accumulator is  n. 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 See: accumulator2
accumulator2 is  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 See: accumulator3
accumulator3 is  `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 See: accumulator4
accumulator4 is  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}.) 
ACK is  /ak/ interj. 1. [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!"  See: ACK2
ACK2 is  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 See: ACK3
ACK3 is  with "Ack.  Ack.  Ack.  I get it now".   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 See: ACK4
ACK4 is  course {NAK}   (sense 2), i.e., "I'm not here"). 
ad-hockery is  /ad-hok'*r-ee/ [Purdue] n. 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 input tokens that   might be typing errors See: ad-hockery2
ad-hockery2 is  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 See: ad-hockery3
ad-hockery3 is  `ad-hackery', `ad-hocity'   (/ad-hos'*-tee/).  See also {ELIZA effect}. 
Ada is  n. A {{Pascal}}-descended language that has been 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 See: Ada2
Ada2 is  committee, crockish, difficult   to use, and overall a disastrous, multi-billion-dollar boondoggle   (one common description is "The PL/I of the 1980s").  Hackers   find Ada's exception-handling and inter-process communication   features particularly hilarious.  Ada Lovelace (the See: Ada3
Ada3 is  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 See: Ada4
Ada4 is  been said about it is that there is probably a good   small language screaming to get out from inside its vast,   {elephantine} bulk. 
adger is  /aj'r/ [UCLA] vt. To make a bonehead move with consequences   that could have been foreseen with a slight amount of mental   effort.  E.g., "He started removing files and promptly adgered the   whole project".  Compare {dumbass attack}.
admin is  /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) See: admin2
admin2 is  or `newsadmin' (focusing specifically   on news).  Compare {postmaster}, {sysop}, {system   mangler}. 
ADVENT is  /ad'vent/ n. The prototypical computer adventure game, first   implemented on the {PDP-10} by Will Crowther as an attempt at   computer-refereed fantasy gaming, and expanded into a   puzzle-oriented game by Don Woods.  Now better known as Adventure,   but the {{TOPS-10}} operating See: ADVENT2
ADVENT2 is  system permitted only 6-letter   filenames.  See also {vadding}.   This game defined the terse, dryly humorous style now 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: ADVENT3
ADVENT3 is  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 See: ADVENT4
ADVENT4 is  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. 
AI-complete is  /A-I k*m-pleet'/ [MIT, Stanford by analogy with   `NP-complete' (see {NP-})] adj. 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 See: AI-complete2
AI-complete2 is  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 See: AI-complete3
AI-complete3 is  language as well as a human).  These may appear   to be modular, but all attempts so far (1991) to solve them have   foundered on the amount of context information and `intelligence'   they seem to require. See also {gedanken}. 
AI koans is  /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 in   appendix A).  See also {ha ha only serious}, {mu}, and   {{Humor, Hacker}}.
AIDS is  /aydz/ n. Short for A* Infected Disk Syndrome (`A*' is a   {glob} pattern that matches, but is not limited to, Apple),   this condition is quite often the result of practicing unsafe   {SEX}.  See {virus}, {worm}, {Trojan horse},   {virgin}.
airplane rule is  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 (see   also {KISS Principle}).  It is See: airplane rule2
airplane rule2 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. 
aliasing bug is  n. A class of subtle programming errors that can   arise in code that does dynamic allocation, esp. via   `malloc(3)' or equivalent.  If more than one pointer addresses   (`aliases for') a given hunk of storage, it may happen that the   storage is freed through one alias and See: aliasing bug2
aliasing bug2 is  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.  Also avoidable by use of See: aliasing bug3
aliasing bug3 is  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}, {overrun screw}, {spam}.   Historical note Though this term is See: aliasing bug4
aliasing bug4 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. 
all-elbows is  adj. 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 See: all-elbows2
all-elbows2 is  also be resident.  One particularly   common form of rudeness is lock-up due to programs fighting over   the keyboard interrupt.  See also {mess-dos}. 
alpha particles is  n. See {bit rot}.
ALT is  /awlt/ 1. n. The ALT shift key on an IBM PC or {clone}.   2. [possibly lowercased] n. The `clover' or `Command' key on a   Macintosh; use of this term usually reveals that the speaker hacked   PCs before coming to the Mac (see also {command key}).  Some Mac   hackers, confusingly, See: ALT2
ALT2 is  reserve `ALT' for the Option key.  3. n.obs.   [PDP-10] 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 See: ALT3
ALT3 is  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 was probably because ALT is more convenient to say   than `escape', especially when followed by another ALT or a   character (or another ALT See: ALT4
ALT4 is  *and* a character, for that matter). 
alt bit is  /awlt bit/ [from alternate] adj. See {meta bit}.
Aluminum Book is  [MIT] n. `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 See: Aluminum Book2
Aluminum Book2 is  also {{book titles}}. 
amoeba is  n. Humorous term for the Commodore Amiga personal computer.
amp off is  [Purdue] vt. To run in {background}.  From the UNIX shell `&'   operator.
amper is  n. Common abbreviation for the name of the ampersand (`&',   ASCII 0100110) character.  See {ASCII} for other synonyms.
angle brackets is  n. Either of the characters `<' (ASCII   0111100) and `>' (ASCII 0111110) (ASCII less-than or   greater-than signs).  The {Real World} angle brackets used by   typographers are actually taller than a less-than or greater-than   sign.   See {broket}, {{ASCII}}.
angry fruit salad is  n. A bad visual-interface design that uses too   many colors.  This derives, of course, from the bizarre day-glo   colors found in canned fruit salad.  Too often one sees similar   affects from interface designers using color window systems such as   {X}; there is a See: angry fruit salad2
angry fruit salad2 is  tendency to create displays that are flashy and   attention-getting but uncomfortable for long-term use. 
AOS is  1. /aws/ (East Coast), /ay-os/ (West Coast) [based on a   PDP-10 increment instruction] vt.,obs. To increase the amount of   something.  "AOS the campfire."  Usage considered silly, and now   obsolete.  Now largely supplanted by {bump}.  See {SOS}.  2. A   {{Multics}}-derived OS See: AOS2
AOS2 is  supported at one time by Data General.  This   was pronounced /A-O-S/ or /A-os/.  A spoof of the standard   AOS system administrator's manual (`How to load and generate   your AOS system') was created, issued a part number, and circulated   as photocopy folklore.  It was called `How to See: AOS3
AOS3 is  goad and   levitate your chaos system'.  3. Algebraic Operating System, in   reference to those calculators which use infix instead of postfix   (reverse Polish) notation.   Historical note AOS in sense 1 was the name of a {PDP-10}   instruction that took any memory location in the See: AOS4
AOS4 is  computer and added   1 to it; AOS meant `Add One and do not Skip'.  Why, you may ask,   does the `S' stand for `do not Skip' rather than for `Skip'?  Ah,   here was a beloved piece of PDP-10 folklore.  There were eight such   instructions AOSE added 1 and then skipped the next See: AOS5
AOS5 is  instruction   if the result was Equal to zero; AOSG added 1 and then skipped if   the result was Greater than 0; AOSN added 1 and then skipped   if the result was Not 0; AOSA added 1 and then skipped Always;   and so on.  Just plain AOS didn't say when to skip, so it never   skipped.   See: AOS6
AOS6 is  For similar reasons, AOJ meant `Add One and do not Jump'.  Even   more bizarre, SKIP meant `do not SKIP'!  If you wanted to skip the   next instruction, you had to say `SKIPA'.  Likewise, JUMP meant   `do not JUMP'; the unconditional form was JUMPA.  However, hackers   never did this.  See: AOS7
AOS7 is  By some quirk of the 10's design, the {JRST}   (Jump and ReSTore flag with no flag specified) was actually faster   and so was invariably used.  Such were the perverse mysteries of   assembler programming. 
app is  /ap/ n. Short for `application program', as opposed to a   systems program.  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 See: app2
app2 is  parlance the term excludes compilers,   program editors, games, and messaging systems, though a user would   consider all those to be apps.  Oppose {tool}, {operating   system}. 
arc is  [primarily MSDOS] vt. To create a compressed {archive} from a   group of files using SEA ARC, PKWare PKARC, or a compatible   program.  Rapidly becoming obsolete as the ARC compression method   is falling into disuse, having been replaced by newer compression   techniques.  See {tar and See: arc2
arc2 is  feather}, {zip}. 
arc wars is  [primarily MSDOS] n. {holy wars} over which archiving   program one should use.  The first arc war was sparked when System   Enhancement Associates (SEA) sued PKWare for copyright and   trademark infringement on its ARC program.  PKWare's PKARC   outperformed ARC on both compression See: arc wars2
arc wars2 is  and speed while largely   retaining compatibility (it introduced a new compression type that   could be disabled for backward-compatibility).  PKWare settled out   of court to avoid enormous legal costs (both SEA and PKWare are   small companies); as part of the settlement, the name See: arc wars3
arc wars3 is  of PKARC was   changed to PKPAK.  The public backlash against SEA for bringing   suit helped to hasten the demise of ARC as a standard when PKWare   and others introduced new, incompatible archivers with better   compression algorithms. 
archive is  n. 1. A collection of several files bundled into one file   by a program such as `ar(1)', `tar(1)', `cpio(1)',   or {arc} for shipment or archiving (sense 2).  See also {tar   and feather}.  2. A collection of files or archives (sense 1) made   available from an `archive site' via See: archive2
archive2 is  {FTP} or an email server. 
arena is  [UNIX] n. 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 semi-mythical `malloc   corrupt arena' message supposedly emitted when some early versions   became terminally confused.  See {overrun screw}, See: arena2
arena2 is  {aliasing   bug}, {memory leak}, {smash the stack}. 
arg is  /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}.
armor-plated is  n. Syn. for {bulletproof}.
asbestos is  adj. Used as a modifier to anything intended to protect   one from {flame}s.  Important cases of this include {asbestos   longjohns} and {asbestos cork award}, but it is used more   generally.
asbestos cork award is  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'.  Persons in any doubt as   to the intended See: asbestos cork award2
asbestos cork award2 is  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. 
asbestos longjohns is  n. Notional garments often 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.
attoparsec is  n. `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 See: attoparsec2
attoparsec2 is  be in use   (though probably not very seriously) among hackers in the U.K.  See   {micro-}. 
autobogotiphobia is  /aw'to-boh-got`*-foh'bee-*/ n. See {bogotify}.
automagically is  /aw-toh-maj'i-klee/ or /aw-toh-maj'i-k*l-ee/ 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 See: automagically2
automagically2 is  compiler generates C, then automagically   invokes `cc(1)' to produce an executable." 
avatar is  [CMU, Tektronix] n. Syn. {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 disliked the term `superuser',   and was propagated through an ex-CMU See: avatar2
avatar2 is  hacker at Tektronix. 
awk is  1. n. [UNIX techspeak] An interpreted language for massaging   text data developed by Alfred Aho, Peter Weinberger, and Brian   Kernighan (the name is from their initials).  It is characterized   by C-like syntax, a declaration-free approach to variable typing   and declarations, See: awk2
awk2 is  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)'.back doorn. A hole in the See: awk3
awk3 is  security of a system deliberately left   in place by designers or maintainers.  The motivation for this 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 See: awk4
awk4 is  maintenance programmers.   Historically, back doors have often lurked in systems longer than   anyone expected or planned, and a few have become widely known.   The infamous {RTM} worm of late 1988, for example, used a back door   in the {BSD} UNIX `sendmail(8)' utility.   Ken Thompson's See: awk5
awk5 is  1983 Turing Award lecture to the ACM revealed the   existence of a back door in early UNIX versions that may have   qualified as the most fiendishly clever security hack of all time.   The C compiler contained code that would recognize when the   `login' command was being recompiled and See: awk6
awk6 is  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   See: awk7
awk7 is  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 See: awk8
awk8 is  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, leaving his back door in place   and active but with no trace in the sources.   See: awk9
awk9 is  The talk that revealed this truly moby hack was published as   "Reflections on Trusting Trust", `Communications of the   ACM 27', 8 (August 1984), pp. 761--763.   Syn. {trap door}; may also be called a `wormhole'.  See also   {iron box}, {cracker}, {worm}, {logic bomb}. 
backbone cabal is  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.  The cabal {mailing list} disbanded in   late 1988 after a bitter internal catfight, but the net hardlynoticed.
backbone site is  n. 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 1991 include uunet and the   mail machines at Rutgers See: backbone site2
backbone site2 is  University, UC Berkeley, DEC's Western   Research Laboratories, Ohio State University, and the University of   Texas.  Compare {rib site}, {leaf site}. 
backgammon is See {bignum}, {moby}, and {pseudoprime}.
background is  n.,adj.,vt.  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 See: background2
background2 is  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 See: background3
background3 is  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 See: background4
background4 is  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. 
backspace and overstrike is  interj. Whoa!  Back up.  Used to suggest   that someone just said or did something wrong.  Common among   APL programmers.
backward combatability is  /bak'w*rd k*m-bat'*-bil'*-tee/ [from   `backward compatibility'] n. A property of hardware or software   revisions in which previous protocols, formats, and layouts are   discarded in favor of `new and improved' protocols, formats, and   layouts.  Occurs usually when See: backward combatability2
backward combatability2 is  making the transition between major   releases.  When the change is so drastic that the old formats are   not retained in the new version, it is said to be `backward   combatable'.  See {flag day}. 
BAD is  /B-A-D/ [IBM acronym, `Broken As Designed'] adj.  Said   of a program that is {bogus} because of bad design and misfeatures   rather than because of bugginess.  See {working as designed}.
Bad Thing is  [from the 1930 Sellar & Yeatman parody `1066 And   All That'] n. 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 See: Bad Thing2
Bad Thing2 is  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 See: Bad Thing3
Bad Thing3 is  mainstream idiom on the   British side of the pond. 
bag on the side is  n. 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. See: bag on the side2
bag on the side2 is  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." 
bagbiter is  /bag'bit-*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, See: bagbiter2
bagbiter2 is  inadvertently or otherwise, typically by   failing to program the computer properly.  Synonyms {loser},   {cretin}, {chomper}.  3. adj. `bagbiting' Having the   quality of a bagbiter.  "This bagbiting system won't let me   compute the factorial of a negative number."  Compare See: bagbiter3
bagbiter3 is  {losing},   {cretinous}, {bletcherous}, `barfucious' (under   {barfulous}) and `chomping' (under {chomp}).  4. `bite   the bag' vi. To fail in some manner.  "The computer keeps crashing   every 5 minutes."  "Yes, the disk controller is really biting the   bag."  The original loading See: bagbiter4
bagbiter4 is  of these terms was almost undoubtedly   obscene, possibly referring to the scrotum, but in their current   usage they have become almost completely sanitized.   A program called Lexiphage on the old MIT AI PDP-10 would draw on   a selected victim's bitmapped terminal the words "THE See: bagbiter5
bagbiter5 is  BAG" in   ornate letters, and then a pair of jaws biting pieces of it off.   This is the first and to date only known example of a program   *intended* to be a bagbiter. 
bamf is  /bamf/ 1. [from old X-Men comics] 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 See: bamf2
bamf2 is  magical transformation, used in virtual   reality {fora} like sense 1.  3. [from `Don Washington's   Survival Guide'] n. Acronym for `Bad-Ass Mother Fucker', used to   refer to one of the handful of nastiest monsters on an LPMUD or   other similar MUD. 
banana label is  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.
banana problem is  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 See: banana problem2
banana problem2 is  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} See: banana problem3
banana problem3 is  implementation.bandwidth n. 1. 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 See: banana problem4
banana problem4 is    bandwidth, I guess."  Compare {low-bandwidth}.  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. 
bang is  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 See: bang2
bang2 is  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 See: bang3
bang3 is  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} See: bang4
bang4 is  immediately after one has   been called on it. 
bang on is  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 to release."  The term   {pound on} is synonymous.
bang path is  n. 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 See: bang path2
bang path2 is  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 See: bang path3
bang path3 is  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 See: bang path4
bang path4 is  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}},   {network, the}, and {sitename}. 
banner is  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 See: banner2
banner2 is  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 See: banner3
banner3 is  and/or a copyright notice. 
bar is  /bar/ n. 1. 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}.
bare metal is  n. 1. 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 See: bare metal2
bare metal2 is  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 See: bare metal3
bare metal3 is  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   See: bare metal4
bare metal4 is  overlapping instructions (or, as in the famous case described 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 See: bare metal5
bare metal5 is  and machine resources have changed, but is still found in   heavily constrained environments such as industrial embedded systems.   See {real programmer}.   In the world of personal computing, bare metal programming (especially   in sense 1 but sometimes also in sense 2) is often See: bare metal6
bare metal6 is  considered a   {Good Thing}, or at least a necessary thing (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 See: bare metal7
bare metal7 is  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   are held in high regard. 
barf is  /barf/ [from mainstream slang meaning `vomit']   1. interj.  Term of disgust.  This is the closest hackish   equivalent of the Val\-speak "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 See: barf2
barf2 is  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.  May mean to give an error message.  Examples "The   division operation barfs if you try to divide by 0."  (That is,   the division See: barf3
barf3 is  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 See: barf4
barf4 is  Commonwealth hackish,   `barf' is generally replaced by `puke' or `vom'.  {barf}   is sometimes also used as a metasyntactic variable, like {foo} or   {bar}. 
barfulation is  /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?"
barfulous is  /bar'fyoo-l*s/ adj. (alt. `barfucious',   /bar-fyoo-sh*s/) Said of something that would make anyone barf,   if only for esthetic reasons.
baroque is  adj. 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 See: baroque2
baroque2 is  variations to its letterform output.   Now *that* is baroque!"  See also {rococo}. 
BartleMUD is  /bar'tl-muhd/ n. Any of the MUDs derived from the   original MUD game by Richard Bartle (see {MUD}).  BartleMUDs are   noted for their (usually slightly offbeat) humor, dry but friendly   syntax, and lack of adjectives in object descriptions, so a player   is likely to come across See: BartleMUD2
BartleMUD2 is  `brand172', for instance (see {brand   brand brand}).  Some MUDders intensely dislike Bartle and this   term, and prefer to speak of `MUD-1'. 
BASIC is  n. A programming language, originally designed for   Dartmouth's experimental timesharing system in the   early 1960s, which has since become the leading cause of   brain-damage in proto-hackers.  This is another case (like   {Pascal}) of the bad things that happen when a language   See: BASIC2
BASIC2 is  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 is (a) very   painful, and (b) encourages bad habits that will bite him/her later   if he/she tries to See: BASIC3
BASIC3 is  hack in a real language.  This wouldn't be so   bad if historical accidents hadn't made BASIC so common on low-end   micros.  As it is, it ruins thousands of potential wizards a year. 
batch is  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' See: batch2
batch2 is  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 See: batch3
batch3 is  electricity back on next   week..." 3. 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." 
bathtub curve is  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 See: bathtub curve2
bathtub curve2 is  `tires out'.  See also {burn-in   period}, {infant mortality}. 
baud is  /bawd/ [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 See: baud2
baud2 is  are aware of these nuances but blithely   ignore them. 
baud barf is  /bawd barf/ n. The garbage one gets on the monitor   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 See: baud barf2
baud barf2 is  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. 
baz is  /baz/ [Stanford corruption of {bar}] n. 1. The third   metasyntactic variable, after {foo} and {bar} and before   {quux} (or, occasionally, `qux'; or local idiosyncracies like   `rag', `zowie', etc.).  "Suppose we have three functions FOO,BAR, and BAZ.  FOO calls BAR, which calls See: baz2
baz2 is  BAZ...."   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'. 
bboard is  /bee'bord/ [contraction of `bulletin board'] n.   1. Any electronic bulletin board; esp. used of {BBS} systems   running on personal micros, less frequently of a USENET   {newsgroup} (in fact, use of the term for a newsgroup generally   marks one either as a {newbie} fresh in from the See: bboard2
bboard2 is  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 a old-fashioned, non-electronic cork memo board.  At CMU,   See: bboard3
bboard3 is  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 See: bboard4
bboard4 is  name alone, as in (at CMU) "Don't   post for-sale ads on general". 
BBS is  /B-B-S/ [acronym, `Bulletin Board System'] n. 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 group}s.  Thousands of local BBS systems are in   operation throughout the See: BBS2
BBS2 is  U.S., 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 tend to consider local BBSes   the low-rent district of the hacker culture, See: BBS3
BBS3 is  but they serve a   valuable function by knitting together lots of hackers and users in   the personal-micro world who would otherwise be unable to exchange   code at all. 
beam is  [from Star Trek Classic's "Beam me up, Scotty!"] vt. 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'.  Compare {blast}, {snarf}, {BLT}.
beanie key is  [Mac users] n. See {command key}.
beep is  n.,v. Syn. {feep}.  This term seems to be preferred among micro   hobbyists.
beige toaster is  n. A Macintosh. See {toaster}; compare   {Macintrash}, {maggotbox}.
bells and whistles is  [by analogy with the toyboxes on theater   organs] n. 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 See: bells and whistles2
bells and whistles2 is  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. 
bells, whistles, and gongs is  n. A standard elaborated form of   {bells and whistles}; typically said with a pronounced and ironic   accent on the `gongs'.
benchmark is  [techspeak] n. 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 See: benchmark2
benchmark2 is  SPECmark suite, and LINPACK.  See   also {machoflops}, {MIPS}. 
Berkeley Quality Software is  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 See: Berkeley Quality Software2
Berkeley Quality Software2 is  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}. 
berklix is  /berk'liks/ n.,adj. [contraction of `Berkeley UNIX'] See   {BSD}.  Not used at Berkeley itself.  May be more common among   {suit}s attempting to sound like cognoscenti than among hackers,   who usually just say `BSD'.
berserking is  vi. A {MUD} term meaning to gain points *only*   by killing other players and mobiles (non-player characters).   Hence, a Berserker-Wizard is a player character that has achieved   enough points to become a wizard, but only by killing other   characters.  Berserking is sometimes See: berserking2
berserking2 is  frowned upon because of its   inherently antisocial nature, but some MUDs have a `berserker   mode' in which a player becomes *permanently* berserk, can   never flee from a fight, cannot use magic, gets no score for   treasure, but does get double kill points.  "Berserker   See: berserking3
berserking3 is  wizards can seriously damage your elf!" 
Berzerkeley is  /b*r-zer'klee/ [from `berserk', via the name of a   now-deceased record label] n. 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 See: Berzerkeley2
Berzerkeley2 is  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. 
beta is  /bay't*/, /be't*/ or (Commonwealth) /bee't*/ n. 1. In   the {Real World}, software often goes through two stages of   testing Alpha (in-house) and Beta (out-house?).  Software is said   to be `in beta'.  2. Anything that is new and experimental is in   beta. "His girlfriend is in beta" See: beta2
beta2 is  means that he is still testing   for compatibility and reserving judgment.  3. Beta software is   notoriously buggy, so `in beta' connotes flakiness.   Historical note More formally, to beta-test is to test a   pre-release (potentially unreliable) version of a piece of software   by See: beta3
beta3 is  making it available to 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 See: beta4
beta4 is  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.  See: beta5
beta5 is  The C-test   (corresponding to today's beta) was the B-test performed on early   samples of the production design. 
BFI is  /B-F-I/ n. See {brute force and ignorance}.  Also   encountered in the variant `BFMI', `brute force and   *massive* ignorance'.
bible is  n. 1. One of a small number of fundamental source books   such as {Knuth} and {K&R}.  2. The most detailed and   authoritative reference for a particular language, operating   system, or other complex software system.
BiCapitalization is  n. The act said to have been performed on   trademarks (such as 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 See: BiCapitalization2
BiCapitalization2 is  really cute, even   the 2,317th time they do it.  Compare {studlycaps}. 
BIFF is  /bif/ [USENET] n. The most famous {pseudo}, and the   prototypical {newbie}.  Articles from BIFF are characterized by   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 See: BIFF2
BIFF2 is  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 na"ivet'e.  BIFF posts articles using his elder   brother's VIC-20.  BIFF's location is a mystery, as his articles See: BIFF3
BIFF3 is    appear to come from a variety of sites.  However, {BITNET} seems to   be the most frequent origin.  The theory that BIFF is a denizen of   BITNET is supported by BIFF's (unfortunately invalid) electronic   mail address BIFF@BIT.NET. 
biff is  /bif/ vt. To notify someone of incoming mail.  From the   BSD utility `biff(1)', which was in turn named after the   implementor's dog (it barked whenever the mailman came).  No   relation to {BIFF}.
Big Gray Wall is  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.  See: Big Gray Wall2
Big Gray Wall2 is  Recent (since VMS version 5) DEC   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}. 
big iron is  n. 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}.
Big Red Switch is  [IBM] n. 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 See: Big Red Switch2
Big Red Switch2 is  tune with the company's passion for   {TLA}s, this is often acronymized 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 See: Big Red Switch3
Big Red Switch3 is  power feed; the BRSes on   more recent machines 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}. 
the Big Room is  n. 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."
big win is  n. 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}.
big-endian is  [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] adj. 1. Describes a computer   architecture in which, within a given multi-byte numeric   representation, the most significant byte See: big-endian2
big-endian2 is  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 current in mid-1991,   are big-endian.  See {little-endian}, {middle-endian}, See: big-endian3
big-endian3 is  {NUXI   problem}.  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   See: big-endian4
big-endian4 is  decided to do it the other way round before the Internet domain   standard was established; e.g., me@uk.ac.wigan.cs.  Most gateway   sites have {ad-hockery} in their mailers to handle this, but can   still be confused.  In particular, the address above could be in the   U.K. See: big-endian5
big-endian5 is  (domain uk) or Czechoslovakia (domain cs). 
bignum is  /big'nuhm/ [orig. from MIT MacLISP] n. 1. [techspeak] A   multiple-precision computer representation for very large integers.   More generally, any very large number.  "Have you ever looked at   the United States Budget?  There's bignums for you!"   2. [Stanford] In backgammon, large See: bignum2
bignum2 is  numbers on the dice are called   `bignums', 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   See: bignum3
bignum3 is  integers are usually very limited in size; usually they must be   smaller than than 2^{31} (2,147,483,648) or (on a losing   {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 See: bignum4
bignum4 is  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). 
bigot is  n. 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}.  True bigots can be See: bigot2
bigot2 is  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 said "You can   tell a bigot, but you can't tell him much."  Compare   {weenie}. 
bit is  [from the mainstream meaning and `Binary digIT'] n.   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 See: bit2
bit2 is  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 See: bit3
bit3 is  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 See: bit4
bit4 is  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} See: bit5
bit5 is  or   `invert' a bit is to change it, either from 0 to 1 or from   1 to 0.  See also {flag}, {trit}, {mode bit}. 
bit bang is  n. Transmission of data on a serial line, when   accomplished by rapidly tweaking a single output bit 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 See: bit bang2
bit bang2 is  and output   at the same time) is one way to separate the real hackers from the   {wannabee}s.   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 See: bit bang3
bit bang3 is  instance of the   {cycle of reincarnation}, this technique is now (1991) coming   back into use on some RISC architectures because it consumes such   an infinitesimal part of the processor that it actually makes sense   not to have a UART. 
bit bashing is  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, See: bit bashing2
bit bashing2 is  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 See: bit bashing3
bit bashing3 is  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}. 
bit bucket is  n. 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 See: bit bucket2
bit bucket2 is  {/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 See: bit bucket3
bit bucket3 is  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 See: bit bucket4
bit bucket4 is  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 ended in the bit bucket."   Compare {black hole}.   This term is used purely See: bit bucket5
bit bucket5 is  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 See: bit bucket6
bit bucket6 is  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 See: bit bucket7
bit bucket7 is  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. 
bit decay is  n. See {bit rot}.  People with a physics background   tend to prefer this one for the analogy with particle decay.  See   also {computron}, {quantum bogodynamics}.
bit rot is  n. 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 See: bit rot2
bit rot2 is  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 See: bit rot3
bit rot3 is  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 See: bit rot4
bit rot4 is  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. 
bit twiddling is  n. 1. (pejorative) An exercise in {tuning} in   which incredible amounts of time and effort go to produce little   noticeable improvement, often with the result that the code has   become incomprehensible.  2. Aimless small modification to a   program, esp. for some pointless See: bit twiddling2
bit twiddling2 is  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. 
bit-paired keyboard is  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 See: bit-paired keyboard2
bit-paired keyboard2 is  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 See: bit-paired keyboard3
bit-paired keyboard3 is  more of a Rube Goldberg kluge than it   already was, the design had to group characters that shared the   same basic bit pattern on one key.   This is why the characters !"#$%&'() appear where they do on a   Teletype (thankfully, they didn't use shift-0 for space).  This See: bit-paired keyboard4
bit-paired keyboard4 is  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, See: bit-paired keyboard5
bit-paired keyboard5 is  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.  These See: bit-paired keyboard6
bit-paired keyboard6 is  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 See: bit-paired keyboard7
bit-paired keyboard7 is  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 See: bit-paired keyboard8
bit-paired keyboard8 is  `typewriter-paired' standard became universal,   `bit-paired' hardware was quickly junked or relegated to dusty   corners, and both terms passed into disuse. 
bitblt is  /bit'blit/ n. [from {BLT}, q.v.] 1. 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 See: bitblt2
bitblt2 is  the case of overlapping source and   destination rectangles is what makes BitBlt tricky).  2. Synonym   for {blit} or {BLT}.  Both uses are borderline techspeak. 
BITNET is  /bit'net/ [acronym Because It's Time NETwork] n.   Everybody's least favorite piece of the network (see {network,   the}).  The BITNET hosts are a collection of IBM dinosaurs and   VAXen (the latter with lobotomized comm hardware) that communicate   using 80-character {{EBCDIC}} card See: BITNET2
BITNET2 is  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 is also notorious as the apparent home   of {BIFF}. 
bits is  n.pl. 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; See: bits2
bits2 is  does anyone know where I can get the bits?".   See {softcopy}, {source of all good bits} See also {bit}. 
bitty box is  /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 for it.  Especially used of   small, obsolescent, single-tasking-only personal machines such as   the Atari 800, Osborne, See: bitty box2
bitty box2 is  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}. 
bixie is  /bik'see/ n. Variant {emoticon}s used on BIX (the Byte   Information eXchange).  The {smiley} bixie is <@_@>, apparently   intending to represent two cartoon eyes and a mouth.  A few others   have been reported.
black art is  n. 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 See: black art2
black art2 is  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 See: black art3
black art3 is  made both the term   `black art' and what it describes less common than formerly.  See   also {voodoo programming}. 
black hole is  n. When a piece of email or netnews disappears   mysteriously between its origin and destination sites (that is,   without returning a {bounce message}) it is commonly said to have   `fallen into a black hole'.  "I think there's a black hole at   foovax!" conveys suspicion that See: black hole2
black hole2 is  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.  Compare {bit bucket}. 
black magic is  n. 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).
blast is  1. vt.,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.  See: blast2
blast2 is  Blast them (y/n)?' would   appear in the command window upon logout. 
blat is  n. 1. Syn. {blast}, sense 1.  2. See {thud}.
bletch is  /blech/ [from Yiddish/German `brechen', to vomit, poss.   via comic-strip exclamation `blech'] interj.  Term of disgust.   Often used in "Ugh, bletch".  Compare {barf}.
bletcherous is  /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},   {bagbiter}, {bogus}, and {random}.  See: bletcherous2
bletcherous2 is  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   See: bletcherous3
bletcherous3 is  meaning than any of the above. 
blinkenlights is  /blink'*n-litz/ n. Front-panel diagnostic lights   on a computer, esp. a {dinosaur}.  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 See: blinkenlights2
blinkenlights2 is  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 See: blinkenlights3
blinkenlights3 is  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 See: blinkenlights4
blinkenlights4 is  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 See: blinkenlights5
blinkenlights5 is  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 See: blinkenlights6
blinkenlights6 is  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 See: blinkenlights7
blinkenlights7 is  astaunished        the blinkenlights.   See also {geef}. 
blit is  /blit/ vt. 1. 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 See: blit2
blit2 is  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. All-capitalized as `BLIT' an early experimental bit-mapped   terminal See: blit3
blit3 is  designed by Rob Pike at Bell Labs, later commercialized as   the AT&T 5620.  (The folk etymology from `Bell Labs Intelligent   Terminal' is incorrect.) 
blitter is  /blit'r/ n. 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 in 1991 the trend is away from   them (however, see {cycle of See: blitter2
blitter2 is  reincarnation}).  Syn. {raster   blaster}. 
blivet is  /bliv'*t/ [allegedly from a World War II military term   meaning "ten pounds of manure in a five-pound bag"] n. 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 See: blivet2
blivet2 is  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.   This term has other meanings in other technical cultures; among   experimental physicists and See: blivet3
blivet3 is  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 See: blivet4
blivet4 is  until one realizes that   the parts fit together in an impossible way. 
block is  [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."
block transfer computations is  n. From the television series   "Dr. Who", in which it referred to 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.
blow an EPROM is  /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 arises because the programming   process for the Programmable Read-Only Memories (PROMs) that   preceded present-day Erasable See: blow an EPROM2
blow an EPROM2 is  Programmable Read-Only Memories   (EPROMs) involved intentionally blowing tiny electrical fuses on   the chip.  Thus, one was said to `blow' (or `blast') a PROM, and   the terminology carried over even though the write process on   EPROMs is nondestructive. 
blow away is  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}.
blow out is  vi. Of software, to fail spectacularly; almost as serious   as {crash and burn}.  See {blow past}, {blow up}.
blow past is  vt. To {blow out} despite a safeguard.  "The server blew   past the 5K reserve buffer."
blow up is  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}.
BLT is  /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, See: BLT2
BLT2 is  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'. 
Blue Book is  n. 1. Informal name for one of the three 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 two official guides are See: Blue Book2
Blue Book2 is  known as the {Green Book} and   {Red Book}.  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 is also associated with green See: Blue Book3
Blue Book3 is  and red   books).  3. Any of the 1988 standards issued by the CCITT's   ninth plenary assembly.  Until now, they have changed color each review   cycle (1984 was {Red Book}, 1992 would be {Green Book}); however,   it is rumored that this convention is going to be dropped before See: Blue Book4
Blue Book4 is  1992.   These include, among other things, the X.400 email spec and   the Group 1 through 4 fax standards.  See also {{book titles}}. 
Blue Glue is  [IBM] n. 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 See: Blue Glue2
Blue Glue2 is  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 See: Blue Glue3
Blue Glue3 is  80 bottles   of the stuff hanging about, so they often refer to any messy work   to be done as `using the blue glue'. 
blue goo is  n. Term for `police' {nanobot}s 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.  See   {{nanotechnology}}.
BNF is  /B-N-F/ n. 1. [techspeak] Acronym for `Backus-Naur 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 See: BNF2
BNF2 is  from other hackers.  2. In   {{science-fiction fandom}}, BNF means `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. 
boa is  [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 See: boa2
boa2 is  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'. 
board is  n. 1. In-context synonym for {bboard}; sometimes used   even for USENET newsgroups.  2. An electronic circuit board   (compare {card}).
boat anchor is  n. 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.
bogo-sort is  /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 See: bogo-sort2
bogo-sort2 is  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."  Compare   {bogus}, {brute force}. 
bogometer is  /boh-gom'-*t-er/ n. See {bogosity}.  Compare the   `wankometer' described in the {wank} entry; see also   {bogus}.
bogon is  /boh'gon/ [by analogy with proton/electron/neutron, but   doubtless reinforced after 1980 by the similarity to Douglas   Adams's `Vogons'; see the Bibliography] n. 1. The elementary particle of   bogosity (see {quantum bogodynamics}).  For instance, "the   Ethernet is emitting bogons See: bogon2
bogon2 is  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, See: bogon3
bogon3 is  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   See: bogon4
bogon4 is  also {bogosity}, {bogus}; compare {psyton}. 
bogon filter is  /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}.
bogon flux is  /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}.
bogosity is  /boh-go's*-tee/ n. 1. The degree to which something is   {bogus}.  At CMU, 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 See: bogosity2
bogosity2 is  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 See: bogosity3
bogosity3 is  /mik`roh-len'*t/   (uL).   The consensus is that this is the largest unit practical   for everyday use.  2. The potential field generated by a {bogon   flux}; see {quantum bogodynamics}.  See also {bogon flux},   {bogon filter}, {bogus}.   Historical note The microLenat was invented See: bogosity4
bogosity4 is  as a attack against   noted computer scientist Doug Lenat by a {tenured graduate   student}.  Doug had failed the student on an important exam for   giving only "AI is bogus" as his answer to the questions.  The   slur is generally considered unmerited, but it has become a running   See: bogosity5
bogosity5 is  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. 
bogotify is  /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 See: bogotify2
bogotify2 is  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}. 
bogue out is  /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}.
bogus is  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 See: bogus2
bogus2 is  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 See: bogus3
bogus3 is  {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 See: bogus4
bogus4 is  word was first popularized (see   {autobogotiphobia} under {bogotify}). The word spread into   hackerdom from CMU and MIT.  By the early 1980s it was also   current in something like the hackish sense in West Coast teen   slang, and it had gone mainstream by 1985.  A correspondent from See: bogus5
bogus5 is    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". 
Bohr bug is  /bohr buhg/ [from quantum physics] n. A repeatable   {bug}; one that manifests reliably under a possibly unknown but   well-defined set of conditions.  Antonym of {heisenbug}; see also   {mandelbug}.
boink is  /boynk/ [USENET ascribed there to the TV series   "Cheers" and "Moonlighting"] 1. To have sex with;   compare {bounce}, sense 3. (This is mainstream slang.) In   Commonwealth hackish the variant `bonk' is more common.  2. After   the original Peter Korn `Boinkon' {USENET} parties, used See: boink2
boink2 is  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}. 
bomb is  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} (sense 2), where icons See: bomb2
bomb2 is  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 (see {guru}).  See: bomb3
bomb3 is  {{MS-DOS}} machines   tend to get {locked up} in this situation. 
bondage-and-discipline language is  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 See: bondage-and-discipline language2
bondage-and-discipline language2 is  general-purpose programming.  Often abbreviated   `B&D'; thus, one may speak of things "having the B&D nature".   See {{Pascal}}; oppose {languages of choice}. 
bonk/oif is  /bonk/, /oyf/ interj. In the {MUD} community, it has   become traditional to express pique or censure by `bonking' the   offending person.  There is a convention that one should   acknowledge a bonk by saying `oif!' and a myth to the effect that   failing to do so upsets the cosmic See: bonk/oif2
bonk/oif2 is  bonk/oif balance, causing much   trouble in the universe.  Some MUDs have implemented special   commands for bonking and oifing.  See also {talk mode},   {posing}. 
book titles is  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 See: book titles2
book titles2 is  {Aluminum Book}, {Blue Book},   {Cinderella Book}, {Devil Book}, {Dragon Book}, {Green   Book}, {Orange Book}, {Pink-Shirt Book}, {Purple Book},   {Red Book}, {Silver Book}, {White Book}, {Wizard Book},   {Yellow Book}, and {bible}.boot [techspeak; from `by one's bootstraps'] See: book titles3
book titles3 is  v.,n. 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 See: book titles4
book titles4 is  that the boot is a {bounce} 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   See: book titles5
book titles5 is  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 See: book titles6
book titles6 is  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 See: book titles7
book titles7 is  hard-boot this losing Sun." "I recommend booting it hard."   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 See: book titles8
book titles8 is  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 See: book titles9
book titles9 is  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, See: book titles10
book titles10 is  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. 
bottom-up implementation is  n. Hackish opposite of the techspeak term   `top-down design'.  It is now 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 See: bottom-up implementation2
bottom-up implementation2 is  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. 
bounce is  v. 1. [perhaps from the image of a thrown ball bouncing   off a wall] 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.   At the now-demolished {D. C. See: bounce2
bounce2 is  Power Lab} building used by the   Stanford AI Lab in the 1970s, there was 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 the   computer would become unavailable, and over the intercom a See: bounce3
bounce3 is  voice   would 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 Piglet's See: bounce4
bounce4 is  psychosexually loaded "Bounce on me   too, 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} users.   5. [IBM] To {power cycle} a peripheral in order to reset it. 
bounce message is  [UNIX] n. 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}).   Reasons might include a nonexistent or misspelled username or a   {down} relay site.  See: bounce message2
bounce message2 is  Bounce messages can themselves fail, with   occasionally ugly results; see {sorcerer's apprentice mode}.   The term `bounce mail' is also common. 
box is  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. [within IBM] Without See: box2
box2 is  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 See: box3
box3 is  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}, {fepped out}, {Blue   Glue}. 
boxed comments is  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   Common variants of this style omit the asterisks in See: boxed comments2
boxed comments2 is  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}. 
boxen is  /bok'sn/ [by analogy with {VAXen}] pl.n. 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.
boxology is  /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}.
bozotic is  /boh-zoh'tik/ or /boh-zo'tik/ [from the name of a TV   clown even more losing than Ronald McDonald] adj. Resembling or   having the quality of a bozo; that is, clownish, ludicrously wrong,   unintentionally humorous.  Compare {wonky}, {demented}.  Note   that the noun `bozo' occurs See: bozotic2
bozotic2 is  in slang, but the mainstream   adjectival form would be `bozo-like' or (in New England)   `bozoish'. 
BQS is  /B-Q-S/ adj. Syn. {Berkeley Quality Software}.
brain dump is  n. 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} See: brain dump2
brain dump2 is  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). 
brain-damaged is  1. [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 See: brain-damaged2
brain-damaged2 is  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*   See: brain-damaged3
brain-damaged3 is  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 commercial product it is   intended to sell.  Syn.  {crippleware}. 
brain-dead is  adj. 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!"
braino is  /bray'no/ n. Syn. for {thinko}.
branch to Fishkill is  [IBM from the location of one of the   corporation's facilities] n. Any unexpected jump in a program that   produces catastrophic or just plain weird results.  See {jump   off into never-never land}, {hyperspace}.
brand brand brand is  n. Humorous catch-phrase from {BartleMUD}s, in   which players were described carrying a list of objects, the most   common of which would usually be a brand.  Often used as a joke in   {talk mode} as in "Fred the wizard is here, carrying brand ruby   brand brand brand See: brand brand brand2
brand brand brand2 is  kettle broadsword flamethrower".  A brand is a   torch, of course; one burns up a lot of those exploring dungeons.   Prob. influenced by the famous Monty Python "Spam" skit. 
break is  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 (125 msec See: break2
break2 is  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) or delete does this.  5. `break break' may be said to   interrupt a conversation (this is an example of See: break3
break3 is  verb doubling). 
breath-of-life packet is  [XEROX PARC] n. An Ethernet packet that   contained bootstrap (see {boot}) code, periodically sent out   from a working computer to infuse the `breath of life' into any   computer on the network that had happened to crash.  The machines   had hardware or firmware that See: breath-of-life packet2
breath-of-life packet2 is  would wait for such a packet after a   catastrophic error. 
breedle is  n. See {feep}.
bring X to its knees is  v. 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}.
brittle is  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 expected external   stimuli; e.g., a file system See: brittle2
brittle2 is  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 commercially developed   software, which displays the quality far See: brittle3
brittle3 is  more often than it ought   to.  Oppose {robust}. 
broadcast storm is  n. 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}.
broken is  adj. 1. Not working properly (of programs).  2. Behaving   strangely; especially (when used of people) exhibiting extreme   depression.
broken arrow is  [IBM] n. 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 See: broken arrow2
broken arrow2 is  characters overstruck. In true   {luser} fashion, the original documentation of these codes   (visible on every 3270 terminal, and necessary for debugging   network problems) was confined to an IBM customer engineering   manual.   Note to appreciate this term fully, it helps to See: broken arrow3
broken arrow3 is  know that `broken   arrow' is also military jargon for an accident involving nuclear   weapons....  
broket is  /broh'k*t/ or /broh'ket`/ [by analogy with `bracket' a   `broken bracket'] n. 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.  See: broket2
broket2 is  (At MIT, and apparently   in the {Real World} as well, these are usually called {angle   brackets}.) 
Brooks's Law is  prov. "Adding manpower to a late software project   makes it later" --- a result of the fact that the advantage from   splitting work among N programmers is O(N) (that is,   proportional to N), but the complexity and communications   cost associated with coordinating and then See: Brooks's Law2
Brooks's Law2 is  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. See: Brooks's Law3
Brooks's Law3 is   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; too often, {management} does.  See also   {creationism}, {second-system effect}. 
BRS is  /B-R-S/ n. Syn. {Big Red Switch}.  This abbreviation is   fairly common on-line.
brute force is  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 na"ive methods suited   to small problems See: brute force2
brute force2 is  directly to large ones.   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 he or she See: brute force3
brute force3 is  visit   them 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   See: brute force4
brute force4 is  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 See: brute force5
brute force5 is  consider, and for   N = 1000 --- well, see {bignum}).  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   See: brute force6
brute force6 is  first number off the front.   Whether brute-force programming should be considered stupid or not   depends on the context; if the problem isn't too 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 See: brute force7
brute force7 is  `intelligent'   algorithm.  Alternatively, 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 See: brute force8
brute force8 is  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 See: brute force9
brute force9 is  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. 
brute force and ignorance is  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 it.  Characteristic of See: brute force and ignorance2
brute force and ignorance2 is  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}. 
