Mattel IntelliVision II 5872 Manuel d'utilisateur

_________________________________________________________________ Node:Top, Next:[2]Introduction, Previous:[3](dir), Up:[4](dir)#======= THI

computer science, electronics, and other fields connected to hacking. This terminology will be consistently used throughout the

Node:AI-complete, Next:[396]AI koans, Previous:[397]AI, Up:[398]= A = AI-complete /A-I k*m-pleet'/ adj. [MIT, Stanford: by analogy w

Node:micros~1, Next:[8732]middle-endian, Previous:[8733]Microsoft, Up:[8734]= M = micros~1 An abbreviation of the full name [8735]Mi

nameless. See [8742]NUXI problem. Non-US hackers use this term to describe the American mm/dd/yy style of writing dates (Europeans write little

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

[abbreviation] 1. A measure of computing speed; formally, `Million Instructions Per Second' (that's 10^6 per second, not 2^(20)!); ofte

that turns out to be useful; something that should have been a [8768]bug but turns out to be a [8769]feature. Compare [8770]green lightning. Se

were made whose parameters subsequently change (possibly only in the judgment of the implementors). "Well, yeah, it is kind of a misfeature

Node:miswart, Next:[8785]MMF, Previous:[8786]missile address, Up:[8787]= M = miswart /mis-wort/ n. [from [8788]wart by analogy with

risk or effort. Typically, it is a some kind of multi-level marketing operation which involves recruiting more members, or an illegal pyramid s

680[234]0 or VAX or most modern 32-bit architectures, it is 4,294,967,296 8-bit bytes (4 gigabytes). 3. A title of address (never of third-pers

meaning that the ratio of physical memory to address space is 6, without having to say specifically how much memory there actually is. That in

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

responses to the users while saving their responses (especially account IDs and passwords). A special case of [8811]Trojan horse. ___________

I'm in thesis mode." In its jargon sense, `mode' is most often attributed to people, though it is sometimes applied to programs an

mode bit n. [common] A [8832]flag, usually in hardware, that selects between two (usually quite different) modes of operation. The connot

Previous:[8839]modulo, Up:[8840]= M = molly-guard /mol'ee-gard/ n. [University of Illinois] A shield to prevent tripping of some [

_________________________________________________________________ Node:monkey up, Next:[8848]monkey scratch, Previous:[8849]Mongolian Hord

1. n. A ridiculously [8862]elephantine program or system, esp. one that is buggy or only marginally functional. 2. adj. The quality of being

memory, disk-space or some other desirable resource. This usage may be related to a TV commercial for Del Monte fruit juice, in which one of th

_________________________________________________________________ Node:Moore's Law, Next:[8874]moose call, Previous:[8875]Moof, Up:[8

moose call n. See [8882]whalesong. _________________________________________________________________ Node:moria, Next:[8883]MOTAS,

[8897]MOTSS] A potential or (less often) actual sex partner. See also [8898]SO. _____________________________________________________________

currents of the Unix stream ([420]BSD and [421]USG Unix) became a [422]monstrosity to haunt system administrators' dreams. For example, if

Node:mouse ahead, Next:[8912]mouse around, Previous:[8913]MOTSS, Up:[8914]= M = mouse ahead vi. Point-and-click analog of `type ahea

Node:mouse belt, Next:[8922]mouse droppings, Previous:[8923]mouse around, Up:[8924]= M = mouse belt n. See [8925]rat belt. _____

Up:[8931]= M = mouse elbow n. A tennis-elbow-like fatigue syndrome resulting from excessive use of a [8932]WIMP environment. Similarly,

[MicroSoft Disk Operating System] A [8941]clone of [8942]CP/M for the 8088 crufted together in 6 weeks by hacker Tim Paterson at Seattle Comput

Node:mu, Next:[8946]MUD, Previous:[8947]MS-DOS, Up:[8948]= M = mu /moo/ The correct answer to the classic trick question "Have yo

See also [8950]has the X nature, [8951]Some AI Koans, and Douglas Hofstadter's "Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid" (poi

the commercial MUD run by Bartle on British Telecom (the motto: "You haven't lived 'til you've died on MUD!"); however,

