One can usually assume that a person who
+pronounces it /S-C-S-I/ is clueless.
+
+
+Node:ScumOS, Next:search-and-destroy mode,
+Previous:SCSI, Up:= S = 
+
+ScumOS /skuhm'os/ or /skuhm'O-S/ n.
+
+Unflattering hackerism for SunOS, the BSD Unix variant
+supported on Sun Microsystems's Unix workstations (see also sun-stools), and compare AIDX, Macintrash, Nominal Semidestructor, HP-SUX. Despite what this term might
+suggest, Sun was founded by hackers and still enjoys excellent
+relations with hackerdom; usage is more often in exasperation
+than outright loathing.
+
+
+Node:search-and-destroy
+mode, Next:second-system effect, Previous:ScumOS, Up:= S = 
+
+search-and-destroy mode n.
+
+Hackerism for a noninteractive search-and-replace facility in
+an editor, so called because an incautiously chosen match pattern
+can cause infinite damage.
+
+
+Node:second-system effect,
+Next:secondary
+damage, Previous:search-and-destroy mode, Up:= S = 
+
+second-system effect n.
+
+(sometimes, more euphoniously, `second-system syndrome') When
+one is designing the successor to a relatively small, elegant,
+and successful system, there is a tendency to become grandiose in
+one's success and design an elephantine feature-laden monstrosity. The
+term was first used by Fred Brooks in his classic "The Mythical
+Man-Month: Essays on Software Engineering" (Addison-Wesley, 1975;
+ISBN 0-201-00650-2). It described the jump from a set of nice,
+simple operating systems on the IBM 70xx series to OS/360 on the
+360 series. A similar effect can also happen in an evolving
+system; see Brooks's Law,
+creeping elegance,
+creeping featurism.
+See also Multics, OS/2, X, software bloat.
+
+This version of the jargon lexicon has been described (with
+altogether too much truth for comfort) as an example of
+second-system effect run amok on jargon-1....
+
+
+Node:secondary damage, Next:security
+through obscurity, Previous:second-system effect, Up:= S = 
+
+secondary damage n.
+
+When a fatal error occurs (esp. a segfault) the immediate cause may be that a
+pointer has been trashed due to a previous fandango on core. However, this
+fandango may have been due to an earlier fandango, so no
+amount of analysis will reveal (directly) how the damage
+occurred. "The data structure was clobbered, but it was secondary
+damage."
+
+By extension, the corruption resulting from N cascaded
+fandangoes on core is `Nth-level damage'. There is at least one
+case on record in which 17 hours of grovelling with adb actually dug
+up the underlying bug behind an instance of seventh-level damage!
+The hacker who accomplished this near-superhuman feat was
+presented with an award by his fellows.
+
+
+Node:security through
+obscurity, Next:SED,
+Previous:secondary
+damage, Up:= S = 
+
+security through obscurity
+
+(alt. `security by obscurity') A term applied by hackers to
+most OS vendors' favorite way of coping with security holes --
+namely, ignoring them, documenting neither any known holes nor
+the underlying security algorithms, trusting that nobody will
+find out about them and that people who do find out about them
+won't exploit them. This "strategy" never works for long and
+occasionally sets the world up for debacles like the RTM worm of 1988 (see Great Worm), but once the brief moments
+of panic created by such events subside most vendors are all too
+willing to turn over and go back to sleep. After all, actually
+fixing the bugs would siphon off the resources needed to
+implement the next user-interface frill on marketing's wish list
+-- and besides, if they started fixing security bugs customers
+might begin to expect it and imagine that their
+warranties of merchantability gave them some sort of
+right to a system with fewer holes in it than a
+shotgunned Swiss cheese, and then where would we be?
+
+Historical note: There are conflicting stories about the
+origin of this term. It has been claimed that it was first used
+in the Usenet newsgroup in _comp.sys.apollo_ during a
+campaign to get HP/Apollo to fix security problems in its
+Unix-clone Aegis/DomainOS (they
+didn't change a thing). ITS fans, on
+the other hand, say it was coined years earlier in opposition to
+the incredibly paranoid Multics
+people down the hall, for whom security was everything. In the
+ITS culture it referred to (1) the fact that by the time a
+tourist figured out how to make trouble he'd generally gotten
+over the urge to make it, because he felt part of the community;
+and (2) (self-mockingly) the poor coverage of the documentation
+and obscurity of many commands. One instance of
+deliberate security through obscurity is recorded; the
+command to allow patching the running ITS system (escape escape
+control-R) echoed as $$^D. If you actually typed alt alt ^D, that
+set a flag that would prevent patching the system even if you
+later got it right.
+
+
+Node:SED, Next:segfault, Previous:security through obscurity,
+Up:= S = 
+
+SED /S-E-D/ n.
+
+[TMRC, from `Light-Emitting Diode'] Smoke-emitting diode. A
+friode that lost the war. See also
+LER.
+
+
+Node:segfault, Next:seggie, Previous:SED, Up:= S =
+
+
+segfault n.,vi.
+
+Syn. segment, segmentation fault.
+
+
+Node:seggie, Next:segment, Previous:segfault, Up:=
+S = 
+
+seggie /seg'ee/ n.
+
+[Unix] Shorthand for segmentation fault reported from
+Britain.
+
+
+Node:segment, Next:segmentation fault, Previous:seggie, Up:= S = 
+
+segment /seg'ment/ vi.
+
+To experience a segmentation fault. Confusingly,
+this is often pronounced more like the noun `segment' than like
+mainstream v. segment; this is because it is actually a noun
+shorthand that has been verbed.
+
+
+Node:segmentation fault,
+Next:segv, Previous:segment, Up:= S = 
+
+segmentation fault n.
+
+[Unix] 1. [techspeak] An error in which a running program
+attempts to access memory not allocated to it and core dumps with a segmentation violation
+error. This is often caused by improper usage of pointers in the
+source code, dereferencing a null pointer, or (in C)
+inadvertently using a non-pointer variable as a pointer. The
+classic example is:
+
+   int i;
+   scanf ("%d", i);  /* should have used &i */
+
+
+2. To lose a train of thought or a line of reasoning. Also
+uttered as an exclamation at the point of befuddlement.
+
+
+Node:segv, Next:self-reference, Previous:segmentation fault, Up:= S = 
+
+segv /seg'vee/ n.,vi.
+
+Yet another synonym for segmentation fault (actually, in
+this case, `segmentation violation').
+
+
+Node:self-reference, Next:selvage, Previous:segv, Up:= S
+= 
+
+self-reference n.
+
+See self-reference.
+
+
+Node:selvage, Next:semi, Previous:self-reference, Up:= S = 
+
+selvage /sel'v*j/ n.
+
+[from sewing and weaving] See chad
+(sense 1).
+
+
+Node:semi, Next:semi-automated, Previous:selvage, Up:= S = 
+
+semi /se'mee/ or /se'mi:/
+
+1. n. Abbreviation for `semicolon', when speaking. "Commands
+to grind are prefixed by
+semi-semi-star" means that the prefix is ;;*, not
+1/4 of a star. 2. A prefix used with words such as `immediately'
+as a qualifier. "When is the system coming up?"
+"Semi-immediately." (That is, maybe not for an hour.) "We did
+consider that possibility semi-seriously." See also infinite.
+
+
+Node:semi-automated, Next:semi-infinite, Previous:semi, Up:= S = 
+
+semi-automated adj.
+
+[US Geological Survey] A procedure that has yet to be
+completely automated; it still requires a smidge of clueful human
+interaction. Semi-automated programs usually come with
+written-out operator instructions that are worth their weight in
+gold - without them, very nasty things can happen. At USGS
+semi-automated programs are often referred to as "semi-automated
+weapons".
+
+
+Node:semi-infinite, Next:senior bit, Previous:semi-automated, Up:= S = 
+
+semi-infinite n.
+
+See infinite.
+
+
+Node:senior bit, Next:September that never
+ended, Previous:semi-infinite, Up:= S = 
+
+senior bit n.
+
+[IBM; rare] Syn. meta
+bit.
+
+
+Node:September that
+never ended, Next:server,
+Previous:senior bit,
+Up:= S = 
+
+September that never ended
+
+All time since September 1993. One of the seasonal rhythms of
+the Usenet used to be the annual September influx of clueless
+newbies who, lacking any sense of netiquette, made a general nuisance of
+themselves. This coincided with people starting college, getting
+their first internet accounts, and plunging in without bothering
+to learn what was acceptable. These relatively small drafts of
+newbies could be assimilated within a few months. But in
+September 1993, AOL users became able to post to Usenet, nearly
+overwhelming the old-timers' capacity to acculturate them; to
+those who nostalgically recall the period before hand, this
+triggered an inexorable decline in the quality of discussions on
+newsgroups. See also AOL!.
+
+
+Node:server, Next:SEX, Previous:September that never
+ended, Up:= S = 
+
+server n.
+
+A kind of daemon that performs a
+service for the requester and which often runs on a computer
+other than the one on which the server runs. A particularly
+common term on the Internet, which is rife with `web servers',
+`name servers', `domain servers', `news servers', `finger
+servers', and the like.
+
+
+Node:SEX, Next:sex changer, Previous:server, Up:=
+S = 
+
+SEX /seks/
+
+[Sun Users' Group & elsewhere] n. 1. Software EXchange. A
+technique invented by the blue-green algae hundreds of millions
+of years ago to speed up their evolution, which had been terribly
+slow up until then. Today, SEX parties are popular among hackers
+and others (of course, these are no longer limited to exchanges
+of genetic software). In general, SEX parties are a Good Thing, but unprotected SEX can
+propagate a virus. See also pubic directory. 2. The rather
+Freudian mnemonic often used for Sign EXtend, a machine
+instruction found in the PDP-11 and many other architectures. The
+RCA 1802 chip used in the early Elf and SuperElf personal
+computers had a `SEt X register' SEX instruction, but this seems
+to have had little folkloric impact. The Data General instruction
+set also had SEX.
+
+DEC's engineers nearly got a PDP-11
+assembler that used the SEX mnemonic out the door at
+one time, but (for once) marketing wasn't asleep and forced a
+change. That wasn't the last time this happened, either. The
+author of "The Intel 8086 Primer", who was one of the original
+designers of the 8086, noted that there was originally a
+SEX instruction on that processor, too. He says that
+Intel management got cold feet and decreed that it be changed,
+and thus the instruction was renamed CBW and
+CWD (depending on what was being extended).
+Amusingly, the Intel 8048 (the microcontroller used in IBM PC
+keyboards) is also missing straight SEX but has
+logical-or and logical-and instructions ORL and
+ANL.
+
+The Motorola 6809, used in the Radio Shack Color Computer and
+in U.K.'s `Dragon 32' personal computer, actually had an official
+SEX instruction; the 6502 in the Apple II with which
+it competed did not. British hackers thought this made perfect
+mythic sense; after all, it was commonly observed, you could (on
+some theoretical level) have sex with a dragon, but you can't
+have sex with an apple.
+
+
+Node:sex changer, Next:shambolic link, Previous:SEX, Up:= S = 
+
+sex changer n.
+
+Syn. gender mender.
+
+
+Node:shambolic link, Next:shar file, Previous:sex changer, Up:= S = 
+
+shambolic link /sham-bol'ik link/ n.
+
+A Unix symbolic link, particularly when it confuses you,
+points to nothing at all, or results in your ending up in some
+completely unexpected part of the
+filesystem....
+
+
+Node:shar file, Next:sharchive, Previous:shambolic link, Up:= S = 
+
+shar file /shar' fi:l/ n.
+
+Syn. sharchive.
+
+
+Node:sharchive, Next:Share and enjoy!, Previous:shar file, Up:= S = 
+
+sharchive /shar'ki:v/ n.
+
+[Unix and Usenet; from /bin/sh archive] A flattened representation of a set of one or
+more files, with the unique property that it can be unflattened
+(the original files restored) by feeding it through a standard
+Unix shell; thus, a sharchive can be distributed to anyone
+running Unix, and no special unpacking software is required.
+Sharchives are also intriguing in that they are typically created
+by shell scripts; the script that produces sharchives is thus a
+script which produces self-unpacking scripts, which may
+themselves contain scripts. (The downsides of sharchives are that
+they are an ideal venue for Trojan
+horse attacks and that, for recipients not running Unix,
+no simple un-sharchiving program is possible; sharchives can and
+do make use of arbitrarily-powerful shell features.) Sharchives
+are also commonly referred to as `shar files' after the name of
+the most common program for generating them.
+
+
+Node:Share and enjoy!, Next:shareware, Previous:sharchive, Up:= S = 
+
+Share and enjoy! imp.
+
+1. Commonly found at the end of software release announcements
+and README files, this phrase
+indicates allegiance to the hacker ethic of free information
+sharing (see hacker ethic,
+sense 1). 2. The motto of the complaints division of Sirius
+Cybernetics Corporation (the ultimate gaggle of incompetent suits) in Douglas Adams's "Hitch Hiker's
+Guide to the Galaxy". The irony of using this as a cultural
+recognition signal appeals to hackers.
+
+
+Node:shareware, Next:sharing violation, Previous:Share and enjoy!,
+Up:= S = 
+
+shareware /sheir'weir/ n.
+
+A kind of freeware (sense 1)
+for which the author requests some payment, usually in the
+accompanying documentation files or in an announcement made by
+the software itself. Such payment may or may not buy additional
+support or functionality. See also careware, charityware, crippleware, FRS, guiltware,
+postcardware, and -ware; compare payware.
+
+
+Node:sharing violation, Next:shebang, Previous:shareware, Up:= S = 
+
+sharing violation
+
+[From a file error common to several OSs] A response to receiving information, typically
+of an excessively personal nature, that you were probably happier
+not knowing. "You know those little noises that Pat makes in
+bed..?" "Whoa! Sharing violation!" In contrast to the original
+file error, which indicated that you were not being
+given data that you did want.
+
+
+Node:shebang, Next:shelfware, Previous:sharing violation, Up:= S = 
+
+shebang /sh*-bang/ n.
+
+The character sequence "#!" that frequently begins executable
+shell scripts under Unix. Probably derived from "shell bang"
+under the influence of American slang "the whole shebang"
+(everything, the works).
+
+
+Node:shelfware, Next:shell, Previous:shebang, Up:= S
+= 
+
+shelfware /shelf'weir/ n.
+
+Software purchased on a whim (by an individual user) or in
+accordance with policy (by a corporation or government agency),
+but not actually required for any particular use. Therefore, it
+often ends up on some shelf.
+
+
+Node:shell, Next:shell out, Previous:shelfware, Up:= S = 
+
+shell [orig. Multics
+n.
+
+techspeak, widely propagated via Unix] 1. [techspeak] The
+command interpreter used to pass commands to an operating system;
+so called because it is the part of the operating system that
+interfaces with the outside world. 2. More generally, any
+interface program that mediates access to a special resource or
+server for convenience, efficiency,
+or security reasons; for this meaning, the usage is usually `a
+shell around' whatever. This sort of program is also called a
+`wrapper'. 3. A skeleton program, created by hand or by another
+program (like, say, a parser generator), which provides the
+necessary incantations to set
+up some task and the control flow to drive it (the term driver is sometimes used synonymously).
+The user is meant to fill in whatever code is needed to get real
+work done. This usage is common in the AI and Microsoft Windows
+worlds, and confuses Unix hackers.
+
+Historical note: Apparently, the original Multics shell (sense
+1) was so called because it was a shell (sense 3); it ran user
+programs not by starting up separate processes, but by
+dynamically linking the programs into its own code, calling them
+as subroutines, and then dynamically de-linking them on return.
+The VMS command interpreter still does something very like
+this.
+
+
+Node:shell out, Next:shift left (or
+right) logical, Previous:shell, Up:= S
+= 
+
+shell out vi.
+
+[Unix] To spawn an interactive
+subshell from within a program (e.g., a mailer or editor). "Bang
+foo runs foo in a subshell, while bang alone shells out."
+
+
+Node:shift left
+(or right) logical, Next:shim,
+Previous:shell out,
+Up:= S = 
+
+shift left (or right) logical
+
+[from any of various machines' instruction sets] 1. vi. To
+move oneself to the left (right). To move out of the way. 2.
+imper. "Get out of that (my) seat! You can shift to that empty
+one to the left (right)." Often used without the `logical', or as
+`left shift' instead of `shift left'. Sometimes heard as LSH
+/lish/, from the PDP-10 instruction
+set. See Programmer's
+Cheer.
+
+
+Node:shim, Next:shitogram, Previous:shift left (or right)
+logical, Up:= S = 
+
+shim n.
+
+A small piece of data inserted in order to achieve a desired
+memory alignment or other addressing property. For example, the
+PDP-11 Unix linker, in split I&D (instructions and data)
+mode, inserts a two-byte shim at location 0 in data space so that
+no data object will have an address of 0 (and be confused with
+the C null pointer). See also loose
+bytes.
+
+
+Node:shitogram, Next:short card, Previous:shim, Up:= S =
+
+
+shitogram /shit'oh-gram/ n.
+
+A really nasty piece of email. Compare nastygram, flame.
+
+
+Node:short card, Next:shotgun debugging, Previous:shitogram, Up:= S = 
+
+short card n.
+
+A half-length IBM XT expansion card or adapter that will fit
+in one of the two short slots located towards the right rear of a
+standard chassis (tucked behind the floppy disk drives). See also
+tall card.
+
+
+Node:shotgun debugging, Next:shovelware, Previous:short card, Up:= S = 
+
+shotgun debugging n.
+
+The software equivalent of Easter egging; the making of
+relatively undirected changes to software in the hope that a bug
+will be perturbed out of existence. This almost never works, and
+usually introduces more bugs.
+
+
+Node:shovelware, Next:showstopper, Previous:shotgun debugging, Up:= S = 
+
+shovelware /shuh'v*l-weir`/ n.
+
+1. Extra software dumped onto a CD-ROM or tape to fill up the
+remaining space on the medium after the software distribution
+it's intended to carry, but not integrated with the distribution.
+2. A slipshod compilation of software dumped onto a CD-ROM
+without much care for organization or even usability.
+
+
+Node:showstopper, Next:shriek, Previous:shovelware, Up:= S = 
+
+showstopper n.
+
+A hardware or (especially) software bug that makes an
+implementation effectively unusable; one that absolutely has to
+be fixed before development can go on. Opposite in connotation
+from its original theatrical use, which refers to something
+stunningly good.
+
+
+Node:shriek, Next:Shub-Internet, Previous:showstopper, Up:= S = 
+
+shriek n.
+
+See excl. Occasional CMU usage,
+also in common use among APL fans and mathematicians, especially
+category theorists.
+
+
+Node:Shub-Internet, Next:sidecar, Previous:shriek, Up:=
+S = 
+
+Shub-Internet /shuhb' in't*r-net/ n.
+
+[MUD: from H. P. Lovecraft's evil fictional deity
+Shub-Niggurath, the Black Goat with a Thousand Young] The harsh
+personification of the Internet: Beast of a Thousand Processes,
+Eater of Characters, Avatar of Line Noise, and Imp of Call
+Waiting; the hideous multi-tendriled entity formed of all the
+manifold connections of the net. A sect of MUDders worships
+Shub-Internet, sacrificing objects and praying for good
+connections. To no avail -- its purpose is malign and evil, and
+is the cause of all network slowdown. Often heard as in "Freela
+casts a tac nuke at Shub-Internet for slowing her down." (A
+forged response often follows along the lines of: "Shub-Internet
+gulps down the tac nuke and burps happily.") Also cursed by users
+of the Web, FTP and TELNET when the system slows down. The dread
+name of Shub-Internet is seldom spoken aloud, as it is said that
+repeating it three times will cause the being to wake, deep
+within its lair beneath the Pentagon. Compare Random Number God.
+
+[January 1996: It develops that one of the computer
+administrators in the basement of the Pentagon read this entry
+and fell over laughing. As a result, you too can now poke
+Shub-Internet by pinging
+_shub-internet.ims.disa.mil_. See also kremvax. - ESR]
+
+[April 1999: shub-internet.ims.disa.mil is no more, alas. But
+Shub-Internet lives o^$#$*^ - ESR]
+
+
+Node:sidecar, Next:SIG, Previous:Shub-Internet, Up:= S = 
+
+sidecar n.
+
+1. Syn. slap on the
+side. Esp. used of add-ons for the late and unlamented
+IBM PCjr. 2. The IBM PC compatibility box that could be bolted
+onto the side of an Amiga. Designed and produced by Commodore, it
+broke all of the company's own design rules. If it worked with
+any other peripherals, it was by magic. 3. More generally, any of various devices
+designed to be connected to the expansion slot on the left side
+of the Amiga 500 (and later, 600 & 1200), which included a
+hard drive controller, a hard drive, and additional memory.
+
+
+Node:SIG, Next:sig block, Previous:sidecar, Up:= S
+= 
+
+SIG /sig/ n.
+
+(also common as a prefix in combining forms) A Special
+Interest Group, in one of several technical areas, sponsored by
+the Association for Computing Machinery; well-known ones include
+SIGPLAN (the Special Interest Group on Programming Languages),
+SIGARCH (the Special Interest Group for Computer Architecture)
+and SIGGRAPH (the Special Interest Group for Computer Graphics).
+Hackers, not surprisingly, like to overextend this naming
+convention to less formal associations like SIGBEER (at ACM
+conferences) and SIGFOOD (at University of Illinois).
+
+
+Node:sig block, Next:sig quote, Previous:SIG, Up:= S
+= 
+
+sig block /sig blok/ n.
+
+[Unix; often written `.sig' there] Short for `signature', used
+specifically to refer to the electronic signature block that most
+Unix mail- and news-posting software will automagically append to outgoing mail
+and news. The composition of one's sig can be quite an art form,
+including an ASCII logo or one's choice of witty sayings (see
+sig quote, fool file); but many consider large sigs a
+waste of bandwidth, and it has
+been observed that the size of one's sig block is usually
+inversely proportional to one's longevity and level of prestige
+on the net. See also doubled
+sig.
+
+
+Node:sig quote, Next:sig virus, Previous:sig block, Up:= S = 
+
+sig quote /sig kwoht/ n.
+
+[Usenet] A maxim, quote, proverb, joke, or slogan embedded in
+one's sig block and intended to
+convey something of one's philosophical stance, pet peeves, or
+sense of humor. "Calm down, it's only ones and zeroes."
+
+
+Node:sig virus, Next:signal-to-noise ratio,
+Previous:sig quote,
+Up:= S = 
+
+sig virus n.
+
+A parasitic meme embedded in a
+sig block. There was a meme plague or fad for these on
+Usenet in late 1991. Most were equivalents of "I am a .sig virus.
+Please reproduce me in your .sig block.". Of course, the .sig
+virus's memetic hook is the giggle value of going along with the
+gag; this, however, was a self-limiting phenomenon as more and
+more people picked up on the idea. There were creative variants
+on it; some people stuck `sig virus antibody' texts in their
+sigs, and there was at least one instance of a sig virus
+eater.
+
+
+Node:signal-to-noise ratio,
+Next:silicon, Previous:sig virus, Up:= S = 
+
+signal-to-noise ratio [from analog electronics] n.
+
+Used by hackers in a generalization of its technical meaning.
+`Signal' refers to useful information conveyed by some
+communications medium, and `noise' to anything else on that
+medium. Hence a low ratio implies that it is not worth paying
+attention to the medium in question. Figures for such
+metaphorical ratios are never given. The term is most often
+applied to Usenet newsgroups during
+flame wars. Compare bandwidth. See also coefficient of X, lost in the noise.
+
+
+Node:silicon, Next:silly walk, Previous:signal-to-noise ratio, Up:= S = 
+
+silicon n.
+
+Hardware, esp. ICs or microprocessor-based computer systems
+(compare iron). Contrasted with
+software. See also sandbender.
+
+
+Node:silly walk, Next:silo, Previous:silicon, Up:= S
+= 
+
+silly walk vi.
+
+[from Monty Python's Flying Circus] 1. A ridiculous procedure
+required to accomplish a task. Like grovel, but more random and humorous. "I had to silly-walk
+through half the /usr directories to find the maps file." 2. Syn.
+fandango on core.
+
+
+Node:silo, Next:Silver Book, Previous:silly walk, Up:= S = 
+
+silo n.
+
+The FIFO input-character buffer in an RS-232 line card. So
+called from DEC terminology used on DH
+and DZ line cards for the VAX and PDP-11, presumably because it
+was a storage space for fungible stuff that went in at the top
+and came out at the bottom.
+
+
+Node:Silver Book, Next:since time T
+equals minus infinity, Previous:silo, Up:= S =
+
+
+Silver Book n.
+
+Jensen and Wirth's infamous "Pascal User Manual and Report",
+so called because of the silver cover of the widely distributed
+Springer-Verlag second edition of 1978 (ISBN 0-387-90144-2). See
+book titles, Pascal.
+
+
+Node:since
+time T equals minus infinity, Next:sitename, Previous:Silver Book, Up:= S = 
+
+since time T equals minus infinity adv.
+
+A long time ago; for as long as anyone can remember; at the
+time that some particular frob was first designed. Usually the
+word `time' is omitted. See also time
+T; contrast epoch.
+
+
+Node:sitename, Next:skrog, Previous:since time T
+equals minus infinity, Up:=
+S = 
+
+sitename /si:t'naym/ n.
+
+[Unix/Internet] The unique electronic name of a computer
+system, used to identify it in UUCP mail, Usenet, or other forms
+of electronic information interchange. The folklore interest of
+sitenames stems from the creativity and humor they often display.
+Interpreting a sitename is not unlike interpreting a vanity
+license plate; one has to mentally unpack it, allowing for
+mono-case and length restrictions and the lack of whitespace.
+Hacker tradition deprecates dull, institutional-sounding names in
+favor of punchy, humorous, and clever coinages (except that it is
+considered appropriate for the official public gateway machine of
+an organization to bear the organization's name or acronym).
+Mythological references, cartoon characters, animal names, and
+allusions to SF or fantasy literature are probably the most
+popular sources for sitenames (in roughly descending order). The
+obligatory comment when discussing these is Harris's Lament: "All
+the good ones are taken!" See also network address.
+
+
+Node:skrog, Next:skulker, Previous:sitename, Up:=
+S = 
+
+skrog v.
+
+Syn. scrog.
+
+
+Node:skulker, Next:slab, Previous:skrog, Up:= S
+= 
+
+skulker n.
+
+Syn. prowler.
+
+
+Node:slab, Next:slack, Previous:skulker, Up:= S
+= 
+
+slab [Apple]
+
+1. n. A continuous horizontal line of pixels, all with the
+same color. 2. vi. To paint a slab on an output device. Apple's
+QuickDraw, like most other professional-level graphics systems,
+renders polygons and lines not with Bresenham's algorithm, but by
+calculating `slab points' for each scan line on the screen in
+succession, and then slabbing in the actual image pixels.
+
+
+Node:slack, Next:slap on the side, Previous:slab, Up:= S = 
+
+slack n.
+
+1. Space allocated to a disk file but not actually used to
+store useful information. The techspeak equivalent is `internal
+fragmentation'. Antonym: hole. 2. In
+the theology of the Church of the SubGenius,
+a mystical substance or quality that is the prerequisite of all
+human happiness.
+
+Since Unix files are stored compactly, except for the
+unavoidable wastage in the last block or fragment, it might be
+said that "Unix has no slack". See ha ha only serious.
+
+
+Node:slap on the side,
+Next:slash, Previous:slack, Up:= S = 
+
+slap on the side n.
+
+(also called a sidecar, or
+abbreviated `SOTS'.) A type of external expansion hardware
+marketed by computer manufacturers (e.g., Commodore for the Amiga
+500/1000 series and IBM for the hideous failure called `PCjr').
+Various SOTS boxes provided necessities such as memory, hard
+drive controllers, and conventional expansion slots.
+
+
+Node:slash, Next:slashdot effect, Previous:slap on the side,
+Up:= S = 
+
+slash n.
+
+Common name for the slant (`/', ASCII 0101111) character. See
+ASCII for other synonyms.
+
+
+Node:slashdot effect, Next:sleep, Previous:slash, Up:= S
+= 
+
+slashdot effect n.
+
+1. Also spelled "/. effect"; what is said to have happened
+when a website being virtually unreachable because too many
+people are hitting it after the site was mentioned in an
+interesting article on the popular Slashdot news service. The term is
+quite widely used by /. readers, including variants like "That
+site has been slashdotted again!" 2. In a perhaps inevitable
+generation, the term is being used to describe any similar effect
+from being listed on a popular site. This would better be
+described as a flash
+crowd.
+
+
+Node:sleep, Next:slim, Previous:slashdot effect, Up:= S = 
+
+sleep vi.
+
+1. [techspeak] To relinquish a claim (of a process on a
+multitasking system) for service; to indicate to the scheduler
+that a process may be deactivated until some given event occurs
+or a specified time delay elapses. 2. In jargon, used very
+similarly to v. block; also in `sleep
+on', syn. with `block on'. Often used to indicate that the
+speaker has relinquished a demand for resources until some
+(possibly unspecified) external event: "They can't get the fix
+I've been asking for into the next release, so I'm going to sleep
+on it until the release, then start hassling them again."
+
+
+Node:slim, Next:slop, Previous:sleep, Up:= S
+= 
+
+slim n.
+
+A small, derivative change (e.g., to code).
+
+
+Node:slop, Next:slopsucker, Previous:slim, Up:= S =
+
+
+slop n.
+
+1. A one-sided fudge
+factor, that is, an allowance for error but in only one
+of two directions. For example, if you need a piece of wire 10
+feet long and have to guess when you cut it, you make very sure
+to cut it too long, by a large amount if necessary, rather than
+too short by even a little bit, because you can always cut off
+the slop but you can't paste it back on again. When discrete
+quantities are involved, slop is often introduced to avoid the
+possibility of being on the losing side of a fencepost error. 2. The percentage
+of `extra' code generated by a compiler over the size of
+equivalent assembler code produced by hand-hacking; i.e., the space (or maybe
+time) you lose because you didn't do it yourself. This number is
+often used as a measure of the goodness of a compiler; slop below
+5% is very good, and 10% is usually acceptable. With modern
+compiler technology, esp. on RISC machines, the compiler's slop
+may actually be negative; that is, humans may be unable
+to generate code as good. This is one of the reasons assembler
+programming is no longer common.
+
+
+Node:slopsucker, Next:Slowlaris, Previous:slop, Up:= S =
+
+
+slopsucker /slop'suhk-r/ n.
+
+A lowest-priority task that waits around until everything else
+has `had its fill' of machine resources. Only when the machine
+would otherwise be idle is the task allowed to `suck up the
+slop'. Also called a `hungry puppy' or `bottom feeder'. One
+common variety of slopsucker hunts for large prime numbers.
+Compare background.
+
+
+Node:Slowlaris, Next:slurp, Previous:slopsucker, Up:= S = 
+
+Slowlaris /slo'-lahr-is/ n.
+
+[Usenet; poss. from the variety of prosimian called a "slow
+loris". The variant `Slowlartus' is also common, related to LART] Common hackish term for Solaris, Sun's
+System VR4 version of UNIX that came out of the standardization
+wars of the early 1990s. So named because especially on older
+hardware, responsiveness was much less crisp than under the
+preceding SunOS. Early releases of Solaris (that is, Solaris 2,
+as some marketroids at Sun
+retroactively rechristened SunOS as Solaris 1) were quite buggy,
+and Sun was forced by customer demand to support SunOS for quite
+some time. Newer versions are acknowledged to be among the best
+commercial UNIX variants in 1998, but still lose single-processor
+benchmarks to Sparc Linux. Compare
+AIDX, HP-SUX, Nominal Semidestructor, Telerat, sun-stools.
+
+
+Node:slurp, Next:smart, Previous:Slowlaris, Up:= S = 
+
+slurp vt.
+
+To read a large data file entirely into core before working on it. This may be contrasted
+with the strategy of reading a small piece at a time, processing
+it, and then reading the next piece. "This program slurps in a
+1K-by-1K matrix and does an FFT." See also sponge.
+
+
+Node:smart, Next:smart terminal, Previous:slurp, Up:= S = 
+
+smart adj.
+
+Said of a program that does the Right Thing in a wide variety of
+complicated circumstances. There is a difference between calling
+a program smart and calling it intelligent; in particular, there
+do not exist any intelligent programs (yet -- see AI-complete). Compare robust (smart programs can be brittle).
+
+
+Node:smart terminal, Next:smash case, Previous:smart, Up:= S = 
+
+smart terminal n.
+
+1. A terminal that has enough computing capability to render
+graphics or to offload some kind of front-end processing from the
+computer it talks to. The development of workstations and
+personal computers has made this term and the product it
+describes semi-obsolescent, but one may still hear variants of
+the phrase `act like a smart terminal' used to describe the
+behavior of workstations or PCs with respect to programs that
+execute almost entirely out of a remote server's storage, using local devices as
+displays. 2. obs. Any terminal with an addressable cursor; the
+opposite of a glass tty. Today,
+a terminal with merely an addressable cursor, but with none of
+the more-powerful features mentioned in sense 1, is called a
+dumb terminal.
+
+There is a classic quote from Rob Pike (inventor of the blit terminal): "A smart terminal is not a
+smartass terminal, but rather a terminal you can
+educate." This illustrates a common design problem: The attempt
+to make peripherals (or anything else) intelligent sometimes
+results in finicky, rigid `special features' that become just so
+much dead weight if you try to use the device in any way the
+designer didn't anticipate. Flexibility and programmability, on
+the other hand, are really smart. Compare hook.
+
+
+Node:smash case, Next:smash the stack, Previous:smart terminal, Up:= S = 
+
+smash case vi.
+
+To lose or obliterate the uppercase/lowercase distinction in
+text input. "MS-DOS will automatically smash case in the names of
+all the files you create." Compare fold
+case.
+
+
+Node:smash the stack, Next:smiley, Previous:smash case, Up:= S = 
+
+smash the stack n.
+
+[C programming] To corrupt the execution stack by writing past
+the end of a local array or other data structure. Code that
+smashes the stack can cause a return from the routine to jump to
+a random address, resulting in some of the most insidious
+data-dependent bugs known to mankind. Variants include `trash'
+the stack, scribble the stack,
+mangle the stack; the term **mung the stack is not used, as this is never
+done intentionally. See spam; see also
+aliasing bug, fandango on core, memory leak, memory smash, precedence lossage, overrun screw.
+
+
+Node:smiley, Next:smoke, Previous:smash the stack, Up:= S = 
+
+smiley n.
+
+See emoticon.
+
+
+Node:smoke, Next:smoke and mirrors, Previous:smiley, Up:= S = 
+
+smoke vi.
+
+1. To crash or blow up, usually
+spectacularly. "The new version smoked, just like the last one."
+Used for both hardware (where it often describes an actual
+physical event), and software (where it's merely colorful). 2.
+[from automotive slang] To be conspicuously fast. "That processor
+really smokes." Compare magic
+smoke.
+
+
+Node:smoke and mirrors,
+Next:smoke test,
+Previous:smoke, Up:= S = 
+
+smoke and mirrors n.
+
+Marketing deceptions. The term is mainstream in this general
+sense. Among hackers it's strongly associated with bogus demos
+and crocked benchmarks (see also
+MIPS, machoflops). "They claim their new box
+cranks 50 MIPS for under $5000, but didn't specify the
+instruction mix -- sounds like smoke and mirrors to me." The
+phrase, popularized by newspaper columnist Jimmy Breslin c.1975,
+has been said to derive from carnie slang for magic acts and
+`freak show' displays that depend on `trompe l'oeil' effects, but
+also calls to mind the fierce Aztec god Tezcatlipoca (lit.
+"Smoking Mirror") for whom the hearts of huge numbers of human
+sacrificial victims were regularly cut out. Upon hearing about a
+rigged demo or yet another round of fantasy-based marketing
+promises, hackers often feel analogously disheartened. See also
+stealth manager.
+
+
+Node:smoke test, Next:smoking clover, Previous:smoke and mirrors,
+Up:= S = 
+
+smoke test n.
+
+1. A rudimentary form of testing applied to electronic
+equipment following repair or reconfiguration, in which power is
+applied and the tester checks for sparks, smoke, or other
+dramatic signs of fundamental failure. See magic smoke. 2. By extension, the first
+run of a piece of software after construction or a critical
+change. See and compare reality
+check.
+
+There is an interesting semi-parallel to this term among
+typographers and printers: When new typefaces are being punch-cut
+by hand, a `smoke test' (hold the letter in candle smoke, then
+press it onto paper) is used to check out new dies.
+
+
+Node:smoking clover, Next:smoot, Previous:smoke test, Up:= S = 
+
+smoking clover n.
+
+[ITS] A display hack
+originally due to Bill Gosper. Many convergent lines are drawn on
+a color monitor in such a way that every pixel struck has its
+color incremented. The lines all have one endpoint in the middle
+of the screen; the other endpoints are spaced one pixel apart
+around the perimeter of a large square. The color map is then
+repeatedly rotated. This results in a striking, rainbow-hued,
+shimmering four-leaf clover. Gosper joked about keeping it hidden
+from the FDA (the U.S.'s Food and Drug Administration) lest its
+hallucinogenic properties cause it to be banned.
+
+
+Node:smoot, Next:SMOP, Previous:smoking clover, Up:= S = 
+
+smoot /smoot/ n.
+
+[MIT] A unit of length equal five feet seven inches. The
+length of the Harvard Bridge in Boston is famously 364.4 smoots
+plus or minus an ear (the ear stands for epsilon). This legend began with a fraternity
+prank in 1958 during which the body length of Oliver Smoot (class
+of '62) was actually used to measure out that distance. It is
+commemorated by smoot marks that MIT students repaint every few
+years; the tradition even survived the demolition and rebuilding
+of the bridge in the late 1980s. The Boston police have been
+known to use smoot markers to indicate accident locations on the
+bridge.
+
+
+Node:SMOP, Next:smurf, Previous:smoot, Up:= S
+= 
+
+SMOP /S-M-O-P/ n.
+
+[Simple (or Small) Matter of Programming] 1. A piece of code,
+not yet written, whose anticipated length is significantly
+greater than its complexity. Used to refer to a program that
+could obviously be written, but is not worth the trouble. Also
+used ironically to imply that a difficult problem can be easily
+solved because a program can be written to do it; the irony is
+that it is very clear that writing such a program will be a great
+deal of work. "It's easy to enhance a FORTRAN compiler to compile
+COBOL as well; it's just an SMOP." 2. Often used ironically by
+the intended victim when a suggestion for a program is made which
+seems easy to the suggester, but is obviously (to the victim) a
+lot of work.
+
+
+Node:smurf, Next:SNAFU principle, Previous:SMOP, Up:= S = 
+
+smurf /smerf/ n.
+
+1. [from the _soc.motss_ newsgroup on Usenet, after some
+obnoxiously gooey cartoon characters] A newsgroup regular with a
+habitual style that is irreverent, silly, and _cute_. Like
+many other hackish terms for people, this one may be praise or
+insult depending on who uses it. In general, being referred to as
+a smurf is probably not going to make your day unless you've
+previously adopted the label yourself in a spirit of irony.
+Compare old fart. 2. [techspeak]
+A ping packet with a forged source address sent to some other
+network's broadcast address. All the machines on the destination
+network will send a ping response to the forged source address
+(the victim). This both overloads the victim's network and hides
+the location of the attacker.
+
+
+Node:SNAFU principle, Next:snail, Previous:smurf, Up:= S
+= 
+
+SNAFU principle /sna'foo prin'si-pl/ n.
+
+[from a WWII Army acronym for `Situation Normal, All Fucked
+Up'] "True communication is possible only between equals, because
+inferiors are more consistently rewarded for telling their
+superiors pleasant lies than for telling the truth." -- a central
+tenet of Discordianism, often
+invoked by hackers to explain why authoritarian hierarchies screw
+up so reliably and systematically. The effect of the SNAFU
+principle is a progressive disconnection of decision-makers from
+reality. This lightly adapted version of a fable dating back to
+the early 1960s illustrates the phenomenon perfectly:
+
+In the beginning was the plan,
+
+ and then the specification;
+
+And the plan was without form,
+
+ and the specification was void.
+
+And darkness
+
+ was on the faces of the implementors thereof;
+
+And they spake unto their leader,
+
+ saying:
+
+"It is a crock of shit,
+
+ and smells as of a sewer."
+
+
+And the leader took pity on them,
+
+ and spoke to the project leader:
+
+"It is a crock of excrement,
+
+ and none may abide the odor thereof."
+
+
+And the project leader
+
+ spake unto his section head, saying:
+
+"It is a container of excrement,
+
+ and it is very strong, such that none may abide it."
+
+
+The section head then hurried to his department manager,
+
+ and informed him thus:
+
+"It is a vessel of fertilizer,
+
+ and none may abide its strength."
+
+
+The department manager carried these words
+
+ to his general manager,
+
+and spoke unto him
+
+ saying:
+
+"It containeth that which aideth the growth of plants,
+
+ and it is very strong."
+
+
+And so it was that the general manager rejoiced
+
+ and delivered the good news unto the Vice President.
+
+"It promoteth growth,
+
+ and it is very powerful."
+
+
+The Vice President rushed to the President's side,
+
+ and joyously exclaimed:
+
+"This powerful new software product
+
+ will promote the growth of the company!"
+
+
+And the President looked upon the product,
+
+ and saw that it was very good.
+
+
+
+After the subsequent and inevitable disaster, the suits protect themselves by saying "I was
+misinformed!", and the implementors are demoted or fired. Compare
+Conway's Law.
+
+
+Node:snail, Next:snail-mail, Previous:SNAFU principle, Up:= S = 
+
+snail vt.
+
+To snail-mail something.
+"Snail me a copy of those graphics, will you?"
+
+
+Node:snail-mail, Next:snap, Previous:snail, Up:= S
+= 
+
+snail-mail n.
+
+Paper mail, as opposed to electronic. Sometimes written as the
+single word `SnailMail'. One's postal address is,
+correspondingly, a `snail address'. Derives from earlier coinage
+`USnail' (from `U.S. Mail'), for which there have even been
+parody posters and stamps made. Also (less commonly) called
+`P-mail', from `paper mail' or `physical mail'. Oppose email.
+
+
+Node:snap, Next:snarf, Previous:snail-mail, Up:= S = 
+
+snap v.
+
+To replace a pointer to a pointer with a direct pointer; to
+replace an old address with the forwarding address found there.
+If you telephone the main number for an institution and ask for a
+particular person by name, the operator may tell you that
+person's extension before connecting you, in the hopes that you
+will `snap your pointer' and dial direct next time. The
+underlying metaphor may be that of a rubber band stretched
+through a number of intermediate points; if you remove all the
+thumbtacks in the middle, it snaps into a straight line from
+first to last. See chase
+pointers.
+
+Often, the behavior of a trampoline is to perform an error check
+once and then snap the pointer that invoked it so as henceforth
+to bypass the trampoline (and its one-shot error check). In this
+context one also speaks of `snapping links'. For example, in a
+LISP implementation, a function interface trampoline might check
+to make sure that the caller is passing the correct number of
+arguments; if it is, and if the caller and the callee are both
+compiled, then snapping the link allows that particular path to
+use a direct procedure-call instruction with no further
+overhead.
+
+
+Node:snarf, Next:snarf & barf, Previous:snap, Up:= S = 
+
+snarf /snarf/ vt.
+
+1. To grab, esp. to grab a large document or file for the
+purpose of using it with or without the author's permission. See
+also BLT. 2. [in the Unix community] To
+fetch a file or set of files across a network. See also blast. This term was mainstream in the late
+1960s, meaning `to eat piggishly'. It may still have this
+connotation in context. "He's in the snarfing phase of hacking --
+FTPing megs of stuff a day." 3. To
+acquire, with little concern for legal forms or _politesse_
+(but not quite by stealing). "They were giving away samples, so I
+snarfed a bunch of them." 4. Syn. for slurp. "This program starts by snarfing the
+entire database into core, then...." 5. [GEnie] To
+spray food or programming
+fluids due to laughing at the wrong moment. "I was
+drinking coffee, and when I read your post I snarfed all over my
+desk." "If I keep reading this topic, I think I'll have to
+snarf-proof my computer with a keyboard condom." [This sense appears to be widespread
+among mundane teenagers --ESR]
+
+
+Node:snarf & barf, Next:snarf down, Previous:snarf, Up:= S = 
+
+snarf & barf /snarf'n-barf`/ n.
+
+Under a WIMP
+environment, the act of grabbing a region of text and
+then stuffing the contents of that region into another region (or
+the same one) to avoid retyping a command line. In the late
+1960s, this was a mainstream expression for an `eat now, regret
+it later' cheap-restaurant expedition.
+
+
+Node:snarf down, Next:snark, Previous:snarf & barf, Up:= S = 
+
+snarf down v.
+
+To snarf, with the connotation of
+absorbing, processing, or understanding. "I'll snarf down the
+latest version of the nethack
+user's guide -- it's been a while since I played last and I don't
+know what's changed recently."
+
+
+Node:snark, Next:sneaker, Previous:snarf down, Up:= S = 
+
+snark n.
+
+[Lewis Carroll, via the Michigan Terminal System] 1. A system
+failure. When a user's process bombed, the operator would get the
+message "Help, Help, Snark in MTS!" 2. More generally, any kind
+of unexplained or threatening event on a computer (especially if
+it might be a boojum). Often used to refer to an event or a log
+file entry that might indicate an attempted security violation.
+See snivitz. 3. UUCP name of
+_snark.thyrsus.com_, home site of the Jargon File versions
+from 2.*.* on (i.e., this lexicon).
+
+
+Node:sneaker, Next:sneakernet, Previous:snark, Up:= S
+= 
+
+sneaker n.
+
+An individual hired to break into places in order to test
+their security; analogous to tiger
+team. Compare samurai.
+
+
+Node:sneakernet, Next:sniff, Previous:sneaker, Up:= S
+= 
+
+sneakernet /snee'ker-net/ n.
+
+Term used (generally with ironic intent) for transfer of
+electronic information by physically carrying tape, disks, or
+some other media from one machine to another. "Never
+underestimate the bandwidth of a station wagon filled with
+magtape, or a 747 filled with CD-ROMs." Also called `Tennis-Net',
+`Armpit-Net', `Floppy-Net' or `Shoenet'; in the 1990s, `Nike
+network' after a well-known sneaker brand.
+
+
+Node:sniff, Next:snivitz, Previous:sneakernet, Up:= S = 
+
+sniff v.,n.
+
+1. To watch IP packets traversing a local network. Most often
+in the phrase `packet sniffer', a program for doing same.