BSD is  /B-S-D/ n. [acronym for `Berkeley System Distribution'] a   family of {{UNIX}} versions for the DEC {VAX} and PDP-11   developed by Bill Joy and others at {Berzerkeley} starting around   1980, incorporating paged virtual memory, TCP/IP networking   enhancements, and many other features.  See: BSD2
BSD2 is  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, and are   still widely popular.  See {{UNIX}}, {USG UNIX}. 
bubble sort is  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 See: bubble sort2
bubble sort2 is  is not very good relative to other   methods and is the one typically stumbled on by {na"ive} and   untutored programmers, hackers consider it the {canonical}   example of a na"ive algorithm.  The canonical example of a really   *bad* algorithm is {bogo-sort}.  A bubble sort See: bubble sort3
bubble sort3 is  might be used   out of ignorance, but any use of bogo-sort could issue only from   brain damage or willful perversity. 
bucky bits is  /buh'kee bits/ n. 1. obs. The bits produced by the   CONTROL and META shift keys on a SAIL keyboard, 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 See: bucky bits2
bucky bits2 is  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 is rumored See: bucky bits3
bucky bits3 is  that `bucky bits' were named for Buckminster Fuller   during a period when he was consulting at Stanford.  Actually,   `Bucky' was Niklaus Wirth's nickname when *he* was at   Stanford; he first suggested the idea of an EDIT key to set the   8th bit of an otherwise 7-bit ASCII See: bucky bits4
bucky bits4 is  character.  This was used in a   number of editors written at Stanford or in its environs (TV-EDIT   and NLS being the best-known).  The term spread to MIT and CMU   early and is now in general use.  See {double bucky},   {quadruple bucky}. 
buffer overflow is  n. What happens when you try to stuff more data   into a buffer (holding area) than it can handle.  This may be due   to a mismatch in the processing rates of the producing and   consuming processes (see {overrun}), or because the buffer is   simply too small to hold all the See: buffer overflow2
buffer overflow2 is  data that must accumulate before a   piece of it can be processed. For example, in a text-processing   tool that {crunch}es 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 See: buffer overflow3
buffer overflow3 is  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 See: buffer overflow4
buffer overflow4 is  phone my buffer is   going to overflow."  See also {spam}, {overrun screw}. 
bug is  n. An unwanted and unintended property of a program or 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 See: bug2
bug2 is  few bugs"  (i.e., Fred is a good   guy, but he has a few personality problems).   Historical note Some have said this term came from telephone   company usage, in which "bugs in a telephone cable" were blamed   for noisy lines, but this appears to be an incorrect folk   etymology.  See: bug3
bug3 is  Admiral Grace Hopper (an early computing pioneer better   known for inventing {COBOL}) liked to tell a story in which a   technician solved a persistent {glitch} in the Harvard Mark II   machine by pulling an actual insect out from between the   contacts of one of its relays, and she See: bug4
bug4 is  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 See: bug5
bug5 is  Naval   Surface Warfare Center.  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, 1945), reads "1545   Relay #70 See: bug6
bug6 is  Panel F (moth) in relay.  First actual case of bug being   found".  This wording seems to establish that the term was already in use   at the time in its current specific sense.  Indeed, the use of   `bug' to mean an industrial defect was already established in   Thomas Edison's time, See: bug7
bug7 is  and `bug' in the sense of an disruptive event   goes back to Shakespeare!  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 See: bug8
bug8 is  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!"   See: bug9
bug9 is  "What do you mean?  I don't see any ants in it."   "That's the bug."   [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 See: bug10
bug10 is  there.  While investigating this, 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 the History of American Technology Museum didn't   know this and agreed that it would make See: bug11
bug11 is  a worthwhile exhibit.   Thus, the process of investigating the original-computer-bug bug   may have fixed it in an entirely unexpected way, by making the myth   true!  --- ESR] 
bug-compatible is  adj. Said of a design or revision that has been   badly compromised by a requirement to be compatible with   {fossil}s or {misfeature}s 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 See: bug-compatible2
bug-compatible2 is  choice of / as an   option character in 1.0." 
bug-for-bug compatible is  n. Same as {bug-compatible}, with the   additional implication that much tedious effort went into ensuring   that each (known) bug was replicated.
buglix is  /buhg'liks/ n. Pejorative term referring to DEC's ULTRIX   operating system in its earlier *severely* buggy versions.   Still used to describe ULTRIX, but without venom.  Compare   {HP-SUX}.
bulletproof is  adj. Used of an algorithm or implementation considered   extremely {robust}; lossage-resistant; capable of correctly   recovering from any imaginable exception condition.  This is a rare   and valued quality.  Syn. {armor-plated}.
bum is  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."  2. To squeeze out excess; to remove   something in order to improve See: bum2
bum2 is  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 See: bum3
bum3 is  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   `bum' is a rude synonym for `buttocks'. 
bump is  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.
burble is  [from Lewis Carroll's "Jabberwocky"] v. 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."
buried treasure is  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 See: buried treasure2
buried treasure2 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!" 
burn-in period is  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 See: burn-in period2
burn-in period2 is  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}. 
burst page is  n. Syn. {banner}, sense 1.
busy-wait is  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, See: busy-wait2
busy-wait2 is  `busy-wait' means to wait on an event by   {spin}ning 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.  This   is a wasteful technique, best avoided on See: busy-wait3
busy-wait3 is  time-sharing systems where   a busy-waiting program may {hog} the processor. 
buzz is  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 you never get out   of catatonia, while a See: buzz2
buzz2 is  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 by applying an AC rather than DC signal. See: buzz3
buzz3 is   Some wire   faults will pass DC tests but fail a 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." 
BWQ is  /B-W-Q/ [IBM acronym, `Buzz Word Quotient'] The   percentage of buzzwords in a speech or documents.  Usually roughly   proportional to {bogosity}.  See {TLA}.
by hand is  adv. 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 See: by hand2
by hand2 is  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 See: by hand3
by hand3 is  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}. 
byte is  /bit/ [techspeak] n. 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 See: byte2
byte2 is  `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 originated in 1956 during the early   design phase for the IBM Stretch computer; See: byte3
byte3 is  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 term `byte' was   coined by See: byte4
byte4 is  mutating the word `bite' so it would not be accidentally   misspelled as {bit}.  See also {nybble}. 
bytesexual is  /bit`sek'shu-*l/ adj. 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}.*C n. 1. The third letter of the English alphabet.  2. ASCII   See: bytesexual2
bytesexual2 is  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; before Bjarne See: bytesexual3
bytesexual3 is  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 See: bytesexual4
bytesexual4 is  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 See: bytesexual5
bytesexual5 is  maintainability of assembly language". 
calculator is  [Cambridge] n. Syn. for {bitty box}.
can is  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 See: can2
can2 is  that the ASCII character with mnemonic CAN   (0011000) was used as a kill-job character on some early OSes. 
canonical is  [historically, `according to religious law'] adj. 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 See: canonical2
canonical2 is  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 See: canonical3
canonical3 is    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}.   This word has an interesting history.  Non-technical academics do   See: canonical4
canonical4 is  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 See: canonical5
canonical5 is  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.   These See: canonical6
canonical6 is  non-techspeak academic usages derive ultimately from the   historical meaning, specifically the classification of the books of   the Bible into two groups by Christian theologians.  The   `canonical' books were the ones widely accepted as Holy   Scripture and held to be of primary See: canonical7
canonical7 is  authority.  The   `deuterocanonical' books (literally `secondarily canonical';   also known as the `Apochrypha') were held to be of lesser   authority --- indeed they have been held in such low esteem that to   this day they are omitted from most Protestant bibles.   Hackers invest See: canonical8
canonical8 is  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 use   of jargon.  Over his loud objections, GLS and RMS made a point of   using it as much as possible See: canonical9
canonical9 is  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 See: canonical10
canonical10 is  `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'. 
card is  n. 1. An electronic printed-circuit board (see also {tall   card}, {short card}.  2. obs. Syn. {{punched card}}.
card walloper is  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}.
careware is  /keir'weir/ n. {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.
cargo cult programming is  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 See: cargo cult programming2
cargo cult programming2 is  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.  See: cargo cult programming3
cargo cult programming3 is  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 See: cargo cult programming4
cargo cult programming4 is  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). 
case and paste is  [from `cut and paste'] n. 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' See: case and paste2
case and paste2 is  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, See: case and paste3
case and paste3 is  implying that the programmer is acting   mindlessly rather than thinking carefully about what is required to   integrate the code for two similar cases. 
casters-up mode is  [IBM] n. Yet another synonym for `broken' or   `down'.
casting the runes is  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}, See: casting the runes2
casting the runes2 is  {examining the entrails}; also see   the AI koan about Tom Knight in appendix A. 
cat is  [from `catenate' via {{UNIX}} `cat(1)'] vt.   1. [techspeak] To spew an entire file to the screen or some other   output sink without pause.  2. By extension, to dump large amounts   of data at an unprepared target or with no intention of browsing it   carefully.  Usage considered silly. See: cat2
cat2 is   Rare outside UNIX sites.  See   also {dd}, {BLT}.   Among UNIX fans, `cat(1)' is considered an excellent example   of user-interface design, because it outputs the file contents   without such verbosity as spacing or headers between the files, and   because it does not require the files See: cat3
cat3 is  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.  This because it is more   often used to {blast} a file to standard output than to   concatenate two files.  The name See: cat4
cat4 is  `cat' for the former   operation is just as unintuitive as, say, LISP's {cdr}.   Of such oppositions are {holy wars} made.... 
catatonic is  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 See: catatonic2
catatonic2 is  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}. 
cdr is  /ku'dr/ or /kuh'dr/ [from LISP] vt. 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 See: cdr2
cdr2 is  elements  "Shall we   cdr down the agenda?"  Usage silly.  See also {loop through}.   Historical note The instruction format of the IBM 7090 that hosted   the original LISP implementation featured two 15-bit fields called   the `address' and `decrement' parts.  The term `cdr' was See: cdr3
cdr3 is  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 See: cdr4
cdr4 is  in which strings were   represented as linked lists; the get-character and skip-character   operations were of course called CHAR and CHDR. 
chad is  /chad/ n. 1. The perforated edge strips on printer paper, after   they have been separated from the printed portion.  Also called   {selvage} and {perf}.  2. obs. The confetti-like paper bits punched   out of cards or paper tape; this was also called `chaff', `computer   confetti', and See: chad2
chad2 is  `keypunch droppings'.   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  See: chad3
chad3 is   clear that if the Chadless keypunch didn't make them, then the   stuff that other keypunches made had to be `chad'. 
chad box is  n. {Iron Age} card punches contained boxes inside them,   about the size of a lunchbox (or in some models a large   wastebasket), that held the {chad} (sense 2).  You had to open   the covers of the card punch periodically and empty the chad box.   The {bit bucket} was notionally See: chad box2
chad box2 is  the equivalent device in the CPU   enclosure, which was typically across the room in another great   gray-and-blue box. 
chain is  [orig. from BASIC's `CHAIN' statement] vi. 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 See: chain2
chain2 is  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}. 
char is  /keir/ or /char/; rarely, /kar/ n. Shorthand for   `character'.  Esp. used by C programmers, as `char' is   C's typename for character data.
charityware is  /char'it-ee-weir`/ n. Syn. {careware}.
chase pointers is  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 See: chase pointers2
chase pointers2 is  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 dump   (interactively or on a large piece of paper printed with hex   {runes}) See: chase pointers3
chase pointers3 is  following dynamic data-structures.  Used only in a   debugging context. 
chemist is  [Cambridge] n. 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 See: chemist2
chemist2 is  actually studies chemistry. 
Chernobyl chicken is  n. See {laser chicken}.
Chernobyl packet is  /cher-noh'b*l pak'*t/ n. A network packet that   induces {network meltdown} (the result of a {broadcast storm}),   in memory of the 1987 nuclear accident at Chernobyl in the Ukraine.   The typical case of this is an IP Ethernet datagram that passes   through a gateway with See: Chernobyl packet2
Chernobyl packet2 is  both source and destination Ether and IP   address set as the respective broadcast addresses for the   subnetworks being gated between.  Compare {Christmas tree   packet}. 
chicken head is  [Commodore] n. The Commodore Business Machines logo,   which strongly resembles a poultry part.  Rendered in ASCII as   `C='.  With the arguable exception of the Amiga (see {amoeba}),   Commodore's machines are notoriously crocky little {bitty box}es   (see also {PETSCII}).  See: chicken head2
chicken head2 is  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'), in which a   `chickenhead' is a mutant with below-average intelligence. 
chiclet keyboard is  n. A keyboard with small 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 See: chiclet keyboard2
chiclet keyboard2 is  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. 
chine nual is  /sheen'yu-*l/ [MIT] n.,obs. The Lisp Machine Manual, so   called because the title was wrapped around the cover so only those   letters showed on the front.
Chinese Army technique is  n. Syn. {Mongolian Hordes technique}.
choke is  v. 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 `#define's."   See {barf}, {gag}, {vi}.
chomp is  vi. To {lose}; specifically, to chew on something of   which more was bitten off than one can.  Probably related to   gnashing of teeth.  See {bagbiter}.  A hand gesture commonly   accompanies this.  To perform it, hold the four fingers   together and place the thumb against their See: chomp2
chomp2 is  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   See: chomp3
chomp3 is  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.  See: chomp4
chomp4 is  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. 
chomper is  n. Someone or something that is chomping; a loser.  See   {loser}, {bagbiter}, {chomp}.
Christmas tree is  n. A kind of RS-232 line tester or breakout box   featuring rows of blinking red and green LEDs suggestive of   Christmas lights.
Christmas tree packet is  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.)
chrome is  [from automotive slang via wargaming] n. 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 See: chrome2
chrome2 is  that the latter are usually   added to gratify developers' own desires for featurefulness.    Often used as a term of contempt. 
chug is  vi. To run slowly; to {grind} or {grovel}.  "The disk is   chugging like crazy."
Church of the SubGenius is  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 See: Church of the SubGenius2
Church of the SubGenius2 is  "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'. 
Cinderella Book is  [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 See: Cinderella Book2
Cinderella Book2 is  coming out of it.  The back cover depicts the   girl with the device in shambles after she has pulled on the rope.   See also {{book titles}}. 
CI$ is  // n. Hackerism for `CIS', CompuServe Information Service.   The dollar sign refers to CompuServe's rather steep line charges.  Often   used in {sig block}s just before a CompuServe address.  Syn.   {Compu$erve}.
Classic C is  /klas'ik C/ [a play on `Coke Classic'] n. 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'.  See: Classic C2
Classic C2 is  This 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 See: Classic C3
Classic C3 is  versions are considered   serious losers relative to the older ones. 
clean is  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' See: clean2
clean2 is  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." 
CLM is  /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, See: CLM2
CLM2 is  discovered by a   customer and obviously missed earlier because of poor testing   "That's a CLM bug!" 
clobber is  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}.
clocks is  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 See: clocks2
clocks2 is  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}. 
clone is  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 See: clone2
clone2 is  likely violating   copyright, patent, or trade secret protections "Your   product is a clone of my product."  This use implies legal   action is pending.  4. A `PC clone'; a PC-BUS/ISA or   EISA-compatible 80x86-based microcomputer (this use is sometimes   spelled `klone' or `PClone'). See: clone3
clone3 is   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   See: clone4
clone4 is  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". 
clover key is  [Mac users] n. See {command key}.
clustergeeking is  /kluh'st*r-gee`king/ [CMU] n.  Spending more time   at a computer cluster doing CS homework than most people spend   breathing.
COBOL is  /koh'bol/ [COmmon Business-Oriented Language] n.   (Synonymous with {evil}.)  A weak, verbose, and flabby language   used by {card walloper}s to do boring mindless things on   {dinosaur} mainframes.  Hackers believe all COBOL programmers   are {suit}s or {code grinder}s, and no See: COBOL2
COBOL2 is  self-respecting hacker   will ever admit to having learned the language.  Its very name is   seldom uttered without ritual expressions of disgust or horror.   See also {fear and loathing}, {software rot}. 
COBOL fingers is  /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; thus it is   alleged that programming too much in COBOL causes one's fingers to   wear down to stubs by the See: COBOL fingers2
COBOL fingers2 is  endless typing.  "I refuse to type in   all that source code again; it would give me COBOL fingers!" 
code grinder is  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 his   native habitat, the code grinder often removes the suit jacket to   reveal an underplumage See: code grinder2
code grinder2 is  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 you can get and still See: code grinder3
code grinder3 is  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 See: code grinder4
code grinder4 is  imagination.   Compare {card walloper}; contrast {hacker}, {real   programmer}. 
code police is  [by analogy with George Orwell's `thought police'] n.   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 See: code police2
code police2 is  violation is dangerous, or ironically, to suggest   that the practice under discussion is condemned mainly by   anal-retentive {weenie}s.  "Dike out that goto or the code   police will get you!"  The ironic usage is perhaps more common. 
codewalker is  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.  See: codewalker2
codewalker2 is  As in "This new `vgrind' feature would require a   codewalker to implement." 
coefficient of X is  n. Hackish speech makes rather heavy use of   pseudo-mathematical metaphors.  Four particularly important ones   involve the terms `coefficient', `factor', `index', and   `quotient'.  They are often loosely applied to things you   cannot really be quantitative about, but See: coefficient of X2
coefficient of X2 is  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   See: coefficient of X3
coefficient of X3 is  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 See: coefficient of X4
coefficient of X4 is  "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 See: coefficient of X5
coefficient of X5 is  `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 See: coefficient of X6
coefficient of X6 is  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 See: coefficient of X7
coefficient of X7 is  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'. 
cokebottle is  /kohk'bot-l/ n. Any very unusual character,   particularly one you can't type because it 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 `altmode-altmode-cokebottle' See: cokebottle2
cokebottle2 is    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 See: cokebottle3
cokebottle3 is  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 See: cokebottle4
cokebottle4 is  have   begun referring to this keystroke as `cokebottle'.  See also   {quadruple bucky}. 
cold boot is  n. See {boot}.
COME FROM is  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 See: COME FROM2
COME FROM2 is  FROM'.  `COME FROM' was first proposed in a   {Datamation} article of December 1973 (reprinted in the April 1984   issue of `Communications of the ACM') that parodied the   then-raging `structured programming' {holy wars} (see   {considered harmful}).  Mythically, some variants are See: COME FROM3
COME FROM3 is  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 See: COME FROM4
COME FROM4 is  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 See: COME FROM5
COME FROM5 is  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 See: COME FROM6
COME FROM6 is  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 See: COME FROM7
COME FROM7 is  all,   control will eventually pass to the following statement.  The   implementation of the general form was left to Univac FORTRAN,   ca. 1975.  The statement `AT 100' would perform a `COME   FROM 100'.  It was intended strictly as a debugging aid, with dire   consequences See: COME FROM8
COME FROM8 is  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 See: COME FROM9
COME FROM9 is  15 years later, in C-INTERCAL (see {INTERCAL},   {retrocomputing}); knowledgeable observers are still reeling   from the shock. 
comm mode is  /kom mohd/ [ITS from the feature supporting on-line   chat; the term may spelled with one or two m's] Syn. for {talk   mode}.
command key is  [Mac users] n. 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), or   {splat}.  The Mac's equivalent of an {ALT} key. See: command key2
command key2 is   The   proliferation of terms for this creature may illustrate one subtle   peril of iconic interfaces. 
comment out is  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 you want to leave   it in the source to make See: comment out2
comment out2 is  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. 
Commonwealth Hackish is  n. Hacker jargon as spoken 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/.  See: Commonwealth Hackish2
Commonwealth Hackish2 is  Dots in {newsgroup}   names tend to be pronounced more often (so soc.wibble is /sok dot   wib'l/ rather than /sohsh wib'l/).  The prefix {meta} may be   pronounced /mee't*/; similarly, Greek letter beta is often   /bee't*/, zeta is often /zee't*/, and so forth.  See: Commonwealth Hackish3
Commonwealth Hackish3 is  Preferred   metasyntactic variables include `eek', `ook',   `frodo', and `bilbo'; `wibble', `wobble', and   in emergencies `wubble'; `banana', `wombat',   `frog', {fish}, and so on and on (see {foo}, sense 4).   Alternatives to verb doubling include suffixes `-o-rama',   See: Commonwealth Hackish4
Commonwealth Hackish4 is  `frenzy' (as in feeding frenzy), and `city' (examples "barf   city!" "hack-o-rama!" "core dump frenzy!").  Finally, note   that the American terms `parens', `brackets', and `braces' for (),   [], and {} are uncommon; Commonwealth hackish prefers   `brackets', `square See: Commonwealth Hackish5
Commonwealth Hackish5 is  brackets', and `curly brackets'.  Also, the   use of `pling' for {bang} is common outside the United States.   See also {attoparsec}, {calculator}, {chemist}, {console   jockey}, {fish}, {go-faster stripes}, {grunge}, {hakspek},   {heavy metal}, {leaky heap}, {lord high See: Commonwealth Hackish6
Commonwealth Hackish6 is  fixer}, {noddy},   {psychedelicware}, {plingnet}, {raster blaster}, {seggie},   {terminal junkie}, {tick-list features}, {weeble},   {weasel}, {YABA}, and notes or definitions under {Bad Thing},   {barf}, {bogus}, {bum}, {chase pointers}, {cosmic rays},   {crippleware}, See: Commonwealth Hackish7
Commonwealth Hackish7 is  {crunch}, {dodgy}, {gonk}, {hamster},   {hardwarily}, {mess-dos}, {nybble}, {proglet}, {root},   {SEX}, {tweak}, and {xyzzy}. 
compact is  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 See: compact2
compact2 is  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   {feature}s and {cruft} that don't merge cleanly into the   overall design scheme (thus, some fans of {Classic C} See: compact3
compact3 is  maintain   that ANSI C is no longer compact). 
compiler jock is  n. See {jock} (sense 2).
compress is  [UNIX] vt. When used without a qualifier, generally   refers to {crunch}ing of a file using a particular   C implementation of Lempel-Ziv compression by James A. Woods et al. and   widely circulated via {USENET}.  Use of {crunch} itself in this   sense is rare among UNIX hackers.
Compu$erve is  n. See {CI$}.
computer confetti is  n. Syn. {chad}.  Though this term is common,   this use of the 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 See: computer confetti2
computer confetti2 is  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. 
computer geek is  n. 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 See: computer geek2
computer geek2 is  hackers; compare black-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   {clustergeeking}, {geek out}, {wannabee}, {terminal   junkie}. 
computron is  /kom'pyoo-tron`/ n. 1. 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 See: computron2
computron2 is  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 See: computron3
computron3 is  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 See: computron4
computron4 is  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 See: computron5
computron5 is  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 See: computron6
computron6 is  other hardware.   (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'.) 
condition out is  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 are `#if   0' (or `#ifdef notdef', though some find this {bletcherous})   and `#endif' in C.  Compare {comment out}.
condom is  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 See: condom2
condom2 is  drive mechanisms attempt to access the disk --- and   can even fatally frustrate insertion.  2. The protective cladding   on a {light pipe}. 
connector conspiracy is  [probably came into prominence with the   appearance of the KL-10 (one model of the {PDP-10}), none of   whose connectors matched anything else] n. The tendency of   manufacturers (or, by extension, programmers or purveyors of   anything) to come up with new products See: connector conspiracy2
connector conspiracy2 is  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 See: connector conspiracy3
connector conspiracy3 is  parties out of   competition for the lucrative Massbus peripherals market.  This 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 See: connector conspiracy4
connector conspiracy4 is  drives with low   capacity and high power requirements.   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}. 
cons is  /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 See: cons2
cons2 is  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 See: cons3
cons3 is  think   of it as a sort of universal constructor, and that is where the   jargon meanings spring from. 
considered harmful is  adj. 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.  Amusingly, the ACM considered the resulting   acrimony sufficiently harmful that it will (by See: considered harmful2
considered harmful2 is  policy) no longer   print an article taking so assertive a position against a coding   practice.  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 See: considered harmful3
considered harmful3 is    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). 
console is  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 See: console2
console2 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 See: console3
console3 is  character-only terminals talking   to a serial port).  Typically only the console can do real graphics   or run {X}.  See also {CTY}. 
console jockey is  n. See {terminal junkie}.
content-free is  [by analogy with techspeak `context-free'] adj.   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 See: content-free2
content-free2 is  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}.  See: content-free3
content-free3 is  "He gave a talk on   the implications of electronic networks for postmodernism and the   fin-de-siecle aesthetic.  It was content-free." 
control-C is  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!"
control-O is  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 See: control-O2
control-O2 is  who is flaming.  Considered silly. 
control-Q is  vi. "Resume."  From the ASCII XON character used to   undo a previous control-S (in fact it is also pronounced   XON /X-on/).
control-S is  vi. "Stop talking for a second."  From the ASCII XOFF   character (this is also pronounced XOFF /X-of/).  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 See: control-S2
control-S2 is  listen to him --- as opposed to   control-O, which has more of the meaning of "Shut up."  Considered   silly. 
Conway's Law is  prov. The rule that the organization of the software and   the organization of the software team will be congruent; originally   stated as "If you have four groups working on a compiler, you'll   get a 4-pass compiler".   This was originally promulgated by Melvin Conway, an See: Conway's Law2
Conway's Law2 is  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. 
cookbook is  [from amateur electronics and radio] n. 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) which See: cookbook2
cookbook2 is  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 is analogous to the role  See: cookbook3
cookbook3 is   of phrasebooks in human languages. 
cookie is  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 See: cookie2
cookie2 is  later transaction to this one (so you get   the same clothes back).  Compare {magic cookie}; see also   {fortune cookie}. 
cookie bear is  n. Syn. {cookie monster}.
cookie file is  n. A collection of {fortune cookie}s in a format   that facilitates retrieval by a fortune program.  There are several   different ones in public distribution, and site admins often   assemble their own from various sources including this lexicon.
cookie monster is  [from "Sesame Street"] n. 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 See: cookie monster2
cookie monster2 is  "I WANT A COOKIE".  The   required responses ranged in complexity from "COOKIE" through   "HAVE A COOKIE" and upward.  See also {wabbit}. 
copper is  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.
copy protection is  n. A class of clever methods for preventing   incompetent pirates from stealing software and legitimate customers   from using it.  Considered silly.
copybroke is  /ko'pee-brohk/ adj. [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}.
copyleft is  /kop'ee-left/ [play on `copyright'] n. 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 See: copyleft2
copyleft2 is  copyright notice intended to   achieve similar aims. 
copywronged is  /ko'pee-rongd/ [play on `copyright'] adj. Syn. for   {copybroke}.
core is  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 See: core2
core2 is  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.  Commonwealth hackish   prefers {store}. 
core dump is  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.  See: core dump2
core dump2 is  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 See: core dump3
core dump3 is  one   knows about a topic, 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; syn.  {brain   dump}).  See {core}. 
core leak is  n. Syn. {memory leak}.
Core Wars is  n. A game between `assembler' programs in a   simulated machine, where the objective is to kill your opponent's   program by overwriting it.  Popularized by A. K. Dewdney's column   in `Scientific American' magazine, this was actually   devised by Victor Vyssotsky, Robert Morris, See: Core Wars2
Core Wars2 is  and Dennis Ritchie in   the early 1960s (their original game was called `Darwin' and ran on   a PDP-1 at Bell Labs).  See {core}. 
corge is  /korj/ [originally, the name of a cat] n. Yet another   meta-syntactic variable, invented by Mike Gallaher and propagated   by the {GOSMACS} documentation.  See {grault}.
cosmic rays is  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 See: cosmic rays2
cosmic rays2 is  {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 See: cosmic rays3
cosmic rays3 is  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 See: cosmic rays4
cosmic rays4 is  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 See: cosmic rays5
cosmic rays5 is    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 See: cosmic rays6
cosmic rays6 is  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   you have to design memories See: cosmic rays7
cosmic rays7 is  to withstand these hits. 
cough and die is  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."
cowboy is  [Sun, from William Gibson's {cyberpunk} SF] n. Synonym   for {hacker}.  It is reported that at Sun this word is often   said with reverence.
CP/M is  /C-P-M/ n. [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 See: CP/M2
CP/M2 is  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 See: CP/M3
CP/M3 is  systems such as   {{TOPS-10}}, OS/8, RSTS, and RSX-11.  See {{MS-DOS}},   {operating system}. 
CPU Wars is  /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 See: CPU Wars2
CPU Wars2 is  many references to {ADVENT} and   the immortal line "Eat flaming death, minicomputer mongrels!"   (uttered, of course, by an IPM stormtrooper).  It is alleged that   the author subsequently received a letter of appreciation on IBM   company stationery from the head of IBM's Thomas See: CPU Wars3
CPU Wars3 is  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}. 
cracker is  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.
crank is  [from automotive slang] vt. 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."
crash is  1. n. A sudden, usually drastic failure.  Most often said   of the {system} (q.v., sense 1), sometimes of magnetic disk   drives.  "Three {luser}s 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 See: crash2
crash2 is  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 See: crash3
crash3 is  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}. 
crash and burn is  vi.,n. A spectacular crash, in the mode of the   conclusion of the car-chase scene in the movie "Bullitt" and   many subsequent imitators.  Sun-3 monitors losing the flyback   transformer and lightning strikes on VAX-11/780 backplanes are   notable crash and burn generators.  See: crash and burn2
crash and burn2 is  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   See: crash and burn3
crash and burn3 is  would be inconvenienced. 
crawling horror is  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.  See: crawling horror2
crawling horror2 is  "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}. 
cray is  /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 See: cray2
cray2 is  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. 
cray instability is  n. 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.
crayola is  /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}.
crayon is  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. See: crayon2
crayon2 is  A {computron} (sense 2) that   participates only in {number-crunching}.  3. A unit of   computational power equal to that of a single Cray-1.  There is a   standard joke about this that derives from an old Crayola crayon   promotional gimmick When you buy 64 crayons you get a free   sharpener. 
creationism is  n. The (false) belief that large, innovative 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 See: creationism2
creationism2 is  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 See: creationism3
creationism3 is  planning models   beloved of {management}, they are generally ignored. 
creeping elegance is  n. Describes a tendency for parts of a design to   become {elegant} past the point of diminishing return.  This   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 See: creeping elegance2
creeping elegance2 is  {creeping featurism}, {second-system   effect}, {tense}. 
creeping featurism is  /kree'ping fee'chr-izm/ n. 1. Describes a   systematic tendency to load more {chrome} and {feature}s 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 See: creeping featurism2
creeping featurism2 is  {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 See: creeping featurism3
creeping featurism3 is  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 See: creeping featurism4
creeping featurism4 is    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}. 
creeping featuritis is  /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 See: creeping featuritis2
creeping featuritis2 is  designers' minds.  (After   all, -ism means `condition' or `pursuit of', whereas -itis usually   means `inflammation of'.) 
cretin is  /kret'n/ 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   /kre'tn/ over standard American /kree'tn/; it is thought this may   be due to the See: cretin2
cretin2 is  insidious phonetic influence of Monty Python's Flying   Circus. 
cretinous is  /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' (see   {bagbiter}), {losing}, {brain-damaged}.
crippleware is  n. 1. Software that has some important functionality   deliberately removed, so as to entice potential users to pay for a   working version.  2. [Cambridge] {Guiltware} that exhorts you to   donate to some charity (compare {careware}).  3. Hardware   deliberately crippled, which See: crippleware2
crippleware2 is  can be upgraded to a more expensive   model by a trivial change (e.g., cutting a jumper). 
critical mass is  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.  When software achieves   critical mass, it can only See: critical mass2
critical mass2 is  be discarded and rewritten. 
crlf is  /ker'l*f/, sometimes /kru'l*f/ or /C-R-L-F/ n. (often   capitalized as `CRLF') A carriage return (CR) followed by a line   feed (LF).  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 See: crlf2
crlf2 is  {{UNIX}} influence this usage   has become less common (UNIX uses a bare line feed as its `CRLF'). 
crock is  [from the obvious mainstream scatologism] n. 1. An awkward   feature or programming technique that ought to be made cleaner.   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 See: crock2
crock2 is  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   depending on the machine opcodes having particular bit patterns so   that you can use instructions as data words too; a See: crock3
crock3 is  tightly woven,   almost completely unmodifiable structure.  See {kluge},   {brittle}.  Also in the adjectives `crockish' and   `crocky', and the nouns `crockishness' and `crockitude'. 
cross-post is  [USENET] vi. 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 (this is very bad form).  Gratuitous cross-posting   without a Followup-To See: cross-post2
cross-post2 is  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. 
crudware is  /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!"
cruft is  /kruhft/ [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', See: cruft2
cruft2 is  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.   Esp. used of redundant or superseded code. 
cruft together is  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 See: cruft together2
cruft together2 is  together}, {hack up}, {kluge up},   {crufty}. 
cruftsmanship is  /kruhfts'm*n-ship / n. [from {cruft}] The   antithesis of craftsmanship.
crufty is  /kruhf'tee/ [origin unknown; poss. from `crusty' or   `cruddy'] adj. 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 See: crufty2
crufty2 is  `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. See: crufty3
crufty3 is  (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)." 
crumb is  n. Two binary digits; a {quad}.  Larger than a {bit},   smaller than a {nybble}.  Considered silly.  Syn. {tayste}.
crunch is  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 See: crunch2
crunch2 is  {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 like a paper document   would if somebody crunched the paper into a See: crunch3
crunch3 is  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}.   See: crunch4
crunch4 is  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 See: crunch5
crunch5 is  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. 
cruncha cruncha cruncha is  /kruhn'ch* kruhn'ch* kruhn'ch*/ interj.   An encouragement sometimes muttered to a machine bogged down in a   serious {grovel}.  Also describes a notional sound made by   groveling hardware.  See {wugga wugga}, {grind} (sense 3).
cryppie is  /krip'ee/ n. A cryptographer.  One who hacks or implements   cryptographic software or hardware.
CTSS is  /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 See: CTSS2
CTSS2 is  and to express some basic   differences in philosophy about the way I/O services should be   presented to user programs. 
CTY is  /sit'ee/ or /C-T-Y/ n. [MIT] The terminal physically   associated with a computer's system {{console}}.  The term is a   contraction of `Console {tty}', that is, `Console TeleTYpe'.   This {{ITS}}- and {{TOPS-10}}-associated term has become less   common, as most UNIX hackers simply See: CTY2
CTY2 is  refer to the CTY as `the   console'. 
cube is  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).
cubing is  [parallel with `tubing'] vi. 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).
cursor dipped in X is  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 See: cursor dipped in X2
cursor dipped in X2 is  composing on-line).  "Talk about a {nastygram}!  He   must've had his cursor dipped in acid when he wrote that one!" 
cuspy is  /kuhs'pee/ [WPI from the DEC acronym CUSP, for `Commonly   Used System Program', i.e., a utility program used by many people]   adj. 1. (of a program) Well-written.  2. Functionally excellent.  A   program that performs well and interfaces well to users is cuspy.   See {rude}.  3. See: cuspy2
cuspy2 is  [NYU] Said of an attractive woman, especially one   regarded as available.  Implies a certain curvaceousness. 
cut a tape is  [poss. fr. mainstream `cut a check' or from the   recording industry's `cut a record'] vi. To write a software or   document distribution on magnetic tape for shipment.  Has nothing   to do with physically cutting the medium!  Though this usage is   quite widespread, one never See: cut a tape2
cut a tape2 is  speaks of analogously `cutting a disk'   or anything else in this sense. 
cybercrud is  /si'ber-kruhd/ [coined by Ted Nelson] n. Obfuscatory   tech-talk.  Verbiage with a high {MEGO} factor.  The computer   equivalent of bureaucratese.
cyberpunk is  /si'ber-puhnk/ [orig. by SF writer Bruce Bethke and/or   editor Gardner Dozois] n.,adj. 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) to John See: cyberpunk2
cyberpunk2 is  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 na"ive and See: cyberpunk3
cyberpunk3 is  tremendously stimulating.   Gibson's work was widely imitated, in particular by the short-lived   but innovative "Max Headroom" TV series.  See {cyberspace},   {ice}, {go flatline}. 
cyberspace is  /si'ber-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.  At the time of this writing (mid-1991),   serious efforts to construct {virtual See: cyberspace2
cyberspace2 is  reality} interfaces   modeled explicitly on Gibsonian cyberspace are already 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 See: cyberspace3
cyberspace3 is  network   (see {network, the}).  2. 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 See: cyberspace4
cyberspace4 is  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. 
cycle is  1. n. The basic unit of computation.  What every hacker   wants more of (noted hacker Bill Gosper describes 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 See: cycle2
cycle2 is  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   See: cycle3
cycle3 is  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, See: cycle4
cycle4 is  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}, {120 reset}; from the   phrase `cycle power'. "Cycle See: cycle5
cycle5 is  the machine again, that serial port's   still hung." 
cycle crunch is  n. A situation where the number of people trying to   use the 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 is an inevitable   result of Parkinson's Law See: cycle crunch2
cycle crunch2 is  applied to timesharing.  Usually the only   solution is to buy more computer.  Happily, this has rapidly become   easier in recent years, so much so that the very term `cycle   crunch' now has a faintly archaic flavor; most hackers now use   workstations or personal computers as See: cycle crunch3
cycle crunch3 is  opposed to traditional   timesharing systems. 
cycle drought is  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.  See: cycle drought2
cycle drought2 is  There will be a cycle drought   until it's fixed." 
cycle of reincarnation is  [coined by Ivan Sutherland ca. 1970] n.   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 See: cycle of reincarnation2
cycle of reincarnation2 is  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 See: cycle of reincarnation3
cycle of reincarnation3 is  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. 
cycle server is  n. A powerful machine that exists primarily for   running large {batch} jobs.  Implies that interactive tasks such as   editing are done on other machines on the network, such as   workstations.*D.C. Power Lab n. The former site of {{SAIL}}.  Hackers thought   this was very See: cycle server2
cycle server2 is  funny because the obvious connection to electrical   engineering was nonexistent --- the lab was named for a Donald C.   Power.  Compare {Marginal Hacks}. 
daemon is  /day'mn/ or /dee'mn/ [from the mythological meaning,   later rationalized as the acronym `Disk And Execution MONitor'] n.   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 See: daemon2
daemon2 is  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 See: daemon3
daemon3 is  print the file.  The advantage is   that programs wanting (in this example) files printed need not   compete for access to 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, See: daemon4
daemon4 is  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 See: daemon5
daemon5 is  ITS called a {dragon}.  Although the   meaning and the pronunciation have drifted, we think this glossary   reflects current (1991) usage. 
dangling pointer is  n. 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 is because it   formerly pointed to something that has moved or disappeared.  Used   as jargon in a generalization See: dangling pointer2
dangling pointer2 is  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. 
Datamation is  /day`t*-may'sh*n/ n. A magazine that many hackers   assume all {suit}s read.  Used to question an unbelieved quote,   as in "Did you read that in `Datamation?'" It used to   publish something hackishly funny every once in a while, like the   original paper on {COME FROM} in 1973, See: Datamation2
Datamation2 is  but it has since become much   more exclusively {suit}-oriented and boring. 
day mode is  n. See {phase} (sense 1).  Used of people only.
dd is  /dee-dee/ [UNIX from IBM {JCL}] vt. Equivalent to {cat}   or {BLT}.  This was originally the name of a UNIX copy command   with special options suitable for block-oriented devices.  Often   used in heavy-handed system maintenance, as in "Let's dd the root   partition onto a tape, then use See: dd2
dd2 is  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 a similar DD command); though the command   filled a need, the interface design was clearly a prank.  See: dd3
dd3 is  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).  Replaced by   {BLT} or simple English `copy'. 
DDT is  /D-D-T/ n. 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 See: DDT2
DDT2 is  names of individual programs like   `dbx', `adb', `gdb', or `sdb'.  2. [ITS] Under   MIT's fabled {{ITS}} operating system, DDT (running under the alias   HACTRN) was also used as the {shell} or top level command   language used to execute other programs.  3. Any one of several   See: DDT3
DDT3 is  specific DDTs (sense 1) supported on early DEC hardware.  The DEC   PDP-10 Reference Handbook (1969) contained a footnote on the first   page of the documentation for DDT which illuminates the origin of   the term     Historical footnote DDT was developed at MIT for the PDP-1     See: DDT4
DDT4 is  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 See: DDT5
DDT5 is  used, the more descriptive name "Dynamic Debugging     Technique" has been adopted, retaining the DDT acronym.  Confusion     between DDT-10 and another well known pesticide,     dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (C14-H9-Cl5) should be minimal     since each attacks a different, and See: DDT6
DDT6 is  apparently mutually exclusive,     class of bugs.   Sadly, this quotation was removed from later editions of the   handbook after the {suit}s took over and DEC became much more   `businesslike'. 
de-rezz is  /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' See: de-rezz2
de-rezz2 is  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. On a Macintosh, many   program structures (including the code itself) See: de-rezz3
de-rezz3 is  are managed in small   segments of the program file known as `resources'. The standard   resource compiler is Rez.  The standard resource decompiler is   DeRez.  Thus, decompiling a resource is `derezzing'.  Usage very   common. 
dead code is  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 See: dead code2
dead code2 is  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.  Syn.   {grunge}. 
DEADBEEF is  /ded-beef/ n. The hexadecimal word-fill pattern for   freshly allocated memory (decimal -21524111) under a number of   IBM environments, including the RS/6000.  As in "Your program is   DEADBEEF" (meaning gone, aborted, flushed from memory); if you   start from an odd half-word See: DEADBEEF2
DEADBEEF2 is  boundary, of course, you have   BEEFDEAD. 
deadlock is  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 See: deadlock2
deadlock2 is  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 See: deadlock3
deadlock3 is  properly used for   situations where a program can never run simply because it never   gets high enough priority.  Another common flavor is   `constipation', where each process is trying to send stuff to   the other but all buffers are full because nobody is reading   anything.)  See: deadlock4
deadlock4 is  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 See: deadlock5
deadlock5 is  they always both move the same   way at the same time. 
deadly embrace is  n. Same as {deadlock}, though usually used only when   exactly 2 processes are involved.  This is the more popular term in   Europe, while {deadlock} predominates in the United States.
Death Star is  [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 See: Death Star2
Death Star2 is  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' for an See: Death Star3
Death Star3 is  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. 
DEC Wars is  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 See: DEC Wars2
DEC Wars2 is  WARS"; the two are often confused. 
DEChead is  /dek'hed/ n. 1. A DEC {field servoid}.  Not flattering.   2. [from `deadhead'] A Grateful Dead fan working at DEC.
deckle is  /dek'l/ [from dec- and {nickle}] n. Two {nickle}s;   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.
deep hack mode is  n. See {hack mode}.
deep magic is  [poss. from C. S. Lewis's "Narnia" books] n. An   awesomely arcane technique central to a program or system, esp. one   not generally published and available to hackers at large (compare   {black art}); one that could only have been composed by a true   {wizard}.  Compiler See: deep magic2
deep magic2 is  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}. 
deep space is  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 See: deep space2
deep space2 is  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}. 
defenestration is  [from the traditional Czechoslovak method of   assassinating prime ministers, via SF fandom] n. 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 See: defenestration2
defenestration2 is  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 See: defenestration3
defenestration3 is  left."  "Well,   why don't you defenestrate that 100 megs worth of old core dumps?"   4. [proposed] The requirement to support a command-line interface.   "It has to run on a VT100."  "Curses!  I've been   defenestrated!" 
defined as is  adj. In the role of, usually in an organization-chart   sense.  "Pete is currently defined as bug prioritizer."  Compare   {logical}.
dehose is  /dee-hohz/ vt. To clear a {hosed} condition.
delint is  /dee-lint/ v. To modify code to remove problems detected   when {lint}ing.
delta is  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 See: delta2
delta2 is  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 See: delta3
delta3 is    {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 See: delta4
delta4 is  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 See: delta5
delta5 is  epsilon of   ---' that is, close to and even closer to. 
demented is  adj. Yet another term of disgust used to describe a   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 See: demented2
demented2 is  brink of imminent collapse.  Compare   {wonky}, {bozotic}. 
demigod is  n. A hacker with years of experience, a national 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 See: demigod2
demigod2 is  hacker community and have helped shape it.  Major   demigods include Ken Thompson and Dennis Ritchie (co-inventors of   {{UNIX}} and {C}) and Richard M. Stallman (inventor of   {EMACS}).  In their hearts of hearts, most hackers dream of   someday becoming demigods themselves, and See: demigod3
demigod3 is  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}. 
demo is  /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.
demo mode is  [Sun] n. 1. 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 there by themselves running   through a portion of the game, also known as `attract mode'.   Some serious {app}s have a demo mode See: demo mode2
demo mode2 is  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}). 
demon is  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 See: demon2
demon2 is  system.  Demons 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) See: demon3
demon3 is  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   See: demon4
demon4 is  whatever its primary task was.  2. [outside MIT] Often used   equivalently to {daemon} --- especially in the {{UNIX}} world,   where the latter spelling and pronunciation is considered mildly   archaic. 
depeditate is  /dee-ped'*-tayt/ [by (faulty) analogy with   `decapitate'] vt.  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 See: depeditate2
depeditate2 is  letters are said to have been depeditated. 
deprecated is  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.
deserves to lose is  adj. 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}!" See: deserves to lose2
deserves to lose2 is  ({{ITS}} fans used to say this   of {{UNIX}}; many still do.)  See also {screw}, {chomp},   {bagbiter}. 
desk check is  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.  See: desk check2
desk check2 is  Compare {eyeball search},   {vdiff}, {vgrep}. 