AberMUD and older systems with the extensibility of TinyMud. In 1996 the cutting edge of the technology is Pavel Curtis's MOO, even more e

mudhead n. Commonly used to refer to a [8970]MUD player who eats, sleeps, and breathes MUD. Mudheads have been known to fail their degree

M = muggle [from J.K. Rowling's `Harry Potter' books, 1998] A non-[8975]wizard. Not as disparaging as [8976]luser; implies va

rule, Up:[435]= A = Alderson loop n. [Intel] A special version of an [436]infinite loop where there is an exit condition available, but

Perhaps oddly, no one has ever promoted the analogous `Unician'. _________________________________________________________________ No

practical unusability. Honeywell commercialized Multics in 1972 after buying out GE's computer group, but it was never very successful: at

Often used of humans in the same meaning it has for computers, to describe a person doing several things at once (but see [8997]thrash). The te

you think that we could improve LISP performance by using a hybrid reference-count transaction garbage collector, if the cache is big enough an

Node:munch, Next:[9011]munching, Previous:[9012]mumble, Up:[9013]= M = munch vt. [often confused with [9014]mung, q.v.] To transform info

A [9025]display hack dating back to the PDP-1 (ca. 1962, reportedly discovered by Jackson Wright), which employs a trivial computation (repe

of Oz"] A teenage-or-younger micro enthusiast hacking BASIC or something else equally constricted. A term of mild derision -- munchkins ar

esp. large-scale and irrevocable changes. See [9046]BLT. 2. To destroy, usually accidentally, occasionally maliciously. The system only mungs t

munge /muhnj/ vt. 1. [derogatory] To imperfectly transform information. 2. A comprehensive rewrite of a routine, data structure or the whole

catastrophe, then someone will do it." This is a principle of defensive design, cited here because it is usually given in mutant forms les

dynamic allocation, esp. via malloc(3) or equivalent. If several pointers address (`aliases for') a given hunk of storage, it may happen t

Law acting on itself! _________________________________________________________________ Node:music, Next:[9070]mutter, Previous:[9071]Murp

_________________________________________________________________ Node:mutter, Next:[9077]N, Previous:[9078]music, Up:[9079]= M = mutte

* [9093]NANA: * [9094]nano: * [9095]nano-: * [9096]nanoacre: * [9097]nanobot: * [9098]nanocomputer: * [9099]nanofortnight

* [9117]netdead: * [9118]nethack: * [9119]netiquette: * [9120]netlag: * [9121]netnews: * [9122]netrock: * [9123]Netscrape

* [9141]Ninety-Ninety Rule: * [9142]nipple mouse: * [9143]NMI: * [9144]no-op: * [9145]noddy: * [9146]node: * [9147]Nomina

_________________________________________________________________ Node:N, Next:[9165]nadger, Previous:[9166]mutter, Up:[9167]= N = N /N

nadger /nad'jr/ v. [UK, from rude slang noun `nadgers' for testicles; compare American & British `bollixed'] Of softwa

Node:nailed to the wall, Next:[9183]nailing jelly, Previous:[9184]nagware, Up:[9185]= N = nailed to the wall adj. [like a trophy] Sa

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&a

Node:NAK, Next:[9198]NANA, Previous:[9199]naive user, Up:[9200]= N = NAK /nak/ interj. [from the ASCII mnemonic for 0010101] 1. On-lin

cryptographic protocols. Originally, theorists would say something like: "A communicates with someone who claims to be B, So to be sure, A

network of anti-spammers formed to combat it, spammers immediately accused them of being the [9207]backbone cabal, or the Cabal reborn. Though

connotative way. Thus, one has [9217]nanotechnology (coined by hacker K. Eric Drexler) by analogy with `microtechnology'; and a few machine

A robot of microscopic proportions, presumably built by means of [9230]nanotechnology. As yet, only used informally (and speculatively!). Also