+2.Synonym for poll.
+
+
+Node:snivitz, Next:'Snooze, Previous:sniff, Up:= S
+= 
+
+snivitz /sniv'itz/ n.
+
+A hiccup in hardware or software; a small, transient problem
+of unknown origin (less serious than a snark). Compare glitch.
+
+
+Node:'Snooze, Next:SO, Previous:snivitz, Up:= S
+= 
+
+'Snooze /snooz/ [FidoNet] n.
+
+Fidonews, the weekly official on-line newsletter of FidoNet.
+As the editorial policy of Fidonews is "anything that arrives, we
+print", there are often large articles completely unrelated to
+FidoNet, which in turn tend to elicit flamage in subsequent issues.
+
+
+Node:SO, Next:social engineering, Previous:'Snooze, Up:= S = 
+
+SO /S-O/ n.
+
+1. (also `S.O.') Abbrev. for Significant Other, almost
+invariably written abbreviated and pronounced /S-O/ by hackers.
+Used to refer to one's primary relationship, esp. a live-in to
+whom one is not married. See MOTAS,
+MOTOS, MOTSS. 2. [techspeak] The Shift Out control
+character in ASCII (Control-N, 0001110).
+
+
+Node:social engineering,
+Next:social
+science number, Previous:SO,
+Up:= S = 
+
+social engineering n.
+
+Term used among crackers and
+samurai for cracking techniques
+that rely on weaknesses in wetware
+rather than software; the aim is to trick people into revealing
+passwords or other information that compromises a target system's
+security. Classic scams include phoning up a mark who has the
+required information and posing as a field service tech or a
+fellow employee with an urgent access problem. See also the tiger team story in the patch entry.
+
+
+Node:social science
+number, Next:sock
+puppet, Previous:social engineering, Up:= S = 
+
+social science number n. //
+
+[IBM] A statistic that is content-free, or nearly so. A measure
+derived via methods of questionable validity from data of a
+dubious and vague nature. Predictively, having a social science
+number in hand is seldom much better than nothing, and can be
+considerably worse. As a rule, management loves them. See also numbers, math-out, pretty pictures.
+
+
+Node:sock puppet, Next:sodium substrate, Previous:social science
+number, Up:= S = 
+
+sock puppet n.
+
+[Usenet: from the act of placing a sock over your hand and
+talking to it and pretending it's talking back] In Usenet
+parlance, a pseudo through which the
+puppeteer posts follow-ups to their own original message to give
+the appearance that a number of people support the views held in
+the original message.
+
+
+Node:sodium substrate, Next:soft boot, Previous:sock puppet, Up:= S = 
+
+sodium substrate n.
+
+Syn salt substrate.
+
+
+Node:soft boot, Next:softcopy, Previous:sodium substrate, Up:= S = 
+
+soft boot n.
+
+See boot.
+
+
+Node:softcopy, Next:software bloat, Previous:soft boot, Up:= S = 
+
+softcopy /soft'kop-ee/ n.
+
+[by analogy with `hardcopy'] A machine-readable form of
+corresponding hardcopy. See bits,
+machinable.
+
+
+Node:software bloat, Next:software hoarding,
+Previous:softcopy, Up:= S = 
+
+software bloat n.
+
+The results of second-system effect or creeping featuritis.
+Commonly cited examples include ls(1), X, BSD, Missed'em-five, and OS/2.
+
+
+Node:software hoarding, Next:software laser,
+Previous:software
+bloat, Up:= S = 
+
+software hoarding n.
+
+Pejorative term employed by members and adherents of the GNU project to describe the act of holding
+software proprietary, keeping it under trade secret or license
+terms which prohibit free redistribution and modification. Used
+primarily in Free Software Foundation propaganda. For a summary
+of related issues, see GNU.
+
+
+Node:software laser, Next:software rot, Previous:software hoarding,
+Up:= S = 
+
+software laser n.
+
+An optical laser works by bouncing photons back and forth
+between two mirrors, one totally reflective and one partially
+reflective. If the lasing material (usually a crystal) has the
+right properties, photons scattering off the atoms in the crystal
+will excite cascades of more photons, all in lockstep. Eventually
+the beam will escape through the partially-reflective mirror. One
+kind of sorcerer's
+apprentice mode involving bounce messages can produce closely
+analogous results, with a cascade
+of messages escaping to flood nearby systems. By mid-1993 there
+had been at least two publicized incidents of this kind.
+
+
+Node:software rot, Next:softwarily, Previous:software laser, Up:= S = 
+
+software rot n.
+
+Term used to describe the tendency of software that has not
+been used in a while to lose; such
+failure may be semi-humorously ascribed to bit rot. More commonly, `software rot'
+strikes when a program's assumptions become out of date. If the
+design was insufficiently robust,
+this may cause it to fail in mysterious ways. Syn. `code rot'.
+See also link rot.
+
+For example, owing to endemic shortsightedness in the design
+of COBOL programs, a good number of them succumbed to software
+rot when their 2-digit year counters underwent wrap around at the beginning of the year
+2000. Actually, related lossages often afflict centenarians who
+have to deal with computer software designed by unimaginative
+clods. One such incident became the focus of a minor public flap
+in 1990, when a gentleman born in 1889 applied for a driver's
+license renewal in Raleigh, North Carolina. The new system
+refused to issue the card, probably because with 2-digit years
+the ages 101 and 1 cannot be distinguished.
+
+Historical note: Software rot in an even funnier sense than
+the mythical one was a real problem on early research computers
+(e.g., the R1; see grind
+crank). If a program that depended on a peculiar
+instruction hadn't been run in quite a while, the user might
+discover that the opcodes no longer did the same things they once
+did. ("Hey, so-and-so needs an instruction to do such-and-such.
+We can snarf this opcode, right? No
+one uses it.")
+
+Another classic example of this sprang from the time an MIT
+hacker found a simple way to double the speed of the
+unconditional jump instruction on a PDP-6, so he patched the
+hardware. Unfortunately, this broke some fragile timing software
+in a music-playing program, throwing its output out of tune. This
+was fixed by adding a defensive initialization routine to compare
+the speed of a timing loop with the real-time clock; in other
+words, it figured out how fast the PDP-6 was that day, and
+corrected appropriately.
+
+Compare bit rot.
+
+
+Node:softwarily, Next:softy, Previous:software rot, Up:= S = 
+
+softwarily /soft-weir'i-lee/ adv.
+
+In a way pertaining to software. "The system is softwarily
+unreliable." The adjective **`softwary' is not used. See
+hardwarily.
+
+
+Node:softy, Next:some random X, Previous:softwarily, Up:= S = 
+
+softy n.
+
+[IBM] Hardware hackers' term for a software expert who is
+largely ignorant of the mysteries of hardware.
+
+
+Node:some random X, Next:sorcerer's
+apprentice mode, Previous:softy, Up:= S
+= 
+
+some random X adj.
+
+Used to indicate a member of class X, with the implication
+that Xs are interchangeable. "I think some random cracker tripped
+over the guest timeout last night." See also J. Random.
+
+
+Node:sorcerer's
+apprentice mode, Next:SOS,
+Previous:some random
+X, Up:= S = 
+
+sorcerer's apprentice mode n.
+
+[from Goethe's "Der Zauberlehrling" via Paul Dukas's
+"L'apprenti sorcier" the film "Fantasia"] A bug in a protocol
+where, under some circumstances, the receipt of a message causes
+multiple messages to be sent, each of which, when received,
+triggers the same bug. Used esp. of such behavior caused by bounce message loops in email software. Compare broadcast storm, network meltdown, software laser, ARMM.
+
+
+Node:SOS, Next:source, Previous:sorcerer's apprentice mode,
+Up:= S = 
+
+SOS /S-O-S/
+
+n.,obs. An infamously losing text
+editor. Once, back in the 1960s, when a text editor was needed
+for the PDP-6, a hacker crufted together a quick-and-dirty `stopgap editor' to be
+used until a better one was written. Unfortunately, the old one
+was never really discarded when new ones came along. SOS is a
+descendant (`Son of Stopgap') of that editor, and many PDP-10
+users gained the dubious pleasure of its acquaintance. Since then
+other programs similar in style to SOS have been written, notably
+the early font editor BILOS /bye'lohs/, the Brother-In-Law Of
+Stopgap (the alternate expansion `Bastard Issue, Loins of
+Stopgap' has been proposed).
+
+
+Node:source, Next:source of all good bits,
+Previous:SOS, Up:= S = 
+
+source n.
+
+[very common] In reference to software, `source' is invariably
+shorthand for `source code', the preferred human-readable and
+human-modifiable form of the program. This is as opposed to
+object code, the derived binary executable form of a program.
+This shorthand readily takes derivative forms; one may speak of
+"the sources of a system" or of "having source".
+
+
+Node:source of all good
+bits, Next:space-cadet keyboard, Previous:source, Up:= S = 
+
+source of all good bits n.
+
+A person from whom (or a place from which) useful information
+may be obtained. If you need to know about a program, a guru might be the source of all good bits.
+The title is often applied to a particularly competent
+secretary.
+
+
+Node:space-cadet keyboard,
+Next:spaceship
+operator, Previous:source of all good bits,
+Up:= S = 
+
+space-cadet keyboard n.
+
+A now-legendary device used on MIT LISP machines, which
+inspired several still-current jargon terms and influenced the
+design of EMACS. It was equipped with
+no fewer than seven shift keys: four keys for bucky bits (`control', `meta',
+`hyper', and `super') and three like regular shift keys, called
+`shift', `top', and `front'. Many keys had three symbols on them:
+a letter and a symbol on the top, and a Greek letter on the
+front. For example, the `L' key had an `L' and a two-way arrow on
+the top, and the Greek letter lambda on the front. By pressing
+this key with the right hand while playing an appropriate `chord'
+with the left hand on the shift keys, you could get the following
+results:
+
+
+
+L
+
+
+lowercase l
+
+
+shift-L
+
+
+uppercase L
+
+
+front-L
+
+
+lowercase lambda
+
+
+front-shift-L
+
+
+uppercase lambda
+
+
+top-L
+
+
+two-way arrow (front and shift are ignored)
+
+
+And of course each of these might also be typed with any
+combination of the control, meta, hyper, and super keys. On this
+keyboard, you could type over 8000 different characters! This
+allowed the user to type very complicated mathematical text, and
+also to have thousands of single-character commands at his
+disposal. Many hackers were actually willing to memorize the
+command meanings of that many characters if it reduced typing
+time (this attitude obviously shaped the interface of EMACS).
+Other hackers, however, thought having that many bucky bits was
+overkill, and objected that such a keyboard can require three or
+four hands to operate. See bucky
+bits, cokebottle, double bucky, meta bit, quadruple bucky.
+
+Note: early versions of this entry incorrectly identified the
+space-cadet keyboard with the `Knight keyboard'. Though both were
+designed by Tom Knight, the latter term was properly applied only
+to a keyboard used for ITS on the PDP-10 and modeled on the
+Stanford keyboard (as described under bucky bits). The true space-cadet
+keyboard evolved from the first Knight keyboard.
+
+
+Node:spaceship operator,
+Next:SPACEWAR, Previous:space-cadet
+keyboard, Up:= S = 
+
+spaceship operator n.
+
+The glyph <=>, so-called apparently because
+in the low-resolution constant-width font used on many terminals
+it vaguely resembles a flying saucer. Perl uses this to denote the signum-of-difference
+operation.
+
+
+Node:SPACEWAR, Next:spaghetti code, Previous:spaceship operator,
+Up:= S = 
+
+SPACEWAR n.
+
+A space-combat simulation game, inspired by E. E. "Doc"
+Smith's "Lensman" books, in which two spaceships duel around a
+central sun, shooting torpedoes at each other and jumping through
+hyperspace. This game was first implemented on the PDP-1 at MIT
+in 1962. In 1968-69, a descendant of the game motivated Ken
+Thompson to build, in his spare time on a scavenged PDP-7, the
+operating system that became Unix.
+Less than nine years after that, SPACEWAR was commercialized as
+one of the first video games; descendants are still feeping in video arcades everywhere.
+
+
+Node:spaghetti code, Next:spaghetti inheritance,
+Previous:SPACEWAR, Up:= S = 
+
+spaghetti code n.
+
+Code with a complex and tangled control structure, esp. one
+using many GOTOs, exceptions, or other `unstructured' branching
+constructs. Pejorative. The synonym `kangaroo code' has been
+reported, doubtless because such code has so many jumps in
+it.
+
+
+Node:spaghetti inheritance,
+Next:spam, Previous:spaghetti code, Up:= S = 
+
+spaghetti inheritance n.
+
+[encountered among users of object-oriented languages that use
+inheritance, such as Smalltalk] A convoluted class-subclass
+graph, often resulting from carelessly deriving subclasses from
+other classes just for the sake of reusing their code. Coined in
+a (successful) attempt to discourage such practice, through
+guilt-by-association with spaghetti code.
+
+
+Node:spam, Next:spam bait, Previous:spaghetti inheritance, Up:= S = 
+
+spam vt.,vi.,n.
+
+[from "Monty Python's Flying Circus"] 1. To crash a program by
+overrunning a fixed-size buffer with excessively large input
+data. See also buffer
+overflow, overrun
+screw, smash the
+stack. 2. To cause a newsgroup to be flooded with
+irrelevant or inappropriate messages. You can spam a newsgroup
+with as little as one well- (or ill-) planned message (e.g.
+asking "What do you think of abortion?" on _soc.women_).
+This is often done with cross-posting (e.g. any message which is
+crossposted to _alt.rush-limbaugh_ and
+_alt.politics.homosexuality_ will almost inevitably spam
+both groups). This overlaps with troll behavior; the latter more specific term
+has become more common. 3. To send many identical or
+nearly-identical messages separately to a large number of Usenet
+newsgroups. This is more specifically called `ECP', Excessive
+Cross-Posting. This is one sure way to infuriate nearly everyone
+on the Net. See also velveeta and
+jello. 4. To bombard a newsgroup with
+multiple copies of a message. This is more specifically called
+`EMP', Excessive Multi-Posting. 5. To mass-mail unrequested
+identical or nearly-identical email messages, particularly those
+containing advertising. Especially used when the mail addresses
+have been culled from network traffic or databases without the
+consent of the recipients. Synonyms include UCE, UBE. 6. Any large,
+annoying, quantity of output. For instance, someone on IRC who
+walks away from their screen and comes back to find 200 lines of
+text might say "Oh no, spam".
+
+The later definitions have become much more prevalent as the
+Internet has opened up to non-techies, and to most people senses
+3 4 and 5 are now primary. All three behaviors are considered
+abuse of the net, and are almost universally grounds for
+termination of the originator's email account or network
+connection. In these senses the term `spam' has gone mainstream,
+though without its original sense or folkloric freight - there is
+apparently a widespread myth among lusers that "spamming" is what happens when you
+dump cans of Spam into a revolving fan.
+
+
+Node:spam bait, Next:spamblock, Previous:spam, Up:= S =
+
+
+spam bait n.
+
+Email addresses included in, or comprising the entirety of, a
+usenet message so that spammers mining a newsgroup with an address harvester will
+collect them. These addresses can be people who have offended or
+annoyed the poster, or who are included so that a spammer will
+spam an official, thereby causing himself trouble. One
+particularly effective form of spam bait is the address of a
+teergrube.
+
+
+Node:spamblock, Next:spamhaus, Previous:spam bait, Up:= S = 
+
+spamblock /spam'blok/ n.
+
+[poss. by analogy to sunblock] Text inserted in an email
+address to render it invalid and thus useless to spammers. For
+example, the address `jrandom@hacker.org' might be transformed to
+`jrandom@NOSPAM.hacker.org'. Adding spamblock to an address is
+often referred to as `munging' it (see munge)-. This evasion tactic depends on the fact
+that most spammers collect names with some sort of address harvester on volumes too
+high to de-mung by hand, but individual humans reading an email
+message can readily spot and remove a spamblock in the from
+address.
+
+Note: This is not actually a very effective tactic, and may
+already be passing out of use in early 1999 after about two years
+of life. In both mail and news, it's essentially impossible to
+keep a smart address harvester from mining out the addresses in
+the message header and trace lines. Therefore the only people who
+can be protected are third parties mentioned by email address in
+the message - not a common enough case to interest spammers.
+
+
+Node:spamhaus, Next:spamvertize, Previous:spamblock, Up:= S = 
+
+spamhaus spam'hows n.
+
+Pejorative term for an internet service provider that permits
+or even encourages spam mailings from
+its systems. The plural is `spamhausen'. There is a web page
+devoted to tracking
+spamhausen.
+
+The most notorious of the spamhausen was Sanford Wallace's
+Cyber Promotions Inc., shut down by a lawsuit on 16 October 1997.
+The anniversary of the shutdown is celebrated on Usenet as Spam
+Freedom Day, but lesser imitators of the Spamford still infest
+various murky corners of the net. Since prosecution of spammers
+became routine under the junk-fax laws and statues specifically
+targeting spam, spamhausen have declined in relative importance;
+today, hit-and-run attacks by spammers using relay rape and throwaway accounts on reputable
+ISPs seem to account for most of the flow.
+
+
+Node:spamvertize, Next:spangle, Previous:spamhaus, Up:=
+S = 
+
+spamvertize v.
+
+To advertise using spam.
+Pejorative.
+
+
+Node:spangle, Next:spawn, Previous:spamvertize, Up:= S = 
+
+spangle n.
+
+[UK] The singular of bells and whistles. See also
+spungle.
+
+
+Node:spawn, Next:special-case, Previous:spangle, Up:= S = 
+
+spawn n.,vi.
+
+1. [techspeak] In UNIX parlance, to create a child process
+from within a process. Technically this is a `fork'; the term
+`spawn' is a bit more general and is used for threads
+(lightweight processes) as well as traditional heavyweight
+processes. 2. In gaming, meant to indicate where (`spawn-point')
+and when a player comes to life (or `re-spawns') after being
+killed. Opposite of frag.
+
+
+Node:special-case, Next:speedometer, Previous:spawn, Up:= S
+= 
+
+special-case vt.
+
+To write unique code to handle input to or situations arising
+in a program that are somehow distinguished from normal
+processing. This would be used for processing of mode switches or
+interrupt characters in an interactive interface (as opposed,
+say, to text entry or normal commands), or for processing of
+hidden flags in the input of
+a batch program or filter.
+
+
+Node:speedometer, Next:spell, Previous:special-case, Up:= S = 
+
+speedometer n.
+
+A pattern of lights displayed on a linear set of LEDs (today)
+or nixie tubes (yesterday, on ancient mainframes). The pattern is
+shifted left every N times the operating system goes through its
+main loop. A swiftly moving
+pattern indicates that the system is mostly idle; the speedometer
+slows down as the system becomes overloaded. The speedometer on
+Sun Microsystems hardware bounces back and forth like the eyes on
+one of the Cylons from the wretched "Battlestar Galactica" TV
+series.
+
+Historical note: One computer, the GE 600 (later Honeywell
+6000) actually had an analog speedometer on the front
+panel, calibrated in instructions executed per second.
+
+
+Node:spell, Next:spelling flame, Previous:speedometer, Up:= S = 
+
+spell n.
+
+Syn. incantation.
+
+
+Node:spelling flame, Next:spider, Previous:spell, Up:= S
+= 
+
+spelling flame n. //
+
+[Usenet] A posting ostentatiously correcting a previous
+article's spelling as a way of casting scorn on the point the
+article was trying to make, instead of actually responding to
+that point (compare dictionary
+flame). Of course, people who are more than usually
+slovenly spellers are prone to think any correction is a
+spelling flame. It's an amusing comment on human nature that
+spelling flames themselves often contain spelling errors.
+
+
+Node:spider, Next:spider food, Previous:spelling flame, Up:= S = 
+
+spider
+
+The Web-walking part of a search engine that collects pages
+for indexing in the search engine's database. Also called a bot. The best-known spider is Scooter, the
+web-walker for the Alta Vista search engine.
+
+
+Node:spider food, Next:spiffy, Previous:spider, Up:= S
+= 
+
+spider food n.
+
+Keywords embedded (usually invisibly) into a web page to
+attract search engines (spiders). The intended result of
+including spider food in one's web page is to insure that the
+page appears high on the list of matching entries to a search
+engine query. There are right and wrong ways to do this; the
+right way is a discreet `meta keywords' tag, the wrong way is to
+embed many repeats of a keyword in comments (and many search
+engines now detect and ignore the latter).
+
+
+Node:spiffy, Next:spike, Previous:spider food, Up:= S = 
+
+spiffy /spi'fee/ adj.
+
+1. Said of programs having a pretty, clever, or exceptionally
+well-designed interface. "Have you seen the spiffy X version of empire
+yet?" 2. Said sarcastically of a program that is perceived to
+have little more than a flashy interface going for it. Which
+meaning should be drawn depends delicately on tone of voice and
+context. This word was common mainstream slang during the 1940s,
+in a sense close to 1.
+
+
+Node:spike, Next:spin, Previous:spiffy, Up:= S
+= 
+
+spike v.
+
+To defeat a selection mechanism by introducing a (sometimes
+temporary) device that forces a specific result. The word is used
+in several industries; telephone engineers refer to spiking a
+relay by inserting a pin to hold the relay in either the closed
+or open state, and railroaders refer to spiking a track switch so
+that it cannot be moved. In programming environments it normally
+refers to a temporary change, usually for testing purposes (as
+opposed to a permanent change, which would be called hardwired).
+
+
+Node:spin, Next:spl, Previous:spike, Up:= S
+= 
+
+spin vi.
+
+Equivalent to buzz. More common
+among C and Unix programmers. See the discussion of `spinlock'
+under busy-wait.
+
+
+Node:spl, Next:splash screen, Previous:spin, Up:= S
+= 
+
+spl /S-P-L/
+
+[abbrev, from Set Priority Level] The way traditional Unix
+kernels implement mutual exclusion by running code at high
+interrupt levels. Used in jargon to describe the act of tuning in
+or tuning out ordinary communication. Classically, spl levels run
+from 1 to 7; "Fred's at spl 6 today" would mean that he is very
+hard to interrupt. "Wait till I finish this; I'll spl down then."
+See also interrupts
+locked out.
+
+
+Node:splash screen, Next:splat, Previous:spl, Up:= S =
+
+
+splash screen n.
+
+[Mac users] Syn. banner, sense
+3.
+
+
+Node:splat, Next:splat out, Previous:splash screen, Up:= S = 
+
+splat n.
+
+1. Name used in many places (DEC, IBM, and others) for the
+asterisk (*) character (ASCII 0101010). This may
+derive from the `squashed-bug' appearance of the asterisk on many
+early line printers. 2. [MIT] Name used by some people for the
+# character (ASCII 0100011). 3. The feature key on a Mac (same as alt, sense 2). 4. obs. Name used by some
+people for the Stanford/ITS extended ASCII circle-x character.
+This character is also called `blobby' and `frob', among other
+names; it is sometimes used by mathematicians as a notation for
+`tensor product'. 5. obs. Name for the semi-mythical Stanford
+extended ASCII circle-plus character. See also ASCII.
+
+
+Node:splat out, Next:spod, Previous:splat, Up:= S
+= 
+
+splat out v.
+
+[Usenet] To partially obscure a potentially provocative word
+by substituting splat characters for
+some of its letters (usually, but not always, the vowels). The
+purpose is not to make the word unrecognizable but to make it a
+mention rather than a use, so that no flamewar ensues. Words
+often splatted out include N*z* (see Godwin's Law), *v*l*t**n (anywhere
+fundamentalists might be lurking), *b*rt**n, and g*n c*ntr*l.
+Compare UN*X.
+
+
+Node:spod, Next:spoiler, Previous:splat out, Up:= S = 
+
+spod n.
+
+[UK] 1. A lower form of life found on talker systems and MUDs. The spod has few friends in RL and uses talkers instead, finding communication
+easier and preferable over the net. He has all the negative
+traits of the computer geek
+without having any interest in computers per se. Lacking any
+knowledge of or interest in how networks work, and considering
+his access a God-given right, he is a major irritant to
+sysadmins, clogging up lines in order to reach new MUDs,
+following passed-on instructions on how to sneak his way onto
+Internet ("Wow! It's in America!") and complaining when he is not
+allowed to use busy routes. A true spod will start any
+conversation with "Are you male or female?" (and follow it up
+with "Got any good numbers/IDs/passwords?") and will not talk to
+someone physically present in the same terminal room until they
+log onto the same machine that he is using and enter talk mode.
+Compare newbie, tourist, weenie,
+twink, terminal junkie, warez d00dz. 2. A backronym for "Sole Purpose, Obtain a
+Degree"; according to some self-described spods, this term is
+used by indifferent students to condemn their harder-working
+fellows. Compare the defiant adoption of the term `geek' in the
+mid-1990s by people who would previously have been stigmatized by
+it (see computer geek). 3.
+[obs.] An ordinary person; a random.
+This is the meaning with which the term was coined, but the
+inventor informs us he has himself accepted sense 1.
+
+
+Node:spoiler, Next:spoiler space, Previous:spod, Up:= S
+= 
+
+spoiler n.
+
+[Usenet] 1. A remark which reveals important plot elements
+from books or movies, thus denying the reader (of the article)
+the proper suspense when reading the book or watching the movie.
+2. Any remark which telegraphs the solution of a problem or
+puzzle, thus denying the reader the pleasure of working out the
+correct answer (see also interesting). Either sense readily forms
+compounds like `total spoiler', `quasi-spoiler' and even
+`pseudo-spoiler'.
+
+By convention, articles which are spoilers in either sense
+should contain the word `spoiler' in the Subject: line, or
+guarantee via various tricks that the answer appears only after
+several screens-full of warning, or conceal the sensitive
+information via rot13, spoiler space or some combination of
+these techniques.
+
+
+Node:spoiler space, Next:sponge, Previous:spoiler, Up:= S = 
+
+spoiler space
+
+[also `spoiler spoo'] A screenful of blank lines (and, often,
+form-feeds) deliberately inserted in a message following a spoiler warning, so the actual spoiler
+can't be seen without hitting a key.
+
+
+Node:sponge, Next:spoof, Previous:spoiler space, Up:= S = 
+
+sponge n.
+
+[Unix] A special case of a filter
+that reads its entire input before writing any output; the
+canonical example is a sort utility. Unlike most filters, a
+sponge can conveniently overwrite the input file with the output
+data stream. If a file system has versioning (as ITS did and VMS
+does now) the sponge/filter distinction loses its usefulness,
+because directing filter output would just write a new version.
+See also slurp.
+
+
+Node:spoof, Next:spool, Previous:sponge, Up:= S
+= 
+
+spoof vi.
+
+To capture, alter, and retransmit a communication stream in a
+way that misleads the recipient. As used by hackers, refers
+especially to altering TCP/IP packet source addresses or other
+packet-header data in order to masquerade as a trusted machine.
+This term has become very widespread and is borderline
+techspeak.
+
+
+Node:spool, Next:spool file, Previous:spoof, Up:= S
+= 
+
+spool vi.
+
+[from early IBM `Simultaneous Peripheral Operation On-Line',
+but is widely thought to be a backronym] To send files to some device or
+program (a `spooler') that queues them up and does something
+useful with them later. Without qualification, the spooler is the
+`print spooler' controlling output of jobs to a printer; but the
+term has been used in connection with other peripherals
+(especially plotters and graphics devices) and occasionally even
+for input devices. See also demon.
+
+
+Node:spool file, Next:spungle, Previous:spool, Up:= S
+= 
+
+spool file n.
+
+Any file to which data is spooled
+to await the next stage of processing. Especially used in
+circumstances where spooling the data copes with a mismatch
+between speeds in two devices or pieces of software. For example,
+when you send mail under Unix, it's typically copied to a spool
+file to await a transport demon's
+attentions. This is borderline techspeak.
+
+
+Node:spungle, Next:square tape, Previous:spool file, Up:= S = 
+
+spungle n.
+
+[Durham, UK; portmanteau, spangle + bungle] A spangle of no actual usefulness. Example:
+Roger the Bent Paperclip in Microsoft Word '98. A spungle's only
+virtue is that it looks pretty, unless you find creeping
+featurism ugly.
+
+
+Node:square tape, Next:squirrelcide, Previous:spungle, Up:= S = 
+
+square tape n.
+
+Mainframe magnetic tape cartridges for use with IBM 3480 or
+compatible tape drives; or QIC tapes used on workstations and
+micros. The term comes from the square (actually rectangular)
+shape of the cartridges; contrast round tape.
+
+
+Node:squirrelcide, Next:stack, Previous:square tape, Up:= S = 
+
+squirrelcide n.
+
+[common on Usenet's _comp.risks_ newsgroup.] (alt.
+`squirrelicide') What all too frequently happens when a squirrel
+decides to exercise its species's unfortunate penchant for
+shorting out power lines with their little furry bodies. Result:
+one dead squirrel, one down computer installation. In this
+situation, the computer system is said to have been
+squirrelcided.
+
+
+Node:stack, Next:stack puke, Previous:squirrelcide, Up:= S = 
+
+stack n.
+
+The set of things a person has to do in the future. One speaks
+of the next project to be attacked as having risen to the top of
+the stack. "I'm afraid I've got real work to do, so this'll have
+to be pushed way down on my stack." "I haven't done it yet
+because every time I pop my stack something new gets pushed." If
+you are interrupted several times in the middle of a
+conversation, "My stack overflowed" means "I forget what we were
+talking about." The implication is that more items were pushed
+onto the stack than could be remembered, so the least recent
+items were lost. The usual physical example of a stack is to be
+found in a cafeteria: a pile of plates or trays sitting on a
+spring in a well, so that when you put one on the top they all
+sink down, and when you take one off the top the rest spring up a
+bit. See also push and pop.
+
+At MIT, PDL used to be a more common
+synonym for stack in all these
+contexts, and this may still be true. Everywhere else stack seems to be the preferred term. Knuth ("The Art of Computer Programming",
+second edition, vol. 1, p. 236) says:
+
+Many people who realized the importance of stacks and
+queues independently have given other names to these structures:
+stacks have been called push-down lists, reversion storages,
+cellars, nesting stores, piles, last-in-first-out ("LIFO") lists,
+and even yo-yo lists!
+
+Node:stack puke, Next:stale pointer bug, Previous:stack, Up:= S = 
+
+stack puke n.
+
+Some processor architectures are said to `puke their guts onto
+the stack' to save their internal state during exception
+processing. The Motorola 68020, for example, regurgitates up to
+92 bytes on a bus fault. On a pipelined machine, this can take a
+while.
+
+
+Node:stale pointer bug,
+Next:star out, Previous:stack puke, Up:= S = 
+
+stale pointer bug n.
+
+Synonym for aliasing bug
+used esp. among microcomputer hackers.
+
+
+Node:star out, Next:state, Previous:stale pointer bug, Up:= S = 
+
+star out v.
+
+[University of York, England] To replace a user's encrypted
+password in /etc/passwd with a single asterisk. Under Unix this
+is not a legal encryption of any password; hence the user is not
+permitted to log in. In general, accounts like adm, news, and
+daemon are permanently "starred out"; occasionally a real user
+might have the this inflicted upon him/her as a punishment, e.g.
+"Graham was starred out for playing Omega in working hours". Also
+occasionally known as The Order Of The Gold Star in this context.
+"Don't do that, or you'll be awarded the Order of the Gold
+Star..." Compare disusered.
+
+
+Node:state, Next:stealth manager, Previous:star out, Up:= S = 
+
+state n.
+
+1. Condition, situation. "What's the state of your latest
+hack?" "It's winning away." "The system tried to read and write
+the disk simultaneously and got into a totally wedged state." The standard question "What's
+your state?" means "What are you doing?" or "What are you about
+to do?" Typical answers are "about to gronk out", or "hungry".
+Another standard question is "What's the state of the world?",
+meaning "What's new?" or "What's going on?". The more terse and
+humorous way of asking these questions would be "State-p?".
+Another way of phrasing the first question under sense 1 would be
+"state-p latest hack?". 2. Information being maintained in
+non-permanent memory (electronic or human).
+
+
+Node:stealth manager, Next:steam-powered, Previous:state, Up:= S = 
+
+stealth manager n.
+
+[Corporate DP] A manager that appears out of nowhere, promises
+undeliverable software to unknown end users, and vanishes before
+the programming staff realizes what has happened. See smoke and mirrors.
+
+
+Node:steam-powered, Next:STFW, Previous:stealth manager, Up:= S = 
+
+steam-powered adj.
+
+Old-fashioned or underpowered; archaic. This term does not
+have a strong negative loading and may even be used
+semi-affectionately for something that clanks and wheezes a lot
+but hangs in there doing the job.
+
+
+Node:STFW, Next:stiffy, Previous:steam-powered, Up:= S = 
+
+STFW imp. /S-T-F-W/
+
+[Usenet] Commmon abbreviation for "Search The Fucking Web", a
+suggestion that what you're asking for is a query better handled
+by a search engine than a human being. Usage is common and
+exactly parallel to both senses of RTFM.
+
+
+Node:stiffy, Next:stir-fried random, Previous:STFW, Up:= S = 
+
+stiffy n.
+
+3.5-inch microfloppies, so
+called because their jackets are more rigid than those of the
+5.25-inch and the (now totally obsolete) 8-inch floppy. Elsewhere
+this might be called a `firmy'. For some odd reason, several
+sources have taken the trouble to inform us that this term is
+widespread in South Africa.
+
+
+Node:stir-fried random, Next:stomp on, Previous:stiffy, Up:= S = 
+
+stir-fried random n.
+
+(alt. `stir-fried mumble') Term used for the best dish of many
+of those hackers who can cook. Consists of random fresh veggies
+and meat wokked with random spices. Tasty and economical. See
+random, great-wall, ravs, laser
+chicken, oriental
+food; see also mumble.
+
+
+Node:stomp on, Next:Stone Age, Previous:stir-fried random, Up:= S = 
+
+stomp on vt.
+
+To inadvertently overwrite something important, usually
+automatically. "All the work I did this weekend got stomped on
+last night by the nightly server script." Compare scribble, mangle, trash,
+scrog, roach.
+
+
+Node:Stone Age, Next:stone knives and
+bearskins, Previous:stomp on, Up:= S = 
+
+Stone Age n.,adj.
+
+1. In computer folklore, an ill-defined period from ENIAC (ca.
+1943) to the mid-1950s; the great age of electromechanical dinosaurs. Sometimes used for the entire
+period up to 1960-61 (see Iron
+Age); however, it is funnier and more descriptive to
+characterize the latter period in terms of a `Bronze Age' era of
+transistor-logic, pre-ferrite-core
+machines with drum or CRT mass storage (as opposed to just
+mercury delay lines and/or relays). See also Iron Age. 2. More generally, a pejorative
+for any crufty, ancient piece of hardware or software technology.
+Note that this is used even by people who were there for the
+Stone Age (sense 1).
+
+
+Node:stone knives and
+bearskins, Next:stoppage,
+Previous:Stone Age,
+Up:= S = 
+
+stone knives and bearskins n.
+
+[from the Star Trek Classic episode "The City on the Edge of
+Forever"] A term traditionally used to describe (and deprecate)
+computing environments that are grotesquely primitive in light of
+what is known about good ways to design things. As in "Don't get
+too used to the facilities here. Once you leave SAIL it's stone
+knives and bearskins as far as the eye can see". Compare steam-powered.
+
+
+Node:stoppage, Next:store, Previous:stone knives and
+bearskins, Up:= S =
+
+
+stoppage /sto'p*j/ n.
+
+Extreme lossage that renders
+something (usually something vital) completely unusable. "The
+recent system stoppage was caused by a fried transformer."
+
+
+Node:store, Next:strided, Previous:stoppage, Up:=
+S = 
+
+store n.
+
+[prob. from techspeak `main store'] In some varieties of
+Commonwealth hackish, the preferred synonym for core. Thus, `bringing a program into store' means
+not that one is returning shrink-wrapped software but that a
+program is being swapped in.
+
+
+Node:strided, Next:stroke, Previous:store, Up:= S
+= 
+
+strided /stri:'d*d/ adj.
+
+[scientific computing] Said of a sequence of memory reads and
+writes to addresses, each of which is separated from the last by
+a constant interval called the `stride length'. These can be a
+worst-case access pattern for the standard memory-caching schemes
+when the stride length is a multiple of the cache line size.
+Strided references are often generated by loops through an array,
+and (if your data is large enough that access-time is
+significant) it can be worthwhile to tune for better locality by
+inverting double loops or by partially unrolling the outer loop
+of a loop nest. This usage is borderline techspeak; the related
+term `memory stride' is definitely techspeak.
+
+
+Node:stroke, Next:strudel, Previous:strided, Up:= S
+= 
+
+stroke n.
+
+Common name for the slant (`/', ASCII 0101111) character. See
+ASCII for other synonyms.
+
+
+Node:strudel, Next:stubroutine, Previous:stroke, Up:= S
+= 
+
+strudel n.
+
+Common (spoken) name for the at-sign (`@', ASCII 1000000)
+character. See ASCII for other
+synonyms.
+
+
+Node:stubroutine, Next:studly, Previous:strudel, Up:= S
+= 
+
+stubroutine /stuhb'roo-teen/ n.
+
+[contraction of `stub subroutine'] Tiny, often vacuous
+placeholder for a subroutine that is to be written or fleshed out
+later.
+
+
+Node:studly, Next:studlycaps, Previous:stubroutine, Up:= S = 
+
+studly adj.
+
+Impressive; powerful. Said of code and designs which exhibit
+both complexity and a virtuoso flair. Has connotations similar to
+hairy but is more positive in tone.
+Often in the emphatic `most studly' or as noun-form `studliness'.
+"Smail 3.0's configuration parser is most studly."
+
+
+Node:studlycaps, Next:stunning, Previous:studly, Up:= S
+= 
+
+studlycaps /stuhd'lee-kaps/ n.
+
+A hackish form of silliness similar to BiCapitalization for trademarks, but
+applied randomly and to arbitrary text rather than to trademarks.
+ThE oRigiN and SigNificaNce of thIs pRacTicE iS oBscuRe.
+
+
+Node:stunning, Next:stupid-sort, Previous:studlycaps, Up:= S = 
+
+stunning adj.
+
+Mind-bogglingly stupid. Usually used in sarcasm. "You want to
+code what in ADA? That's a ... stunning
+idea!"
+
+
+Node:stupid-sort, Next:Stupids, Previous:stunning, Up:=
+S = 
+
+stupid-sort n.
+
+Syn. bogo-sort.
+
+
+Node:Stupids, Next:Sturgeon's Law, Previous:stupid-sort, Up:= S = 
+
+Stupids n.
+
+Term used by samurai for the
+suits who employ them; succinctly
+expresses an attitude at least as common, though usually better
+disguised, among other subcultures of hackers. There may be
+intended reference here to an SF story originally published in
+1952 but much anthologized since, Mark Clifton's "Star, Bright".
+In it, a super-genius child classifies humans into a very few
+`Brights' like herself, a huge majority of `Stupids', and a
+minority of `Tweens', the merely ordinary geniuses.
+
+
+Node:Sturgeon's Law, Next:sucking mud, Previous:Stupids, Up:= S = 
+
+Sturgeon's Law prov.
+
+"Ninety percent of everything is crap". Derived from a quote
+by science fiction author Theodore Sturgeon, who once said,
+"Sure, 90% of science fiction is crud. That's because 90% of
+everything is crud." Oddly, when Sturgeon's Law is cited, the
+final word is almost invariably changed to `crap'. Compare Hanlon's Razor, Ninety-Ninety Rule. Though this
+maxim originated in SF fandom, most hackers recognize it and are
+all too aware of its truth.
+
+
+Node:sucking mud, Next:sufficiently small, Previous:Sturgeon's Law, Up:= S = 
+
+sucking mud adj.
+
+[Applied Data Research] (also `pumping mud') Crashed or wedged. Usually said of a machine that
+provides some service to a network, such as a file server. This
+Dallas regionalism derives from the East Texas oilfield lament,
+"Shut 'er down, Ma, she's a-suckin' mud". Often used as a query.
+"We are going to reconfigure the network, are you ready to suck
+mud?"
+
+
+Node:sufficiently small,
+Next:suit, Previous:sucking mud, Up:= S = 
+
+sufficiently small adj.
+
+Syn. suitably
+small.
+
+
+Node:suit, Next:suitable win, Previous:sufficiently small, Up:= S = 
+
+suit n.
+
+1. Ugly and uncomfortable `business clothing' often worn by
+non-hackers. Invariably worn with a `tie', a strangulation device
+that partially cuts off the blood supply to the brain. It is
+thought that this explains much about the behavior of
+suit-wearers. Compare droid. 2. A
+person who habitually wears suits, as distinct from a techie or
+hacker. See pointy-haired,
+burble, management, Stupids, SNAFU
+principle, PHB, and brain-damaged.
+
+
+Node:suitable win, Next:suitably small, Previous:suit, Up:= S = 
+
+suitable win n.
+
+See win.
+
+
+Node:suitably small, Next:Sun, Previous:suitable win, Up:= S = 
+
+suitably small adj.
+
+[perverted from mathematical jargon]
+
+An expression used ironically to characterize unquantifiable
+behavior that differs from expected or required behavior. For
+example, suppose a newly created program came up with a correct
+full-screen display, and one publicly exclaimed: "It works!"
+Then, if the program dumped core on the first mouse click, one
+might add: "Well, for suitably small values of `works'." Compare
+the characterization of pi under random numbers.
+
+
+Node:Sun, Next:sun lounge, Previous:suitably small, Up:= S = 
+
+Sun n.
+
+Sun Microsystems. Hackers remember that the name was
+originally an acronym, Stanford University Network. Sun started
+out around 1980 with some hardware hackers (mainly) from Stanford
+talking to some software hackers (mainly) from UC Berkeley; Sun's
+original technology concept married a clever board design based
+on the Motorola 68000 to BSD Unix. Sun
+went on to lead the worstation industry through the 1980s, and
+for years afterwards remained an engineering-driven company and a
+good place for hackers to work. Though Sun drifted away from its
+techie origins after 1990 and has since made some strategic moves
+that disappointed and annoyed many hackers (especially by
+maintaining proprietary control of Java and rejecting Linux),
+it's still considered within the family in much the same way
+DEC was in the 1970s and early
+1980s.
+
+
+Node:sun lounge, Next:sun-stools, Previous:Sun, Up:= S
+= 
+
+sun lounge n.
+
+[UK] The room where all the Sun workstations live. The humor
+in this term comes from the fact that it's also in mainstream use
+to describe a solarium, and all those Sun workstations clustered
+together give off an amazing amount of heat.
+
+
+Node:sun-stools, Next:sunspots, Previous:sun lounge, Up:= S = 
+
+sun-stools n.
+
+Unflattering hackerism for SunTools, a pre-X windowing
+environment notorious in its day for size, slowness, and
+misfeatures. X, however, is larger and
+(some claim) slower; see second-system effect.
+
+
+Node:sunspots, Next:super source quench, Previous:sun-stools, Up:= S = 
+
+sunspots n.
+
+1. Notional cause of an odd error. "Why did the program
+suddenly turn the screen blue?" "Sunspots, I guess." 2. Also the
+cause of bit rot -- from the myth
+that sunspots will increase cosmic
+rays, which can flip single bits in memory. See also
+phase of the
+moon.
+
+
+Node:super source quench,
+Next:superloser, Previous:sunspots, Up:= S = 
+
+super source quench n.
+
+A special packet designed to shut up an Internet host. The
+Internet Protocol (IP) has a control message called Source Quench
+that asks a host to transmit more slowly on a particular
+connection to avoid congestion. It also has a Redirect control
+message intended to instruct a host to send certain packets to a
+different local router. A "super source quench" is actually a
+redirect control packet, forged to look like it came from a local
+router, that instructs a host to send all packets to its own
+local loopback address. This will effectively tie many Internet
+hosts up in knots. Compare Godzillagram, breath-of-life packet.
+
+
+Node:superloser, Next:superprogrammer, Previous:super source
+quench, Up:= S = 
+
+superloser n.
+
+[Unix] A superuser with no clue - someone with root privileges
+on a Unix system and no idea what he/she is doing, the moral
+equivalent of a three-year-old with an unsafetied Uzi. Anyone who
+thinks this is an uncommon situation reckons without the
+territorial urges of management.
+
+
+Node:superprogrammer, Next:superuser, Previous:superloser, Up:= S = 
+
+superprogrammer n.
+
+A prolific programmer; one who can code exceedingly well and
+quickly. Not all hackers are superprogrammers, but many are.
+(Productivity can vary from one programmer to another by three
+orders of magnitude. For example, one programmer might be able to
+write an average of 3 lines of working code in one day, while
+another, with the proper tools, might be able to write 3,000.
+This range is astonishing; it is matched in very few other areas
+of human endeavor.) The term `superprogrammer' is more commonly
+used within such places as IBM than in the hacker community. It
+tends to stress naive measures of productivity and to underweight
+creativity, ingenuity, and getting the job done -- and
+to sidestep the question of whether the 3,000 lines of code do
+more or less useful work than three lines that do the Right Thing. Hackers tend to prefer the
+terms hacker and wizard.
+
+
+Node:superuser, Next:support, Previous:superprogrammer, Up:= S = 
+
+superuser n.
+
+[Unix] Syn. root, avatar. This usage has spread to non-Unix
+environments; the superuser is any account with all wheel bits on. A more specific term than wheel.
+
+
+Node:support, Next:surf, Previous:superuser, Up:= S = 
+
+support n.
+
+After-sale handholding; something many software vendors
+promise but few deliver. To hackers, most support people are
+useless -- because by the time a hacker calls support he or she
+will usually know the software and the relevant manuals better
+than the support people (sadly, this is not a joke or
+exaggeration). A hacker's idea of `support' is a
+tête-à-tête with the software's designer.
+
+
+Node:surf, Next:Suzie COBOL, Previous:support, Up:= S = 
+
+surf v.
+
+[from the `surf' idiom for rapidly flipping TV channels] To
+traverse the Internet in search of interesting stuff, used esp.
+if one is doing so with a World Wide Web browser. It is also
+common to speak of `surfing in' to a particular resource.
+
+Hackers adopted this term early, but many have stopped using
+it since it went completely mainstream around 1995. The passive,
+couch-potato connotations that go with TV channel surfing were
+never pleasant, and hearing non-hackers wax enthusiastic about
+"surfing the net" tends to make hackers feel a bit as though
+their home is being overrun by ignorami.