Devil Book is  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) --- the standard reference book on the internals   of {BSD} UNIX.  So called See: Devil Book2
Devil Book2 is  because the cover has 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). 
devo is  /dee'voh/ [orig. in-house jargon at Symbolics] n. A person in a   development group.  See also {doco} and {mango}.
dickless workstation is  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 See: dickless workstation2
dickless workstation2 is  disadvantages of distributed personal   computers. 
dictionary flame is  [USENET] n. 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.
diddle is  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: diddle2
diddle2 is  See also {tweak},   {twiddle}, {frob}. 
diff is  /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)' See: diff2
diff2 is  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.  See also {vdiff}, {mod}. 
digit is  n. An employee of Digital Equipment Corporation.  See also   {VAX}, {VMS}, {PDP-10}, {{TOPS-10}}, {DEChead}, {double   DECkers}, {field circus}.
dike is  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 See: dike2
dike2 is  increasing it.)  The word `dikes' is widely   used among mechanics and engineers to mean `diagonal cutters',   esp.  a heavy-duty metal-cutting device, but may also refer to a   kind of wire-cutters used by electronics techs.  To `dike   something out' means to use such cutters to See: dike3
dike3 is  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. 
ding is  n.,vi. 1. Synonym for {feep}.  Usage rare among hackers,   but commoner 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."
dink is  /dink/ n. 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 (BADOB) working on a CP/M system with 64K, in reference   to any 6502 system, See: dink2
dink2 is  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. 
dinosaur is  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 mainframe in the massive   IBM display with a See: dinosaur2
dinosaur2 is  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}. 
dinosaur pen is  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}.
dinosaurs mating is  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, See: dinosaurs mating2
dinosaurs mating2 is  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 See: dinosaurs mating3
dinosaurs mating3 is  Unisys (in 1984 --- this   was when the phrase `dinosaurs mating' was coined); and as this is   written AT&T is attempting to recover from a disastrously bad first   6 years in the hardware industry by absorbing NCR.  More such   earth-shaking unions of doomed giants seem inevitable. 
dirty power is  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.
Discordianism is  /dis-kor'di-*n-ism/ n. The veneration of   {Eris}, a.k.a. Discordia; widely popular among hackers.   Discordianism was popularized by Robert Anton Wilson's   `Illuminatus!' trilogy as a sort of self-subverting Dada-Zen   for Westerners --- it should on no account be taken See: Discordianism2
Discordianism2 is  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 See: Discordianism3
Discordianism3 is  theory/joke involving millennia-long warfare between the   anarcho-surrealist partisans of Eris and a malevolent,   authoritarian secret society called the Illuminati.  See   appendix B, {Church of the SubGenius}, and {ha ha only   serious}. 
disk farm is  n. (also {laundromat}) A large room or rooms filled   with disk drives (esp. {washing machine}s).
display hack is  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 See: display hack2
display hack2 is  hacks can also be   implemented without programming 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.  See: display hack3
display hack3 is  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}. 
Dissociated Press is  [play on `Associated Press'; perhaps inspired   by a reference in the 1949 Bugs Bunny cartoon "What's Up,   Doc?"] n.  An algorithm for transforming any text into potentially   humorous garbage even more efficiently than by passing it through a   {marketroid}.  You start by See: Dissociated Press2
Dissociated Press2 is  printing any N consecutive   words (or letters) in the text.  Then at every step you search for   any random occurrence in the original text of the last N   words (or letters) already printed and then print the next word or   letter.  {EMACS} has a handy command for this.  See: Dissociated Press3
Dissociated Press3 is  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 See: Dissociated Press4
Dissociated Press4 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 See: Dissociated Press5
Dissociated Press5 is  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 See: Dissociated Press6
Dissociated Press6 is  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 See: Dissociated Press7
Dissociated Press7 is  `travesty generators' have been employed with   considerable satirical effect to the utterances of USENET flamers;   see {pseudo}. 
distribution is  n. 1. A software source tree packaged for   distribution; but see {kit}.  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 See: distribution2
distribution2 is  correlated with   geography) to which propagation of a USENET message is restricted;   a much-underutilized feature. 
do protocol is  [from network protocol programming] vi. 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, See: do protocol2
do protocol2 is  collect money from everybody, generate   change as necessary, and pay the bill.  See {protocol}. 
doc is  /dok/ n. Common spoken and written shorthand for   `documentation'.  Often used in the plural `docs' and in the   construction `doc file' (documentation available on-line).
doco is  /do'koh/ [orig. in-house jargon at Symbolics] n. A   documentation writer.  See also {devo} and {mango}.
documentation is  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 See: documentation2
documentation2 is  terse and on-line.  A common comment on   this is "You can't {grep} dead trees".  See {drool-proof   paper}, {verbiage}. 
dodgy is  adj. Syn. with {flaky}.  Preferred outside the U.S.
dogcow is  /dog'kow/ n. See {Moof}.
dogwash is  /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. See: dogwash2
dogwash2 is   Many games and much {freeware} get   written this way. 
domainist is  /doh-mayn'ist/ adj. 1. 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, eric@snark.thyrsus.com specifies the machine   called snark in the subdomain called thyrsus See: domainist2
domainist2 is  within the   top-level domain called com.  See also {big-endian}, sense 2.   2. Said of a site, mailer, or routing program which knows how to   handle domainist addresses.  3. Said of a person (esp. a site   admin) who prefers domain addressing, supports a domainist mailer,   or See: domainist3
domainist3 is  prosyletizes for domainist addressing and disdains {bang   path}s.  This is now (1991) semi-obsolete, as most sites have   converted. 
Don't do that, then! is  [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}.
dongle is  /dong'gl/ n. 1. A security or {copy-protection} device   for commercial microcomputer programs 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 See: dongle2
dongle2 is  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 See: dongle3
dongle3 is  initially a failure, as   users disliked tying up a serial port this way.  Most dongles on   the market today (1991) will 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 See: dongle4
dongle4 is  --- this   innovation was necessary to allow daisy-chained dongles for   multiple pieces of software.  The devices are still not widely   used, as the industry has moved away from copy-protection schemes   in general.  2. By extension, any physical electronic key or   transferrable ID See: dongle5
dongle5 is  required for a program to function.  See   {dongle-disk}. 
dongle-disk is  /don'gl disk/ n. See {dongle}; a `dongle-disk'   is a floppy disk with some coding that allows an application to   identify it uniquely.  It can therefore be used as a {dongle}.   Also called a `key disk'.
donuts is  n.obs. A collective noun for any set of memory bits.  This 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.
doorstop is  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}.
dot file is  [UNIX] n. A file which is not visible 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 See: dot file2
dot file2 is  be optionally recorded; a user can   customize the program's behavior by creating the appropriate file in   the current or home directory.  See also {rc file}. 
double bucky is  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 See: double bucky2
double bucky2 is  {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   See: double bucky3
double bucky3 is  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 See: double bucky4
double bucky4 is  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 671-21036-X).   These lyrics were written on May 27, See: double bucky5
double bucky5 is  1978, in celebration of the   Stanford keyboard   See also {meta bit}, {cokebottle}, and {quadruple bucky}. 
double DECkers is  n. Used to describe married couples in which both   partners work for Digital Equipment Corporation.
doubled sig is  [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 See: doubled sig2
doubled sig2 is  experience in electronic   communication.  See {BIFF}, {pseudo}. 
down is  1. adj. Not operating.  "The up escalator is down" is   considered a humorous thing to say, 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   usage has passed into the See: down2
down2 is  mainstream; the extension to other kinds   of machine is still hackish.  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   "The system will go down in 5 minutes".  3. `take See: down3
down3 is  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}. 
download is  vt. To transfer data or (esp.) code from a larger `host'   system (esp. a {mainframe}) over a digital comm link to a smaller   `client' system, esp. a microcomputer or specialized peripheral.   Oppose {upload}.   However, note that ground-to-space communications has its own usage   See: download2
download2 is  rule for this term.  Space-to-earth transmission is always download   and the reverse upload regardless of the relative size of the   computers involved.  So far the in-space machines have invariably   been smaller; thus the upload/download distinction has been   reversed from its usual sense. 
DP is  /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}.
DPB is  /d*-pib'/ [from the PDP-10 instruction set] vt. 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 you to   sit in.  DPB means `DePosit Byte', and was See: DPB2
DPB2 is  the name of a PDP-10   instruction that inserts some bits into the middle of some other   bits.  This usage has been kept alive by the Common LISP function   of the same name. 
DPer is  /dee-pee-er/ n. Data Processor.  Hackers are absolutely   amazed that {suit}s use this term self-referentially.   "*Computers* process data, not people!"  See {DP}.
dragon is  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, See: dragon2
dragon2 is  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 See: dragon3
dragon3 is  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'. 
Dragon Book is  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 See: Dragon Book2
Dragon Book2 is  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; See: Dragon Book3
Dragon Book3 is  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 See: Dragon Book4
Dragon Book4 is  representation of the Red Dragon's head while the rest   of the beast extends back in normal space.  See also {{book   titles}}. 
drain is  [IBM] v. Syn. for {flush} (sense 2).  Has a connotation   of finality about it; one speaks of draining a device before taking   it offline.
dread high-bit disease is  n. A condition endemic to PRIME (a.k.a.   PR1ME) minicomputers that results in all the characters having   their high (0x80) bit ON rather than OFF.  This of course makes   transporting files to other systems much more difficult, not to   mention talking to true 8-bit See: dread high-bit disease2
dread high-bit disease2 is  devices.  It is reported that   PRIME adopted the reversed-8-bit convention in order to save   25 cents per serial line per machine.  This probably qualifies as one   of the most {cretinous} design tradeoffs ever made.  See {meta   bit}.   A few other machines See: dread high-bit disease3
dread high-bit disease3 is  (including the Atari 800) have exhibited   similar brain damage. 
DRECNET is  /drek'net/ [from Yiddish/German `dreck', meaning   dirt] n. 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) See: DRECNET2
DRECNET2 is  violated that spec in the design   of DRECNET in a way that made it incompatible.  See also   {connector conspiracy}. 
driver is  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   general, See: driver2
driver2 is  `driver' also means a program that translates some   device-independent or other common format to something a real   device can actually understand. 
droid is  n. A person (esp. a low-level bureaucrat or   service-business employee) exhibiting most of the following   characteristics (a) na"ive trust in the wisdom of the parent   organization or `the system'; (b) a propensity to believe   obvious nonsense emitted by authority figures (or See: droid2
droid2 is  computers!);   blind faith; (c) a rule-governed mentality, one unwilling or unable   to look beyond the `letter of the law' in exceptional   situations; and (d) no interest in fixing that which is broken; an   "It's not my job, man" attitude.   Typical droid positions include See: droid3
droid3 is  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.  This   becomes a problem when the software has not been See: droid4
droid4 is  properly debugged.   The term `droid mentality' is also used to describe the mindset   behind this behavior. Compare {suit}, {marketroid}; see   {-oid}. 
drool-proof paper is  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 See: drool-proof paper2
drool-proof paper2 is  from Apple's LaserWriter manual "Do not expose   your LaserWriter to open fire or flame." 
drop on the floor is  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 See: drop on the floor2
drop on the floor2 is  {black hole}, {bit bucket}. 
drop-ins is  [prob. by analogy with {drop-outs}] n. 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}.
drop-outs is  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   (this can happen under UNIX when a bad connection to a modem swamps   the processor with See: drop-outs2
drop-outs2 is  spurious character interrupts).  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}. 
drugged is  adj. (also `on drugs') 1. Conspicuously stupid,   heading toward {brain-damaged}.  Often accompanied by a   pantomime of toking a joint (but see appendix B).  2. Of hardware,   very slow relative to normal performance.
drunk mouse syndrome is  n. 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 See: drunk mouse syndrome2
drunk mouse syndrome2 is  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 See: drunk mouse syndrome3
drunk mouse syndrome3 is  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 See: drunk mouse syndrome4
drunk mouse syndrome4 is  declared `alcoholic' and sent to the clinic to be   dried out in a CFC ultrasonic bath. 
dumbass attack is  /duhm'as *-tak'/ [Purdue] n. 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}.
dumbed down is  adj. Simplified, with a strong connotation of   *over*simplified.  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}.
dump is  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 See: dump2
dump2 is  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 this uncommon, and the term `dump'   now has a faintly archaic flavor.  2. A See: dump3
dump3 is  backup.  This usage is   typical only at large timesharing installations. 
dup killer is  /d[y]oop kill'r/ [FidoNet] n. Software that is   supposed to detect and delete duplicates of a message that may   have reached the FidoNet system via different routes.
dup loop is  /d[y]oop loop/ (also `dupe loop') [FidoNet] n. An   incorrectly configured system or network gateway may propagate   duplicate messages on one or more {echo}es, with different   identification information that renders {dup killer}s   ineffective.  If such a duplicate message See: dup loop2
dup loop2 is  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}. 
dusty deck is  n. Old software (especially applications) which one is   obliged to remain compatible with (or to maintain).  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 See: dusty deck2
dusty deck2 is  of which was written in FORTRAN   and very poorly documented but is believed to be too expensive to   replace.  See {fossil}. 
DWIM is  /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. See: DWIM2
DWIM2 is  Occasionally, an interjection hurled at a   balky computer, esp. when one senses one might be tripping over   legalisms (see {legalese}).   Warren Teitelman originally wrote DWIM to fix his typos and   spelling errors, so it was somewhat idiosyncratic to his style, and   would often See: DWIM3
DWIM3 is  make hash of anyone else's typos if they were   stylistically different.  This led a number of victims of DWIM to   claim 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.  See: DWIM4
DWIM4 is  One day another hacker   there typed `delete *$' to free up some disk space.  (The editor   there named backup files by appending `$' to the original file   name, so he was trying to delete any backup files left over from   old editing sessions.)  It happened that there weren't any See: DWIM5
DWIM5 is  editor   backup files, so DWIM helpfully reported `*$ 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 hacker later See: DWIM6
DWIM6 is  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   See: DWIM7
DWIM7 is  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}. 
dynner is  /din'r/ 32 bits, by analogy with {nybble} and {{byte}}.  Usage rare and extremely silly.  See also {playte}, {tayste}, {crumb}.*earthquake [IBM] n. The ultimate real-world shock test for   computer hardware.  Hackish sources at IBM deny the rumor that the   Bay Area quake of 1989 was See: dynner2
dynner2 is  initiated by the company to test   quality-assurance procedures at its California plants. 
Easter egg is  n. 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 See: Easter egg2
Easter egg2 is  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 See: Easter egg3
Easter egg3 is  lists of the   developers' names, political exhortations, snatches of music, and   (in one case) graphics images of the entire development team. 
Easter egging is  [IBM] n. The act of replacing unrelated parts 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.  Compare {shotgun debugging}.
eat flaming death is  imp. A construction popularized among hackers by   the infamous {CPU Wars} comic; supposed to 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 See: eat flaming death2
eat flaming death2 is  reported that the Firesign Theater's   1975 album "In The Next World, You're On Your Own" included the   phrase "Eat flaming death, fascist media pigs"; this may have been   an influence).  Used in humorously overblown expressions of   hostility. "Eat flaming death, {{EBCDIC}} users!" 
EBCDIC is  /eb's*-dik/, /eb'see`dik/, or /eb'k*-dik/ [acronym,   Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code] n. An alleged   character set used on IBM {dinosaur}s.  It exists in at least six   mutually incompatible versions, all featuring such delights as   non-contiguous letter sequences See: EBCDIC2
EBCDIC2 is  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 See: EBCDIC3
EBCDIC3 is  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   See: EBCDIC4
EBCDIC4 is  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}. 
echo is  [FidoNet] n. A {topic group} on {FidoNet}'s echomail   system.  Compare {newsgroup}.
eighty-column mind is  [IBM] n. 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 See: eighty-column mind2
eighty-column mind2 is  `face down, 9-edge first' (the 9-edge being   the bottom of the card).  This directive is inscribed on IBM's   1422 and 1602 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 See: eighty-column mind3
eighty-column mind3 is  the console        Of hunger and thirst.        Next day he was buried,        Face down, 9-edge first.   The eighty-column mind is thought by most hackers to dominate IBM's   customer base and its thinking.  See {IBM}, {fear and   loathing}, {card walloper}. 
El Camino Bignum is  /el' k*-mee'noh big'nuhm/ n. The road   mundanely called El Camino Real, a road through the San Francisco   peninsula that originally extended all the way down to Mexico City   and many portions of which are still intact.  Navigation on the San   Francisco peninsula is See: El Camino Bignum2
El Camino Bignum2 is  usually done relative to El Camino Real,   which defines {logical} north and south even though it isn't   really north-south many places.  El Camino Real runs right past   Stanford University and so is familiar to hackers.   The Spanish word `real' (which has two syllables See: El Camino Bignum3
El Camino Bignum3 is  /ray-ahl'/)   means `royal'; El Camino Real is `the royal road'.  In the FORTRAN   language, a `real' quantity is a number typically precise to 7   significant digits, and a `double precision' quantity is a larger   floating-point number, precise to perhaps fourteen See: El Camino Bignum4
El Camino Bignum4 is  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 See: El Camino Bignum5
El Camino Bignum5 is  told that the road was hundreds of miles long, he renamed it   `El Camino Bignum', and that name has stuck.  (See {bignum}.) 
elder days is  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}.
elegant is  [from mathematical usage] adj. Combining simplicity, power,   and a certain ineffable grace of design.  Higher praise than   `clever', `winning', or even {cuspy}.
elephantine is  adj. Used of programs or systems that are both   conspicuous {hog}s (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 See: elephantine2
elephantine2 is  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 See: elephantine3
elephantine3 is  semi-humorous.  Compare   `has the elephant nature' and the somewhat more pejorative   {monstrosity}.  See also {second-system effect} and   {baroque}. 
elevator controller is  n. Another 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 See: elevator controller2
elevator controller2 is  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}. 
ELIZA effect is  /*-li'z* *-fekt'/ [AI community] n. 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.  See: ELIZA effect2
ELIZA effect2 is  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, which simulated a   Rogerian psychoanalyst by rephrasing many of the patient's   statements as questions and posing them to the See: ELIZA effect3
ELIZA effect3 is  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 See: ELIZA effect4
ELIZA effect4 is  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}. 
elvish is  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 See: elvish2
elvish2 is  both visually and   phonetically elegant) has long fascinated hackers (who tend to be   interested 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 See: elvish3
elvish3 is  also   {elder days}.  2. By extension, any odd or unreadable typeface   produced by a graphics device.  3. The typeface mundanely called   `B"ocklin', an art-decoish display font. 
EMACS is  /ee'maks/ [from Editing MACroS] n. The ne plus ultra of   hacker editors, a program editor with an entire LISP system inside   it.  It was originally written by Richard Stallman in {TECO}   under {{ITS}} at the MIT AI lab, but the most widely used versions   now run under UNIX.  It See: EMACS2
EMACS2 is  includes facilities to run compilation   subprocesses and send and receive mail; many hackers spend up to   80% of their {tube time} inside it.   Some versions running under window managers iconify as an   overflowing kitchen sink, perhaps to suggest the one feature the   editor does See: EMACS3
EMACS3 is  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 See: EMACS4
EMACS4 is  Constantly Swapping', `Eventually   `malloc()'s All Computer Storage', and `EMACS Makes A Computer   Slow' (see {{recursive acronym}}).  See also {vi}. 
email is  /ee'mayl/ 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 See: email2
email2 is  listed in the OED; it   means "embossed (with a raised pattern) or arranged in a net work".   A use from 1480 is given. The word is derived from French   `emmailleure', network. 
emoticon is  /ee-moh'ti-kon/ n. An ASCII glyph used to indicate an   emotional state in email or news.  Hundreds have been proposed, but   only a few are in common use.  These include   (These may become more comprehensible if you tilt your head   sideways, to the left.)   The first 2 listed are See: emoticon2
emoticon2 is  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 See: emoticon3
emoticon3 is  that the emoticon was invented by one Scott Fahlman on   the CMU {bboard} systems around 1980.  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 See: emoticon4
emoticon4 is  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. 
empire is  n. Any of a family of military simulations derived from a   game written by Peter Langston many years ago.  There are five or six   multi-player variants of varying degrees of sophistication, and one   single-player version implemented for both UNIX and VMS; the latter is   even See: empire2
empire2 is  available as MS-DOS freeware.  All are notoriously addictive. 
engine is  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 See: engine2
engine2 is  a `database engine'.   The hackish 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   See: engine3
engine3 is  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'. 
English is  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 See: English2
English2 is  readable as English.  Usage used mostly by   old-time hackers, though recognizable in context.  2. The official   name of the database language used by the Pick Operating System,   actually a sort of crufty interpreted BASIC with delusions of   grandeur.  The name permits See: English3
English3 is  {marketroid}s to say "Yes, and you   can program our computers in English!" to ignorant {suit}s   without quite running afoul of the truth-in-advertising laws. 
enhancement is  n. {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.
ENQ is  /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 See: ENQ2
ENQ2 is  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}. 
EOF is  /E-O-F/ [acronym, `End Of File'] n. 1. [techspeak] Refers   esp. to whatever {out-of-band} value is returned by   C's sequential character-input functions (and their equivalents in   other environments) when end of file has been reached.  This value   is -1 under C libraries postdating See: EOF2
EOF2 is  V6 UNIX, but was   originally 0.  2. 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 See: EOF3
EOF3 is  had   was a {JCL} manual."  See also {EOL}. 
EOL is  /E-O-L/ [End Of Line] n. 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}.
EOU is  /E-O-U/ n. The mnemonic of a mythical ASCII control   character (End Of User) that could make an ASR-33 Teletype explode   on receipt.  This parodied the numerous obscure delimiter and   control characters left in ASCII from the days when it was   associated more with wire-service See: EOU2
EOU2 is  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 See: EOU3
EOU3 is  sitting in   front of a {tube} or flatscreen today. 
epoch is  [UNIX prob. from astronomical timekeeping] n. The time and   date corresponding to 0 in an operating system's clock and   timestamp values.  Under most UNIX versions the epoch is 000000   GMT, January 1, 1970.  System time is measured in seconds or   {tick}s past the epoch.  Weird See: epoch2
epoch2 is  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,   See: epoch3
epoch3 is  2038, assuming word lengths don't increase by then.  See also   {wall time}. 
epsilon is  [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.  This is even See: epsilon2
epsilon2 is  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." 
epsilon squared is  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 See: epsilon squared2
epsilon squared2 is  of the ten-dollar cable to connect them   is epsilon squared.  Compare {lost in the underflow}, {lost   in the noise}. 
the era is  Syn. {epoch}.  Webster's Unabridged makes these words   almost synonymous, but `era' usually connotes a span of time rather   than a point in time.  The {epoch} usage is recommended.
Eric Conspiracy is  n. A shadowy group of mustachioed hackers named   Eric first pinpointed as a sinister conspiracy by an infamous   talk.bizarre posting ca. 1986; this was doubtless influenced by the   numerous `Eric' jokes in the Monty Python oeuvre.  There do indeed   seem to be considerably See: Eric Conspiracy2
Eric Conspiracy2 is  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 See: Eric Conspiracy3
Eric Conspiracy3 is  NNTP); your editor has heard from about   fourteen others by email, and the organization line `Eric   Conspiracy Secret Laboratories' now emanates regularly from more   than one site. 
Eris is  /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 See: Eris2
Eris2 is  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}. 
erotics is  /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.
essentials is  n. Things necessary to maintain a productive and secure   hacking environment.  "A jug of wine, a loaf of bread, a   20-megahertz 80386 box with 8 meg of core and a 300-megabyte disk   supporting full UNIX with source and X windows and EMACS and UUCP   via a 'blazer to a friendly See: essentials2
essentials2 is  Internet site, and thou." 
evil is  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 See: evil2
evil2 is  design, but rather a set of goals or   design criteria fatally incompatible with the speaker's.  This 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." See: evil3
evil3 is   "{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/. 
exa- is  /ek's*/ [SI] pref. See {{quantifiers}}.
examining the entrails is  n. The process of {grovel}ling through a   core dump or hex image in the attempt to discover the bug that   brought a program or system down.  Compare {runes},   {incantation}, {black art}, {desk check}.
EXCH is  /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 See: EXCH2
EXCH2 is  contents of a register and a memory location.   Many newer hackers tend to be thinking instead of the PostScript   exchange operator (which is usually written in lowercase). 
excl is  /eks'kl/ n. Abbreviation for `exclamation point'.  See   {bang}, {shriek}, {{ASCII}}.
EXE is  /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.
exec is  /eg-zek'/ 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 See: exec2
exec2 is  systems.  3. At IBM,   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. 
left as an exercise is  [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 See: left as an exercise2
left as an exercise2 is  research problems by authors possessed of   either an evil sense of humor or a vast faith in the capabilities   of their audiences. 
eyeball search is  n. 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}.*fab /fab/ [from See: eyeball search2
eyeball search2 is  `fabricate'] v. 1. To produce chips from a   design that may have been created by someone at another company.   Fabbing chips based on the designs of others is the activity of a   {silicon foundry}.  To a hacker, `fab' is practically never short   for `fabulous'.  2. `fab See: eyeball search3
eyeball search3 is  line' the production system   (lithography, diffusion, etching, etc.) for chips at a chip   manufacturer.  Different `fab lines' are run with different   process parameters, die sizes, or technologies, or simply to   provide more manufacturing volume. 
face time is  n. 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."
factor is  n. See {coefficient}.
fall over is  [IBM] vi. Yet another synonym for {crash} or {lose}.   `Fall over hard' equates to {crash and burn}.
fall through is  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 See: fall through2
fall through2 is  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, See: fall through3
fall through3 is  passing a point where one would   normally expect to find a `break'.  A trivial example   The variant spelling `/* FALL THRU */' is also common.   The effect of this code is to `do_green()' when color is   `GREEN', `do_red()' when color is `RED',   `do_blue()' on any other color See: fall through4
fall through4 is  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 See: fall through5
fall through5 is  considered good practice to include a comment   highlighting the fall-through where one would normally expect a   break. 
fandango on core is  [UNIX/C hackers, from the Mexican dance] n.   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 See: fandango on core2
fandango on core2 is  low-end personal machines without an   MMU, this can corrupt the OS itself, causing massive lossage.   Other frenetic dances such as the rhumba, cha-cha, or watusi, may   be substituted.  See {aliasing bug}, {precedence lossage},   {smash the stack}, {memory leak}, {overrun screw},   {core}. 
FAQ list is  /F-A-Q list/ [USENET] n. A compendium of accumulated   lore, posted periodically to high-volume newsgroups in an attempt   to forestall Frequently Asked Questions.  This lexicon itself   serves as a good example of a collection of one kind of lore,   although it is far too big for a See: FAQ list2
FAQ list2 is  regular posting.  Examples "What   is the proper type of NULL?"  and "What's that funny name for   the `#' character?" are both Frequently Asked Questions.   Several extant FAQ lists do (or should) make reference to the   Jargon File (the on-line version of this lexicon). 
FAQL is  /fa'kl/ n. Syn. {FAQ list}.
farming is  [Adelaide University, Australia] n. 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."
fascist is  adj. 1. 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, See: fascist2
fascist2 is  poss. by analogy with   `touristic' (see {tourist}).  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 See: fascist3
fascist3 is  simplify   the implementation or provide tighter error checking.  Compare   {bondage-and-discipline language}, but that term is global rather   than local. 
faulty is  adj. Non-functional; buggy.  Same denotation as   {bletcherous}, {losing}, q.v., but the connotation is much   milder.
fd leak is  /ef dee 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}.
fear and loathing is  [from Hunter Thompson] n. 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 except the   Rios (a.k.a.  the See: fear and loathing2
fear and loathing2 is  RS/6000).  "Ack!  They want PCs to be able to   talk to the AI machine.  Fear and loathing time!" 
feature is  n. 1. A good property or behavior (as of a program).   Whether it was intended or not is immaterial.  2. 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; See: feature2
feature2 is  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 See: feature3
feature3 is  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 See: feature4
feature4 is  put in to help someone else but that happens to be in your   way.  6. 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 See: feature5
feature5 is  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 See: feature6
feature6 is  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 See: feature7
feature7 is  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 See: feature8
feature8 is  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 See: feature9
feature9 is  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}. 
feature creature is  [poss. fr. slang `creature feature' for a horror   movie] n. One who loves to add features to designs or programs,   perhaps at the expense of coherence, concision, or {taste}.  See   also {feeping creaturism}, {creeping featurism}.
feature shock is  [from Alvin Toffler's book title `Future   Shock'] n.  A user's (or programmer's!) confusion when confronted   with a package that has too many features and poor introductory   material.
featurectomy is  /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 See: featurectomy2
featurectomy2 is  there is already an equivalent and   better way to achieve the same end.  (This 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. 
feep is  /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 See: feep2
feep2 is  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 See: feep3
feep3 is  `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 5 seconds).  The See: feep4
feep4 is  `feeper' on a VT-52 has been   compared to the sound of a '52 Chevy stripping its gears.  See also   {ding}. 
feeper is  /fee'pr/ n. The device in a terminal or workstation (usually   a loudspeaker of some kind) that makes the {feep} sound.
feeping creature is  [from {feeping creaturism}] n. 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.
feeping creaturism is  /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 See: feeping creaturism2
feeping creaturism2 is  heard it.  It is probably reinforced   by an image of terminals prowling about in the dark making their   customary noises. 
feetch feetch is  /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!"  See: feetch feetch2
feetch feetch2 is  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". 
fence is  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 See: fence2
fence2 is  in C is a fence.   Hex FF is probably the most common fence character after NUL.  See   {zigamorph}.  2. [among users of optimizing compilers] Any   technique, usually exploiting knowledge about the compiler, that   blocks certain optimizations.  Used when explicit mechanisms are   not See: fence3
fence3 is  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". 
fencepost error is  n. 1. 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 See: fencepost error2
fencepost error2 is  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 See: fencepost error3
fencepost error3 is  `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 See: fencepost error4
fencepost error4 is  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. Occasionally, an error   induced by unexpectedly See: fencepost error5
fencepost error5 is  regular spacing of inputs, which can (for   instance) screw up your hash table. 
fepped out is  /fept owt/ adj. The Symbolics 3600 Lisp Machine has a   Front-End Processor called a `FEP' (compare sense 2 of {box}).   When the main processor gets {wedged}, the FEP takes control of   the keyboard and screen.  Such a machine is said to have   `fepped out'.
FidoNet is  n. A worldwide hobbyist network of personal computers   which exchange 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.  See: FidoNet2
FidoNet2 is  Though it is much younger than {USENET},   FidoNet is already (in early 1991) a significant fraction of   USENET's size at some 8000 systems. 
field circus is  [a derogatory pun on `field service'] n. The field   service organization of any hardware manufacturer, but especially   DEC.  There is an entire genre of jokes about DEC field circus   engineers     Q How can you recognize a DEC field circus engineer        with a flat tire?    See: field circus2
field circus2 is   A He's changing each tire to see which one is flat.     Q How can you recognize a DEC field circus engineer        who is out of gas?     A He's changing each tire to see which one is flat.   There is also the `Field Circus Cheer' (from the {plan file} for   DEC on MIT-AI)     See: field circus3
field circus3 is  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 is located in Maynard, Massachusetts.) 
field servoid is  [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}.
Fight-o-net is  [FidoNet] n. Deliberate distortion of {FidoNet},   often applied after a flurry of {flamage} in a particular   {echo}, especially the SYSOP echo or Fidonews (see {'Snooze}).
File Attach is  [FidoNet] 1. n. A file sent along with a mail message   from one BBS to another.  2. vt. Sending someone a file by using   the File Attach option in a BBS mailer.
File Request is  [FidoNet] 1. n. The {FidoNet} equivalent of   {FTP}, in which one BBS system automatically dials another and   {snarf}s one or more files.  Files are often announced as being   "available for {FReq}" in the same way that files are announced   as being "available for/by anonymous See: File Request2
File Request2 is  FTP" on the Internet.   2. vt. The act of getting a copy of a file by using the File   Request option of the BBS mailer. 
filk is  /filk/ [from SF fandom, where a typo for `folk' was   adopted as a new word] n.,v. A `filk' is a popular or folk song   with lyrics revised or completely new lyrics, intended for humorous   effect when read and/or to be sung late at night at SF conventions.   There is a flourishing See: filk2
filk2 is  subgenre of these called `computer filks',   written by hackers and often containing rather sophisticated   technical humor.  See {double bucky} for an example. 
film at 11 is  [MIT in parody of TV newscasters] 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."
filter is  [orig. {{UNIX}}, now also in {{MS-DOS}}] n. 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}).
Finagle's Law is  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 See: Finagle's Law2
Finagle's Law2 is  {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 See: Finagle's Law3
Finagle's Law3 is  his mad prophet Murphy. 
fine is  [WPI] adj. 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}.
finger is  [WAITS, via BSD UNIX] 1. n. A program that displays 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 See: finger2
finger2 is  the user.  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 See: finger3
finger3 is  component of one's   plan file to deter the curious fingerer (sense 2), it has entered   the arsenal of some {flamer}s. 
finger-pointing syndrome is  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.
firebottle is  n. 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 See: firebottle2
firebottle2 is  mistakenly called a `tube' in the U.S.   or a `valve' in England; another hackish term is {glassfet}. 
firefighting is  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 See: firefighting2
firefighting2 is  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. 
firewall code is  n. 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 See: firewall code2
firewall code2 is  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. 
firewall machine is  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   {cracker}s.  The typical firewall is See: firewall machine2
firewall machine2 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 See: firewall machine3
firewall machine3 is  even a   complete {iron box} keyable to particular incoming IDs or   activity patterns.  Syn. {flytrap}, {Venus flytrap}. 
fireworks mode is  n. The mode a machine is sometimes said to be in when   it is performing a {crash and burn} operation.
firmy is  /fer'mee/ Syn. {stiffy} (a 3.5-inch floppy disk).
fish is  [Adelaide University, Australia] n. 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'.
FISH queue is  [acronym, by analogy with FIFO (First In, First Out)]   n. `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 See: FISH queue2
FISH queue2 is  running really slowly or   exhibiting extreme flakiness. 
fix is  n.,v. What one does when a problem has been reported too many   times to be ignored.
flag is  n. 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 See: flag2
flag2 is  status word contains several flag   bits."  Used of humans analogously to {bit}.  See also   {hidden flag}, {mode bit}. 
flag day is  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 See: flag day2
flag day2 is  two values.  It came into use   when a massive change was made to the {{Multics}} timesharing   system to convert from the old ASCII code to the new one; this was   scheduled for Flag Day (a U.S. holiday), June 14, 1966.  See also   {backward combatability}. 
flaky is  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 See: flaky2
flaky2 is  --- but fails frequently enough that the   odds in favor of finishing what you start are low.  Commonwealth   hackish prefers {dodgy} or {wonky}. 
flamage is  /flay'm*j/ n. 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}.
flame is  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 See: flame2
flame2 is  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).   USENETter Marc Ramsey, who was at WPI from 1972 See: flame3
flame3 is  to 1976, adds "I   am 99% certain that the use of `flame' originated at WPI.  Those   who made a nuisance of themselves insisting that they needed to use   a TTY for `real work' came to be known as `flaming asshole lusers'.   Other particularly annoying people became `flaming asshole See: flame4
flame4 is  ravers',   which shortened to `flaming ravers', and ultimately `flamers'.  I   remember someone picking up on the Human Torch pun, but I don't   think `flame on/off' was ever much used at WPI."  See also   {asbestos}.   The term may have been independently invented at several different See: flame5
flame5 is    places; it is also reported that `flaming' was in use to mean   something like `interminably drawn-out semi-serious discussions'   (late-night bull sessions) at Carleton College during 1968--1971. 
flame bait is  n. A posting intended to trigger a {flame war}, or one   that invites flames in reply.
flame on is  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}.
flame war is  n. (var. `flamewar') An acrimonious dispute,   especially when conducted on a public electronic forum such as   {USENET}.
flamer is  n. One who habitually {flame}s.  Said esp. of obnoxious   {USENET} personalities.
flap is  vt. 1. 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 {microtape}s were 1, 2,... and   attempting to flap device 0 would instead start a motor banging   inside a cabinet near the disk.  2. By extension, See: flap2
flap2 is  to unload any   magnetic tape.  See also {macrotape}.  Modern cartridge tapes no   longer actually flap, but the usage has remained. 
flarp is  /flarp/ [Rutgers University] n. 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 See: flarp2
flarp2 is  which *do* contain the magic word. 
flat is  adj. 1. 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 See: flat2
flat2 is  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}). 
flat-ASCII is  adj. 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   or markup language, and no {meta}-characters).  Syn.   {plain-ASCII}.  Compare {flat-file}.
flat-file is  adj. A {flatten}ed 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.
flatten is  vt. 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."
flavor is  n. 1. Variety, type, kind.  "DDT commands come in two   flavors."  "These lights come in two flavors, big red ones and   small green ones."  See {vanilla}.  2. The attribute that causes   something to be {flavorful}.  Usually used in the phrase "yields   additional flavor".  "This See: flavor2
flavor2 is  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 See: flavor3
flavor3 is  (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   See: flavor4
flavor4 is  (notably by the Common LISP CLOS facility), the term `flavor' is   still used as a general synonym for `class' by some LISP hackers. 
flavorful is  adj. Full of {flavor}; esthetically pleasing.  See   {random} and {losing} for antonyms.  See also the entries for   {taste} and {elegant}.
flippy is  /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.
flowchart is  [techspeak] n. 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   walloper}s, and other lower forms See: flowchart2
flowchart2 is  of life.  This is because (from a   hacker's point of view) they 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 See: flowchart3
flowchart3 is  the code).  See also   {pdl}, sense 3. 
flower key is  [Mac users] n. See {command key}.
flush is  v. 1. 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 See: flush2
flush2 is  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 See: flush3
flush3 is  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 can be printed.  The UNIX/C usage, on the See: flush4
flush4 is  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 find the ITS usage confusing, and vice versa. 
Flyspeck 3 is  n. Standard name for any font that is so tiny as to be   unreadable (by analogy with such names as `Helvetica 10' for   10-point Helvetica).  Legal boilerplate is usually printed in   Flyspeck 3.
flytrap is  n. See {firewall machine}.
FOAF is  // [USENET] n. Acronym for `Friend Of A Friend'.  The   source of an unverified, possibly untrue story.  This 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.
FOD is  /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 {MUD}s where the   wizard command `FOD <player>' results in the immediate and total   death of <player>, usually See: FOD2
FOD2 is  as punishment for obnoxious behavior.   This 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 See: FOD3
FOD3 is  bird in   flight.  Finger of Death is a distressingly apt description of   what this does to the engine. 
fold case is  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.
followup is  n. 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 See: followup2
followup2 is  news in `conversation' sequence   rather than order-of-arrival.  See {thread}. 
foo is  /foo/ 1. interj. Term of disgust.  2. 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}, See: foo2
foo2 is  {grault},   {garply}, {waldo}, {fred}, {plugh}, {xyzzy},   {thud}.   {foo} is the {canonical} example of a `metasyntactic   variable' --- 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 See: foo3
foo3 is  discussion.  To avoid confusion, hackers never use   `foo' or other words like it as permanent names for anything.  In   filenames, a common convention is that any filename beginning   `foo' is a scratch file that may be deleted at any time.   The etymology of hackish `foo' is obscure.  See: foo4
foo4 is  When used in   connection with `bar' it is generally traced to the WWII-era Army   slang acronym FUBAR (`Fucked Up Beyond All Recognition'), later   bowdlerized to {foobar}.  (See also {FUBAR}).   However, the use of the word `foo' itself has more complicated   antecedents, including a See: foo5
foo5 is  long history in comic strips and cartoons.   The old "Smokey Stover" comic strips by Bill Holman often   included the word `FOO', in particular on license plates of cars;   allegedly, `FOO' and `BAR' also occurred in Walt Kelly's   "Pogo" strips.  In the 1938 cartoon "Daffy Doc", a very  See: foo6
foo6 is   early version of Daffy Duck holds up a sign saying "SILENCE IS   FOO!"; oddly, this seems to refer to some approving or positive   affirmative use of foo.  It is even possible that hacker usage   actually springs from `FOO, Lampoons and Parody', the title of   a comic book first issued See: foo7
foo7 is  in September 1958; the byline read   `C. Crumb' but this may well have been a sort-of pseudonym for   noted weird-comix artist Robert Crumb.  The title FOO was featured   in large letters on the front cover.   An old-time member reports that in the 1959 `Dictionary of the   TMRC See: foo8
foo8 is  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}.  See: foo9
foo9 is  Almost   the entire AI staff was involved with TMRC, so it is not clear   which group introduced the other to the word FOO.   Very probably, hackish `foo' had no single origin and derives   through all these channels from Yiddish `feh' and/or English   `fooey'. 
foobar is  n. Another common metasyntactic variable; see {foo}.   Hackers do *not* generally use this to mean {FUBAR} in   either the slang or jargon sense.
fool is  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 See: fool2
fool2 is  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}. 
fool file, the is  [USENET] n. A notional repository of all the most   dramatically and abysmally stupid utterances ever.  There is a   subgenre of {sig block}s that consists of the header "From the   fool file" followed by some quote the poster wishes to represent   as an immortal gem of See: fool file, the2
fool file, the2 is  dimwittery; for this 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. 
Foonly is  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 intention was to   leapfrog from the old DEC timesharing system SAIL was running to a   new generation, See: Foonly2
Foonly2 is  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 See: Foonly3
Foonly3 is  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 See: Foonly4
Foonly4 is  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 they turned towards building   See: Foonly5
Foonly5 is  smaller, slower, and much less expensive machines.  Unfortunately,   these ran not the popular {TOPS-20} but a TENEX varient called   Foonex; this seriously limited their market.  Also, the machines   shipped were actually wire-wrapped engineering prototypes requiring   individual See: Foonly6
Foonly6 is  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 See: Foonly7
Foonly7 is  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. 
footprint is  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}.
for free is  adj. Said of a capability of a programming language or   hardware equipment 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 See: for free2
for free2 is  trees for free."  Usually it refers to a   serendipitous feature of doing things a certain way (compare   {big win}), but it may refer to an intentional but secondary   feature. 
for the rest of us is  [from the Mac slogan "The computer for the   rest of us"] adj. 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 See: for the rest of us2
for the rest of us2 is  with a limited interface,   deliberately limited capabilities, non-orthogonality, inability to   compose primitives, or any other limitation designed to not   `confuse' a na"ive user.  This places an upper bound on how far that   user can go before the program begins to See: for the rest of us3
for the rest of us3 is  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 See: for the rest of us4
for the rest of us4 is  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}, {user-friendly}. 
fora is  pl.n. Plural of {forum}.
foreground is  [UNIX] vt. To foreground a task is to bring it 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."   See: foreground2
foreground2 is  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 See: foreground3
foreground3 is  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}. 
forked is  [UNIX; prob. influenced by a mainstream expletive] adj.   Terminally slow, or dead.  Originated when one system slowed to   incredibly bad speeds because of a process recursively spawning copies   of itself (using the UNIX system call `fork(2)') and taking up   all the process table entries.