_________________________________________________________________ Node:nanotechnology, Next:[9241]nasal demons, Previous:[9242]nanofortnig

nasal demons n. Recognized shorthand on the Usenet group comp.std.c for any unexpected behavior of a C compiler on encountering an undefi

news-transmission problem. Compare [9257]shitogram, [9258]mailbomb. 3. A status report from an unhappy, and probably picky, customer. "What&

_________________________________________________________________ Node:neat hack, Next:[9270]neats vs. scruffies, Previous:[9271]nature, U

long as it works. More importantly, neats tend to believe that logic is king, while scruffies favor looser, more ad-hoc methods driven by empir

Node:neophilia, Next:[9283]nerd, Previous:[9284]neep-neep, Up:[9285]= N = neophilia /nee`oh-fil'-ee-*/ n. The trait of being excit

interesting and doesn't care to be distracted by trivial chatter and silly status games. Compare the two senses of [9291]computer geek.

Node:all-elbows, Next:[455]alpha geek, Previous:[456]Alice and Bob, Up:[457]= A = all-elbows adj. [MS-DOS] Of a TSR (terminate-and-s

nerd knob n. [Cisco] a command in a complex piece of software which is more likely to be used by an extremely experienced user to tweak a

Node:net.god, Next:[9303]net.personality, Previous:[9304]net.-, Up:[9305]= N = net.god /net god/ n. Accolade referring to anyone who sa

Node:net.police, Next:[9312]NetBOLLIX, Previous:[9313]net.personality, Up:[9314]= N = net.police /net-p*-lees'/ n. (var. `net.cops

N = netburp n. [IRC] When [9328]netlag gets really bad, and delays between servers exceed a certain threshhold, the [9329]IRC network e

nethack /net'hak/ n. [Unix] A dungeon game similar to [9340]rogue but more elaborate, distributed in C source over [9341]Usenet and

_________________________________________________________________ Node:netlag, Next:[9350]netnews, Previous:[9351]netiquette, Up:[9352]= N

Node:netrock, Next:[9359]Netscrape, Previous:[9360]netnews, Up:[9361]= N = netrock /net'rok/ n. [IBM] A [9362]flame; used esp. on

Syn. [9370]netburp. _________________________________________________________________ Node:netter, Next:[9371]network address, Previous:[9

other quite well by network names without ever learning each others' `legal' monikers. Indeed, display of a network address (e.g on b

bullets are fired. This causes problems with weapons like the chain gun which fire rapidly -- it can blast the network into a meltdown state ju

Node:alpha particles, Next:[464]alt, Previous:[465]alpha geek, Up:[466]= A = alpha particles n. See [467]bit rot. ______________

Language" (Prentice-Hall, 1988; ISBN 0-13-110362-8), describing ANSI Standard C. See [9397]K&R; this version is also called `K&R2&ap

[Usenet] The salvos of dueling newgroup and rmgroup messages sometimes exchanged by persons on opposite sides of a dispute over whether a [9

required to terminate a text record or separate lines. See [9413]crlf, [9414]terpri. ________________________________________________________

in regular use on Usenet's talk.bizarre, and other lunatic-fringe groups. Compare [9426]hing, [9427]grilf, [9428]pr0n and [9429]filk. __

[9436]flamage). _________________________________________________________________ Node:nick, Next:[9437]nickle, Previous:[9438]newsgroup,

Node:night mode, Next:[9449]Nightmare File System, Previous:[9450]nickle, Up:[9451]= N = night mode n. See [9452]phase (of people).

pseudo-down one, so it is even harder to reach. This situation snowballs very quickly, and soon the entire network of machines is frozen -- wor

Node:Ninety-Ninety Rule, Next:[9463]nipple mouse, Previous:[9464]NIL, Up:[9465]= N = Ninety-Ninety Rule n. "The first 90% of th

sits between the `g' and `h' keys on the keyboard, indeed resembles a rubber nipple intended to be tweaked by a forefinger. Many hacker

nothing (sometimes used in assembler-level programming as filler for data or patch areas, or to overwrite code to be removed in binaries). 2. A

command" or "alt-U onto the system" (for "log onto the [ITS] system"). This usage probably arose because alt is more con

not necessarily connote uselessness, but describes a [9482]hack sufficiently trivial that it can be written and debugged while carrying on (and