+
+
+Node:Suzie COBOL, Next:swab, Previous:surf, Up:= S =
+
+
+Suzie COBOL /soo'zee koh'bol/
+
+1. [IBM: prob. from Frank Zappa's `Suzy Creamcheese'] n. A
+coder straight out of training school who knows everything except
+the value of comments in plain English. Also (fashionable among
+personkind wishing to avoid accusations of sexism) `Sammy Cobol'
+or (in some non-IBM circles) `Cobol Charlie'. 2. [proposed]
+Meta-name for any code
+grinder, analogous to J. Random Hacker.
+
+
+Node:swab, Next:swap, Previous:Suzie COBOL, Up:= S = 
+
+swab /swob/
+
+[From the mnemonic for the PDP-11 `SWAp Byte' instruction, as
+immortalized in the dd(1) option
+conv=swab (see dd)] 1. vt.
+To solve the NUXI problem by
+swapping bytes in a file. 2. n. The program in V7 Unix used to
+perform this action, or anything functionally equivalent to it.
+See also big-endian, little-endian, middle-endian, bytesexual.
+
+
+Node:swap, Next:swap space, Previous:swab, Up:= S =
+
+
+swap vt.
+
+1. [techspeak] To move information from a fast-access memory
+to a slow-access memory (`swap out'), or vice versa (`swap in').
+Often refers specifically to the use of disks as `virtual
+memory'. As pieces of data or program are needed, they are
+swapped into core for processing; when
+they are no longer needed they may be swapped out again. 2. The
+jargon use of these terms analogizes people's short-term memories
+with core. Cramming for an exam might be spoken of as swapping
+in. If you temporarily forget someone's name, but then remember
+it, your excuse is that it was swapped out. To `keep something
+swapped in' means to keep it fresh in your memory: "I reread the
+TECO manual every few months to keep it swapped in." If someone
+interrupts you just as you got a good idea, you might say "Wait a
+moment while I swap this out", implying that a piece of paper is
+your extra-somatic memory and that if you don't swap the idea out
+by writing it down it will get overwritten and lost as you talk.
+Compare page in, page out.
+
+
+Node:swap space, Next:swapped in, Previous:swap, Up:= S
+= 
+
+swap space n.
+
+Storage space, especially temporary storage space used during
+a move or reconfiguration. "I'm just using that corner of the
+machine room for swap space."
+
+
+Node:swapped in, Next:swapped out, Previous:swap space, Up:= S = 
+
+swapped in n.
+
+See swap. See also page in.
+
+
+Node:swapped out, Next:swizzle, Previous:swapped in, Up:= S = 
+
+swapped out n.
+
+See swap. See also page out.
+
+
+Node:swizzle, Next:sync, Previous:swapped out, Up:= S = 
+
+swizzle v.
+
+To convert external names, array indices, or references within
+a data structure into address pointers when the data structure is
+brought into main memory from external storage (also called
+`pointer swizzling'); this may be done for speed in chasing
+references or to simplify code (e.g., by turning lots of name
+lookups into pointer dereferences). The converse operation is
+sometimes termed `unswizzling'. See also snap.
+
+
+Node:sync, Next:syntactic salt, Previous:swizzle, Up:= S = 
+
+sync /sink/ n., vi.
+
+(var. `synch') 1. To synchronize, to bring into
+synchronization. 2. [techspeak] To force all pending I/O to the
+disk; see flush, sense 2. 3. More
+generally, to force a number of competing processes or agents to
+a state that would be `safe' if the system were to crash; thus,
+to checkpoint (in the database-theory sense).
+
+
+Node:syntactic salt, Next:syntactic sugar, Previous:sync, Up:= S = 
+
+syntactic salt n.
+
+The opposite of syntactic
+sugar, a feature designed to make it harder to write bad
+code. Specifically, syntactic salt is a hoop the programmer must
+jump through just to prove that he knows what's going on, rather
+than to express a program action. Some programmers consider
+required type declarations to be syntactic salt. A requirement to
+write end if, end while, end
+do, etc. to terminate the last block controlled by a
+control construct (as opposed to just end) would
+definitely be syntactic salt. Syntactic salt is like the real
+thing in that it tends to raise hackers' blood pressures in an
+unhealthy way. Compare candygrammar.
+
+
+Node:syntactic sugar, Next:sys-frog, Previous:syntactic salt, Up:= S = 
+
+syntactic sugar n.
+
+[coined by Peter Landin] Features added to a language or other
+formalism to make it `sweeter' for humans, features which do not
+affect the expressiveness of the formalism (compare chrome). Used esp. when there is an obvious and
+trivial translation of the `sugar' feature into other constructs
+already present in the notation. C's a[i] notation
+is syntactic sugar for *(a + i). "Syntactic sugar
+causes cancer of the semicolon." -- Alan Perlis.
+
+The variants `syntactic saccharin' and `syntactic syrup' are
+also recorded. These denote something even more gratuitous, in
+that syntactic sugar serves a purpose (making something more
+acceptable to humans), but syntactic saccharin or syrup serve no
+purpose at all. Compare candygrammar, syntactic salt.
+
+
+Node:sys-frog, Next:sysadmin, Previous:syntactic sugar, Up:= S = 
+
+sys-frog /sis'frog/ n.
+
+[the PLATO system] Playful variant of `sysprog', which is in
+turn short for `systems programmer'.
+
+
+Node:sysadmin, Next:sysape, Previous:sys-frog, Up:=
+S = 
+
+sysadmin /sis'ad-min/ n.
+
+Common contraction of `system admin'; see admin.
+
+
+Node:sysape, Next:sysop, Previous:sysadmin, Up:=
+S = 
+
+sysape /sys'ayp/ n.
+
+A rather derogatory term for a computer operator; a play on
+sysop common at sites that use the
+banana hierarchy of problem complexity (see one-banana problem).
+
+
+Node:sysop, Next:system, Previous:sysape, Up:= S
+= 
+
+sysop /sis'op/ n.
+
+[esp. in the BBS world] The operator (and usually the owner)
+of a bulletin-board system. A common neophyte mistake on FidoNet is to address a message to
+`sysop' in an international echo, thus
+sending it to hundreds of sysops around the world.
+
+
+Node:system, Next:systems jock, Previous:sysop, Up:= S
+= 
+
+system n.
+
+1. The supervisor program or OS on a computer. 2. The entire
+computer system, including input/output devices, the supervisor
+program or OS, and possibly other software. 3. Any large-scale
+program. 4. Any method or algorithm. 5. `System hacker': one who
+hacks the system (in senses 1 and 2 only; for sense 3 one
+mentions the particular program: e.g., `LISP hacker')
+
+
+Node:systems jock, Next:system mangler, Previous:system, Up:= S = 
+
+systems jock n.
+
+See jock, sense 2.
+
+
+Node:system mangler, Next:SysVile, Previous:systems jock, Up:= S = 
+
+system mangler n.
+
+Humorous synonym for `system manager', poss. from the fact
+that one major IBM OS had a root
+account called SYSMANGR. Refers specifically to a systems
+programmer in charge of administration, software maintenance, and
+updates at some site. Unlike admin,
+this term emphasizes the technical end of the skills
+involved.
+
+
+Node:SysVile, Next:T, Previous:system mangler, Up:= S = 
+
+SysVile /sis-vi:l'/ n.
+
+See Missed'em-five.
+
+
+Node:= T =, Next:= U =, Previous:= S =, Up:The Jargon Lexicon 
+
+= T =
+
+
+T:
+
+
+tail recursion:
+
+
+talk mode:
+
+
+talker system:
+
+
+tall card:
+
+
+tanked:
+
+
+TANSTAAFL:
+
+
+tape monkey:
+
+
+tar and feather:
+
+
+tarball:
+
+
+tardegy:
+
+
+taste:
+
+
+tayste:
+
+
+TCB:
+
+
+TCP/IP:
+
+
+TechRef:
+
+
+TECO:
+
+
+tee:
+
+
+teergrube:
+
+
+teledildonics:
+
+
+Telerat:
+
+
+TELNET:
+
+
+ten-finger
+interface:
+
+
+tense:
+
+
+tentacle:
+
+
+tenured graduate
+student:
+
+
+tera-:
+
+
+teraflop club:
+
+
+terminak:
+
+
+terminal brain
+death:
+
+
+terminal illness:
+
+
+terminal junkie:
+
+
+terpri:
+
+
+test:
+
+
+TeX:
+
+
+text:
+
+
+thanks in advance:
+
+
+That's not a
+bug that's a feature!:
+
+
+the literature:
+
+
+the network:
+
+
+the
+X that can be Y is not the true X:
+
+
+theology:
+
+
+theory:
+
+
+thinko:
+
+
+This can't happen:
+
+
+This time for
+sure!:
+
+
+thrash:
+
+
+thread:
+
+
+three-finger
+salute:
+
+
+throwaway account:
+
+
+thud:
+
+
+thumb:
+
+
+thundering herd
+problem:
+
+
+thunk:
+
+
+tick:
+
+
+tick-list features:
+
+
+tickle a bug:
+
+
+tiger team:
+
+
+time bomb:
+
+
+time sink:
+
+
+time T:
+
+
+times-or-divided-by:
+
+
+TINC:
+
+
+Tinkerbell program:
+
+
+TINLC:
+
+
+tip of the
+ice-cube:
+
+
+tired iron:
+
+
+tits on a
+keyboard:
+
+
+TLA:
+
+
+(TM):
+
+
+TMRC:
+
+
+TMRCie:
+
+
+TMTOWTDI:
+
+
+to a first
+approximation:
+
+
+to a zeroth
+approximation:
+
+
+toad:
+
+
+toast:
+
+
+toaster:
+
+
+toeprint:
+
+
+toggle:
+
+
+tool:
+
+
+toolsmith:
+
+
+toor:
+
+
+topic drift:
+
+
+topic group:
+
+
+TOPS-10:
+
+
+TOPS-20:
+
+
+tourist:
+
+
+tourist
+information:
+
+
+touristic:
+
+
+toy:
+
+
+toy language:
+
+
+toy problem:
+
+
+toy program:
+
+
+trampoline:
+
+
+trap:
+
+
+trap door:
+
+
+trash:
+
+
+trawl:
+
+
+tree-killer:
+
+
+treeware:
+
+
+trit:
+
+
+trivial:
+
+
+troff:
+
+
+troglodyte:
+
+
+troglodyte mode:
+
+
+Trojan horse:
+
+
+troll:
+
+
+Troll-O-Meter:
+
+
+tron:
+
+
+true-hacker:
+
+
+tty:
+
+
+tube:
+
+
+tube time:
+
+
+tunafish:
+
+
+tune:
+
+
+turbo nerd:
+
+
+Turing tar-pit:
+
+
+turist:
+
+
+Tux:
+
+
+tweak:
+
+
+tweeter:
+
+
+TWENEX:
+
+
+twiddle:
+
+
+twiddle:
+
+
+twilight zone:
+
+
+twink:
+
+
+twirling baton:
+
+
+two pi:
+
+
+two-to-the-N:
+
+
+twonkie:
+
+
+Node:T, Next:tail recursion, Previous:SysVile, Up:= T = 
+
+T /T/
+
+1. [from LISP terminology for `true'] Yes. Used in reply to a
+question (particularly one asked using The -P convention). In LISP, the
+constant T means `true', among other things. Some Lisp hackers
+use `T' and `NIL' instead of `Yes' and `No' almost reflexively.
+This sometimes causes misunderstandings. When a waiter or flight
+attendant asks whether a hacker wants coffee, he may absently
+respond `T', meaning that he wants coffee; but of course he will
+be brought a cup of tea instead. Fortunately, most hackers
+(particularly those who frequent Chinese restaurants) like tea at
+least as well as coffee -- so it is not that big a problem. 2.
+See time T (also since time T
+equals minus infinity). 3. [techspeak] In
+transaction-processing circles, an abbreviation for the noun
+`transaction'. 4. [Purdue] Alternate spelling of tee. 5. A dialect of LISP developed at Yale. (There is an intended
+allusion to NIL, "New Implementation of Lisp", another dialect of
+Lisp developed for the VAX)
+
+
+Node:tail recursion, Next:talk mode, Previous:T, Up:= T = 
+
+tail recursion n.
+
+If you aren't sick of it already, see tail recursion.
+
+
+Node:talk mode, Next:talker system, Previous:tail recursion, Up:= T = 
+
+talk mode n.
+
+A feature supported by Unix, ITS, and some other OSes that
+allows two or more logged-in users to set up a real-time on-line
+conversation. It combines the immediacy of talking with all the
+precision (and verbosity) that written language entails. It is
+difficult to communicate inflection, though conventions have
+arisen for some of these (see the section on writing style in the
+Prependices for details).
+
+Talk mode has a special set of jargon words, used to save
+typing, which are not used orally. Some of these are identical to
+(and probably derived from) Morse-code jargon used by ham-radio
+amateurs since the 1920s.
+
+
+AFAIAC
+
+
+as far as I am concerned
+
+
+AFAIK
+
+
+as far as I know
+
+
+BCNU
+
+
+be seeing you
+
+
+BTW
+
+
+by the way
+
+
+BYE?
+
+
+are you ready to unlink? (this is the standard way to end a
+talk-mode conversation; the other person types BYE
+to confirm, or else continues the conversation)
+
+
+CUL
+
+
+see you later
+
+
+ENQ?
+
+
+are you busy? (expects ACK or NAK
+in return)
+
+
+FOO?
+
+
+are you there? (often used on unexpected links, meaning also
+"Sorry if I butted in ..." (linker) or "What's
+up?" (linkee))
+
+FWIW
+
+
+for what it's worth
+
+
+FYI
+
+
+for your information
+
+
+FYA
+
+
+for your amusement
+
+
+GA
+
+
+go ahead (used when two people have tried to type
+simultaneously; this cedes the right to type to the other)
+
+
+GRMBL
+
+
+grumble (expresses disquiet or disagreement)
+
+
+HELLOP
+
+
+hello? (an instance of the `-P' convention)
+
+
+IIRC
+
+
+if I recall correctly
+
+
+JAM
+
+
+just a minute (equivalent to SEC....)
+
+
+MIN
+
+
+same as JAM
+
+
+NIL
+
+
+no (see NIL)
+
+
+NP
+
+
+no problem
+
+
+O
+
+
+over to you
+
+
+OO
+
+
+over and out
+
+
+/
+
+
+another form of "over to you" (from x/y as "x over y")
+
+
+\
+
+
+lambda (used in discussing LISPy things)
+
+
+OBTW
+
+
+oh, by the way
+
+
+OTOH
+
+
+on the other hand
+
+
+R U THERE?
+
+
+are you there?
+
+
+SEC
+
+
+wait a second (sometimes written SEC...)
+
+
+SYN
+
+
+Are you busy? (expects ACK, SYN|ACK, or RST in return; this
+is modeled on the TCP/IP handshake sequence)
+
+
+T
+
+
+yes (see the main entry for T)
+
+
+TNX
+
+
+thanks
+
+
+TNX 1.0E6
+
+
+thanks a million (humorous)
+
+
+TNXE6
+
+
+another form of "thanks a million"
+
+
+WRT
+
+
+with regard to, or with respect to.
+
+
+WTF
+
+
+the universal interrogative particle; WTF knows what it
+means?
+
+
+WTH
+
+
+what the hell?
+
+
+<double newline>
+
+
+When the typing party has finished, he/she types two newlines
+to signal that he/she is done; this leaves a blank line between
+`speeches' in the conversation, making it easier to reread the
+preceding text.
+
+
+<name>:
+
+
+When three or more terminals are linked, it is conventional
+for each typist to prepend his/her
+login name or handle and a colon (or a hyphen) to each line to
+indicate who is typing (some conferencing facilities do this
+automatically). The login name is often shortened to a unique
+prefix (possibly a single letter) during a very long
+conversation.
+
+
+/\/\/\
+
+
+A giggle or chuckle. On a MUD, this usually means `earthquake
+fault'.
+
+Most of the above sub-jargon is used at both Stanford and MIT.
+Several of these expressions are also common in email, esp. FYI, FYA, BTW, BCNU, WTF, and CUL. A
+few other abbreviations have been reported from commercial
+networks, such as GEnie and CompuServe, where on-line `live' chat
+including more than two people is common and usually involves a
+more `social' context, notably the following:
+
+
+<g>
+
+
+grin
+
+
+<gd&r>
+
+
+grinning, ducking, and running
+
+
+BBL
+
+
+be back later
+
+
+BRB
+
+
+be right back
+
+
+HHOJ
+
+
+ha ha only joking
+
+
+HHOK
+
+
+ha ha only kidding
+
+
+HHOS
+
+
+ha ha only
+serious
+
+
+IMHO
+
+
+in my humble opinion (see IMHO)
+
+
+LOL
+
+
+laughing out loud
+
+
+NHOH
+
+
+Never Heard of Him/Her (often used in initgame)
+
+
+ROTF
+
+
+rolling on the floor
+
+
+ROTFL
+
+
+rolling on the floor laughing
+
+
+AFK
+
+
+away from keyboard
+
+
+b4
+
+
+before
+
+
+CU l8tr
+
+
+see you later
+
+
+MORF
+
+
+male or female?
+
+
+TTFN
+
+
+ta-ta for now
+
+
+TTYL
+
+
+talk to you later
+
+
+OIC
+
+
+oh, I see
+
+
+rehi
+
+
+hello again
+
+Most of these are not used at universities or in the Unix
+world, though ROTF and TTFN have gained some currency there and
+IMHO is common; conversely, most of the people who know these are
+unfamiliar with FOO?, BCNU, HELLOP, NIL, and T.
+
+The MUD community uses a mixture of
+Usenet/Internet emoticons, a few of the more natural of the
+old-style talk-mode abbrevs, and some of the `social' list above;
+specifically, MUD respondents report use of BBL, BRB, LOL, b4,
+BTW, WTF, TTFN, and WTH. The use of `rehi' is also common; in
+fact, mudders are fond of re- compounds and will frequently
+`rehug' or `rebonk' (see bonk/oif) people. The word `re' by itself
+is taken as `regreet'. In general, though, MUDders express a
+preference for typing things out in full rather than using
+abbreviations; this may be due to the relative youth of the MUD
+cultures, which tend to include many touch typists and to assume
+high-speed links. The following uses specific to MUDs are
+reported:
+
+
+CU l8er
+
+
+see you later (mutant of CU l8tr)
+
+
+FOAD
+
+
+fuck off and die (use of this is generally OTT)
+
+
+OTT
+
+
+over the top (excessive, uncalled for)
+
+
+ppl
+
+
+abbrev for "people"
+
+
+THX
+
+
+thanks (mutant of TNX; clearly this comes in
+batches of 1138 (the Lucasian K)).
+
+
+UOK?
+
+
+are you OK?
+
+Some B1FFisms (notably the variant
+spelling d00d) appear to be passing into wider use
+among some subgroups of MUDders.
+
+One final note on talk mode style: neophytes, when in talk
+mode, often seem to think they must produce letter-perfect prose
+because they are typing rather than speaking. This is not the
+best approach. It can be very frustrating to wait while your
+partner pauses to think of a word, or repeatedly makes the same
+spelling error and backs up to fix it. It is usually best just to
+leave typographical errors behind and plunge forward, unless
+severe confusion may result; in that case it is often fastest
+just to type "xxx" and start over from before the mistake.
+
+See also hakspek, emoticon.
+
+
+Node:talker system, Next:tall card, Previous:talk mode, Up:= T = 
+
+talker system n.
+
+British hackerism for software that enables real-time chat or
+talk mode.
+
+
+Node:tall card, Next:tanked, Previous:talker system, Up:= T = 
+
+tall card n.
+
+A PC/AT-size expansion card (these can be larger than IBM PC
+or XT cards because the AT case is bigger). See also short card. When IBM introduced the PS/2
+model 30 (its last gasp at supporting the ISA) they made the case
+lower and many industry-standard tall cards wouldn't fit; this
+was felt to be a reincarnation of the connector conspiracy, done with
+less style.
+
+
+Node:tanked, Next:TANSTAAFL, Previous:tall card, Up:= T = 
+
+tanked adj.
+
+Same as down, used primarily by
+Unix hackers. See also hosed.
+Popularized as a synonym for `drunk' by Steve Dallas in the late
+lamented "Bloom County" comic strip.
+
+
+Node:TANSTAAFL, Next:tape monkey, Previous:tanked, Up:=
+T = 
+
+TANSTAAFL /tan'stah-fl/
+
+[acronym, from Robert Heinlein's classic "The Moon is a Harsh
+Mistress".] "There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch", often
+invoked when someone is balking at the prospect of using an
+unpleasantly heavyweight
+technique, or at the poor quality of some piece of software, or
+at the signal-to-noise
+ratio of unmoderated Usenet newsgroups. "What? Don't tell
+me I have to implement a database back end to get my address book
+program to work!" "Well, TANSTAAFL you know." This phrase owes
+some of its popularity to the high concentration of
+science-fiction fans and political libertarians in hackerdom (see
+Appendix B for
+discussion).
+
+
+Node:tape monkey, Next:tar and feather, Previous:TANSTAAFL, Up:= T = 
+
+tape monkey n.
+
+A junior system administrator, one who might plausibly be
+assigned to do physical swapping of tapes and subsequent storage.
+When a backup needs to be restored, one might holler "Tape
+monkey!" (Compare one-banana
+problem) Also used to dismiss jobs not worthy of a highly
+trained sysadmin's ineffable talents: "Cable up her PC? You must
+be joking - I'm no tape monkey."
+
+
+Node:tar and feather, Next:tarball, Previous:tape monkey, Up:= T = 
+
+tar and feather vi.
+
+[from Unix tar(1)] To create a transportable
+archive from a group of files by first sticking them together
+with tar(1) (the Tape ARchiver) and then compressing
+the result (see compress). The
+latter action is dubbed `feathering' partly for euphony and (if
+only for contrived effect) by analogy to what you do with an
+airplane propeller to decrease wind resistance, or with an oar to
+reduce water resistance; smaller files, after all, slip through
+comm links more easily. Compare the more common tarball.
+
+
+Node:tarball, Next:tardegy, Previous:tar and feather, Up:= T = 
+
+tarball n.
+
+[very common; prob. based on the "tar baby" in the Uncle Remus
+folk tales] An archive, created with the Unix tar(1) utility,
+containing myriad related files. "Here, I'll just ftp you a
+tarball of the whole project." Tarballs have been the standard
+way to ship around source-code distributions since the mid-1980s;
+in retrospect it seems odd that this term did not enter common
+usage until the late 1990s.
+
+
+Node:tardegy, Next:taste, Previous:tarball, Up:= T
+= 
+
+tardegy
+
+n. [deliberate mangling of `tragedy'] An incident in which
+someone who clearly deserves to be selected out of the gene pool
+on grounds of extreme stupidity meets with a messy end. Coined on
+the Darwin list, which is dedicated to chronicling such
+incidents; but almost all hackers would instantly recognize the
+intention of the term and laugh.
+
+
+Node:taste, Next:tayste, Previous:tardegy, Up:= T
+= 
+
+taste [primarily MIT] n.
+
+1. The quality in a program that tends to be inversely
+proportional to the number of features, hacks, and kluges
+programmed into it. Also `tasty', `tasteful', `tastefulness'.
+"This feature comes in N tasty flavors." Although `tasty' and
+`flavorful' are essentially synonyms, `taste' and flavor are not. Taste refers to sound judgment
+on the part of the creator; a program or feature can
+exhibit taste but cannot have taste. On the
+other hand, a feature can have flavor. Also, flavor has the additional meaning of `kind' or
+`variety' not shared by `taste'. The marked sense of flavor is more popular than `taste', though
+both are widely used. See also elegant. 2. Alt. sp. of tayste.
+
+
+Node:tayste, Next:TCB, Previous:taste, Up:= T
+= 
+
+tayste /tayst/
+
+n. Two bits; also as taste. Syn.
+crumb, quarter. See nybble.
+
+
+Node:TCB, Next:TCP/IP, Previous:tayste, Up:= T
+= 
+
+TCB /T-C-B/ n.
+
+[IBM] 1. Trouble Came Back. An intermittent or
+difficult-to-reproduce problem that has failed to respond to
+neglect or shotgun
+debugging. Compare heisenbug. Not to be confused with: 2.
+Trusted Computing Base, an `official' jargon term from the Orange Book.
+
+
+Node:TCP/IP, Next:TechRef, Previous:TCB, Up:= T =
+
+
+TCP/IP /T'C-P I'P/ n.
+
+1. [Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol] The
+wide-area-networking protocol that makes the Internet work, and
+the only one most hackers can speak the name of without laughing
+or retching. Unlike such allegedly `standard' competitors such as
+X.25, DECnet, and the ISO 7-layer stack, TCP/IP evolved primarily
+by actually being used, rather than being handed down
+from on high by a vendor or a heavily-politicized standards
+committee. Consequently, it (a) works, (b) actually promotes
+cheap cross-platform connectivity, and (c) annoys the hell out of
+corporate and governmental empire-builders everywhere. Hackers
+value all three of these properties. See creationism. 2. [Amateur Packet Radio]
+Formerly expanded as "The Crap Phil Is Pushing". The reference is
+to Phil Karn, KA9Q, and the context was an ongoing
+technical/political war between the majority of sites still
+running AX.25 and the TCP/IP relays. TCP/IP won.
+
+
+Node:TechRef, Next:TECO, Previous:TCP/IP, Up:= T
+= 
+
+TechRef /tek'ref/ n.
+
+[MS-DOS] The original "IBM PC Technical Reference Manual",
+including the BIOS listing and complete schematics for the PC.
+The only PC documentation in the original-issue package that was
+considered serious by real hackers.
+
+
+Node:TECO, Next:tee, Previous:TechRef, Up:= T
+= 
+
+TECO /tee'koh/ n.,v. obs.
+
+1. [originally an acronym for `[paper] Tape Editor and
+COrrector'; later, `Text Editor and COrrector'] n. A text editor
+developed at MIT and modified by just about everybody. With all
+the dialects included, TECO may have been the most prolific
+editor in use before EMACS, to which
+it was directly ancestral. Noted for its powerful
+programming-language-like features and its unspeakably hairy
+syntax. It is literally the case that every string of characters
+is a valid TECO program (though probably not a useful one); one
+common game used to be mentally working out what the TECO
+commands corresponding to human names did. 2. vt. Originally, to
+edit using the TECO editor in one of its infinite variations (see
+below). 3. vt.,obs. To edit even when TECO is not the
+editor being used! This usage is rare and now primarily
+historical.
+
+As an example of TECO's obscurity, here is a TECO program that
+takes a list of names such as:
+
+Loser, J. Random
+Quux, The Great
+Dick, Moby
+
+
+sorts them alphabetically according to surname, and then puts
+the surname last, removing the comma, to produce the
+following:
+
+Moby Dick
+J. Random Loser
+The Great Quux
+
+
+The program is
+
+[1 J^P$L$$
+J <.-Z; .,(S,$ -D .)FX1 @F^B $K :L I $ G1 L>$$
+
+
+(where ^B means `Control-B' (ASCII 0000010) and $ is actually
+an alt or escape (ASCII 0011011)
+character).
+
+In fact, this very program was used to produce the second,
+sorted list from the first list. The first hack at it had a bug: GLS (the author) had accidentally
+omitted the @ in front of F^B, which as
+anyone can see is clearly the Wrong
+Thing. It worked fine the second time. There is no space
+to describe all the features of TECO, but it may be of interest
+that ^P means `sort' and J<.-Z;
+... L> is an idiomatic series of
+commands for `do once for every line'.
+
+In mid-1991, TECO is pretty much one with the dust of history,
+having been replaced in the affections of hackerdom by EMACS. Descendants of an early (and
+somewhat lobotomized) version adopted by DEC can still be found
+lurking on VMS and a couple of crufty PDP-11 operating systems,
+however, and ports of the more advanced MIT versions remain the
+focus of some antiquarian interest. See also retrocomputing, write-only language.
+
+
+Node:tee, Next:teergrube, Previous:TECO, Up:= T =
+
+
+tee n.,vt.
+
+[Purdue] A carbon copy of an electronic transmission. "Oh,
+you're sending him the bits to that?
+Slap on a tee for me." From the Unix command tee(1),
+itself named after a pipe fitting (see plumbing). Can also mean `save one for me',
+as in "Tee a slice for me!" Also spelled `T'.
+
+
+Node:teergrube, Next:teledildonics, Previous:tee, Up:= T
+= 
+
+teergrube /teer'groob/ n.
+
+[German for `tar pit'] A trap set to punish spammers who use
+an address harvester; a
+mail server deliberately set up to be really, really slow. To
+activate it, scatter addresses that look like users on the
+teergrube's host in places where the address harvester will be
+trolling (one popular way is to embed the fake address in a
+Usenet sig block next to a human-readable warning not to send
+mail to it). The address harvester will dutifully collect the
+address. When the spammer tries to mailbomb it, his mailer will
+get stuck.
+
+
+Node:teledildonics, Next:Telerat, Previous:teergrube, Up:= T = 
+
+teledildonics /tel`*-dil-do'-niks/ n.
+
+Sex in a computer simulated virtual reality, esp.
+computer-mediated sexual interaction between the VR presences of two humans. This practice is not
+yet possible except in the rather limited form of erotic
+conversation on MUDs and the like. The
+term, however, is widely recognized in the VR community as a
+ha ha only serious
+projection of things to come. "When we can sustain a
+multi-sensory surround good enough for teledildonics,
+then we'll know we're getting somewhere." See also hot chat.
+
+
+Node:Telerat, Next:TELNET, Previous:teledildonics, Up:= T = 
+
+Telerat /tel'*-rat/ n. obs.
+
+Unflattering hackerism for `Teleray', a now-extinct line of
+extremely losing terminals. Compare AIDX, Macintrash
+Nominal
+Semidestructor, ScumOS,
+sun-stools, HP-SUX, Slowlaris.
+
+
+Node:TELNET, Next:ten-finger interface, Previous:Telerat, Up:= T = 
+
+TELNET /tel'net/ vt.
+
+(also commonly lowercased as `telnet') To communicate with
+another Internet host using the TELNET (RFC 854) protocol (usually using a program of the
+same name). TOPS-10 people used the word IMPCOM, since that was
+the program name for them. Sometimes abbreviated to TN /T-N/. "I
+usually TN over to SAIL just to read the AP News."
+
+
+Node:ten-finger interface,
+Next:tense, Previous:TELNET, Up:= T = 
+
+ten-finger interface n.
+
+The interface between two networks that cannot be directly
+connected for security reasons; refers to the practice of placing
+two terminals side by side and having an operator read from one
+and type into the other.
+
+
+Node:tense, Next:tentacle, Previous:ten-finger interface, Up:= T = 
+
+tense adj.
+
+Of programs, very clever and efficient. A tense piece of code
+often got that way because it was highly bummed, but sometimes it was just based on a great
+idea. A comment in a clever routine by Mike Kazar, once a
+grad-student hacker at CMU: "This routine is so tense it will
+bring tears to your eyes." A tense programmer is one who produces
+tense code.
+
+
+Node:tentacle, Next:tenured graduate student,
+Previous:tense, Up:= T = 
+
+tentacle n.
+
+A covert pseudo, sense 1. An
+artificial identity created in cyberspace for nefarious and
+deceptive purposes. The implication is that a single person may
+have multiple tentacles. This term was originally floated in some
+paranoid ravings on the cypherpunks list (see cypherpunk), and adopted in a spirit of
+irony by other, saner members. It has since shown up, used
+seriously, in the documentation for some remailer software, and
+is now (1994) widely recognized on the net.
+
+
+Node:tenured graduate
+student, Next:tera-,
+Previous:tentacle, Up:= T = 
+
+tenured graduate student n.
+
+One who has been in graduate school for 10 years (the usual
+maximum is 5 or 6): a `ten-yeared' student (get it?). Actually,
+this term may be used of any grad student beginning in his
+seventh year. Students don't really get tenure, of course, the
+way professors do, but a tenth-year graduate student has probably
+been around the university longer than any untenured
+professor.
+
+
+Node:tera-, Next:teraflop club, Previous:tenured graduate
+student, Up:= T = 
+
+tera- /te'r*/ pref.
+
+[SI] See quantifiers.
+
+
+Node:teraflop club, Next:terminak, Previous:tera-, Up:= T
+= 
+
+teraflop club /te'r*-flop kluhb/ n.
+
+[FLOP = Floating Point Operation] A mythical association of
+people who consume outrageous amounts of computer time in order
+to produce a few simple pictures of glass balls with intricate
+ray-tracing techniques. Caltech professor James Kajiya is said to
+have been the founder. Compare Knights of the Lambda
+Calculus.
+
+
+Node:terminak, Next:terminal brain death, Previous:teraflop club, Up:= T = 
+
+terminak /ter'mi-nak`/ n.
+
+[Caltech, ca. 1979] Any malfunctioning computer terminal. A
+common failure mode of Lear-Siegler ADM 3a terminals caused the
+`L' key to produce the `K' code instead; complaints about this
+tended to look like "Terminak #3 has a bad keyboard. Pkease fix."
+Compare dread high-bit
+disease, frogging; see
+also AIDX, Nominal Semidestructor, ScumOS, sun-stools, Telerat, HP-SUX,
+Slowlaris.
+
+
+Node:terminal brain death,
+Next:terminal
+illness, Previous:terminak, Up:=
+T = 
+
+terminal brain death n.
+
+The extreme form of terminal
+illness (sense 1). What someone who has obviously been
+hacking continuously for far too long is said to be suffering
+from.
+
+
+Node:terminal illness, Next:terminal junkie,
+Previous:terminal brain death, Up:= T = 
+
+terminal illness n.
+
+1. Syn. raster burn. 2.
+The `burn-in' condition your CRT tends to get if you don't have a
+screen saver.
+
+
+Node:terminal junkie, Next:terpri, Previous:terminal illness, Up:= T = 
+
+terminal junkie n.
+
+[UK] A wannabee or early larval stage hacker who spends
+most of his or her time wandering the directory tree and writing
+noddy programs just to get a fix of
+computer time. Variants include `terminal jockey', `console
+junkie', and console
+jockey. The term `console jockey' seems to imply more
+expertise than the other three (possibly because of the exalted
+status of the console relative to
+an ordinary terminal). See also twink, read-only
+user. Appropriately, this term was used in the works of
+William S. Burroughs to describe a heroin addict with an
+unlimited supply.
+
+
+Node:terpri, Next:test, Previous:terminal junkie, Up:= T = 
+
+terpri /ter'pree/ vi.
+
+[from LISP 1.5 (and later, MacLISP)] To output a newline. Now rare as jargon, though still used
+as techspeak in Common LISP. It is a contraction of `TERminate
+PRInt line', named for the fact that, on some early OSes and
+hardware, no characters would be printed until a complete line
+was formed, so this operation terminated the line and emitted the
+output.
+
+
+Node:test, Next:TeX, Previous:terpri, Up:= T
+= 
+
+test n.
+
+1. Real users bashing on a prototype long enough to get
+thoroughly acquainted with it, with careful monitoring and
+followup of the results. 2. Some bored random user trying a
+couple of the simpler features with a developer looking over his
+or her shoulder, ready to pounce on mistakes. Judging by the
+quality of most software, the second definition is far more
+prevalent. See also demo.
+
+
+Node:TeX, Next:text, Previous:test, Up:= T =
+
+
+TeX /tekh/ n.
+
+An extremely powerful macro-based
+text formatter written by Donald E. Knuth, very popular in the computer-science
+community (it is good enough to have displaced Unix troff, the other favored formatter, even at many
+Unix installations). TeX fans insist on the correct (guttural)
+pronunciation, and the correct spelling (all caps, squished
+together, with the E depressed below the baseline; the mixed-case
+`TeX' is considered an acceptable kluge on ASCII-only devices).
+Fans like to proliferate names from the word `TeX' -- such as
+TeXnician (TeX user), TeXhacker (TeX programmer), TeXmaster
+(competent TeX programmer), TeXhax, and TeXnique. See also CrApTeX.
+
+Knuth began TeX because he had become annoyed at the declining
+quality of the typesetting in volumes I-III of his monumental
+"Art of Computer Programming" (see Knuth, also bible).
+In a manifestation of the typical hackish urge to solve the
+problem at hand once and for all, he began to design his own
+typesetting language. He thought he would finish it on his
+sabbatical in 1978; he was wrong by only about 8 years. The
+language was finally frozen around 1985, but volume IV of "The
+Art of Computer Programming" is not expected to appear until
+2002. The impact and influence of TeX's design has been such that
+nobody minds this very much. Many grand hackish projects have
+started as a bit of toolsmithing
+on the way to something else; Knuth's diversion was simply on a
+grander scale than most.
+
+TeX has also been a noteworthy example of free, shared, but
+high-quality software. Knuth offers a monetary awards to anyone
+who found and reported bugs dating from before the 1989 code
+freeze; as the years wore on and the few remaining bugs were
+fixed (and new ones even harder to find), the bribe went up.
+Though well-written, TeX is so large (and so full of cutting edge
+technique) that it is said to have unearthed at least one bug in
+every Pascal system it has been compiled with.
+
+
+Node:text, Next:thanks in advance, Previous:TeX, Up:= T = 
+
+text n.
+
+1. [techspeak] Executable code, esp. a `pure code' portion
+shared between multiple instances of a program running in a
+multitasking OS. Compare English.
+2. Textual material in the mainstream sense; data in ordinary
+ASCII or EBCDIC representation (see flat-ASCII). "Those are text files; you can
+review them using the editor." These two contradictory senses
+confuse hackers, too.
+
+
+Node:thanks in advance,
+Next:That's not a
+bug that's a feature!, Previous:text, Up:= T =
+
+
+thanks in advance
+
+[Usenet] Conventional net.politeness ending a posted request
+for information or assistance. Sometimes written `advTHANKSance'
+or `aTdHvAaNnKcSe' or abbreviated `TIA'. See net.-, netiquette.
+
+
+Node:That's not a bug
+that's a feature!, Next:the literature, Previous:thanks in advance,
+Up:= T = 
+
+That's not a bug, that's a feature!
+
+The canonical first parry in a
+debate about a purported bug. The complainant, if unconvinced, is
+likely to retort that the bug is then at best a misfeature. See also feature.
+
+
+Node:the literature, Next:the network, Previous:That's not a
+bug that's a feature!, Up:=
+T = 
+
+the literature n.
+
+Computer-science journals and other publications, vaguely
+gestured at to answer a question that the speaker believes is
+trivial. Thus, one might answer an
+annoying question by saying "It's in the literature." Oppose
+Knuth, which has no connotation of
+triviality.
+
+
+Node:the network, Next:the
+X that can be Y is not the true X, Previous:the literature, Up:= T = 
+
+the network n.
+
+1. Historicaslly, the union of all the major noncommercial,
+academic, and hacker-oriented networks, such as Internet, the
+pre-1990 ARPANET, NSFnet, BITNET,
+and the virtual UUCP and Usenet
+`networks', plus the corporate in-house networks and commercial
+time-sharing services (such as CompuServe, GEnie and AOL) that
+gateway to them. A site is generally considered `on the network'
+if it can be reached through some combination of Internet-style
+(@-sign) and UUCP (bang-path) addresses. See Internet, bang
+path, Internet
+address, network
+address. 2. Following the mass-culture discovery of the
+Internet in 1994 and subsequent proliferation of cheap TCP/IP
+connections, "the network" is increasingly synonymous with the
+Internet itself (as it was before the second wave of wide-area
+computer networking began around 1980). 3. A fictional conspiracy
+of libertarian hacker-subversives and anti-authoritarian
+monkeywrenchers described in Robert Anton Wilson's novel
+"Schrödinger's Cat", to which many hackers have subsequently
+decided they belong (this is an example of ha ha only serious).
+
+In sense 1, `the network' is often abbreviated to `the net'.
+"Are you on the net?" is a frequent question when hackers first
+meet face to face, and "See you on the net!" is a frequent
+goodbye.
+
+
+Node:the X
+that can be Y is not the true X, Next:theology, Previous:the network, Up:= T = 
+
+the X that can be Y is not the true X
+
+Yet another instance of hackerdom's peculiar attraction to
+mystical references -- a common humorous way of making exclusive
+statements about a class of things. The template is from the "Tao
+te Ching": "The Tao which can be spoken of is not the true Tao."
+The implication is often that the X is a mystery accessible only
+to the enlightened. See the trampoline entry for an example, and
+compare has the X
+nature.
+
+
+Node:theology, Next:theory, Previous:the
+X that can be Y is not the true X, Up:= T = 
+
+theology n.
+
+1. Ironically or humorously used to refer to religious issues. 2. Technical fine
+points of an abstruse nature, esp. those where the resolution is
+of theoretical interest but is relatively marginal with respect to actual use of a
+design or system. Used esp. around software issues with a heavy
+AI or language-design component, such as the smart-data vs.
+smart-programs dispute in AI.
+
+
+Node:theory, Next:thinko, Previous:theology, Up:=
+T = 
+
+theory n.
+
+The consensus, idea, plan, story, or set of rules that is
+currently being used to inform a behavior. This usage is a
+generalization and (deliberate) abuse of the technical meaning.
+"What's the theory on fixing this TECO loss?" "What's the theory
+on dinner tonight?" ("Chinatown, I guess.") "What's the current
+theory on letting lusers on during the day?" "The theory behind
+this change is to fix the following well-known
+screw...."
+
+
+Node:thinko, Next:This can't happen, Previous:theory, Up:= T = 
+
+thinko /thing'koh/ n.
+
+[by analogy with `typo'] A momentary, correctable glitch in
+mental processing, especially one involving recall of information
+learned by rote; a bubble in the stream of consciousness. Syn.
+braino; see also brain fart. Compare mouso.
+
+
+Node:This can't happen,
+Next:This time
+for sure!, Previous:thinko, Up:= T
+= 
+
+This can't happen
+
+Less clipped variant of can't
+happen.
+
+
+Node:This time for sure!,
+Next:thrash, Previous:This can't happen,
+Up:= T = 
+
+This time, for sure! excl.
+
+Ritual affirmation frequently uttered during protracted
+debugging sessions involving numerous small obstacles (e.g.,
+attempts to bring up a UUCP connection). For the proper effect,
+this must be uttered in a fruity imitation of Bullwinkle J.
+Moose. Also heard: "Hey, Rocky! Watch me pull a rabbit out of my
+hat!" The canonical response is,
+of course, "But that trick never works!" See hacker humor.
+
+
+Node:thrash, Next:thread, Previous:This time for sure!, Up:= T = 
+
+thrash vi.
+
+To move wildly or violently, without accomplishing anything
+useful. Paging or swapping systems that are overloaded waste most
+of their time moving data into and out of core (rather than
+performing useful computation) and are therefore said to thrash.
+Someone who keeps changing his mind (esp. about what to work on
+next) is said to be thrashing. A person frantically trying to
+execute too many tasks at once (and not spending enough time on
+any single task) may also be described as thrashing. Compare
+multitask.
+
+
+Node:thread, Next:three-finger salute, Previous:thrash, Up:= T = 
+
+thread n.
+
+[Usenet, GEnie, CompuServe] Common abbreviation of `topic
+thread', a more or less continuous chain of postings on a single
+topic. To `follow a thread' is to read a series of Usenet
+postings sharing a common subject or (more correctly) which are
+connected by Reference headers. The better newsreaders can
+present news in thread order automatically. Not to be confused
+with the techspeak sense of `thread', e.g. a lightweight
+process.
+
+Interestingly, this is far from a neologism. The OED says:
+"That which connects the successive points in anything, esp. a
+narrative, train of thought, or the like; the sequence of events
+or ideas continuing throughout the whole course of anything;"
+Citations are given going back to 1642!
+
+
+Node:three-finger salute,
+Next:throwaway
+account, Previous:thread, Up:= T
+= 
+
+three-finger salute n.
+
+Syn. Vulcan nerve
+pinch.
+
+
+Node:throwaway account, Next:thud, Previous:three-finger salute, Up:= T = 
+
+throwaway account n.
+
+1. An inexpensive Internet account purchased on a legitimate
+ISP for the the sole purpose of spewing
+spam. 2. An inexpensive Internet
+account obtained for the sole purpose of doing something which
+requires a valid email address but being able to ignore spam
+since the user will not look at the account again.
+
+
+Node:thud, Next:thumb, Previous:throwaway account, Up:= T = 
+
+thud n.
+
+1. Yet another metasyntactic variable (see
+foo). It is reported that at CMU from
+the mid-1970s the canonical series of these was `foo', `bar',
+`thud', `blat'. 2. Rare term for the hash character, `#' (ASCII
+0100011). See ASCII for other
+synonyms.
+
+
+Node:thumb, Next:thundering herd problem,
+Previous:thud, Up:= T = 
+
+thumb n.
+
+The slider on a window-system scrollbar. So called because
+moving it allows you to browse through the contents of a text
+window in a way analogous to thumbing through a book.
+
+
+Node:thundering herd
+problem, Next:thunk,
+Previous:thumb, Up:= T = 
+
+thundering herd problem
+
+Scheduler thrashing. This can happen under Unix when you have
+a number of processes that are waiting on a single event. When
+that event (a connection to the web server, say) happens, every
+process which could possibly handle the event is awakened. In the
+end, only one of those processes will actually be able to do the
+work, but, in the meantime, all the others wake up and contend
+for CPU time before being put back to sleep. Thus the system
+thrashes briefly while a herd of processes thunders through. If
+this starts to happen many times per second, the performance
+impact can be significant.
+
+
+Node:thunk, Next:tick, Previous:thundering herd problem, Up:= T = 
+
+thunk /thuhnk/ n.
+
+1. [obs.]"A piece of coding which provides an address",
+according to P. Z. Ingerman, who invented thunks in 1961 as a way
+of binding actual parameters to their formal definitions in
+Algol-60 procedure calls. If a procedure is called with an
+expression in the place of a formal parameter, the compiler
+generates a thunk which computes the expression and leaves the
+address of the result in some standard location. 2. Later
+generalized into: an expression, frozen together with its
+environment, for later evaluation if and when needed (similar to
+what in techspeak is called a `closure'). The process of
+unfreezing these thunks is called `forcing'. 3. A stubroutine, in an overlay programming
+environment, that loads and jumps to the correct overlay. Compare
+trampoline. 4. People and
+activities scheduled in a thunklike manner. "It occurred to me
+the other day that I am rather accurately modeled by a thunk -- I
+frequently need to be forced to completion." -- paraphrased from
+a plan file.
+
+Historical note: There are a couple of onomatopoeic myths
+circulating about the origin of this term. The most common is
+that it is the sound made by data hitting the stack; another
+holds that the sound is that of the data hitting an accumulator.