Fortrash is  /for'trash/ n. Hackerism for the FORTRAN language,   referring to its primitive design, gross and irregular syntax,   limited control constructs, and slippery, exception-filled   semantics.
fortune cookie is  [UNIX] n. 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}.
forum is  n. [USENET, GEnie CI$; pl. `fora' or `forums'] Any   discussion group accessible through a dial-in {BBS}, a   {mailing list}, or a {newsgroup} (see {network, the}).  A   forum functions much like a bulletin board; users submit   {posting}s for all to read and discussion ensues.  See: forum2
forum2 is  Contrast   real-time chat via {talk mode} or point-to-point personal   {email}. 
fossil is  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 See: fossil2
fossil2 is  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 See: fossil3
fossil3 is  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 See: fossil4
fossil4 is  replace the {brain-dead} routines in the IBM PC ROMs.   Fossils are used by most MS-DOS {BBS} software in lieu of   programming the {bare metal} of the serial ports, as the ROM   routines do not support interrupt-driven operation or setting   speeds above 9600.  Since the FOSSIL See: fossil5
fossil5 is  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'. 
four-color glossies is  1. Literature created by {marketroid}s   that allegedly containing 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 See: four-color glossies2
four-color glossies2 is  superficiality even when the   material is printed on ordinary paper in black and white.   Four-color-glossy manuals are *never* useful for finding a   problem.  2. [rare] Applied by extension to manual pages that don't   contain enough information to diagnose why the See: four-color glossies3
four-color glossies3 is  program doesn't   produce the expected or desired output. 
fragile is  adj. Syn {brittle}.
fred is  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.  Unlike {J. Random Hacker} or `J. Random Loser',   this name has no positive or negative loading See: fred2
fred2 is  (but see {Mbogo,   Dr. Fred}).  2. An acronym for `Flipping Ridiculous Electronic   Device'; other F-verbs may be substituted for `flipping'. 
frednet is  /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."
freeware is  n. 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 See: freeware2
freeware2 is  program PC-TALK III.  It wasn't   enforced after his mysterious disappearance and presumed death   in 1984.  See {shareware}. 
freeze is  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 See: freeze2
freeze2 is  are more specific constructions on this.  A `feature freeze',   for example, locks out modifications intended to introduce new   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, See: freeze3
freeze3 is  an almost-but-not-quite frozen state. 
fried is  adj. 1. 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 See: fried2
fried2 is  burn out and transformers can melt   down, emitting noxious smoke.  However, this term is also used   metaphorically.)  Compare {frotzed}.  2. Of people, exhausted.   Said particularly of those who continue to work in such a state.   Often used as an explanation or excuse.  "Yeah, I See: fried3
fried3 is  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." 
friode is  /fri'ohd/ [TMRC] n. A reversible (that is, fused or   blown) diode.  Compare {fried}.
fritterware is  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.
frob is  /frob/ 1. n. [MIT] 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.  See {frobnitz}.  2. vt.   Abbreviated form of See: frob2
frob2 is  {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. 
frobnicate is  /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" See: frobnicate2
frobnicate2 is  (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;   See: frobnicate3
frobnicate3 is  `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 See: frobnicate4
frobnicate4 is  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. 
frobnitz is  /frob'nits/, pl. `frobnitzem' /frob'nit-zm/ or   `frobni' /frob'ni/ n. 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 See: frobnitz2
frobnitz2 is  `frobule'   (/frob'yool/).  Starting perhaps in 1979, `frobozz'   /fruh-boz'/ (plural `frobbotzim' /fruh-bot'zm/) has also   become very popular, largely through its exposure as a name via   {Zork}.  These can also be applied to nonphysical objects, such   as data structures. 
frog is  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' (see {bagbiter}), but See: frog2
frog2 is  milder.  "This froggy   program is taking forever to run!"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 See: frog3
frog3 is  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."  See also {fepped out}.  3. Software that provides   an interface to another program `behind' it, which may not be See: frog4
frog4 is  as   user-friendly.  Probably from analogy with hardware front-ends (see   sense 1) that interfaced with mainframes. 
frotz  is  /frots/ 1. n. See {frobnitz}.  2. `mumble frotz' An   interjection of very mild disgust.
frotzed is  /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.
frowney is  n. (alt. `frowney face')  See {emoticon}.
fry is  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.  See: fry2
fry2 is  Never used of software or humans,   but compare {fried}. 
FTP is  /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 See: FTP2
FTP2 is  `Wuthering   Heights' ftp'd from uunet." 
FUBAR is  n. The Failed UniBus Address Register in a VAX.  A good   example of how jargon can occasionally be snuck past the {suit}s;   see {foobar}.
fuck me harder is  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 See: fuck me harder2
fuck me harder2 is  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 See: fuck me harder3
fuck me harder3 is  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 See: fuck me harder4
fuck me harder4 is  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 See: fuck me harder5
fuck me harder5 is  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] 
FUD is  /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 See: FUD2
FUD2 is  with safe IBM gear rather than with   competitors' equipment.  This was traditionally done 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}. 
FUD wars is  /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   is but one outstanding example.
fudge is  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.
fudge factor is  n. 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 See: fudge factor2
fudge factor2 is  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 See: fudge factor3
fudge factor3 is  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 See: fudge factor4
fudge factor4 is  incorrectly by programmers   who don't fully understand their import.  See also {coefficient   of X}. 
fuel up is  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}}.
fuggly is  /fuhg'lee/ adj. Emphatic form of {funky}; funky +   ugly).  Unusually for hacker jargon, this may actually derive from   black street-jive.  To say it properly, the first syllable should   be growled rather than spoken.  Usage humorous.  "Man, the   {{ASCII}}-to-{{EBCDIC}} code in See: fuggly2
fuggly2 is  that printer driver is   *fuggly*."  See also {wonky}. 
funky is  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 See: funky2
funky2 is  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, See: funky3
funky3 is  try resubmitting it."   "This UART is pretty funky.  The data ready line is active-high in   interrupt mode and active-low in DMA mode."  See {fuggly}. 
funny money is  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).  When your funny money   ran out, your account froze and See: funny money2
funny money2 is  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 See: funny money3
funny money3 is  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'. 
fuzzball is  [TCP/IP hackers] n. 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 See: fuzzball2
fuzzball2 is  56KB-line days; a few are still active   on the Internet as of early 1991, doing odd jobs such as network   time service.*G [SI] pref.,suff. See {{quantifiers}}. 
gabriel is  /gay'bree-*l/ [for Dick Gabriel, SAIL LISP hacker and   volleyball fanatic] n. 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 See: gabriel2
gabriel2 is  tactics.  Also, `pulling a Gabriel',   `Gabriel mode'. 
gag is  vi. Equivalent to {choke}, but connotes more disgust. "Hey,   this is FORTRAN code.  No wonder the C compiler gagged."  See also   {barf}.
gang bang is  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 See: gang bang2
gang bang2 is  perpetrated by large   companies trying to meet deadlines and produce enormous buggy   masses of code entirely lacking in {orthogonal}ity.  When   market-driven managers make a list of all the features the   competition has and assign one programmer to implement each, they   often See: gang bang3
gang bang3 is  miss the importance of maintaining a coherent design.  See   also {firefighting}, {Mongolian Hordes technique},   {Conway's Law}. 
garbage collect is  vi. (also `garbage collection', n.) See {GC}.
garply is  /gar'plee/ [Stanford] n. Another meta-syntactic variable (see   {foo}); once popular among SAIL hackers.
gas is  [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 See: gas2
gas2 is  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 been See: gas3
gas3 is  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. 
gaseous is  adj. Deserving of being {gas}sed.  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 See: gaseous2
gaseous2 is  chamber under Proposition 7 if   convicted of first-degree murder (he was eventually convicted of   manslaughter). 
GC is  /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 See: GC2
GC2 is  garbage collector   process.   `Garbage collection' is computer-science jargon for a particular   class of strategies for dynamically reallocating computer memory.   One such strategy involves periodically scanning all the data in   memory and determining what is no longer accessible; See: GC3
GC3 is  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} is   more frequently used because See: GC4
GC4 is  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. 
GCOS is  /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 See: GCOS2
GCOS2 is  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 See: GCOS3
GCOS3 is  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   See: GCOS4
GCOS4 is  systems at Bell Labs were 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 See: GCOS5
GCOS5 is  information.  GCOS later played a   major role in keeping Honeywell a dismal also-ran in the mainframe   market, and was itself ditched for UNIX in the late 1980s when   Honeywell retired its aging {big iron} designs. 
GECOS is  /jee'kohs/ n. See {{GCOS}}.
gedanken is  /g*-don'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 See: gedanken2
gedanken2 is  impractical to carry out, but useful   to consider because you can reason about it 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, See: gedanken3
gedanken3 is  but you have to be careful.   It's too easy to idealize away some important aspect of the real world   in contructing your `apparatus'.   Among hackers, accordingly, the word has a pejorative connotation.   It is said of a project, especially one in artificial intelligence   See: gedanken4
gedanken4 is  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 See: gedanken5
gedanken5 is  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}. 
geef is  v. [ostensibly from `gefingerpoken'] vt. Syn. {mung}.  See   also {blinkenlights}.
geek out is  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 something highly   technical and don't have time to explain "Pardon me while I geek   out for a moment."  See {computer geek}.
gen is  /jen/ n.,v. Short for {generate}, used frequently in both spoken   and written contexts.
gender mender is  n. 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 See: gender mender2
gender mender2 is  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 male) or sockets See: gender mender3
gender mender3 is  on both sides (connects two   males). 
General Public Virus is  n. Pejorative name for some versions of the   {GNU} project {copyleft} or General Public License (GPL), which   requires that any tools or {app}s incorporating copylefted code   must be source-distributed on the same counter-commercial terms as   GNU stuff.  Thus it is See: General Public Virus2
General Public Virus2 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 See: General Public Virus3
General Public Virus3 is  "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   (as in, for example, use of the Bison parser skeleton).   Nevertheless, widespread suspicion that See: General Public Virus4
General Public Virus4 is  the {copyleft} language   is `boobytrapped' has caused many developers to avoid using GNU   tools and the GPL.  Recent (July 1991) changes in the language of   the version 2.00 language may eliminate this problem. 
generate is  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 See: generate2
generate2 is  of human behavior.  "The guy is   rational most of the time, but mention nuclear energy around him   and he'll generate {infinite} flamage." 
gensym is  /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 See: gensym2
gensym2 is  represents a number; any LISP hacker would   recognize G0093 (for example) as a gensym.  3. A freshly generated   data structure with a gensymmed name.  These are useful for storing   or uniquely identifying crufties (see {cruft}). 
Get a life! is  imp. Hacker-standard way of suggesting that the person   to whom you are speaking 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 See: Get a life!2
Get a life!2 is  exhortation was popularized by   William Shatner on a "Saturday Night Live" episode in a speech that   ended "Get a *life*!", but some respondents believe it to   have been in use before then. 
Get a real computer! is  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 4 megabytes.  This is as of mid-1991; note that   the threshold for `real See: Get a real computer!2
Get a real computer!2 is  computer' rises with time, and it may well   be (for example) that machines with character-only displays will be   generally considered `unreal' in a few years (GLS points out that   they already are in some circles).  See {essentials}, {bitty   box}, and {toy}. 
GFR is  /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 See: GFR2
GFR2 is  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 {GFR}ed it."  See also   {prowler}, {reaper}.  Compare {GC}, which discards only   provably worthless stuff. 
gig is  /jig/ or /gig/ [SI] n. See {{quantifiers}}.
giga- is  /ji'ga/ or /gi'ga/ [SI] pref. See {{quantifiers}}.
GIGO is  /gi'goh/ [acronym] 1. `Garbage In, Garbage Out' ---   usually said in response to {luser}s who complain that a program   didn't complain about faulty data.  Also commonly used to describe   failures in human decision making due to faulty, incomplete, or   imprecise data.  2. `Garbage See: GIGO2
GIGO2 is  In, Gospel Out' this more recent   expansion is a sardonic comment on the tendency human beings have   to put excessive trust in `computerized' data. 
gillion is  /gil'y*n/ or /jil'y*n/ [formed from {giga-} by analogy   with mega/million and tera/trillion] n. 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'.
GIPS is  /gips/ or /jips/ [analogy with {MIPS}] n.   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}.
glark is  /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 See: glark2
glark2 is  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 hackish usage mutated the verb to   `glark' because {glork} was already an See: glark3
glark3 is  established jargon   term.  Compare {grok}, {zen}. 
glass is  [IBM] n. Synonym for {silicon}.
glass tty is  /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 See: glass tty2
glass tty2 is  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}.  See appendix A for an   interesting true story about a glass tty. 
glassfet is  /glas'fet/ [by analogy with MOSFET, the acronym for   `Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistor'] n. Syn.   {firebottle}, a humorous way to refer to a vacuum tube.
glitch is  /glich/ [from German `glitschen' 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'.  See: glitch2
glitch2 is  This is 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. See: glitch3
glitch3 is    [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 See: glitch4
glitch4 is  technical   meaning the term has to hardware people.  If 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,   then that is called a glitch.  This may or may not be harmful,   See: glitch5
glitch5 is  depending on what the circuit is connected to.  This term is   techspeak, found in electronics texts. 
glob is  /glob/, *not* /glohb/ [UNIX] vt.,n. 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 See: glob2
glob2 is  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 character (generally read this way only at the          beginning or in the middle of See: glob3
glob3 is  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).  See: glob4
glob4 is  "I don't read talk.politics.*" (any of the   talk.politics subgroups on {USENET}).  Other examples are given   under the entry for {X}.  Compare {regexp}.   Historical note The jargon usage derives from `glob', the   name of a subprogram that expanded wildcards in archaic pre-Bourne   See: glob5
glob5 is  versions of the UNIX shell. 
glork is  /glork/ 1. interj. Term of mild surprise, usually tinged with   outrage, as when one attempts to save the results of 2 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 See: glork2
glork2 is  used reflexively.  "My program just glorked   itself."  See also {glark}. 
glue is  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'.
gnarly is  /nar'lee/ adj. Both {obscure} and {hairy} in the   sense of complex.  "{Yow}! --- the tuned assembler   implementation of BitBlt is really gnarly!"  From a similar but   less specific usage in surfer slang.
GNU is  /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   (rms@gnu.ai.mit.edu).  GNU EMACS and the GNU C compiler, two tools   designed for this project, have become See: GNU2
GNU2 is  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 See: GNU3
GNU3 is  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 See: GNU4
GNU4 is  Software Foundation's imprimatur.  See {EMACS},   {copyleft}, {General Public Virus}.  2. Noted UNIX hacker   John Gilmore (gnu@toad.com), founder of USENET's anarchic alt.*   hierarchy. 
GNUMACS is  /gnoo'maks/ [contraction of `GNU EMACS'] Often-heard   abbreviated name for the {GNU} project's flagship tool, {EMACS}.   Used esp. in contrast with {GOSMACS}.
go flatline is  [from cyberpunk SF, refers to flattening of EEG traces   upon brain-death] vi., 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 See: go flatline2
go flatline2 is  employ jargon-jokes.  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 See: go flatline3
go flatline3 is  sees is a bright horizontal line   bisecting the screen. 
go root is  [UNIX] vi. To temporarily enter {root mode} in order   to perform a privileged operation.  This use is deprecated in   Australia, where v. `root' refers to animal sex.
go-faster stripes is  [UK] Syn. {chrome}.
gobble is  vt. To consume or to obtain.  The phrase `gobble up' tends to   imply `consume', while `gobble down' tends to imply `obtain'.   "The output spy gobbles characters out of a {tty} output buffer."   "I guess I'll gobble down a copy of the documentation tomorrow."   See also {snarf}.
Godzillagram is  /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 of this is an IP datagram whose   destination IP address is [255.255.255.255].  Fortunately, few   gateways are foolish See: Godzillagram2
Godzillagram2 is  enough to attempt to implement this!  2. A   network packet of maximum size.  An IP Godzillagram has   65,536 octets. 
golden is  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}.
golf-ball printer is  n. The IBM 2741, a slow but letter-quality   printing device and terminal based on the IBM Selectric typewriter.   The `golf ball' was a round object bearing reversed embossed   images of 88 different characters arranged on four meridians of   latitude; one could change the See: golf-ball printer2
golf-ball printer2 is  font by swapping in a different 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 See: golf-ball printer3
golf-ball printer3 is  character displays   gave way to programmable bit-mapped devices with the flexibility to   support other character sets. 
gonk is  /gonk/ vt.,n. 1. To prevaricate or to embellish the truth   beyond any reasonable recognition.  It is alleged that 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, See: gonk2
gonk2 is  for example, "Du gonkst mir" (You're   pulling my leg).  See also {gonkulator}.  2. [British] To grab some   sleep at an odd time; compare {gronk out}. 
gonkulator is  /gon'kyoo-lay-tr/ [from the old "Hogan's Heroes" TV   series] n. 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}.
gonzo is  /gon'zoh/ [from Hunter S. Thompson] adj. 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.
Good Thing is  n.,adj. Often capitalized; always pronounced as if   capitalized.  1. Self-evidently wonderful to anyone in a position   to notice "The Trailblazer's 19.2Kbaud PEP mode with on-the-fly   Lempel-Ziv compression is a Good Thing for sites relaying   netnews."  2. Something that can't See: Good Thing2
Good Thing2 is  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  See: Good Thing3
Good Thing3 is   drastically reduced a programmer's work load.  Oppose {Bad   Thing}. 
gorilla arm is  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 See: gorilla arm2
gorilla arm2 is  their faces making small motions.  After more than   a very few selections, the arm begins to feel sore, cramped, and   oversized; hence `gorilla arm'.  This is now considered a classic   cautionary tale to human-factors designers; "Remember the gorilla   arm!" is shorthand for See: gorilla arm3
gorilla arm3 is  "How is this going to fly in *real*   use?". 
gorp is  /gorp/ [CMU perhaps from the canonical hiker's food, Good   Old Raisins and Peanuts] Another metasyntactic variable, like   {foo} and {bar}.
GOSMACS is  /goz'maks/ [contraction of `Gosling EMACS'] n. The first   {EMACS}-in-C implementation, predating but now largely eclipsed by   {GNUMACS}.  Originally freeware; a commercial version is now   modestly popular as `UniPress EMACS'.  The author (James Gosling)   went on to invent {NeWS}.
Gosperism is  /gos'p*r-izm/ A hack, invention, or saying by   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}.
gotcha is  n. A {misfeature} of a system, especially a programming   language or environment, that tends to breed bugs or mistakes because   it behaves in an unexpected way.  For example, a classic gotcha in {C}   is the fact that `if (a=b) {code;}' is syntactically valid   and sometimes even See: gotcha2
gotcha2 is  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. 
GPL is  /G-P-L/ n. Abbrev. for `General Public License' in   widespread use; see {copyleft}.
GPV is  /G-P-V/ n. Abbrev. for {General Public Virus} in   widespread use.
grault is  /grawlt/ n. Yet another meta-syntactic variable, invented by   Mike Gallaher and propagated by the {GOSMACS} documentation.  See   {corge}.
gray goo is  n. A hypothetical substance composed of {sagan}s 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 See: gray goo2
gray goo2 is  goo.  This is the simplest of the   {{nanotechnology}} disaster scenarios, easily refuted by arguments   from energy requirements and elemental abundances.  Compare {blue   goo}. 
Great Renaming is  n. The {flag day} 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.
Great Runes is  n. Uppercase-only text or display messages.  Some   archaic operating systems still emit these.  See also {runes},   {smash case}, {fold case}.   Decades ago, back in the days when it was the sole supplier of   long-distance hardcopy transmittal devices, the Teletype   See: Great Runes2
Great Runes2 is  Corporation was faced with a major design choice.  To shorten code   lengths and cut complexity in the printing mechanism, it had been   decided that teletypes would use a monocase font, either ALL UPPER   or all lower.  The question was, which one to choose.  A study was   See: Great Runes3
Great Runes3 is  conducted on readability under various conditions of bad ribbon,   worn print hammers, etc.  Lowercase won; it is less dense and has   more distinctive letterforms, and is thus much easier to read both   under ideal conditions and when the letters are mangled or partly   See: Great Runes4
Great Runes4 is  obscured.  The results were filtered up through {management}.   The chairman of Teletype killed the proposal because it failed one   incredibly important criterion     "It would be impossible to spell the name of the Deity correctly."   In this way (or so, at least, hacker See: Great Runes5
Great Runes5 is  folklore has it) superstition   triumphed over utility.  Teletypes were the major input devices on   most early computers, and terminal manufacturers looking for   corners to cut naturally followed suit until well into the 1970s.   Thus, that one bad call stuck us with Great See: Great Runes6
Great Runes6 is  Runes for thirty years. 
great-wall is  [from SF fandom] vi.,n. 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 See: great-wall2
great-wall2 is  the group, can be inferred from   context (see {N}).  See {{oriental food}}, {ravs},   {stir-fried random}. 
Green Book is  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}).  2. Informal name for one of   the three standard references on See: Green Book2
Green Book2 is  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'.  Defines an international standard {{UNIX}}   See: Green Book3
Green Book3 is  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 See: Green Book4
Green Book4 is  Operating Systems Interface standard has been dubbed "The   Ugly Green Book".  5. Any of the 1992 standards which will be   issued by the CCITT's tenth plenary assembly.  Until now, these   have changed color each review cycle (1984 was {Red Book}, 1988   {Blue Book}); however, it See: Green Book5
Green Book5 is  is rumored that this convention is   going to be dropped before 1992.  These include, among other   things, the X.400 email standard and the Group 1 through 4 fax   standards.  See also {{book titles}}. 
green bytes is  n. 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 See: green bytes2
green bytes2 is  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 See: green bytes3
green bytes3 is  {out-of-band},   {zigamorph}, {fence} (sense 1). 
green card is  n. [after the `IBM System/360 Reference Data'   card] This is used for any summary of an assembly language, even if   the color is not green.  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 See: green card2
green card2 is  addressing mode for that instruction."   Some green cards are actually booklets.   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 See: green card3
green card3 is  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 See: green card4
green card4 is  return.  See also {card}. 
green lightning is  [IBM] n. 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'.  See: green lightning2
green lightning2 is  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 See: green lightning3
green lightning3 is  the 88000   architecture `compatibility logic', but I call it green   lightning".  See also {feature}. 
green machine is  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.
Green's Theorem is  [TMRC] prov. For any story, in any group of people   there will be at least one person who has not heard the story.   [The name of this theorem is a play on a fundamental theorem in   calculus. --- ESR]
grep is  /grep/ [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)'] vt. To rapidly scan a file or file set   looking for a particular string or See: grep2
grep2 is  pattern.  By extension, to look   for something by pattern.  "Grep the bulletin board for the system   backup schedule, would you?"  See also {vgrep}. 
grind is  vt. 1. [MIT and Berkeley] To format code, especially LISP   code, by indenting lines so that it looks pretty.  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 See: grind2
grind2 is  version of a   document from the nroff, troff, TeX, or Scribe source.  The BSD   program `vgrind(1)' grinds code for printing on a Versatec   bitmapped printer.  3. To run seemingly interminably, esp. (but   not necessarily) if performing some tedious and inherently useless   task.  See: grind3
grind3 is  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!" 
grind crank is  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 See: grind crank2
grind crank2 is  {grind} and {wugga wugga}.   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 See: grind crank3
grind crank3 is  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 See: grind crank4
grind crank4 is  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. 
gritch is  /grich/ 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).
grok is  /grok/, var. /grohk/ [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'] vt. 1. To understand, usually in a global sense.  Connotes   intimate and exhaustive knowledge.  See: grok2
grok2 is  Contrast {zen}, similar   supernal understanding 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." 
gronk is  /gronk/ [popularized by Johnny Hart's comic strip   "B.C." but the word apparently predates that] vt. 1. To   clear the state of a wedged device and restart it.  More severe   than `to {frob}'.  2. [TMRC] To cut, sever, smash, or   similarly disable.  3. The sound made by many 3.5-inch See: gronk2
gronk2 is  diskette   drives.  In particular, the microfloppies on a Commodore Amiga go   "grink, gronk". 
gronk out is  vi. To cease functioning.  Of people, to go home and go   to sleep.  "I guess I'll gronk out now; see you all tomorrow."
gronked is  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 See: gronked2
gronked2 is  same as {gronk} used of   hardware, but connotes depression or mental/emotional problems in   people. 
grovel is  vi. 1. To work interminably and without apparent progress.   Often used transitively with `over' or `through'.  "The file   scavenger has been groveling through the file directories for 10   minutes now."  Compare {grind} and {crunch}.  Emphatic form   `grovel obscenely'.  2. To See: grovel2
grovel2 is  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." 
grunge is  /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}.
gubbish is  /guhb'*sh/ [a portmanteau of `garbage' and `rubbish'?]   n. Garbage; crap; nonsense.  "What is all this gubbish?"  The   opposite portmanteau `rubbage' is also reported.
guiltware is  /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. {Shareware} that works.
gumby is  /guhm'bee/ [from a class of Monty Python characters, poss.   themselves named after the 1960s claymation character] n. An act of   minor but conspicuous stupidity, often in `gumby maneuver' or   `pull a gumby'.
gun is  [ITS from the `GUN' command] vt. 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."  Compare {can}.
gunch is  /guhnch/ [TMRC] vt. To push, prod, or poke at a device   that has almost produced the desired result.  Implies a threat to   {mung}.
gurfle is  /ger'fl/ interj. An expression of shocked disbelief.  "He   said we have to recode this thing in FORTRAN by next week.   Gurfle!"  Compare {weeble}.
guru is  n. 1. [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}.  2. Amiga   equivalent of `panic' in See: guru2
guru2 is  UNIX.  When the system crashes, a   cryptic message "GURU MEDITATION #XXXXXXXX.YYYYYYYY" appears,   indicating what the problem was.  An Amiga guru can figure things   out from the numbers.  Generally a {guru} event must be followed   by a {Vulcan nerve pinch}.*h [from SF fandom] infix. See: guru3
guru3 is  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 See: guru4
guru4 is  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,   See: guru5
guru5 is  etc.); this is prob. patterning on the original Whetstone (the name   of a laboratory) but influenced by the fannish/counterculture   h infix. 
ha ha only serious is  [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 See: ha ha only serious2
ha ha only serious2 is  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 See: ha ha only serious3
ha ha only serious3 is  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   {{Humor, Hacker}}, and {AI koans}. 
hack is  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 See: hack2
hack2 is  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)".  See: hack3
hack3 is  "I   hack solid-state physics."  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}.   See: hack4
hack4 is  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   the meaning of hack see appendix A. See: hack5
hack5 is   See also {neat hack},   {real hack}. 
hack attack is  [poss. by analogy with `Big Mac Attack' from ads   for the McDonald's fast-food chain; the variant `big hack attack'   is reported] n. Nearly synonymous with {hacking run}, though the   latter more strongly implies an all-nighter.
hack mode is  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 See: hack mode2
hack mode2 is  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 it   is more than a See: hack mode3
hack mode3 is  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 hackish See: hack mode4
hack mode4 is  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, See: hack mode5
hack mode5 is  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 See: hack mode6
hack mode6 is  your   head, and you dare not {swap} that context out until you have   reached a good point to pause. See also {juggling eggs}. 
hack on is  vt. 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}.
hack together is  vt. To throw something together so it will work.   Unlike `kluge together' or {cruft together}, this does not   necessarily have negative connotations.
hack up is  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}.
hack value is  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: hack value2
hack value2 is  See {display hack} for one   method of computing hack value, but this cannot really be   explained.  As a great artist once said of jazz "If you hafta ask,   you ain't never goin' to find out." 
hack-and-slay is  v. (also `hack-and-slash') 1. To play a {MUD}   or go mudding, especially with the intention of {berserking} for   pleasure.  2. To undertake an all-night programming/hacking   session, interspersed with stints of mudding as a change of pace.   This term arose on the British See: hack-and-slay2
hack-and-slay2 is  academic network amongst students   who worked nights and logged onto Essex University's MUDs during   public-access hours (2 A.M. to 7 A.M.).  Usually more   mudding than work was done in these sessions. 
hacked off is  [analogous to `pissed off'] adj. 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 See: hacked off2
hacked off2 is  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. 
hacked up is  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 See: hacked up2
hacked up2 is  maintainability, the software may emerge better for   the experience.  Contrast {hack up}. 
hacker is  [originally, someone who makes furniture with an axe] n.   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 See: hacker2
hacker2 is  (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 See: hacker3
hacker3 is  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 See: hacker4
hacker4 is  circumventing   limitations.  8. [deprecated] A malicious meddler who tries to   discover sensitive information by poking around.  Hence `password   hacker', `network hacker'.  See {cracker}.   It is better to be described as a hacker by others than to describe   oneself that way.  See: hacker5
hacker5 is  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 See: hacker6
hacker6 is  quickly be labeled   {bogus}). 
hacking run is  [analogy with `bombing run' or `speed run'] n. 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}).
Hacking X for Y is  [ITS] n. The information ITS made publicly   available about each user (the INQUIR record) was a sort of form in   which the user could fill out fields.  On display, two of these   fields were combined into a project description of the form   "Hacking X for Y" (e.g., See: Hacking X for Y2
Hacking X for Y2 is  `"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 file}s). 
Hackintosh is  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.
hackish is  /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}.
hackishness is  n. The quality of being or involving a hack.  This   term is considered mildly silly.  Syn.  {hackitude}.
hackitude is  n. Syn. {hackishness}; this word is considered sillier.
hair is  [back-formation from {hairy}] n. 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) See: hair2
hair2 is  "GNUMACS Elisp encourages lusers   to write complex editing modes."  "Yeah, it's pretty hairiferous   all right." (or just "Hair squared!") 
hairy is  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 See: hairy2
hairy2 is  nothing to worry about."  See   also {hirsute}. 
HAKMEM is  /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 See: HAKMEM2
HAKMEM2 is  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   See: HAKMEM3
HAKMEM3 is  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 See: HAKMEM4
HAKMEM4 is  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).  See: HAKMEM5
HAKMEM5 is  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 See: HAKMEM6
HAKMEM6 is  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 See: HAKMEM7
HAKMEM7 is  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 See: HAKMEM8
HAKMEM8 is  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.  Now add X to itself   X + X = ...111110 Thus, 2X = X - 1, so   See: HAKMEM9
HAKMEM9 is  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 See: HAKMEM10
HAKMEM10 is  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 See: HAKMEM11
HAKMEM11 is  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, See: HAKMEM12
HAKMEM12 is  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 See: HAKMEM13
HAKMEM13 is  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 See: HAKMEM14
HAKMEM14 is  these examples show some of its fun flavor. 
hakspek is  /hak'speek/ n. A shorthand method of spelling found on   many British academic bulletin boards and {talker system}s.   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 See: hakspek2
hakspek2 is  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   See: hakspek3
hakspek3 is  operated on archaic machines with outdated operating systems and   no standard methods of communication.  Has become rarer since.   See also {talk mode}. 
hamster is  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. [UK] Any item   of hardware made by Amstrad, a company famous for its cheap   plastic PC-almost-compatibles.
hand-hacking is  n. 1. The practice of translating {hot spot}s 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}.  See: hand-hacking2
hand-hacking2 is  2. 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. 
handshaking is  n. 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 See: handshaking2
handshaking2 is  others' points and say "Oh, they're   handshaking!".  See also {protocol}. 
handwave is  [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 See: handwave2
handwave2 is  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   See: handwave3
handwave3 is  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 See: handwave4
handwave4 is  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 See: handwave5
handwave5 is  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. 
hang is  v. 1. 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 See: hang2
hang2 is  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. 
Hanlon's Razor is  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   common title Hanlon's Razor is unknown; a similar epigram has been   attributed to William See: Hanlon's Razor2
Hanlon's Razor2 is  James.  Quoted here because it seems to be a   particular favorite of hackers, often showing up in {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 See: Hanlon's Razor3
Hanlon's Razor3 is  well-intentioned but short-sighted people. 
happily is  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 See: happily2
happily2 is  ignorance.  "The program continues to   run, happily unaware that its output is going to /dev/null." 
hard boot is  n. See {boot}.
hardcoded is  adj. 1. 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 See: hardcoded2
hardcoded2 is  literal instead of a   `#define' macro (see {magic number}). 
hardwarily is  /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}.
hardwired is  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.
has the X nature is  [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} See: has the X nature2
has the X nature2 is  nature!"  See also {the X that can be Y   is not the true X}. 
hash bucket is  n. A notional receptacle into which more than one   thing accessed by the same key or short code might be dropped.   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 See: hash bucket2
hash bucket2 is  letter sections.  This 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' may be confused with each other.   "If you hash English words only by See: hash bucket3
hash bucket3 is  length, you get too many common   grammar words in the first couple of hash buckets." Compare {hash   collision}. 
hash collision is  [from the technical usage] n. (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. See: hash collision2
hash collision2 is   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}. 
hat is  n. Common (spoken) name for the circumflex (`^', ASCII   1011110) character.  See {ASCII} for other synonyms.
HCF is  /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 See: HCF2
HCF2 is  was the first for which the 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 can actually cause lines to burn   up. 
heads down is  [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 it is not confined to   fledgling hackers.
heartbeat is  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 See: heartbeat2
heartbeat2 is  `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 See: heartbeat3
heartbeat3 is  stops   hearing a heartbeat.  See also {breath-of-life packet}. 
heavy metal is  [Cambridge] n. Syn. {big iron}.
heavy wizardry is  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 See: heavy wizardry2
heavy wizardry2 is  drivers is heavy wizardry; so is   interfacing to {X} (sense 2) without a toolkit.  Esp. found in   comments similar to "Heavy wizardry begins here ...".  Compare   {voodoo programming}. 
heavyweight is  adj. 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 See: heavyweight2
heavyweight2 is  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 man's heavyweight is another's {elephantine}   and a third's {monstrosity}.  Oppose `lightweight'. 
heisenbug is  /hi'zen-buhg/ [from Heisenberg's Uncertainty   Principle in quantum physics] n. A bug that disappears or alters   its behavior when one attempts to probe or isolate it.  Antonym of   {Bohr bug}; see also {mandelbug}.  In C, nine out of ten heisenbugs   result from either {fandango See: heisenbug2
heisenbug2 is  on core} phenomena (esp. lossage   related to corruption of the malloc {arena}) or errors that   {smash the stack}. 
Helen Keller mode is  n. 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 See: Helen Keller mode2
Helen Keller mode2 is  was triumphant.)  See also   {go flatline}, {catatonic}. 
hello, sailor! is  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 See: hello, sailor!2
hello, sailor!2 is  off the boat, of   course. 
hello, wall! is  excl. See {wall}.
hello, world is  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 See: hello, world2
hello, world2 is  (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 See: hello, world3
hello, world3 is  hacker making an   entrance or requesting information from anyone present.  "Hello,   world!  Is the {VAX} back up yet?" 
hex is  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 See: hex2
hex2 is  surplus ICs for sale to be   worn as protective amulets against hostile magic.  The chips were,   of course, hex inverters. 
hexadecimal is  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 See: hexadecimal2
hexadecimal2 is  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   See: hexadecimal3
hexadecimal3 is  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 See: hexadecimal4
hexadecimal4 is  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. 
hexit is  /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}).
hidden flag is  [scientific computation] n. 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 See: hidden flag2
hidden flag2 is  meaningless feature of the existing inputs,   such as a negative mass.  Liberal use of hidden flags can make a   program very hard to debug and understand. 
high bit is  [from `high-order bit'] n. 1. The most significant   bit in a byte.  2. 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 See: high bit2
high bit2 is  mainstream slang   `bottom line'. 
high moby is  /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 See: high moby2
high moby2 is  (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   {grok}ked this instantly.  See {moby}. 
highly is  [scientific computation] adv. 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 See: highly2
highly2 is  unpredictable; `highly   nontechnical', drivel written for {luser}s, 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. 
hirsute is  adj. Occasionally used humorously as a synonym for {hairy}.
HLL is  /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 See: HLL2
HLL2 is  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}. 
hobbit is  n. 1. 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.
hog is  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 See: hog2
hog2 is  slow themselves (see {pig,   run like a}).  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 See: hog3
hog3 is  *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 See: hog4
hog4 is  one to infect, claiming to the   sysadmin that they have an important new project to complete. 
holy wars is  [from {USENET}, but may predate it] n. {flame   war}s 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".  Other See: holy wars2
holy wars2 is  perennial Holy   Wars have included {EMACS} vs. {vi}, my personal computer vs.   everyone else's personal computer, {{ITS}} vs. {{UNIX}},   {{UNIX}} vs. {VMS}, {BSD} UNIX vs. {USG UNIX}, {C} vs.   {{Pascal}}, {C} vs. {LISP}, etc., ad nauseam.  The   characteristic that See: holy wars3
holy wars3 is  distinguishes {holy wars} from normal   technical disputes is that in a holy wars most of the participants   spend their time trying to pass off personal value choices and   cultural attachments as objective technical evaluations. See also   {theology}. 
home box is  n. A hacker's personal machine, especially one he or she   owns.  "Yeah?  Well, *my* home box runs a full 4.2 BSD, so   there!"
hook is  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 See: hook2
hook2 is  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 See: hook3
hook3 is  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   See: hook4
hook4 is  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 See: hook5
hook5 is  formal and less hackish. 
hop is  n. 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}), the important   inter-machine metric is the number of hops in the shortest path   between them, rather than their See: hop2
hop2 is  geographical separation.  See   {bang path}. 
hose is  1. vt. 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. See: hose2
hose2 is  Cabling, especially   thick Ethernet cable.  This is sometimes called `bit hose' or   `hosery' (play on `hosiery') or `etherhose'.  See also   {washing machine}. 
hosed is  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.  See   {hose}.  It is also widely used of See: hosed2
hosed2 is  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 See: hosed3
hosed3 is  hoses.  The problem was corrected, and users were then   assured that everything was OK because the system had been rehosed.   See also {dehose}. 
hot spot is  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 See: hot spot2
hot spot2 is  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 See: hot spot3
hot spot3 is  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. In a massively parallel computer with shared memory, the one   location that See: hot spot4
hot spot4 is  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). 
house wizard is  [prob. from ad-agency lingo, `house freak'] n. 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 See: house wizard2
house wizard2 is  suit.  Used esp. of UNIX wizards.  The   term `house guru' is equivalent. 
HP-SUX is  /H-P suhks/ n. Unflattering hackerism for HP-UX,   Hewlett-Packard's UNIX port.  Features some truly unique bogosities   in the filesystem internals and elsewhere which occasionally create   portability problems.  HP-UX is often referred to as `hockey-pux'   inside HP, and one See: HP-SUX2
HP-SUX2 is  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 See: HP-SUX3
HP-SUX3 is  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 {buglix}.   See also {Telerat}, {sun-stools}, {terminak}. 
huff is  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}.
humma is  // 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 See: humma2
humma2 is  time-sharing system running in Minnesota   during the 1970s and the early 1980s) but was later sighted on   early UNIX systems. 
Humor, Hacker is  n. A distinctive style of shared intellectual humor   found among hackers, having the following distinctive   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 See: Humor, Hacker2
Humor, Hacker2 is  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 See: Humor, Hacker3
Humor, Hacker3 is  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 See: Humor, Hacker4
Humor, Hacker4 is  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 See: Humor, Hacker5
Humor, Hacker5 is  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}, {AI koans}.   See: Humor, Hacker6
Humor, Hacker6 is  See also {filk}, {retrocomputing}, and appendix B.  If you have an   itchy feeling that all 6 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 See: Humor, Hacker7
Humor, Hacker7 is  recognizable (though in a less marked form) throughout   {{science-fiction fandom}}. 
hung is  [from `hung up'] adj. 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 {crash}ed or {down}, where the   program or system is also unusable See: hung2
hung2 is  but because it is not running   rather than because it is waiting for something.  However, the   recovery from both situations is often the same. 
hungry puppy is  n. Syn. {slopsucker}.
hungus is  /huhng'g*s/ [perhaps related to slang `humongous'] adj.   Large, unwieldy, usually unmanageable.  "TCP is a hungus piece of   code."  "This is a hungus set of modifications."
hyperspace is  /hi'per-spays/ n. A memory location that is *far*   away from where the program counter should be pointing, often   inaccessible because it is not even mapped in.  "Another core   dump --- looks like the program jumped off to hyperspace   somehow."  (Compare {jump off into See: hyperspace2
hyperspace2 is  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 See: hyperspace3
hyperspace3 is  hackers.*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   See: hyperspace4
hyperspace4 is  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 See: hyperspace5
hyperspace5 is  admit some major restructuring of the   program that shouldn't have broken anything, in their opinion,   but which actually {hosed} the code completely. 
I see no X here. is  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 See: I see no X here.2
I see no X here.2 is  respond in this wise if you asked   it to do something involving an object not present at your location   in the game. 
i14y is  // n. Abbrev. for `interoperability', with the `14'   replacing fourteen letters.  Used in the {X} (windows)   community.  Refers to portability and compatibility of data formats   (even binary ones) between different programs or implementations of   the same program on different machines.
i18n is  // n. Abbrev. for `internationali{z,s}ation', with the 18   replacing 18 letters.  Used in the {X} (windows) community.
IBM is  /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 See: IBM2
IBM2 is  illustrate the considerable   antipathy most hackers have long felt toward the `industry leader'   (see {fear and loathing}).   What galls hackers about most IBM machines above the PC level isn't   so much that they are underpowered and overpriced (though that does   count against them), See: IBM3
IBM3 is  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.  With the release of the UNIX-based RIOS See: IBM4
IBM4 is  family this may have   begun to change --- but then, we thought that when the PC-RT came   out, too.   In the spirit of universal peace and brotherhood, this lexicon now   includes a number of entries attributed to `IBM'; these derive from some   rampantly unofficial jargon lists See: IBM5
IBM5 is  circulated within IBM's own   beleaguered hacker underground. 
IBM discount is  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.
ice is  [coined by USENETter Tom Maddox, popularized by William   Gibson's cyberpunk SF novels acronym for `Intrusion   Countermeasure Electronics'] Security software (in Gibson's novels,   software that responds to intrusion by attempting to literally kill   the intruder).  Also, `icebreaker' a See: ice2
ice2 is  program designed for   cracking security on a system.  Neither term is in serious use yet   as of mid-1991, but many hackers find the metaphor attractive, and   each may develop a denotation in the future. 
ifdef out is  /if'def owt/ v. Syn. for {condition out}, specific   to {C}.
ill-behaved is  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) See: ill-behaved2
ill-behaved2 is  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 See: ill-behaved3
ill-behaved3 is  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}. 
IMHO is  // [from SF fandom via USENET; acronym 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 See: IMHO2
IMHO2 is  Not-So-Humble Opinion) and IMAO   (In My Arrogant Opinion). 
in the extreme is  adj. A preferred superlative suffix for many hackish   terms.  See, for example, `obscure in the extreme' under {obscure},   and compare {highly}.
incantation is  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 they must be learned from a   {wizard}.  "This See: incantation2
incantation2 is  compiler normally locates initialized data   in the data segment, but if you {mutter} the right incantation they   will be forced into text space." 
include is  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 the discussion of inclusion styles under "Hacker   Writing Style".  2. [from {C}] See: include2
include2 is  `#include <disclaimer.h>'   has appeared in {sig block}s to refer to a notional `standard   disclaimer file'. 
include war is  n. Excessive multi-leveled including 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 {flame}s and the urge to start a {kill file}.
indent style is  [C programmers] n. The rules one uses to indent code   in a readable fashion; a subject of {holy wars}.  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.  The See: indent style2
indent style2 is  significant variable is the placement of   `{' and `}' with respect to the statement(s) they   enclose and 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   See: indent style3
indent style3 is  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.  The basic indent   shown here is eight spaces (or one tab) per level; four or are   occasionally See: indent style4
indent style4 is  seen, but are much less common.     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.   Basic See: indent style5
indent style5 is  indent per level shown here is eight spaces, but four is just   as common (esp. in C++ code).     if (cond)     {             <body>     }   `Whitesmiths style' --- popularized by the examples that came   with Whitesmiths C, an early commercial C compiler.  Basic indent   per See: indent style6
indent style6 is  level shown here is eight spaces, but four is 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 See: indent style7
indent style7 is  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 See: indent style8
indent style8 is  now much less common (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 See: indent style9
indent style9 is  vertical space, which enables   one to see more code on one's screen at once.  Doubtless these   issues will continue to be the subject of {holy wars}. 
index is  n. See {coefficient}.
infant mortality is  n. It is common lore among hackers that the   chances of sudden hardware failure drop off exponentially with a   machine's time since power-up (that is, until the relatively   distant time at which enough mechanical wear in I/O devices and   thermal-cycling stress in See: infant mortality2
infant mortality2 is  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 See: infant mortality3
infant mortality3 is  syndrome').  See   {bathtub curve}, {burn-in period}. 
infinite is  adj. 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 See: infinite2
infinite2 is  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}. 
infinite loop is  n. One that never terminates (that is, the machine   {spin}s or {buzz}es forever; the usual symptom is   {catatonia}).  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 See: infinite loop2
infinite loop2 is  loop in under 2 seconds!" 
infinity is  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 See: infinity2
infinity2 is  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. 
insanely great is  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.
INTERCAL is  /in't*r-kal/ [said by the authors to stand for   `Compiler Language With No Pronounceable Acronym'] n. A   computer language designed by Don Woods and James Lyon in 1972.   INTERCAL is purposely different from all other computer   languages in all ways but one; it is purely a See: INTERCAL2
INTERCAL2 is  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  See: INTERCAL3
INTERCAL3 is        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 See: INTERCAL4
INTERCAL4 is  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   See: INTERCAL5
INTERCAL5 is  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   See: INTERCAL6
INTERCAL6 is  alt.lang.intercal newsgroup devoted to the study and ...   appreciation of the language on USENET. 
interesting is  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}.
Internet address is  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 {network,   the} and {network address}.  All See: Internet address2
Internet address2 is  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; See: Internet address3
Internet address3 is  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     See: Internet address4
Internet address4 is  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 See: Internet address5
Internet address5 is  the U.S. outside the functional domains     su          sites in the 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   See: Internet address6
Internet address6 is  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. 
interrupt is  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 See: interrupt2
interrupt2 is  seen Joe   recently?"  See {priority interrupt}.  3. Under MS-DOS, the   term `interrupt' is nearly synonymous with `system call', because   the OS and BIOS routines are both called using the INT instruction   (see {{interrupt list, the}}) and because programmers so often have   to See: interrupt3
interrupt3 is  bypass the OS (going directly to a BIOS interrupt) to get   reasonable performance. 
interrupt list, the is  [MS-DOS] n. 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 (ralf@cs.cmu.edu).  As of early 1991, it had grown to   approximately a megabyte in length.
interrupts locked out is  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 of this abound; "to See: interrupts locked out2
interrupts locked out2 is  have one's interrupt mask bit set"   or "interrupts masked out" is also heard.  See also {spl}. 
iron is  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}.