Soundalike slang for `National Semiconductor', found among other places in the Networking/2 networking sources. During the late 1970s to m

impact is greatest when the person speaking looks completely serious. Compare [9505]stunning. See also [9506]Bad Thing. _____________________

nontrivial adj. Requiring real thought or significant computing power. Often used as an understated way of saying that a problem is quite di

Up:[9525]= N = notwork /not'werk/ n. A network, when it is acting [9526]flaky or is [9527]down. Compare [9528]nyetwork. Said at IB

Note, however, that strictly speaking this usage is misleading; there are plenty of easy problems in class NP. NP-complete problems are hard

think it was mythical but believed in acting as though existed just in case. since the mid-1990s it has gradually become known that the NSA act

Node:NSP, Next:[9543]nude, Previous:[9544]NSA line eater, Up:[9545]= N = NSP /N-S-P/ n. Common abbreviation for `Network Service Provid

Node:nugry, Next:[9551]nuke, Previous:[9552]nude, Up:[9553]= N = nugry /n[y]oo'gree/ [Usenet, 'newbie' + '-gry&apo

[9561]wallpaper file?" "Nuke it." 3. Used of processes as well as files; nuke is a frequent verbal alias for kill -9 on Unix. 4. O

Press, first edition 1984, second edition 1990). Note that due to a technical screwup some printings of the second edition are actually of a co

_________________________________________________________________ Node:numbers, Next:[9572]NUXI problem, Previous:[9573]number-crunching,

a [9581]little-endian to a [9582]big-endian, or vice-versa). See also [9583]middle-endian, [9584]swab, and [9585]bytesexual. ________________

2 bits: [9592]crumb, [9593]quad, [9594]quarter, tayste, tydbit 4 bits: nybble 5 bits: [9595]n

36: word (on a 36-bit machine) 48 bits: [9600]gawble (under circumstances that remain obscure)

Jargon Lexicon = O = * [9610]Ob-: * [9611]Obfuscated C Contest: * [9612]obi-wan error: * [9613]Objectionable-C: * [9614]obscu

* [9630]open source: * [9631]open switch: * [9632]operating system: * [9633]optical diff: * [9634]optical grep: * [9635]optim

Node:Ob-, Next:[9653]Obfuscated C Contest, Previous:[9654]nyetwork, Up:[9655]= O = Ob- /ob/ pref. Obligatory. A piece of [9656]netiq

creative, and bizarre (but working) C program; various other prizes are awarded at the judges' whim. C's terse syntax and macro-prepr

*/#define _ -F<00||--F-OO--;int F=00,OO=00;main(){F_OO();printf("%1.3f\n",4.*-F/OO/OO);}F_OO(){ _-_-_-_ _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

Note that this program works by computing its own area. For more digits, write a bigger program. See also [9661]hello world. The IOCCC has a

Some entries have a primary sense marked this way, with subsequent jargon meanings explained in terms of it. We have also tried to indicate

The Amiga was released just as the personal computing world standardized on IBM-PC clones. This prevented it from gaining serious market share,

native applications on the NeXT machine). Objectionable-C uses a Smalltalk-like syntax, but lacks the flexibility of Smalltalk method calls, an

Hackish way of saying "I'm drawing a blank." Octal 40 is the [9678]ASCII space character, 0100000; by an odd coincidence, [9679]he

old. Nowadays, trolleys are only seen on historic streetcars, since modern streetcars use pantographs to contact the wire. __________________

moved off a public newsgroup to email. _________________________________________________________________ Node:ogg, Next:[9698]-oid, Previo

ogged that oncoming car." _________________________________________________________________ Node:-oid, Next:[9701]old fart, Previous:

Coinages in both forms have been common in science fiction for at least fifty years, and hackers (who are often SF fans) have probably been mak

[C programmers] The first edition of [9715]K&R, the sacred text describing [9716]Classic C. _____________________________________________