+Yet another suggests that it is the sound of the expression being
+unfrozen at argument-evaluation time. In fact, according to the
+inventors, it was coined after they realized (in the wee hours
+after hours of discussion) that the type of an argument in
+Algol-60 could be figured out in advance with a little
+compile-time thought, simplifying the evaluation machinery. In
+other words, it had `already been thought of'; thus it was
+christened a `thunk', which is "the past tense of `think' at two
+in the morning".
+
+
+Node:tick, Next:tick-list features, Previous:thunk, Up:= T = 
+
+tick n.
+
+1. A jiffy (sense 1). 2. In
+simulations, the discrete unit of time that passes between
+iterations of the simulation mechanism. In AI applications, this
+amount of time is often left unspecified, since the only
+constraint of interest is the ordering of events. This sort of AI
+simulation is often pejoratively referred to as `tick-tick-tick'
+simulation, especially when the issue of simultaneity of events
+with long, independent chains of causes is handwaved. 3. In the FORTH language, a single
+quote character.
+
+
+Node:tick-list features,
+Next:tickle a bug,
+Previous:tick, Up:= T = 
+
+tick-list features n.
+
+[Acorn Computers] Features in software or hardware that
+customers insist on but never use (calculators in desktop TSRs
+and that sort of thing). The American equivalent would be
+`checklist features', but this jargon sense of the phrase has not
+been reported.
+
+
+Node:tickle a bug, Next:tiger team, Previous:tick-list features,
+Up:= T = 
+
+tickle a bug vt.
+
+To cause a normally hidden bug to manifest itself through some
+known series of inputs or operations. "You can tickle the bug in
+the Paradise VGA card's highlight handling by trying to set
+bright yellow reverse video."
+
+
+Node:tiger team, Next:time bomb, Previous:tickle a bug, Up:= T = 
+
+tiger team n.
+
+[U.S. military jargon] 1. Originally, a team (of sneakers) whose purpose is to penetrate
+security, and thus test security measures. These people are paid
+professionals who do hacker-type tricks, e.g., leave cardboard
+signs saying "bomb" in critical defense installations,
+hand-lettered notes saying "Your codebooks have been stolen"
+(they usually haven't been) inside safes, etc. After a successful
+penetration, some high-ranking security type shows up the next
+morning for a `security review' and finds the sign, note, etc.,
+and all hell breaks loose. Serious successes of tiger teams
+sometimes lead to early retirement for base commanders and
+security officers (see the patch
+entry for an example). 2. Recently, and more generally, any
+official inspection team or special firefighting group called in to look at a
+problem.
+
+A subset of tiger teams are professional crackers, testing the security of military
+computer installations by attempting remote attacks via networks
+or supposedly `secure' comm channels. Some of their escapades, if
+declassified, would probably rank among the greatest hacks of all
+times. The term has been adopted in commercial computer-security
+circles in this more specific sense.
+
+
+Node:time bomb, Next:time sink, Previous:tiger team, Up:= T = 
+
+time bomb n.
+
+A subspecies of logic bomb
+that is triggered by reaching some preset time, either once or
+periodically. There are numerous legends about time bombs set up
+by programmers in their employers' machines, to go off if the
+programmer is fired or laid off and is not present to perform the
+appropriate suppressing action periodically.
+
+Interestingly, the only such incident for which we have been
+pointed to documentary evidence took place in the Soviet Union in
+1986! A disgruntled programmer at the Volga Automobile Plant
+(where the Fiat clones called Ladas were manufactured) planted a
+time bomb which, a week after he'd left on vacation, stopped the
+entire main assembly line for a day. The case attracted lots of
+attention in the Soviet Union because it was the first cracking
+case to make it to court there. The perpetrator got a suspended
+sentence of 3 years in jail and was barred from future work as a
+programmer.
+
+
+Node:time sink, Next:time T, Previous:time bomb, Up:= T = 
+
+time sink n.
+
+[poss. by analogy with `heat sink' or `current sink'] A
+project that consumes unbounded amounts of time.
+
+
+Node:time T, Next:times-or-divided-by, Previous:time sink, Up:= T = 
+
+time T /ti:m T/ n.
+
+1. An unspecified but usually well-understood time, often used
+in conjunction with a later time T+1. "We'll meet on campus at
+time T or at Louie's at time T+1" means, in the context of going
+out for dinner: "We can meet on campus and go to Louie's, or we
+can meet at Louie's itself a bit later." (Louie's was a Chinese
+restaurant in Palo Alto that was a favorite with hackers.) Had
+the number 30 been used instead of the number 1, it would have
+implied that the travel time from campus to Louie's is 30
+minutes; whatever time T is (and that hasn't been decided on
+yet), you can meet half an hour later at Louie's than you could
+on campus and end up eating at the same time. See also since time T
+equals minus infinity.
+
+
+Node:times-or-divided-by,
+Next:TINC, Previous:time T, Up:= T = 
+
+times-or-divided-by quant.
+
+[by analogy with `plus-or-minus'] Term occasionally used when
+describing the uncertainty associated with a scheduling estimate,
+for either humorous or brutally honest effect. For a software
+project, the scheduling uncertainty factor is usually at least
+2.
+
+
+Node:TINC, Next:Tinkerbell program, Previous:times-or-divided-by,
+Up:= T = 
+
+TINC //
+
+[Usenet] Abbreviation: "There Is No Cabal". See backbone cabal and NANA, but note that this abbreviation did not
+enter use until long after the dispersal of the backbone
+cabal.
+
+
+Node:Tinkerbell program,
+Next:TINLC, Previous:TINC, Up:= T = 
+
+Tinkerbell program n.
+
+[Great Britain] A monitoring program used to scan incoming
+network calls and generate alerts when calls are received from
+particular sites, or when logins are attempted using certain IDs.
+Named after `Project Tinkerbell', an experimental phone-tapping
+program developed by British Telecom in the early 1980s.
+
+
+Node:TINLC, Next:tip of the ice-cube, Previous:Tinkerbell
+program, Up:= T = 
+
+TINLC //
+
+Abbreviation: "There Is No Lumber Cartel". See Lumber Cartel. TINLC is a takeoff on
+TINC.
+
+
+Node:tip of the ice-cube,
+Next:tired iron,
+Previous:TINLC, Up:= T = 
+
+tip of the ice-cube n. //
+
+[IBM] The visible part of something small and insignificant.
+Used as an ironic comment in situations where `tip of the
+iceberg' might be appropriate if the subject were at all
+important.
+
+
+Node:tired iron, Next:tits on a keyboard,
+Previous:tip
+of the ice-cube, Up:= T
+= 
+
+tired iron n.
+
+[IBM] Hardware that is perfectly functional but far enough
+behind the state of the art to have been superseded by new
+products, presumably with sufficient improvement in bang-per-buck
+that the old stuff is starting to look a bit like a dinosaur.
+
+
+Node:tits on a keyboard,
+Next:TLA, Previous:tired iron, Up:= T = 
+
+tits on a keyboard n.
+
+Small bumps on certain keycaps to keep touch-typists
+registered. Usually on the 5 of a numeric keypad,
+and on the F and J of a QWERTY keyboard; but older Macs, perverse as
+usual, had them on the D and K keys
+(this changed in 1999).
+
+
+Node:TLA, Next:(TM), Previous:tits on a keyboard, Up:= T = 
+
+TLA /T-L-A/ n.
+
+[Three-Letter Acronym] 1. Self-describing abbreviation for a
+species with which computing terminology is infested. 2. Any
+confusing acronym. Examples include MCA, FTP, SNA, CPU, MMU,
+SCCS, DMU, FPU, NNTP, TLA. People who like this looser usage
+argue that not all TLAs have three letters, just as not all
+four-letter words have four letters. One also hears of `ETLA'
+(Extended Three-Letter Acronym, pronounced /ee tee el ay/) being
+used to describe four-letter acronyms. The term `SFLA' (Stupid
+Four-Letter Acronym) has also been reported. See also YABA.
+
+The self-effacing phrase "TDM TLA" (Too Damn
+Many...) is often used to bemoan the plethora of
+TLAs in use. In 1989, a random of the journalistic persuasion
+asked hacker Paul Boutin "What do you think will be the biggest
+problem in computing in the 90s?" Paul's straight-faced response:
+"There are only 17,000 three-letter acronyms." (To be exact,
+there are 26^3 = 17,576.) There is probably some karmic justice
+in the fact that Paul Boutin subsequently became a
+journalist.
+
+
+Node:(TM), Next:TMRC, Previous:TLA,
+Up:= T = 
+
+(TM) //
+
+[Usenet] ASCII rendition of the trademark-superscript symbol
+appended to phrases that the author feels should be recorded for
+posterity, perhaps in future editions of this lexicon. Sometimes
+used ironically as a form of protest against the recent spate of
+software and algorithm patents and `look and feel' lawsuits. See
+also UN*X.
+
+
+Node:TMRC, Next:TMRCie, Previous:(TM), Up:= T =
+
+
+TMRC /tmerk'/ n.
+
+The Tech Model Railroad Club at MIT, one of the wellsprings of
+hacker culture. The 1959 "Dictionary of the TMRC Language"
+compiled by Peter Samson included several terms that became
+basics of the hackish vocabulary (see esp. foo, mung, and frob).
+
+By 1962, TMRC's legendary layout was already a marvel of
+complexity and has grown in the years since. All the features
+described here were still present when the old layout was
+decomissioned in 1998 just before the demolition of MIT Building
+20, and will almost certainly be retained when the old layout is
+rebuilt (expected in 2003). The control system alone featured
+about 1200 relays. There were scram
+switches located at numerous places around the room that
+could be thwacked if something undesirable was about to occur,
+such as a train going full-bore at an obstruction. Another
+feature of the system was a digital clock on the dispatch board,
+which was itself something of a wonder in those bygone days
+before cheap LEDs and seven-segment displays. When someone hit a
+scram switch the clock stopped and the display was replaced with
+the word `FOO'; at TMRC the scram switches are therefore called
+`foo switches'.
+
+Steven Levy, in his book "Hackers" (see the Bibliography in Appendix C), gives a
+stimulating account of those early years. TMRC's Signals and
+Power Committee included many of the early PDP-1 hackers and the
+people who later became the core of the MIT AI Lab staff. Thirty
+years later that connection is still very much alive, and this
+lexicon accordingly includes a number of entries from a recent
+revision of the TMRC dictionary.
+
+TMRC has a web page at http://web.mit.edu/tmrc/www/.
+
+
+Node:TMRCie, Next:TMTOWTDI, Previous:TMRC, Up:= T =
+
+
+TMRCie /tmerk'ee/, n.
+
+[MIT] A denizen of TMRC.
+
+
+Node:TMTOWTDI, Next:to a first approximation,
+Previous:TMRCie, Up:= T = 
+
+TMTOWTDI /tim-toh'-dee/
+
+There's More Than One Way To Do It. This abbreviation of the
+official motto of Perl is frequently
+used on newsgroups and mailing lists related to that
+language.
+
+
+Node:to a first
+approximation, Next:to a zeroth approximation,
+Previous:TMTOWTDI, Up:= T = 
+
+to a first approximation adj.
+
+1. [techspeak] When one is doing certain numerical
+computations, an approximate solution may be computed by any of
+several heuristic methods, then refined to a final value. By
+using the starting point of a first approximation of the answer,
+one can write an algorithm that converges more quickly to the
+correct result. 2. In jargon, a preface to any comment that
+indicates that the comment is only approximately true. The remark
+"To a first approximation, I feel good" might indicate that
+deeper questioning would reveal that not all is perfect (e.g., a
+nagging cough still remains after an illness).
+
+
+Node:to a zeroth
+approximation, Next:toad,
+Previous:to a first approximation,
+Up:= T = 
+
+to a zeroth approximation
+
+[from `to a first approximation'] A really sloppy
+approximation; a wild guess. Compare social science number.
+
+
+Node:toad, Next:toast, Previous:to a zeroth approximation,
+Up:= T = 
+
+toad vt. [MUD]
+
+1. Notionally, to change a MUD
+player into a toad. 2. To permanently and totally exile a player
+from the MUD. A very serious action, which can only be done by a
+MUD wizard; often involves a lot of
+debate among the other characters first. See also frog, FOD.
+
+
+Node:toast, Next:toaster, Previous:toad, Up:= T =
+
+
+toast 1. n.
+
+Any completely inoperable system or component, esp. one that
+has just crashed and burned: "Uh, oh ... I think
+the serial board is toast." 2. vt. To cause a system to crash
+accidentally, especially in a manner that requires manual
+rebooting. "Rick just toasted the firewall machine again." Compare
+fried.
+
+
+Node:toaster, Next:toeprint, Previous:toast, Up:= T
+= 
+
+toaster n.
+
+1. The archetypal really stupid application for an embedded
+microprocessor controller; often used in comments that imply that
+a scheme is inappropriate technology (but see elevator controller). "DWIM for an assembler? That'd be as silly as
+running Unix on your toaster!"
+2. A very, very dumb computer. "You could run this program on any
+dumb toaster." See bitty box,
+Get a real
+computer!, toy, beige toaster. 3. A Macintosh, esp.
+the Classic Mac. Some hold that this is implied by sense 2. 4. A
+peripheral device. "I bought my box without toasters, but since
+then I've added two boards and a second disk drive." 5. A
+specialized computer used as an appliance. See web toaster, video toaster.
+
+
+Node:toeprint, Next:toggle, Previous:toaster, Up:= T
+= 
+
+toeprint n.
+
+A footprint of especially
+small size.
+
+
+Node:toggle, Next:tool, Previous:toeprint, Up:=
+T = 
+
+toggle vt.
+
+To change a bit from whatever state
+it is in to the other state; to change from 1 to 0 or from 0 to
+1. This comes from `toggle switches', such as standard light
+switches, though the word `toggle' actually refers to the
+mechanism that keeps the switch in the position to which it is
+flipped rather than to the fact that the switch has two
+positions. There are four things you can do to a bit: set it
+(force it to be 1), clear (or zero) it, leave it alone, or toggle
+it. (Mathematically, one would say that there are four distinct
+boolean-valued functions of one boolean argument, but saying that
+is much less fun than talking about toggling bits.)
+
+
+Node:tool, Next:toolsmith, Previous:toggle, Up:= T
+= 
+
+tool 1. n.
+
+A program used primarily to create, manipulate, modify, or
+analyze other programs, such as a compiler or an editor or a
+cross-referencing program. Oppose app,
+operating system. 2.
+[Unix] An application program with a simple, `transparent'
+(typically text-stream) interface designed specifically to be
+used in programmed combination with other tools (see filter, plumbing). 3. [MIT: general to students
+there] vi. To work; to study (connotes tedium). The TMRC
+Dictionary defined this as "to set one's brain to the
+grindstone". See hack. 4. n. [MIT] A
+student who studies too much and hacks too little. (MIT's student
+humor magazine rejoices in the name "Tool and Die".)
+
+
+Node:toolsmith, Next:toor, Previous:tool, Up:= T =
+
+
+toolsmith n.
+
+The software equivalent of a tool-and-die specialist; one who
+specializes in making the tools with
+which other programmers create applications. Many hackers
+consider this more fun than applications per se; to understand
+why, see uninteresting. Jon
+Bentley, in the "Bumper-Sticker Computer Science" chapter of his
+book "More Programming Pearls", quotes Dick Sites from DEC as saying "I'd rather write programs to
+write programs than write programs".
+
+
+Node:toor, Next:topic drift, Previous:toolsmith, Up:= T = 
+
+toor n.
+
+The Bourne-Again Super-user. An alternate account with UID of
+0, created on Unix machines where the root user has an
+inconvenient choice of shell. Compare avatar.
+
+
+Node:topic drift, Next:topic group, Previous:toor, Up:= T
+= 
+
+topic drift n.
+
+Term used on GEnie, Usenet and other electronic fora to
+describe the tendency of a thread to
+drift away from the original subject of discussion (and thus,
+from the Subject header of the originating message), or the
+results of that tendency. The header in each post can be changed
+to keep current with the posts, but usually isn't due to
+forgetfulness or laziness. A single post may often result in
+several posts each responding to a different point in the
+original. Some subthreads will actually be in response to some
+off-the-cuff side comment, possibly degenerating into a flame war, or just as often evolving
+into a separate discussion. Hence, discussions aren't really so
+much threads as they are trees. Except that they don't really
+have leaves, or multiple branching roots; usually some lines of
+discussion will just sort of die off after everyone gets tired of
+them. This could take anywhere from hours to weeks, or even
+longer.
+
+The term `topic drift' is often used in gentle reminders that
+the discussion has strayed off any useful track. "I think we
+started with a question about Niven's last book, but we've ended
+up discussing the sexual habits of the common marmoset. Now
+that's topic drift!"
+
+
+Node:topic group, Next:TOPS-10, Previous:topic drift, Up:= T = 
+
+topic group n.
+
+Syn. forum.
+
+
+Node:TOPS-10, Next:TOPS-20, Previous:topic group, Up:= T = 
+
+TOPS-10 /tops-ten/ n.
+
+DEC's proprietary OS for the fabled
+PDP-10 machines, long a favorite of
+hackers but now effectively extinct. A fountain of hacker
+folklore; see Appendix A. See also ITS,
+TOPS-20, TWENEX, VMS, operating system. TOPS-10 was
+sometimes called BOTS-10 (from `bottoms-ten') as a comment on the
+inappropriateness of describing it as the top of anything.
+
+
+Node:TOPS-20, Next:tourist, Previous:TOPS-10, Up:= T
+= 
+
+TOPS-20 /tops-twen'tee/ n.
+
+See TWENEX.
+
+
+Node:tourist, Next:tourist information, Previous:TOPS-20, Up:= T = 
+
+tourist n.
+
+1. [ITS] A guest on the system, especially one who generally
+logs in over a network from a remote location for comm mode, email, games, and other trivial
+purposes. One step below luser. ITS
+hackers often used to spell this turist, perhaps by some sort of tenuous analogy
+with luser (this usage may also have
+expressed the ITS culture's penchant for six-letterisms, and-or
+been some sort of tribute to Alan Turing). Compare twink, lurker,
+read-only user. 2. [IRC]
+An IRC user who goes from channel to
+channel without saying anything; see channel hopping.
+
+
+Node:tourist information,
+Next:touristic, Previous:tourist, Up:= T = 
+
+tourist information n.
+
+Information in an on-line display that is not immediately
+useful, but contributes to a viewer's gestalt of what's going on
+with the software or hardware behind it. Whether a given piece of
+info falls in this category depends partly on what the user is
+looking for at any given time. The `bytes free' information at
+the bottom of an MS-DOS dir display is tourist
+information; so (most of the time) is the TIME information in a
+Unix ps(1) display.
+
+
+Node:touristic, Next:toy, Previous:tourist information, Up:= T = 
+
+touristic adj.
+
+Having the quality of a tourist.
+Often used as a pejorative, as in `losing touristic scum'. Often
+spelled `turistic' or `turistik', so that phrase might be more
+properly rendered `lusing turistic scum'.
+
+
+Node:toy, Next:toy language, Previous:touristic, Up:= T = 
+
+toy n.
+
+A computer system; always used with qualifiers. 1. `nice toy':
+One that supports the speaker's hacking style adequately. 2.
+`just a toy': A machine that yields insufficient computrons for the speaker's preferred uses.
+This is not condemnatory, as is bitty
+box; toys can at least be fun. It is also strongly
+conditioned by one's expectations; Cray XMP users sometimes
+consider the Cray-1 a `toy', and certainly all RISC boxes and
+mainframes are toys by their standards. See also Get a real computer!.
+
+
+Node:toy language, Next:toy problem, Previous:toy, Up:= T = 
+
+toy language n.
+
+A language useful for instructional purposes or as a
+proof-of-concept for some aspect of computer-science theory, but
+inadequate for general-purpose programming. Bad Things can result when a toy language
+is promoted as a general purpose solution for programming (see
+bondage-and-discipline
+language); the classic example is Pascal. Several moderately well-known
+formalisms for conceptual tasks such as programming Turing
+machines also qualify as toy languages in a less negative sense.
+See also MFTL.
+
+
+Node:toy problem, Next:toy program, Previous:toy language, Up:= T = 
+
+toy problem n.
+
+[AI] A deliberately oversimplified case of a challenging
+problem used to investigate, prototype, or test algorithms for a
+real problem. Sometimes used pejoratively. See also gedanken, toy
+program.
+
+
+Node:toy program, Next:trampoline, Previous:toy problem, Up:= T = 
+
+toy program n.
+
+1. One that can be readily comprehended; hence, a trivial
+program (compare noddy). 2. One for
+which the effort of initial coding dominates the costs through
+its life cycle. See also noddy.
+
+
+Node:trampoline, Next:trap, Previous:toy program, Up:= T = 
+
+trampoline n.
+
+An incredibly hairy technique,
+found in some HLL and program-overlay
+implementations (e.g., on the Macintosh), that involves
+on-the-fly generation of small executable (and, likely as not,
+self-modifying) code objects to do indirection between code
+sections. Under BSD and possibly in other Unixes, trampoline code
+is used to transfer control from the kernel back to user mode
+when a signal (which has had a handler installed) is sent to a
+process. hese pieces of live
+data are called `trampolines'. Trampolines are
+notoriously difficult to understand in action; in fact, it is
+said by those who use this term that the trampoline that doesn't
+bend your brain is not the true trampoline. See also snap.
+
+
+Node:trap, Next:trap door, Previous:trampoline, Up:= T = 
+
+trap
+
+1. n. A program interrupt, usually an interrupt caused by some
+exceptional situation in the user program. In most cases, the OS
+performs some action, then returns control to the program. 2. vi.
+To cause a trap. "These instructions trap to the monitor." Also
+used transitively to indicate the cause of the trap. "The monitor
+traps all input/output instructions."
+
+This term is associated with assembler programming
+(`interrupt' or `exception' is more common among HLL programmers) and appears to be fading into
+history among programmers as the role of assembler continues to
+shrink. However, it is still important to computer architects and
+systems hackers (see system, sense
+1), who use it to distinguish deterministically repeatable
+exceptions from timing-dependent ones (such as I/O
+interrupts).
+
+
+Node:trap door, Next:trash, Previous:trap, Up:= T =
+
+
+trap door n.
+
+(alt. `trapdoor') 1. Syn. back
+door -- a Bad Thing. 2.
+[techspeak] A `trap-door function' is one which is easy to
+compute but very difficult to compute the inverse of. Such
+functions are Good Things with
+important applications in cryptography, specifically in the
+construction of public-key cryptosystems.
+
+
+Node:trash, Next:trawl, Previous:trap door, Up:= T = 
+
+trash vt.
+
+To destroy the contents of (said of a data structure). The
+most common of the family of near-synonyms including mung, mangle, and
+scribble.
+
+
+Node:trawl, Next:tree-killer, Previous:trash, Up:= T
+= 
+
+trawl v.
+
+To sift through large volumes of data (e.g., Usenet postings,
+FTP archives, or the Jargon File) looking for something of
+interest.
+
+
+Node:tree-killer, Next:treeware, Previous:trawl, Up:= T
+= 
+
+tree-killer n.
+
+[Sun] 1. A printer. 2. A person who wastes paper. This epithet
+should be interpreted in a broad sense; `wasting paper' includes
+the production of spiffy but content-free documents. Thus, most
+suits are tree-killers. The negative
+loading of this term may reflect the epithet `tree-killer'
+applied by Treebeard the Ent to the Orcs in J.R.R. Tolkien's
+"Lord of the Rings" (see also elvish, elder
+days).
+
+
+Node:treeware, Next:trit, Previous:tree-killer, Up:= T = 
+
+treeware /tree'weir/ n.
+
+Printouts, books, and other information media made from pulped
+dead trees. Compare tree-killer, see documentation.
+
+
+Node:trit, Next:trivial, Previous:treeware, Up:=
+T = 
+
+trit /trit/ n.
+
+[by analogy with `bit'] One base-3 digit; the amount of
+information conveyed by a selection among one of three equally
+likely outcomes (see also bit). Trits
+arise, for example, in the context of a flag that should actually be able to assume
+three values -- such as yes, no, or unknown. Trits are
+sometimes jokingly called `3-state bits'. A trit may be
+semi-seriously referred to as `a bit and a half', although it is
+linearly equivalent to 1.5849625 bits (that is, log2(3)
+bits).
+
+
+Node:trivial, Next:troff, Previous:trit, Up:= T =
+
+
+trivial adj.
+
+1. Too simple to bother detailing. 2. Not worth the speaker's
+time. 3. Complex, but solvable by methods so well known that
+anyone not utterly cretinous
+would have thought of them already. 4. Any problem one has
+already solved (some claim that hackish `trivial' usually
+evaluates to `I've seen it before'). Hackers' notions of
+triviality may be quite at variance with those of non-hackers.
+See nontrivial, uninteresting.
+
+The physicist Richard Feynman, who had the hacker nature to an
+amazing degree (see his essay "Los Alamos From Below" in "Surely
+You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!"), defined `trivial theorem' as "one
+that has already been proved".
+
+
+Node:troff, Next:troglodyte, Previous:trivial, Up:= T
+= 
+
+troff /T'rof/ or /trof/ n.
+
+[Unix] The gray eminence of Unix text processing; a formatting
+and phototypesetting program, written originally in PDP-11
+assembler and then in barely-structured early C by the late
+Joseph Ossanna, modeled after the earlier ROFF which was in turn
+modeled after the Multics and CTSS program RUNOFF by Jerome Saltzer
+(that name came from the expression "to run off a
+copy"). A companion program, nroff,
+formats output for terminals and line printers.
+
+In 1979, Brian Kernighan modified troff so that it could drive
+phototypesetters other than the Graphic Systems CAT. His paper
+describing that work ("A Typesetter-independent troff," AT&T
+CSTR #97) explains troff's durability. After discussing the
+program's "obvious deficiencies -- a rebarbative input syntax,
+mysterious and undocumented properties in some areas, and a
+voracious appetite for computer resources" and noting the
+ugliness and extreme hairiness of the code and internals,
+Kernighan concludes:
+
+None of these remarks should be taken as denigrating
+Ossanna's accomplishment with TROFF. It has proven a remarkably
+robust tool, taking unbelievable abuse from a variety of
+preprocessors and being forced into uses that were never
+conceived of in the original design, all with considerable grace
+under fire.
+
+
+The success of TeX and desktop
+publishing systems have reduced troff's relative
+importance, but this tribute perfectly captures the strengths
+that secured troff a place in hacker folklore;
+indeed, it could be taken more generally as an indication of
+those qualities of good programs that, in the long run, hackers
+most admire.
+
+
+Node:troglodyte, Next:troglodyte mode, Previous:troff, Up:= T = 
+
+troglodyte n.
+
+[Commodore] 1. A hacker who never leaves his cubicle. The term
+`gnoll' (from Dungeons & Dragons) is also reported. 2. A
+curmudgeon attached to an obsolescent computing environment. The
+combination `ITS troglodyte' was flung around some during the
+Usenet and email wringle-wrangle attending the 2.x.x revision of
+the Jargon File; at least one of the people it was intended to
+describe adopted it with pride.
+
+
+Node:troglodyte mode, Next:Trojan horse, Previous:troglodyte, Up:= T = 
+
+troglodyte mode n.
+
+[Rice University] Programming with the lights turned off,
+sunglasses on, and the terminal inverted (black on white) because
+you've been up for so many days straight that your eyes hurt (see
+raster burn). Loud music
+blaring from a stereo stacked in the corner is optional but
+recommended. See larval
+stage, hack mode.
+
+
+Node:Trojan horse, Next:troll, Previous:troglodyte mode, Up:= T = 
+
+Trojan horse n.
+
+[coined by MIT-hacker-turned-NSA-spook Dan Edwards] A
+malicious, security-breaking program that is disguised as
+something benign, such as a directory lister, archiver, game, or
+(in one notorious 1990 case on the Mac) a program to find and
+destroy viruses! See back door,
+virus, worm, phage, mockingbird.
+
+
+Node:troll, Next:Troll-O-Meter, Previous:Trojan horse, Up:= T = 
+
+troll v.,n.
+
+1. [From the Usenet group _alt.folklore.urban_] To utter
+a posting on Usenet designed to
+attract predictable responses or flames; or, the post itself. Derives from the
+phrase "trolling for newbies" which
+in turn comes from mainstream "trolling", a style of fishing in
+which one trails bait through a likely spot hoping for a bite.
+The well-constructed troll is a post that induces lots of newbies
+and flamers to make themselves look even more clueless than they
+already do, while subtly conveying to the more savvy and
+experienced that it is in fact a deliberate troll. If you don't
+fall for the joke, you get to be in on it. See also YHBT. 2. An individual who chronically trolls in
+sense 1; regularly posts specious arguments, flames or personal
+attacks to a newsgroup, discussion list, or in email for no other
+purpose than to annoy someone or disrupt a discussion. Trolls are
+recognizable by the fact that the have no real interest in
+learning about the topic at hand - they simply want to utter
+flame bait. Like the ugly creatures they are named after, they
+exhibit no redeeming characteristics, and as such, they are
+recognized as a lower form of life on the net, as in, "Oh, ignore
+him, he's just a troll." 3. [Berkeley] Computer lab monitor. A
+popular campus job for CS students. Duties include helping
+newbies and ensuring that lab policies are followed. Probably
+so-called because it involves lurking in dark cavelike
+corners.
+
+Some people claim that the troll (sense 1) is properly a
+narrower category than flame
+bait, that a troll is categorized by containing some
+assertion that is wrong but not overtly controversial. See also
+Troll-O-Meter.
+
+The use of `troll' in either sense is a live metaphor that
+readily produces elaborations and combining forms. For example,
+one not infrequently sees the warning "Do not feed the troll" as
+part of a followup to troll postings.
+
+
+Node:Troll-O-Meter, Next:tron, Previous:troll, Up:= T
+= 
+
+Troll-O-Meter n.
+
+Common Usenet jargon for a notional instrument used to measure
+the quality of a Usenet troll. "Come
+on, everyone! If the above doesn't set off the Troll-O-Meter,
+we're going to have to get him to run around with a big blinking
+sign saying `I am a troll, I'm only in it for the controversy and
+flames' and shooting random gobs of Jell-O(tm) at us before the
+point is proven." Mentions of the Troll-O-Meter are often
+accompanied by an ASCII picture of an arrow pointing at a numeric
+scale. Compare bogometer.
+
+
+Node:tron, Next:true-hacker, Previous:Troll-O-Meter, Up:= T = 
+
+tron v.
+
+[NRL, CMU; prob. fr. the movie "Tron"] To become inaccessible
+except via email or talk(1), especially when one is
+normally available via telephone or in person. Frequently used in
+the past tense, as in: "Ran seems to have tronned on us this
+week" or "Gee, Ran, glad you were able to un-tron yourself". One
+may also speak of `tron mode'; compare spod.
+
+Note that many dialects of BASIC have a TRON/TROFF command
+pair that enables/disables line number tracing; this has no
+obvious relationship to the slang usage.
+
+
+Node:true-hacker, Next:tty, Previous:tron, Up:= T =
+
+
+true-hacker n.
+
+[analogy with `trufan' from SF fandom] One who exemplifies the
+primary values of hacker culture, esp. competence and helpfulness
+to other hackers. A high compliment. "He spent 6 hours helping me
+bring up UUCP and netnews on my FOOBAR 4000 last week --
+manifestly the act of a true-hacker." Compare demigod, oppose munchkin.
+
+
+Node:tty, Next:tube, Previous:true-hacker, Up:= T = 
+
+tty /T-T-Y/, /tit'ee/ n.
+
+The latter pronunciation was primarily ITS, but some Unix
+people say it this way as well; this pronunciation is
+not considered to have sexual undertones. 1. A terminal
+of the teletype variety, characterized by a noisy mechanical
+printer, a very limited character set, and poor print quality.
+Usage: antiquated (like the TTYs themselves). See also bit-paired keyboard. 2.
+[especially Unix] Any terminal at all; sometimes used to refer to
+the particular terminal controlling a given job. 3. [Unix] Any
+serial port, whether or not the device connected to it is a
+terminal; so called because under Unix such devices have names of
+the form tty*. Ambiguity between senses 2 and 3 is common but
+seldom bothersome.
+
+
+Node:tube, Next:tube time, Previous:tty, Up:= T =
+
+
+tube
+
+1. n. A CRT terminal. Never used in the mainstream sense of
+TV; real hackers don't watch TV, except for Loony Toons, Rocky
+& Bullwinkle, Trek Classic, the Simpsons, and the occasional
+cheesy old swashbuckler movie. 2. [IBM] To send a copy of
+something to someone else's terminal. "Tube me that note?"
+
+
+Node:tube time, Next:tunafish, Previous:tube, Up:= T =
+
+
+tube time n.
+
+Time spent at a terminal or console. More inclusive than
+hacking time; commonly used in discussions of what parts of one's
+environment one uses most heavily. "I find I'm spending too much
+of my tube time reading mail since I started this revision."
+
+
+Node:tunafish, Next:tune, Previous:tube time, Up:= T = 
+
+tunafish n.
+
+In hackish lore, refers to the mutated punchline of an age-old
+joke to be found at the bottom of the manual pages of
+tunefs(8) in the original BSD 4.2 distribution. The joke was removed in
+later releases once commercial sites started using 4.2, but
+apparently restored on the 4.4BSD tape and in {Net,Free,Open}BSD.
+Tunefs relates to the `tuning' of file-system parameters for
+optimum performance, and at the bottom of a few pages of wizardly
+inscriptions was a `BUGS' section consisting of the line "You can
+tune a file system, but you can't tunafish". Variants of this can
+be seen in other BSD versions, though it has been excised from
+some versions by humorless management droids. The [nt]roff source for SunOS 4.1.1
+contains a comment apparently designed to prevent this: "Take
+this out and a Unix Demon will dog your steps from now until the
+time_t's wrap around."
+
+[It has since been pointed out that indeed you can tunafish.
+Usually at a canning factory... --ESR]
+
+
+Node:tune, Next:turbo nerd, Previous:tunafish, Up:=
+T = 
+
+tune vt.
+
+[from automotive or musical usage] To optimize a program or
+system for a particular environment, esp. by adjusting numerical
+parameters designed as hooks for
+tuning, e.g., by changing #define lines in C. One
+may `tune for time' (fastest execution), `tune for space' (least
+memory use), or `tune for configuration' (most efficient use of
+hardware). See bum, hot spot, hand-hacking.
+
+
+Node:turbo nerd, Next:Turing tar-pit, Previous:tune, Up:= T = 
+
+turbo nerd n.
+
+See computer geek.
+
+
+Node:Turing tar-pit, Next:turist, Previous:turbo nerd, Up:= T = 
+
+Turing tar-pit n.
+
+1. A place where anything is possible but nothing of interest
+is practical. Alan Turing helped lay the foundations of computer
+science by showing that all machines and languages capable of
+expressing a certain very primitive set of operations are
+logically equivalent in the kinds of computations they can carry
+out, and in principle have capabilities that differ only in speed
+from those of the most powerful and elegantly designed computers.
+However, no machine or language exactly matching Turing's
+primitive set has ever been built (other than possibly as a
+classroom exercise), because it would be horribly slow and far
+too painful to use. A `Turing tar-pit' is any computer language
+or other tool that shares this property. That is, it's
+theoretically universal -- but in practice, the harder you
+struggle to get any real work done, the deeper its inadequacies
+suck you in. Compare bondage-and-discipline
+language. 2. The perennial holy
+wars over whether language A or B is the "most
+powerful".
+
+
+Node:turist, Next:Tux, Previous:Turing tar-pit, Up:= T = 
+
+turist /too'rist/ n.
+
+Var. sp. of tourist, q.v. Also
+in adjectival form, `turistic'. Poss. influenced by luser and `Turing'.
+
+
+Node:Tux, Next:tweak, Previous:turist, Up:= T
+= 
+
+Tux
+
+Tux the Penguin is the official emblem of Linux, This eventuated after a logo contest in
+1996, during which Linus Torvalds endorsed the idea of a penguin
+logo in a couple of famously funny postings. Linus
+explained that he was once bitten by a killer penguin in
+Australia and has felt a special affinity for the species ever
+since. (Linus has since admitted that he was also thinking of
+Feathers McGraw, the evil-genius penguin jewel thief who appeared
+in a Wallace & Grommit feature cartoon, "The Wrong
+Trousers".)
+
+Larry Ewing designed the
+official Tux logo. It has proved a wise choice, amenable to
+hundreds of recognizable variations used as emblems of
+Linux-related projects, products, and user groups. In fact, Tux
+has spawned an entire mythology, of which the Gospel According to
+Tux and the mock-epic poem "Tuxowolf" are among the
+best-known examples.
+
+There is a `real' Tux - a black-footed penguin resident at the
+Bristol Zoo. Several friends of Linux bought a zoo sponsorship
+for Linus as a birthday present in 1996.
+
+
+Node:tweak, Next:tweeter, Previous:Tux, Up:= T =
+
+
+tweak vt.
+
+1. To change slightly, usually in reference to a value. Also
+used synonymously with twiddle. If
+a program is almost correct, rather than figure out the precise
+problem you might just keep tweaking it until it works. See frobnicate and fudge factor; also see shotgun debugging. 2. To tune or bum a
+program; preferred usage in the U.K.
+
+
+Node:tweeter, Next:TWENEX, Previous:tweak, Up:= T
+= 
+
+tweeter n.
+
+[University of Waterloo] Syn. perf,
+chad (sense 1). This term (like woofer) has been in use at Waterloo since
+1972 but is elsewhere unknown. In audio jargon, the word refers
+to the treble speaker(s) on a hi-fi.
+
+
+Node:TWENEX, Next:twiddle, Previous:tweeter, Up:= T
+= 
+
+TWENEX /twe'neks/ n.
+
+The TOPS-20 operating system by DEC
+-- the second proprietary OS for the PDP-10 -- preferred by most
+PDP-10 hackers over TOPS-10 (that is, by those who were not ITS or WAITS
+partisans). TOPS-20 began in 1969 as Bolt, Beranek & Newman's
+TENEX operating system using special paging hardware. By the
+early 1970s, almost all of the systems on the ARPANET ran TENEX.
+DEC purchased the rights to TENEX from BBN and began work to make
+it their own. The first in-house code name for the operating
+system was VIROS (VIRtual memory Operating System); when
+customers started asking questions, the name was changed to SNARK
+so DEC could truthfully deny that there was any project called
+VIROS. When the name SNARK became known, the name was briefly
+reversed to become KRANS; this was quickly abandoned when someone
+objected that `krans' meant `funeral wreath' in Swedish (though
+some Swedish speakers have since said it means simply `wreath';
+this part of the story may be apocryphal). Ultimately DEC picked
+TOPS-20 as the name of the operating system, and it was as
+TOPS-20 that it was marketed. The hacker community, mindful of
+its origins, quickly dubbed it TWENEX (a contraction of `twenty
+TENEX'), even though by this point very little of the original
+TENEX code remained (analogously to the differences between
+AT&T V6 Unix and BSD). DEC people cringed when they heard
+"TWENEX", but the term caught on nevertheless (the written
+abbreviation `20x' was also used). TWENEX was successful and very
+popular; in fact, there was a period in the early 1980s when it
+commanded as fervent a culture of partisans as Unix or ITS -- but
+DEC's decision to scrap all the internal rivals to the VAX
+architecture and its relatively stodgy VMS OS killed the DEC-20
+and put a sad end to TWENEX's brief day in the sun. DEC attempted
+to convince TOPS-20 users to convert to VMS, but instead, by the late 1980s, most of the
+TOPS-20 hackers had migrated to Unix.
+
+
+Node:twiddle, Next:twilight zone, Previous:TWENEX, Up:=
+T = 
+
+twiddle n.
+
+1. Tilde (ASCII 1111110, ~). Also called
+`squiggle', `sqiggle' (sic -- pronounced /skig'l/), and
+`twaddle', but twiddle is the most common term. 2. A small and
+insignificant change to a program. Usually fixes one bug and
+generates several new ones (see also shotgun debugging). 3. vt. To
+change something in a small way. Bits, for example, are often
+twiddled. Twiddling a switch or knobs
+implies much less sense of purpose than toggling or tweaking it;
+see frobnicate. To speak of
+twiddling a bit connotes aimlessness, and at best doesn't specify
+what you're doing to the bit; `toggling a bit' has a more
+specific meaning (see bit
+twiddling, toggle). 4.
+Uncommon name for the twirling
+baton prompt.
+
+
+Node:twilight zone, Next:twink, Previous:twiddle, Up:= T
+= 
+
+twilight zone n. //
+
+[IRC] Notionally, the area of cyberspace where IRC operators live. An op
+is said to have a "connection to the twilight zone".
+
+
+Node:twink, Next:twirling baton, Previous:twilight zone, Up:= T = 
+
+twink /twink/ n.
+
+1. [Berkeley] A clue-repellant user; the next step beyond a
+clueless one. 2. [UCSC] A read-only user. Also reported on the
+Usenet group _soc.motss_; may derive from gay slang for a
+cute young thing with nothing upstairs (compare mainstream
+`chick').
+
+
+Node:twirling baton, Next:two pi, Previous:twink, Up:= T
+= 
+
+twirling baton n.
+
+[PLATO] The overstrike sequence -/|\-/|\- which produces an
+animated twirling baton. If you output it with a single backspace
+between characters, the baton spins in place. If you output the
+sequence BS SP between characters, the baton spins from left to
+right. If you output BS SP BS BS between characters, the baton
+spins from right to left. This is also occasionally called a
+twiddle prompt.
+
+The twirling baton was a popular component of animated
+signature files on the pioneering PLATO educational timesharing
+system. The archie Internet service is perhaps the
+best-known baton program today; it uses the twirling baton as an
+idler indicating that the program is working on a query. The
+twirling baton is also used as a boot progress indicator on
+several BSD variants of Unix; if it stops you're probably going
+to have a long and trying day.
+
+
+Node:two pi, Next:two-to-the-N, Previous:twirling baton, Up:= T = 
+
+two pi quant.
+
+The number of years it takes to finish one's thesis. Occurs in
+stories in the following form: "He started on his thesis; 2 pi
+years later..."
+
+
+Node:two-to-the-N, Next:twonkie, Previous:two pi, Up:= T
+= 
+
+two-to-the-N quant.
+
+An amount much larger than N but
+smaller than infinity. "I have
+2-to-the-N things to do before I can go out for lunch" means you
+probably won't show up.
+
+
+Node:twonkie, Next:u-, Previous:two-to-the-N, Up:= T = 
+
+twonkie /twon'kee/ n.
+
+The software equivalent of a Twinkie (a variety of
+sugar-loaded junk food, or (in gay slang with a small t) the male
+equivalent of `chick'); a useless `feature' added to look sexy
+and placate a marketroid
+(compare Saturday-night
+special). The term may also be related to "The Twonky",
+title menace of a classic SF short story by Lewis Padgett (Henry
+Kuttner and C. L. Moore), first published in the September 1942
+"Astounding Science Fiction" and subsequently much
+anthologized.
+
+
+Node:= U =, Next:= V =, Previous:= T =, Up:The Jargon Lexicon 
+
+= U =
+
+
+u-:
+
+
+UBD:
+
+
+UBE:
+
+
+UCE:
+
+
+UDP:
+
+
+UN*X:
+
+
+undefined
+external reference:
+
+
+under the hood:
+
+
+undocumented
+feature:
+
+
+uninteresting:
+
+
+Unix:
+
+
+Unix brain damage:
+
+
+Unix conspiracy:
+
+
+Unix weenie:
+
+
+unixism:
+
+
+unswizzle:
+
+
+unwind the stack:
+
+
+unwind-protect:
+
+
+up:
+
+
+upload:
+
+
+upthread:
+
+
+urchin:
+
+
+URL:
+
+
+Usenet:
+
+
+Usenet Death
+Penalty:
+
+
+user:
+
+
+user-friendly:
+
+
+user-obsequious:
+
+
+userland:
+
+
+USG Unix:
+
+
+UTSL:
+
+
+UUCPNET:
+
+
+Node:u-, Next:UBD,
+Previous:twonkie, Up:= U = 
+
+u- pref.
+
+Written shorthand for micro-;
+techspeak when applied to metric units, jargon when used
+otherwise. Derived from the Greek letter "mu", the first letter
+of "micro" (and which letter looks a lot like the English letter
+"u").
+
+
+Node:UBD, Next:UBE, Previous:u-,
+Up:= U = 
+
+UBD /U-B-D/ n.
+
+[abbreviation for `User Brain Damage'] An abbreviation used to
+close out trouble reports obviously due to utter cluelessness on
+the user's part. Compare pilot
+error; oppose PBD; see also
+brain-damaged.
+
+
+Node:UBE, Next:UCE, Previous:UBD,
+Up:= U = 
+
+UBE // n.
+
+[abbrev., Unsoliclited Bulk Email] A widespread, more formal
+term for email spam. Compare UCE. The UBE term recognizes that spam is
+uttered by nonprofit and advocacy groups whose motives are not
+commercial.
+
+
+Node:UCE, Next:UDP, Previous:UBE,
+Up:= U = 
+
+UCE n.
+
+[abbrev., Unsolicited Commercial Email] A widespread, more
+formal term for email spam. Compare
+UBE, which may be superseding it.
+
+
+Node:UDP, Next:UN*X, Previous:UCE,
+Up:= U = 
+
+UDP /U-D-P/ v.,n.
+
+[Usenet] Abbreviation for Usenet Death Penalty. Common
+(probably now more so than the full form), and frequently verbed.
+Compare IDP.
+
+
+Node:UN*X, Next:undefined external
+reference, Previous:UDP,
+Up:= U = 
+
+UN*X n.
+
+Used to refer to the Unix operating system (a trademark of
+AT&T, then of Novell, then of SCO, and then of Caldera) in
+writing, but avoiding the need for the ugly (TM) typography. Also used to refer to any or all
+varieties of Unixoid operating systems. Ironically, lawyers now
+say that the requirement for the trademark postfix has no legal
+force, but the asterisk usage is entrenched anyhow. It has been
+suggested that there may be a psychological connection to
+practice in certain religions (especially Judaism) in which the
+name of the deity is never written out in full, e.g., `YHWH' or
+`G-d' is used. See also glob and splat out.
+
+
+Node:undefined
+external reference, Next:under the hood, Previous:UN*X, Up:= U = 
+
+undefined external reference excl.
+
+[Unix] A message from Unix's linker. Used in speech to flag
+loose ends or dangling references in an argument or
+discussion.
+
+
+Node:under the hood, Next:undocumented
+feature, Previous:undefined external
+reference, Up:= U =
+
+
+under the hood adj.