Iron Age is  n. In the history of computing, 1961--1971 --- the   formative era of commercial {mainframe} technology, when {big   iron} {dinosaur}s ruled the earth.  These began with the delivery   of the first PDP-1, coincided with the dominance of ferrite   {core}, and ended with the See: Iron Age2
Iron Age2 is  introduction of the first commercial   microprocessor (the Intel 4004) in 1971.  See also {Stone Age};   compare {elder days}. 
iron box is  [UNIX/Internet] n. 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 hacker's   movements in unobvious ways, and `bait' files designed to keep him   interested and logged See: iron box2
iron box2 is  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).  Compare {padded cell}. 
ironmonger is  [IBM] n. Derogatory.  A hardware specialist.  Compare   {sandbender}, {polygon pusher}.
ITS is  /I-T-S/ n. 1. Incompatible Time-sharing System, an   influential but 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 See: ITS2
ITS2 is  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   See: ITS3
ITS3 is  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}).  The Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden is   maintaining one See: ITS4
ITS4 is  `live' ITS site at its computer museum (right next   to the only TOPS-10 system still on the Internet), so ITS is still   alleged to hold the record for OS in longest continuous use   (however, {{WAITS}} is a credible rival for this palm).  See   appendix A.  2. A mythical image of See: ITS5
ITS5 is  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   See: ITS6
ITS6 is  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}. 
IWBNI is  // [acronym] `It Would Be Nice If'.  Compare {WIBNI}.
IYFEG is  // [USENET] Abbreviation for `Insert Your Favorite Ethnic   Group'.  Used as a meta-name when telling racist jokes on the net to   avoid offending anyone.  See {JEDR}.*J. Random /J rand'm/ n. [generalized from {J. Random Hacker}]   Arbitrary; ordinary; any one; any old.  `J. Random' is See: IYFEG2
IYFEG2 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 See: IYFEG3
IYFEG3 is  be allowed to {gun} down other   people?"), but it can be used simply as an elaborate version of   {random} in any sense. 
J. Random Hacker is  [MIT] /J rand'm hak'r/ n. A mythical figure   like the Unknown Soldier; the archetypal hacker nerd.  See   {random}, {Suzie COBOL}.  This may originally have been   inspired or influenced by `J. Fred Muggs', a show-biz chimpanzee   whose name was a household word back in the early days of {TMRC}.
jaggies is  /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).
JCL is  /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 See: JCL2
JCL2 is  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 See: JCL3
JCL3 is    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 See: JCL4
JCL4 is  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}. 
JEDR is  // 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 See: JEDR2
JEDR2 is  joke posted there.  (The   practice was {retcon}ned 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   See: JEDR3
JEDR3 is  `sensitivity' arguments for censorship so thoroughly that more   recent attempts to raise them have met with immediate and   near-universal rejection. 
JFCL is  /jif'kl/, /jaf'kl/, /j*-fi'kl/ vt., obs. (alt.   `jfcl') To cancel or annul something.  "Why don't you jfcl that   out?"  The fastest do-nothing instruction on older models of the   PDP-10 happened to be JFCL, which stands for "Jump if Flag set and   then CLear the flag"; this does See: JFCL2
JFCL2 is  something useful, but is a very   fast no-operation if no flag is specified.  Geoff Goodfellow, one   of the jargon-1 co-authors, has long had JFCL on the license plate   of his BMW.  Usage rare except among old-time PDP-10 hackers. 
jiffy is  n. 1. The duration of one tick of the system clock on the   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 See: jiffy2
jiffy2 is  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. Indeterminate time from a few seconds   to forever.  "I'll do it in a jiffy" means See: jiffy3
jiffy3 is  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}. 
job security is  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 See: job security2
job security2 is  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. 
jock is  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 See: jock2
jock2 is  examples of this. 
joe code is  /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 See: joe code2
joe code2 is  the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory and observed   that usage has drifted slightly; the original sobriquet `Joe code'   was intended in sense 1. 
JR[LN] is  /J-R-L/, /J-R-N/ n. The names JRL and JRN   were sometimes used as example names when discussing a kind of user   ID used under {{TOPS-10}}; they were understood to be the initials   of (fictitious) programmers named `J. Random Loser' and `J. Random   Nerd' (see {J. Random}).  For See: JR[LN]2
JR[LN]2 is  example, if one said "To log   in, type log one comma jay are en" (that is, "log 1,JRN"), the   listener would have understood that he should use his own computer   ID in place of `JRN'. 
JRST is  /jerst/ [based on the PDP-10 jump instruction] v.,obs. To   suddenly change subjects, with no intention of returning to the   previous topic.  Usage rather rare except among PDP-10 diehards, and   considered silly.  See also {AOS}.
juggling eggs is  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 first-contact SF novel `The Mote in   God's Eye', by Larry Niven See: juggling eggs2
juggling eggs2 is  and Jerry Pournelle, an alien describes a   very difficult task by saying "We juggle priceless eggs in   variable gravity."  That is a very hackish use of language.  See   also {hack mode}. 
jump off into never-never land is  [from J. M. Barrie's `Peter   Pan'] v. 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}.*K /K/ [from {kilo-}] n. A kilobyte.  This is See: jump off into never-never land2
jump off into never-never land2 is  used both as a   spoken word and a written suffix (like {meg} and {gig} for   megabyte and gigabyte).  See {{quantifiers}}. 
K&R is  [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 0-113-110163-3).  Syn.   {White Book}, {Old Testament}.  See also {New Testament}.
kahuna is  /k*-hoo'nuh/ [IBM from the Hawaiian title for a shaman] n.   Synonym for {wizard}, {guru}.
kamikaze packet is  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 See: kamikaze packet2
kamikaze packet2 is  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}. 
kangaroo code is  n. Syn. {spaghetti code}.
ken is  /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 See: ken2
ken2 is  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.  See: ken3
ken3 is  This was   originated by the Software Support group at Symbolics because the   two greatest flamers in the user community were both named Ken. 
kgbvax is  /K-G-B'vaks/ n. See {kremvax}.
kill file is  [USENET] n. (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 See: kill file2
kill file2 is  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}. 
killer micro is  [popularized by Eugene Brooks] n. 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 See: killer micro2
killer micro2 is  architectures.   The popularity of the phrase `attack of the killer micros' is   doubtless reinforced by the movie title "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 See: killer micro3
killer micro3 is  micros have gone on the offensive not just   individually (in workstations) but in hordes (within massively   parallel computers). 
killer poke is  n. A recipe for inducing hardware damage on a machine   via insertion of invalid values (see {poke}) in a memory-mapped   control register; used esp. of various fairly well-known tricks   on {bitty box}es without hardware memory management (such as the   IBM PC and Commodore PET) See: killer poke2
killer poke2 is  that can overload and trash analog   electronics in the monitor.  See also {HCF}. 
kilo- is  [SI] pref. See {{quantifiers}}.
KIPS is  /kips/ [acronym, by analogy with {MIPS} using {K}] n.   Thousands (*not* 1024s) of Instructions Per Second.  Usage   rare.
KISS Principle is  /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".
kit is  [USENET] n. 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 See: kit2
kit2 is  {README file}.  The more general   term {distribution} may imply that special tools or more   stringent conditions on the host environment are required. 
klone is  /klohn/ n. See {clone}, sense 4.
kludge is  /kluhj/ n. Common (but incorrect) variant of {kluge}, q.v.
kluge is  /klooj/ [from the German `klug', clever] 1. n.  A Rube   Goldberg (or Heath Robinson) device, whether in hardware or   software.  (A long-ago `Datamation' article by Jackson Granholme   said "An ill-assorted collection of poorly matching parts,   forming a distressing whole.")  2. n. A See: kluge2
kluge2 is  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}.  In fact, the   TMRC Dictionary defined `kludge' as "a crock that works".  3. n.   See: kluge3
kluge3 is  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 See: kluge4
kluge4 is  encountered in the variant spelling   `kludge'.  Reports from {old fart}s are consistent that `kluge'   was the original spelling, and that `kludge' arose by mutation   sometime in the early 1970s.  Some people who encountered the word   first in print or on-line jumped to the See: kluge5
kluge5 is  reasonable but incorrect   conclusion that the word should be pronounced /kluhj/ (rhyming   with `sludge').  The result of this tangled history is a mess; in   1991, many (perhaps even most) hackers pronounce the word correctly   as /klooj/ but spell it incorrectly as `kludge' (compare See: kluge6
kluge6 is  the   pronunciation drift of {mung}).  Some observers consider this   appropriate in view of its meaning. 
kluge around is  vt. To avoid a bug or difficult condition by   inserting a {kluge}.  Compare {workaround}.
kluge up is  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 See: kluge up2
kluge up2 is  buffer contents to a safe place." 
Knights of the Lambda Calculus is  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 See: Knights of the Lambda Calculus2
Knights of the Lambda Calculus2 is  unclear, but one well-known LISPer has been known   to give out buttons and, in general, the *members* know who   they are.... 
Knuth is  [Donald E. Knuth's `The Art of Computer Programming']   n. 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 {literature,   the}.  See also {bible}.
kremvax is  /krem-vaks/ [from the then large number of {USENET}   {VAXen} with names of the form foovax] n. 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 See: kremvax2
kremvax2 is  actually forged by Piet   Beertema as an April Fool's joke.  Other fictitious sites mentioned in the   hoax were moskvax and {kgbvax}, which now seems to be the one by   which it is remembered.  This was probably the funniest of the many   April Fool's forgeries perpetrated on USENET See: kremvax3
kremvax3 is  (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   See: kremvax4
kremvax4 is  convincing that the postings from it weren't just another prank.   Vadim Antonov (avg@hq.demos.su), the major poster from there   up to at least the end of 1990, was quite aware of all this,   referred to it frequently in his own postings, and at one point   twitted some credulous See: kremvax5
kremvax5 is  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 truth   and demonstrating that the hackish sense of humor transcends   cultural barriers.  [Mr. Antonov also See: kremvax6
kremvax6 is  contributed the   Russian-language material for this lexicon. --- ESR]*lace card n. obs. A {{punched card}} with all holes punched (also   called a `whoopee card').  Card readers jammed when they got to   one of these, as the resulting card had too little structural   strength to See: kremvax7
kremvax7 is  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. 
language lawyer is  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 See: language lawyer2
language lawyer2 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}. 
languages of choice is  n. {C} and {LISP}.  Nearly every hacker   knows one of these, and most good ones are fluent in both.  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 See: languages of choice2
languages of choice2 is  assembler, as their language of choice.  They   often prefer to be known as {real programmer}s, and other hackers   consider them a bit odd (see "The Story of Mel, a Real Programmer"   in appendix A).  Assembler is generally no longer considered   interesting or See: languages of choice3
languages of choice3 is  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}}, See: languages of choice4
languages of choice4 is  which don't give them the near-total freedom considered   necessary for hacking (see {bondage-and-discipline language}), and   to regard everything that's even remotely connected with {COBOL}   or other traditional {card walloper} languages as a total   and unmitigated {loss}. 
larval stage is  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 See: larval stage2
larval stage2 is  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 See: larval stage3
larval stage3 is  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. 
lase is  /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."
laser chicken is  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 See: laser chicken2
laser chicken2 is  beams.   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,   See: laser chicken3
laser chicken3 is  mythically, do some of the inhabitants of Chernobyl). 
laundromat is  n. Syn. {disk farm}; see {washing machine}.
LDB is  /l*'d*b/ [from the PDP-10 instruction set] vt. 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}.
leaf site is  n. A machine that merely originates and reads USENET   news or mail, and does not relay any third-party traffic.  Often   uttered in a critical tone; when the ratio of leaf sites to   backbone, rib, and other relay sites gets too high, the network   tends to develop bottlenecks.  See: leaf site2
leaf site2 is  Compare {backbone site}, {rib   site}. 
leak is  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} See: leak2
leak2 is  and {fd leak} have their own entries; one   might also refer, to, say, a `window handle leak' in a window   system. 
leaky heap is  [Cambridge] n. An {arena} with a {memory leak}.
legal is  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 See: legal2
legal2 is  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 See: legal3
legal3 is  as by   the more conventional one having to do with courts and lawyers.   Compare {language lawyer}, {legalese}. 
legalese is  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 See: legalese2
legalese2 is  (indeed, they rather enjoy   both), they share a deep and abiding loathing for legalese; they   associate it with deception, {suit}s, and situations in which   hackers generally get the short end of the stick. 
LER is  /L-E-R/ [TMRC, from `Light-Emitting Diode] n. A   light-emitting resistor (that is, one in the process of burning   up).  Ohm's law was broken.  See {SED}.
LERP is  /lerp/ vi.,n. Quasi-acronym for Linear Interpolation, used as a   verb or noun for the operation.  E.g., Bresenham's algorithm lerps   incrementally between the two endpoints of the line.
let the smoke out is  v. To fry hardware (see {fried}).  See   {magic smoke} for the mythology behind this.
letterbomb is  n. A piece of {email} containing {live data}   intended to do nefarious things to the recipient's machine or   terminal.  It is possible, for example, to send letterbombs that   will lock up some specific kinds of terminals when they are viewed,   so thoroughly that the user must See: letterbomb2
letterbomb2 is  {cycle power} 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.  See also {Trojan horse};   compare {nastygram}. 
lexer is  /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 `=-'."
lexiphage is  /lek'si-fayj`/ n. A notorious word {chomper} on   ITS.  See {bagbiter}.
life is  n. 1. A cellular-automata game invented by John Horton   Conway and first introduced publicly by Martin Gardner (`Scientific   American', October 1970).  Many hackers pass through a stage of   fascination with it, and hackers at various places contributed   heavily to the mathematical See: life2
life2 is  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 See: life3
life3 is  {USENET}.   As in {Get a life!} 
light pipe is  n. Fiber optic cable.  Oppose {copper}.
like kicking dead whales down the beach is  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 See: like kicking dead whales down the beach2
like kicking dead whales down the beach2 is  kicking dead whales down the beach."   See also {fear and loathing} 
like nailing jelly to a tree is  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 See: like nailing jelly to a tree2
like nailing jelly to a tree2 is  graph is like nailing jelly to a tree,   because nobody's sure what `prettiest' means algorithmically." 
line eater, the is  [USENET] n. 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 See: line eater, the2
line eater, the2 is  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 See: line eater, the3
line eater, the3 is  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 See: line eater, the4
line eater, the4 is  is   still (in mid-1991) occasionally reported to be lurking in some   mail-to-netnews gateways.  2. See {NSA line eater}. 
line starve is  [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 See: line starve2
line starve2 is  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.  Unlike `line feed', `line starve'   is *not* standard {{ASCII}} See: line starve3
line starve3 is  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/troff) that suppresses a   {newline} or other character(s) that would normally be emitted. 
link farm is  [UNIX] n. A directory tree that contains many links to   files in a master directory tree of files.  Link farms save space   when (for example) one is maintaining several nearly identical   copies of the same source tree, e.g., when the only difference is   architecture-dependent See: link farm2
link farm2 is  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. 
link-dead is  [MUD] adj. Said of a {MUD} character who has frozen in   place because of a dropped Internet connection.
lint is  [from UNIX's `lint(1)', named perhaps for the bits of   fluff it 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 See: lint2
lint2 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   See: lint3
lint3 is  draft has too much lint". 
lion food is  [IBM] n. Middle management or HQ staff (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 agreed to meet after 2 months.  When they finally   meet, one is skinny and the other See: lion food2
lion food2 is  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 See: lion food3
lion food3 is  office and ate a   manager a day.  And nobody even noticed!"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 See: lion food4
lion food4 is  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 See: lion food5
lion food5 is  secret status on the   kernel, the Lions book was never formally published and 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. 
LISP is  [from `LISt Processing language', but mythically from   `Lots of Irritating Superfluous Parentheses'] n. The name of 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 See: LISP2
LISP2 is  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 See: LISP3
LISP3 is  LISP 1.5.   The dominant HLL among hackers until the early 1980s, LISP now   shares the throne with {C}.  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 See: LISP4
LISP4 is  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 See: LISP5
LISP5 is  unnecessary {crock}s.  When the {Right Thing} has already   been done once, there is no justification for {bogosity} in newer   languages. 
literature, the is  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.
little-endian is  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 See: little-endian2
little-endian2 is  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 these are bits within a byte. 
live data is  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 See: live data2
live data2 is  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 See: live data3
live data3 is  send   arbitrary commands back to the machine when they are simply viewed.   2. In C code, data that includes pointers to function {hook}s   (executable code).  3. An object, such as a {trampoline}, that is   constructed on the fly by a program and intended to be executed as   See: live data4
live data4 is  code. 4. Actual real-world data, as opposed to `test data'.   For example, "I think I have the record deletion module   finished."  "Have you tried it out on live data?"  It usually   carries the connotation that live data is more fragile and must not   be corrupted, else bad See: live data5
live data5 is  things will happen.  So a possible alternate   response to the above claim 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-deletion module See: live data6
live data6 is  running amok on live data would   cause great harm and probably require restoring from backups. 
Live Free Or Die! is  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 See: Live Free Or Die!2
Live Free Or Die!2 is  industry.  The "free" referred specifically to   freedom from the {fascist} design philosophies and crufty   misfeatures common on commercial operating systems.  Armando   Stettner, one of the early UNIX developers, used to give out fake   license plates bearing this motto See: Live Free Or Die!3
Live Free Or Die!3 is  under a large UNIX, all in New   Hampshire colors of green and white.  These are now valued   collector's items. 
livelock is  /liv'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 See: livelock2
livelock2 is  waiting for anything, but has a   virtually infinite amount of work to do and can never catch up. 
liveware is  /liv'weir/ n. 1. Synonym for {wetware}.  Less   common.  2. [Cambridge] Vermin. "Waiter, there's some liveware in my   salad..."
lobotomy is  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 See: lobotomy2
lobotomy2 is  order to replace or upgrade it.   Some very cheap {clone} systems are sold in `lobotomized' form   --- everything but the brain. 
locked and loaded is  [from military slang for an M-16 rifle with   magazine inserted and prepared for firing] adj. 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 See: locked and loaded2
locked and loaded2 is  the power is up, this description is never   used of {{Winchester}} drives (which are named after a rifle). 
locked up is  adj. Syn. for {hung}, {wedged}.
logic bomb is  n. Code surreptitiously inserted in an application or   OS that causes it to perform some destructive or   security-compromising activity whenever specified conditions are   met.  Compare {back door}.
logical is  [from the technical term `logical device', wherein a   physical device is referred to by an arbitrary `logical' name]   adj.  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 See: logical2
logical2 is  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., See: logical3
logical3 is  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 See: logical4
logical4 is  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 See: logical5
logical5 is  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 See: logical6
logical6 is  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 See: logical7
logical7 is  `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, See: logical8
logical8 is  and finish headed due east!) 
loop through is  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 See: loop through2
loop through2 is  say `IRP over' after an   obscure pseudo-op in the MIDAS PDP-10 assembler. 
lord high fixer is  [primarily British, from Gilbert & Sullivan's   `lord high executioner'] n. The person in an organization who knows   the most about some aspect of a system.  See {wizard}.
lose  is  [MIT] vi. 1. 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}.  See: lose 2
lose 2 is  4. n. Refers to something that is   {losing}, especially in the phrases "That's a lose!" and "What   a lose!" 
lose lose is  interj. A reply to or comment on an undesirable   situation.  "I accidentally deleted all my files!"  "Lose,   lose."
loser is  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 See: loser2
loser2 is  loser', which would be a   contradiction in terms).  See {luser}. 
losing is  adj. Said of anything that is or causes a {lose} or   {lossage}.
loss is  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 See: loss2
loss2 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}. 
lossage is  /los'*j/ n. 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 See: lossage2
lossage2 is  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. 
lost in the noise is  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, See: lost in the noise2
lost in the noise2 is  astronomers, and statisticians all use it. 
lost in the underflow is  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 See: lost in the underflow2
lost in the underflow2 is  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 See: lost in the underflow3
lost in the underflow3 is  effect gets lost in the   underflow."  See also {overflow bit}. 
lots of MIPS but no I/O is  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. See: lots of MIPS but no I/O2
lots of MIPS but no I/O2 is  RS/6000, is a notorious recent   example). 
low-bandwidth is  [from communication theory] adj. 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 {suit}s!"  Compare {zero-content},   {bandwidth}, {math-out}.
LPT is  /L-P-T/ or /lip'it/ or /lip-it'/ [MIT, via DEC] n.  Line   printer, of course.  Rare under UNIX, commoner in hackers with   MS-DOS or CP/M background.  The printer device is called   `LPT' on those systems that, like ITS, were strongly   influenced by early DEC conventions.
lunatic fringe is  [IBM] n. Customers who can be relied upon to accept   release 1 versions of software.
lurker is  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 See: lurker2
lurker2 is  hypothetical audience for the group's   {flamage}-emitting regulars. 
luser is  /loo'zr/ n. 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 See: luser2
luser2 is  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 See: luser3
luser3 is  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" See: luser4
luser4 is  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 See: luser5
luser5 is  seen in program comments.*M [SI] pref. (on units) suff. (on numbers) See {{quantifiers}}. 
macdink is  /mak'dink/ [from the Apple Macintosh, which is said to   encourage such behavior] vt. 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 See: macdink2
macdink2 is  was still macdinking the   slides for his presentation."  See also {fritterware}. 
machinable is  adj. Machine-readable.  Having the {softcopy} nature.
machoflops is  /mach'oh-flops/ [pun on `megaflops', a coinage for   `millions of FLoating-point Operations Per Second'] n. Refers to   artificially inflated performance figures often quoted by computer   manufacturers.  Real applications are lucky to get half the quoted   speed. See {Your See: machoflops2
machoflops2 is  mileage may vary}, {benchmark}. 
Macintoy is  /mak'in-toy/ n. The Apple Macintosh, considered as a   {toy}.  Less pejorative than {Macintrash}.
Macintrash is  /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: Macintrash2
Macintrash2 is  See also {beige toaster},   {WIMP environment}, {drool-proof paper}, {user-friendly}. 
macro is  /mak'roh/ [techspeak] n. 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 See: macro2
macro2 is  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 See: macro3
macro3 is  assemblers became ubiquitous, and   sometimes quite as powerful and expensive as {HLL}s, 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 See: macro4
macro4 is  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   See: macro5
macro5 is  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). 
macro- is  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.
macrology is  /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 See: macrology2
macrology2 is  not unlike archeology,   ecology, or {theology}, hence the sound-alike construction.  See   also {boxology}. 
macrotape is  /ma'kroh-tayp/ n. An industry-standard reel of tape, as   opposed to a {microtape}.
maggotbox is  /mag'*t-boks/ n. See {Macintrash}.  This is even   more derogatory.
magic is  adj. 1. 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 See: magic2
magic2 is  computes the parity of an 8-bit   byte in three instructions."  2. Characteristic of something that   works although no one really understands why (this is especially called   {black magic}).  3. [Stanford] A feature not generally   publicized that allows something otherwise See: magic3
magic3 is  impossible, or a feature   formerly in that category but now unveiled.  Compare {black   magic}, {wizardly}, {deep magic}, {heavy wizardry}.   For more about hackish `magic', see appendix A. 
magic cookie is  [UNIX] n. 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. See: magic cookie2
magic cookie2 is   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 See: magic cookie3
magic cookie3 is  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.  Some older terminals would   See: magic cookie4
magic cookie4 is  leave a blank on the screen corresponding to mode-change magic   cookies; this was also called a {glitch}.  See also {cookie}. 
magic number is  [UNIX/C] n. 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 See: magic number2
magic number2 is  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 See: magic number3
magic number3 is  sense   actually predates and was ancestral to the more common sense 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   See: magic number4
magic number4 is  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; the 0407,   for example, was octal for `branch 16 bytes relative'.  Nowadays   only a See: magic number5
magic number5 is  {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! 
magic smoke is  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 See: magic smoke2
magic smoke2 is  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.   See: magic smoke3
magic smoke3 is  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 See: magic smoke4
magic smoke4 is  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}. 
main loop is  n. Software tools are often written to perform some   actions repeatedly on whatever input is handed to them, terminating   when there is no more input or they are explicitly told to go away.   In such programs, the loop that gets and processes input is called   the `main loop'.  See also {driver}.
mainframe is  n. This term originally referred 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 See: mainframe2
mainframe2 is  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 See: mainframe3
mainframe3 is  built   by IBM, Unisys, and the other great {dinosaur}s surviving from   computing's {Stone Age}.   It is common wisdom among hackers that the mainframe architectural   tradition is essentially dead (outside of the tiny market for   {number-crunching} supercomputers (see {cray})), See: mainframe4
mainframe4 is  having been   swamped by the recent huge advances in IC technology and low-cost   personal computing.  As of 1991, corporate America hasn't quite   figured this out yet, though the wave of failures, takeovers, and   mergers among traditional mainframe makers are certainly straws in See: mainframe5
mainframe5 is    the wind (see {dinosaurs mating}). 
management is  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 See: management2
management2 is  world's minor irritations.   Hackers' satirical public notices are often signed `The Mgt'; this   derives from the `Illuminatus' novels (see the Bibliography). 
mandelbug is  /mon'del-buhg/ [from the Mandelbrot set] n. 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}.
manged is  /monjd/ [probably from the French `manger' or Italian   `mangiare', to eat; perhaps influenced by English n. `mange',   `mangy'] adj. Refers to anything that is mangled or damaged,   usually beyond repair.  "The disk was manged after the electrical   storm."  Compare {mung}.
mangle is  vt. Used similarly to {mung} or {scribble}, but more violent   in its connotations; something that is mangled has been   irreversibly and totally trashed.
mangler is  [DEC] n. A manager.  Compare {mango}; see also   {management}.  Note that {system mangler} is somewhat different   in connotation.
mango is  /mang'go/ [orig. in-house jargon at Symbolics] n. A manager.   Compare {mangler}.  See also {devo} and {doco}.
marbles is  [from mainstream "lost all his/her marbles"] pl.n. 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 See: marbles2
marbles2 is  rebuild from backups, or if you need to rebuild   from scratch.  "This compiler doesn't even have enough marbles to   compile `Hello World'." 
marginal is  adj. 1. Extremely small.  "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 extremely small See: marginal2
marginal2 is  merit.  "This proposed new   feature seems rather marginal to me."  3. Of extremely small   probability of {win}ning.  "The power supply was rather marginal   anyway; no wonder it fried." 
Marginal Hacks is  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}).
marginally is  adv. Slightly.  "The ravs here are only marginally   better than at Small Eating Place."  See {epsilon}.
marketroid is  /mar'k*-troyd/ alt. `marketing slime',   `marketing droid', `marketeer' n. 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 See: marketroid2
marketroid2 is  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}.*   martian: n. A packet sent on a TCP/IP network with a source   address of the See: marketroid3
marketroid3 is  test loopback interface [127.0.0.1].  This means   that it will come back at you 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?" 
massage: vt. Vague term used to describe `smooth' transformations of is    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}.
math-out: [poss. from `white-out' (the blizzard variety)] n. A is    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}.
Matrix: [FidoNet] n. 1. What the Opus BBS software and sysops call is    {FidoNet}.  2. Fanciful term for a {cyberspace} expected to   emerge from current networking experiments (see {network, the}).   Some people refer to the totality of present networks this way.
Mbogo, Dr. Fred: /*m-boh'goh, dok'tr fred/ [Stanford] n. The is    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 See: Mbogo, Dr. Fred: /*m-boh'goh, dok'tr fred/ [Stanford] n. The2
Mbogo, Dr. Fred: /*m-boh'goh, dok'tr fred/ [Stanford] n. The2 is  between {bogus} and the   original Dr. Mbogo, a witch doctor who was Gomez Addams' physician   on the old "Addams Family" TV show.  See also   {fred}. 
meatware is  n. Synonym for {wetware}.  Less common.
meeces is  /mees'*z/ [TMRC] n. Occasional furry visitors who are not   {urchin}s.  [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]
meg is  /meg/ n. See {{quantifiers}}.
mega- is  /me'g*/ [SI] pref. See {{quantifiers}}.
megapenny is  /meg'*-pen`ee/ n. $10,000 (1 cent * 10^6).   Used semi-humorously as a unit in comparing computer cost and   performance figures.
MEGO is  /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 See: MEGO2
MEGO2 is  not understanding what is going on.  MEGO is   usually directed at senior management by engineers and contains a   high proportion of {TLA}s.  2. excl. An appropriate response to   MEGO tactics.  3. Among non-hackers this term often refers not to   behavior that causes the eyes to See: MEGO3
MEGO3 is  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. 
meltdown, network is  n.  See {network meltdown}.
meme is  /meem/ [coined on analogy with `gene' by Richard   Dawkins] n. 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 See: meme2
meme2 is  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   See: meme3
meme3 is  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. 
meme plague is  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 See: meme plague2
meme plague2 is  `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. 
memetics is  /me-met'iks/ [from {meme}] The study of memes.  As of   mid-1991, 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 See: memetics2
memetics2 is  among hackers, who like to see   themselves as the architects of the new information ecologies in   which memes live and replicate. 
memory leak is  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}.  See {aliasing bug}, {fandango on   core}, {smash the stack}, See: memory leak2
memory leak2 is  {precedence lossage}, {overrun   screw}, {leaky heap}, {leak}. 
menuitis is  /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 See: menuitis2
menuitis2 is  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}. 
mess-dos is  /mes-dos/ n. Derisory term for MS-DOS.  Often followed   by the ritual banishing "Just say No!"  See {{MS-DOS}}.  Most   hackers (even many MS-DOS hackers) loathe MS-DOS for its   single-tasking nature, its limits on application size, its nasty   primitive interface, and its ties to See: mess-dos2
mess-dos2 is  IBMness (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. 
meta is  /me't*/ or /may't*/ or (Commonwealth) /mee't*/ [from   analytic philosophy] adj.,pref. One level of description up.   A meta-syntactic variable is a variable in notation used to describe   syntax, and meta-language is language used to describe language.   This is difficult to explain See: meta2
meta2 is  briefly, but much hacker humor turns   on deliberate confusion between meta-levels.  See {{Humor,   Hacker}}. 
meta bit is  n. The top bit of an 8-bit character, which is on in   character values 128--255.  Also called {high bit}, {alt bit},   or {hobbit}.  Some terminals and consoles (see {space-cadet   keyboard}) have a META shift key.  Others (including,   *mirabile dictu*, keyboards on IBM PC-class See: meta bit2
meta bit2 is  machines) have an   ALT key.  See also {bucky bits}. 
MFTL is  /M-F-T-L/ [acronym: `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 See: MFTL2
MFTL2 is  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 See: MFTL3
MFTL3 is  which the developers are   passionate (often to the point of prosyletic 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 See: MFTL4
MFTL4 is  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 See: MFTL5
MFTL5 is  other hand, a language that *cannot* be used to write   its own compiler is beneath contempt... 
mickey is  n. The resolution unit of mouse movement.  It has been   suggested that the `disney' will become a benchmark unit for   animation graphics performance.
mickey mouse program is  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.
micro- is  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 See: micro-2
micro-2 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 See: micro-3
micro-3 is  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 See: micro-4
micro-4 is  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.*   See: micro-5
micro-5 is  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 See: micro-6
micro-6 is  {stiffy}, {minifloppies}. 
microfortnight is  n. About 1.2 sec. 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 See: microfortnight2
microfortnight2 is  current value is bogus.  This time is specified   in microfortnights! 
microLenat is  /mi:-kroh-len'-*t/ n. See {bogosity}.
microReid is  /mi:'kroh-reed/ n. See {bogosity}.
Microsloth Windows is  /mi:'kroh-sloth` win'dohz/ n. Hackerism for   `Microsoft Windows', a windowing system for the IBM-PC which is so   limited by bug-for-bug compatibility with {mess-dos} that it is   agonizingly slow on anything less than a fast 386.  Compare {X},   {sun-stools}.
microtape is  /mi:'kroh-tayp/ n. Occasionally used to mean a   DECtape, as opposed to a {macrotape}.  A DECtape is a small   reel, about 4 inches in diameter, of magnetic tape about an inch   wide.  Unlike drivers for today's {macrotape}s, microtape   drivers allow random access to the data, and See: microtape2
microtape2 is  therefore could be   used to support file systems and even for swapping (this was   generally done purely for {hack value}, as they were far too   slow for practical use).  In their heyday they were used in pretty   much the same ways one would now use a floppy disk: as a small,   See: microtape3
microtape3 is  portable way to save and transport files and programs.  Apparently   the term `microtape' was actually the official term used within   DEC for these tapes until someone coined the word `DECtape',   which, of course, sounded sexier to the {marketroid}s. 
middle-endian is  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}.
milliLampson is  /mil'*-lamp`sn/ n. A unit of talking speed,   abbreviated mL.  Most people run about 200 milliLampsons.  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 See: milliLampson2
milliLampson2 is  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 See: milliLampson3
milliLampson3 is  frequently reduced to   fragments of sentences as his mouth tries to keep up with his   speeding brain. 
minifloppies is  n. 5.25-inch {vanilla} floppy disks, as opposed to   3.5-inch or {microfloppies} and the now-obsolescent 8-inch   variety.  At one time, this term was a trademark of Shugart   Associates for their SA-400 minifloppy drive.  Nobody paid any   attention.  See {stiffy}.
MIPS is  /mips/ [acronym] n. 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.  This joke expresses a nearly universal See: MIPS2
MIPS2 is  attitude   about the value of most {benchmark} claims, said attitude being   one of the great cultural divides between hackers and   {marketroid}s.  The singular is sometimes `1 MIP' even though   this is clearly etymologically wrong.  See also {KIPS} and   {GIPS}.  2. Computers, See: MIPS3
MIPS3 is  especially large computers, considered   abstractly as sources of {computron}s.  "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 See: MIPS4
MIPS4 is  3100   workstation series.  4. Acronym for `Meaningless Information per   Second' (a joke, prob. from sense 1). 
misbug is  /mis-buhg/ [MIT] n. 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}.  Usage: rare.  Compare   {green lightning}. See {miswart}.
misfeature is  /mis-fee'chr/ or /mis'fee`chr/ n. A feature that   eventually causes lossage, possibly because it is not adequate for   a new situation which has evolved.  It is not the same as a bug,   because fixing it involves a substantial philosophical change to   the structure of the system See: misfeature2
misfeature2 is  involved.  A misfeature is different   from a simple unforeseen side effect; the term implies that the   misfeature was actually carefully planned to be that way, but   its future consequences or circumstances just weren't predicted   accurately.  This is different from just not See: misfeature3
misfeature3 is  having thought ahead   about it at all.  Many misfeatures (especially in user-interface   design) arise because the designers/implementors mistook their   personal tastes for laws of nature.  Often a former feature becomes   a misfeature because a tradeoff was made whose See: misfeature4
misfeature4 is  parameters   subsequently changed (possibly only in the judgment of the   implementors).  "Well, yeah, it is kind of a misfeature that file   names are limited to 6 characters, but the original implementors   wanted to save directory space and we're stuck with it for now." 
Missed'em-five is  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}.
miswart is  /mis-wort/ [from {wart} by analogy with {misbug}] n.   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 two See: miswart2
miswart2 is  characters on either side of the cursor 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 See: miswart3
miswart3 is  extensive experimentation   to be what most users want.  This feature is a miswart. 
mod is  vt.,n. 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 See: mod2
mod2 is  {patch} sets or a {diff}.   2. Short for {modulo} but used *only* for its techspeak sense. 
mode is  n. 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 See: mode2
mode2 is  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 See: mode3
mode3 is  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". 
mode bit is  n. 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 See: mode bit2
mode bit2 is  lifetime of an ordinary program.  The   classic example was the EBCDIC-vs.-ASCII bit (#12) of the Program   Status Word of the IBM 360.  Another was the bit on a PDP-12 that   controlled whether it ran the PDP-8 or the LINC instruction set. 
modulo is  /mo'dyu-loh/ prep. Except for.  From mathematical   terminology; one can consider saying that 4 = 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."
molly-guard is  /mol'ee-gard/ [University of Illinois] n. A shield   to prevent tripping of some {Big Red Switch} by clumsy or   ignorant hands.  Originally used of some plexiglass covers   improvised for the BRS on an IBM 4341 after a programmer's toddler   daughter (named Molly) frobbed it See: molly-guard2
molly-guard2 is  twice in one day.  Later   generalized to covers over stop/reset switches on disk drives and   networking equipment. 
Mongolian Hordes technique is  n. Development by {gang bang}   (poss. from the Sixties counterculture expression `Mongolian   clusterfuck' for a public orgy).  Implies that large numbers of   inexperienced programmers are being put on a job better performed   by a few skilled ones.  Also called See: Mongolian Hordes technique2
Mongolian Hordes technique2 is  `Chinese Army technique';   see also {Brooks's Law}. 
monkey up is  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}, {cruft together}.
monkey, scratch is  n.  See {scratch monkey}.
monstrosity is  1. n. A ridiculously {elephantine} program or system,   esp. one that is buggy or only marginally functional.  2. The   quality of being monstrous (see `Overgeneralization' in the discussion   of jargonification).  See also {baroque}.
Moof is  /moof/ [MAC users] n. The Moof or `dogcow' is a   semi-legendary creature that lurks in the depths of the Macintosh   Technical Notes Hypercard stack V3.1; specifically, the full story   of the dogcow is told in technical note #31 (the particular Moof   illustrated is properly named See: Moof2
Moof2 is  `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 See: Moof3
Moof3 is  if you   choose `Page Setup...' with a LaserWriter selected and click on   the `Options' button. 
Moore's Law is  /morz law/ prov. The observation that the logic   density of silicon integrated circuits has closely followed the   curve (bits per square inch)  = 2^{(n - 1962)}; that is, the   amount of information storable in one square inch of silicon has   roughly doubled yearly every year See: Moore's Law2
Moore's Law2 is  since the technology was   invented.  See also {Parkinson's Law of Data}. 
moria is  /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.  Extremely   addictive and a major consumer of time better used for hacking.
MOTAS is  /moh-toz/ [USENET: Member Of The Appropriate Sex, after   {MOTOS} and {MOTSS}] n. A potential or (less often) actual sex   partner.  See also {SO}.
MOTOS is  /moh-tohs/ [acronym from the 1970 U.S. census forms via   USENET: Member Of The Opposite Sex] n. A potential or (less often)   actual sex partner.  See {MOTAS}, {MOTSS}, {SO}.  Less   common than MOTSS or {MOTAS}, which have largely displaced it.
MOTSS is  /mots/ or /M-O-T-S-S/ [from the 1970 U.S. census forms   via USENET, Member Of The Same Sex] n. 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.  Also see {SO}.
mouse ahead is  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 See: mouse ahead2
mouse ahead2 is  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. 
mouse around is  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}.
mouse belt is  n. See {rat belt}.
mouse droppings is  [MS-DOS] n. 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 See: mouse droppings2
mouse droppings2 is  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. 
mouse elbow is  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.
mouso is  /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}.
MS-DOS is  /M-S-dos/ [MicroSoft Disk Operating System] n. A   {clone} of {{CP/M}} for the 8088 crufted together in 6 weeks by   hacker Tim Paterson, who is said to have regretted it ever since.   Numerous features, including vaguely UNIX-like but rather broken   support for subdirectories, I/O See: MS-DOS2
MS-DOS2 is  redirection, and pipelines, were   hacked into 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 See: MS-DOS3
MS-DOS3 is  case-sensitive.  The   resulting 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 See: MS-DOS4
MS-DOS4 is  operating   system for the 360).  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}. 
mu is  /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 See: mu2
mu2 is  because it suggests that you   have one and are still beating her.  According to various   Discordians and Douglas Hofstadter (see the Bibliography), the   correct answer is usually "mu", a Japanese word alleged to mean   "Your question cannot be answered because it depends on incorrect   See: mu3
mu3 is  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, but   native speakers do not recognize See: mu4
mu4 is  the Discordian question-denying   use.  It almost certainly derives from overgeneralization of the   answer in the following well-known Rinzei Zen teaching riddle:     A monk asked Joshu, "Does a dog have the Buddha nature?"     Joshu retorted, "Mu!"   See also {has the X nature}, {AI See: mu5
mu5 is  Koans}, and Douglas   Hofstadter's `G"odel, Escher, Bach' (pointer in the   Bibliography). 
mudhead is  n. Commonly used to refer to a {MUD} player who   sleeps, breathes, and eats 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, all a mudhead   will talk about is two See: mudhead2
mudhead2 is  topics: the tactic, character, or wizard   that is supposedly always unfairly stopping him/her from becoming a   wizard or beating a favorite MUD, and the MUD he or she is writing   or going to write because all existing MUDs are so dreadful!  See   also {wannabee}. 
multician is  /muhl-ti'shn/ [coined at Honeywell, ca. 1970] n.   Competent user of {{Multics}}.  Perhaps oddly, no one has ever   promoted the analogous `Unician'.
Multics is  /muhl'tiks/ n. [from "MULTiplexed Information and   Computing Service"] An early (late 1960s) timesharing operating   system co-designed by a consortium including MIT, GE, and Bell   Laboratories.  Very innovative for its time --- among other things,   it introduced the idea of See: Multics2
Multics2 is  treating all devices uniformly as special   files.  All the members but GE eventually pulled out after   determining that {second-system effect} had bloated Multics to   the point of practical unusability (the `lean' predecessor in   question was {CTSS}).  Honeywell commercialized See: Multics3
Multics3 is  Multics after   buying out GE's computer group, but it was never very successful   (among other things, on some versions one was commonly required to   enter a password to log out).  One of the developers left in the   lurch by the project's breakup was Ken Thompson, a circumstance   See: Multics4
Multics4 is  which led directly to the birth of {{UNIX}}.  For this and other   reasons, aspects of the Multics design remain a topic of occasional   debate among hackers.  See also {brain-damaged} and {GCOS}. 
multitask is  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.
mumblage is  /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.
mumble is  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 See: mumble2
mumble2 is  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. Sometimes used as   an expression of disagreement.  "I think we should buy a   See: mumble3
mumble3 is  {VAX}."  "Mumble!"  Common variant: `mumble frotz' (see   {frotz}; interestingly, one does not say `mumble frobnitz'   even though `frotz' is short for `frobnitz').  3. Yet another   metasyntactic variable, like {foo}.  4. When used as a question   ("Mumble?") means "I didn't See: mumble4
mumble4 is  understand you".  5. 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 See: mumble5
mumble5 is  I'm testing for   Mumbleco." 
munch is  [often confused with {mung}, q.v.] vt. 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.
munching is  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}.
munching squares is  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 See: munching squares2
munching squares2 is  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' See: munching squares3
munching squares3 is  (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 See: munching squares4
munching squares4 is  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). 
munchkin is  /muhnch'kin/ [from the squeaky-voiced little people in   L. Frank Baum's `The Wizard of Oz'] n. 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 See: munchkin2
munchkin2 is  passing through a {larval stage}.  The term   {urchin} is also used.  See also {wannabee}, {bitty box}. 
mundane is  [from SF fandom] n. 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}.
mung is  /muhng/ alt. `munge' /muhnj/ [in 1960 at MIT, `Mash   Until No Good'; sometime after that the derivation from the   {{recursive acronym}} `Mung Until No Good' became standard] vt.   1. To make changes to a file, esp. large-scale and irrevocable   changes.  See {BLT}.  2. To destroy, See: mung2
mung2 is  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 See: mung3
mung3 is  spelling `mung' is still common in program   comments (compare the widespread confusion over the proper spelling   of {kluge}).  3. The kind of beans of which the sprouts are used   in Chinese food.  (That's their real name!  Mung beans!  Really!) 
Music is  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 See: Music2
Music2 is  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   See: Music3
Music3 is  `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, Spirogyra,   Scott Joplin, Tangerine Dream, King Sunny Ade, The Pretenders, or   Bach's Brandenburg See: Music4
Music4 is  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. 
mutter is  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}.
N is  /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.)  2. A variable whose value is See: N2
N2 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 See: N3
N3 is  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 See: N4
N4 is  assumed to   be at least 4, and is usually 5 or more (see {tenured graduate   student}).  See also {{random numbers}}, {two-to-the-n}. 
nailed to the wall is  [like a trophy] adj. Said of a bug finally   eliminated after protracted, and even heroic, effort.
nailing jelly is  vi. See {like nailing jelly to a tree}.
na"ive is  adj. 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 is completely See: na"ive2
na"ive2 is  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'. 
na"ive user is  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.
NAK is  /nak/ [from the ASCII mnemonic for 0010101] interj.   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 See: NAK2
NAK2 is  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!" 
nano is  /nan'oh/ [CMU: from `nanosecond'] n. 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}).
nano- is  [SI: the next quantifier below {micro-}; meaning *   10^{-9}] pref. 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 See: nano-2
nano-2 is  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}. 
nanoacre is  /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.
nanobot is  /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'.
nanocomputer is  /nan'oh-k*m-pyoo'tr/ n. A computer whose switching   elements are molecular in size.  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.
nanofortnight is  [Adelaide University] n. 1 fortnight * 10^-9,   or about 1.2 msec.  This unit was used largely by students doing   undergraduate practicals.  See {microfortnight}, {attoparsec},   and {micro-}.
nanotechnology is  /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 are taking place   now (1990), for example See: nanotechnology2
nanotechnology2 is  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 See: nanotechnology3
nanotechnology3 is  Creation', where he predicted that   nanotechnology could give rise to replicating assemblers,   permitting an exponential growth of productivity and personal   wealth.  See also {blue goo}, {gray goo}, {nanobot}. 
nastygram is  /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 See: nastygram2
nastygram2 is  {netiquette} or a complaint about   failure to correct some mail- or news-transmission problem.  Compare   {shitogram}.  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 See: nastygram3
nastygram3 is  {daemon}; in   particular, a {bounce message}. 