At mainframe shops, where the computers have operators for routine administrivia, the programmers and hardware people tend to look down on t

one-line fix n. Used (often sarcastically) of a change to a program that is thought to be trivial or insignificant right up to the moment

(2 = 0 +.= T o.| T) / T <- iN where `o' is the APL null character, the assignment arrow is a single character, and `i' repre

The disorder suffered by a particularly egregious variety of [495]bigot, those who believe that the marginality of their preferred machine i

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 dro

1. In England and Ireland, common verbal abbreviation for `operator', as in system operator. Less common in the U.S., where [9748]sysop se

the Mozilla release to describe software distributed in source under licenses guaranteeing anybody rights to freely use, modify, and redistribu

machine; that which schedules tasks, allocates storage, and presents a default interface to the user between applications. The facilities an op

_________________________________________________________________ Node:optimism, Next:[9784]Oracle the, Previous:[9785]optical grep, Up:[9

Node:Oracle the, Next:[9788]Orange Book, Previous:[9789]optimism, Up:[9790]= O = Oracle, the The all-knowing, all-wise Internet Oracle

also [9794]crayola books, [9795]book titles. _________________________________________________________________ Node:oriental food, Next:[9

orphan n. [Unix] A process whose parent has died; one inherited by init(1). Compare [9807]zombie. ______________________________________

describe sets of primitives or capabilities that, like a vector basis in geometry, span the entire `capability space' of the system and are

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, e

Node:amp off, Next:[510]amper, Previous:[511]amoeba, Up:[512]= A = amp off vt. [Purdue] To run in [513]background. From the Unix shell `&

Node:OSU, Next:[9832]OTOH, Previous:[9833]OSS, Up:[9834]= O = OSU /O-S-U/ n. obs. [TMRC] Acronym for Officially Sanctioned User; a user w

occurred. Many C functions, for example, return a nonnegative integral value, but indicate failure with an out-of-band return value of -1. Comp

_________________________________________________________________ Node:overflow bit, Next:[9852]overflow pdl, Previous:[9853]overclock, Up

you don't have one and too many things get pushed, you forget something. The overflow pdl for a person's memory might be a memo pad.

example, at 9600 baud there is almost exactly one character per millisecond, so if a [9867]silo can hold only two characters and the machine ta

scribbles beyond the end of arrays allocated with malloc(3); this typically trashes the allocation header for the next block in the [9878]arena

* [9900]PARC: * [9901]parent message: * [9902]parity errors: * [9903]Parkinson's Law of Data: * [9904]parm: * [9905]pars

* [9924]Pentium: * [9925]peon: * [9926]percent-S: * [9927]perf: * [9928]perfect programmer syndrome: * [9929]Perl: * [993

* [9948]ping storm: * [9949]pink wire: * [9950]pipe: * [9951]pistol: * [9952]pixel sort: * [9953]pizza box: * [9954]plaid

* [9972]poke: * [9973]poll: * [9974]polygon pusher: * [9975]POM: * [9976]pop: * [9977]POPJ: * [9978]poser: * [9979]po

been described as "Moria on steroids"; but, unlike Moria, many aspects of the game are customizable. This leads many hackers and would-

* [9996]prime time: * [9997]print: * [9998]printing discussion: * [9999]priority interrupt: * [10000]profile: * [10001]progas

* [10020]puff: * [10021]pumpkin holder: * [10022]pumpking: * [10023]punched card: * [10024]punt: * [10025]Purple Book: *

[rare] Acronym for `Piece Of Data' (as opposed to a code section). See also [10037]pod. _____________________________________________

capabilities of the host system (for example, the rsh(1) utility on USG Unix). Note that this is different from an [10046]iron box because it i

daydreaming or preoccupation. "Can you repeat that? I paged out for a minute." See [10057]page in. Compare [10058]glitch, [10059]thinko

Node:paper-net, Next:[10069]param, Previous:[10070]Pangloss parity, Up:[10071]= P = paper-net n. Hackish way of referring to the pos