+
+[hot-rodder talk] 1. Used to introduce the underlying
+implementation of a product (hardware, software, or idea).
+Implies that the implementation is not intuitively obvious from
+the appearance, but the speaker is about to enable the listener
+to grok it. "Let's now look under the
+hood to see how ...." 2. Can also imply that the
+implementation is much simpler than the appearance would
+indicate: "Under the hood, we are just fork/execing the shell."
+3. Inside a chassis, as in "Under the hood, this baby has a 40MHz
+68030!"
+
+
+Node:undocumented feature,
+Next:uninteresting,
+Previous:under the
+hood, Up:= U = 
+
+undocumented feature n.
+
+See feature.
+
+
+Node:uninteresting, Next:Unix, Previous:undocumented feature, Up:= U = 
+
+uninteresting adj.
+
+1. Said of a problem that, although nontrivial, can be solved simply by
+throwing sufficient resources at it. 2. Also said of problems for
+which a solution would neither advance the state of the art nor
+be fun to design and code.
+
+Hackers regard uninteresting problems as intolerable wastes of
+time, to be solved (if at all) by lesser mortals. Real
+hackers (see toolsmith)
+generalize uninteresting problems enough to make them interesting
+and solve them -- thus solving the original problem as a special
+case (and, it must be admitted, occasionally turning a molehill
+into a mountain, or a mountain into a tectonic plate). See WOMBAT, SMOP;
+compare toy problem, oppose
+interesting.
+
+
+Node:Unix, Next:Unix brain damage, Previous:uninteresting, Up:= U = 
+
+Unix /yoo'niks/ n.
+
+[In the authors' words, "A weak pun on Multics"; very early on
+it was `UNICS'] (also `UNIX') An interactive time-sharing system
+invented in 1969 by Ken Thompson after Bell Labs left the Multics
+project, originally so he could play games on his scavenged
+PDP-7. Dennis Ritchie, the inventor of C, is considered a
+co-author of the system. The turning point in Unix's history came
+when it was reimplemented almost entirely in C during 1972-1974,
+making it the first source-portable OS. Unix subsequently
+underwent mutations and expansions at the hands of many different
+people, resulting in a uniquely flexible and developer-friendly
+environment. By 1991, Unix had become the most widely used
+multiuser general-purpose operating system in the world - and
+since 1996 the variiant called Linux
+has been at the cutting edge of the open source movement. Many people
+consider the success of Unix the most important victory yet of
+hackerdom over industry opposition (but see Unix weenie and Unix conspiracy for an opposing
+point of view). See Version 7,
+BSD, USG
+Unix, Linux.
+
+Some people are confused over whether this word is
+appropriately `UNIX' or `Unix'; both forms are common, and used
+interchangeably. Dennis Ritchie says that the `UNIX' spelling
+originally happened in CACM's 1974 paper "The UNIX Time-Sharing
+System" because "we had a new typesetter and troff had just been invented and we were
+intoxicated by being able to produce small caps." Later, dmr
+tried to get the spelling changed to `Unix' in a couple of Bell
+Labs papers, on the grounds that the word is not acronymic. He
+failed, and eventually (his words) "wimped out" on the issue. So,
+while the trademark today is `UNIX', both capitalizations are
+grounded in ancient usage; the Jargon File uses `Unix' in
+deference to dmr's wishes.
+
+
+Node:Unix brain damage,
+Next:Unix conspiracy,
+Previous:Unix, Up:= U = 
+
+Unix brain damage n.
+
+Something that has to be done to break a network program
+(typically a mailer) on a non-Unix system so that it will
+interoperate with Unix systems. The hack may qualify as `Unix
+brain damage' if the program conforms to published standards and
+the Unix program in question does not. Unix brain damage happens
+because it is much easier for other (minority) systems to change
+their ways to match non-conforming behavior than it is to change
+all the hundreds of thousands of Unix systems out there.
+
+An example of Unix brain damage is a kluge in a mail server to recognize bare line
+feed (the Unix newline) as an equivalent form to the Internet
+standard newline, which is a carriage return followed by a line
+feed. Such things can make even a hardened jock weep.
+
+
+Node:Unix conspiracy, Next:Unix weenie, Previous:Unix brain
+damage, Up:= U = 
+
+Unix conspiracy n.
+
+[ITS] According to a conspiracy theory long popular among
+ITS and TOPS-20 fans, Unix's growth is the result of a
+plot, hatched during the 1970s at Bell Labs, whose intent was to
+hobble AT&T's competitors by making them dependent upon a
+system whose future evolution was to be under AT&T's control.
+This would be accomplished by disseminating an operating system
+that is apparently inexpensive and easily portable, but also
+relatively unreliable and insecure (so as to require continuing
+upgrades from AT&T). This theory was lent a substantial
+impetus in 1984 by the paper referenced in the back door entry.
+
+In this view, Unix was designed to be one of the first
+computer viruses (see virus) -- but a
+virus spread to computers indirectly by people and market forces,
+rather than directly through disks and networks. Adherents of
+this `Unix virus' theory like to cite the fact that the
+well-known quotation "Unix is snake oil" was uttered by DEC president Kenneth Olsen shortly before
+DEC began actively promoting its own family of Unix workstations.
+(Olsen now claims to have been misquoted.)
+
+[If there was ever such a conspiracy, it got thoroughly out of
+the plotters' control after 1990. AT&T sold its UNIX
+operation to Novell around the same time Linux and other free-UNIX distributions were
+beginning to make noise. --ESR]
+
+
+Node:Unix weenie, Next:unixism, Previous:Unix conspiracy, Up:= U = 
+
+Unix weenie n.
+
+[ITS] 1. A derogatory play on `Unix wizard', common among
+hackers who use Unix by necessity but would prefer alternatives.
+The implication is that although the person in question may
+consider mastery of Unix arcana to be a wizardly skill, the only
+real skill involved is the ability to tolerate (and the bad taste
+to wallow in) the incoherence and needless complexity that is
+alleged to infest many Unix programs. "This shell script tries to
+parse its arguments in 69 bletcherous ways. It must have been
+written by a real Unix weenie." 2. A derogatory term for anyone
+who engages in uncritical praise of Unix. Often appearing in the
+context "stupid Unix weenie". See Weenix, Unix
+conspiracy. See also weenie.
+
+
+Node:unixism, Next:unswizzle, Previous:Unix weenie, Up:= U = 
+
+unixism n.
+
+A piece of code or a coding technique that depends on the
+protected multi-tasking environment with relatively low
+process-spawn overhead that exists on virtual-memory Unix
+systems. Common unixisms include:
+gratuitous use of fork(2); the assumption that
+certain undocumented but well-known features of Unix libraries
+such as stdio(3) are supported elsewhere; reliance
+on obscure side-effects of system
+calls (use of sleep(2) with a 0 argument to clue the
+scheduler that you're willing to give up your time-slice, for
+example); the assumption that freshly allocated memory is zeroed;
+and the assumption that fragmentation problems won't arise from
+never free()ing memory. Compare vaxocentrism; see also New Jersey.
+
+
+Node:unswizzle, Next:unwind the stack, Previous:unixism, Up:= U = 
+
+unswizzle v.
+
+See swizzle.
+
+
+Node:unwind the stack, Next:unwind-protect, Previous:unswizzle, Up:= U = 
+
+unwind the stack vi.
+
+1. [techspeak] During the execution of a procedural language,
+one is said to `unwind the stack' from a called procedure up to a
+caller when one discards the stack frame and any number of frames
+above it, popping back up to the level of the given caller. In C
+this is done with longjmp/setjmp, in
+LISP or C++ with throw/catch. See also smash the stack. 2. People can
+unwind the stack as well, by quickly dealing with a bunch of
+problems: "Oh heck, let's do lunch. Just a second while I unwind
+my stack."
+
+
+Node:unwind-protect, Next:up, Previous:unwind the stack, Up:= U = 
+
+unwind-protect n.
+
+[MIT: from the name of a LISP operator] A task you must
+remember to perform before you leave a place or finish a project.
+"I have an unwind-protect to call my advisor."
+
+
+Node:up, Next:upload, Previous:unwind-protect, Up:= U = 
+
+up adj.
+
+1. Working, in order. "The down escalator is up." Oppose down. 2. `bring up': vt. To create a working
+version and start it. "They brought up a down system." 3. `come
+up' vi. To become ready for production use.
+
+
+Node:upload, Next:upthread, Previous:up, Up:= U = 
+
+upload /uhp'lohd/ v.
+
+1. [techspeak] To transfer programs or data over a digital
+communications link from a system near you (espercially a smaller
+or peripheral `client' system) to one further away from you
+(especially a larger or central `host' system). A transfer in the
+other direction is, of course, called a download 2. [speculatively] To move the
+essential patterns and algorithms that make up one's mind from
+one's brain into a computer. Those who are convinced that such
+patterns and algorithms capture the complete essence of the self
+view this prospect with pleasant anticipation.
+
+
+Node:upthread, Next:urchin, Previous:upload, Up:= U
+= 
+
+upthread adv.
+
+Earlier in the discussion (see thread), i.e., `above'. "As Joe pointed out
+upthread, ..." See also followup.
+
+
+Node:urchin, Next:URL, Previous:upthread, Up:=
+U = 
+
+urchin n.
+
+See munchkin.
+
+
+Node:URL, Next:Usenet, Previous:urchin, Up:= U
+= 
+
+URL /U-R-L/ or /erl/ n.
+
+Uniform Resource Locator, an address widget that identifies a
+document or resource on the World Wide Web. This entry is here
+primarily to record the fact that the term is commonly pronounced
+both /erl/, and /U-R-L/ (the latter predominates in more formal
+contexts).
+
+
+Node:Usenet, Next:Usenet Death Penalty, Previous:URL, Up:= U = 
+
+Usenet /yoos'net/ or /yooz'net/ n.
+
+[from `Users' Network'; the original spelling was USENET, but
+the mixed-case form is now widely preferred] A distributed bboard (bulletin board) system supported
+mainly by Unix machines. Originally implemented in 1979-1980 by
+Steve Bellovin, Jim Ellis, Tom Truscott, and Steve Daniel at Duke
+University, it has swiftly grown to become international in scope
+and is now probably the largest decentralized information utility
+in existence. As of early 1996, it hosts over 10,000 newsgroups and an average of over 500
+megabytes (the equivalent of several thousand paper pages) of new
+technical articles, news, discussion, chatter, and flamage every day (and that leaves out the
+graphics...).
+
+By the year the Internet hit the mainstream (1994) the
+original UUCP transport for Usenet was fading out of use (see
+UUCPNET) - almost all Usenet
+connections were over Internet links. A lot of newbies and
+journalists began to refer to "Internet newsgroups" as though
+Usenet was and always had been just another Internet service.
+This ignorance greatly annoys experienced Usenetters.
+
+
+Node:Usenet Death Penalty,
+Next:user, Previous:Usenet, Up:= U = 
+
+Usenet Death Penalty
+
+[Usenet] A sanction against sites that habitually spew Usenet
+spam. This can be either passive or
+active. A passive UDP refers to the dropping of all postings by a
+particular domain so as to inhibit propagation. An active UDP
+refers to third-party cancellation of all postings by the UDPed
+domain. A partial UDP is one which applies only to certain
+newsgroups or hierarchies in Usenet. Compare Internet Death Penalty,
+with which this term is sometimes confused.
+
+
+Node:user, Next:user-friendly, Previous:Usenet Death Penalty, Up:= U = 
+
+user n.
+
+1. Someone doing `real work' with the computer, using it as a
+means rather than an end. Someone who pays to use a computer. See
+real user. 2. A programmer who
+will believe anything you tell him. One who asks silly questions.
+[GLS observes: This is slightly unfair. It is true that users ask
+questions (of necessity). Sometimes they are thoughtful or deep.
+Very often they are annoying or downright stupid, apparently
+because the user failed to think for two seconds or look in the
+documentation before bothering the maintainer.] See luser. 3. Someone who uses a program from the
+outside, however skillfully, without getting into the internals
+of the program. One who reports bugs instead of just going ahead
+and fixing them.
+
+The general theory behind this term is that there are two
+classes of people who work with a program: there are implementors
+(hackers) and lusers. The users are
+looked down on by hackers to some extent because they don't
+understand the full ramifications of the system in all its glory.
+(The few users who do are known as `real winners'.) The term is a
+relative one: a skilled hacker may be a user with respect to some
+program he himself does not hack. A LISP hacker might be one who
+maintains LISP or one who uses LISP (but with the skill of a
+hacker). A LISP user is one who uses LISP, whether skillfully or
+not. Thus there is some overlap between the two terms; the subtle
+distinctions must be resolved by context.
+
+
+Node:user-friendly, Next:user-obsequious, Previous:user, Up:= U = 
+
+user-friendly adj.
+
+Programmer-hostile. Generally used by hackers in a critical
+tone, to describe systems that hold the user's hand so
+obsessively that they make it painful for the more experienced
+and knowledgeable to get any work done. See menuitis, drool-proof paper, Macintrash, user-obsequious.
+
+
+Node:user-obsequious, Next:userland, Previous:user-friendly, Up:= U = 
+
+user-obsequious adj.
+
+Emphatic form of user-friendly. Connotes a system so
+verbose, inflexible, and determinedly simple-minded that it is
+nearly unusable. "Design a system any fool can use and only a
+fool will want to use it." See WIMP environment, Macintrash.
+
+
+Node:userland, Next:USG Unix, Previous:user-obsequious, Up:= U = 
+
+userland n.
+
+Anywhere outside the kernel. "That code belongs in userland."
+This term has been in common use among Linux kernel hackers since at leat 1997, and
+seems to have originated in that community.
+
+
+Node:USG Unix, Next:UTSL, Previous:userland, Up:=
+U = 
+
+USG Unix /U-S-G yoo'niks/ n.,obs.
+
+Refers to AT&T Unix commercial versions after Version 7, especially System III and
+System V releases 1, 2, and 3. So called because during most of
+the lifespan of those versions AT&T's support crew was called
+the `Unix Support Group', but it is applied to version that pre-
+and post-dated the USG group but were of the same lineage. This
+term is now historical. See BSD, Unix.
+
+
+Node:UTSL, Next:UUCPNET, Previous:USG Unix, Up:= U = 
+
+UTSL // n.
+
+[Unix] On-line acronym for `Use the Source, Luke' (a pun on
+Obi-Wan Kenobi's "Use the Force, Luke!" in "Star Wars") --
+analogous to RTFS (sense 1), but more
+polite. This is a common way of suggesting that someone would be
+better off reading the source code that supports whatever feature
+is causing confusion, rather than making yet another futile pass
+through the manuals, or broadcasting questions on Usenet that
+haven't attracted wizards to answer
+them.
+
+Once upon a time in elder
+days, everyone running Unix had source. After 1978,
+AT&T's policy tightened up, so this objurgation was in theory
+appropriately directed only at associates of some outfit with a
+Unix source license. In practice, bootlegs of Unix source code
+(made precisely for reference purposes) were so ubiquitous that
+one could utter it at almost anyone on the network without
+concern.
+
+Nowadays, free Unix clones have become widely enough
+distributed that anyone can read source legally. The most widely
+distributed is certainly Linux, with variants of the NET/2 and
+4.4BSD distributions running second. Cheap commercial Unixes with
+source such as BSD/OS are accelerating this trend.
+
+
+Node:UUCPNET, Next:V7, Previous:UTSL,
+Up:= U = 
+
+UUCPNET n. obs.
+
+The store-and-forward network consisting of all the world's
+connected Unix machines (and others running some clone of the
+UUCP (Unix-to-Unix CoPy) software). Any machine reachable only
+via a bang path is on UUCPNET.
+This term has been rendered obsolescent by the spread of cheap
+Internet connections in the 1990s; the few remaining UUCP links
+are essentially slow channels to the Internet rather than an
+autonomous network. See network
+address.
+
+
+Node:= V =, Next:= W =, Previous:= U =, Up:The Jargon Lexicon 
+
+= V =
+
+
+V7:
+
+
+vadding:
+
+
+vanilla:
+
+
+vanity domain:
+
+
+vannevar:
+
+
+vaporware:
+
+
+var:
+
+
+vaston:
+
+
+VAX:
+
+
+VAXectomy:
+
+
+VAXen:
+
+
+vaxherd:
+
+
+vaxism:
+
+
+vaxocentrism:
+
+
+vdiff:
+
+
+veeblefester:
+
+
+velveeta:
+
+
+ventilator card:
+
+
+Venus flytrap:
+
+
+verbage:
+
+
+verbiage:
+
+
+Version 7:
+
+
+vgrep:
+
+
+vi:
+
+
+video toaster:
+
+
+videotex:
+
+
+virgin:
+
+
+virtual:
+
+
+virtual beer:
+
+
+virtual Friday:
+
+
+virtual reality:
+
+
+virtual shredder:
+
+
+virus:
+
+
+visionary:
+
+
+VMS:
+
+
+voice:
+
+
+voice-net:
+
+
+voodoo programming:
+
+
+VR:
+
+
+Vulcan nerve
+pinch:
+
+
+vulture capitalist:
+
+
+Node:V7, Next:vadding, Previous:UUCPNET, Up:= V
+= 
+
+V7 /V'sev'en/ n.
+
+See Version 7.
+
+
+Node:vadding, Next:vanilla, Previous:V7, Up:= V = 
+
+vadding /vad'ing/ n.
+
+[from VAD, a permutation of ADV (i.e., ADVENT), used to avoid a particular admin's continual search-and-destroy sweeps for
+the game] A leisure-time activity of certain hackers involving
+the covert exploration of the `secret' parts of large buildings
+-- basements, roofs, freight elevators, maintenance crawlways,
+steam tunnels, and the like. A few go so far as to learn
+locksmithing in order to synthesize vadding keys. The verb is `to
+vad' (compare phreaking; see also
+hack, sense 9). This term dates from
+the late 1970s, before which such activity was simply called
+`hacking'; the older usage is still prevalent at MIT.
+
+The most extreme and dangerous form of vadding is `elevator
+rodeo', a.k.a. `elevator surfing', a sport played by wrasslin'
+down a thousand-pound elevator car with a 3-foot piece of string,
+and then exploiting this mastery in various stimulating ways
+(such as elevator hopping, shaft exploration, rat-racing, and the
+ever-popular drop experiments). Kids, don't try this at home! See
+also hobbit (sense 2).
+
+
+Node:vanilla, Next:vanity domain, Previous:vadding, Up:= V = 
+
+vanilla adj.
+
+[from the default flavor of ice cream in the U.S.] Ordinary
+flavor, standard. When used of food,
+very often does not mean that the food is flavored with vanilla
+extract! For example, `vanilla wonton soup' means ordinary wonton
+soup, as opposed to hot-and-sour wonton soup. Applied to hardware
+and software, as in "Vanilla Version 7 Unix can't run on a
+vanilla 11/34." Also used to orthogonalize chip nomenclature; for
+instance, a 74V00 means what TI calls a 7400, as distinct from a
+74LS00, etc. This word differs from canonical in that the latter means
+`default', whereas vanilla simply means `ordinary'. For example,
+when hackers go on a great-wall,
+hot-and-sour soup is the canonical soup to get (because that is what
+most of them usually order) even though it isn't the vanilla
+(wonton) soup.
+
+
+Node:vanity domain, Next:vannevar, Previous:vanilla, Up:= V = 
+
+vanity domain n.
+
+[common; from `vanity plate' as in car license plate] An
+Internet domain, particularly in the .com or .org top-level
+domains, apparently created for no reason other than boosting the
+creator's ego.
+
+
+Node:vannevar, Next:vaporware, Previous:vanity domain, Up:= V = 
+
+vannevar /van'*-var/ n.
+
+A bogus technological prediction or a foredoomed engineering
+concept, esp. one that fails by implicitly assuming that
+technologies develop linearly, incrementally, and in isolation
+from one another when in fact the learning curve tends to be
+highly nonlinear, revolutions are common, and competition is the
+rule. The prototype was Vannevar Bush's prediction of `electronic
+brains' the size of the Empire State Building with a
+Niagara-Falls-equivalent cooling system for their tubes and
+relays, a prediction made at a time when the semiconductor effect
+had already been demonstrated. Other famous vannevars have
+included magnetic-bubble memory, LISP machines, videotex, and a paper from the late 1970s
+that computed a purported ultimate limit on areal density for ICs
+that was in fact less than the routine densities of 5 years
+later.
+
+
+Node:vaporware, Next:var, Previous:vannevar, Up:=
+V = 
+
+vaporware /vay'pr-weir/ n.
+
+Products announced far in advance of any release (which may or
+may not actually take place). See also brochureware.
+
+
+Node:var, Next:vaston, Previous:vaporware, Up:= V = 
+
+var /veir/ or /var/ n.
+
+Short for `variable'. Compare arg,
+param.
+
+
+Node:vaston, Next:VAX, Previous:var,
+Up:= V = 
+
+vaston n.
+
+[Durham, UK] The unit of `load average'. A measure of how much
+work a computer is doing. A meter displaying this as a function
+of time is known as a `vastometer'. First used during a computing
+practical in December 1996.
+
+
+Node:VAX, Next:VAXectomy, Previous:vaston, Up:= V
+= 
+
+VAX /vaks/ n.
+
+1. [from Virtual Address eXtension] The most successful
+minicomputer design in industry history, possibly excepting its
+immediate ancestor, the PDP-11. Between its release in 1978 and
+its eclipse by killer micros
+after about 1986, the VAX was probably the hacker's favorite
+machine of them all, esp. after the 1982 release of 4.2 BSD Unix
+(see BSD). Esp. noted for its large,
+assembler-programmer-friendly instruction set -- an asset that
+became a liability after the RISC revolution. 2. A major brand of
+vacuum cleaner in Britain. Cited here because its sales pitch,
+"Nothing sucks like a VAX!" became a sort of battle-cry of RISC
+partisans. It is even sometimes claimed that DEC actually entered
+a cross-licensing deal with the vacuum-Vax people that allowed
+them to market VAX computers in the U.K. in return for not
+challenging the vacuum cleaner trademark in the U.S.
+
+A rival brand actually pioneered the slogan: its original form
+was "Nothing sucks like Electrolux". It has apparently become a
+classic example (used in advertising textbooks) of the perils of
+not knowing the local idiom. But in 1996, the press manager of
+Electrolux AB, while confirming that the company used this slogan
+in the late 1960s, also tells us that their marketing people were
+fully aware of the possible double entendre and intended it to
+gain attention.
+
+And gain attention it did - the VAX-vacuum-cleaner people
+thought the slogan a sufficiently good idea to copy it. Several
+British hackers report that VAX's promotions used it in
+1986-1987, and we have one report from a New Zealander that the
+infamous slogan surfaced there in TV ads for the product in
+1992.
+
+
+Node:VAXectomy, Next:VAXen, Previous:VAX, Up:= V =
+
+
+VAXectomy /vak-sek't*-mee/ n.
+
+[by analogy with `vasectomy'] A VAX removal. DEC's Microvaxen, especially, are much slower than
+newer RISC-based workstations such as the SPARC. Thus, if one
+knows one has a replacement coming, VAX removal can be cause for
+celebration.
+
+
+Node:VAXen, Next:vaxherd, Previous:VAXectomy, Up:= V = 
+
+VAXen /vak'sn/ n.
+
+[from `oxen', perhaps influenced by `vixen'] (alt. `vaxen')
+The plural canonically used among hackers for the DEC VAX computers. "Our installation has four
+PDP-10s and twenty vaxen." See boxen.
+
+
+Node:vaxherd, Next:vaxism, Previous:VAXen, Up:= V
+= 
+
+vaxherd /vaks'herd/ n. obs.
+
+[from `oxherd'] A VAX operator. The image is reinforced
+because VAXen actually did tend to come in herds, technically
+known as `clusters'.
+
+
+Node:vaxism, Next:vaxocentrism, Previous:vaxherd, Up:= V = 
+
+vaxism /vak'sizm/ n.
+
+A piece of code that exhibits vaxocentrism in critical areas. Compare
+PC-ism, unixism.
+
+
+Node:vaxocentrism, Next:vdiff, Previous:vaxism, Up:= V
+= 
+
+vaxocentrism /vak`soh-sen'trizm/ n.
+
+[analogy with `ethnocentrism'] A notional disease said to
+afflict C programmers who persist in coding according to certain
+assumptions that are valid (esp. under Unix) on VAXen but false elsewhere. Among these are:
+
+
+The assumption that dereferencing a null pointer is safe
+because it is all bits 0, and location 0 is readable and 0.
+Problem: this may instead cause an illegal-address trap on
+non-VAXen, and even on VAXen under OSes other than BSD Unix.
+Usually this is an implicit assumption of sloppy code (forgetting
+to check the pointer before using it), rather than deliberate
+exploitation of a misfeature.
+
+
+The assumption that characters are signed.
+
+
+The assumption that a pointer to any one type can freely be
+cast into a pointer to any other type. A stronger form of this is
+the assumption that all pointers are the same size and format,
+which means you don't have to worry about getting the casts or
+types correct in calls. Problem: this fails on word-oriented
+machines or others with multiple pointer formats.
+
+
+The assumption that the parameters of a routine are stored in
+memory, on a stack, contiguously, and in strictly ascending or
+descending order. Problem: this fails on many RISC
+architectures.
+
+
+The assumption that pointer and integer types are the same
+size, and that pointers can be stuffed into integer variables
+(and vice-versa) and drawn back out without being truncated or
+mangled. Problem: this fails on segmented architectures or
+word-oriented machines with funny pointer formats.
+
+
+The assumption that a data type of any size may begin at any
+byte address in memory (for example, that you can freely
+construct and dereference a pointer to a word- or greater-sized
+object at an odd char address). Problem: this fails on many (esp.
+RISC) architectures better optimized for HLL execution speed, and can cause an illegal
+address fault or bus error.
+
+
+The (related) assumption that there is no padding at the end
+of types and that in an array you can thus step right from the
+last byte of a previous component to the first byte of the next
+one. This is not only machine- but compiler-dependent.
+
+
+The assumption that memory address space is globally flat and
+that the array reference foo[-1] is necessarily
+valid. Problem: this fails at 0, or other places on
+segment-addressed machines like Intel chips (yes, segmentation is
+universally considered a brain-damaged way to design machines
+(see moby), but that is a separate
+issue).
+
+
+The assumption that objects can be arbitrarily large with no
+special considerations. Problem: this fails on segmented
+architectures and under non-virtual-addressing environments.
+
+
+The assumption that the stack can be as large as memory.
+Problem: this fails on segmented architectures or almost anything
+else without virtual addressing and a paged stack.
+
+
+The assumption that bits and addressable units within an
+object are ordered in the same way and that this order is a
+constant of nature. Problem: this fails on big-endian machines.
+
+
+The assumption that it is meaningful to compare pointers to
+different objects not located within the same array, or to
+objects of different types. Problem: the former fails on
+segmented architectures, the latter on word-oriented machines or
+others with multiple pointer formats.
+
+
+The assumption that an int is 32 bits, or
+(nearly equivalently) the assumption that sizeof(int) ==
+sizeof(long). Problem: this fails on PDP-11s, 286-based
+systems and even on 386 and 68000 systems under some compilers
+(and on 64-bit systems like the Alpha, of course).
+
+
+The assumption that argv[] is writable. Problem:
+this fails in many embedded-systems C environments and even under
+a few flavors of Unix.
+
+Note that a programmer can validly be accused of vaxocentrism
+even if he or she has never seen a VAX. Some of these assumptions
+(esp. 2-5) were valid on the PDP-11, the original C machine, and
+became endemic years before the VAX. The terms `vaxocentricity'
+and `all-the-world's-a-VAX syndrome' have been used
+synonymously.
+
+
+Node:vdiff, Next:veeblefester, Previous:vaxocentrism, Up:= V = 
+
+vdiff /vee'dif/ v.,n.
+
+Visual diff. The operation of finding differences between two
+files by eyeball search.
+The term `optical diff' has also been reported, and is sometimes
+more specifically used for the act of superimposing two nearly
+identical printouts on one another and holding them up to a light
+to spot differences. Though this method is poor for detecting
+omissions in the `rear' file, it can also be used with printouts
+of graphics, a claim few if any diff programs can make. See diff.
+
+
+Node:veeblefester, Next:velveeta, Previous:vdiff, Up:= V
+= 
+
+veeblefester /vee'b*l-fes`tr/ n.
+
+[from the "Born Loser" comix via Commodore; prob. originally
+from "Mad" Magazine's `Veeblefetzer' parodies beginning in #15,
+1954] Any obnoxious person engaged in the (alleged) professions
+of marketing or management. Antonym of hacker. Compare suit, marketroid.
+
+
+Node:velveeta, Next:ventilator card, Previous:veeblefester, Up:= V = 
+
+velveeta n.
+
+[Usenet: by analogy with spam. The
+trade name Velveeta is attached in the U.S. to a particularly
+nasty processed-cheese spread.] Also knows as ECP; a message that is excessively cross-posted,
+as opposed to spam which is too
+frequently posted. This term is widely recognized but not
+commonly used; most people refer to both kinds of abuse as spam.
+Compare jello.
+
+
+Node:ventilator card, Next:Venus flytrap, Previous:velveeta, Up:= V = 
+
+ventilator card n.
+
+Syn. lace card.
+
+
+Node:Venus flytrap, Next:verbage, Previous:ventilator card, Up:= V = 
+
+Venus flytrap n.
+
+[after the insect-eating plant] See firewall machine.
+
+
+Node:verbage, Next:verbiage, Previous:Venus flytrap, Up:= V = 
+
+verbage /ver'b*j/ n.
+
+A deliberate misspelling and mispronunciation of verbiage that assimilates it to the word
+`garbage'. Compare content-free. More pejorative than
+`verbiage'.
+
+
+Node:verbiage, Next:Version 7, Previous:verbage, Up:= V
+= 
+
+verbiage n.
+
+When the context involves a software or hardware system, this
+refers to documentation. This
+term borrows the connotations of mainstream `verbiage' to suggest
+that the documentation is of marginal utility and that the
+motives behind its production have little to do with the
+ostensible subject.
+
+
+Node:Version 7, Next:vgrep, Previous:verbiage, Up:=
+V = 
+
+Version 7 alt. V7 /vee' se'vn/ n.
+
+The first widely distributed version of Unix, released unsupported by Bell Labs in 1978.
+The term is used adjectivally to describe Unix features and
+programs that date from that release, and are thus guaranteed to
+be present and portable in all Unix versions (this was the
+standard gauge of portability before the POSIX and IEEE 1003
+standards). Note that this usage does not derive from
+the release being the "seventh version of Unix"; research Unix
+at Bell Labs has traditionally been numbered according to the
+edition of the associated documentation. Indeed, only the
+widely-distributed Sixth and Seventh Editions are widely known as
+V[67]; the OS that might today be known as `V10' is instead known
+in full as "Tenth Edition Research Unix" or just "Tenth Edition"
+for short. For this reason, "V7" is often read by cognoscenti as
+"Seventh Edition". See BSD, USG Unix, Unix.
+Some old-timers impatient with commercialization and kernel bloat
+still maintain that V7 was the Last True Unix.
+
+
+Node:vgrep, Next:vi, Previous:Version 7, Up:= V = 
+
+vgrep /vee'grep/ v.,n.
+
+Visual grep. The operation of finding patterns in a file
+optically rather than digitally (also called an `optical grep').
+See grep; compare vdiff.
+
+
+Node:vi, Next:video toaster, Previous:vgrep, Up:= V
+= 
+
+vi /V-I/, not /vi:/ and never /siks/
+n.
+
+[from `Visual Interface'] A screen editor crufted together by
+Bill Joy for an early BSD release.
+Became the _de facto_ standard Unix editor and a nearly
+undisputed hacker favorite outside of MIT until the rise of EMACS after about 1984. Tends to frustrate
+new users no end, as it will neither take commands while
+expecting input text nor vice versa, and the default setup on
+older versions provides no indication of which mode the editor is
+in (years ago, a correspondent reported that he has often heard
+the editor's name pronounced /vi:l/; there is now a vi clone
+named `vile'). Nevertheless vi (and variants such as vim and
+elvis) is still widely used (about half the respondents in a 1991
+Usenet poll preferred it), and even EMACS fans often resort to it
+as a mail editor and for small editing jobs (mainly because it
+starts up faster than the bulkier versions of EMACS). See holy wars.
+
+
+Node:video toaster, Next:videotex, Previous:vi, Up:= V =
+
+
+video toaster n.
+
+Historically, an Amiga fitted with a particular line of
+special video effects hardware from NewTek - long a popular
+platform at special-effects and video production houses. More
+generally, any computer system designed specifically for video
+production and manipulation. Compare web toaster and see toaster.
+
+
+Node:videotex, Next:virgin, Previous:video toaster, Up:= V = 
+
+videotex n. obs.
+
+An electronic service offering people the privilege of paying
+to read the weather on their television screens instead of having
+somebody read it to them for free while they brush their teeth.
+The idea bombed everywhere it wasn't government-subsidized,
+because by the time videotex was practical the installed base of
+personal computers could hook up to timesharing services and do
+the things for which videotex might have been worthwhile better
+and cheaper. Videotex planners badly overestimated both the
+appeal of getting information from a computer and the cost of
+local intelligence at the user's end. Like the gorilla arm effect, this has been a
+cautionary tale to hackers ever since. See also vannevar.
+
+
+Node:virgin, Next:virtual, Previous:videotex, Up:=
+V = 
+
+virgin adj.
+
+Unused; pristine; in a known initial state. "Let's bring up a
+virgin system and see if it crashes again." (Esp. useful after
+contracting a virus through SEX.) Also, by extension, buffers and the
+like within a program that have not yet been used.
+
+
+Node:virtual, Next:virtual beer, Previous:virgin, Up:=
+V = 
+
+virtual adj.
+
+[via the technical term `virtual memory', prob. from the term
+`virtual image' in optics] 1. Common alternative to logical; often used to refer to the artificial
+objects (like addressable virtual memory larger than physical
+memory) simulated by a computer system as a convenient way to
+manage access to shared resources. 2. Simulated; performing the
+functions of something that isn't really there. An imaginative
+child's doll may be a virtual playmate. Oppose real.
+
+
+Node:virtual beer, Next:virtual Friday, Previous:virtual, Up:= V = 
+
+virtual beer n.
+
+Praise or thanks. Used universally in the Linux community.
+Originally this term signified cash, after a famous incident in
+which some some Britishers who wanted to buy Linus a beer and
+sent him money to Finland to do so.
+
+
+Node:virtual Friday, Next:virtual reality, Previous:virtual beer, Up:= V = 
+
+virtual Friday n.
+
+(also `logical Friday') The last day before an extended
+weekend, if that day is not a `real' Friday. For example, the
+U.S. holiday Thanksgiving is always on a Thursday. The next day
+is often also a holiday or taken as an extra day off, in which
+case Wednesday of that week is a virtual Friday (and Thursday is
+a virtual Saturday, as is Friday). There are also `virtual
+Mondays' that are actually Tuesdays, after the three-day weekends
+associated with many national holidays in the U.S.
+
+
+Node:virtual reality, Next:virtual shredder,
+Previous:virtual
+Friday, Up:= V = 
+
+virtual reality n.
+
+1. Computer simulations that use 3-D graphics and devices such
+as the Dataglove to allow the user to interact with the
+simulation. See cyberspace. 2. A
+form of network interaction incorporating aspects of role-playing
+games, interactive theater, improvisational comedy, and `true
+confessions' magazines. In a virtual reality forum (such as
+Usenet's _alt.callahans_ newsgroup or the MUD experiments on Internet), interaction between
+the participants is written like a shared novel complete with
+scenery, `foreground characters' that may be personae utterly
+unlike the people who write them, and common `background
+characters' manipulable by all parties. The one iron law is that
+you may not write irreversible changes to a character without the
+consent of the person who `owns' it. Otherwise anything goes. See
+bamf, cyberspace, teledildonics.
+
+
+Node:virtual shredder, Next:virus, Previous:virtual reality, Up:= V = 
+
+virtual shredder n.
+
+The jargonic equivalent of the bit
+bucket at shops using IBM's VM/CMS operating system.
+VM/CMS officially supports a whole bestiary of virtual card
+readers, virtual printers, and other phantom devices; these are
+used to supply some of the same capabilities Unix gets from pipes
+and I/O redirection.
+
+
+Node:virus, Next:visionary, Previous:virtual shredder, Up:= V = 
+
+virus n.
+
+[from the obvious analogy with biological viruses, via SF] A
+cracker program that searches out other programs and `infects'
+them by embedding a copy of itself in them, so that they become
+Trojan horses. When these
+programs are executed, the embedded virus is executed too, thus
+propagating the `infection'. This normally happens invisibly to
+the user. Unlike a worm, a virus
+cannot infect other computers without assistance. It is
+propagated by vectors such as humans trading programs with their
+friends (see SEX). The virus may do
+nothing but propagate itself and then allow the program to run
+normally. Usually, however, after propagating silently for a
+while, it starts doing things like writing cute messages on the
+terminal or playing strange tricks with the display (some viruses
+include nice display hacks).
+Many nasty viruses, written by particularly perversely minded
+crackers, do irreversible damage,
+like nuking all the user's files.
+
+In the 1990s, viruses became a serious problem, especially
+among Windows users; the lack of security on these machines
+enables viruses to spread easily, even infecting the operating
+system (Unix machines, by contrast, are immune to such attacks).
+The production of special anti-virus software has become an
+industry, and a number of exaggerated media reports have caused
+outbreaks of near hysteria among users; many lusers tend to blame everything that
+doesn't work as they had expected on virus attacks. Accordingly,
+this sense of `virus' has passed not only into techspeak but into
+also popular usage (where it is often incorrectly used to denote
+a worm or even a Trojan horse). See phage; compare back
+door; see also Unix
+conspiracy.
+
+
+Node:visionary, Next:VMS, Previous:virus, Up:= V
+= 
+
+visionary n.
+
+1. One who hacks vision, in the sense of an Artificial
+Intelligence researcher working on the problem of getting
+computers to `see' things using TV cameras. (There isn't any
+problem in sending information from a TV camera to a computer.
+The problem is, how can the computer be programmed to make use of
+the camera information? See SMOP,
+AI-complete.) 2. [IBM] One who
+reads the outside literature. At IBM, apparently, such a penchant
+is viewed with awe and wonder.
+
+
+Node:VMS, Next:voice, Previous:visionary, Up:= V = 
+
+VMS /V-M-S/ n.
+
+DEC's proprietary operating system
+for its VAX minicomputer; one of the seven or so environments
+that loom largest in hacker folklore. Many Unix fans generously
+concede that VMS would probably be the hacker's favorite
+commercial OS if Unix didn't exist; though true, this makes VMS
+fans furious. One major hacker gripe with VMS concerns its
+slowness -- thus the following limerick:
+
+   There once was a system called VMS
+   Of cycles by no means abstemious.
+        It's chock-full of hacks
+        And runs on a VAX
+   And makes my poor stomach all squeamious.
+                                    --- The Great Quux
+
+
+See also VAX, TOPS-10, TOPS-20, Unix,
+runic.
+
+
+Node:voice, Next:voice-net, Previous:VMS, Up:= V =
+
+
+voice vt.
+
+To phone someone, as opposed to emailing them or connecting in
+talk mode. "I'm busy now; I'll
+voice you later."
+
+
+Node:voice-net, Next:voodoo programming, Previous:voice, Up:= V = 
+
+voice-net n.
+
+Hackish way of referring to the telephone system, analogizing
+it to a digital network. Usenet sig
+blocks not uncommonly include the sender's phone next to
+a "Voice:" or "Voice-Net:" header; common variants of this are
+"Voicenet" and "V-Net". Compare paper-net, snail-mail.
+
+
+Node:voodoo programming,
+Next:VR, Previous:voice-net, Up:= V = 
+
+voodoo programming n.
+
+[from George Bush's "voodoo economics"] 1. The use by guess or
+cookbook of an obscure or hairy system, feature, or algorithm that
+one does not truly understand. The implication is that the
+technique may not work, and if it doesn't, one will never know
+why. Almost synonymous with black
+magic, except that black magic typically isn't documented
+and nobody understands it. Compare magic, deep
+magic, heavy
+wizardry, rain dance,
+cargo cult
+programming, wave
+a dead chicken. 2. Things programmers do that they know
+shouldn't work but they try anyway, and which sometimes actually
+work, such as recompiling everything.
+
+
+Node:VR, Next:Vulcan nerve pinch, Previous:voodoo
+programming, Up:= V =
+
+
+VR // [MUD] n.
+
+On-line abbrev for virtual
+reality, as opposed to RL.
+
+
+Node:Vulcan nerve pinch,
+Next:vulture
+capitalist, Previous:VR,
+Up:= V = 
+
+Vulcan nerve pinch n.
+
+[from the old "Star Trek" TV series via Commodore Amiga
+hackers] The keyboard combination that forces a soft-boot or jump
+to ROM monitor (on machines that support such a feature). On PC
+clones this is Ctrl-Alt-Del; on Suns, L1-A; on Macintoshes, it is
+<Cmd>-<Power switch> or
+<CMD>-<CTRL>-<POWER>! Also called three-finger salute. Compare
+quadruple bucky.
+
+
+Node:vulture capitalist,
+Next:W2K bug, Previous:Vulcan nerve
+pinch, Up:= V = 
+
+vulture capitalist n.
+
+Pejorative hackerism for `venture capitalist', deriving from
+the common practice of pushing contracts that deprive inventors
+of control over their own innovations and most of the money they
+ought to have made from them.
+
+
+Node:= W =, Next:= X =, Previous:= V =, Up:The Jargon Lexicon 
+
+= W =
+
+
+W2K bug:
+
+
+wabbit:
+
+
+WAITS:
+
+
+waldo:
+
+
+walk:
+
+
+walk off the end
+of:
+
+
+walking drives:
+
+
+wall:
+
+
+wall follower:
+
+
+wall time:
+
+
+wall wart:
+
+
+wallpaper:
+
+
+wango:
+
+
+wank:
+
+
+wannabee:
+
+
+war dialer:
+
+
+-ware:
+
+
+warez:
+
+
+warez d00dz:
+
+
+warez kiddies:
+
+
+warlording:
+
+
+warm boot:
+
+
+wart:
+
+
+washing machine:
+
+
+washing software:
+
+
+water MIPS:
+
+
+wave a dead
+chicken:
+
+
+weasel:
+
+
+web pointer:
+
+
+web toaster:
+
+
+webify:
+
+
+webmaster:
+
+
+web ring:
+
+
+wedged:
+
+
+wedgie:
+
+
+wedgitude:
+
+
+weeble:
+
+
+weeds:
+
+
+weenie:
+
+
+Weenix:
+
+
+well-behaved:
+
+
+well-connected:
+
+
+wetware:
+
+
+whack:
+
+
+whack-a-mole:
+
+
+whacker:
+
+
+whales:
+
+
+whalesong:
+
+
+What's a spline?:
+
+
+wheel:
+
+
+wheel bit:
+
+
+wheel of
+reincarnation:
+
+
+wheel wars:
+
+
+White Book:
+
+
+whitelist:
+
+
+whizzy:
+
+
+wibble:
+
+
+WIBNI:
+
+
+widget:
+
+
+wiggles:
+
+
+WIMP environment:
+
+
+win:
+
+
+win big:
+
+
+win win:
+
+
+Winchester:
+
+
+windoid:
+
+
+window shopping:
+
+
+Windoze:
+
+
+winged comments:
+
+
+winkey:
+
+
+winnage:
+
+
+winner:
+
+
+winnitude:
+
+
+Wintel:
+
+
+wired:
+
+
+wirehead:
+
+
+wirewater:
+
+
+wish list:
+
+
+within delta of:
+
+
+within epsilon of:
+
+
+wizard:
+
+
+Wizard Book:
+
+
+wizard hat:
+
+
+wizard mode:
+
+
+wizardly:
+
+
+wok-on-the-wall:
+
+
+womb box:
+
+
+WOMBAT:
+
+
+womble:
+
+
+wonky:
+
+
+woofer:
+
+
+workaround:
+
+
+working as
+designed:
+
+
+worm:
+
+
+wormhole:
+
+
+wound around the
+axle:
+
+
+wrap around:
+
+
+write-only code:
+
+
+write-only
+language:
+
+
+write-only memory:
+
+
+Wrong Thing:
+
+
+wugga wugga:
+
+
+wumpus:
+
+
+WYSIAYG:
+
+
+WYSIWYG:
+
+
+Node:W2K bug, Next:wabbit, Previous:vulture capitalist, Up:= W = 
+
+W2K bug
+
+[from `Y2K bug' for the Year 2000 problem] The upcoming
+deployment of Microsoft's Windows 2000 operating system, which
+hackers generally expect will be among the worst train wrecks in
+the history of software engineering. Such is the power of
+Microsoft marketing, however, that it is also expected this will
+not become obvious until it has incurred hundreds of millions of
+dollars in downtime and lost opportunity costs.
+
+
+Node:wabbit, Next:WAITS, Previous:W2K bug, Up:=
+W = 
+
+wabbit /wab'it/ n.
+
+[almost certainly from Elmer Fudd's immortal line "You
+wascawwy wabbit!"] 1. A legendary early hack reported on a
+System/360 at RPI and elsewhere around 1978; this may have
+descended (if only by inspiration) from a hack called RABBITS
+reported from 1969 on a Burroughs 5500 at the University of
+Washington Computer Center. The program would make two copies of
+itself every time it was run, eventually crashing the system. 2.
+By extension, any hack that includes infinite self-replication
+but is not a virus or worm. See fork
+bomb and rabbit job,
+see also cookie
+monster.
+
+
+Node:WAITS, Next:waldo, Previous:wabbit, Up:= W
+= 
+
+WAITS /wayts/ n.
+
+The mutant cousin of TOPS-10
+used on a handful of systems at SAIL
+up to 1990. There was never an `official' expansion of WAITS (the
+name itself having been arrived at by a rather sideways process),
+but it was frequently glossed as `West-coast Alternative to ITS'.
+Though WAITS was less visible than ITS, there was frequent
+exchange of people and ideas between the two communities, and
+innovations pioneered at WAITS exerted enormous indirect
+influence. The early screen modes of EMACS, for example, were directly inspired by
+WAITS's `E' editor -- one of a family of editors that were the
+first to do `real-time editing', in which the editing commands
+were invisible and where one typed text at the point of
+insertion/overwriting. The modern style of multi-region windowing
+is said to have originated there, and WAITS alumni at XEROX PARC
+and elsewhere played major roles in the developments that led to
+the XEROX Star, the Macintosh, and the Sun workstations. Also
+invented there were bucky bits
+-- thus, the ALT key on every IBM PC is a WAITS legacy. One WAITS
+feature very notable in pre-Web days was a news-wire interface
+that allowed WAITS hackers to read, store, and filter AP and UPI
+dispatches from their terminals; the system also featured a
+still-unusual level of support for what is now called
+`multimedia' computing, allowing analog audio and video signals
+to be switched to programming terminals.