Nathan Hale is  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 See: Nathan Hale2
Nathan Hale2 is  in the American War of Independence. 
nature is  n. See {has the X nature}.
neat hack is  n. 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).  See {hack}.
neep-neep is  /neep neep/ [onomatopoeic, from New York SF fandom] n.   One who is fascinated by computers.  More general than {hacker},   as it need not imply more skill than is required to boot games on a   PC.  The derived noun `neep-neeping' applies specifically to   the long conversations See: neep-neep2
neep-neep2 is  about computers that tend to develop in the   corners at most SF-convention parties.  Fandom has a related   proverb to the effect that "Hacking is a conversational black   hole!". 
neophilia is  /nee`oh-fil'-ee-*/ n. The trait of being excited and   pleased by novelty.  Common trait of 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 See: neophilia2
neophilia2 is  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}}. 
net.- is  /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.god}s, `net.goddesses' (various   charismatic net.women with circles of See: net.-2
net.-2 is  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}. 
net.god is  /net god/ n. Used to refer 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, See: net.god2
net.god2 is  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. 
net.personality is  /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.god}hood.
net.police is  /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 See: net.police2
net.police2 is  spelled `net police'.   See also {net.-}, {code police}. 
nethack is  /net'hak/ [UNIX] n. 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, See: nethack2
nethack2 is  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; the   current contact address (as of mid-1991) is   See: nethack3
nethack3 is  nethack-bugs@linc.cis.upenn.edu. 
netiquette is  /net'ee-ket/ or /net'i-ket/ [portmanteau from "network   etiquette"] n. Conventions of politeness recognized on {USENET},   such as avoidance of cross-posting to inappropriate groups or   refraining from commercial pluggery on the net.
netnews is  /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."
netrock is  /net'rok/ [IBM] n. A {flame}; used esp. on VNET,   IBM's internal corporate network.
network address is  n. (also `net address') As used by hackers,   means an address on `the' network (see {network, the}; this is   almost always a {bang path} or {{Internet address}}).  Such an   address is essential if one wants to be to be taken seriously by   hackers; in particular, persons See: network address2
network address2 is  or organizations that claim to   understand, work with, sell to, or recruit from among hackers but   *don't* display net addresses are quietly presumed to be   clueless poseurs and mentally flushed (see {flush}, sense 4).   Hackers often put their net addresses on their See: network address3
network address3 is  business cards and   wear them prominently in contexts where they expect to meet other   hackers face-to-face (see also {{science-fiction fandom}}).  This   is mostly functional, but is also a signal that one identifies with   hackerdom (like lodge pins among Masons or See: network address4
network address4 is  tie-dyed T-shirts among   Grateful Dead fans).  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.  See See: network address5
network address5 is  also {sitename},   {domainist}. 
network meltdown is  n. A state of complete network overload; the   network equivalent of {thrash}ing.  This may be induced by a   {Chernobyl packet}.  See also {broadcast storm}, {kamikaze   packet}.
network, the is  n. 1. The union of all the major noncommercial,   academic, and hacker-oriented networks, such as Internet, the old   ARPANET, NSFnet, {BITNET}, and the virtual UUCP and {USENET}   `networks', plus the corporate in-house networks and commercial   time-sharing services (such as See: network, the2
network, the2 is  CompuServe) 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 {bang path}, {{Internet address}},   {network address}.  2. A fictional See: network, the3
network, the3 is  conspiracy of libertarian   hacker-subversives and anti-authoritarian monkeywrenchers described   in Robert Anton Wilson's novel `Schr"odinger's Cat', to which   many hackers have subsequently decided they belong (this is an   example of {ha ha only serious}).   In sense 1, See: network, the4
network, the4 is  `network' is often abbreviated to `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. 
New Jersey is  [primarily Stanford/Silicon Valley] adj. 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 See: New Jersey2
New Jersey2 is  from a compiler designed in New Jersey?"   Compare {Berkeley Quality Software}.  See also {UNIX   conspiracy}. 
New Testament is  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}.
newbie is  /n[y]oo'bee/ n. [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.  Criteria for being considered a newbie vary   wildly; a person can be called a newbie in one See: newbie2
newbie2 is  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 {BIFF}. 
newgroup wars is  /n[y]oo'groop wohrz/ [USENET] n. 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.  These usually settle out within a week   or two as it becomes See: newgroup wars2
newgroup wars2 is  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 spinoff of   alt.swedish.chef.bork.bork.bork from See: newgroup wars3
newgroup wars3 is  alt.tv.muppets in   early 1990, or any number of specialized abuse groups named after   particularly notorious {flamer}s, e.g., alt.weemba. 
newline is  /n[y]oo'li:n/ n. 1. [techspeak, primarily UNIX] The   ASCII LF character (0001010), used under {{UNIX}} as a text line   terminator.  A Bell-Labs-ism rather than a Berkeleyism;   interestingly (and unusually for UNIX jargon), it is said to have   originally been an IBM usage.  See: newline2
newline2 is  (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 See: newline3
newline3 is  lines.  See   {crlf}, {terpri}. 
NeWS is  /nee'wis/, /n[y]oo'is/ or /n[y]ooz/ [acronym; the   `Network Window System'] n. 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 See: NeWS2
NeWS2 is  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 {news} (the {netnews} software). 
news is  n. See {netnews}.
newsfroup is  // [USENET] n. Silly synonym for {newsgroup},   originally a typo but now in regular use on USENET's talk.bizarre   and other lunatic-fringe groups.
newsgroup is  [USENET] n. 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 See: newsgroup2
newsgroup2 is  parallel {mailing list}s 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', See: newsgroup3
newsgroup3 is  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-lovers (for science-fiction   See: newsgroup4
newsgroup4 is  fans), and talk.politics.misc (miscellaneous political   discussions and {flamage}). 
nickle is  /ni'kl/ [from `nickel', common name for the U.S.   5-cent coin] n. 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}.
night mode is  n. See {phase} (of people).
Nightmare File System is  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) See: Nightmare File System2
Nightmare File System2 is  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 See: Nightmare File System3
Nightmare File System3 is  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 snowballs very fast, and   soon the entire See: Nightmare File System4
Nightmare File System4 is  network of machines is frozen --- the user can't   even abort the file access that started the problem!  (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 See: Nightmare File System5
Nightmare File System5 is  1970s.)  See also {broadcast storm}. 
NIL is  /nil/ [from LISP terminology for `false'] No.  Used   in reply to a question, particularly one asked using the   `-P' convention.  See {T}.
NMI is  /N-M-I/ n. Non-Maskable Interrupt.  An IRQ 7 on the PDP-11   or 680[01234]0; the NMI line on an 80{88,[1234]}86.  In contrast   with a {priority interrupt} (which might be ignored, although   that is unlikely), an NMI is *never* ignored.
no-op is  /noh'op/ alt. NOP /nop/ [no operation] n. 1. (also v.)   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).  See also {JFCL}.   2. A person who contributes See: no-op2
no-op2 is  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 See: no-op3
no-op3 is  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.   
noddy is  /nod'ee/ [UK: from the children's books] adj.   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 See: noddy2
noddy2 is  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} See: noddy3
noddy3 is  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}. 
NOMEX underwear is  /noh'meks uhn'-der-weir/ [USENET] n. Syn.   {asbestos longjohns}, used mostly in auto-related mailing lists   and newsgroups.  NOMEX underwear is an actual product available on   the racing equipment market, used as a fire resistance measure and   required in some racing series.
non-optimal solution is  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}.
nonlinear is  adj. [scientific computation] 1. Behaving in an erratic and   unpredictable fashion.  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 See: nonlinear2
nonlinear2 is  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 See: nonlinear3
nonlinear3 is  go nonlinear for hours."  In   this context, `go nonlinear' connotes `blow up out of proportion'   (proportion connotes linearity). 
nontrivial is  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: nontrivial2
nontrivial2 is  See {trivial}, {uninteresting},   {interesting}. 
notwork is  /not'werk/ n. A network, when it is acting {flaky} or is   {down}.  Compare {nyetwork}.  Said at IBM to have orig.   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.
NP- is  /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' (NP-complete problems all seem to   be very hard, but so far no one has found a good a priori reason   that they should be.)  "Getting See: NP-2
NP-2 is  this algorithm to perform   correctly in every case is NP-annoying."  This is generalized from   the computer-science terms `NP-hard' and `NP-complete'.  NP is   the set of Nondeterministic-Polynomial algorithms, those that can   be completed by a nondeterministic Turing machine in an See: NP-3
NP-3 is  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. 
nuke is  vt. 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.  Oppose {blow away}.  2. Syn. for   {dike}, applied to smaller things such as files, See: nuke2
nuke2 is  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 See: nuke3
nuke3 is  {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 See: nuke4
nuke4 is  other micros without   memory protection. 
number-crunching is  n. 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 See: number-crunching2
number-crunching2 is  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}. 
numbers is  [scientific computation] n. 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 See: numbers2
numbers2 is  necessarily meaningful output   --- is needed as a demonstration of progress.  See {pretty   pictures}, {math-out}, {social science number}. 
NUXI problem is  /nuk'see pro'bl*m/ n. This 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 See: NUXI problem2
NUXI problem2 is  vice-versa).  See also   {middle-endian}, {swab}, and {bytesexual}. 
nybble is  /nib'l/ (alt. `nibble') [from v. `nibble' by analogy   with `bite' => `byte'] n. Four bits; one {hex} digit;   a half-byte.  Though `byte' is now techspeak, this useful relative   is still jargon.  Compare {{byte}}, {crumb}, {tayste},   {dynner}; see also {bit}, {nickle}, {deckle}.  See: nybble2
nybble2 is  Apparently   this spelling is uncommon in Commonwealth Hackish, as British   orthography suggests the pronunciation /ni:'bl/. 
nyetwork is  /nyet'werk/ [from Russian `nyet' = no] n. A network,   when it is acting {flaky} or is {down}.  Compare {notwork}.
Ob- is  /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 See: Ob-2
Ob-2 is  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 your Obs are more   interesting than other people's whole postings. 
Obfuscated C Contest is  n. 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 See: Obfuscated C Contest2
Obfuscated C Contest2 is  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 See: Obfuscated C Contest3
Obfuscated C Contest3 is  entry might help convey the flavor   of obfuscated C     /*      * HELLO WORLD program      * by Jack Applin and Robert Heckendorn, 1985      */     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);}   
obi-wan error is  /oh'bee-won` er'*r/ [RPI, from `off-by-one' and   the Obi-Wan Kenobi character in "Star Wars"] n.  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}.
Objectionable-C is  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 See: Objectionable-C2
Objectionable-C2 is  method calls, and (like many such   efforts) comes frustratingly close to attaining the {Right Thing}   without actually doing so. 
obscure is  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 it could be   figured out but probably isn't worth See: obscure2
obscure2 is  the trouble.  The construction   `obscure in the extreme' is the preferred emphatic form. 
octal forty is  /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}.
off the trolley is  adj. Describes the behavior of a program that   malfunctions and goes catatonic, but doesn't actually {crash} or   abort.  See {glitch}, {bug}, {deep space}.
off-by-one error is  n. 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. See: off-by-one error2
off-by-one error2 is   Often confounded with   {fencepost error}, which is properly a particular subtype of it. 
offline is  adv. Not now or not here.  "Let's take this   discussion offline."  Specifically used on {USENET} to suggest   that a discussion be taken off a public newsgroup to email.
old fart is  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 block}s attached to   Jargon File contributions of great archeological significance.   This is a term of insult in See: old fart2
old fart2 is  the second or third person but one of   pride in first person. 
Old Testament is  n. [C programmers] The first edition of {K&R}, the   sacred text describing {Classic C}.
one-line fix is  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!}
one-liner wars is  n. A game popular among hackers who code in the   language APL (see {write-only language}).  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 See: one-liner wars2
one-liner wars2 is  was practiced among {TECO} hackers.      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 See: one-liner wars3
one-liner wars3 is  character, the assignment arrow is a   single character, and `i' represents the APL iota. 
ooblick is  /oo'blik/ [from Dr. Seuss's `Bartholomew and the   Oobleck'] n. 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 See: ooblick2
ooblick2 is  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 See: ooblick3
ooblick3 is  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 See: ooblick4
ooblick4 is  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. 
open is  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."
open switch is  [IBM prob. from railroading] n. An unresolved   question, issue, or problem.
operating system is  [techspeak] n. (Often abbreviated `OS') The   foundation software of a machine, of course; 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 See: operating system2
operating system2 is  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}}, See: operating system3
operating system3 is  {{CP/M}}, {{MS-DOS}}, and   {{Multics}} operating systems (most importantly by ITS and   UNIX). 
Orange Book is  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).   Stock UNIXes are roughly C2, and See: Orange Book2
Orange Book2 is  can be upgraded to about C1   without excessive pain.  See also {{book titles}}. 
oriental food is  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 See: oriental food2
oriental food2 is  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}, See: oriental food3
oriental food3 is  {stir-fried random},   {laser chicken}, {Yu-Shiang Whole Fish}.  Thai, Indian,   Korean, and Vietnamese cuisines are also quite popular. 
orphan is  [UNIX] n. A process whose parent has died; one inherited by   `init(1)'.  Compare {zombie}.
orphaned i-node is  /or'f*nd i'nohd/ [UNIX] n. 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   serving no useful function within some organization, esp.   {lion food} without subordinates.
orthogonal is  [from mathematics] adj. 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 See: orthogonal2
orthogonal2 is  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 See: orthogonal3
orthogonal3 is  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...." 
OS is  /O-S/ 1. [Operating System] n. An acronym heavily used in email,   occasionally in speech. 2. n.,obs. On ITS, an output spy.  See   appendix A.
OS/2 is  /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.  Mentioning it is usually good for a   cheap laugh among hackers --- the design was so {baroque}, and   the implementation of See: OS/22
OS/22 is  1.x so bad, that 3 years after introduction   you could still count the major {app}s shipping for it on the   fingers of two hands --- in unary.  Often called `Half-an-OS'.  On   January 28, 1991, Microsoft announced that it was dropping its OS/2   development to concentrate on Windows, See: OS/23
OS/23 is  leaving the OS entirely in   the hands of IBM; on January 29 they claimed the media had got the   story wrong, but were vague about how.  It looks as though OS/2 is   moribund.  See {vaporware}, {monstrosity}, {cretinous},   {second-system effect}. 
out-of-band is  [from telecommunications and network theory] adj.   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 either a See: out-of-band2
out-of-band2 is  nonnegative integral value, or indicate   failure with an out-of-band return value of -1.  Compare   {hidden flag}, {green bytes}.  2. Also sometimes used to   describe what communications people call `shift characters',   like the ESC that leads control sequences for many See: out-of-band3
out-of-band3 is  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}. 
overflow bit is  n. 1. [techspeak] On some processors, an attempt to   calculate a result too large for a register to hold causes a   particular {flag} called an {overflow bit} to be set.   2. Hackers use the term of human thought too.  "Well, the {{Ada}}   description was {baroque} all right, See: overflow bit2
overflow bit2 is  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". 
overrun is  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 your {silo} can hold only   two characters and the See: overrun2
overrun2 is  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 See: overrun3
overrun3 is  your message to   overrun."  When {thrash}ing at tasks, the next person to make a   request might be told "Overrun!"  3. More loosely, may refer to a   {buffer overflow} not necessarily related to processing time (as   in {overrun screw}). 
overrun screw is  [C programming] n. A variety of {fandango on core}   produced by scribbling past the end of an array (C has no checks   for this).  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 See: overrun screw2
overrun screw2 is  in {heisenbug}s 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 See: overrun screw3
overrun screw3 is  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}, {aliasing bug}, {precedence lossage},   {fandango on core}, {secondary damage}.*P.O.D. /P-O-D/ Acronym for `Piece Of Data' (as See: overrun screw4
overrun screw4 is  opposed to a   code section). Usage pedantic and rare.  See also {pod}. 
padded cell is  n. Where you put {luser}s 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 See: padded cell2
padded cell2 is  overt and not aimed at   enforcing security so much as protecting others (and the luser)   from the consequences of the luser's boundless na"ivet'e (see   {na"ive}).  Also `padded cell environment'. 
page in is  [MIT] vi. 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."  See {film at 11}.   2. Syn. `swap in'; see {swap}.
page out is  [MIT] vi. 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}.
pain in the net is  n. A {flamer}.
paper-net is  n. Hackish way of referring to the postal service,   analogizing it to a very slow, low-reliability network.  USENET   {sig block}s not uncommonly include a "Paper-Net" header just   before the sender's postal address; common variants of this are   "Papernet" and "P-Net".  Compare See: paper-net2
paper-net2 is  {voice-net}, {snail-mail}. 
param is  /p*-ram'/ n. Shorthand for `parameter'.  See also   {parm}; Compare {arg}, {var}.
parent message is  n. See {followup}.
parity errors is  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 See: parity errors2
parity errors2 is  nearly always correctable transient error in   RAM hardware. 
Parkinson's Law of Data is  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 over the   last 10 years that the memory usage of evolving systems tends to   double roughly once every See: Parkinson's Law of Data2
Parkinson's Law of Data2 is  18 months.  Fortunately, memory density   available for constant dollars tends to double about once every   12 months (see {Moore's Law}); unfortunately, the laws of   physics guarantee that the latter cannot continue indefinitely. 
parm is  /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}.
parse is  [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 See: parse2
parse2 is  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 See: parse3
parse3 is  over   whether `unparsed' should mean `bony', or also mean   `deboned'. 
Pascal is  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 See: Pascal2
Pascal2 is  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 See: Pascal3
Pascal3 is  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 never formally   published but has circulated widely via photocopies.  See: Pascal4
Pascal4 is  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 See: Pascal5
Pascal5 is  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 See: Pascal6
Pascal6 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 See: Pascal7
Pascal7 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 See: Pascal8
Pascal8 is  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     See: Pascal9
Pascal9 is  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. 
patch is  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 See: patch2
patch2 is  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 See: patch3
patch3 is    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 See: patch4
patch4 is  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 See: patch5
patch5 is  galore.   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 that you can't --- or don't --- inspect   and examine before installing).  They couldn't find any {trap   door}s or See: patch6
patch6 is  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 See: patch7
patch7 is  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. 
patch space is  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).  See: patch space2
patch space2 is  The widening use of HLLs has   made this term rare; it is now primarily historical outside IBM   shops.  See {patch} (sense 4), {zap} (sense 4), {hook}. 
path is  n. 1. A {bang path} or explicitly routed {{Internet   address}}; a node-by-node specification of a link between two   machines.  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 See: path2
path2 is  `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, See: path3
path3 is  the   C preprocessor has a `search path' it uses in looking for   `#include' files). 
pathological is  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 See: pathological2
pathological2 is  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 See: pathological3
pathological3 is  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 See: pathological4
pathological4 is  case."  Often used   to dismiss the case from discussion, with the implication that the   consequences are acceptable since that they will happen so   infrequently (if at all) that there is no justification for   going to extra trouble to handle that case (see sense 1). 
payware is  /pay'weir/ n. Commercial software.  Oppose {shareware}   or {freeware}.
PBD is  /P-B-D/ [abbrev. of `Programmer Brain Damage'] n.  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}.
PC-ism is  /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, e.g., by busy-waiting on a hardware register,   direct diddling of screen memory, or using hard timing loops.   Compare {ill-behaved}, See: PC-ism2
PC-ism2 is  {vaxism}, {unixism}.  Also,   `PC-ware' n., a program full of PC-isms on a machine with a more   capable operating system.  Pejorative. 
PD is  /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 See: PD2
PD2 is  anyone who can {snarf} a copy.  See   {copyleft}. 
pdl is  /pid'l/ or /puhd'l/ [acronym for `Push Down List'] 1. In   ITS days, the preferred MITism for {stack}.  2. Dave Lebling, one   of the co-authors of {Zork}; (his {network address} on the ITS   machines was at one time pdl@dms).  3. `Program Design Language'.   Any of a large class of See: pdl2
pdl2 is  formal and profoundly useless   pseudo-languages in which {management} forces one to design   programs.  {Management} often expects it to be maintained in   parallel with the code.  See also {{flowchart}}.  4. To design   using a program design language.  "I've been pdling so long my   See: pdl3
pdl3 is  eyes won't focus beyond 2 feet." 
PDP-10 is  [Programmed Data Processor model 10] n. 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 See: PDP-102
PDP-102 is  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 See: PDP-103
PDP-103 is  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 See: PDP-104
PDP-104 is  nothing; see   {Foonly}) 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 See: PDP-105
PDP-105 is  {{TOPS-10}}, {{ITS}}, {AOS}, {BLT}, {DDT}, {DPB},   {EXCH}, {HAKMEM}, {JFCL}, {LDB}, {pop}, {push},   appendix A. 
PDP-20 is  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 See: PDP-202
PDP-202 is  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 See: PDP-203
PDP-203 is  all)   machines sold to run TOPS-10 were painted `Basil Blue', whereas   most TOPS-20 machines were painted `Chinese Red' (often mistakenly   called orange). 
peek is  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 consists of See: peek2
peek2 is  {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 circulate (see {{interrupt list,   the}}).  The results of {poke}s at these addresses may be See: peek3
peek3 is  highly   useful, mildly amusing, useless but neat, or (most likely) total   {lossage} (see {killer poke}). 
pencil and paper is  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 See: pencil and paper2
pencil and paper2 is  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 See: pencil and paper3
pencil and paper3 is  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.  See   also appendix B. 
peon is  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."
percent-S is  /per-sent' es'/ [From the code in C's `printf(3)'   library function used to insert an arbitrary string argument] n. An   unspecified person or object.  "I was just talking to some   percent-s in administration."  Compare {random}.
perf is  /perf/ n. See {chad} (sense 1).  The term `perfory'   /per'f*-ree/ is also heard.
perfect programmer syndrome is  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 See: perfect programmer syndrome2
perfect programmer syndrome2 is  excellent performance at solving {toy   problem}s).  "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}." 
Perl is  /perl/ [Practical Extraction and Report Language, a.k.a   Pathologically Eclectic Rubbish Lister] n. An interpreted language   developed by Larry Wall (lwall@jpl.nasa.gov, author of   `patch(1)' and `rn(1)') and distributed over USENET.   Superficially resembles `awk(1)', but is much See: Perl2
Perl2 is  hairier (see   {awk}).  UNIX sysadmins, who are almost always incorrigible   hackers, increasingly consider it one of the {languages of   choice}.  Perl has been described, in a parody of a famous remark   about `lex(1)', as the "Swiss-Army chainsaw" of UNIX   programming. 
pessimal is  /pes'im-l/ [Latin-based antonym for `optimal'] adj.   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 See: pessimal2
pessimal2 is  most English dictionaries, although   `pessimize' is listed in the OED. 
pessimizing compiler is  /pes'*-miz`ing k*m-pil'r/ [antonym of   `optimizing compiler'] n. A compiler that produces object 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 See: pessimizing compiler2
pessimizing compiler2 is  excessive cleverness is doing the opposite.  A   few pessimizing compilers have been written on purpose, however, as   pranks or burlesques. 
peta- is  /pe't*/ [SI] pref. See {{quantifiers}}.
PETSCII is  /pet'skee/ [abbreviation of PET ASCII] n. 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, and C128 machines.  The PETSCII   set used left-arrow See: PETSCII2
PETSCII2 is  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. 
phase is  1. n. The phase of one's waking-sleeping schedule with   respect to the standard 24-hour cycle.  This is 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 See: phase2
phase2 is  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 See: phase3
phase3 is  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 See: phase4
phase4 is  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's hard (see {wrap   around}).  The `jet lag' that afflicts See: phase5
phase5 is  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, See: phase6
phase6 is  experience   something very like jet lag without traveling. 
phase of the moon is  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 See: phase of the moon2
phase of the moon2 is  channel open in mumble mode, having the foo   switch set, and on the phase of the moon."   True story Once upon a time there was a bug that really did depend   on the phase of the moon.  There is a little subroutine that had   traditionally been used in various programs at See: phase of the moon3
phase of the moon3 is  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 See: phase of the moon4
phase of the moon4 is  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 See: phase of the moon5
phase of the moon5 is  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. 
phreaking is  [from `phone phreak'] n. 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).   At one time See: phreaking2
phreaking2 is  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 See: phreaking3
phreaking3 is  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 See: phreaking4
phreaking4 is  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'   See: phreaking5
phreaking5 is  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. 
pico- is  [SI a quantifier   meaning * 10^-12]   pref. 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 See: pico-2
pico-2 is  {{quantifiers}},   {micro-}. 
run like a pig is  v. To run very slowly on given hardware, said of   software.  Distinct from {hog}.
pilot error is  [Sun from aviation] n. 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."
ping is  [from the TCP/IP acronym `Packet INternet Groper', prob.   originally contrived to match 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 aliveness of   another.  Occasionally used as See: ping2
ping2 is  a phone greeting.  See {ACK},   also {ENQ}.  2. vt. To verify the presence of.  3. vt. To get   the attention of.  From the UNIX command `ping(1)' that sends   an ICMP ECHO packet to another host.  4. vt. To send a message to   all members of a {mailing list} requesting an {ACK} (in See: ping3
ping3 is  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."   The funniest use of `ping' to date was described in January 1991 by   Steve Hayman on the USENET group See: ping4
ping4 is  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 See: ping5
ping5 is  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 See: ping6
ping6 is  turned the volume to maximum, ferreted through   the building with one ear cocked, and found a faulty tee connector   in no time. 
Pink-Shirt Book is  `The Peter Norton Programmer's Guide to the IBM   PC'.  The original cover featured a picture of Peter Norton with a   silly smirk on his face, wearing a pink shirt.  Perhaps in   recognition of this usage, the current edition has a different   picture of Norton wearing a See: Pink-Shirt Book2
Pink-Shirt Book2 is  pink shirt.  See also {{book titles}}. 
PIP is  /pip/ [Peripheral Interchange Program] vt.,obs. To copy; from   the program PIP on CP/M, RSX-11, RSTS/E, and OS/8 (derived from a   utility on the PDP-6) that was used for file copying (and in OS/8   and RT-11 for just about every other file operation you might want   to do).  It is said See: PIP2
PIP2 is  that when the program was originated, during the   development of the PDP-6 in 1963, it was called ATLATL (`Anything,   Lord, to Anything, Lord'). 
pistol is  [IBM] n. A tool that makes it all too easy for you to   shoot yourself in the foot.  "UNIX `rm *' makes such a nice   pistol!"
pizza box is  [Sun] n. 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 See: pizza box2
pizza box2 is  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. 
ANSI standard pizza is  /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 {tea, ISO   standard cup of}.
plain-ASCII is  /playn-as'kee/ Syn. {flat-ASCII}.
plan file is  [UNIX] n. 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 See: plan file2
plan file2 is  almost universally to humorous and   self-expressive purposes (like a {sig block}).  See {Hacking X   for Y}. 
platinum-iridium is  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 See: platinum-iridium2
platinum-iridium2 is  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 vault --- this   replaced an earlier definition as 10^7 times the distance   between the North Pole and the Equator See: platinum-iridium3
platinum-iridium3 is  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 See: platinum-iridium4
platinum-iridium4 is  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 See: platinum-iridium5
platinum-iridium5 is    platinum-iridium cons cell in Paris."  Compare {golden}. 
playpen is  [IBM] n. A room where programmers work.  Compare {salt   mines}.
playte is  /playt/ 16 bits, by analogy with {nybble} and {{byte}}.  Usage   rare and extremely silly.  See also {dynner} and {crumb}.
plingnet is  /pling'net/ n. Syn. {UUCPNET}.  Also see   {{Commonwealth Hackish}}, which uses `pling' for {bang} (as in   {bang path}).
plokta is  /plok't*/ [Acronym for `Press Lots Of Keys To Abort']   v.  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. See: plokta2
plokta2 is   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 presses down, hoping for some useful   response. 
plonk is  [USENET possibly influenced by British slang `plonk' for   cheap booze] The sound a {newbie} makes as he falls to the bottom   of a {kill file}.  Used almost exclusively in the {newsgroup}   talk.bizarre, this term (usually written "*plonk*") is a   form of public ridicule.
plugh is  /ploogh/ [from the {ADVENT} game] v. See {xyzzy}.
plumbing is  [UNIX] n. 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 See: plumbing2
plumbing2 is  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.  Esp. used in the construction `hairy plumbing' (see   {hairy}).  "You can kluge together a basic See: plumbing3
plumbing3 is  spell-checker out of   `sort(1)', `comm(1)', and `tr(1)' with a little   plumbing." See also {tee}. 
PM  is  /P-M/ 1. v. (from `preventive maintenance') To bring   down a machine for inspection or test purposes; see {scratch   monkey}.  2. n. Abbrev. for `Presentation Manager', an   {elephantine} OS/2 graphical user interface.  See also   {provocative maintenance}.
pnambic is  /p*-nam'bik/ [Acronym from the scene in the film   version of `The Wizard of Oz' in which 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 See: pnambic2
pnambic2 is  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 See: pnambic3
pnambic3 is  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 See: pnambic4
pnambic4 is  a rigged demo."  See   {magic}, sense 1, for illumination of this point. 
pod is  [allegedly from acronym POD for `Prince Of Darkness'] n. A   Diablo 630 (or, latterly, any letter-quality impact printer).  From   the DEC-10 PODTYPE program used to feed formatted text to it.   See also {P.O.D.}
poke is  n.,vt. See {peek}.
poll is  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 See: poll2
poll2 is  out."  3. To ask.  "Lunch?  I poll for   a takeout order daily." 
polygon pusher is  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'.
POM is  /P-O-M/ n. Common acronym for {phase of the moon}.  Usage   usually in the phrase `POM-dependent', which means {flaky}.
pop is  [from the operation that removes the top of a stack, and the   fact that procedure return addresses are saved on the stack] (also   capitalized `POP' /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 See: pop2
pop2 is  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 too deep a level of detail   so that the main point of the discussion is being lost, someone   will shout "Pop!", meaning "Get back up to a higher See: pop3
pop3 is  level!"   The shout is frequently accompanied by an upthrust arm with a   finger pointing to the ceiling. 
POPJ is  /pop'J/ [from a {PDP-10} return-from-subroutine   instruction] n.,v. To return from a digression.  By verb doubling,   "Popj, popj" means roughly "Now let's see, where were we?"   See {RTI}.
posing is  n. On a {MUD}, the use of `' or an equivalent   command to announce to other players that one is taking a certain   physical action that has no effect on the game (it may, however,   serve as a social signal or propaganda device that induces other   people to take game actions).  For See: posing2
posing2 is  example, if one's character name   is Firechild, one might type ` looks delighted at the idea and   begins hacking on the nearest terminal' to broadcast a message that   says "Firechild looks delighted at the idea and begins hacking on   the nearest terminal".  See {RL}. 
post is  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?"
posting is  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; See: posting2
posting2 is  perhaps the best dividing line   is that if you don't know the names of all the potential   recipients, it is a posting. 
postmaster is  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}.  It is conventional for each machine to have   a `postmaster' address that is aliased to this person.
pound on is  vt.  Syn. {bang on}.
power cycle is  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 {gronk}ed state.   Syn. {120 reset}; see also {Big Red Switch}.  Compare   {Vulcan nerve pinch}, {bounce}, and {boot}, and See: power cycle2
power cycle2 is  see the   AI Koan in appendix A about Tom Knight and the novice. 
PPN is  /P-P-N/, /pip'n/ [from `Project-Programmer Number'] n. 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.
precedence lossage is  /pre's*-dens los'*j/ [C programmers] n. 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 `&', `|', `^', See: precedence lossage2
precedence lossage2 is  `<<', 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   See: precedence lossage3
precedence lossage3 is  happen in *their* favorite language, which eschews precedence   entirely, requiring one to use explicit parentheses everywhere.   See {aliasing bug}, {memory leak}, {smash the stack},   {fandango on core}, {overrun screw}. 
prepend is  /pree`pend'/ [by analogy with `append'] vt. 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 See: prepend2
prepend2 is  translation routine will pass   it through unaltered." 
prestidigitization is  /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.
pretty pictures is  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}.
prettyprint is  /prit'ee-print/ (alt. `pretty-print') v. 1. To   generate `pretty' human-readable output from a {hairy} internal   representation; esp. used for the process of {grind}ing (sense 2)   LISP code.  2. To format in some particularly slick and   nontrivial way.
pretzel key is  [Mac users] n. See {command key}.
prime time is  [from TV programming] n. Normal high-usage hours on a   timesharing system; the day shift.  Avoidance of prime time is a   major reason for {night mode} hacking.
priority interrupt is  [from the hardware term] n. 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 See: priority interrupt2
priority interrupt2 is  in the near vicinity.  Also called   an {NMI} (non-maskable interrupt), especially in PC-land. 
profile is  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.  2. [techspeak] A   report on the amounts of See: profile2
profile2 is  time spent in each routine of a program,   used to find and {tune} away the {hot spot}s 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. 
proglet is  /prog'let/ [UK] n. A short extempore program written   to meet an immediate, transient need.  Often written in BASIC,   rarely more than a dozen lines long, and contains no subroutines.   The largest amount of code that can be written off the top of one's   head, that does not need See: proglet2
proglet2 is  any editing, and that runs correctly the   first time (this amount varies significantly according to the   language one is using).  Compare {toy program}, {noddy},   {one-liner wars}. 
program is  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 See: program2
program2 is  programmers can't understand it. 
Programmer's Cheer is  "Shift to the left!  Shift to the right!  Pop   up, push down!  Byte!  Byte!  Byte!"  A joke so old it has hair on   it.
programming is  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).  2. n. A pastime similar to banging one's head against a   wall, but with fewer opportunities for reward.  3. n. The most fun   you can have with your See: programming2
programming2 is  clothes on (although clothes are not   mandatory). 
propeller head is  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 See: propeller head2
propeller head2 is  actually wears them except as a joke). 
propeller key is  [Mac users] n. See {command key}.
proprietary is  adj. 1. In {marketroid}-speak, superior; implies a   product imbued with exclusive magic by the unmatched brilliance of   the company's hardware or software designers.  2. In the language   of hackers and users, inferior; implies a product not conforming to   open-systems See: proprietary2
proprietary2 is  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 (that's   assuming it wasn't too expensive in the first place). 
protocol is  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 See: protocol2
protocol2 is  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 See: protocol3
protocol3 is  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}. 
provocative maintenance is  [common ironic mutation of `preventive   maintenance'] n. 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 See: provocative maintenance2
provocative maintenance2 is  know what he is doing; this results   in the machine's remaining in an *un*usable state for an   indeterminate amount of time.  See also {scratch monkey}. 
prowler is  [UNIX] n. 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 See: prowler2
prowler2 is  {GFR}, {reaper},   {skulker}. 
pseudo is  /soo'doh/ [USENET truncation of `pseudonym'] n. 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 See: pseudo2
pseudo2 is  message origins.  Perhaps the   best-known and funniest hoax of this type is {BIFF}.   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   See: pseudo3
pseudo3 is  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 See: pseudo4
pseudo4 is  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. 
pseudoprime is  n. A backgammon prime (six consecutive occupied   points) with one point missing.  This term is an esoteric pun   derived from a mathematical method that, rather than determining   precisely whether a number is prime (has no divisors), uses a   statistical technique to decide See: pseudoprime2
pseudoprime2 is  whether the number is `probably'   prime.  A number that passes this test is called a pseudoprime.   The hacker backgammon usage stems from the idea that a pseudoprime   is almost as good as a prime it does the job of a prime until   proven otherwise, and that probably won't happen. 
pseudosuit is  /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}.
psychedelicware is  /si`k*-del'-ik-weir/ [UK] n. Syn.   {display hack}.  See also {smoking clover}.
psyton is  /si'ton/ [TMRC] n. 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 See: psyton2
psyton2 is  watching.  [This term appears to have been   largely superseded by {bogon}; see also {quantum bogodynamics}.   --- ESR] 
pubic directory is  [NYU] (also `pube directory' /pyoob'   d*-rek't*-ree/) n. 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."
puff is  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}.
punched card is  alt. `punch card' [techspeak] n.obs. 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 See: punched card2
punched card2 is  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, designed to fit exactly in the   currency trays used for that era's larger dollar bills.   IBM (which originated as a tabulating-machine See: punched card3
punched card3 is  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 See: punched card4
punched card4 is  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}. 
punt is  [from the punch line of an old joke referring to American   football "Drop back 15 yards and punt!"] v. 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 See: punt2
punt2 is  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   See: punt3
punt3 is  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 See: punt4
punt4 is  the design.  "It's too hard to get the   compiler to do that; let's punt to the runtime system." 
Purple Book is  n. The `System V Interface Definition'.  The covers   of the first editions were an amazingly nauseating shade of   off-lavender.  See also {{book titles}}.
push is  [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 See: push2
push2 is  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 See: push3
push3 is  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}.*quad n. 1. Two bits; syn. for {quarter}, {crumb},   {tayste}.  2. A four-pack of anything (compare {hex}, sense 2).   3. The rectangle or See: push4
push4 is  box glyph used in the APL language for various   arcane purposes mostly related to I/O.  Former Ivy-Leaguers and   Oxbridge types are said to associate it with nostalgic memories of   dear old University. 
quadruple bucky is  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 See: quadruple bucky2
quadruple bucky2 is  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 See: quadruple bucky3
quadruple bucky3 is  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 See: quadruple bucky4
quadruple bucky4 is  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}. 
quantifiers is  In techspeak and jargon, the standard metric   prefixes used in the SI (Syst`eme 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 See: quantifiers2
quantifiers2 is  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}.       The binary peta- and exa- loadings are not in common use---yet,   and the prefix milli-, denoting See: quantifiers3
quantifiers3 is  multiplication by 1000^{-1},   has always been rare (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 See: quantifiers4
quantifiers4 is  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   See: quantifiers5
quantifiers5 is  {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   See: quantifiers6
quantifiers6 is  corresponding power of 2.  The B-suffixed forms are commonly used   for byte quantities; the words `meg' and `gig' are nouns which may   (but do not always) pluralize with `s'.       Confusingly, hackers often use K as though it were a suffix or   numeric multiplier rather than a See: quantifiers7
quantifiers7 is  prefix; thus "2K dollars".  This   is also true (though less commonly) of G and M.   Note that the formal SI metric prefix for 1000 is `k'; some use   this strictly, reserving `K' for multiplication by 1024 (KB is   `kilobytes').   K, M, and G used alone refer to quantities of See: quantifiers8
quantifiers8 is  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 See: quantifiers9
quantifiers9 is  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}. 
quantum bogodynamics is  /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 {suit}s in   general), bogon sinks (such as taxpayers and computers), and   bogosity potential fields.  See: quantum bogodynamics2
quantum bogodynamics2 is  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.  See: quantum bogodynamics3
quantum bogodynamics3 is  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}. 
quarter is  n. Two bits.  This in turn comes from the `pieces of   eight' famed in pirate movies --- Spanish gold pieces 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 See: quarter2
quarter2 is  `bits' was considered worth 12.5 cents.   Syn.  {tayste}, {crumb}, {quad}.  Usage rare.  See also   {nickle}, {nybble}, {{byte}}, {dynner}. 
ques is  /kwes/ 1. n. The question mark character (`?', ASCII   0111111).  2. interj.  What?  Also frequently verb-doubled as   "Ques ques?"  See {wall}.
quick-and-dirty is  adj. 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 See: quick-and-dirty2
quick-and-dirty2 is  module to solve the underlying design problem."   See also {kluge}. 
quote chapter and verse is  [by analogy with the mainstream phrase] v.   To reproduce 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."
quotient is  n. See {coefficient}.
quux is  /kwuhks/ 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 See: quux2
quux2 is  Scrabble).]  1. Originally, a   metasyntactic variable like {foo} and {foobar}.  Invented by   Guy Steele for precisely this purpose when he was young and na"ive   and not yet interacting with the real computing community.  Many   people invent such words; this one seems simply to have See: quux3
quux3 is  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 See: quux4
quux4 is  in his persona as `The Great Quux', which is somewhat   infamous for light verse and for the `Crunchly' cartoons.  4. In   some circles, quux is 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 See: quux5
quux5 is  ice-cube}).  5. quuxy   adj. Of or pertaining to a quux. 
qux is  /kwuhks/ The fourth of the standard metasyntactic   variables, 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 of the   standard series just run {foo}, {bar}, {baz}, {quux},   ....
QWERTY is  /kwer'tee/ [from the keycaps at the upper left] adj.   Pertaining to a standard English-language typewriter keyboard   (sometimes called the Sholes keyboard after its inventor), as   opposed to Dvorak or foreign-language layouts or a {space-cadet   keyboard} or APL keyboard.   See: QWERTY2
QWERTY2 is  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 See: QWERTY3
QWERTY3 is  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 See: QWERTY4
QWERTY4 is  line allowed it to be typed with particular   speed and accuracy for {demo}s.  The jamming problem was   essentially solved soon afterward by a suitable use of springs, but   the keyboard layout lives on.*rain dance n. 1. Any ceremonial action taken to correct a hardware   problem, See: QWERTY5
QWERTY5 is  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 See: QWERTY6
QWERTY6 is  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}. 
random is  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 See: random2
random2 is  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   See: random3
random3 is  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 See: random4
random4 is  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 See: random5
random5 is  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.  See: random6
random6 is  "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}. 
random numbers is  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 See: random numbers2
random numbers2 is  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. `-)')     See: random numbers3
random numbers3 is  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, consult the `Principia Discordia',   `The Hitchhiker's Guide See: random numbers4
random numbers4 is  to the Galaxy', `The Joy of Sex',   and the Christian Bible (Revelation 138).  See also   {Discordianism} or consult your pineal gland.   One common rhetorical maneuver uses any of the canonical random   numbers as placeholders for variables.  "The max function takes   42 See: random numbers5
random numbers5 is  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 See: random numbers6
random numbers6 is  this fashion.  A related joke is that pi   equals 3 --- for small values of pi and large values of 3. 
randomness is  n. An inexplicable misfeature; gratuitous inelegance.   Also, 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 See: randomness2
randomness2 is  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!" 
rape is  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 See: rape2
rape2 is  a piece of hardware for parts. 
rare mode is  [UNIX] adj. 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.
raster blaster is  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'.
raster burn is  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}.
rat belt is  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'.
rave is  [WPI] vi. 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 See: rave2
rave2 is  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} See: rave3
rave3 is  implies somewhat   more strongly that the tone is offensive as well. 
rave on! is  imp. Sarcastic invitation to continue a {rave}, often by   someone who wishes the raver would get a clue but realizes this is   unlikely.
ravs is  /ravz/, also `Chinese ravs' n. 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', See: ravs2
ravs2 is  which 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, See: ravs3
ravs3 is  either by   steaming or frying.  A rav or dumpling can be cooked any way, but a   potsticker is always the 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}}. 
raw mode is  n. A mode that allows a program to transfer bits directly   to or from an I/O device without any processing, abstraction, or   interpretation by the operating system.  Compare {rare}.  This is   techspeak under UNIX, jargon elsewhere.
rc file is  /R-C fil/ [UNIX from the startup script   `/etc/rc', but this is commonly believed to have been named   after older scripts to `run commands'] n. Script file containing   startup instructions for an application program (or an entire   operating system), usually a text file containing See: rc file2
rc file2 is  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}. 
RE is  /R-E/ n. Common spoken and written shorthand for {regexp}.
read-only user is  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}.
README file is  n. By convention, the top-level directory of a UNIX   source distribution always contains a file named `README' (or   READ.ME, or rarely ReadMe or some other variant), which is a   hacker's-eye introduction containing a pointer to more detailed   documentation, credits, See: README file2
README file2 is  miscellaneous revision history notes, etc.   When asked, hackers invariably relate this 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". 
real estate is  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 See: real estate2
real estate2 is  on a crowded desktop (whether   physical or electronic). 
real hack is  n. A {crock}.  This is sometimes used affectionately;   see {hack}.
real operating system is  n. The sort the speaker is used to.  People   from the 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 See: real operating system2
real operating system2 is  a *real* operating   system?", and people from IBM object "UNIX?  Why don't   you use a *real* operating system?"  See {holy wars},   {religious issues}, {proprietary}, {Get a real computer!} 
real programmer is  [indirectly, from the book `Real Men Don't   Eat Quiche'] n. 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 See: real programmer2
real programmer2 is  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 See: real programmer3
real programmer3 is  been {bum}med   into a state of {tense}ness 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   See: real programmer4
real programmer4 is  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 See: real programmer5
real programmer5 is  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.  See: real programmer6
real programmer6 is  For a famous (and somewhat more   positive) portrait of a Real Programmer, see "The Story of   Mel" in appendix A. 
Real Soon Now is  [orig. from SF's fanzine community, popularized by   Jerry Pournelle's column in `BYTE'] adv. 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 See: Real Soon Now2
Real Soon Now2 is  commitments permit one to get to it (in other   words, don't hold your breath).  Often abbreviated RSN. 
real time is  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 classic example.  Such applications   often require See: real time2
real time2 is  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 See: real time3
real time3 is  stack and she came up with an algorithm in   real time." 
real user is  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 See: real user2
real user2 is  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}. 
Real World is  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.  See: Real World2
Real World2 is  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   See: Real World3
Real World3 is  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.  See also {fear and loathing},   {mundane}, and {uninteresting}. 
reality check is  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}.
reaper is  n. A {prowler} that {GFR}s files.  A file removed in   this way is said to have been `reaped'.
rectangle slinger is  n. See {polygon pusher}.
recursion is  n. See {recursion}.  See also {tail recursion}.
recursive acronym is  pl.n. A hackish (and especially MIT) tradition   is to choose acronyms that refer humorously to themselves or to   other acronyms.  The classic examples were two MIT editors called   EINE ("EINE Is Not EMACS") and ZWEI ("ZWEI Was EINE   Initially").  More recently, there is See: recursive acronym2
recursive acronym2 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".   See also {mung}, {EMACS}. 
Red Book is  n. 1. Informal name for one of the three standard   references on PostScript (`PostScript Language Reference   Manual', Adobe Systems (Addison-Wesley, 1985; QA76.73.P67P67; ISBN   0-201-10174-2); the others are known as the {Green Book} and   the {Blue Book}.  2. Informal name for See: Red Book2
Red Book2 is  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 See: Red Book3
Red Book3 is    CCITT eighth plenary assembly.  Until now, these have changed color   each review cycle (1988 was {Blue Book}, 1992 will be {Green   Book}); however, it is rumored that this convention is going to be   dropped before 1992.  These include, among other things, the   X.400 email spec See: Red Book4
Red Book4 is  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 U.S.A. as "the Ugly Red Book   That Won't Fit On The Shelf" See: Red Book5
Red Book5 is  and in Europe as "the Ugly Red Book   That's A Sensible Size".  5. The NSA `Trusted Network   Interpretation' companion to the {Orange Book}.  See also   {{book titles}}. 
regexp is  /reg'eksp/ [UNIX] n. (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 See: regexp2
regexp2 is  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 See: regexp3
regexp3 is  portable C, written by revered USENETter   Henry Spencer (henry@zoo.toronto.edu). 
reinvent the wheel is  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 See: reinvent the wheel2
reinvent the wheel2 is  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. 
religious issues is  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 See: religious issues2
religious issues2 is  Jargon File?"  See {holy wars};   see also {theology}, {bigot}.   This term is an 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 See: religious issues3
religious issues3 is  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. 
replicator is  n. Any construct that acts to produce copies of itself;   this could be a living organism, an idea (see {meme}), a program   (see {worm}, {wabbit}, and {virus}), a pattern in a cellular   automaton (see {life}, sense 1), or (speculatively) a robot or   {nanobot}.  It is even See: replicator2
replicator2 is  claimed by some that {{UNIX}} and {C}   are the symbiotic halves of an extremely successful replicator; see   {UNIX conspiracy}. 
reply is  n. See {followup}.
reset is  [the MUD community] v. In AberMUD, to bring all dead mobiles   to life and move items back to their initial starting places. New   players who can't find anything shout "Reset! Reset!" quite a bit.   Higher-level players shout back "No way!" since they know where   points are to be See: reset2
reset2 is  found.  Used in {RL}, it means to put things back   to the way they were when you found them. 
restriction is  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 See: restriction2
restriction2 is  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   See: restriction3
restriction3 is  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   17 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 See: restriction4
restriction4 is  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. 
retcon is  /ret'kon/ [`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 See: retcon2
retcon2 is  continuity) while completely   changing their interpretation.  E.g., 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 See: retcon3
retcon3 is  unbreakable."   "Marvelman's old adventures were retconned into synthetic   dreams."  "Swamp Thing was retconned from a transformed person   into a sentient vegetable."   [This is included because it is a good example of hackish linguistic   innovation in a field completely unrelated See: retcon4
retcon4 is  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] 
RETI is  v. Syn. {RTI}
retrocomputing is  /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 of   more `serious' designs.  Perhaps See: retrocomputing2
retrocomputing2 is  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 See: retrocomputing3
retrocomputing3 is  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. 
RFC is  /R-F-C/ [Request For Comment] n. One of a long-established   series of numbered Internet standards widely followed by commercial   and PD software in the Internet and UNIX communities.  Perhaps the   single most influential one has been RFC-822 (the Internet   mail-format standard).  The See: RFC2
RFC2 is  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. 
RFE is  /R-F-E/ n. 1. [techspeak] Request For Enhancement.  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.
rib site is  [by analogy with {backbone site}] n. 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}.
rice box is  [from ham radio slang] n. Any Asian-made commodity   computer, esp. an 80x86-based machine built to IBM PC-compatible   ISA or EISA-bus standards.
Right Thing is  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 See: Right Thing2
Right Thing2 is  do when it sees `(mod a 0)'?  Should   it return `a', or give a divide-by-0 error?"  Oppose   {Wrong Thing}. 
RL is  // [MUD community] n. Real Life.  "Firiss laughs in RL"   means that Firiss's player is laughing.  Oppose {VR}.
roach is  [Bell Labs] vt. To destroy, esp. of a data structure.  Hardware   gets {toast}ed or {fried}, software gets roached.
robust is  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 See: robust2
robust2 is  detail.  Compare {smart}, oppose   {brittle}. 
rococo is  adj. {Baroque} in the extreme.  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 See: rococo2
rococo2 is  decoration prevalent during the   mid-1700s in Europe.  Fred Brooks (the man who coined   {second-system effect}) said "Every program eventually becomes   rococo, and then rubble." 
rogue is  [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 to support   `rogue(6)' and has since become one of See: rogue2
rogue2 is  UNIX's most important   and heavily used application libraries.  Nethack, Omega, Larn, and   an entire subgenre of computer dungeon games all took off from the   inspiration provided by `rogue(6)'.  See {nethack}. 
room-temperature IQ is  [IBM] quant. 80 or below.  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.
root is  [UNIX] n. 1. The {superuser} account that ignores   permission bits, user number 0 on a UNIX system.  This account   has the user name `root'.  The term {avatar} is also used.   2. The top node of the system directory structure (home directory   of the root user).  3. By extension, the See: root2
root2 is  privileged   system-maintenance login on any OS.  See {root mode}, {go root}. 
root mode is  n. Syn. with {wizard mode} or `wheel mode'.  Like   these, it is often generalized to describe privileged states in   systems other than OSes.
rot13 is  /rot ther'teen/ [USENET from `rotate alphabet   13 places'] n., v. 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 See: rot132
rot132 is  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 answers to puzzles.  A major   advantage of rot13 over rot(N) for other N is that See: rot133
rot133 is  it   is self-inverse, so the same code can be used for encoding and   decoding. 
rotary debugger is  [Commodore] n. 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 {pizza, ANSI standard}.
RSN is  // adj. See {Real Soon Now}.
RTFAQ is  /R-T-F-A-Q/ [USENET primarily written, by analogy with   {RTFM}] imp. Abbrev. for `Read the FAQ!', an exhortation that   the person addressed ought to read the newsgroup's {FAQ list}   before posting questions.
RTFM is  /R-T-F-M/ [UNIX] imp. Acronym for `Read The Fucking   Manual'.  1. Used by {guru}s 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 See: RTFM2
RTFM2 is  figure out how to   interface UNIX to my toaster, and yes, I have RTFM."  Unlike   sense 1, this use is considered polite.  See also   {RTFAQ}, {RTM}.  The variant RTFS, where S = `Standard',   has also been reported.  Compare {UTSL}. 
RTI is  /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 See: RTI2
RTI2 is  end a conversational digression.   See {pop}; see also {POPJ}. 
RTM is  /R-T-M/ [USENET acronym for `Read The Manual']   1. Politer variant of {RTFM}.  2. Robert T. Morris, perpetrator   of the great Internet worm of 1988; villain to many, na"ive hacker   gone wrong to a few.  Morris claimed that the worm that brought   the Internet to its knees was a benign See: RTM2
RTM2 is  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 name on ITS was   hacked from RTM to {RTFM}. 
rude is  [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.  See {cuspy}.
runes is  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.  Compare {casting   the runes}, {Great Runes}.  2. Special display characters (for   example, the high-half graphics on an IBM PC).
runic is  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 Syst`eme' (French; lit.   "Cowlike Bad System", idiomatically "Bitchy Bad System").
rusty iron is  n. Syn. {tired iron}.  It has been claimed that this   is the inevitable fate of {water MIPS}.
rusty memory is  n. Mass-storage that uses iron-oxide-based magnetic   media (esp. tape and the pre-Winchester removable disk packs used   in {washing machine}s).  Compare {donuts}.*S/N ratio // n. (also `s/n ratio', `sn ratio').  Syn.   {signal-to-noise ratio}.  Often abbreviated `SNR'.
sacred is  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 See: sacred2
sacred2 is  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. 
saga is  [WPI] n. A cuspy but bogus raving story about N random   broken people.
sagan is  /say'gn/ [from Carl Sagan's TV series "Cosmos"; think   "billions and billions"] n. 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."
SAIL is  /sayl/, not /S-A-I-L/ n. 1. Stanford Artificial   Intelligence Lab.  An important site in the early development of   LISP; with the MIT AI Lab, BBN, CMU, and the UNIX community, one of   the major wellsprings of technical innovation and hacker-culture   traditions (see the {{WAITS}} See: SAIL2
SAIL2 is  entry for details).  The SAIL   machines were officially 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 See: SAIL3
SAIL3 is  coroutining   facility and some new data types intended for building search trees   and association lists. 
salescritter is  /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.   This reflects the widespread hacker belief See: salescritter2
salescritter2 is  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}. 
salsman is  /salz'm*n/ v. To flood a mailing list or newsgroup with   huge amounts of useless, trivial or redundant information.  From   the name of a hacker who has frequently done this on some widely   distributed mailing lists.
salt mines is  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}.
salt substrate is  [MIT] n. 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.  From the   technical term `chip substrate', used to refer to the silicon on the   top of which the active parts See: salt substrate2
salt substrate2 is  of integrated circuits are deposited. 
same-day service is  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 See: same-day service2
same-day service2 is  {well-behaved}.  See also {PC-ism}. 
sandbender is  [IBM] n. A person involved with silicon lithography and   the physical design of chips.  Compare {ironmonger}, {polygon   pusher}.
sandbox is  n. (or `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}.
sanity check is  n. 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 See: sanity check2
sanity check2 is  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}.  See: sanity check3
sanity check3 is  2. A run-time test,   either validating input or ensuring that the program hasn't screwed   up internally (producing an inconsistent value or state). 
Saturday night special is  [from police slang for a cheap handgun] n.   A 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.
say is  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 See: say2
say2 is  terminal in response   to your commands.  Hackers find it odd that this usage confuses   {mundane}s. 
science-fiction fandom is  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.  See: science-fiction fandom2
science-fiction fandom2 is  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}, See: science-fiction fandom3
science-fiction fandom3 is  {virus},   {wetware}, {wirehead}, and {worm} originated in SF   stories. 
scram switch is  [from the nuclear power industry] n. 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) See: scram switch2
scram switch2 is  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}. 
scratch is  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 {scribble}d on without   loss.  Usually in the combining forms `scratch memory',   `scratch register', `scratch disk', `scratch See: scratch2
scratch2 is  tape',   `scratch volume'.  See {scratch monkey}.  2. [primarily   IBM] vt. To delete (as in a file). 
scratch monkey is  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 See: scratch monkey2
scratch monkey2 is  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 ca. 1986.  Mabel was not (so the legend goes) your ordinary   monkey; the See: scratch monkey3
scratch monkey3 is  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 DEC {PM}ed the PDP-11 controlling   her regulator (see also See: scratch monkey4
scratch monkey4 is  {provocative maintainance}).   It is recorded 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 See: scratch monkey5
scratch monkey5 is  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. 
screw is  [MIT] n. 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.
screwage is  /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.
scribble is  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 See: scribble2
scribble2 is  {trash}; compare {mung},   which conveys a bit more intention, and {mangle}, which is more   violent and final. 
scrog is  /skrog/ [Bell Labs] vt. 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".  Equivalent to {scribble} or {mangle}.
scrool is  /skrool/ [from the pioneering Roundtable chat system in   Houston ca. 1984; prob. originated as a typo for `scroll'] n. 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', See: scrool2
scrool2 is  because an early version of the roundtable   software had a bug where it would dump all 8K of scrool on a user's   terminal. 
scrozzle is  /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!"
SCSI is  [Small Computer System Interface] n. 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 See: SCSI2
SCSI2 is  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. 
search-and-destroy mode is  n. Hackerism for the search-and-replace   facility in an editor, so called because an incautiously chosen   match pattern can cause {infinite} damage.
second-system effect is  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.  See: second-system effect2
second-system effect2 is  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   See: second-system effect3
second-system effect3 is  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 See: second-system effect4
second-system effect4 is  much truth for comfort) as an example of   second-system effect run amok on jargon-1.... 
secondary damage is  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 See: secondary damage2
secondary damage2 is  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 {grovel}ling with   `adb' See: secondary damage3
secondary damage3 is  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. 
security through obscurity is  n. A name applied by hackers to most OS   vendors' favorite way of coping with security holes --- namely,   ignoring them and not documenting them and trusting that nobody   will find out about them and that people who do find out about them   won't exploit them.  See: security through obscurity2
security through obscurity2 is  This never works for long and occasionally   sets the world up for debacles like the {RTM} worm of 1988, 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 See: security through obscurity3
security through obscurity3 is  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 See: security through obscurity4
security through obscurity4 is  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 It is claimed (with dissent from {{ITS}} fans who   say they used to use `security through obscurity' See: security through obscurity5
security through obscurity5 is  in a positive   sense) that this term 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. 
SED is  [TMRC, from `Light-Emitting Diode'] /S-E-D/ n.   Smoke-emitting diode.  A {friode} that lost the war. See   {LER}.
segfault is  n.,vi. Syn. {segment}, {seggie}.
seggie is  /seg'ee/ [UNIX] n. Shorthand for {segmentation fault}   reported from Britain.
segment is  /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.
segmentation fault is  n. [UNIX] 1. An error in which a running program   attempts to access memory not allocated to it and {core dump}s   with a segmentation violation error.  2. To lose a train of   thought or a line of reasoning.  Also uttered as an exclamation at   the point of befuddlement.
segv is  /seg'vee/ n.,vi. Yet another synonym for {segmentation   fault} (actually, in this case, `segmentation violation').
self-reference is  n. See {self-reference}.
selvage is  /sel'v*j/ [from sewing] n. See {chad} (sense 1).
semi is  /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?"   See: semi2
semi2 is  "Semi-immediately." (That is, maybe not for an hour.)  "We did   consider that possibility semi-seriously."  See also   {infinite}. 
semi-infinite is  n. See {infinite}.
senior bit is  [IBM] n. Syn. {meta bit}.
server is  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 `name servers', `domain servers', `news   servers', `finger servers', and the like.
SEX is  /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 See: SEX2
SEX2 is  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 See: SEX3
SEX3 is  the   PDP-11 and many other architectures.   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 See: SEX4
SEX4 is  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' See: SEX5
SEX5 is  (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 U.K.'s `Dragon 32' personal   computer, See: SEX6
SEX6 is  actually had an official `SEX' instruction; the 6502   in the Apple II it competed with did not.  British hackers thought   this made perfect mythic sense; after all, it was commonly   observed, you could have sex with a dragon, but you can't have sex   with an apple. 
sex changer is  n. Syn. {gender mender}.
shareware is  /sheir'weir/ n. {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 {guiltware}, {crippleware}.
shelfware is  /shelfweir/ 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.
shell is  [orig. {{Multics}} techspeak, widely propagated via UNIX] n.   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 See: shell2
shell2 is  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'. 
shell out is  [UNIX] n. 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."
shift left logical is  [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' See: shift left logical2
shift left logical2 is  instead of   `shift left'.  Sometimes heard as LSH /lish/, from the {PDP-10}   instruction set.  See {Programmer's Cheer}. 
shitogram is  /shit'oh-gram/ n. A *really* nasty piece of email.   Compare {nastygram}, {flame}.
short card is  n. A half-length IBM PC 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}.
shotgun debugging is  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.
showstopper is  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*.
shriek is  n. See {excl}.  Occasional CMU usage, also in common use   among APL fans and mathematicians, especially category theorists.
Shub-Internet is  /shuhb in't*r-net/ [MUD from H. P. Lovecraft's   evil fictional deity `Shub-Niggurath', the Black Goat with a   Thousand Young] n.  The harsh personification of the Internet,   Beast of a Thousand Processes, Eater of Characters, Avatar of Line   Noise, and Imp of Call Waiting; See: Shub-Internet2
Shub-Internet2 is  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 See: Shub-Internet3
Shub-Internet3 is  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 {FTP} and {telnet} when the system See: Shub-Internet4
Shub-Internet4 is  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. 
sidecar is  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 rules.   If it worked with any See: sidecar2
sidecar2 is  other peripherals, it was by {magic}. 
sig block is  /sig blok/ [UNIX often written `.sig' there] n.   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 See: sig block2
sig block2 is  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 See: sig block3
sig block3 is  and   level of prestige on the net. 
sig quote is  /sig kwoht/ [USENET] n. 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."
signal-to-noise ratio is  [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 See: signal-to-noise ratio2
signal-to-noise ratio2 is  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 war}s.   Compare {bandwidth}.  See also {coefficient of X}, {lost in   the noise}. 
silicon is  n. Hardware, esp. ICs or microprocessor-based computer   systems (compare {iron}).  Contrasted with software.  See also   {sandbender}.
silicon foundry is  n. A company that {fab}s chips to the designs of   others.  As of the late 1980s, the combination of silicon foundries   and good computer-aided design software made it much easier for   hardware-designing startup companies to come into being.  The   downside of using a See: silicon foundry2
silicon foundry2 is  silicon foundry is that the distance from the   actual chip-fabrication processes reduces designers' control of detail.   This is somewhat analogous to the use of {HLL}s versus coding in   assembler. 
silly walk is  [from Monty Python's Flying Circus] vi. 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}.
silo is  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 you put in the top and took out the bottom.
Silver Book is  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}.
since time T equals minus infinity is  adj. 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}.
sitename is  /sit'naym/ [UNIX/Internet] n. 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.  See: sitename2
sitename2 is  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, See: sitename3
sitename3 is  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 See: sitename4
sitename4 is  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}. 
skrog is  v. Syn. {scrog}.
skulker is  n. Syn. {prowler}.
slap on the side is  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 See: slap on the side2
slap on the side2 is  as memory, hard drive   controllers, and conventional expansion slots. 
slash is  n. Common name for the slant (`/', ASCII 0101111)   character.  See {ASCII} for other synonyms.
sleep is  vi. 1. [techspeak] On a timesharing system, a process that   relinquishes its claim on the scheduler until some given event   occurs or a specified time delay elapses is said to `go to   sleep'.  2. In jargon, used very similarly to v. {block}; also   in `sleep on', syn. with `block See: sleep2
sleep2 is  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." 
slim is  n. A small, derivative change (e.g., to code).
slop is  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 See: slop2
slop2 is  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' See: slop3
slop3 is  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  See: slop4
slop4 is   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. 
slopsucker is  /slop'suhk-r/ n. A lowest-priority task that must   wait 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}.  One common variety of See: slopsucker2
slopsucker2 is  slopsucker hunts for large prime   numbers.  Compare {background}. 
slurp is  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}.
smart is  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 See: smart2
smart2 is  {robust} (smart programs can be   {brittle}). 
smart terminal is  n. 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   See: smart terminal2
smart terminal2 is  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 said devices   as displays.  See: smart terminal3
smart terminal3 is  Compare {glass tty}.   There is a classic quote from Rob Pike (inventor of the {blit}   terminal) "A smart terminal is not a smart*ass* terminal,   but rather a terminal you can educate."  This illustrates a common   design problem The attempt to make peripherals (or anything See: smart terminal4
smart terminal4 is  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}. 
smash case is  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}.
smash the stack is  [C programming] n. On many C implementations it is   possible to corrupt the execution stack by writing past the end of   an array declared `auto' in a routine.  Code that does this is   said to `smash the stack', and can cause return from the routine   to jump to a random See: smash the stack2
smash the stack2 is  address.  This can produce 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 See: smash the stack3
smash the stack3 is  also {aliasing bug},   {fandango on core}, {memory leak}, {precedence lossage},   {overrun screw}. 
smiley is  n. See {emoticon}.
smoke test is  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 See: smoke test2
smoke test2 is  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 See: smoke test3
smoke test3 is  smoke, then press   it onto paper) is used to check out new dies. 
smoking clover is  [ITS] n. A {display hack} originally due to   Bill Gosper.  Many convergent lines are drawn on a color monitor in   {AOS} mode (so that every pixel struck has its color   incremented).  The lines all have one endpoint in the middle of the   screen; the other endpoints are See: smoking clover2
smoking clover2 is  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 See: smoking clover3
smoking clover3 is  Administration) lest its   hallucinogenic properties cause it to be banned. 
SMOP is  /S-M-O-P/ [Simple (or Small) Matter of Programming] n.   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 See: SMOP2
SMOP2 is  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 a SMOP."  2. See: SMOP3
SMOP3 is  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. 
SNAFU principle is  /sna'foo prin'si-pl/ [from WWII Army acronym   for `Situation Normal, All Fucked Up'] n. "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 See: SNAFU principle2
SNAFU principle2 is  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.   
snail is  vt. To {snail-mail} something. "Snail me a copy of those   graphics, will you?"
snail-mail is  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 been   parody posters and stamps made.  Oppose {email}.
snap is  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 See: snap2
snap2 is  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 See: snap3
snap3 is  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 See: snap4
snap4 is  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 See: snap5
snap5 is  to use a direct   procedure-call instruction with no further overhead. 
snarf is  /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 See: snarf2
snarf2 is  late 1960s, meaning   `to eat piggishly'.  It may still have this connotation in context.   "He's in the snarfing phase of hacking --- {FTP}ing megs of   stuff a day."  3. To acquire, with little concern for legal forms   or politesse (but not quite by stealing).  "They were giving   See: snarf3
snarf3 is  away samples, so I snarfed a bunch of them."  4. Syn. for   {slurp}.  "This program starts by snarfing the entire database   into core, then...." 
snarf & barf is  /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, See: snarf & barf2
snarf & barf2 is  regret it later' cheap-restaurant   expedition. 
snarf down is  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."
snark is  [Lewis Carroll, via the Michigan Terminal System] n. 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 See: snark2
snark2 is  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 2.*.* versions   (i.e., this lexicon). 
sneakernet is  /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 See: sneakernet2
sneakernet2 is  filled with CD-ROMs."  Also called   `Tennis-Net', `Armpit-Net', `Floppy-Net'. 
sniff is  v.,n. Synonym for {poll}.
snivitz is  /sniv'itz/ n. A hiccup in hardware or software; a small,   transient problem of unknown origin (less serious than a   {snark}).  Compare {glitch}.
SO is  /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. The Shift Out control   See: SO2
SO2 is  character in ASCII (Control-N, 0001110). 
social science number is  [IBM] n. 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 See: social science number2
social science number2 is  considerably worse.  {Management}   loves them.  See also {numbers}, {math-out}, {pretty   pictures}. 
soft boot is  n. See {boot}.
softcopy is  /soft'ko-pee/ n. [by analogy with `hardcopy'] A   machine-readable form of corresponding hardcopy.  See {bits},   {machinable}.
software bloat is  n. The results of {second-system effect} or   {creeping featuritis}.  Commonly cited examples include   `ls(1)', {X}, {BSD}, {Missed'em-five}, and {OS/2}.
software rot is  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 See: software rot2
software rot2 is  insufficiently {robust}, this may   cause it to fail in mysterious ways.   For example, owing to endemic shortsightedness in the design of   COBOL programs, most will succumb to software rot when their   2-digit year counters {wrap around} at the beginning of the   year 2000.  See: software rot3
software rot3 is  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 See: software rot4
software rot4 is  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 See: software rot5
software rot5 is  (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.  See: software rot6
software rot6 is  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 See: software rot7
software rot7 is  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 See: software rot8
software rot8 is  day, and corrected appropriately.   Compare {bit rot}. 
softwarily is  /soft-weir'i-lee/ adv. In a way pertaining to software.   "The system is softwarily unreliable."  The adjective   `softwary' is *not* used.  See {hardwarily}.
softy is  [IBM] n. Hardware hackers' term for a software expert who   is largely ignorant of the mysteries of hardware.
some random X is  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}.
sorcerer's apprentice mode is  [from the film "Fantasia"] n. 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} See: sorcerer's apprentice mode2
sorcerer's apprentice mode2 is  loops in {email} software.  Compare   {broadcast storm}, {network meltdown}. 
SOS is  n.,obs. /S-O-S/ 1. 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 See: SOS2
SOS2 is  discarded when new ones (in   particular, {TECO}) 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 See: SOS3
SOS3 is  editor BILOS   /bye'lohs/, the Brother-In-Law Of Stopgap (the alternate expansion   `Bastard Issue, Loins of Stopgap' has been proposed).  2. /sos/   n. To decrease; inverse of {AOS}, from the PDP-10 instruction   set. 
source of all good bits is  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.
space-cadet keyboard is  n. The Knight keyboard, a now-legendary device   used on MIT LISP machines, which inspired several still-current   jargon terms and influenced the design of {EMACS}.  It was inspired   by the Stanford keyboard and equipped with no fewer than   *seven* shift keys four See: space-cadet keyboard2
space-cadet keyboard2 is  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' See: space-cadet keyboard3
space-cadet keyboard3 is  key had an `L' and a two-way   arrow on the top, and the Greek letter lambda on the front.   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 See: space-cadet keyboard4
space-cadet keyboard4 is  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 See: space-cadet keyboard5
space-cadet keyboard5 is  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 See: space-cadet keyboard6
space-cadet keyboard6 is  bucky},   {meta bit}, {quadruple bucky}. 
SPACEWAR is  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 1960--61.  SPACEWAR See: SPACEWAR2
SPACEWAR2 is  aficionados formed the core of   the early hacker culture at MIT.  Nine years later, 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 9 years after that, SPACEWAR was See: SPACEWAR3
SPACEWAR3 is  commercialized as one of   the first video games; descendants are still {feep}ing in video   arcades everywhere. 
spaghetti code is  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 many jumps in it.
spaghetti inheritance is  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 See: spaghetti inheritance2
spaghetti inheritance2 is  (successful) attempt to discourage such   practice, through guilt-by-association with {spaghetti code}. 
spam is  [from the {MUD} community] vt. To crash a program by overrunning   a fixed-size buffer with excessively large input data.  See also   {buffer overflow}, {overrun screw}, {smash the stack}.
special-case is  vt. To write unique code to handle input to or   situations arising in 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 See: special-case2
special-case2 is  normal commands), or for processing   of {hidden flag}s in the input of a batch program or {filter}. 
speedometer is  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 software goes   through its main loop.  A swiftly moving pattern indicates that the   system is mostly idle; the See: speedometer2
speedometer2 is  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 Honeywell 6000 (later GE See: speedometer3
speedometer3 is  600)   actually had an *analog* speedometer on the front panel,   calibrated in instructions executed per second. 
spell is  n. Syn. {incantation}.
spiffy is  /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 See: spiffy2
spiffy2 is  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. 
spin is  vi. Equivalent to {buzz}.  More common among C and UNIX   programmers.
spl is  /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 See: spl2
spl2 is  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}. 
splat is  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. See: splat2
splat2 is  [Rochester Institute of   Technology] The {command key} on a Mac (same as {ALT},   sense 2).  4. [Stanford] 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 See: splat3
splat3 is  used by mathematicians as a   notation for `tensor product'.  5. [Stanford] Name for the   semi-mythical extended ASCII   circle-plus   character.  6. Canonical name for an output routine that outputs   whatever the local interpretation of `splat' is.   With ITS and WAITS gone, senses See: splat4
splat4 is  4--6 are now nearly obsolete.  See   also {{ASCII}}. 
sponge is  [UNIX] n. 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 your file   system has versioning (as See: sponge2
sponge2 is  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}. 
spooge is  /spooj/ 1. n. Inexplicable or arcane code, or random   and probably incorrect output from a computer program.  2. vi. To   generate spooge (sense 1).
spool is  [from early IBM `Simultaneous Peripheral Operation Off-Line',   but this acronym is widely thought to have been contrived for   effect] vt. To send files to some device or program (a `spooler')   that queues them up and does something useful with them later.  The   spooler usually See: spool2
spool2 is  understood 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).  See also {demon}. 
stack is  n. A person's stack is the set of things he or she 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 See: stack2
stack2 is  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 See: stack3
stack3 is  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   See: stack4
stack4 is  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. See: stack5
stack5 is  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")    See: stack6
stack6 is      lists, and even yo-yo lists! 
stack puke is  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.
stale pointer bug is  n. Synonym for {aliasing bug} used esp. among   microcomputer hackers.
state is  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 See: state2
state2 is  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 See: state3
state3 is  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). 
steam-powered is  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.
stiffy is  [University of Lowell,  Massachusetts.] n. 3.5-inch   {microfloppies}, so called because their jackets are more firm   than those of the 5.25-inch and the 8-inch floppy.  Elsewhere this might be   called a `firmy'.
stir-fried random is  alt. `stir-fried mumble' n. 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}.
stomp on is  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}.
Stone Age is  n., adj. 1. In computer folklore, an ill-defined period   from ENIAC (ca. 1943) to the mid-1950s; the great age of   electromechanical {dinosaur}s.  Sometimes used for the entire   period up to 1960--61 (see {Iron Age}); however, it is funnier   and more descriptive to characterize See: Stone Age2
Stone Age2 is  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 See: Stone Age3
Stone Age3 is  hardware   or software technology.  Note that this is used even by people who   were there for the {Stone Age} (sense 1). 
stoppage is  /sto'p*j/ n. Extreme {lossage} that renders   something (usually something vital) completely unusable.  "The   recent system stoppage was caused by a {fried} transformer."
store is  [prob. from techspeak `main store'] n. Preferred Commonwealth   synonym for {core}.  Thus, `bringing a program into store' means   not that one is returning shrink-wrapped software but that a   program is being {swap}ped in.
stroke is  n. Common name for the slant (`/', ASCII 0101111)   character.  See {ASCII} for other synonyms.
strudel is  n. Common (spoken) name for the circumflex (`', ASCII   1000000) character.  See {ASCII} for other synonyms.
stubroutine is  /stuhb'roo-teen/ [contraction of `stub routine']   n.  Tiny, often vacuous placeholder for a subroutine that is to be   written or fleshed out later.
studlycaps is  /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.
stunning is  adj. Mind-bogglingly stupid.  Usually used in sarcasm.   "You want to code *what* in ADA?  That's ... a stunning   idea!"
stupid-sort is  n. Syn. {bogo-sort}.
subshell is  /suhb'shel/ [UNIX, MS-DOS] n. An OS command interpreter   (see {shell}) spawned from within a program, such that exit from   the command interpreter returns one to the parent program in a   state that allows it to continue execution.  Compare {shell out};   oppose {chain}.
sucking mud is  [Applied Data Research] adj. (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".  See: sucking mud2
sucking mud2 is  Often used as a query.  "We   are going to reconfigure the network, are you ready to suck mud?" 
sufficiently small is  adj. Syn. {suitably small}.
suit is  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}.  See: suit2
suit2 is  2. A person who habitually wears   suits, as distinct from a techie or hacker.  See {loser},   {burble}, {management}, and {brain-damaged}.  English, by the   way, is relatively kind; our Soviet correspondent informs us that   the corresponding idiom in Russian hacker jargon is `sovok', See: suit3
suit3 is  lit.   a tool for grabbing garbage. 
suitable win is  n. See {win}.
suitably small is  [perverted from mathematical jargon] adj. 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 See: suitably small2
suitably small2 is  exclaimed "It works!"   Then, if the program dumps core on the first mouse click, one might   add "Well, for suitably small values of `works'."  Compare   the characterization of pi under {{random numbers}}. 
sun-stools is  n. Unflattering hackerism for SunTools, a pre-X   windowing environment notorious in its day for size, slowness, and   misfeatures.  {X}, however, is larger and slower; see   {second-system effect}.
sunspots is  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 {cosmic rays}, {phase of the moon}.
superprogrammer is  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 See: superprogrammer2
superprogrammer2 is  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 See: superprogrammer3
superprogrammer3 is  places as IBM   than in the hacker community.  It tends to stress na"ive 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   See: superprogrammer4
superprogrammer4 is  three lines that do the {Right Thing}.  Hackers tend to prefer   the terms {hacker} and {wizard}. 
superuser is  [UNIX] n. 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}.
support is  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 relevant manuals better than the support   people (sadly, this is See: support2
support2 is  *not* a joke or exaggeration).  A   hacker's idea of `support' is a t^ete-`a-t^ete with the   software's designer. 
Suzie COBOL is  /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' See: Suzie COBOL2
Suzie COBOL2 is  or (in some non-IBM circles) `Cobol Charlie'.   2. [proposed] Meta-name for any {code grinder}, analogous to   {J. Random Hacker}. 
swab is  /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 See: swab2
swab2 is  equivalent to it.  See also   {big-endian}, {little-endian}, {middle-endian},   {bytesexual}. 
swap is  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 See: swap2
swap2 is  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 See: swap3
swap3 is  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 See: swap4
swap4 is  this   out", implying that the piece of paper is your extra-somatic   memory and if you don't swap the info out by writing it down it   will get overwritten and lost as you talk.  Compare {page in},   {page out}. 
swap space is  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."
swapped in is  n. See {swap}.  See also {page in}.
swapped out is  n. See {swap}.  See also {page out}.
swizzle is  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 See: swizzle2
swizzle2 is  simplify code (e.g., by turning lots of   name lookups into pointer dereferences).  The converse operation is   sometimes termed `unswizzling'.  See also {snap}. 
sync is  /sink/ (var. `synch') n., vi. 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 See: sync2
sync2 is  to crash; thus, to checkpoint   (in the database-theory sense). 
syntactic sugar is  [coined by Peter Landin] n. Features added to a   language or other formalism to make it `sweeter' for humans,   that do not affect the expressiveness of the formalism (compare   {chrome}).  Used esp. when there is an obvious and trivial   translation of the `sugar' feature See: syntactic sugar2
syntactic sugar2 is  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 variant `syntactic saccharine' is also recorded.  This   denotes something even more See: syntactic sugar3
syntactic sugar3 is  gratuitous, in that syntactic sugar   serves a purpose (making something more acceptable to humans) but   syntactic saccharine serves no purpose at all. 
sys-frog is  /sis'frog/ [the PLATO system] n. Playful variant of   `sysprog', which is in turn short for `systems programmer'.
sysadmin is  /sis'ad-min/ n. Common contraction of `system   admin'; see {admin}.
sysop is  /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.
system is  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 See: system2
system2 is  (in senses 1 and 2 only; for   sense 3 one mentions the particular program e.g., `LISP   hacker') 
systems jock is  n. See {jock}, (sense 2).
SysVile is  /sis-vil'/ n. See {Missed'em-five}.
system mangler is  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 See: system mangler2
system mangler2 is  emphasizes the technical end of the   skills involved.*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 hackers use `T and `NIL See: system mangler3
system mangler3 is  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 well respond `T, meaning that he wants coffee; but of course   he will be brought a cup of tea instead.  As See: system mangler4
system mangler4 is  it happens, 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 See: system mangler5
system mangler5 is  abbreviation   for the noun `transaction.  4. [Purdue] Alternate spelling of   {tee}. 
tail recursion is  n. If you arent sick of it already, see {tail   recursion}.
talk mode is  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 See: talk mode2
talk mode2 is  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   See: talk mode3
talk mode3 is  probably derived from) Morse-code jargon used by ham-radio amateurs   since the 1920s.   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   See: talk mode4
talk mode4 is  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, See: talk mode5
talk mode5 is  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 See: talk mode6
talk mode6 is  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      Some {BIFF}isms (notably the See: talk mode7
talk mode7 is  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 See: talk mode8
talk mode8 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   See: talk mode9
talk mode9 is  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}, {bonk/oif}. 
talker system is  n. British hackerism for software that enables   real-time chat or {talk mode}.
tall card is  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 See: tall card2
tall card2 is  wouldnt fit; this was felt to be a   reincarnation of the {connector conspiracy}, done with less   style. 
tanked is  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.
tar and feather is  [from UNIX `tar(1)] vt. 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 by analogy to what you do with See: tar and feather2
tar and feather2 is  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. 
taste is  [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 `tasteful and `flavorful are See: taste2
taste2 is  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 See: taste3
taste3 is  `kind or `variety not shared by   `taste.  {Flavor} is a more popular word than `taste,   though both are used.  See also {elegant}.  2. Alt. sp. of   {tayste}. 
tayste is  /tayst/ n. Two bits; also as {taste}.  Syn. {crumb},   {quarter}.  Compare {{byte}}, {dynner}, {playte},   {nybble}, {quad}.
TCB is  /T-C-B/ [IBM] n. 1. Trouble Came Back.  An intermittent or   difficult-to-reproduce problem that has failed to respond to   neglect.  Compare {heisenbug}.  Not to be confused with   2. Trusted Computing Base, an `official jargon term from the   {Orange Book}.
ISO standard cup of tea is  [South Africa] n. 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.   Like many ISO standards, this one has a faintly alien See: ISO standard cup of tea2
ISO standard cup of tea2 is  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 See: ISO standard cup of tea3
ISO standard cup of tea3 is  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 dont mix very well. 
TechRef is  /tekref/ [MS-DOS] n. The original `IBM PC   Technical Reference Manual, including the BIOS listing and   complete schematics for the PC.  The only PC documentation in the   issue package thats considered serious by real hackers.
TECO is  /teekoh/ obs. 1. vt. Originally, to edit using the TECO   editor in one of its infinite variations (see below).  2. vt.,obs.   To edit even when TECO is *not* the editor being used!  This   usage is rare and now primarily historical.  2. [originally an   acronym for `[paper] Tape Editor See: TECO2
TECO2 is  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 might have been the most prolific editor in use before   {EMACS}, to which it was directly ancestral.  Noted for its   See: TECO3
TECO3 is  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 hacker game used to be mentally working out what   the TECO commands See: TECO4
TECO4 is  corresponding to human names did.  As an example   of TECOs 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 See: TECO5
TECO5 is  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 See: TECO6
TECO6 is  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.  See: TECO7
TECO7 is  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 See: TECO8
TECO8 is  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 See: TECO9
TECO9 is  antiquarian interest.  See   also {retrocomputing}, {write-only language}. 
tee is  n.,vt. [Purdue] A carbon copy of an electronic transmission.   "Oh, youre 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.
Telerat is  /tel*-rat/ n. Unflattering hackerism for `Teleray, a   line of extremely losing terminals.  See also {terminak},   {sun-stools}, {HP-SUX}.
TELNET is  /telnet/ vt. To communicate with another Internet host   using the {TELNET} program.  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."
ten-finger interface is  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.
tense is  adj. Of programs, very clever and efficient.  A tense piece   of code often got that way because it was highly {bum}med, 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 See: tense2
tense2 is  will bring tears to your eyes."  A tense   programmer is one who produces tense code. 
tenured graduate student is  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 dont really get   tenure, of course, the way See: tenured graduate student2
tenured graduate student2 is  professors do, but a tenth-year graduate   student has probably been around the university longer than any   untenured professor. 
tera- is  /ter*/ [SI] pref. See {{quantifiers}}.
teraflop club is  /ter*-flop kluhb/ [FLOP = Floating Point   Operation] n. 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 See: teraflop club2
teraflop club2 is  said to have been the founder. 
terminak is  /termi-nak`/ [Caltech, ca. 1979] n. 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."  See See: terminak2
terminak2 is  {sun-stools}, {Telerat},   {HP-SUX}. 
terminal brain death is  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.
terminal illness is  n. 1. Syn. {raster burn}.  2. The `burn-in   condition your CRT tends to get if you dont have a screen saver.
terminal junkie is  [UK] n. 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   See: terminal junkie2
terminal junkie2 is  `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}. 
terpri is  /terpree/ [from LISP 1.5 (and later, MacLISP)] vi. 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 early OSes, no characters would be   printed until a complete See: terpri2
terpri2 is  line was formed, so this operation   terminated the line and emitted the output. 
test is  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 See: test2
test2 is  mistakes.  Judging by the quality of most   software, the second definition is far more prevalent.  See also   {demo}. 
TeX is  /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(1), the other favored formatter, even at many   UNIX installations).  TeX fans insist on the See: TeX2
TeX2 is  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 See: TeX3
TeX3 is  TeXnician (TeX user), TeXhacker (TeX   programmer), TeXmaster (competent TeX programmer), TeXhax,   and TeXnique.   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 See: TeX4
TeX4 is  {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   See: TeX5
TeX5 is  frozen around 1985, but volume IV of `The Art of Computer   Programming has yet to appear as of mid-1991.  The impact and   influence of TeXs design has been such that nobody minds this   very much.  Many grand hackish projects have started as a bit of   tool-building on the way to See: TeX6
TeX6 is  something else; Knuths diversion was   simply on a grander scale than most. 
text is  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}). See: text2
text2 is   "Those are text files;   you can review them using the editor."  These two contradictory   senses confuse hackers, too. 
thanks in advance is  [USENET] Conventional net.politeness ending a   posted request for information or assistance.  Sometimes written   `advTHANKSance or `aTdHvAaNnKcSe or abbreviated `TIA.  See   {net.-}, {netiquette}.
the X that can be Y is not the true X is  Yet another instance of   hackerdoms 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 See: the X that can be Y is not the true X2
the X that can be Y is not the true X2 is  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}. 
theology is  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 See: theology2
theology2 is  software issues with a   heavy AI or language-design component, such as the smart-data vs.   smart-programs dispute in AI. 
theory is  n. The consensus, idea, plan, story, or set of rules that   is currently being used to inform a behavior.  This is a   generalization and abuse of the technical meaning.  "Whats the   theory on fixing this TECO loss?"  "Whats the theory on dinner   tonight?"  ("Chinatown, I guess.")  See: theory2
theory2 is  "Whats the current theory   on letting lusers on during the day?"  "The theory behind this   change is to fix the following well-known screw...." 
thinko is  /thingkoh/ [by analogy with `typo] n. 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}.  Compare {mouso}.
This time, for sure! is  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 See: This time, for sure!2
This time, for sure!2 is  heard "Hey, Rocky!  Watch me pull a   rabbit out of my hat!"  The {canonical} response is, of course,   "But that trick *never* works!"  See {{Humor, Hacker}}. 
thrash is  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 See: thrash2
thrash2 is  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}. 
thread is  n. [USENET, GEnie, CompuServe] Common abbreviation of   `topic thread, a more or less continuous chain of postings on a   single topic.
three-finger salute is  n. Syn. {Vulcan nerve pinch}.
thud is  n. 1. Yet another meta-syntactic 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.
thunk is  /thuhnk/ n. 1. "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 See: thunk2
thunk2 is  formal parameter, the compiler   generates a {thunk} to compute the expression and leave 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 See: thunk3
thunk3 is  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 See: thunk4
thunk4 is  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.  See: thunk5
thunk5 is  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   holds that it is the sound of the expression being unfrozen at   argument-evaluation time.  In fact, according to the See: thunk6
thunk6 is  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 See: thunk7
thunk7 is  thought of; thus it was christened a `thunk,   which is "the past tense of `think at two in the morning". 
tick is  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 See: tick2
tick2 is  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 {handwave}d. 3. In the FORTH   language, a single quote character. 
tick-list features is  [Acorn Computers] n. 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.
tickle a bug is  vt. To cause a normally hidden bug to manifest   through some known series of inputs or operations.  "You can   tickle the bug in the Paradise VGA cards highlight handling by   trying to set bright yellow reverse video."
tiger team is  [U.S. military jargon] n. A team 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 See: tiger team2
tiger team2 is  "Your codebooks have been stolen"   (they usually havent 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 See: tiger team3
tiger team3 is  of tiger teams   sometimes lead to early retirement for base commanders and security   officers (see the {patch} entry for an example).   A subset of tiger teams are professional {cracker}s, testing the   security of military computer installations by attempting remote   attacks See: tiger team4
tiger team4 is  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. 
time sink is  [poss. by analogy with `heat sink or `current sink] n.   A project that consumes unbounded amounts of time.
time T is  /tim T/ n. 1. An unspecified but usually well-understood   time, often used in conjunction with a later time T+1.   "Well meet on campus at time T or at Louies at   time T+1" means, in the context of going out for dinner   "We can meet on campus and go to Louies, or we can meet at See: time T2
time T2 is  Louies   itself a bit later."  (Louies is a Chinese restaurant in Palo Alto   that is 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 Louies is 30 minutes; whatever time T is (and   that See: time T3
time T3 is  hasnt been decided on yet), you can meet half an hour later at   Louies than you could on campus and end up eating at the same time.   See also {since time T equals minus infinity}. 
times-or-divided-by is  [by analogy with `plus-or-minus] quant. Term   occasionally used when describing the uncertainty associated with a   scheduling estimate, for either humorous or brutally honest effect.   For a software project, the factor is usually at least 2.
tinycrud is  /tinee-kruhd/ n. A pejorative used by habitues of older   game-oriented {MUD} versions for TinyMUDs and other   user-extensible {MUD} variants; esp. common among users of the   rather violent and competitive AberMUD and MIST systems.  These   people justify the slur on the basis of See: tinycrud2
tinycrud2 is  how (allegedly)   inconsistent and lacking in genuine atmosphere the scenarios   generated in user extensible MUDs can be.  Other common knocks on   them are that they feature little overall plot, bad game topology,   little competitive interaction, etc. --- not to mention the See: tinycrud3
tinycrud3 is  alleged   horrors of the TinyMUD code itself.  This dispute is one of the MUD   worlds hardiest perennial {holy wars}. 
tip of the ice-cube is  [IBM] n. 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 actually   nontrivial.
tired iron is  [IBM] n. 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}.
tits on a keyboard is  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).