+
+
+Node:waldo, Next:walk, Previous:WAITS, Up:= W
+= 
+
+waldo /wol'doh/ n.
+
+[From Robert A. Heinlein's story "Waldo"] 1. A mechanical
+agent, such as a gripper arm, controlled by a human limb. When
+these were developed for the nuclear industry in the mid-1940s
+they were named after the invention described by Heinlein in the
+story, which he wrote in 1942. Now known by the more generic term
+`telefactoring', this technology is of intense interest to NASA
+for tasks like space station maintenance. 2. At Harvard
+(particularly by Tom Cheatham and students), this is used instead
+of foobar as a metasyntactic
+variable and general nonsense word. See foo, bar, foobar, quux.
+
+
+Node:walk, Next:walk off the end of,
+Previous:waldo, Up:= W = 
+
+walk n.,vt.
+
+Traversal of a data structure, especially an array or
+linked-list data structure in core.
+See also codewalker, silly walk, clobber.
+
+
+Node:walk off the end
+of, Next:walking
+drives, Previous:walk,
+Up:= W = 
+
+walk off the end of vt.
+
+To run past the end of an array, list, or medium after
+stepping through it -- a good way to land in trouble. Often the
+result of an off-by-one
+error. Compare clobber,
+roach, smash the stack.
+
+
+Node:walking drives, Next:wall, Previous:walk off the end of, Up:= W = 
+
+walking drives n.
+
+An occasional failure mode of magnetic-disk drives back in the
+days when they were huge, clunky washing machines. Those old dinosaur parts carried terrific angular
+momentum; the combination of a misaligned spindle or worn
+bearings and stick-slip interactions with the floor could cause
+them to `walk' across a room, lurching alternate corners forward
+a couple of millimeters at a time. There is a legend about a
+drive that walked over to the only door to the computer room and
+jammed it shut; the staff had to cut a hole in the wall in order
+to get at it! Walking could also be induced by certain patterns
+of drive access (a fast seek across the whole width of the disk,
+followed by a slow seek in the other direction). Some bands of
+old-time hackers figured out how to induce disk-accessing
+patterns that would do this to particular drive models and held
+disk-drive races.
+
+
+Node:wall, Next:wall follower, Previous:walking drives, Up:= W = 
+
+wall interj.
+
+[WPI] 1. An indication of confusion, usually spoken with a
+quizzical tone: "Wall??" 2. A request for further explication.
+Compare octal forty. 3.
+[Unix, from `write all'] v. To send a message to everyone
+currently logged in, esp. with the wall(8) utility.
+
+It is said that sense 1 came from the idiom `like talking to a
+blank wall'. It was originally used in situations where, after
+you had carefully answered a question, the questioner stared at
+you blankly, clearly having understood nothing that was
+explained. You would then throw out a "Hello, wall?" to elicit
+some sort of response from the questioner. Later, confused
+questioners began voicing "Wall?" themselves.
+
+
+Node:wall follower, Next:wall time, Previous:wall, Up:= W = 
+
+wall follower n.
+
+A person or algorithm that compensates for lack of
+sophistication or native stupidity by efficiently following some
+simple procedure shown to have been effective in the past. Used
+of an algorithm, this is not necessarily pejorative; it recalls
+`Harvey Wallbanger', the winning robot in an early AI contest
+(named, of course, after the cocktail). Harvey successfully
+solved mazes by keeping a `finger' on one wall and running till
+it came out the other end. This was inelegant, but it was
+mathematically guaranteed to work on simply-connected mazes --
+and, in fact, Harvey outperformed more sophisticated robots that
+tried to `learn' each maze by building an internal representation
+of it. Used of humans, the term is pejorative and
+implies an uncreative, bureaucratic, by-the-book mentality. See
+also code grinder; compare
+droid.
+
+
+Node:wall time, Next:wall wart, Previous:wall follower, Up:= W = 
+
+wall time n.
+
+(also `wall clock time') 1. `Real world' time (what the clock
+on the wall shows), as opposed to the system clock's idea of
+time. 2. The real running time of a program, as opposed to the
+number of ticks required to execute it
+(on a timesharing system these always differ, as no one program
+gets all the ticks, and on multiprocessor systems with good
+thread support one may get more processor time than real
+time).
+
+
+Node:wall wart, Next:wallpaper, Previous:wall time, Up:= W = 
+
+wall wart n.
+
+A small power-supply brick with integral male plug, designed
+to plug directly into a wall outlet; called a `wart' because when
+installed on a power strip it tends to block up at least one more
+socket than it uses.. These are frequently associated with modems
+and other small electronic devices which would become
+unacceptably bulky or hot if they had power supplies on board
+(there are other reasons as well having to do with the cost of UL
+certification).
+
+
+Node:wallpaper, Next:wango, Previous:wall wart, Up:= W = 
+
+wallpaper n.
+
+1. A file containing a listing (e.g., assembly listing) or a
+transcript, esp. a file containing a transcript of all or part of
+a login session. (The idea was that the paper for such listings
+was essentially good only for wallpaper, as evidenced at
+Stanford, where it was used to cover windows.) Now rare, esp.
+since other systems have developed other terms for it (e.g.,
+PHOTO on TWENEX). However, the Unix world doesn't have an
+equivalent term, so perhaps wallpaper will take hold there. The term
+probably originated on ITS, where the commands to begin and end
+transcript files were :WALBEG and
+:WALEND, with default file WALL PAPER
+(the space was a path delimiter). 2. The background pattern used
+on graphical workstations (this is techspeak under the `Windows'
+graphical user interface to MS-DOS). 3. `wallpaper file' n. The
+file that contains the wallpaper information before it is
+actually printed on paper. (Even if you don't intend ever to
+produce a real paper copy of the file, it is still called a
+wallpaper file.)
+
+
+Node:wango, Next:wank, Previous:wallpaper, Up:= W = 
+
+wango /wang'goh/ n.
+
+Random bit-level grovelling going
+on in a system during some unspecified operation. Often used in
+combination with mumble. For
+example: "You start with the `.o' file, run it through this
+postprocessor that does mumble-wango -- and it comes out a snazzy
+object-oriented executable."
+
+
+Node:wank, Next:wannabee, Previous:wango, Up:= W
+= 
+
+wank /wangk/ n.,v.,adj.
+
+[Columbia University: prob. by mutation from Commonwealth
+slang v. `wank', to masturbate] Used much as hack is elsewhere, as a noun denoting a clever
+technique or person or the result of such cleverness. May
+describe (negatively) the act of hacking for hacking's sake
+("Quit wanking, let's go get supper!") or (more positively) a
+wizard. Adj. `wanky' describes
+something particularly clever (a person, program, or algorithm).
+Conversations can also get wanky when there are too many wanks
+involved. This excess wankiness is signalled by an overload of
+the `wankometer' (compare bogometer). When the wankometer overloads,
+the conversation's subject must be changed, or all non-wanks will
+leave. Compare `neep-neeping' (under neep-neep). Usage: U.S. only. In Britain and
+the Commonwealth this word is extremely rude and is best
+avoided unless one intends to give offense. Adjectival `wanky' is
+less offensive and simply means `stupid' or `broken' (this is
+mainstream in Great Britain).
+
+
+Node:wannabee, Next:war dialer, Previous:wank, Up:= W =
+
+
+wannabee /won'*-bee/ n.
+
+(also, more plausibly, spelled `wannabe') [from a term
+recently used to describe Madonna fans who dress, talk, and act
+like their idol; prob. originally from biker slang] A would-be
+hacker. The connotations of this
+term differ sharply depending on the age and exposure of the
+subject. Used of a person who is in or might be entering larval stage, it is
+semi-approving; such wannabees can be annoying but most hackers
+remember that they, too, were once such creatures. When used of
+any professional programmer, CS academic, writer, or suit, it is derogatory, implying that said person
+is trying to cuddle up to the hacker mystique but doesn't,
+fundamentally, have a prayer of understanding what it is all
+about. Overuse of terms from this lexicon is often an indication
+of the wannabee nature. Compare
+newbie.
+
+Historical note: The wannabee phenomenon has a slightly
+different flavor now (1993) than it did ten or fifteen years ago.
+When the people who are now hackerdom's tribal elders were in
+larval stage, the process of
+becoming a hacker was largely unconscious and unaffected by
+models known in popular culture -- communities formed
+spontaneously around people who, as individuals, felt
+irresistibly drawn to do hackerly things, and what wannabees
+experienced was a fairly pure, skill-focused desire to become
+similarly wizardly. Those days of innocence are gone forever;
+society's adaptation to the advent of the microcomputer after
+1980 included the elevation of the hacker as a new kind of folk
+hero, and the result is that some people semi-consciously set out
+to be hackers and borrow hackish prestige by fitting the
+popular image of hackers. Fortunately, to do this really well,
+one has to actually become a wizard. Nevertheless, old-time
+hackers tend to share a poorly articulated disquiet about the
+change; among other things, it gives them mixed feelings about
+the effects of public compendia of lore like this one.
+
+
+Node:war dialer, Next:-ware, Previous:wannabee, Up:=
+W = 
+
+war dialer n.
+
+A cracking tool, a program that calls a given list or range of
+phone numbers and records those which answer with handshake tones
+(and so might be entry points to computer or telecommunications
+systems). Some of these programs have become quite sophisticated,
+and can now detect modem, fax, or PBX tones and log each one
+separately. The war dialer is one of the most important tools in
+the phreaker's kit. These programs
+evolved from early demon
+dialers.
+
+
+Node:-ware, Next:warez, Previous:war dialer, Up:= W = 
+
+-ware suff.
+
+[from `software'] Commonly used to form jargon terms for
+classes of software. For examples, see annoyware, careware, crippleware, crudware, freeware, fritterware, guiltware, liveware, meatware, payware, psychedelicware, shareware, shelfware, vaporware, wetware.
+
+
+Node:warez, Next:warez d00dz, Previous:-ware, Up:= W
+= 
+
+warez /weirz/ n.
+
+Widely used in cracker
+subcultures to denote cracked version of commercial software,
+that is versions from which copy-protection has been stripped.
+Hackers recognize this term but don't use it themselves. See
+warez d00dz, courier, leech,
+elite.
+
+
+Node:warez d00dz, Next:warez kiddies, Previous:warez, Up:= W = 
+
+warez d00dz /weirz doodz/ n.
+
+A substantial subculture of crackers refer to themselves as `warez d00dz';
+there is evidently some connection with B1FF here. As `Ozone Pilot', one former warez
+d00d, wrote:
+
+Warez d00dz get illegal copies of copyrighted
+software. If it has copy protection on it, they break the
+protection so the software can be copied. Then they distribute it
+around the world via several gateways. Warez d00dz form badass
+group names like RAZOR and the like. They put up boards that
+distribute the latest ware, or pirate program. The whole point of
+the Warez sub-culture is to get the pirate program released and
+distributed before any other group. I know, I know. But don't
+ask, and it won't hurt as much. This is how they prove their
+poweress [sic]. It gives them the right to say, "I released
+King's Quest IVXIX before you so obviously my testicles are
+larger." Again don't ask...
+
+
+The studly thing to do if one is a warez d00d, it appears, is
+emit `0-day warez', that is copies of commercial software copied
+and cracked on the same day as its retail release. Warez d00ds
+also hoard software in a big way, collecting untold megabytes of
+arcade-style games, pornographic JPGs, and applications they'll
+never use onto their hard disks. As Ozone Pilot acutely
+observes:
+
+[BELONG] is the only word you will need to know.
+Warez d00dz want to belong. They have been shunned by everyone,
+and thus turn to cyberspace for acceptance. That is why they
+always start groups like TGW, FLT, USA and the like. Structure
+makes them happy. [...] Warez d00dz will never have a handle like
+"Pink Daisy" because warez d00dz are insecure. Only someone who
+is very secure with a good dose of self-esteem can stand up to
+the cries of fag and girlie-man. More likely you will find warez
+d00dz with handles like: Doctor Death, Deranged Lunatic,
+Hellraiser, Mad Prince, Dreamdevil, The Unknown, Renegade
+Chemist, Terminator, and Twin Turbo. They like to sound badass
+when they can hide behind their terminals. More likely, if you
+were given a sample of 100 people, the person whose handle is
+Hellraiser is the last person you'd associate with the
+name.
+
+
+The contrast with Internet hackers is stark and instructive.
+See cracker, wannabee, handle, elite,
+courier, leech; compare weenie, spod.
+
+
+Node:warez kiddies, Next:warlording, Previous:warez d00dz, Up:= W = 
+
+warez kiddies n.
+
+Even more derogatory way of referring to warez d00dz; refers to the fact that
+most warez d00dz are around the age of puberty. Compare script kiddies.
+
+
+Node:warlording, Next:warm boot, Previous:warez kiddies, Up:= W = 
+
+warlording v.
+
+[from the Usenet group _alt.fan.warlord_] The act of
+excoriating a bloated, ugly, or derivative sig block. Common grounds for warlording
+include the presence of a signature rendered in a BUAF, over-used or cliched sig quotes, ugly ASCII art, or simply excessive size. The
+original `Warlord' was a B1FF-like
+newbie c.1991 who featured in his
+sig a particularly large and obnoxious ASCII graphic resembling
+the sword of Conan the Barbarian in the 1981 John Milius movie;
+the group name _alt.fan.warlord_ was sarcasm, and the
+characteristic mode of warlording is devastatingly sarcastic
+praise.
+
+
+Node:warm boot, Next:wart, Previous:warlording, Up:= W = 
+
+warm boot n.
+
+See boot.
+
+
+Node:wart, Next:washing machine, Previous:warm boot, Up:= W = 
+
+wart n.
+
+A small, crocky feature that sticks out of an otherwise clean design. Something conspicuous for
+localized ugliness, especially a special-case exception to a
+general rule. For example, in some versions of
+csh(1), single quotes literalize every character
+inside them except !. In ANSI C, the ??
+syntax used for obtaining ASCII characters in a foreign
+environment is a wart. See also miswart.
+
+
+Node:washing machine, Next:washing software,
+Previous:wart, Up:= W = 
+
+washing machine n.
+
+1. Old-style 14-inch hard disks in floor-standing cabinets. So
+called because of the size of the cabinet and the `top-loading'
+access to the media packs -- and, of course, they were always set
+on `spin cycle'. The washing-machine idiom transcends language
+barriers; it is even used in Russian hacker jargon. See also
+walking drives. The thick
+channel cables connecting these were called `bit hoses' (see
+hose, sense 3). 2. [CMU] A machine
+used exclusively for washing
+software. CMU has clusters of these.
+
+
+Node:washing software, Next:water MIPS, Previous:washing machine, Up:= W = 
+
+washing software n.
+
+The process of recompiling a software distribution (used more
+often when the recompilation is occuring from scratch) to pick up
+and merge together all of the various changes that have been made
+to the source.
+
+
+Node:water MIPS, Next:wave a dead chicken,
+Previous:washing
+software, Up:= W = 
+
+water MIPS n.
+
+(see MIPS, sense 2) Large,
+water-cooled machines of either today's ECL-supercomputer flavor
+or yesterday's traditional mainframe type.
+
+
+Node:wave a dead chicken,
+Next:weasel, Previous:water MIPS, Up:= W = 
+
+wave a dead chicken v.
+
+To perform a ritual in the direction of crashed software or
+hardware that one believes to be futile but is nevertheless
+necessary so that others are satisfied that an appropriate degree
+of effort has been expended. "I'll wave a dead chicken over the
+source code, but I really think we've run into an OS bug."
+Compare voodoo
+programming, rain
+dance; see also casting the runes.
+
+
+Node:weasel, Next:web pointer, Previous:wave a dead chicken, Up:= W = 
+
+weasel n.
+
+[Cambridge] A naive user, one who deliberately or accidentally
+does things that are stupid or ill-advised. Roughly synonymous
+with loser.
+
+
+Node:web pointer, Next:web toaster, Previous:weasel, Up:=
+W = 
+
+web pointer n.
+
+A World Wide Web URL. See also hotlink, which has slightly different
+connotations.
+
+
+Node:web toaster, Next:webify, Previous:web pointer, Up:= W = 
+
+web toaster n.
+
+A small specialized computer, shipped with no monitor or
+keyboard or any other external peripherals, pre-configured to be
+controlled through an Ethernet port and function as a WWW server.
+Products of this kind (for example the Cobalt Qube) are often
+about the size of a toaster. See toaster; compare video toaster.
+
+
+Node:webify, Next:webmaster, Previous:web toaster, Up:= W = 
+
+webify n.
+
+To put a piece of (possibly already existing) material on the
+WWW. Frequently used for papers ("Why don't you webify all your
+publications?") or for demos ("They webified their 6.866 final
+project"). This term seems to have been (rather logically)
+independently invented multiple times in the early 1990s.
+
+
+Node:webmaster, Next:web ring, Previous:webify, Up:= W
+= 
+
+webmaster n.
+
+[WWW: from postmaster] The
+person at a site providing World Wide Web information who is
+responsible for maintaining the public pages and keeping the Web
+server running and properly configured.
+
+
+Node:web ring, Next:wedged, Previous:webmaster, Up:= W = 
+
+web ring n.
+
+Two or more web sites connected by prominent links between
+sites sharing a common interest or theme. Usually such cliques
+have the topology of a ring, in order to make it easy for
+visitors to navigate through all of them.
+
+
+Node:wedged, Next:wedgie, Previous:web ring, Up:= W = 
+
+wedged adj.
+
+1. To be stuck, incapable of proceeding without help. This is
+different from having crashed. If the system has crashed, it has
+become totally non-functioning. If the system is wedged, it is
+trying to do something but cannot make progress; it may be
+capable of doing a few things, but not be fully operational. For
+example, a process may become wedged if it deadlocks with another (but not all instances
+of wedging are deadlocks). See also gronk, locked
+up, hosed, hung (wedged is more severe than hung). 2. Often refers to humans suffering
+misconceptions. "He's totally wedged -- he's convinced that he
+can levitate through meditation." 3. [Unix] Specifically used to
+describe the state of a TTY left in a losing state by abort of a
+screen-oriented program or one that has messed with the line
+discipline in some obscure way.
+
+There is some dispute over the origin of this term. It is
+usually thought to derive from a common description of
+recto-cranial inversion; however, it may actually have originated
+with older `hot-press' printing technology in which physical type
+elements were locked into type frames with wedges driven in by
+mallets. Once this had been done, no changes in the typesetting
+for that page could be made.
+
+
+Node:wedgie, Next:wedgitude, Previous:wedged, Up:= W
+= 
+
+wedgie n.
+
+[Fairchild] A bug. Prob. related to wedged.
+
+
+Node:wedgitude, Next:weeble, Previous:wedgie, Up:= W
+= 
+
+wedgitude /wedj'i-t[y]ood/ n.
+
+The quality or state of being wedged.
+
+
+Node:weeble, Next:weeds, Previous:wedgitude, Up:= W = 
+
+weeble /weeb'l/ interj.
+
+[Cambridge] Used to denote frustration, usually at amazing
+stupidity. "I stuck the disk in upside down."
+"Weeble...." Compare gurfle.
+
+
+Node:weeds, Next:weenie, Previous:weeble, Up:= W
+= 
+
+weeds n.
+
+1. Refers to development projects or algorithms that have no
+possible relevance or practical application. Comes from `off in
+the weeds'. Used in phrases like "lexical analysis for microcode
+is serious weeds...." 2. At CDC/ETA before its
+demise, the phrase `go off in the weeds' was equivalent to IBM's
+branch to Fishkill
+and mainstream hackerdom's jump off into
+never-never land.
+
+
+Node:weenie, Next:Weenix, Previous:weeds, Up:= W
+= 
+
+weenie n.
+
+1. [on BBSes] Any of a species of luser resembling a less
+amusing version of B1FF that infests
+many BBS systems. The typical weenie is
+a teenage boy with poor social skills travelling under a
+grandiose handle derived from
+fantasy or heavy-metal rock lyrics. Among sysops, `the weenie
+problem' refers to the marginally literate and profanity-laden
+flamage weenies tend to spew all
+over a newly-discovered BBS. Compare spod, computer
+geek, terminal
+junkie, warez d00dz.
+2. [Among hackers] When used with a qualifier (for example, as in
+Unix weenie, VMS weenie, IBM
+weenie) this can be either an insult or a term of praise,
+depending on context, tone of voice, and whether or not it is
+applied by a person who considers him or herself to be the same
+sort of weenie. Implies that the weenie has put a major
+investment of time, effort, and concentration into the area
+indicated; whether this is good or bad depends on the hearer's
+judgment of how the speaker feels about that area. See also bigot. 3. The semicolon character,
+; (ASCII 0111011).
+
+
+Node:Weenix, Next:well-behaved, Previous:weenie, Up:=
+W = 
+
+Weenix /wee'niks/ n.
+
+1. [ITS] A derogatory term for Unix, derived from Unix weenie. According to one noted
+ex-ITSer, it is "the operating system preferred by Unix Weenies:
+typified by poor modularity, poor reliability, hard file
+deletion, no file version numbers, case sensitivity everywhere,
+and users who believe that these are all advantages". (Some ITS
+fans behave as though they believe Unix stole a future that
+rightfully belonged to them. See ITS,
+sense 2.) 2. [Brown University] A Unix-like OS developed for
+tutorial purposes at Brown University. See http://www.cs.brown.edu/courses/cs167/weenix.html.
+Named independently of the ITS usage.
+
+
+Node:well-behaved, Next:well-connected, Previous:Weenix, Up:= W = 
+
+well-behaved adj.
+
+1. [primarily MS-DOS] Said of
+software conforming to system interface guidelines and standards.
+Well-behaved software uses the operating system to do chores such
+as keyboard input, allocating memory and drawing graphics. Oppose
+ill-behaved. 2. Software that
+does its job quietly and without counterintuitive effects. Esp.
+said of software having an interface spec sufficiently simple and
+well-defined that it can be used as a tool by other software. See cat. 3. Said of an algorithm that doesn't crash or blow
+up, even when given pathological input. Implies that the
+stability of the algorithm is intrinsic, which makes this
+somewhat different from bulletproof.
+
+
+Node:well-connected, Next:wetware, Previous:well-behaved, Up:= W = 
+
+well-connected adj.
+
+Said of a computer installation, asserts that it has reliable
+email links with the network and/or that it relays a large
+fraction of available Usenet
+newsgroups. `Well-known' can be almost synonymous, but also
+implies that the site's name is familiar to many (due perhaps to
+an archive service or active Usenet users).
+
+
+Node:wetware, Next:whack, Previous:well-connected, Up:= W = 
+
+wetware /wet'weir/ n.
+
+[prob. from the novels of Rudy Rucker] 1. The human nervous
+system, as opposed to computer hardware or software. "Wetware has
+7 plus or minus 2 temporary registers." 2. Human beings
+(programmers, operators, administrators) attached to a computer
+system, as opposed to the system's hardware or software. See
+liveware, meatware.
+
+
+Node:whack, Next:whack-a-mole, Previous:wetware, Up:= W = 
+
+whack v.
+
+According to arch-hacker James Gosling (designer of NeWS, GOSMACS
+and Java), to "...modify a program with no idea whatsoever how it
+works." (See whacker.) It is
+actually possible to do this in nontrivial circumstances if the
+change is small and well-defined and you are very good at glarking things from context. As a trivial
+example, it is relatively easy to change all stderr
+writes to stdout writes in a piece of C filter code
+which remains otherwise mysterious.
+
+
+Node:whack-a-mole, Next:whacker, Previous:whack, Up:= W
+= 
+
+whack-a-mole n.
+
+[from the carnival game which involves quickly and repeatedly
+hitting the heads of mechanical moles with a mallet as they pop
+up from their holes.] 1. The practice of repeatedly causing
+spammers' throwaway
+accounts and drop boxes to be terminated. 2. After sense
+1 became established in the mid-1990s the term passed into more
+generalized use, and now is commonly found in such combinations
+as `whack-a-mole windows'; the obnoxious pop-ip advertisement
+windows spawned in flocks when you surg to sites like Geocities
+or Tripod.
+
+
+Node:whacker, Next:whales, Previous:whack-a-mole, Up:= W = 
+
+whacker n.
+
+[University of Maryland: from hacker] 1. A person, similar to a hacker, who enjoys exploring the details of
+programmable systems and how to stretch their capabilities.
+Whereas a hacker tends to produce great hacks, a whacker only
+ends up whacking the system or program in question. Whackers are
+often quite egotistical and eager to claim wizard status, regardless of the views of their
+peers. 2. A person who is good at programming quickly, though
+rather poorly and ineptly.
+
+
+Node:whales, Next:whalesong, Previous:whacker, Up:= W
+= 
+
+whales n.
+
+See like
+kicking dead whales down the beach.
+
+
+Node:whalesong, Next:What's a spline?, Previous:whales, Up:= W = 
+
+whalesong n.
+
+The peculiar clicking and whooshing sounds made by a PEP modem
+such as the Telebit Trailblazer as it tries to synchronize with
+another PEP modem for their special high-speed mode. This sound
+isn't anything like the normal two-tone handshake between
+conventional V-series modems and is instantly recognizable to
+anyone who has heard it more than once. It sounds, in fact, very
+much like whale songs. This noise is also called "the moose call"
+or "moose tones".
+
+
+Node:What's a spline?,
+Next:wheel, Previous:whalesong, Up:= W = 
+
+What's a spline?
+
+[XEROX PARC] This phrase expands to: "You have just used a
+term that I've heard for a year and a half, and I feel I should
+know, but don't. My curiosity has finally overcome my guilt." The
+PARC lexicon adds "Moral: don't hesitate to ask questions, even
+if they seem obvious."
+
+
+Node:wheel, Next:wheel bit, Previous:What's a spline?, Up:= W = 
+
+wheel n.
+
+[from slang `big wheel' for a powerful person] A person who
+has an active wheel bit. "We
+need to find a wheel to unwedge the hung tape drives." (See wedged, sense 1.) The traditional name of
+security group zero in BSD (to which
+the major system-internal users like root belong) is `wheel'. Some vendors have
+expanded on this usage, modifying Unix so that only members of
+group `wheel' can go root.
+
+
+Node:wheel bit, Next:wheel of reincarnation,
+Previous:wheel, Up:= W = 
+
+wheel bit n.
+
+A privilege bit that allows the possessor to perform some
+restricted operation on a timesharing system, such as read or
+write any file on the system regardless of protections, change or
+look at any address in the running monitor, crash or reload the
+system, and kill or create jobs and user accounts. The term was
+invented on the TENEX operating system, and carried over to
+TOPS-20, XEROX-IFS, and others. The state of being in a
+privileged logon is sometimes called `wheel mode'. This term
+entered the Unix culture from TWENEX in the mid-1980s and has
+been gaining popularity there (esp. at university sites). See
+also root.
+
+
+Node:wheel of
+reincarnation, Next:wheel
+wars, Previous:wheel
+bit, Up:= W = 
+
+wheel of reincarnation
+
+[coined in a paper by T. H. Myer and I.E. Sutherland "On the
+Design of Display Processors", Comm. ACM, Vol. 11, no. 6, June
+1968)] Term used to refer to a well-known effect whereby function
+in a computing system family is migrated out to special-purpose
+peripheral hardware for speed, then the peripheral evolves toward
+more computing power as it does its job, then somebody notices
+that it is inefficient to support two asymmetrical processors in
+the architecture and folds the function back into the main CPU,
+at which point the cycle begins again.
+
+Several iterations of this cycle have been observed in
+graphics-processor design, and at least one or two in
+communications and floating-point processors. Also known as `the
+Wheel of Life', `the Wheel of Samsara', and other variations of
+the basic Hindu/Buddhist theological idea. See also blitter, bit
+bang.
+
+
+Node:wheel wars, Next:White Book, Previous:wheel of reincarnation,
+Up:= W = 
+
+wheel wars n.
+
+[Stanford University] A period in larval stage during which student
+hackers hassle each other by attempting to log each other out of
+the system, delete each other's files, and otherwise wreak havoc,
+usually at the expense of the lesser users.
+
+
+Node:White Book, Next:whitelist, Previous:wheel wars, Up:= W = 
+
+White Book n.
+
+1. Syn. K&R. 2. Adobe's
+fourth book in the PostScript series, describing the
+previously-secret format of Type 1 fonts; "Adobe Type 1 Font
+Format, version 1.1", (Addison-Wesley, 1990, ISBN 0-201-57044-0).
+See also Red Book, Green Book, Blue Book.
+
+
+Node:whitelist, Next:whizzy, Previous:White Book, Up:= W = 
+
+whitelist n.
+
+The opposite of a blacklist. That is, instead of being an
+explicit list of people who are banned, it's an explicit list of
+people who are to be admitted. Hackers use this especially of
+lists of email addresses that are explicitly enabled to get past
+strict anti-spam filters.
+
+
+Node:whizzy, Next:wibble, Previous:whitelist, Up:= W = 
+
+whizzy adj.
+
+(alt. `wizzy') [Sun] Describes a cuspy program; one that is feature-rich and well
+presented.
+
+
+Node:wibble, Next:WIBNI, Previous:whizzy, Up:= W
+= 
+
+wibble
+
+[UK, perh. originally from the first "Roger Irrelevant" strip
+in "VIZ" comics, spread via "Your Sinclair magazine in the 1980s
+and early 1990s"] 1. n.,v. Commonly used to describe chatter,
+content-free remarks or other essentially meaningless
+contributions to threads in newsgroups. "Oh, rspence is wibbling
+again". 2. [UK IRC] An explicit on-line no-op equivalent to humma. 3. One of the preferred metasyntactic variables in
+the UK, forming a series with wobble,
+wubble, and flob (attributed to the
+hilarious historical comedy "Blackadder"). 4. A pronounciation of
+the letters "www", as seen in URLs; i.e., www.foo.com may be pronounced "wibble dot foo dot com"
+(compare dub dub dub).
+
+The ancestral sense of this word is reported to have been "My
+brain is packing it in now. I give up. Tilt! Tilt!
+Tilt!"
+
+
+Node:WIBNI, Next:widget, Previous:wibble, Up:= W
+= 
+
+WIBNI // n.
+
+[Bell Labs: Wouldn't It Be Nice If] What most requirements
+documents and specifications consist entirely of. Compare IWBNI.
+
+
+Node:widget, Next:wiggles, Previous:WIBNI, Up:= W
+= 
+
+widget n.
+
+1. A meta-thing. Used to stand for a real object in didactic
+examples (especially database tutorials). Legend has it that the
+original widgets were holders for buggy whips. "But suppose the
+parts list for a widget has 52 entries...." 2.
+[poss. evoking `window gadget'] A user interface object in X graphical user interfaces.
+
+
+Node:wiggles, Next:WIMP environment, Previous:widget, Up:= W = 
+
+wiggles n.
+
+[scientific computation] In solving partial differential
+equations by finite difference and similar methods, wiggles are
+sawtooth (up-down-up-down) oscillations at the shortest
+wavelength representable on the grid. If an algorithm is
+unstable, this is often the most unstable waveform, so it grows
+to dominate the solution. Alternatively, stable (though
+inaccurate) wiggles can be generated near a discontinuity by a
+Gibbs phenomenon.
+
+
+Node:WIMP environment, Next:win, Previous:wiggles, Up:= W
+= 
+
+WIMP environment n.
+
+[acronym: `Window, Icon, Menu, Pointing device (or Pull-down
+menu)'] A graphical-user-interface environment such as X or the Macintosh interface, esp. as described
+by a hacker who prefers command-line interfaces for their
+superior flexibility and extensibility. However, it is also used
+without negative connotations; one must pay attention to voice
+tone and other signals to interpret correctly. See menuitis, user-obsequious.
+
+
+Node:win, Next:win big, Previous:WIMP environment, Up:= W = 
+
+win
+
+[MIT; now common everywhere] 1. vi. To succeed. A program wins
+if no unexpected conditions arise, or (especially) if it
+sufficiently robust to take
+exceptions in stride. 2. n. Success, or a specific instance
+thereof. A pleasing outcome. "So it turned out I could use a
+lexer generator instead of
+hand-coding my own pattern recognizer. What a win!" Emphatic
+forms: `moby win', `super win', `hyper-win' (often used
+interjectively as a reply). For some reason `suitable win' is
+also common at MIT, usually in reference to a satisfactory
+solution to a problem. Oppose lose;
+see also big win, which isn't
+quite just an intensification of `win'.
+
+
+Node:win big, Next:win win, Previous:win, Up:= W =
+
+
+win big vi.
+
+To experience serendipity. "I went shopping and won big; there
+was a 2-for-1 sale." See big
+win.
+
+
+Node:win win, Next:Winchester, Previous:win big, Up:=
+W = 
+
+win win excl.
+
+Expresses pleasure at a win.
+
+
+Node:Winchester, Next:windoid, Previous:win win, Up:=
+W = 
+
+Winchester n.
+
+Informal generic term for sealed-enclosure magnetic-disk
+drives in which the read-write head planes over the disk surface
+on an air cushion. There is a legend that the name arose because
+the original 1973 engineering prototype for what later became the
+IBM 3340 featured two 30-megabyte volumes; 30-30 became
+`Winchester' when somebody noticed the similarity to the common
+term for a famous Winchester rifle (in the latter, the first 30
+referred to caliber and the second to the grain weight of the
+charge). (It is sometimes incorrectly claimed that Winchester was
+the laboratory in which the technology was developed.)
+
+
+Node:windoid, Next:window shopping, Previous:Winchester, Up:= W = 
+
+windoid n.
+
+In the Macintosh world, a style of window with much less
+adornment (smaller or missing title bar, zoom box, etc, etc) than
+a standard window.
+
+
+Node:window shopping, Next:Windoze, Previous:windoid, Up:= W = 
+
+window shopping n.
+
+[US Geological Survey] Among users of WIMP environments like X or the Macintosh, extended experimentation with
+new window colors, fonts, and icon shapes. This activity can take
+up hours of what might otherwise have been productive working
+time. "I spent the afternoon window shopping until I found the
+coolest shade of green for my active window borders -- now they
+perfectly match my medium slate blue background." Serious window
+shoppers will spend their days with bitmap editors, creating new
+and different icons and background patterns for all to see. Also:
+`window dressing', the act of applying new fonts, colors, etc.
+See fritterware, compare macdink.
+
+
+Node:Windoze, Next:winged comments, Previous:window shopping, Up:= W = 
+
+Windoze /win'dohz/ n.
+
+See Microsloth
+Windows.
+
+
+Node:winged comments, Next:winkey, Previous:Windoze, Up:= W = 
+
+winged comments n.
+
+Comments set on the same line as code, as opposed to boxed comments. In C, for
+example:
+
+d = sqrt(x*x + y*y);  /* distance from origin */
+
+
+Generally these refer only to the action(s) taken on that
+line.
+
+
+Node:winkey, Next:winnage, Previous:winged comments, Up:= W = 
+
+winkey n.
+
+(alt. `winkey face') See emoticon.
+
+
+Node:winnage, Next:winner, Previous:winkey, Up:= W
+= 
+
+winnage /win'*j/ n.
+
+The situation when a lossage is corrected, or when something
+is winning.
+
+
+Node:winner, Next:winnitude, Previous:winnage, Up:= W
+= 
+
+winner
+
+1. n. An unexpectedly good situation, program, programmer, or
+person. 2. `real winner': Often sarcastic, but also used as high
+praise (see also the note under user).
+"He's a real winner -- never reports a bug till he can duplicate
+it and send in an example."
+
+
+Node:winnitude, Next:Wintel, Previous:winner, Up:= W
+= 
+
+winnitude /win'*-t[y]ood/ n.
+
+The quality of winning (as opposed to winnage, which is the result of winning).
+"Guess what? They tweaked the microcode and now the LISP
+interpreter runs twice as fast as it used to." "That's really
+great! Boy, what winnitude!" "Yup. I'll probably get a
+half-hour's winnage on the next run of my program." Perhaps
+curiously, the obvious antonym `lossitude' is rare.
+
+
+Node:Wintel, Next:wired, Previous:winnitude, Up:= W = 
+
+Wintel n.
+
+Microsoft Windows plus Intel - the tacit alliance that
+dominated desktop computing in the 1990s. Now (1999) possibly on
+the verge of breaking up under pressure from Linux; see Lintel.
+
+
+Node:wired, Next:wirehead, Previous:Wintel, Up:= W
+= 
+
+wired n.
+
+See hardwired.
+
+
+Node:wirehead, Next:wirewater, Previous:wired, Up:= W
+= 
+
+wirehead /wi:r'hed/ n.
+
+[prob. from SF slang for an electrical-brain-stimulation
+addict] 1. A hardware hacker, especially one who concentrates on
+communications hardware. 2. An expert in local-area networks. A
+wirehead can be a network software wizard too, but will always
+have the ability to deal with network hardware, down to the
+smallest component. Wireheads are known for their ability to lash
+up an Ethernet terminator from spare resistors, for example.
+
+
+Node:wirewater, Next:wish list, Previous:wirehead, Up:=
+W = 
+
+wirewater n.
+
+Syn. programming
+fluid. This melds the mainstream slang adjective `wired'
+(stimulated, up, hyperactive) with `firewater'; however, it
+refers to caffeinacious rather than alcoholic beverages.
+
+
+Node:wish list, Next:within delta of, Previous:wirewater, Up:= W = 
+
+wish list n.
+
+A list of desired features or bug fixes that probably won't
+get done for a long time, usually because the person responsible
+for the code is too busy or can't think of a clean way to do it.
+"OK, I'll add automatic filename completion to the wish list for
+the new interface." Compare tick-list features.
+
+
+Node:within delta of, Next:within epsilon of,
+Previous:wish list,
+Up:= W = 
+
+within delta of adj.
+
+See delta.
+
+
+Node:within epsilon of,
+Next:wizard, Previous:within delta of, Up:= W = 
+
+within epsilon of adj.
+
+See epsilon.
+
+
+Node:wizard, Next:Wizard Book, Previous:within epsilon of, Up:= W = 
+
+wizard n.
+
+1. Transitively, a person who knows how a complex piece of
+software or hardware works (that is, who groks it); esp. someone who can find and fix bugs
+quickly in an emergency. Someone is a hacker if he or she has general hacking
+ability, but is a wizard with respect to something only if he or
+she has specific detailed knowledge of that thing. A good hacker
+could become a wizard for something given the time to study it.
+2. The term `wizard' is also used intransitively of someone who
+has extremely high-level hacking or problem-solving ability. 3. A
+person who is permitted to do things forbidden to ordinary
+people; one who has wheel privileges
+on a system. 4. A Unix expert, esp. a Unix systems programmer.
+This usage is well enough established that `Unix Wizard' is a
+recognized job title at some corporations and to most
+headhunters. See guru, lord high fixer. See also deep magic, heavy wizardry, incantation, magic, mutter,
+rain dance, voodoo programming, wave a dead chicken.
+
+
+Node:Wizard Book, Next:wizard hat, Previous:wizard, Up:=
+W = 
+
+Wizard Book n.
+
+"Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs" (Hal
+Abelson, Jerry Sussman and Julie Sussman; MIT Press, 1984, 1996;
+ISBN 0-262-01153-0), an excellent computer science text used in
+introductory courses at MIT. So called because of the wizard on
+the jacket. One of the bibles of the
+LISP/Scheme world. Also, less commonly, known as the Purple Book.
+
+
+Node:wizard hat, Next:wizard mode, Previous:Wizard Book, Up:= W = 
+
+wizard hat n.
+
+[also, after Terry Pratchett, `pointy hat'] Notional headgear
+worn by whoever is the wizard in a
+particular context. The implication is that it's a transferable
+role. "Talk to Alice, she's wearing the TCP/IP wizard hat while
+Bob is on vacation." This metaphor is sufficiently live that one
+may actually see hackers miming the act of putting on, taking
+off, or transferring a phantom hat. Compare patch pumpkin.
+
+
+Node:wizard mode, Next:wizardly, Previous:wizard hat, Up:= W = 
+
+wizard mode n.
+
+[from rogue] A special access mode
+of a program or system, usually passworded, that permits some
+users godlike privileges. Generally not used for operating
+systems themselves (`root mode' or `wheel mode' would be used
+instead). This term is often used with respect to games that have
+editable state.
+
+
+Node:wizardly, Next:wok-on-the-wall, Previous:wizard mode, Up:= W = 
+
+wizardly adj.
+
+Pertaining to wizards. A wizardly feature is one that only a wizard could
+understand or use properly.
+
+
+Node:wok-on-the-wall, Next:womb box, Previous:wizardly, Up:= W = 
+
+wok-on-the-wall n.
+
+A small microwave dish antenna used for cross-campus private
+network circuits, from the obvious resemblance between a
+microwave dish and the Chinese culinary utensil.
+
+
+Node:womb box, Next:WOMBAT, Previous:wok-on-the-wall, Up:= W = 
+
+womb box n.
+
+1. [TMRC] Storage space for equipment. 2. [proposed] A variety
+of hard-shell equipment case with heavy interior padding and/or
+shaped carrier cutouts in a foam-rubber matrix; mundanely called
+a `flight case'. Used for delicate test equipment, electronics,
+and musical instruments.
+
+
+Node:WOMBAT, Next:womble, Previous:womb box, Up:= W = 
+
+WOMBAT /wom'bat/ adj.
+
+[acronym: Waste Of Money, Brains, And Time] Applied to
+problems which are both profoundly uninteresting in themselves and unlikely
+to benefit anyone interesting even if solved. Often used in
+fanciful constructions such as `wrestling with a wombat'. See
+also crawling horror,
+SMOP. Also note the rather different
+usage as a metasyntactic variable in Commonwealth Hackish.
+
+Users of the PDP-11 database program DATATRIEVE adopted the
+wombat as their notional mascot; the program's help file
+responded to "HELP WOMBAT" with factual information about Real
+World wombats.
+
+
+Node:womble, Next:wonky, Previous:WOMBAT, Up:= W
+= 
+
+womble n.
+
+[Unisys UK: from British animated characters] A user who has
+great difficulty in communicating their requirements and/or in
+using the resulting software. Extreme case of luser. An especially senior or high-ranking
+womble is referred to as Great-Uncle Bulgaria.
+
+
+Node:wonky, Next:woofer, Previous:womble, Up:= W
+= 
+
+wonky /wong'kee/ adj.
+
+[from Australian slang] Yet another approximate synonym for
+broken. Specifically connotes a
+malfunction that produces behavior seen as crazy, humorous, or
+amusingly perverse. "That was the day the printer's font logic
+went wonky and everybody's listings came out in Tengwar." Also in
+`wonked out'. See funky, demented, bozotic.
+
+
+Node:woofer, Next:workaround, Previous:wonky, Up:= W
+= 
+
+woofer n.
+
+[University of Waterloo] Some varieties of wide paper for
+printers have a perforation 8.5 inches from the left margin that
+allows the excess on the right-hand side to be torn off when the
+print format is 80 columns or less wide. The right-hand excess
+may be called `woofer'. This term (like tweeter) has been in use at Waterloo since
+1972, but is elsewhere unknown. In audio jargon, the word refers
+to the bass speaker(s) on a hi-fi.
+
+
+Node:workaround, Next:working as designed,
+Previous:woofer, Up:= W = 
+
+workaround n.
+
+1. A temporary kluge used to
+bypass, mask, or otherwise avoid a bug
+or misfeature in some system.
+Theoretically, workarounds are always replaced by fixes; in practice, customers often find
+themselves living with workarounds for long periods of time. "The
+code died on NUL characters in the input, so I fixed it to
+interpret them as spaces." "That's not a fix, that's a
+workaround!" 2. A procedure to be employed by the user in order
+to do what some currently non-working feature should do.
+Hypothetical example: "Using META-F7 crashes the 4.43 build of Weemax, but as a
+workaround you can type CTRL-R, then SHIFT-F5, and delete the
+remaining cruft by hand."
+
+
+Node:working as designed,
+Next:worm, Previous:workaround, Up:= W = 
+
+working as designed adj.
+
+[IBM] 1. In conformance to a wrong or inappropriate
+specification; useful, but misdesigned. 2. Frequently used as a
+sardonic comment on a program's utility. 3. Unfortunately also
+used as a bogus reason for not accepting a criticism or
+suggestion. At IBM, this sense is used
+in official documents! See BAD.
+
+
+Node:worm, Next:wormhole, Previous:working as designed, Up:= W = 
+
+worm n.
+
+[from `tapeworm' in John Brunner's novel "The Shockwave
+Rider", via XEROX PARC] A program that propagates itself over a
+network, reproducing itself as it goes. Compare virus. Nowadays the term has negative
+connotations, as it is assumed that only crackers write worms. Perhaps the best-known
+example was Robert T. Morris's Great
+Worm of 1988, a `benign' one that got out of control and
+hogged hundreds of Suns and VAXen across the U.S. See also cracker, RTM,
+Trojan horse, ice.
+
+
+Node:wormhole, Next:wound around the axle,
+Previous:worm, Up:= W = 
+
+wormhole /werm'hohl/ n.
+
+[from the `wormhole' singularities hypothesized in some
+versions of General Relativity theory] 1. [n.,obs.] A location in
+a monitor which contains the address of a routine, with the
+specific intent of making it easy to substitute a different
+routine. This term is now obsolescent; modern operating systems
+use clusters of wormholes extensively (for modularization of I/O
+handling in particular, as in the Unix device-driver
+organization) but the preferred techspeak for these clusters is
+`device tables', `jump tables' or `capability tables'. 2.
+[Amateur Packet Radio] A network path using a commercial
+satellite link to join two or more amateur VHF networks. So
+called because traffic routed through a wormhole leaves and
+re-enters the amateur network over great distances with usually
+little clue in the message routing header as to how it got from
+one relay to the other. Compare gopher hole (sense 2).
+
+
+Node:wound around the
+axle, Next:wrap
+around, Previous:wormhole, Up:=
+W = 
+
+wound around the axle adj.
+
+In an infinite loop. Often used by older computer types.
+
+
+Node:wrap around, Next:write-only code, Previous:wound around the
+axle, Up:= W = 
+
+wrap around vi.