TLA is  /T-L-A/ [Three-Letter Acronym] n. 1. Self-describing   acronym 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 See: TLA2
TLA2 is  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 See: TLA3
TLA3 is  {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?"  Pauls See: TLA4
TLA4 is  straight-faced response "There are only   17,000 three-letter acronyms." (To be exact, there are 26^3   = 17,576.) 
TMRC is  /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   which became basics of the hackish vocabulary (see esp. {foo}   and {frob}).   By 1962, TMRCs See: TMRC2
TMRC2 is  legendary layout was already a marvel of   complexity.  The control system alone featured about 1200 relays.   There were {scram switch}es located at numerous places around   the room that could be pressed if something undesirable was about   to occur, such as a train going full-bore at See: TMRC3
TMRC3 is  an obstruction.   Another feature of the system was a digital clock on the dispatch   board.  Normally it ran at some multiple of real time, but if   someone hit a scram switch the clock stopped and the display was   replaced with the word `FOO.   Steven Levy, in his book `Hackers (see See: TMRC4
TMRC4 is  the Bibliography), gives a   stimulating account of those early years.  TMRCs Power and Signals   group included most of the early PDP-1 hackers and the people who   later bacame the core of the MIT AI Lab staff.  Thirty years later   that connection is still very much alive, and this See: TMRC5
TMRC5 is  lexicon   accordingly includes a number of entries from a recent revision of   the TMRC Dictionary. 
to a first approximation is  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 See: to a first approximation2
to a first approximation2 is  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 See: to a first approximation3
to a first approximation3 is  reveal that not all is perfect (e.g., a   nagging cough still remains after an illness). 
to a zeroth approximation is  [from `to a first approximation] A   *really* sloppy approximation; a wild guess.  Compare   {social science number}.
toast is  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 See: toast2
toast2 is  {firewall machine} again." 
toaster is  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?  Thatd be   as silly as running UNIX on your See: toaster2
toaster2 is  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 See: toaster3
toaster3 is  my box   without toasters, but since then Ive added two boards and a second   disk drive." 
toeprint is  n. A {footprint} of especially small size.
toggle is  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 See: toggle2
toggle2 is  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 See: toggle3
toggle3 is  functions of one boolean   argument, but saying that is much less fun than talking about   toggling bits.) 
tool is  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) See: tool2
tool2 is  interface designed specifically to be used   in programmed combination with other tools (see {filter}).   3. [MIT general to students there] vi. To work; to study (connotes   tedium).  The TMRC Dictionary defined this as "to set ones brain   to the grindstone".  See {hack}.  4. [MIT] n. See: tool3
tool3 is  A student who   studies too much and hacks too little.  (MITs student humor   magazine rejoices in the name `Tool and Die.) 
toolsmith is  n. The software equivalent of a tool-and-die specialist;   one who specializes in making the {tool}s with which other   programmers create applications.  See also {uninteresting}.
topic drift is  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.  Often used in gentle See: topic drift2
topic drift2 is  reminders that the discussion has   strayed off any useful track.  "I think we started with a question   about Nivens last book, but weve ended up discussing the sexual   habits of the common marmoset.  Now *thats* topic drift!" 
topic group is  n. Syn. {forum}.
TOPS-10 is  /tops-ten/ n. DECs 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 See: TOPS-102
TOPS-102 is  BOTS-10 (from `bottoms-ten) as a comment on the   inappropriateness of describing it as the top of anything. 
TOPS-20 is  /tops-twentee/ n. See {{TWENEX}}.
toto is  /tohtoh/ n. This is reported to be the default scratch   file name among French-speaking programmers --- in other words, a   francophone {foo}.
tourist is  [ITS] n. 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}.  Hackers often spell this {turist}, perhaps by   some sort of tenuous analogy with See: tourist2
tourist2 is  {luser} (this also expresses the   ITS cultures penchant for six-letterisms).  Compare {twink},   {read-only user}. 
tourist information is  n. Information in an on-line display that is   not immediately useful, but contributes to a viewers gestalt of   whats 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 See: tourist information2
tourist information2 is  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. 
touristic is  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.
toy is  n. A computer system; always used with qualifiers.   1. `nice toy One that supports the speakers hacking style   adequately.  2. `just a toy A machine that yields   insufficient {computron}s for the speakers preferred uses.  This   is not condemnatory, as is {bitty box}; toys can at See: toy2
toy2 is  least be fun.   It is also strongly conditioned by ones 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!}. 
toy language is  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 Thing}s   can result when a toy language is promoted as a general purpose   solution for programming See: toy language2
toy language2 is  (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}. 
toy problem is  [AI] n. 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}.
toy program is  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}.
trampoline is  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.  These See: trampoline2
trampoline2 is  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 doesnt bend your brain is not the true   trampoline.  See also {snap}. 
trap is  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 See: trap2
trap2 is  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   See: trap3
trap3 is  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). 
trap door is  alt. `trapdoor n. 1. Syn. {back door}.   2. [techspeak] A `trap-door function is one which is easy to   compute but very difficult to compute the inverse of.  Such   functions have important applications in cryptography, specifically   in the construction of public-key cryptosystems.
trash is  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}.
tree-killer is  [Sun] n. 1. A printer.  2. A person who wastes paper.   This should be interpreted in a broad sense; `wasting paper   includes the production of {spiffy} but {content-free} documents.   Thus, most {suit}s are tree-killers.
trit is  /trit/ [by analogy with `bit] n. One base-3 digit; the   amount of information conveyed by a selection among one of three   equally likely outcomes (see also {bit}).  These arise, for   example, in the context of a {flag} that should actually be able   to assume *three* values --- such See: trit2
trit2 is  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). 
trivial is  adj. 1. Too simple to bother detailing.  2. Not worth the   speakers 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 See: trivial2
trivial2 is  evaluates to `Ive seen it before).   Hackers notions of triviality may be quite at variance with those   of non-hackers.  See {nontrivial}, {uninteresting}. 
troglodyte is  [Commodore] n. 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 See: troglodyte2
troglodyte2 is  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. 
troglodyte mode is  [Rice University] n. Programming with the lights   turned off, sunglasses on, and the terminal inverted (black on   white) because youve 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 See: troglodyte mode2
troglodyte mode2 is  optional but recommended.  See {larval   stage}, {hack mode}. 
Trojan horse is  [coined by MIT-hacker-turned-NSA-spook Dan Edwards]   n. A program designed to break security or damage a system that is   disguised as something else benign, such as a directory lister,   archiver, a game, or (in one notorious 1990 case on the Mac) a   program to find and See: Trojan horse2
Trojan horse2 is  destroy viruses!  See {back door}, {virus},   {worm}. 
true-hacker is  [analogy with `trufan from SF fandom] n. 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 See: true-hacker2
true-hacker2 is  act of a true-hacker."  Compare   {demigod}, oppose {munchkin}. 
tty is  /T-T-Y/ [UNIX], /titee/ [ITS, but some UNIX people say it   this way as well; this pronunciation is not considered to have   sexual undertones] n. 1. A terminal of the teletype variety,   characterized by a noisy mechanical printer, a very limited   character set, and poor print quality. See: tty2
tty2 is   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. 
tube is  1. n. A CRT terminal.  Never used in the mainstream sense of   TV; real hackers dont watch TV, except for Loony Toons, Rocky &   Bullwinkle, Trek Classic, the Simpsons, and the occasional cheesy   old swashbuckler movie (see appendix B).  2. [IBM] To send a copy   of something to See: tube2
tube2 is  someone elses terminal.  "Tube me that   note?" 
tube time is  n. Time spent at a terminal or console.  More inclusive   than hacking time; commonly used in discussions of what parts of   ones environment one uses most heavily.  "I find Im spending too   much of my tube time reading mail since I started this revision."
tunafish is  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   developing in 4.2.  Tunefs relates See: tunafish2
tunafish2 is  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 cant   tunafish".  Variants of this can be seen in other BSD versions,   See: tunafish3
tunafish3 is  though it has been excised from some versions by humorless   management {droid}s.  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_ts wrap around." 
tune is  [from automotive or musical usage] vt. To optimize a program   or system for a particular environment, esp. by adjusting numerical   parameters designed as {hook}s for tuning, e.g., by changing   `#define lines in C.  One may `tune for time (fastest   execution), `tune for space (least See: tune2
tune2 is  memory use), or   `tune for configuration (most efficient use of hardware).  See   {bum}, {hot spot}, {hand-hacking}. 
turbo nerd is  n. See {computer geek}.
turist is  /toorist/ n. Var. sp. of {tourist}, q.v.  Also in   adjectival form, `turistic.  Poss. influenced by {luser} and   `Turing.
tweak is  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 See: tweak2
tweak2 is  debugging}.  2. To {tune}   or {bum} a program; preferred usage in the U.K. 
TWENEX is  /tweneks/ 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 & Newmans TENEX operating See: TWENEX2
TWENEX2 is  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 See: TWENEX3
TWENEX3 is  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   See: TWENEX4
TWENEX4 is  it was discovered that `krans meant `funeral shroud in   Swedish.  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 See: TWENEX5
TWENEX5 is  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).   See: TWENEX6
TWENEX6 is  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 DECs decision to scrap all the   internal rivals to the VAX architecture and its relatively stodgy   VMS OS killed the See: TWENEX7
TWENEX7 is  DEC-20 and put a sad end to TWENEXs brief day in   the sun.  DEC attempted to convince TOPS-20 hackers to convert to   {VMS}, but instead, by the late 1980s, most of the TOPS-20   hackers had migrated to UNIX. 
twiddle is  n. 1. Tilde (ASCII 1111110, `~).  Also   called `squiggle, `sqiggle (sic --- pronounced /skigl/),   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.  3. vt. To change See: twiddle2
twiddle2 is  something in a small   way.  Bits, for example, are often twiddled.  Twiddling a switch or   knob implies much less sense of purpose than toggling or tweaking   it; see {frobnicate}.  To speak of twiddling a bit connotes   aimlessness, and at best doesnt specify what youre doing to See: twiddle3
twiddle3 is  the   bit; `toggling a bit has a more specific meaning (see {bit   twiddling}, {toggle}). 
twink is  /twink/ [UCSC] n. Equivalent to {read-only user}.  Also   reported on the USENET group soc.motss; may derive from gay   slang for a cute young thing with nothing upstairs.
two pi is  quant. The number of years it takes to finish ones   thesis.  Occurs in stories in the following form "He started on   his thesis; 2 pi years later..."
two-to-the-N is  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 wont show up.
twonkie is  /twonkee/ n. The software equivalent of a Twinkie (a   variety of sugar-loaded junk food, or (in gay slang) the male   equivalent of `chick); a useless `feature added to look sexy   and placate a {marketroid} (compare {Saturday-night   special}).  This may also be related to "The See: twonkie2
twonkie2 is  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.*UBD /U-B-D/ [abbreviation for `User Brain Damage'] An   abbreviation used See: twonkie3
twonkie3 is  to close out trouble reports obviously due to   utter cluelessness on the user's part.  Compare {pilot error};   oppose {PBD}; see also {brain-damaged}. 
UN*X is  n. Used to refer to the UNIX operating system (a trademark of   AT&T) 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 (1990) that the requirement   for the See: UN*X2
UN*X2 is  TM-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 See: UN*X3
UN*X3 is  `G--d' is used.  See also   {glob}. 
undefined external reference is  excl. [UNIX] A message from UNIX's   linker.  Used in speech to flag loose ends or dangling references   in an argument or discussion.
under the hood is  prep. [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 See: under the hood2
under the hood2 is  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!" 
undocumented feature is  n. See {feature}.
uninteresting is  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 See: uninteresting2
uninteresting2 is  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.  See {WOMBAT}, See: uninteresting3
uninteresting3 is  {SMOP};   compare {toy problem}, oppose {interesting}. 
UNIX is  /yoo'niks/ [In the authors' words, "A weak pun on   Multics"] n. (also `Unix') An interactive time-sharing system   originally 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 See: UNIX2
UNIX2 is  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   See: UNIX3
UNIX3 is  many different people, resulting in a uniquely flexible and   developer-friendly environment.  In 1991, UNIX is the most widely   used multiuser general-purpose operating system in the world.  Many   people consider this the most important victory yet of hackerdom   over industry See: UNIX4
UNIX4 is  opposition (but see {UNIX weenie} and {UNIX   conspiracy} for an opposing point of view).  See {Version 7},   {BSD}, {USG UNIX}. 
UNIX brain damage is  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 See: UNIX brain damage2
UNIX brain damage2 is  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 See: UNIX brain damage3
UNIX brain damage3 is  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. 
UNIX conspiracy is  [ITS] n. 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 See: UNIX conspiracy2
UNIX conspiracy2 is  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 See: UNIX conspiracy3
UNIX conspiracy3 is  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 See: UNIX conspiracy4
UNIX conspiracy4 is  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 See: UNIX conspiracy5
UNIX conspiracy5 is  workstations.  (Olsen now   claims to have been misquoted.) 
UNIX weenie is  [ITS] n. 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 See: UNIX weenie2
UNIX weenie2 is  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."  See: UNIX weenie3
UNIX weenie3 is  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}. 
unixism is  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 {unixism}s include gratuitous use of `fork(2)'; the   assumption that certain See: unixism2
unixism2 is  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   See: unixism3
unixism3 is  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}. 
unswizzle is  v. See {swizzle}.
unwind the stack is  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 See: unwind the stack2
unwind the stack2 is  this is done with   `longjmp'/`setjmp', in LISP 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." 
unwind-protect is  [MIT from the name of a LISP operator] n. 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."
up is  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.
upload is  /uhp'lohd/ v. 1. [techspeak] To transfer programs or data   over a digital communications link from a smaller or peripheral   `client' system to a larger or central `host' one.  A transfer in   the other direction is, of course, called a {download} (but see   the note about See: upload2
upload2 is  ground-to-space comm under that entry).   2. [speculatively] To move the essential patterns and algorithms   that make up one's mind from one's brain into a computer.  Only   those who are convinced that such patterns and algorithms capture   the complete essence of the self view this See: upload3
upload3 is  prospect with   gusto. 
upthread is  adv. Earlier in the discussion (see {thread}), i.e.,   `above'. "As Joe pointed out upthread, ..."  See also   {followup}.
urchin is  n. See {munchkin}.
USENET is  /yoos'net/ or /yooz'net/ [from `Users' Network'] n.   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 See: USENET2
USENET2 is  become international in scope   and is now probably the largest decentralized information utility   in existence.  As of early 1991, it hosts well over   700 {newsgroup}s and an average of 16 megabytes (the equivalent   of several thousand paper pages) of new technical articles, news, See: USENET3
USENET3 is    discussion, chatter, and {flamage} every day. 
user is  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 See: user2
user2 is  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}.   See: user3
user3 is  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 See: user4
user4 is  program there are implementors (hackers)   and {luser}s.  The users are looked down on by hackers to a mild   degree 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 See: user5
user5 is  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   See: user6
user6 is  between the two terms; the subtle distinctions must be resolved by   context. 
user-friendly is  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}, See: user-friendly2
user-friendly2 is  {Macintrash}, {user-obsequious}. 
user-obsequious is  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}.
USG UNIX is  /U-S-G yoo'niks/ n. 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 life-span of those versions AT&T's support crew was called the   `UNIX Support Group'.  See {BSD}, {{UNIX}}.
UTSL is  // [UNIX] n. On-line acronym for `Use the Source, Luke' (a   pun on Obi-Wan Kenobi's "Use the Force, Luke!" in `Star   Wars') --- analogous to {RTFM} but more polite.  This is a   common way of suggesting that someone would be best off reading the   source code that supports whatever See: UTSL2
UTSL2 is  feature is causing confusion,   rather than making yet another futile pass through the manuals or   broadcasting questions that haven't attracted {wizard}s to   answer them.  In theory, this is appropriately directed only at   associates of some outfit with a UNIX source license; in See: UTSL3
UTSL3 is  practice,   bootlegs of UNIX source code (made precisely for reference   purposes) are so ubiquitous that one may utter this at almost   anyone on {the network} without concern.  In the near future   (this written in 1991) source licenses may become even less   important; after the See: UTSL4
UTSL4 is  recent release of the Mach 3.0 microkernal,   given the continuing efforts of the {GNU} project, and with the   4.4BSD release on the horizon, complete free source code for   UNIX-clone toolsets and kernels should soon be widely available. 
UUCPNET is  n. 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.  See {network address}.*vadding /vad'ing/ [from VAD, a See: UUCPNET2
UUCPNET2 is  permutation of ADV (i.e.,   {ADVENT}), used to avoid a particular {admin}'s continual   search-and-destroy sweeps for the game] n. A leisure-time activity   of certain hackers involving the covert exploration of the `secret'   parts of large buildings --- basements, roofs, freight See: UUCPNET3
UUCPNET3 is  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}).   The most extreme and dangerous form of vadding is `elevator   rodeo', a.k.a. `elevator See: UUCPNET4
UUCPNET4 is  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 See: UUCPNET5
UUCPNET5 is  try this at home!    See also {hobbit} (sense 2). 
vanilla is  [from the default flavor of ice cream in the U.S.] adj.   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 See: vanilla2
vanilla2 is  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 See: vanilla3
vanilla3 is  the   latter means `default', whereas vanilla simply means `ordinary'.   For example, when hackers go on a {great-wall}, hot-and-sour   wonton soup is the {canonical} wonton soup to get (because that   is what most of them usually order) even though it isn't the   vanilla wonton soup. 
vannevar is  /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, See: vannevar2
vannevar2 is  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, made at a time when the semiconductor See: vannevar3
vannevar3 is  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   See: vannevar4
vannevar4 is  of 5 years later. 
vaporware is  /vay'pr-weir/ n. Products announced far in advance of   any release (which may or may not actually take place).
var is  /veir/ or /var/ n. Short for `variable'.  Compare {arg},   {param}.
VAX is  /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 micro}s after about 1986, the VAX   was probably the hacker's See: VAX2
VAX2 is  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 See: VAX3
VAX3 is  here because   its alleged sales pitch, "Nothing sucks like a VAX!" became a   sort of battle-cry of RISC partisans.  Ironically, the slogan was   *not* actually used by the Vax vacuum-cleaner people, but was   actually that of a rival brand called Electrolux (as in "Nothing   sucks like See: VAX4
VAX4 is  an...").  It is claimed, however, 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. 
VAXectomy is  /vak-sek't*-mee/ [by analogy with `vasectomy'] n. 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.
VAXen is  /vak'sn/ [from `oxen', perhaps influenced by `vixen'] n.   (alt. `vaxen') The plural canonically used among hackers for the   DEC VAX computers.  "Our installation has four PDP-10s and twenty   vaxen."  See {boxen}.
vaxherd is  n. /vaks'herd/ [from `oxherd'] A VAX operator.
vaxism is  /vak'sizm/ n. A piece of code that exhibits   {vaxocentrism} in critical areas.  Compare {PC-ism},   {unixism}.
vaxocentrism is  /vak`soh-sen'trizm/ [analogy with   `ethnocentrism'] n. 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   Note that a programmer can See: vaxocentrism2
vaxocentrism2 is  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' See: vaxocentrism3
vaxocentrism3 is  have been used synonymously. 
vdiff is  /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.  See {diff}.
veeblefester is  /vee'b*l-fes`tr/ [from the "Born Loser"   comix via Commodore; prob. originally from `Mad' Magazine's   `Veeblefeetzer' parodies ca. 1960] n. Any obnoxious person engaged   in the (alleged) professions of marketing or management.  Antonym of   {hacker}.  Compare {suit}, {marketroid}.
Venus flytrap is  [after the insect-eating plant] n. See {firewall   machine}.
verbage is  /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'.
verbiage is  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 See: verbiage2
verbiage2 is  with the ostensible subject. 
Version 7 is  alt. V7 /vee' se'vn/ n. The 1978 unsupported release of   {{UNIX}} ancestral to all current commercial versions.  Before   the release of the POSIX/SVID standards, V7's features were often   treated as a UNIX portability baseline.  See {BSD}, {USG UNIX},   {{UNIX}}.  Some See: Version 72
Version 72 is  old-timers impatient with commercialization and   kernel bloat still maintain that V7 was the Last True UNIX. 
vgrep is  /vee'grep/ v.,n. Visual grep.  The operation of finding   patterns in a file optically rather than digitally.  See {grep};   compare {vdiff}.
vi is  /V-I/, *not* /vi/ and *never* /siks/ [from   `Visual Interface'] n. A screen editor crufted together by Bill Joy   for an early {BSD} version.  Became the de facto standard UNIX   editor and a nearly undisputed hacker favorite until the rise of   {EMACS} after about 1984.  Tends to See: vi2
vi2 is  frustrate new users no end,   as it will neither take commands while expecting input text nor   vice versa, and the default setup provides no indication of which   mode one is in (one correspondent accordingly reports that he has   often heard the editor's name pronounced /vil/).  See: vi3
vi3 is  Nevertheless it   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 bulky EMACS).  See {holy wars}. 
videotex is  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 See: videotex2
videotex2 is  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 See: videotex3
videotex3 is    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}. 
virgin is  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.
virtual is  [via the technical term `virtual memory', prob. from the   term `virtual image' in optics] adj. 1. Common alternative to   {logical}.  2. Simulated; performing the functions of something   that isn't really there.  An imaginative child's doll may be a   virtual playmate.
virtual Friday is  n. 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 See: virtual Friday2
virtual Friday2 is  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. 
virtual reality is  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 See: virtual reality2
virtual reality2 is  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' See: virtual reality3
virtual reality3 is  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 See: virtual reality4
virtual reality4 is  anything goes.  See {bamf}, {cyberspace}. 
virus is  [from the obvious analogy with biological viruses, via SF]   n. A cracker program that searches out other programs and `infects'   them by embedding a copy of itself in them, so that they become   {Trojan Horse}s.  When these programs are executed, the embedded   virus is executed too, See: virus2
virus2 is  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 See: virus3
virus3 is  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 your display (some viruses include nice   {display hack}s).  See: virus4
virus4 is  Many nasty viruses, written by particularly   perversely minded {cracker}s, do irreversible damage, like   nuking all the user's files.   In the 1990s, viruses have become a serious problem, especially   among IBM PC and Macintosh users (the lack of security on these   machines enables See: virus5
virus5 is  viruses to spread easily, even infecting the   operating system).  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   {luser}s tend to blame *everything* that See: virus6
virus6 is  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}).  Compare {back door}; see also   {UNIX conspiracy}. 
visionary is  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 See: visionary2
visionary2 is  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. 
VMS is  /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, See: VMS2
VMS2 is  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 See: VMS3
VMS3 is  my poor stomach all squeamious.                                         --- The Great Quux   See also {VAX}, {{TOPS-10}}, {{TOPS-20}}, {{UNIX}}, {runic}. 
voice is  vt. To phone someone, as opposed to emailing them or   connecting in talk mode.  "I'm busy now; I'll voice you later."
voice-net is  n. Hackish way of referring to the telephone system,   analogizing it to a digital network.  USENET {sig block}s 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}.
voodoo programming is  [from George Bush's "voodoo economics"] n.   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.  See: voodoo programming2
voodoo programming2 is  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}. 
VR is  // [MUD] n. On-line abbrev for {virtual reality}, as   opposed to {RL}.
Vulcan nerve pinch is  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 many micros this is Ctrl-Alt-Del; on Suns, L1-A; on   some Macintoshes, it is See: Vulcan nerve pinch2
Vulcan nerve pinch2 is  <Cmd>-<Power switch>!  Also called   {three-finger salute}.  Compare {quadruple bucky}. 
vulture capitalist is  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.*wabbit /wab'it/ [almost certainly from Elmer See: vulture capitalist2
vulture capitalist2 is  Fudd's immortal   line "You wascawwy wabbit!"] n. 1. A legendary early hack   reported on a System/360 at RPI and elsewhere around 1978.  The   program would make two copies of itself every time it was run,   eventually crashing the system.  2. By extension, any hack that  See: vulture capitalist3
vulture capitalist3 is   includes infinite self-replication but is not a {virus} or   {worm}.  See also {cookie monster}. 
WAITS is  /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 See: WAITS2
WAITS2 is  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 See: WAITS3
WAITS3 is  `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,   See: WAITS4
WAITS4 is  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.  {Bucky bits} were also invented there ---   thus, the ALT key on every IBM PC is a WAITS legacy.  One notable   WAITS feature See: WAITS5
WAITS5 is  seldom duplicated elsewhere 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 See: WAITS6
WAITS6 is  and video signals to be switched   to programming terminals. 
waldo is  /wol'doh/ [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 See: waldo2
waldo2 is  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 meta-syntactic variable See: waldo3
waldo3 is  and general   nonsense word.  See {foo}, {bar}, {foobar}, {quux}. 
walk is  n.,vt. Traversal of a data structure, especially an array or   linked-list data structure in {core}.  See also {codewalker},   {silly walk}, {clobber}.
walk off the end of is  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}.
walking drives is  n. An occasional failure mode of magnetic-disk   drives back in the days when they were huge, clunky {washing   machine}s.  Those old {dinosaur} parts carried terrific angular   momentum; the combination of a misaligned spindle or worn bearings   and stick-slip interactions See: walking drives2
walking drives2 is  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 See: walking drives3
walking drives3 is  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 See: walking drives4
walking drives4 is  patterns that   would do this to particular drive models and held disk-drive races. 
wall is  [WPI] interj. 1. An indication of confusion, usually spoken   with a quizzical tone  "Wall??"  2. A request for further   explication.  Compare {octal forty}.   It is said that "Wall?" really came from `like talking to a   blank wall'.  It was initially used in situations where, after See: wall2
wall2 is  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?" See: wall3
wall3 is  themselves. 
wall follower is  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', See: wall follower2
wall follower2 is  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 See: wall follower3
wall follower3 is  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: wall follower4
wall follower4 is  See also {code   grinder}, {droid}. 
wall time is  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 {clocks} required to execute it (on a timesharing   system these will See: wall time2
wall time2 is  differ, as no one program gets all the   {clocks}, and on multiprocessor systems with good thread support   one may get more processor clocks than real-time clocks). 
wallpaper is  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 See: wallpaper2
wallpaper2 is  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 See: wallpaper3
wallpaper3 is  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).  See: wallpaper4
wallpaper4 is  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.) 
wango is  /wang'goh/ n. Random bit-level {grovel}ling 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 See: wango2
wango2 is  object-oriented executable." 
wank is  /wangk/ [Columbia University prob. by mutation from   Commonwealth slang v. `wank', to masturbate] n.,v. 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 See: wank2
wank2 is  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 See: wank3
wank3 is  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 See: wank4
wank4 is  *extremely* rude and is best avoided unless one   intends to give offense. 
wannabee is  /won'*-bee/ (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]   n. A would-be {hacker}.  The connotations of this term differ   sharply depending on the age See: wannabee2
wannabee2 is  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, See: wannabee3
wannabee3 is  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.  See: wannabee4
wannabee4 is  Compare   {newbie}.   Historical note The wannabee phenomenon has a slightly different   flavor now (1991) 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 See: wannabee5
wannabee5 is  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 See: wannabee6
wannabee6 is  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 See: wannabee7
wannabee7 is  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 See: wannabee8
wannabee8 is  about the effects of   public compendia of lore like this one. 
warm boot is  n. See {boot}.
wart is  n. A small, {crock}y {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 See: wart2
wart2 is  except `!'.  In ANSI C,   the `??' syntax used obtaining ASCII characters in a foreign   environment is a wart.  See also {miswart}. 
washing machine is  n. 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; See: washing machine2
washing machine2 is  it is even used in Russian hacker   jargon.  See also {walking drives}.  The thick channel cables   connecting these were called `bit hoses' (see {hose}). 
water MIPS is  n. (see {MIPS}, sense 2) Large, water-cooled   machines of either today's ECL-supercomputer flavor or yesterday's   traditional {mainframe} type.
wave a dead chicken is  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 See: wave a dead chicken2
wave a dead chicken2 is  code, but I really think we've run into an   OS bug."  Compare {voodoo programming}, {rain dance}. 
weasel is  n. [Cambridge] A na"ive user, one who deliberately or   accidentally does things that are stupid or ill-advised.  Roughly   synonymous with {loser}.
wedged is  [from a common description of recto-cranial inversion] adj.   1. To be stuck, incapable of proceeding without help.  This is   different from having crashed.  If the system has crashed, then it   has become totally non-functioning.  If the system is wedged, it is   trying to do See: wedged2
wedged2 is  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 {deadlock}s with another (but   not all instances of wedging are deadlocks).  Being wedged is   slightly milder than being See: wedged3
wedged3 is  {hung}.  See also {gronk}, {locked   up}, {hosed}.  Describes a {deadlock}ed condition.  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 See: wedged4
wedged4 is  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. 
wedgie is  [Fairchild] n. A bug.  Prob. related to {wedged}.
wedgitude is  /wedj'i-t[y]ood/ n. The quality or state of being   {wedged}.
weeble is  /weeb'l/ [Cambridge] interj. Used to denote frustration,   usually at amazing stupidity.  "I stuck the disk in upside down."   "Weeble...." Compare {gurfle}.
weeds is  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 See: weeds2
weeds2 is  weeds' was equivalent to IBM's {branch to   Fishkill} and mainstream hackerdom's {jump off into never-never   land}. 
weenie is  n. 1. 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 See: weenie2
weenie2 is  weenie.  Implies that the weenie   has put a major investment of time, effort, and concentration into   the area indicated; whether this is positive or negative depends on   the hearer's judgment of how the speaker feels about that area.   See also {bigot}.  2. The semicolon See: weenie3
weenie3 is  character, `;' (ASCII   0111011). 
Weenix is  /wee'niks/ [ITS] n. 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 See: Weenix2
Weenix2 is  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. 
well-behaved is  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 See: well-behaved2
well-behaved2 is  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}. 
well-connected is  adj. Said of a computer installation, this means   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 See: well-connected2
well-connected2 is  many (due perhaps to an archive service   or active USENET users). 
wetware is  /wet'weir/ [prob. from the novels of Rudy Rucker] n.   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 See: wetware2
wetware2 is  opposed to the system's hardware or   software.  See {liveware}, {meatware}. 
whacker is  [University of Maryland from {hacker}] n. 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 See: whacker2
whacker2 is  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. 
whales is  n. See {like kicking dead whales down the beach}.
wheel is  [from slang `big wheel' for a powerful person] n. A   person who has an active a {wheel bit}.  "We need to find a   wheel to un{wedge} the hung tape drives."
wheel bit is  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 See: wheel bit2
wheel bit2 is  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 See: wheel bit3
wheel bit3 is  mid-1980s and has been gaining   popularity there (esp. at university sites).  See also {root}. 
wheel wars is  [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.
White Book is  n. Syn. {K&R}.
whizzy is  [Sun] adj. (alt. `wizzy') Describes a {cuspy} program;   one that is feature-rich and well presented.
WIBNI is  // [Bell Labs Wouldn't It Be Nice If] n. What most   requirements documents and specifications consist entirely of.   Compare {IWBNI}.
widget is  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 See: widget2
widget2 is  user interface object in   {X} graphical user interfaces. 
wiggles is  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 See: wiggles2
wiggles2 is  unstable waveform, so it grows to dominate the   solution.  Alternatively, stable (though inaccurate) wiggles can be   generated near a discontinuity by a Gibbs phenomenon. 
WIMP environment is  n. [acronymic from `Window, Icon, Menu, Pointing   device (or Pull-down menu)'] A graphical-user-interface-based   environment such as {X} or the Macintosh interface, as described   by a hacker who prefers command-line interfaces for their superior   flexibility and See: WIMP environment2
WIMP environment2 is  extensibility.  See {menuitis},   {user-obsequious}. 
win is  [MIT] 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.  A {feature}.  Emphatic forms   `moby win', `super win', See: win2
win2 is  `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'. 
win big is  vi. To experience serendipity.  "I went shopping and won   big; there was a 2-for-1 sale." See {big win}.
win win is  interj. Expresses pleasure at a {win}.
Winchester is  n. Informal generic term for `floating-head'   magnetic-disk drives in which the read-write head planes over the   disk surface on an air cushion.  The name arose because the   original 1973 engineering prototype for what later became the   IBM 3340 featured two 30-megabyte See: Winchester2
Winchester2 is  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). 
winged comments is  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.
winkey is  n. (alt. `winkey face')  See {emoticon}.
winnage is  /win'*j/ n. The situation when a lossage is corrected, or   when something is winning.
winner is  1. n. An unexpectedly good situation, program, programmer,   or person.  "So it turned out I could use a {lexer} generator   instead of hand-coding my own pattern recognizer.  What a win!"   2. `real winner' Often sarcastic, but also used as high praise   (see also the note under See: winner2
winner2 is  {user}). "He's a real winner --- never   reports a bug till he can duplicate it and send in an   example." 
winnitude is  /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 See: winnitude2
winnitude2 is  a half-hour's winnage on the   next run of my program."  Perhaps curiously, the obvious antonym   `lossitude' is rare. 
wired is  n. See {hardwired}.
wirehead is  /wir'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 See: wirehead2
wirehead2 is  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. 
wish list is  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 See: wish list2
wish list2 is  interface." Compare {tick-list features}. 
within delta of is  adj. See {delta}.
within epsilon of is  adj. See {epsilon}.
wizard is  n. 1. A person who knows how a complex piece of software   or hardware works (that is, who {grok}s 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 See: wizard2
wizard2 is  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. A person who is permitted   to do things forbidden to ordinary people; one who has {wheel}   privileges on a system.  3. A UNIX expert, See: wizard3
wizard3 is  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 See: wizard4
wizard4 is  dance}, {voodoo programming}, {wave a   dead chicken}. 
Wizard Book is  n. Hal Abelson and Jerry Sussman's `Structure   and Interpretation of Computer Programs' (MIT Press, 1984; ISBN   0-262-01077-1, an excellent computer science text used in   introductory courses at MIT.  So called because of the wizard on   the jacket.  One of the {bible}s of the See: Wizard Book2
Wizard Book2 is  LISP/Scheme   world. 
wizard mode is  [from {rogue}] n. 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).
wizardly is  adj. Pertaining to wizards.  A wizardly {feature} is one   that only a wizard could understand or use properly.
womb box is  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.
WOMBAT is  [Waste Of Money, Brains, And Time] adj. 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}, See: WOMBAT2
WOMBAT2 is  {SMOP}.  Also note the rather different   usage as a meta-syntactic variable in {{Commonwealth Hackish}}. 
wonky is  /wong'kee/ [from Australian slang] adj. 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 See: wonky2
wonky2 is  out in Tengwar."  Also in   `wonked out'.  See {funky}, {demented}, {bozotic}. 
workaround is  n. A temporary {kluge} inserted in a system under   development or test in order to avoid the effects of a {bug} or   {misfeature} so that work can continue.  Theoretically,   workarounds are always replaced by {fix}es; in practice,   customers often find themselves living with See: workaround2
workaround2 is  workarounds in the   first couple of releases.  "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!" 
working as designed is  [IBM] adj. 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}, See: working as designed2
working as designed2 is  this sense is used in   official documents!  See {BAD}. 
worm is  [from `tapeworm' in John Brunner's novel `The   Shockwave Rider', via XEROX PARC] n. 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 {cracker}s write worms.  See: worm2
worm2 is  Perhaps the   best-known example was Robert T. Morris's `Internet 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}. 
wound around the axle is  adj. In an infinite loop.  Often used by older   computer types.
wrap around is  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 See: wrap around2
wrap around2 is  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 See: wrap around3
wrap around3 is  rate of 10 microhertz). 
write-only code is  [a play on `read-only memory'] n. 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}.
write-only language is  n. A language with syntax (or semantics)   sufficiently dense and bizarre that any routine of significant size   is {write-only code}.  A sobriquet applied occasionally to C and   often to APL, though {INTERCAL} and {TECO} certainly deserve it   more.
write-only memory is  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 See: write-only memory2
write-only memory2 is  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 See: write-only memory3
write-only memory3 is  edition of the data   book and requested the return of the `erroneous' ones.  Later,   around 1974, 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 See: write-only memory4
write-only memory4 is  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 See: write-only memory5
write-only memory5 is  required a   6.3 VAC VFF supply, a +10V VCC, and VDD of 0V,   +/- 2%. 
Wrong Thing is  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 See: Wrong Thing2
Wrong Thing2 is  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." 
wugga wugga is  /wuh'g* wuh'g*/ n. Imaginary sound that a computer   program makes as it labors with a tedious or difficult task.   Compare {cruncha cruncha cruncha}, {grind} (sense 4).
WYSIWYG is  /wiz'ee-wig/ adj. Describes a user interface under which   "What You See Is What You Get", as opposed to one that uses   more-or-less obscure commands which do not result in immediate   visual feedback.  The term can be mildly derogatory, as it is often   used to refer to dumbed-down See: WYSIWYG2
WYSIWYG2 is  {user-friendly} interfaces targeted   at non-programmers; a hacker has no fear of obscure commands.   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 See: WYSIWYG3
WYSIWYG3 is  environment}.  [Oddly   enough, this term has already made it into the OED. --- ESR]*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   See: WYSIWYG4
WYSIWYG4 is  680x0 stands for 68000, 68010, 68020, 68030, or 68040, and 80x86   stands for 80186, 80286 80386 or 80486 (note that a UNIX hacker   might write these as 680[0-4]0 and 80[1-4]86 or 680?0 and 80?86   respectively; see {glob}).  2. [after the name of an earlier   window system called See: WYSIWYG5
WYSIWYG5 is  `W'] An over-sized, over-featured,   over-engineered and incredibly over-complicated window system   developed at MIT and widely used on UNIX systems. 
XOFF is  /X'of/ n. Syn. {control-s}.
xor is  /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.
xref is  /X'ref/ vt., n. Hackish standard abbreviation for   `cross-reference'.
XXX is  /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.
xyzzy is  /X-Y-Z-Z-Y/, /X-Y-ziz'ee/, /ziz'ee/, or /ik-ziz'ee/   [from the ADVENT game] adj.  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 See: xyzzy2
xyzzy2 is  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 See: xyzzy3
xyzzy3 is  if   you type quadruple-bucky-clear the system will let you do it   anyway."  "Xyzzy!"  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 See: xyzzy4
xyzzy4 is  if the magic was invoked at the   wrong spot or before a player had performed the action that enabled   the word.  See also {plugh}. 
YA- is  [Yet Another] abbrev. In hackish acronyms this almost   invariably expands to {Yet Another}, following the precedent set   by UNIX `yacc(1)'.  See {YABA}.
YABA is  /ya'b*/ [Cambridge] n. 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 See: YABA2
YABA2 is  `YABA-compatible'.  Also used in response to questions   like "What is WYSIWYG?"  See also {TLA}. 
YAUN is  /yawn/ [Acronym for `Yet Another UNIX Nerd'] n. Reported   from the San Diego Computer Society (predominantly a microcomputer   users' group) as a good-natured punning insult aimed at UNIX   zealots.
Yellow Book is  [proposed] n. The print version of this Jargon File;   `The New Hacker's Dictionary', forthcoming from MIT Press,   1991.  Includes all the material in the File, plus a Foreword by   Guy L.  Steele and a Preface by Eric S. Raymond.  Most importantly,   the book version is nicely See: Yellow Book2
Yellow Book2 is  typeset and includes almost all of the   infamous Crunchly cartoons by the Great Quux, each attached to an   appropriate entry. 
Yet Another is  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 See: Yet Another2
Yet Another2 is  Simulated Annealing Algorithm'.  2. Of others'   work Describes something of which there are far too many.  See   also {YA-}, {YABA}, {YAUN}. 
You are not expected to understand this is  cav. [UNIX] 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.
You know you've been hacking too long when... is  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     See: You know you've been hacking too long when...2
You know you've been hacking too long when...2 is  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 See: You know you've been hacking too long when...3
You know you've been hacking too long when...3 is  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.   [An See: You know you've been hacking too long when...4
You know you've been hacking too long when...4 is  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 See: You know you've been hacking too long when...5
You know you've been hacking too long when...5 is  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. --- ESR] 
Your mileage may vary is  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 See: Your mileage may vary2
Your mileage may vary2 is  system?"  2. A qualifier more   generally attached to advice.  "I find that sending flowers works   well, but your mileage may vary." 
Yow! is  /yow/ [from "Zippy the Pinhead" comix] interj. 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}.
yoyo mode is  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 See: yoyo mode2
yoyo mode2 is  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. 
Yu-Shiang Whole Fish is  /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 {parse}d) and See: Yu-Shiang Whole Fish2
Yu-Shiang Whole Fish2 is  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. 
zap is  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 See: zap2
zap2 is  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 See: zap3
zap3 is  `superzap', whose file name is   `IMASPZAP' (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." 
zapped is  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 See: zapped2
zapped2 is  zapped.  See also {{oriental food}},   {laser chicken}.  See {zap}, senses 1 and 2. 
zen is  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 See: zen2
zen2 is  time-extended version of zenning a system.   Compare {hack mode}.  See also {guru}. 
zero is  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 See: zero2
zero2 is  zeroed.  One may speak of something being   `logically zeroed' rather than being `physically zeroed'.  See   {scribble}. 
zero-content is  adj. Syn. {content-free}.
zeroth is  /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 See: zeroth2
zeroth2 is  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 See: zeroth3
zeroth3 is  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 error}s, though it cannot eliminate them   entirely. 
zigamorph is  /zig'*-morf/ n. Hex FF (11111111) when used as a   delimiter or {fence} character.  Usage primarily at IBM   shops.
zip is  [primarily MS-DOS] vt. 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: zip2
zip2 is  See {arc}, {tar and feather}. 
zipperhead is  [IBM] n. A person with a closed mind.
zombie is  [UNIX] n. 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}.
zorch is  /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 See: zorch2
zorch2 is  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 See: zorch3
zorch3 is  ability.  "I think   I'll {punt} that change for now; I've been up for 30 hours   and I've run out of zorch." 
Zork is  /zork/ n. The second of the great early experiments in computer   fantasy gaming; see {ADVENT}.  Originally written on MIT-DM   during the late 1970s, later distributed with BSD UNIX and   commercialized as `The Zork Trilogy' by Infocom.
zorkmid is  /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.= [^A-Za-z] (see {regexp}) =
'Snooze is  /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.
(TM) is  // [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 See: (TM)2
(TM)2 is  algorithm patents and `look and feel' lawsuits.  See   also {UN*X}. 
-oid is  [from `android'] suff. 1. This suffix is used as in   mainstream 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 See: -oid2
-oid2 is  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 9600); a `computeroid' might be any {bitty box}.  The   word `keyboid' could be used to describe a See: -oid3
-oid3 is  {chiclet keyboard},   but would have to be written; spoken, it would confuse the listener   as to the speaker's city of origin.  2. There is a more specific   sense of `oid' as an indicator for `resembling an android'   which in the past has been confined to science-fiction fans and   See: -oid4
-oid4 is  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.   Coinages in both forms have been common See: -oid5
-oid5 is  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]. 
-ware is  [from `software'] suff. Commonly used to form jargon terms   for classes of software.  For examples, see {careware},   {crippleware}, {crudware}, {freeware}, {fritterware},   {guiltware}, {liveware}, {meatware}, {payware},   {psychedelicware}, {shareware}, {shelfware}, {vaporware},   {wetware}.
/dev/null is  /dev-nuhl/ [from the UNIX null device, used as a data   sink] n. 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}.
120 reset is  /wuhn-twen'tee ree'set/ [from 120 volts, U.S. wall   voltage] n. To cycle power on a machine in order to reset or unjam   it.  Compare {Big Red Switch}, {power cycle}.
2 is  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).
@-party is  /at'par`tee/ [from the @-sign in an Internet address]   n.  (alt. `@-sign party' /at'sin par`tee/) A semi-closed   party thrown for hackers at a science-fiction convention (esp.   the annual Worldcon); one must have a {network address} to   get in, or at least be in company with See: @-party2
@-party2 is  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}. 
@Begin is  // See {\begin}.
\begin is  // [from the LaTeX command] With \end, used   humorously in writing to indicate a context or to remark on the   surrounded text.  For example     \begin{flame}     Predicate logic is the only good programming     language.  Anyone who would use anything else     is an idiot.  Also, See: \begin2
\begin2 is  all computers should be     tredecimal instead of binary.     \end{flame}   The Scribe users at CMU and elsewhere used to use @Begin/@End in   an identical way (LaTeX was built to resemble Scribe).  On USENET,   this construct would more frequently be rendered as `<FLAME ON>'   and `<FLAME OFF>'. 