+
+(also n. `wraparound' and v. shorthand `wrap') 1. [techspeak]
+The action of a counter that starts over at zero or at `minus
+infinity' (see infinity) after its
+maximum value has been reached, and continues incrementing,
+either because it is programmed to do so or because of an
+overflow (as when a car's odometer starts over at 0). 2. To
+change phase gradually and
+continuously by maintaining a steady wake-sleep cycle somewhat
+longer than 24 hours, e.g., living six long (28-hour) days in a
+week (or, equivalently, sleeping at the rate of 10 microhertz).
+This sense is also called phase-wrapping.
+
+
+Node:write-only code, Next:write-only language,
+Previous:wrap around,
+Up:= W = 
+
+write-only code n.
+
+[a play on `read-only memory'] Code so arcane, complex, or
+ill-structured that it cannot be modified or even comprehended by
+anyone but its author, and possibly not even by him/her. A Bad Thing.
+
+
+Node:write-only language,
+Next:write-only
+memory, Previous:write-only code, Up:= W = 
+
+write-only language n.
+
+A language with syntax (or semantics) sufficiently dense and
+bizarre that any routine of significant size is automatically
+write-only code. A
+sobriquet applied occasionally to C and often to APL, though
+INTERCAL and TECO certainly deserve it more. See also Befunge.
+
+
+Node:write-only memory, Next:Wrong Thing, Previous:write-only
+language, Up:= W = 
+
+write-only memory n.
+
+The obvious antonym to `read-only memory'. Out of frustration
+with the long and seemingly useless chain of approvals required
+of component specifications, during which no actual checking
+seemed to occur, an engineer at Signetics once created a
+specification for a write-only memory and included it with a
+bunch of other specifications to be approved. This inclusion came
+to the attention of Signetics management only when regular customers
+started calling and asking for pricing information. Signetics
+published a corrected edition of the data book and requested the
+return of the `erroneous' ones. Later, in 1972, Signetics bought
+a double-page spread in "Electronics" magazine's April issue and
+used the spec as an April Fools' Day joke. Instead of the more
+conventional characteristic curves, the 25120 "fully encoded,
+9046 x N, Random Access, write-only-memory" data sheet included
+diagrams of "bit capacity vs. Temp.", "Iff vs. Vff", "Number of
+pins remaining vs. number of socket insertions", and "AQL vs.
+selling price". The 25120 required a 6.3 VAC VFF supply, a +10V
+VCC, and VDD of 0V, +/- 2%.
+
+
+Node:Wrong Thing, Next:wugga wugga, Previous:write-only memory, Up:= W = 
+
+Wrong Thing n.
+
+A design, action, or decision that is clearly incorrect or
+inappropriate. Often capitalized; always emphasized in speech as
+if capitalized. The opposite of the Right Thing; more generally, anything
+that is not the Right Thing. In cases where `the good is the
+enemy of the best', the merely good -- although good -- is
+nevertheless the Wrong Thing. "In C, the default is for
+module-level declarations to be visible everywhere, rather than
+just within the module. This is clearly the Wrong Thing."
+
+
+Node:wugga wugga, Next:wumpus, Previous:Wrong Thing, Up:= W = 
+
+wugga wugga /wuh'g* wuh'g*/ n.
+
+Imaginary sound that a computer program makes as it labors
+with a tedious or difficult task.grind (sense 4).
+
+
+Node:wumpus, Next:WYSIAYG, Previous:wugga wugga, Up:= W = 
+
+wumpus /wuhm'p*s/ n.
+
+The central monster (and, in many versions, the name) of a
+famous family of very early computer games called "Hunt The
+Wumpus'. The original was invented in 1970 (several years before
+ADVENT) by Gregory Yob. The wumpus
+lived somewhere in a cave with the topology of an dodecahedron's
+edge/vertex graph (later versions supported other topologies,
+including an icosahedron and Möbius strip). The player
+started somewhere at random in the cave with five `crooked
+arrows'; these could be shot through up to three connected rooms,
+and would kill the wumpus on a hit (later versions introduced the
+wounded wumpus, which got very angry). Unfortunately for players,
+the movement necessary to map the maze was made hazardous not
+merely by the wumpus (which would eat you if you stepped on him)
+but also by bottomless pits and colonies of super bats that would
+pick you up and drop you at a random location (later versions
+added `anaerobic termites' that ate arrows, bat migrations, and
+earthquakes that randomly changed pit locations).
+
+This game appears to have been the first to use a non-random
+graph-structured map (as opposed to a rectangular grid like the
+even older Star Trek games). In this respect, as in the
+dungeon-like setting and its terse, amusing messages, it
+prefigured ADVENT and Zork and was directly ancestral to the latter
+(Zork acknowledged this heritage by including a super-bat
+colony). A C emulation of the original Basic game is available at
+the Retrocomputing Museum, http://www.ccil.org/retro.
+
+
+Node:WYSIAYG, Next:WYSIWYG, Previous:wumpus, Up:= W
+= 
+
+WYSIAYG /wiz'ee-ayg/ adj.
+
+Describes a user interface under which "What You See Is
+All You Get"; an unhappy variant of WYSIWYG. Visual, `point-and-shoot'-style
+interfaces tend to have easy initial learning curves, but also to
+lack depth; they often frustrate advanced users who would be
+better served by a command-style interface. When this happens,
+the frustrated user has a WYSIAYG problem. This term is most
+often used of editors, word processors, and document formatting
+programs. WYSIWYG `desktop publishing' programs, for example, are
+a clear win for creating small documents with lots of fonts and
+graphics in them, especially things like newsletters and
+presentation slides. When typesetting book-length manuscripts, on
+the other hand, scale changes the nature of the task; one quickly
+runs into WYSIAYG limitations, and the increased power and
+flexibility of a command-driven formatter like TeX or Unix's troff
+becomes not just desirable but a necessity. Compare YAFIYGI.
+
+
+Node:WYSIWYG, Next:X, Previous:WYSIAYG, Up:= W
+= 
+
+WYSIWYG /wiz'ee-wig/ adj.
+
+[Traced to Flip Wilson's "Geraldine" character c.1970]
+Describes a user interface under which "What You See Is What You
+Get", as opposed to one that uses more-or-less obscure commands
+that do not result in immediate visual feedback. True WYSIWYG in
+environments supporting multiple fonts or graphics is a a
+rarely-attained ideal; there are variants of this term to express
+real-world manifestations including WYSIAWYG (What You See Is
+Almost What You Get) and WYSIMOLWYG (What You See Is
+More or Less What You Get). All these can be mildly derogatory,
+as they are often used to refer to dumbed-down user-friendly interfaces targeted at
+non-programmers; a hacker has no fear of obscure commands
+(compare WYSIAYG). On the other
+hand, EMACS was one of the very first
+WYSIWYG editors, replacing (actually, at first overlaying) the
+extremely obscure, command-based TECO.
+See also WIMP
+environment. [Oddly enough, WYSIWYG has already made it
+into the OED, in lower case yet. --ESR]
+
+
+Node:= X =, Next:= Y =, Previous:= W =, Up:The Jargon Lexicon 
+
+= X =
+
+
+X:
+
+
+XEROX PARC:
+
+
+XOFF:
+
+
+XON:
+
+
+xor:
+
+
+xref:
+
+
+XXX:
+
+
+xyzzy:
+
+
+Node:X, Next:XEROX PARC, Previous:WYSIWYG, Up:= X
+= 
+
+X /X/ n.
+
+1. Used in various speech and writing contexts (also in
+lowercase) in roughly its algebraic sense of `unknown within a
+set defined by context' (compare N).
+Thus, the abbreviation 680x0 stands for 68000, 68010, 68020,
+68030, or 68040, and 80x86 stands for 80186, 80286, 80386, 80486,
+80586 or 80686 (note that a Unix hacker might write these as
+680[0-6]0 and 80[1-6]86 or 680?0 and 80?86 respectively; see
+glob). 2. [after the name of an
+earlier window system called `W'] An over-sized, over-featured,
+over-engineered and incredibly over-complicated window system
+developed at MIT and widely used on Unix systems.
+
+
+Node:XEROX PARC, Next:XOFF, Previous:X, Up:= X = 
+
+XEROX PARC /zee'roks park'/ n.
+
+The famed Palo Alto Research Center. For more than a decade,
+from the early 1970s into the mid-1980s, PARC yielded an
+astonishing volume of groundbreaking hardware and software
+innovations. The modern mice, windows, and icons style of
+software interface was invented there. So was the laser printer
+and the local-area network; and PARC's series of D machines
+anticipated the powerful personal computers of the 1980s by a
+decade. Sadly, the prophets at PARC were without honor in their
+own company, so much so that it became a standard joke to
+describe PARC as a place that specialized in developing brilliant
+ideas for everyone else.
+
+The stunning shortsightedness and obtusity of XEROX's
+top-level suits has been well
+anatomized in "Fumbling The Future: How XEROX Invented, Then
+Ignored, the First Personal Computer" by Douglas K. Smith and
+Robert C. Alexander (William Morrow & Co., 1988, ISBN
+0-688-09511-9).
+
+
+Node:XOFF, Next:XON, Previous:XEROX PARC, Up:= X = 
+
+XOFF /X-of/ n.
+
+Syn. control-S.
+
+
+Node:XON, Next:xor, Previous:XOFF,
+Up:= X = 
+
+XON /X-on/ n.
+
+Syn. control-Q.
+
+
+Node:xor, Next:xref, Previous:XON,
+Up:= X = 
+
+xor /X'or/, /kzor/ conj.
+
+Exclusive or. `A xor B' means `A or B, but not both'. "I want
+to get cherry pie xor a banana split." This derives from the
+technical use of the term as a function on truth-values that is
+true if exactly one of its two arguments is true.
+
+
+Node:xref, Next:XXX, Previous:xor,
+Up:= X = 
+
+xref /X'ref/ v.,n.
+
+Hackish standard abbreviation for `cross-reference'.
+
+
+Node:XXX, Next:xyzzy, Previous:xref, Up:= X =
+
+
+XXX /X-X-X/ n.
+
+A marker that attention is needed. Commonly used in program
+comments to indicate areas that are kluged up or need to be. Some
+hackers liken `XXX' to the notional heavy-porn movie rating.
+Compare FIXME.
+
+
+Node:xyzzy, Next:YA-, Previous:XXX,
+Up:= X = 
+
+xyzzy /X-Y-Z-Z-Y/, /X-Y-ziz'ee/, /ziz'ee/, or
+/ik-ziz'ee/ adj.
+
+[from the ADVENT game] The canonical `magic word'. This comes from
+ADVENT, in which the idea is to
+explore an underground cave with many rooms and to collect the
+treasures you find there. If you type `xyzzy' at the appropriate
+time, you can move instantly between two otherwise distant
+points. If, therefore, you encounter some bit of magic, you might remark on this quite succinctly
+by saying simply "Xyzzy!" "Ordinarily you can't look at someone
+else's screen if he has protected it, but if you type
+quadruple-bucky-clear the system will let you do it anyway."
+"Xyzzy!" It's traditional for xyzzy to be an Easter egg in games with text
+interfaces.
+
+Xyzzy has actually been implemented as an undocumented no-op
+command on several OSes; in Data General's AOS/VS, for example,
+it would typically respond "Nothing happens", just as ADVENT did if the magic was invoked at the
+wrong spot or before a player had performed the action that
+enabled the word. In more recent 32-bit versions, by the way,
+AOS/VS responds "Twice as much happens".
+
+Early versions of the popular `minesweeper' game under
+Microsoft Windows had a cheat mode triggered by the command
+`xyzzy<enter><right-shift>' that turns the top-left
+pixel of the screen different colors depending on whether or not
+the cursor is over a bomb. This feature temporarily diasappeared
+in Windows 98, but reappeared in Windows 2000.
+
+The following passage from "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" by L.
+Frank Baum, suggesting a possible pre-ADVENT origin, has recently
+come to light:
+
+"Ziz-zy, zuz-zy, zik!" said Dorothy, who was now standing on
+both feet. This ended the saying of the charm, and they heard a
+great chattering and flapping of wings, as the band of Winged
+Monkeys flew up to them.
+
+
+Node:= Y =, Next:= Z =, Previous:= X =, Up:The Jargon Lexicon 
+
+= Y =
+
+
+YA-:
+
+
+YABA:
+
+
+YAFIYGI:
+
+
+YAUN:
+
+
+Yellow Book:
+
+
+yellow card:
+
+
+yellow wire:
+
+
+Yet Another:
+
+
+YHBT:
+
+
+YKYBHTLW:
+
+
+YMMV:
+
+
+You are
+not expected to understand this:
+
+
+You
+know you've been hacking too long when:
+
+
+Your mileage may
+vary:
+
+
+Yow!:
+
+
+yoyo mode:
+
+
+Yu-Shiang Whole
+Fish:
+
+
+Node:YA-, Next:YABA, Previous:xyzzy, Up:= Y
+= 
+
+YA- abbrev.
+
+[Yet Another] In hackish acronyms this almost invariably
+expands to Yet Another,
+following the precedent set by Unix yacc(1) (Yet
+Another Compiler-Compiler). See YABA.
+
+
+Node:YABA, Next:YAFIYGI, Previous:YA-, Up:= Y =
+
+
+YABA /ya'b*/ n.
+
+[Cambridge] Yet Another Bloody Acronym. Whenever some program
+is being named, someone invariably suggests that it be given a
+name that is acronymic. The response from those with a trace of
+originality is to remark ironically that the proposed name would
+then be `YABA-compatible'. Also used in response to questions
+like "What is WYSIWYG?" See also TLA.
+
+
+Node:YAFIYGI, Next:YAUN, Previous:YABA, Up:= Y =
+
+
+YAFIYGI /yaf'ee-y*-gee/ adj.
+
+[coined in response to WYSIWYG] Describes the command-oriented
+ed/vi/nroff/TeX style of word processing or other user interface,
+the opposite of WYSIWYG. Stands for
+"You asked for it, you got it", because what you actually asked
+for is often not apparent until long after it is too late to do
+anything about it. Used to denote perversity ("Real Programmers
+use YAFIYGI tools...and like it!") or,
+less often, a necessary tradeoff ("Only a YAFIYGI tool can have
+full programmable flexibility in its interface.").
+
+This precise sense of "You asked for it, you got it" seems to
+have first appeared in Ed Post's classic parody "Real Programmers
+don't use Pascal" (see Real
+Programmers); the acronym is a more recent invention.
+
+
+Node:YAUN, Next:Yellow Book, Previous:YAFIYGI, Up:= Y = 
+
+YAUN /yawn/ n.
+
+[Acronym for `Yet Another Unix Nerd'] Reported from the San
+Diego Computer Society (predominantly a microcomputer users'
+group) as a good-natured punning insult aimed at Unix
+zealots.
+
+
+Node:Yellow Book, Next:yellow card, Previous:YAUN, Up:= Y
+= 
+
+Yellow Book n.
+
+The print version of this Jargon File; "The New Hacker's
+Dictionary" from MIT Press; The book includes essentially all the
+material the File, plus a Foreword by Guy L. Steele Jr. and a
+Preface by Eric S. Raymond. Most importantly, the book version is
+nicely typeset and includes almost all of the infamous Crunchly
+cartoons by the Great Quux, each attached to an appropriate
+entry. The first edition (1991, ISBN 0-262-68069-6) corresponded
+to the Jargon File version 2.9.6. The second edition (1993, ISBN
+0-262-68079-3) corresponded to the Jargon File 3.0.0. The third
+(1996, ISBN 0-262-68092-0) corresponded to 4.0.0.
+
+
+Node:yellow card, Next:yellow wire, Previous:Yellow Book, Up:= Y = 
+
+yellow card n.
+
+See green card.
+
+
+Node:yellow wire, Next:Yet Another, Previous:yellow card, Up:= Y = 
+
+yellow wire n.
+
+[IBM] Repair wires used when connectors (especially ribbon
+connectors) got broken due to some schlemiel pinching them, or to
+reconnect cut traces after the FE mistakenly cut one. Compare
+blue wire, purple wire, red wire.
+
+
+Node:Yet Another, Next:YHBT, Previous:yellow wire, Up:= Y = 
+
+Yet Another adj.
+
+[From Unix's yacc(1), `Yet Another
+Compiler-Compiler', a LALR parser generator] 1. Of your own work:
+A humorous allusion often used in titles to acknowledge that the
+topic is not original, though the content is. As in `Yet Another
+AI Group' or `Yet Another Simulated Annealing Algorithm'. 2. Of
+others' work: Describes something of which there are already far
+too many. See also YA-, YABA, YAUN.
+
+
+Node:YHBT, Next:YKYBHTLW, Previous:Yet Another, Up:= Y = 
+
+YHBT //
+
+[Usenet: very common] Abbreviation: You Have Been Trolled (see
+troll, sense 1). Especially used in
+"YHBT. YHL. HAND.", which is widely understood to expand to "You
+Have Been Trolled. You Have Lost. Have A Nice Day". You are quite
+likely to see this if you respond incautiously to a
+flame-provoking post that was obviously floated as sucker
+bait.
+
+
+Node:YKYBHTLW, Next:YMMV, Previous:YHBT, Up:= Y =
+
+
+YKYBHTLW // abbrev.
+
+Abbreviation of `You know you've been hacking too long
+when...', which became established on the Usenet group
+_alt.folklore.computers_ during extended discussion of the
+indicated entry in the Jargon File.
+
+
+Node:YMMV, Next:You are
+not expected to understand this, Previous:YKYBHTLW, Up:= Y = 
+
+YMMV // cav.
+
+Abbreviation for Your mileage may vary
+common on Usenet.
+
+
+Node:You are not
+expected to understand this, Next:You
+know you've been hacking too long when, Previous:YMMV, Up:= Y = 
+
+You are not expected to understand this [Unix] cav.
+
+The canonical comment describing something magic or too complicated to bother explaining
+properly. From an infamous comment in the context-switching code
+of the V6 Unix kernel. Dennis Ritchie has explained this
+in detail.
+
+
+Node:You
+know you've been hacking too long when, Next:Your mileage may vary,
+Previous:You are
+not expected to understand this, Up:= Y = 
+
+You know you've been hacking too long when
+
+The set-up line for a genre of one-liners told by hackers
+about themselves. These include the following:
+
+
+
+not only do you check your email more often than your paper
+mail, but you remember your network address faster than your
+postal one.
+
+
+your SO kisses you on the neck and
+the first thing you think is "Uh, oh, priority interrupt."
+
+
+you go to balance your checkbook and discover that you're
+doing it in octal.
+
+
+your computers have a higher street value than your car.
+
+
+in your universe, `round numbers' are powers of 2, not
+10.
+
+
+more than once, you have woken up recalling a dream in some
+programming language.
+
+
+you realize you have never seen half of your best
+friends.
+
+
+
+A list
+list of these can be found by searching for this phrase on the
+web.
+
+[An early version of this entry said "All but one of these
+have been reliably reported as hacker traits (some of them quite
+often). Even hackers may have trouble spotting the ringer." The
+ringer was balancing one's checkbook in octal, which I made up
+out of whole cloth. Although more respondents picked that one out
+as fiction than any of the others, I also received multiple
+independent reports of its actually happening, most famously to
+Grace Hopper while she was working with BINAC in 1949. --ESR]
+
+
+Node:Your mileage may
+vary, Next:Yow!, Previous:You
+know you've been hacking too long when, Up:= Y = 
+
+Your mileage may vary cav.
+
+[from the standard disclaimer attached to EPA mileage ratings
+by American car manufacturers] 1. A ritual warning often found in
+Unix freeware distributions. Translates roughly as "Hey, I tried
+to write this portably, but who knows what'll happen on
+your system?" 2. More generally, a qualifier attached to advice.
+"I find that sending flowers works well, but your mileage may
+vary."
+
+
+Node:Yow!, Next:yoyo mode, Previous:Your mileage may vary, Up:= Y = 
+
+Yow! /yow/ interj.
+
+[from "Zippy the Pinhead" comix] A favored hacker expression
+of humorous surprise or emphasis. "Yow! Check out what happens
+when you twiddle the foo option on this display hack!" Compare
+gurfle.
+
+
+Node:yoyo mode, Next:Yu-Shiang Whole Fish,
+Previous:Yow!, Up:= Y = 
+
+yoyo mode n.
+
+The state in which the system is said to be when it rapidly
+alternates several times between being up and being down.
+Interestingly (and perhaps not by coincidence), many hardware
+vendors give out free yoyos at Usenix exhibits.
+
+Sun Microsystems gave out logoized yoyos at SIGPLAN '88.
+Tourists staying at one of Atlanta's most respectable hotels were
+subsequently treated to the sight of 200 of the country's top
+computer scientists testing yo-yo algorithms in the lobby.
+
+
+Node:Yu-Shiang Whole Fish,
+Next:zap, Previous:yoyo mode, Up:= Y = 
+
+Yu-Shiang Whole Fish /yoo-shyang hohl fish/ n. obs.
+
+The character gamma (extended SAIL ASCII 0001001), which with
+a loop in its tail looks like a little fish swimming down the
+page. The term is actually the name of a Chinese dish in which a
+fish is cooked whole (not parsed) and
+covered with Yu-Shiang (or Yu-Hsiang) sauce. Usage: primarily by
+people on the MIT LISP Machine, which could display this
+character on the screen. Tends to elicit incredulity from people
+who hear about it second-hand.
+
+
+Node:= Z =, Previous:= Y =, Up:The Jargon Lexicon 
+
+= Z =
+
+
+zap:
+
+
+zapped:
+
+
+Zawinski's Law:
+
+
+zbeba:
+
+
+zen:
+
+
+zero:
+
+
+zero-content:
+
+
+Zero-One-Infinity
+Rule:
+
+
+zeroth:
+
+
+zigamorph:
+
+
+zip:
+
+
+zipperhead:
+
+
+zombie:
+
+
+zorch:
+
+
+Zork:
+
+
+zorkmid:
+
+
+Node:zap, Next:zapped, Previous:Yu-Shiang Whole Fish, Up:= Z = 
+
+zap
+
+1. n. Spiciness. 2. vt. To make food spicy. 3. vt. To make
+someone `suffer' by making his food spicy. (Most hackers love
+spicy food. Hot-and-sour soup is considered wimpy unless it makes
+you wipe your nose for the rest of the meal.) See zapped. 4. vt. To modify, usually to correct;
+esp. used when the action is performed with a debugger or binary
+patching tool. Also implies surgical precision. "Zap the debug
+level to 6 and run it again." In the IBM mainframe world, binary
+patches are applied to programs or to the OS with a program
+called `superzap', whose file name is `IMASPZAP' (possibly
+contrived from I M A SuPerZAP). 5. vt. To erase or reset. 6. To
+fry a chip with static electricity. "Uh
+oh -- I think that lightning strike may have zapped the disk
+controller."
+
+
+Node:zapped, Next:Zawinski's Law, Previous:zap, Up:= Z = 
+
+zapped adj.
+
+Spicy. This term is used to distinguish between food that is
+hot (in temperature) and food that is spicy-hot. For
+example, the Chinese appetizer Bon Bon Chicken is a kind of
+chicken salad that is cold but zapped; by contrast, vanilla wonton soup is hot but not zapped. See
+also oriental food, laser chicken. See zap, senses 1 and 2.
+
+
+Node:Zawinski's Law, Next:zbeba, Previous:zapped, Up:= Z
+= 
+
+Zawinski's Law
+
+"Every program attempts to expand until it can read mail.
+Those programs which cannot so expand are replaced by ones which
+can." Coined by Jamie Zawinski (who called it the "Law of
+Software Envelopment") to express his belief that all truly
+useful programs experience pressure to evolve into toolkits and
+application platforms (the mailer thing, he says, is just a side
+effect of that). It is commonly cited, though with widely varying
+degrees of accuracy.
+
+
+Node:zbeba, Next:zen, Previous:Zawinski's Law, Up:= Z = 
+
+zbeba n.
+
+[USENET] The word `moron' in rot13. Used to describe newbies who are behaving
+with especial cluelessness.
+
+
+Node:zen, Next:zero, Previous:zbeba, Up:= Z
+= 
+
+zen vt.
+
+To figure out something by meditation or by a sudden flash of
+enlightenment. Originally applied to bugs, but occasionally
+applied to problems of life in general. "How'd you figure out the
+buffer allocation problem?" "Oh, I zenned it." Contrast grok, which connotes a time-extended version
+of zenning a system. Compare hack
+mode. See also guru.
+
+
+Node:zero, Next:zero-content, Previous:zen, Up:= Z
+= 
+
+zero vt.
+
+1. To set to 0. Usually said of small pieces of data, such as
+bits or words (esp. in the construction `zero out'). 2. To erase;
+to discard all data from. Said of disks and directories, where
+`zeroing' need not involve actually writing zeroes throughout the
+area being zeroed. One may speak of something being `logically
+zeroed' rather than being `physically zeroed'. See scribble.
+
+
+Node:zero-content, Next:Zero-One-Infinity Rule,
+Previous:zero, Up:= Z = 
+
+zero-content adj.
+
+Syn. content-free.
+
+
+Node:Zero-One-Infinity
+Rule, Next:zeroth,
+Previous:zero-content,
+Up:= Z = 
+
+Zero-One-Infinity Rule prov.
+
+"Allow none of foo, one of foo, or any number of foo." A rule of thumb for software design, which
+instructs one to not place random
+limits on the number of instances of a given entity (such as:
+windows in a window system, letters in an OS's filenames, etc.).
+Specifically, one should either disallow the entity entirely,
+allow exactly one instance (an "exception"), or allow as many as
+the user wants - address space and memory permitting.
+
+The logic behind this rule is that there are often situations
+where it makes clear sense to allow one of something instead of
+none. However, if one decides to go further and allow N (for N
+> 1), then why not N+1? And if N+1, then why not N+2, and so
+on? Once above 1, there's no excuse not to allow any N; hence,
+infinity.
+
+Many hackers recall in this connection Isaac Asimov's SF novel
+"The Gods Themselves" in which a character announces that the
+number 2 is impossible - if you're going to believe in more than
+one universe, you might as well believe in an infinite number of
+them.
+
+
+Node:zeroth, Next:zigamorph, Previous:Zero-One-Infinity Rule, Up:= Z = 
+
+zeroth /zee'rohth/ adj.
+
+First. Among software designers, comes from C's and LISP's
+0-based indexing of arrays. Hardware people also tend to start
+counting at 0 instead of 1; this is natural since, e.g., the 256
+states of 8 bits correspond to the binary numbers 0, 1,
+..., 255 and the digital devices known as
+`counters' count in this way.
+
+Hackers and computer scientists often like to call the first
+chapter of a publication `Chapter 0', especially if it is of an
+introductory nature (one of the classic instances was in the
+First Edition of K&R). In
+recent years this trait has also been observed among many pure
+mathematicians (who have an independent tradition of numbering
+from 0). Zero-based numbering tends to reduce fencepost errors, though it cannot
+eliminate them entirely.
+
+
+Node:zigamorph, Next:zip, Previous:zeroth, Up:= Z
+= 
+
+zigamorph /zig'*-morf/ n.
+
+1. Hex FF (11111111) when used as a delimiter or fence character. Usage: primarily at IBM shops.
+2. [proposed] n. The Unicode non-character U+FFFF
+(1111111111111111), a character code which is not assigned to any
+character, and so is usable as end-of-string. (Unicode is a
+16-bit character code intended to cover all of the world's
+writing systems, including Latin, Greek, Cyrillic, Chinese,
+hiragana, katakana, Devanagari, Thai, Laotian and many other
+scripts - support for elvish is
+planned for a future release).
+
+
+Node:zip, Next:zipperhead, Previous:zigamorph, Up:= Z = 
+
+zip vt.
+
+[primarily MS-DOS] To create a compressed archive from a group
+of files using PKWare's PKZIP or a compatible archiver. Its use
+is spreading now that portable implementations of the algorithm
+have been written. Commonly used as follows: "I'll zip it up and
+send it to you." See tar and
+feather.
+
+
+Node:zipperhead, Next:zombie, Previous:zip, Up:= Z =
+
+
+zipperhead n.
+
+[IBM] A person with a closed mind.
+
+
+Node:zombie, Next:zorch, Previous:zipperhead, Up:= Z = 
+
+zombie n.
+
+[Unix] A process that has died but has not yet relinquished
+its process table slot (because the parent process hasn't
+executed a wait(2) for it yet). These can be seen in
+ps(1) listings occasionally. Compare orphan.
+
+
+Node:zorch, Next:Zork, Previous:zombie, Up:= Z
+= 
+
+zorch /zorch/
+
+1. [TMRC] v. To attack with an inverse heat sink. 2. [TMRC] v.
+To travel, with v approaching c [that is, with velocity
+approaching lightspeed --ESR]. 3. [MIT] v. To propel something
+very quickly. "The new comm software is very fast; it really
+zorches files through the network." 4. [MIT] n. Influence.
+Brownie points. Good karma. The intangible and fuzzy currency in
+which favors are measured. "I'd rather not ask him for that just
+yet; I think I've used up my quota of zorch with him for the
+week." 5. [MIT] n. Energy, drive, or ability. "I think I'll punt that change for now; I've been up for
+30 hours and I've run out of zorch." 6. [MIT] v. To flunk an exam
+or course.
+
+
+Node:Zork, Next:zorkmid, Previous:zorch, Up:= Z
+= 
+
+Zork /zork/ n.
+
+The second of the great early experiments in computer fantasy
+gaming; see ADVENT. Originally
+written on MIT-DM during 1977-1979, later distributed with BSD
+Unix (as a patched, sourceless RT-11 FORTRAN binary; see retrocomputing) and commercialized
+as `The Zork Trilogy' by Infocom.
+The FORTRAN source was later rewritten for portability and
+released to Usenet under the name "Dungeon". Both FORTRAN
+"Dungeon" and translated C versions are available at many FTP
+sites. See also grue.
+
+
+Node:zorkmid, Previous:Zork, Up:= Z
+= 
+
+zorkmid /zork'mid/ n.
+
+The canonical unit of currency in hacker-written games. This
+originated in Zork but has spread to
+nethack and is referred to in
+several other games.
+
+(Lexicon Entries End Here)
+
+
+Node:Appendix A, Next:Appendix B, Previous:The Jargon Lexicon, Up:Top 
+
+Hacker Folklore
+
+This appendix contains several legends and fables that
+illuminate the meaning of various entries in the lexicon.
+
+
+The Meaning of Hack:
+...and three famous ones
+
+
+TV Typewriters: A Tale of
+Hackish Ingenuity
+
+
+A Story About Magic:
+By Guy Steele
+
+
+Some AI Koans: Wit and
+Wisdom of the Masters
+
+
+OS and JEDGAR: Intrigue and
+mayhem under ITS
+
+
+The Story of Mel: One
+of hackerdom's great myths
+
+
+Node:The Meaning of Hack,
+Next:TV Typewriters,
+Previous:Appendix A,
+Up:Appendix A 
+
+The Meaning of `Hack'
+
+"The word hack doesn't really have
+69 different meanings", according to MIT hacker Phil Agre. "In
+fact, hack has only one meaning, an
+extremely subtle and profound one which defies articulation.
+Which connotation is implied by a given use of the word depends
+in similarly profound ways on the context. Similar remarks apply
+to a couple of other hacker words, most notably random."
+
+Hacking might be characterized as `an appropriate application
+of ingenuity'. Whether the result is a quick-and-dirty patchwork
+job or a carefully crafted work of art, you have to admire the
+cleverness that went into it.
+
+An important secondary meaning of hack is `a creative practical joke'. This kind of
+hack is easier to explain to non-hackers than the programming
+kind. Of course, some hacks have both natures; see the lexicon
+entries for pseudo and kgbvax. But here are some examples of pure
+practical jokes that illustrate the hacking spirit:
+
+In 1961, students from Caltech (California Institute
+of Technology, in Pasadena) hacked the Rose Bowl football game.
+One student posed as a reporter and `interviewed' the director of
+the University of Washington card stunts (such stunts involve
+people in the stands who hold up colored cards to make pictures).
+The reporter learned exactly how the stunts were operated, and
+also that the director would be out to dinner later.
+
+While the director was eating, the students (who called
+themselves the `Fiendish Fourteen') picked a lock and stole a
+blank direction sheet for the card stunts. They then had a
+printer run off 2300 copies of the blank. The next day they
+picked the lock again and stole the master plans for the stunts
+-- large sheets of graph paper colored in with the stunt
+pictures. Using these as a guide, they made new instructions for
+three of the stunts on the duplicated blanks. Finally, they broke
+in once more, replacing the stolen master plans and substituting
+the stack of diddled instruction sheets for the original set.
+
+The result was that three of the pictures were totally
+different. Instead of `WASHINGTON', the word ``CALTECH' was
+flashed. Another stunt showed the word `HUSKIES', the Washington
+nickname, but spelled it backwards. And what was supposed to have
+been a picture of a husky instead showed a beaver. (Both Caltech
+and MIT use the beaver -- nature's engineer -- as a mascot.)
+
+After the game, the Washington faculty athletic representative
+said: "Some thought it ingenious; others were indignant." The
+Washington student body president remarked: "No hard feelings,
+but at the time it was unbelievable. We were amazed."
+
+
+This is now considered a classic hack, particularly because
+revising the direction sheets constituted a form of
+programming.
+
+Here is another classic hack:
+
+On November 20, 1982, MIT hacked the Harvard-Yale
+football game. Just after Harvard's second touchdown against
+Yale, in the first quarter, a small black ball popped up out of
+the ground at the 40-yard line, and grew bigger, and bigger, and
+bigger. The letters `MIT' appeared all over the ball. As the
+players and officials stood around gawking, the ball grew to six
+feet in diameter and then burst with a bang and a cloud of white
+smoke.
+
+The "Boston Globe" later reported: "If you want to know the
+truth, MIT won The Game."
+
+The prank had taken weeks of careful planning by members of
+MIT's Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. The device consisted of a
+weather balloon, a hydraulic ram powered by Freon gas to lift it
+out of the ground, and a vacuum-cleaner motor to inflate it. They
+made eight separate expeditions to Harvard Stadium between 1 and
+5 A.M., locating an unused 110-volt circuit in the
+stadium and running buried wires from the stadium circuit to the
+40-yard line, where they buried the balloon device. When the time
+came to activate the device, two fraternity members had merely to
+flip a circuit breaker and push a plug into an outlet.
+
+This stunt had all the earmarks of a perfect hack: surprise,
+publicity, the ingenious use of technology, safety, and
+harmlessness. The use of manual control allowed the prank to be
+timed so as not to disrupt the game (it was set off between
+plays, so the outcome of the game would not be unduly affected).
+The perpetrators had even thoughtfully attached a note to the
+balloon explaining that the device was not dangerous and
+contained no explosives.
+
+Harvard president Derek Bok commented: "They have an awful lot
+of clever people down there at MIT, and they did it again."
+President Paul E. Gray of MIT said: "There is absolutely no truth
+to the rumor that I had anything to do with it, but I wish there
+were."
+
+
+The hacks above are verifiable history; they can be proved to
+have happened. Many other classic-hack stories from MIT and
+elsewhere, though retold as history, have the characteristics of
+what Jan Brunvand has called `urban folklore' (see FOAF). Perhaps the best known of these is the
+legend of the infamous trolley-car hack, an alleged incident in
+which engineering students are said to have welded a trolley car
+to its tracks with thermite. Numerous versions of this have been
+recorded from the 1940s to the present, most set at MIT but at
+least one very detailed version set at CMU.
+
+Brian Leibowitz has researched MIT hacks both real and
+mythical extensively; the interested reader is referred to his
+delightful pictorial compendium "The Journal of the Institute for
+Hacks, Tomfoolery, and Pranks" (MIT Museum, 1990; ISBN
+0-917027-03-5). The Institute has a World Wide Web page at http://hacks.mit.edu/Hacks/Gallery.html.
+There is rumored to be a sequel entitled "Is This The Way To
+Baker Street?". The Caltech Alumni Association has published two
+similar books titled "Legends of Caltech" and "More Legends of
+Caltech".
+
+Finally, here is a story about one of the classic computer
+hacks.
+
+Back in the mid-1970s, several of the system support
+staff at Motorola discovered a relatively simple way to crack
+system security on the Xerox CP-V timesharing system. Through a
+simple programming strategy, it was possible for a user program
+to trick the system into running a portion of the program in
+`master mode' (supervisor state), in which memory protection does
+not apply. The program could then poke a large value into its
+`privilege level' byte (normally write-protected) and could then
+proceed to bypass all levels of security within the
+file-management system, patch the system monitor, and do numerous
+other interesting things. In short, the barn door was wide open.
+
+Motorola quite properly reported this problem to Xerox via an
+official `level 1 SIDR' (a bug report with an intended urgency of
+`needs to be fixed yesterday'). Because the text of each SIDR was
+entered into a database that could be viewed by quite a number of
+people, Motorola followed the approved procedure: they simply
+reported the problem as `Security SIDR', and attached all of the
+necessary documentation, ways-to-reproduce, etc.
+
+The CP-V people at Xerox sat on their thumbs; they either
+didn't realize the severity of the problem, or didn't assign the
+necessary operating-system-staff resources to develop and
+distribute an official patch.
+
+Months passed. The Motorola guys pestered their Xerox
+field-support rep, to no avail. Finally they decided to take
+direct action, to demonstrate to Xerox management just how easily
+the system could be cracked and just how thoroughly the security
+safeguards could be subverted.
+
+They dug around in the operating-system listings and devised a
+thoroughly devilish set of patches. These patches were then
+incorporated into a pair of programs called `Robin Hood' and
+`Friar Tuck'. Robin Hood and Friar Tuck were designed to run as
+`ghost jobs' (daemons, in Unix terminology); they would use the
+existing loophole to subvert system security, install the
+necessary patches, and then keep an eye on one another's statuses
+in order to keep the system operator (in effect, the superuser)
+from aborting them.
+
+One fine day, the system operator on the main CP-V software
+development system in El Segundo was surprised by a number of
+unusual phenomena. These included the following:
+
+
+Tape drives would rewind and dismount their tapes in the
+middle of a job.
+
+
+Disk drives would seek back and forth so rapidly that they
+would attempt to walk across the floor (see walking drives).
+
+
+The card-punch output device would occasionally start up of
+itself and punch a lace card.
+These would usually jam in the punch.
+
+
+The console would print snide and insulting messages from
+Robin Hood to Friar Tuck, or vice versa.
+
+
+The Xerox card reader had two output stackers; it could be
+instructed to stack into A, stack into B, or stack into A (unless
+a card was unreadable, in which case the bad card was placed into
+stacker B). One of the patches installed by the ghosts added some
+code to the card-reader driver... after reading a
+card, it would flip over to the opposite stacker. As a result,
+card decks would divide themselves in half when they were read,
+leaving the operator to recollate them manually.
+
+Naturally, the operator called in the operating-system
+developers. They found the bandit ghost jobs running, and gunned them... and were once
+again surprised. When Robin Hood was gunned, the following
+sequence of events took place:
+
+!X id1
+
+id1: Friar Tuck... I am under attack!  Pray save me!
+id1: Off (aborted)
+
+id2: Fear not, friend Robin!  I shall rout the Sheriff
+     of Nottingham's men!
+
+id1: Thank you, my good fellow!
+
+
+Each ghost-job would detect the fact that the other had been
+killed, and would start a new copy of the recently slain program
+within a few milliseconds. The only way to kill both ghosts was
+to kill them simultaneously (very difficult) or to deliberately
+crash the system.
+
+Finally, the system programmers did the latter -- only to find
+that the bandits appeared once again when the system rebooted! It
+turned out that these two programs had patched the boot-time OS
+image (the kernel file, in Unix terms) and had added themselves
+to the list of programs that were to be started at boot time
+(this is similar to the way MS-DOS viruses propagate).
+
+The Robin Hood and Friar Tuck ghosts were finally eradicated
+when the system staff rebooted the system from a clean boot-tape
+and reinstalled the monitor. Not long thereafter, Xerox released
+a patch for this problem.
+
+It is alleged that Xerox filed a complaint with Motorola's
+management about the merry-prankster actions of the two employees
+in question. It is not recorded that any serious disciplinary
+action was taken against either of them.
+
+
+
+Node:TV Typewriters, Next:A Story About Magic,
+Previous:The
+Meaning of Hack, Up:Appendix
+A 
+
+TV Typewriters A Tale of Hackish Ingenuity
+
+Here is a true story about a glass tty: One day an MIT hacker
+was in a motorcycle accident and broke his leg. He had to stay in
+the hospital quite a while, and got restless because he couldn't
+hack. Two of his friends therefore
+took a terminal and a modem for it to the hospital, so that he
+could use the computer by telephone from his hospital bed.
+
+Now this happened some years before the spread of home
+computers, and computer terminals were not a familiar sight to
+the average person. When the two friends got to the hospital, a
+guard stopped them and asked what they were carrying. They
+explained that they wanted to take a computer terminal to their
+friend who was a patient.
+
+The guard got out his list of things that patients were
+permitted to have in their rooms: TV, radio, electric razor,
+typewriter, tape player, ... no computer
+terminals. Computer terminals weren't on the list, so the guard
+wouldn't let it in. Rules are rules, you know. (This guard was
+clearly a droid.)
+
+Fair enough, said the two friends, and they left again. They
+were frustrated, of course, because they knew that the terminal
+was as harmless as a TV or anything else on the
+list... which gave them an idea.
+
+The next day they returned, and the same thing happened: a
+guard stopped them and asked what they were carrying. They said:
+"This is a TV typewriter!" The guard was skeptical, so they
+plugged it in and demonstrated it. "See? You just type on the
+keyboard and what you type shows up on the TV screen." Now the
+guard didn't stop to think about how utterly useless a typewriter
+would be that didn't produce any paper copies of what you typed;
+but this was clearly a TV typewriter, no doubt about it. So he
+checked his list: "A TV is all right, a typewriter is all right
+... okay, take it on in!"
+
+[Historical note: Many years ago, "Popular Electronics"
+published solder-it-yourself plans for a TV typewriter. Despite
+the essential uselessness of the device, it was an enormously
+popular project. Steve Ciarcia, the man behind "Byte" magazine's
+"Circuit Cellar" feature, resurrected this ghost in one of his
+books of the early 1980s. He ascribed its popularity (no doubt
+correctly) to the feeling of power the builder could achieve by
+being able to decide himself what would be shown on the TV.
+--ESR]
+
+[Antihistorical note: On September 23rd, 1992, the L.A. Times
+ran the following bit in Steve Harvey's `Only in L.A.'
+column:
+
+It must have been borrowed from a museum: Solomon
+Waters of Altadena, a 6-year-old first-grader, came home from his
+first day of school and excitedly told his mother how he had
+written on "a machine that looks like a computer-but without the
+TV screen."
+
+She asked him if it could have been a "typewriter."
+
+"Yeah! Yeah!" he said. "That's what it was called."
+
+
+I have since investigated this matter and determined that many
+of today's teenagers have never seen a slide rule,
+either.... - ESR]
+
+
+Node:A Story About Magic,
+Next:Some AI Koans,
+Previous:TV
+Typewriters, Up:Appendix
+A 
+
+A Story About `Magic'
+
+Some years ago, I (GLS) was snooping around in the cabinets
+that housed the MIT AI Lab's PDP-10, and noticed a little switch
+glued to the frame of one cabinet. It was obviously a homebrew
+job, added by one of the lab's hardware hackers (no one knows
+who).
+
+You don't touch an unknown switch on a computer without
+knowing what it does, because you might crash the computer. The
+switch was labeled in a most unhelpful way. It had two positions,
+and scrawled in pencil on the metal switch body were the words
+`magic' and `more magic'. The switch was in the `more magic'
+position.
+
+I called another hacker over to look at it. He had never seen
+the switch before either. Closer examination revealed that the
+switch had only one wire running to it! The other end of the wire
+did disappear into the maze of wires inside the computer, but
+it's a basic fact of electricity that a switch can't do anything
+unless there are two wires connected to it. This switch had a
+wire connected on one side and no wire on its other side.
+
+It was clear that this switch was someone's idea of a silly
+joke. Convinced by our reasoning that the switch was inoperative,
+we flipped it. The computer instantly crashed.
+
+Imagine our utter astonishment. We wrote it off as
+coincidence, but nevertheless restored the switch to the `more
+magic' position before reviving the computer.
+
+A year later, I told this story to yet another hacker, David
+Moon as I recall. He clearly doubted my sanity, or suspected me
+of a supernatural belief in the power of this switch, or perhaps
+thought I was fooling him with a bogus saga. To prove it to him,
+I showed him the very switch, still glued to the cabinet frame
+with only one wire connected to it, still in the `more magic'
+position. We scrutinized the switch and its lone connection, and
+found that the other end of the wire, though connected to the
+computer wiring, was connected to a ground pin. That clearly made
+the switch doubly useless: not only was it electrically
+nonoperative, but it was connected to a place that couldn't
+affect anything anyway. So we flipped the switch.
+
+The computer promptly crashed.
+
+This time we ran for Richard Greenblatt, a long-time MIT
+hacker, who was close at hand. He had never noticed the switch
+before, either. He inspected it, concluded it was useless, got
+some diagonal cutters and diked it
+out. We then revived the computer and it has run fine ever
+since.
+
+We still don't know how the switch crashed the machine. There
+is a theory that some circuit near the ground pin was marginal,
+and flipping the switch changed the electrical capacitance enough
+to upset the circuit as millionth-of-a-second pulses went through
+it. But we'll never know for sure; all we can really say is that
+the switch was magic.
+
+I still have that switch in my basement. Maybe I'm silly, but
+I usually keep it set on `more magic'.
+
+1994: Another explanation of this story has since been
+offered. Note that the switch body was metal. Suppose that the
+non-connected side of the switch was connected to the switch body
+(usually the body is connected to a separate earth lug, but there
+are exceptions). The body is connected to the computer case,
+which is, presumably, grounded. Now the circuit ground within the
+machine isn't necessarily at the same potential as the case
+ground, so flipping the switch connected the circuit ground to
+the case ground, causing a voltage drop/jump which reset the
+machine. This was probably discovered by someone who found out
+the hard way that there was a potential difference between the
+two, and who then wired in the switch as a joke.
+
+
+Node:Some AI Koans, Next:OS and JEDGAR, Previous:A Story About
+Magic, Up:Appendix A
+
+
+Some AI Koans
+
+These are some of the funniest examples of a genre of jokes
+told at the MIT AI Lab about various noted hackers. The original
+koans were composed by Danny Hillis, who would later found
+Connection Machines, Inc. In reading these, it is at least useful
+to know that Minsky, Sussman, and Drescher are AI researchers of
+note, that Tom Knight was one of the Lisp machine's principal
+designers, and that David Moon wrote much of Lisp Machine
+Lisp.
+
+* * *
+
+A novice was trying to fix a broken Lisp machine by turning
+the power off and on.
+
+Knight, seeing what the student was doing, spoke sternly: "You
+cannot fix a machine by just power-cycling it with no
+understanding of what is going wrong."
+
+Knight turned the machine off and on.
+
+The machine worked.
+
+* * *
+
+One day a student came to Moon and said: "I understand how to
+make a better garbage collector. We must keep a reference count
+of the pointers to each cons."
+
+Moon patiently told the student the following story:
+
+"One day a student came to Moon and said: `I
+understand how to make a better garbage
+collector...
+
+
+[Ed. note: Pure reference-count garbage collectors have
+problems with circular structures that point to themselves.]
+
+* * *
+
+In the days when Sussman was a novice, Minsky once came to him
+as he sat hacking at the PDP-6.
+
+"What are you doing?", asked Minsky.
+
+"I am training a randomly wired neural net to play
+Tic-Tac-Toe" Sussman replied.
+
+"Why is the net wired randomly?", asked Minsky.
+
+"I do not want it to have any preconceptions of how to play",
+Sussman said.
+
+Minsky then shut his eyes.
+
+"Why do you close your eyes?", Sussman asked his teacher.
+
+"So that the room will be empty."
+
+At that moment, Sussman was enlightened.
+
+* * *
+
+A disciple of another sect once came to Drescher as he was
+eating his morning meal.
+
+"I would like to give you this personality test", said the
+outsider, "because I want you to be happy."
+
+Drescher took the paper that was offered him and put it into
+the toaster, saying: "I wish the toaster to be happy, too."
+
+
+Node:OS and JEDGAR, Next:The Story of Mel,
+Previous:Some AI
+Koans, Up:Appendix A
+
+
+OS and JEDGAR
+
+This story says a lot about the ITS ethos.
+
+On the ITS system there was a program that allowed you to see
+what was being printed on someone else's terminal. It spied on
+the other guy's output by examining the insides of the monitor
+system. The output spy program was called OS. Throughout the rest
+of the computer science world (and at IBM too) OS means
+`operating system', but among old-time ITS hackers it almost
+always meant `output spy'.
+
+OS could work because ITS purposely had very little in the way
+of `protection' that prevented one user from trespassing on
+another's areas. Fair is fair, however. There was another program
+that would automatically notify you if anyone started to spy on
+your output. It worked in exactly the same way, by looking at the
+insides of the operating system to see if anyone else was looking
+at the insides that had to do with your output. This `counterspy'
+program was called JEDGAR (a six-letterism pronounced as two
+syllables: /jed'gr/), in honor of the former head of the FBI.
+
+But there's more. JEDGAR would ask the user for `license to
+kill'. If the user said yes, then JEDGAR would actually gun the job of the luser who was spying. Unfortunately, people
+found that this made life too violent, especially when tourists
+learned about it. One of the systems hackers solved the problem
+by replacing JEDGAR with another program that only pretended to
+do its job. It took a long time to do this, because every copy of
+JEDGAR had to be patched. To this day no one knows how many
+people never figured out that JEDGAR had been defanged.
+
+Interestingly, there is still a security module named JEDGAR
+alive as of late 1994 -- in the Unisys MCP for large systems. It
+is unknown to us whether the name is tribute or independent
+invention.
+
+
+Node:The Story of Mel,
+Previous:OS and
+JEDGAR, Up:Appendix A
+
+
+The Story of Mel
+
+This was posted to Usenet by its author, Ed Nather (utastro!nather), on May 21, 1983.
+
+A recent article devoted to the macho side of programming
+made the bald and unvarnished statement:
+
+    Real Programmers write in FORTRAN.
+
+Maybe they do now,
+in this decadent era of
+Lite beer, hand calculators, and ``user-friendly'' software
+but back in the Good Old Days,
+when the term ``software'' sounded funny
+and Real Computers were made out of drums and vacuum tubes,
+Real Programmers wrote in machine code.
+Not FORTRAN.  Not RATFOR.  Not, even, assembly language.
+Machine Code.
+Raw, unadorned, inscrutable hexadecimal numbers.
+Directly.
+
+Lest a whole new generation of programmers
+grow up in ignorance of this glorious past,
+I feel duty-bound to describe,
+as best I can through the generation gap,
+how a Real Programmer wrote code.
+I'll call him Mel,
+because that was his name.
+
+I first met Mel when I went to work for Royal McBee Computer Corp.,
+a now-defunct subsidiary of the typewriter company.
+The firm manufactured the LGP-30,
+a small, cheap (by the standards of the day)
+drum-memory computer,
+and had just started to manufacture
+the RPC-4000, a much-improved,
+bigger, better, faster --- drum-memory computer.
+Cores cost too much,
+and weren't here to stay, anyway.
+(That's why you haven't heard of the company,
+or the computer.)
+
+I had been hired to write a FORTRAN compiler
+for this new marvel and Mel was my guide to its wonders.
+Mel didn't approve of compilers.
+
+``If a program can't rewrite its own code'',
+he asked, ``what good is it?''
+
+Mel had written,
+in hexadecimal,
+the most popular computer program the company owned.
+It ran on the LGP-30
+and played blackjack with potential customers
+at computer shows.
+Its effect was always dramatic.
+The LGP-30 booth was packed at every show,
+and the IBM salesmen stood around
+talking to each other.
+Whether or not this actually sold computers
+was a question we never discussed.
+
+Mel's job was to re-write
+the blackjack program for the RPC-4000.
+(Port?  What does that mean?)
+The new computer had a one-plus-one
+addressing scheme,
+in which each machine instruction,
+in addition to the operation code
+and the address of the needed operand,
+had a second address that indicated where, on the revolving drum,
+the next instruction was located.
+
+In modern parlance,
+every single instruction was followed by a GO TO!
+Put that in Pascal's pipe and smoke it.
+
+Mel loved the RPC-4000
+because he could optimize his code:
+that is, locate instructions on the drum
+so that just as one finished its job,
+the next would be just arriving at the ``read head''
+and available for immediate execution.
+There was a program to do that job,
+an ``optimizing assembler'',
+but Mel refused to use it.
+
+``You never know where it's going to put things'',
+he explained, ``so you'd have to use separate constants''.
+
+It was a long time before I understood that remark.
+Since Mel knew the numerical value
+of every operation code,
+and assigned his own drum addresses,
+every instruction he wrote could also be considered
+a numerical constant.
+He could pick up an earlier ``add'' instruction, say,
+and multiply by it,
+if it had the right numeric value.
+His code was not easy for someone else to modify.
+
+I compared Mel's hand-optimized programs
+with the same code massaged by the optimizing assembler program,
+and Mel's always ran faster.
+That was because the ``top-down'' method of program design
+hadn't been invented yet,
+and Mel wouldn't have used it anyway.
+He wrote the innermost parts of his program loops first,
+so they would get first choice
+of the optimum address locations on the drum.
+The optimizing assembler wasn't smart enough to do it that way.
+
+Mel never wrote time-delay loops, either,
+even when the balky Flexowriter
+required a delay between output characters to work right.
+He just located instructions on the drum
+so each successive one was just past the read head
+when it was needed;
+the drum had to execute another complete revolution
+to find the next instruction.
+He coined an unforgettable term for this procedure.
+Although ``optimum'' is an absolute term,
+like ``unique'', it became common verbal practice
+to make it relative:
+``not quite optimum'' or ``less optimum''
+or ``not very optimum''.
+Mel called the maximum time-delay locations
+the ``most pessimum''.
+
+After he finished the blackjack program
+and got it to run
+(``Even the initializer is optimized'',
+he said proudly),
+he got a Change Request from the sales department.
+The program used an elegant (optimized)
+random number generator
+to shuffle the ``cards'' and deal from the ``deck'',
+and some of the salesmen felt it was too fair,
+since sometimes the customers lost.
+They wanted Mel to modify the program
+so, at the setting of a sense switch on the console,
+they could change the odds and let the customer win.
+
+Mel balked.
+He felt this was patently dishonest,
+which it was,
+and that it impinged on his personal integrity as a programmer,
+which it did,
+so he refused to do it.
+The Head Salesman talked to Mel,
+as did the Big Boss and, at the boss's urging,
+a few Fellow Programmers.
+Mel finally gave in and wrote the code,
+but he got the test backwards,
+and, when the sense switch was turned on,
+the program would cheat, winning every time.
+Mel was delighted with this,
+claiming his subconscious was uncontrollably ethical,
+and adamantly refused to fix it.
+
+After Mel had left the company for greener pa$ture$,
+the Big Boss asked me to look at the code
+and see if I could find the test and reverse it.
+Somewhat reluctantly, I agreed to look.
+Tracking Mel's code was a real adventure.
+
+I have often felt that programming is an art form,
+whose real value can only be appreciated
+by another versed in the same arcane art;
+there are lovely gems and brilliant coups
+hidden from human view and admiration, sometimes forever,
+by the very nature of the process.
+You can learn a lot about an individual
+just by reading through his code,
+even in hexadecimal.
+Mel was, I think, an unsung genius.
+
+Perhaps my greatest shock came
+when I found an innocent loop that had no test in it.
+No test.  None.
+Common sense said it had to be a closed loop,
+where the program would circle, forever, endlessly.
+Program control passed right through it, however,
+and safely out the other side.
+It took me two weeks to figure it out.
+
+The RPC-4000 computer had a really modern facility
+called an index register.
+It allowed the programmer to write a program loop
+that used an indexed instruction inside;
+each time through,
+the number in the index register
+was added to the address of that instruction,
+so it would refer
+to the next datum in a series.
+He had only to increment the index register
+each time through.
+Mel never used it.
+
+Instead, he would pull the instruction into a machine register,
+add one to its address,
+and store it back.
+He would then execute the modified instruction
+right from the register.
+The loop was written so this additional execution time
+was taken into account ---
+just as this instruction finished,
+the next one was right under the drum's read head,
+ready to go.
+But the loop had no test in it.
+
+The vital clue came when I noticed
+the index register bit,
+the bit that lay between the address
+and the operation code in the instruction word,
+was turned on ---
+yet Mel never used the index register,
+leaving it zero all the time.
+When the light went on it nearly blinded me.
+
+He had located the data he was working on
+near the top of memory ---
+the largest locations the instructions could address ---
+so, after the last datum was handled,
+incrementing the instruction address
+would make it overflow.
+The carry would add one to the
+operation code, changing it to the next one in the instruction set:
+a jump instruction.
+Sure enough, the next program instruction was
+in address location zero,
+and the program went happily on its way.
+
+I haven't kept in touch with Mel,
+so I don't know if he ever gave in to the flood of
+change that has washed over programming techniques
+since those long-gone days.
+I like to think he didn't.
+In any event,
+I was impressed enough that I quit looking for the
+offending test,
+telling the Big Boss I couldn't find it.
+He didn't seem surprised.
+
+When I left the company,
+the blackjack program would still cheat
+if you turned on the right sense switch,
+and I think that's how it should be.
+I didn't feel comfortable
+hacking up the code of a Real Programmer.
+
+
+
+
+
+This is one of hackerdom's great heroic epics, free verse or
+no. In a few spare images it captures more about the esthetics
+and psychology of hacking than all the scholarly volumes on the
+subject put together. For an opposing point of view, see the
+entry for Real
+Programmer.
+
+[1992 postscript -- the author writes: "The original
+submission to the net was not in free verse, nor any
+approximation to it -- it was straight prose style, in
+non-justified paragraphs. In bouncing around the net it
+apparently got modified into the `free verse' form now popular.
+In other words, it got hacked on the net. That seems appropriate,
+somehow." The author adds that he likes the `free-verse' version
+better...]
+
+[1999 update: Mel's last name is now known. The manual for the
+LGP-30 refers to "Mel Kaye of Royal McBee who did the bulk of the
+programming [...] of the ACT 1 system".]
+
+
+Node:Appendix B, Next:Appendix C, Previous:Appendix A, Up:Top 
+
+A Portrait of J. Random Hacker
+
+This profile reflects detailed comments on an earlier `trial
+balloon' version from about a hundred Usenet respondents. Where
+comparatives are used, the implicit `other' is a randomly
+selected segment of the non-hacker population of the same size as
+hackerdom.
+
+An important point: Except in some relatively minor respects
+such as slang vocabulary, hackers don't get to be the way they
+are by imitating each other. Rather, it seems to be the case that
+the combination of personality traits that makes a hacker so
+conditions one's outlook on life that one tends to end up being
+like other hackers whether one wants to or not (much as bizarrely
+detailed similarities in behavior and preferences are found in
+genetic twins raised separately).
+
+
+General Appearance:
+
+
+Dress:
+
+
+Reading Habits:
+
+
+Other Interests:
+
+
+Physical
+Activity and Sports:
+
+
+Education:
+
+
+Things
+Hackers Detest and Avoid:
+
+
+Food:
+
+
+Politics:
+
+
+Gender and
+Ethnicity:
+
+
+Religion:
+
+
+Ceremonial
+Chemicals:
+
+
+Communication
+Style:
+
+
+Geographical
+Distribution:
+
+
+Sexual Habits:
+
+
+Personality
+Characteristics:
+
+
+Weaknesses of the
+Hacker Personality:
+
+
+Miscellaneous:
+
+
+Node:General Appearance,
+Next:Dress, Up:Appendix B 
+
+General Appearance
+
+Intelligent. Scruffy. Intense. Abstracted. Surprisingly for a
+sedentary profession, more hackers run to skinny than fat; both
+extremes are more common than elsewhere. Tans are rare.
+
+
+Node:Dress, Next:Reading Habits, Previous:General Appearance,
+Up:Appendix B 
+
+Dress
+
+Casual, vaguely post-hippie; T-shirts, jeans, running shoes,
+Birkenstocks (or bare feet). Long hair, beards, and moustaches
+are common. High incidence of tie-dye and intellectual or
+humorous `slogan' T-shirts (only rarely computer related; that
+would be too obvious).
+
+A substantial minority prefers `outdoorsy' clothing -- hiking
+boots ("in case a mountain should suddenly spring up in the
+machine room", as one famous parody put it), khakis, lumberjack
+or chamois shirts, and the like.
+
+Very few actually fit the "National Lampoon" Nerd stereotype,
+though it lingers on at MIT and may have been more common before
+1975. At least since the late Seventies backpacks have been more
+common than briefcases, and the hacker `look' has been more
+whole-earth than whole-polyester.
+
+Hackers dress for comfort, function, and minimal maintenance
+hassles rather than for appearance (some, perhaps unfortunately,
+take this to extremes and neglect personal hygiene). They have a
+very low tolerance of suits and other `business' attire; in fact,
+it is not uncommon for hackers to quit a job rather than conform
+to a dress code.
+
+Female hackers almost never wear visible makeup, and many use
+none at all.
+
+
+Node:Reading Habits, Next:Other Interests, Previous:Dress, Up:Appendix B 
+
+Reading Habits
+
+Omnivorous, but usually includes lots of science and science
+fiction. The typical hacker household might subscribe to
+"Analog", "Scientific American", "Whole-Earth Review", and
+"Smithsonian" (most hackers ignore "Wired" and other
+self-consciously `cyberpunk' magazines, considering them wannabee fodder). Hackers often have a
+reading range that astonishes liberal arts people but tend not to
+talk about it as much. Many hackers spend as much of their spare
+time reading as the average American burns up watching TV, and
+often keep shelves and shelves of well-thumbed books in their
+homes.
+
+
+Node:Other Interests, Next:Physical
+Activity and Sports, Previous:Reading Habits, Up:Appendix B 
+
+Other Interests
+
+Some hobbies are widely shared and recognized as going with
+the culture: science fiction, music, medievalism (in the active
+form practiced by the Society for Creative Anachronism and
+similar organizations), chess, go, backgammon, wargames, and
+intellectual games of all kinds. (Role-playing games such as
+Dungeons and Dragons used to be extremely popular among hackers
+but they lost a bit of their luster as they moved into the
+mainstream and became heavily commercialized. More recently,
+"Magic: The Gathering" has been widely popular among hackers.)
+Logic puzzles. Ham radio. Other interests that seem to correlate
+less strongly but positively with hackerdom include linguistics
+and theater teching.
+
+
+Node:Physical
+Activity and Sports, Next:Education, Previous:Other Interests, Up:Appendix B 
+
+Physical Activity and Sports
+
+Many (perhaps even most) hackers don't follow or do sports at
+all and are determinedly anti-physical. Among those who do,
+interest in spectator sports is low to non-existent; sports are
+something one does, not something one watches on TV.
+
+Further, hackers avoid most team sports like the plague.
+Volleyball was long a notable exception, perhaps because it's
+non-contact and relatively friendly; Ultimate Frisbee has become
+quite popular for similar reasons. Hacker sports are almost
+always primarily self-competitive ones involving concentration,
+stamina, and micromotor skills: martial arts, bicycling, auto
+racing, kite flying, hiking, rock climbing, aviation,
+target-shooting, sailing, caving, juggling, skiing, skating,
+skydiving, scuba diving. Hackers' delight in techno-toys also
+tends to draw them towards hobbies with nifty complicated
+equipment that they can tinker with.
+
+The popularity of martial arts in the hacker culture deserves
+special mention. Many observers have noted it, and the connection
+has grown noticeably stronger over time. In the 1970s, many
+hackers admired martial arts disciplines from a distance, sensing
+a compatible ideal in their exaltation of skill through rigorous
+self-discipline and concentration. As martial arts became
+increasingly mainstreamed in the U.S. and other western
+countries, hackers moved from admiring to doing in large numbers.
+In 1997, for example, your humble editor recalls sitting down
+with five strangers at the first Perl conference and discovering
+that four of us were in active training in some sort of martial
+art - and, what is more interesting, nobody at the table found
+this particularly odd.
+
+Today (2000), martial arts seems to have become established as
+the hacker exercise form of choice, and the martial-arts culture
+combining skill-centered elitism with a willingness to let
+anybody join seems a stronger parallel to hacker behavior than
+ever. Common usages in hacker slang un-ironically analogize
+programming to kung fu (thus, one hears talk of "code-fu" or in
+reference to specific skills like "HTML-fu"). Albeit with
+slightly more irony, today's hackers readily analogize
+assimilation into the hacker culture with the plot of a Jet Li
+movie: the aspiring newbie studies with masters of the tradition,
+develops his art through deep meditation, ventures forth to
+perform heroic feats of hacking, and eventually becomes a master
+who trains the next generation of newbies.
+
+
+Node:Education, Next:Things Hackers Detest
+and Avoid, Previous:Physical Activity and
+Sports, Up:Appendix B
+
+
+Education
+
+Nearly all hackers past their teens are either college-degreed
+or self-educated to an equivalent level. The self-taught hacker
+is often considered (at least by other hackers) to be
+better-motivated, and may be more respected, than his
+school-shaped counterpart. Academic areas from which people often
+gravitate into hackerdom include (besides the obvious computer
+science and electrical engineering) physics, mathematics,
+linguistics, and philosophy.
+
+
+Node:Things
+Hackers Detest and Avoid, Next:Food, Previous:Education, Up:Appendix B 
+
+Things Hackers Detest and Avoid
+
+IBM mainframes. All the works of Microsoft. Smurfs, Ewoks, and
+other forms of offensive cuteness. Bureaucracies. Stupid people.
+Easy listening music. Television (with occasional exceptions for
+cartoons, movies, and good SF like "Star Trek" classic or Babylon
+5). Business suits. Dishonesty. Incompetence. Boredom. COBOL.
+BASIC. Character-based menu interfaces.
+
+
+Node:Food, Next:Politics, Previous:Things Hackers Detest
+and Avoid, Up:Appendix B
+
+
+Food
+
+Ethnic. Spicy. Oriental, esp. Chinese and most esp. Szechuan,
+Hunan, and Mandarin (hackers consider Cantonese vaguely
+_déclassé_). Hackers prefer the exotic; for
+example, the Japanese-food fans among them will eat with gusto
+such delicacies as fugu (poisonous pufferfish) and whale. Thai
+food has experienced flurries of popularity. Where available,
+high-quality Jewish delicatessen food is much esteemed. A visible
+minority of Southwestern and Pacific Coast hackers prefers
+Mexican.
+
+For those all-night hacks, pizza and microwaved burritos are
+big. Interestingly, though the mainstream culture has tended to
+think of hackers as incorrigible junk-food junkies, many have at
+least mildly health-foodist attitudes and are fairly
+discriminating about what they eat. This may be generational;
+anecdotal evidence suggests that the stereotype was more on the
+mark before the early 1980s.
+
+
+Node:Politics, Next:Gender and Ethnicity, Previous:Food, Up:Appendix B 
+
+Politics
+
+Vaguely liberal-moderate, except for the strong libertarian
+contingent which rejects conventional left-right politics
+entirely. The only safe generalization is that hackers tend to be
+rather anti-authoritarian; thus, both conventional conservatism
+and `hard' leftism are rare. Hackers are far more likely than
+most non-hackers to either (a) be aggressively apolitical or (b)
+entertain peculiar or idiosyncratic political ideas and actually
+try to live by them day-to-day.
+
+
+Node:Gender and Ethnicity,
+Next:Religion, Previous:Politics, Up:Appendix B 
+
+Gender and Ethnicity
+
+Hackerdom is still predominantly male. However, the percentage
+of women is clearly higher than the low-single-digit range
+typical for technical professions, and female hackers are
+generally respected and dealt with as equals.
+
+In the U.S., hackerdom is predominantly Caucasian with strong
+minorities of Jews (East Coast) and Orientals (West Coast). The
+Jewish contingent has exerted a particularly pervasive cultural
+influence (see Food, above, and note
+that several common jargon terms are obviously mutated
+Yiddish).
+
+The ethnic distribution of hackers is understood by them to be
+a function of which ethnic groups tend to seek and value
+education. Racial and ethnic prejudice is notably uncommon and
+tends to be met with freezing contempt.
+
+When asked, hackers often ascribe their culture's gender- and
+color-blindness to a positive effect of text-only network
+channels, and this is doubtless a powerful influence. Also, the
+ties many hackers have to AI research and SF literature may have
+helped them to develop an idea of personhood that is inclusive
+rather than exclusive -- after all, if one's imagination readily
+grants full human rights to future AI programs, robots, dolphins,
+and extraterrestrial aliens, mere color and gender can't seem
+very important any more.
+
+
+Node:Religion, Next:Ceremonial Chemicals, Previous:Gender and
+Ethnicity, Up:Appendix B
+
+
+Religion
+
+Agnostic. Atheist. Non-observant Jewish. Neo-pagan. Very
+commonly, three or more of these are combined in the same person.
+Conventional faith-holding Christianity is rare though not
+unknown.
+
+Even hackers who identify with a religious affiliation tend to
+be relaxed about it, hostile to organized religion in general and
+all forms of religious bigotry in particular. Many enjoy `parody'
+religions such as Discordianism and the Church of the
+SubGenius.
+
+Also, many hackers are influenced to varying degrees by Zen
+Buddhism or (less commonly) Taoism, and blend them easily with
+their `native' religions.
+
+There is a definite strain of mystical, almost Gnostic
+sensibility that shows up even among those hackers not actively
+involved with neo-paganism, Discordianism, or Zen. Hacker
+folklore that pays homage to `wizards' and speaks of incantations
+and demons has too much psychological truthfulness about it to be
+entirely a joke.
+
+
+Node:Ceremonial Chemicals,
+Next:Communication
+Style, Previous:Religion, Up:Appendix B 
+
+Ceremonial Chemicals
+
+Most hackers don't smoke tobacco, and use alcohol in
+moderation if at all. However, there has been something of a
+trend towards exotic beers since about 1995, especially among
+younger Linux hackers apparently influenced by Linus Torvalds's
+fondness for Guiness.
+
+Limited use of non-addictive psychedelic drugs, such as
+cannabis, LSD, psilocybin, nitrous oxide, etc., used to be
+relatively common and is still regarded with more tolerance than
+in the mainstream culture. Use of `downers' and opiates, on the
+other hand, appears to be particularly rare; hackers seem in
+general to dislike drugs that make them stupid. But on the gripping hand, many
+hackers regularly wire up on caffeine and/or sugar for all-night
+hacking runs.
+
+
+Node:Communication Style,
+Next:Geographical Distribution,
+Previous:Ceremonial Chemicals, Up:Appendix B 
+
+Communication Style
+
+See the discussions of speech and writing styles near the
+beginning of this File. Though hackers often have poor
+person-to-person communication skills, they are as a rule quite
+sensitive to nuances of language and very precise in their use of
+it. They are often better at writing than at speaking.
+
+
+Node:Geographical
+Distribution, Next:Sexual Habits, Previous:Communication Style, Up:Appendix B 
+
+Geographical Distribution
+
+In the United States, hackerdom revolves on a Bay
+Area-to-Boston axis; about half of the hard core seems to live
+within a hundred miles of Cambridge (Massachusetts) or Berkeley
+(California), although there are significant contingents in Los
+Angeles, in the Pacific Northwest, and around Washington DC.
+Hackers tend to cluster around large cities, especially
+`university towns' such as the Raleigh-Durham area in North
+Carolina or Princeton, New Jersey (this may simply reflect the
+fact that many are students or ex-students living near their alma
+maters).
+
+
+Node:Sexual Habits, Next:Personality
+Characteristics, Previous:Geographical Distribution,
+Up:Appendix B 
+
+Sexual Habits
+
+Hackerdom easily tolerates a much wider range of sexual and
+lifestyle variation than the mainstream culture. It includes a
+relatively large gay and bisexual contingent. Hackers are
+somewhat more likely to live in polygynous or polyandrous
+relationships, practice open marriage, or live in communes or
+group houses. In this, as in general appearance, hackerdom
+semi-consciously maintains `counterculture' values.
+
+
+Node:Personality
+Characteristics, Next:Weaknesses of the
+Hacker Personality, Previous:Sexual Habits, Up:Appendix B 
+
+Personality Characteristics
+
+The most obvious common `personality' characteristics of
+hackers are high intelligence, consuming curiosity, and facility
+with intellectual abstractions. Also, most hackers are
+`neophiles', stimulated by and appreciative of novelty
+(especially intellectual novelty). Most are also relatively
+individualistic and anti-conformist.
+
+Although high general intelligence is common among hackers, it
+is not the _sine qua non_ one might expect. Another trait is
+probably even more important: the ability to mentally absorb,
+retain, and reference large amounts of `meaningless' detail,
+trusting to later experience to give it context and meaning. A
+person of merely average analytical intelligence who has this
+trait can become an effective hacker, but a creative genius who
+lacks it will swiftly find himself outdistanced by people who
+routinely upload the contents of thick reference manuals into
+their brains. [During the production of the first book version of
+this document, for example, I learned most of the rather complex
+typesetting language TeX over about four working days, mainly by
+inhaling Knuth's 477-page manual. My editor's flabbergasted
+reaction to this genuinely surprised me, because years of
+associating with hackers have conditioned me to consider such
+performances routine and to be expected. --ESR]
+
+Contrary to stereotype, hackers are not usually
+intellectually narrow; they tend to be interested in any subject
+that can provide mental stimulation, and can often discourse
+knowledgeably and even interestingly on any number of obscure
+subjects -- if you can get them to talk at all, as opposed to,
+say, going back to their hacking.
+
+It is noticeable (and contrary to many outsiders'
+expectations) that the better a hacker is at hacking, the more
+likely he or she is to have outside interests at which he or she
+is more than merely competent.
+
+Hackers are `control freaks' in a way that has nothing to do
+with the usual coercive or authoritarian connotations of the
+term. In the same way that children delight in making model
+trains go forward and back by moving a switch, hackers love
+making complicated things like computers do nifty stuff for them.
+But it has to be their nifty stuff. They don't like
+tedium, nondeterminism, or most of the fussy, boring, ill-defined
+little tasks that go with maintaining a normal existence.
+Accordingly, they tend to be careful and orderly in their
+intellectual lives and chaotic elsewhere. Their code will be
+beautiful, even if their desks are buried in 3 feet of crap.
+
+Hackers are generally only very weakly motivated by
+conventional rewards such as social approval or money. They tend
+to be attracted by challenges and excited by interesting toys,
+and to judge the interest of work or other activities in terms of
+the challenges offered and the toys they get to play with.
+
+In terms of Myers-Briggs and equivalent psychometric systems,
+hackerdom appears to concentrate the relatively rare INTJ and
+INTP types; that is, introverted, intuitive, and thinker types
+(as opposed to the extroverted-sensate personalities that
+predominate in the mainstream culture). ENT[JP] types are also
+concentrated among hackers but are in a minority.
+
+
+Node:Weaknesses of the
+Hacker Personality, Next:Miscellaneous, Previous:Personality
+Characteristics, Up:Appendix
+B 
+
+Weaknesses of the Hacker Personality
+
+Hackers have relatively little ability to identify emotionally
+with other people. This may be because hackers generally aren't
+much like `other people'. Unsurprisingly, hackers also tend
+towards self-absorption, intellectual arrogance, and impatience
+with people and tasks perceived to be wasting their time.
+
+As cynical as hackers sometimes wax about the amount of idiocy
+in the world, they tend by reflex to assume that everyone is as
+rational, `cool', and imaginative as they consider themselves.
+This bias often contributes to weakness in communication skills.
+Hackers tend to be especially poor at confrontation and
+negotiation.
+
+Because of their passionate embrace of (what they consider to
+be) the Right Thing, hackers
+can be unfortunately intolerant and bigoted on technical issues,
+in marked contrast to their general spirit of camaraderie and
+tolerance of alternative viewpoints otherwise. Old-time ITS partisans look down on the ever-growing
+hordes of Unix hackers; Unix
+aficionados despise VMS and MS-DOS; and hackers who are used to
+conventional command-line user interfaces loudly loathe
+mouse-and-menu based systems such as the Macintosh. Hackers who
+don't indulge in Usenet consider it
+a huge waste of time and bandwidth; fans of old adventure games such
+as ADVENT and Zork consider MUDs to
+be glorified chat systems devoid of atmosphere or interesting
+puzzles; hackers who are willing to devote endless hours to
+Usenet or MUDs consider IRC to be a
+real waste of time; IRCies think MUDs might be okay if
+there weren't all those silly puzzles in the way. And, of course,
+there are the perennial holy
+wars -- EMACS vs. vi, big-endian vs.
+little-endian, RISC vs. CISC,
+etc., etc., etc. As in society at large, the intensity and
+duration of these debates is usually inversely proportional to
+the number of objective, factual arguments available to buttress
+any position.
+
+As a result of all the above traits, many hackers have
+difficulty maintaining stable relationships. At worst, they can
+produce the classic computer
+geek: withdrawn, relationally incompetent, sexually
+frustrated, and desperately unhappy when not submerged in his or
+her craft. Fortunately, this extreme is far less common than
+mainstream folklore paints it -- but almost all hackers will
+recognize something of themselves in the unflattering paragraphs
+above.
+
+Hackers are often monumentally disorganized and sloppy about
+dealing with the physical world. Bills don't get paid on time,
+clutter piles up to incredible heights in homes and offices, and
+minor maintenance tasks get deferred indefinitely.
+
+1994-95's fad behavioral disease was a syndrome called
+Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), supposedly characterized by
+(among other things) a combination of short attention span with
+an ability to `hyperfocus' imaginatively on interesting tasks. In
+1998-1999 another syndrome that is said to overlap with many
+hacker traits entered popular awareness: Asperger's syndrome
+(AS). This disorder is also sometimes called `high-function
+autism', though researchers are divided on whether AS is in fact
+a mild form of autism or a distinct syndrome with a different
+etiology. AS patients exhibit mild to severe deficits in
+interpreting facial and body-language cues and in modeling or
+empathizing with others' emotions. Though some AS patients
+exhibit mild retardation, others compensate for their deficits
+with high intelligence and analytical ability, and frequently
+seek out technical fields where problem-solving abilities are at
+a premium and people skills are relatively unimportant. Both
+syndromes are thought to relate to abnormalities in
+neurotransmitter chemistry, especially the brain's processing of
+serotonin.
+
+Many hackers have noticed that mainstream culture has shown a
+tendency to pathologize and medicalize normal variations in
+personality, especially those variations that make life more
+complicated for authority figures and conformists. Thus, hackers
+aware of the issue tend to be among those questioning whether ADD
+and AS actually exist; and if so whether they are really
+`diseases' rather than extremes of a normal genetic variation
+like having freckles or being able to taste DPT. In either case,
+they have a sneaking tendency to wonder if these syndromes are
+over-diagnosed and over-treated. After all, people in authority
+will always be inconvenienced by schoolchildren or workers or
+citizens who are prickly, intelligent individualists - thus, any
+social system that depends on authority relationships will tend
+to helpfully ostracize and therapize and drug such `abnormal'
+people until they are properly docile and stupid and
+`well-socialized'.
+
+So hackers tend to believe they have good reason for
+skepticism about clinical explanations of the hacker personality.
+That being said, most would also concede that some hacker traits
+coincide with indicators for ADD and AS - the status of caffeeine
+as a hacker beverage of choice may be connected to the fact that
+it bonds to the same neural receptors as Ritalin, the drug most
+commonly prescribed for ADD. It is probably true that boosters of
+both would find a rather higher rate of clinical ADD among
+hackers than the supposedly mainstream-normal 3-5% (AS is rarer
+and there are not yet good estimates of incidence as of
+2000).
+
+
+Node:Miscellaneous, Previous:Weaknesses of the
+Hacker Personality, Up:Appendix B 
+
+Miscellaneous
+
+Hackers are more likely to have cats than dogs (in fact, it is
+widely grokked that cats have the hacker nature). Many drive
+incredibly decrepit heaps and forget to wash them; richer ones
+drive spiffy Porsches and RX-7s and then forget to have them
+washed. Almost all hackers have terribly bad handwriting, and
+often fall into the habit of block-printing everything like
+junior draftsmen.
+
+
+Node:Appendix C, Next:Bibliography, Previous:Appendix B, Up:Top 
+
+Helping Hacker Culture Grow
+
+If you enjoyed the Jargon File, please help the culture that
+created it grow and flourish. Here are several ways you can
+help:
+
+• If you are a writer or journalist, don't say or write
+hacker when you mean cracker. If you work with writers or
+journalists, educate them on this issue and push them to do the
+right thing. If you catch a newspaper or magazine abusing the
+work `hacker', write them and straighten them out (this appendix
+includes a model letter).
+
+• If you're a techie or computer hobbyist, get involved
+with one of the free Unixes. Toss out that lame Microsoft OS, or
+confine it to one disk partition and put Linux or FreeBSD or
+NetBSD on the other one. And the next time your friend or boss is
+thinking about some proprietary software `solution' that costs
+more than it's worth, be ready to blow the competition away with
+open-source software running over a Unix.
+
+• Contribute to organizations like the Free Software
+Foundation that promote the production of high-quality free and
+open-source software. You can reach the Free Software Foundation
+at _gnu@gnu.org_, by phone at +1-617-542-5942, or by
+snail-mail at 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307
+USA.
+
+• Support the League for Programming Freedom, which
+opposes over-broad software patents that constantly threaten to
+blow up in hackers' faces, preventing them from developing
+innovative software for tomorrow's needs. You can reach the
+League for Programming Freedom at _lpf@uunet.uu.net_. by
+phone at +1 617 621 7084, or by snail-mail at 1 Kendall Square
+#143, P.O.Box 9171, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 USA.
+
+• Join the continuing fight against Internet censorship, visit the
+Center for Democracy and Technology Home Page at http://www.cdt.org.
+
+• If you do nothing else, please help fight government attempts to
+seize political control of Internet content and restrict strong
+cryptography. The so-called `Communications Decency Act' was declared
+unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, but U.S. cryptography policy
+still infringes our First Amendment rights. Surf to the Center for
+Democracy and technology's home page at http://www.cdt.org to see what
+you can do to help fight censorship of the net.
+
+Here's the text of a letter RMS wrote to the Wall Street
+Journal to complain about their policy of using "hacker" only in
+a pejorative sense. We hear that most major newspapers have the
+same policy. If you'd like to help change this situation, send
+your favorite newspaper the same letter - or, better yet, write
+your own letter.
+
+Dear Editor:
+
+This letter is not meant for publication, although you can
+publish it if you wish. It is meant specifically for you, the
+editor, not the public.
+
+I am a hacker. That is to say, I enjoy playing with computers
+-- working with, learning about, and writing clever computer
+programs. I am not a cracker; I don't make a practice of breaking
+computer security.
+
+There's nothing shameful about the hacking I do. But when I
+tell people I am a hacker, people think I'm admitting something
+naughty -- because newspapers such as yours misuse the word
+"hacker", giving the impression that it means "security breaker"
+and nothing else. You are giving hackers a bad name.
+
+The saddest thing is that this problem is perpetuated
+deliberately. Your reporters know the difference between "hacker"
+and "security breaker". They know how to make the distinction,
+but you don't let them! You insist on using "hacker"
+pejoratively. When reporters try to use another word, you change
+it. When reporters try to explain the other meanings, you cut
+it.
+
+Of course, you have a reason. You say that readers have become
+used to your insulting usage of "hacker", so that you cannot
+change it now. Well, you can't undo past mistakes today; but that
+is no excuse to repeat them tomorrow.
+
+If I were what you call a "hacker", at this point I would
+threaten to crack your computer and crash it. But I am a hacker,
+not a cracker. I don't do that kind of thing! I have enough
+computers to play with at home and at work; I don't need yours.
+Besides, it's not my way to respond to insults with violence. My
+response is this letter.
+
+You owe hackers an apology; but more than that, you owe us
+ordinary respect.
+
+Sincerely, etc.
+
+
+
+Node:Bibliography, Previous:Appendix C, Up:Top 
+
+Bibliography
+
+Here are some other books you can read to help you understand
+the hacker mindset.
+
+
+ Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden
+BraidGödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid
+
+Douglas Hofstadter
+
+Basic Books, 1979
+
+ISBN 0-394-74502-7
+
+This book reads like an intellectual Grand Tour of hacker
+preoccupations. Music, mathematical logic, programming,
+speculations on the nature of intelligence, biology, and Zen are
+woven into a brilliant tapestry themed on the concept of encoded
+self-reference. The perfect left-brain companion to
+"Illuminatus".
+
+
+Illuminatus!
+
+ I. "The Eye in the Pyramid"
+
+ II. "The Golden Apple"
+
+ III. "Leviathan".
+
+Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson
+
+Dell, 1988
+
+ISBN 0-440-53981-1
+
+This work of alleged fiction is an incredible
+berserko-surrealist rollercoaster of world-girdling conspiracies,
+intelligent dolphins, the fall of Atlantis, who really killed
+JFK, sex, drugs, rock'n'roll, and the Cosmic Giggle Factor. First
+published in three volumes, but there is now a one-volume trade
+paperback, carried by most chain bookstores under SF. The perfect
+right-brain companion to Hofstadter's "Gödel, Escher, Bach".
+See Eris, Discordianism, random numbers, Church of the
+SubGenius.
+
+
+The
+Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
+
+Douglas Adams
+
+Pocket Books, 1981
+
+ISBN 0-671-46149-4
+
+This `Monty Python in Space' spoof of SF genre traditions has
+been popular among hackers ever since the original British radio
+show. Read it if only to learn about Vogons (see bogon) and the significance of the number 42
+(see random numbers) --
+and why the winningest chess program of 1990 was called `Deep
+Thought'.
+
+
+The Tao of
+Programming
+
+James Geoffrey
+
+Infobooks, 1987
+
+ISBN 0-931137-07-1
+
+This gentle, funny spoof of the "Tao Te Ching" contains much
+that is illuminating about the hacker way of thought. "When you
+have learned to snatch the error code from the trap frame, it
+will be time for you to leave."
+
+
+Hackers
+
+Steven Levy
+
+Anchor/Doubleday 1984
+
+ISBN 0-385-19195-2
+
+Levy's book is at its best in describing the early MIT hackers
+at the Model Railroad Club and the early days of the
+microcomputer revolution. He never understood Unix or the
+networks, though, and his enshrinement of Richard Stallman as
+"the last true hacker" turns out (thankfully) to have been quite
+misleading. Despite being a bit dated and containing some minor
+errors (many fixed in the paperback edition), this remains a
+useful and stimulating book that captures the feel of several
+important hacker subcultures.
+
+
+The
+Computer Contradictionary
+
+Stan Kelly-Bootle
+
+MIT Press, 1995
+
+ISBN 0-262-61112-0
+
+This pastiche of Ambrose Bierce's famous work is similar in
+format to the Jargon File (and quotes several entries from
+TNHD-2) but somewhat different in tone and intent. It is more
+satirical and less anthropological, and is largely a product of
+the author's literate and quirky imagination. For example, it
+defines `computer science' as "a study akin to numerology and
+astrology, but lacking the precision of the former and the
+success of the latter" and `implementation' as "The fruitless
+struggle by the talented and underpaid to fulfill promises made
+by the rich and ignorant"; `flowchart' becomes "to obfuscate a
+problem with esoteric cartoons". Revised and expanded from "The
+Devil's DP Dictionary", McGraw-Hill 1981, ISBN 0-07-034022-6;
+that work had some stylistic influence on TNHD-1.
+
+
+
+The Devouring Fungus: Tales from the Computer Age
+
+Karla Jennings
+
+Norton, 1990
+
+ISBN 0-393-30732-8
+
+The author of this pioneering compendium knits together a
+great deal of computer- and hacker-related folklore with good
+writing and a few well-chosen cartoons. She has a keen eye for
+the human aspects of the lore and is very good at illuminating
+the psychology and evolution of hackerdom. Unfortunately, a
+number of small errors and awkwardnesses suggest that she didn't
+have the final manuscript checked over by a native speaker; the
+glossary in the back is particularly embarrassing, and at least
+one classic tale (the Magic Switch story, retold here under A Story About Magic in
+Appendix A is given in incomplete and badly mangled form.
+Nevertheless, this book is a win overall and can be enjoyed by
+hacker and non-hacker alike.
+
+
+The Soul
+of a New Machine
+
+Tracy Kidder
+
+Little, Brown, 1981
+
+(paperback: Avon, 1982
+
+ISBN 0-380-59931-7)
+
+This book (a 1982 Pulitzer Prize winner) documents the
+adventure of the design of a new Data General computer, the
+MV-8000 Eagle. It is an amazingly well-done portrait of the
+hacker mindset -- although largely the hardware hacker -- done by
+a complete outsider. It is a bit thin in spots, but with enough
+technical information to be entertaining to the serious hacker
+while providing non-technical people a view of what day-to-day
+life can be like -- the fun, the excitement, the disasters.
+During one period, when the microcode and logic were glitching at
+the nanosecond level, one of the overworked engineers departed
+the company, leaving behind a note on his terminal as his letter
+of resignation: "I am going to a commune in Vermont and will deal
+with no unit of time shorter than a season."
+
+
+Life
+with UNIX: a Guide for Everyone
+
+Don Libes and Sandy Ressler
+
+Prentice-Hall, 1989
+
+ISBN 0-13-536657-7
+
+The authors of this book set out to tell you all the things
+about Unix that tutorials and technical books won't. The result
+is gossipy, funny, opinionated, downright weird in spots, and
+invaluable. Along the way they expose you to enough of Unix's
+history, folklore and humor to qualify as a first-class source
+for these things. Because so much of today's hackerdom is
+involved with Unix, this in turn illuminates many of its in-jokes
+and preoccupations.
+
+
+True
+Names ... and Other Dangers
+
+Vernor Vinge
+
+Baen Books, 1987
+
+ISBN 0-671-65363-6
+
+Hacker demigod Richard Stallman used to say that the title
+story of this book "expresses the spirit of hacking best". Until
+the subject of the next entry came out, it was hard to even
+nominate another contender. The other stories in this collection
+are also fine work by an author who has since won multiple Hugos
+and is one of today's very best practitioners of hard SF.
+
+
+Snow Crash
+
+Neal Stephenson
+
+Bantam, 1992
+
+ISBN 0-553-56261-4
+
+Stephenson's epic, comic cyberpunk novel is deeply knowing
+about the hacker psychology and its foibles in a way no other
+author of fiction has ever even approached. His imagination, his
+grasp of the relevant technical details, and his ability to
+communicate the excitement of hacking and its results are
+astonishing, delightful, and (so far) unsurpassed.
+
+
+
+Cyberpunk: Outlaws and Hackers on the Computer
+Frontier
+
+Katie Hafner & John Markoff
+
+Simon & Schuster 1991
+
+ISBN 0-671-68322-5
+
+This book gathers narratives about the careers of three
+notorious crackers into a clear-eyed but sympathetic portrait of
+hackerdom's dark side. The principals are Kevin Mitnick, "Pengo"
+and "Hagbard" of the Chaos Computer Club, and Robert T. Morris
+(see RTM, sense 2) . Markoff and Hafner
+focus as much on their psychologies and motivations as on the
+details of their exploits, but don't slight the latter. The
+result is a balanced and fascinating account, particularly useful
+when read immediately before or after Cliff Stoll's The Cuckoo's Egg. It is
+especially instructive to compare RTM, a true hacker who
+blundered, with the sociopathic phone-freak Mitnick and the
+alienated, drug-addled crackers who made the Chaos Club
+notorious. The gulf between wizard
+and wannabee has seldom been made
+more obvious.
+
+
+Technobabble
+
+John Barry
+
+MIT Press 1991
+
+ISBN 0-262-02333-4
+
+Barry's book takes a critical and humorous look at the
+`technobabble' of acronyms, neologisms, hyperbole, and metaphor
+spawned by the computer industry. Though he discusses some of the
+same mechanisms of jargon formation that occur in hackish, most
+of what he chronicles is actually suit-speak -- the obfuscatory
+language of press releases, marketroids, and Silicon Valley CEOs
+rather than the playful jargon of hackers (most of whom wouldn't
+be caught dead uttering the kind of pompous, passive-voiced word
+salad he deplores).
+
+
+The Cuckoo's Egg
+
+Clifford Stoll
+
+Doubleday 1989
+
+ISBN 0-385-24946-2
+
+Clifford Stoll's absorbing tale of how he tracked Markus Hess
+and the Chaos Club cracking ring nicely illustrates the
+difference between `hacker' and `cracker'. Stoll's portrait of
+himself, his lady Martha, and his friends at Berkeley and on the
+Internet paints a marvelously vivid picture of how hackers and
+the people around them like to live and how they think.
+
+#===================== THE JARGON FILE ENDS HERE ====================#
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The New Hacker's Dictionary version 4.2.2, by various editors
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE NEW HACKER'S DICTIONARY 4.2.2 ***
+
+***** This file should be named 3008-0.txt or 3008-0.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
+        http://www.gutenberg.org/3/0/0/3008/
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