Node:PARC, Next:[10083]parent message, Previous:[10084]param, Up:[10085]= P = PARC n. See [10086]XEROX PARC. ___________________

hacking. "I need to go home and crash; I'm starting to get a lot of parity errors." Derives from a relatively common but nearly al

Node:parm, Next:[10098]parse, Previous:[10099]Parkinson's Law of Data, Up:[10100]= P = parm /parm/ n. Further-compressed form of [

_________________________________________________________________ Node:Pascal, Next:[10108]pastie, Previous:[10109]parse, Up:[10110]= P =

World use angle brackets which are either taller and slimmer (the ISO `Bra' and `Ket' characters), or significantly smaller (single or

an indictment of many other bondage-and-discipline languages. At the end of a summary of the case against Pascal, Kernighan wrote: 9. Ther

Pascal has since been almost entirely displaced (by [10114]C) from the niches it had acquired in serious applications and systems programm

patch 1. n. A temporary addition to a piece of code, usually as a [10122]quick-and-dirty remedy to an existing bug or misfeature. A pat

military computer that illustrates the danger inherent in binary patches (or, indeed, any patches that you can't -- or don't -- inspect

This term comes from the Perl development community, but has been sighted elsewhere. It derives from a stuffed-toy pumpkin that was passed arou

1. A [10143]bang path or explicitly routed [10144]Internet address; a node-by-node specification of a link between two machines. Though thes

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

PBD /P-B-D/ n. [abbrev. of `Programmer Brain Damage'] Applied to bug reports revealing places where the program was obviously broken by

[common] Abbreviation for `public domain', applied to software distributed over [10168]Usenet and from Internet archive sites. Much of thi

machines was at one time pdl@dms). _________________________________________________________________ Node:PDP-10, Next:[10181]PDP-20, Prev

[IRC] See [542]bot. _________________________________________________________________ Node:annoyware, Next:[543]ANSI, Previous:[544]annoyb

[10190]BLT, [10191]DDT, [10192]DPB, [10193]EXCH, [10194]HAKMEM, [10195]LDB, [10196]pop, [10197]push. See also [10198]http://www.inwap.com/pdp10

PEBKAC /peb'kak/ [Abbrev., "Problem Exists Between Keyboard And Chair"] Used by support people, particularly at call cente

circulated (see [10214]interrupt list). The results of `poke's at these addresses may be highly useful, mildly amusing, useless but neat,

ubiquitous outside hackerdom, but nearly forgotten inside it. Most hackers had terrible handwriting to begin with, and years of keyboarding ten

number. It suggests the number five (implying 586) while (according to Intel) conveying a meaning of strength "like titanium". Among ha

[From the code in C's printf(3) library function used to insert an arbitrary string argument] An unspecified person or object. "I wa

error. Most frequently found among programmers of some native ability but relatively little experience (especially new graduates; their percept

it would be a stretch to describe it as pretty or [10256]elegant; people who like clean, spare design generally prefer [10257]Python. See also

words are the obvious Latin-based antonyms for `optimal' and `optimize', but for some reason they do not appear in most English dicti

_________________________________________________________________ Node:PETSCII, Next:[10275]PFY, Previous:[10276]peta-, Up:[10277]= P =

along with the International Organization for Standards (ISO), standardized the C programming language (see [559]K&R, [560]Classic C), and

phage n. A program that modifies other programs or databases in unauthorized ways; esp. one that propagates a [10286]virus or [10287]Troj

also been recently reported from Caltech. 2. `change phase the hard way': To stay awake for a very long time in order to get into a differ

True story: Once upon a time there was a program bug that really did depend on the phase of the moon. There was a little subroutine that had

suggested the software was somehow sensitive to the phase of the moon. A few desperate engineers discovered the truth; the error turned out to

From the [10307]Dilbert character, the archetypal halfwitted middle-[10308]management type. See also [10309]pointy-haired. __________________

there was a gentleman's agreement that phreaking as an intellectual game and a form of exploration was OK, but serious theft of services w

usage is not yet common in the way [10325]nano- and [10326]micro- are, but should be instantly recognizable to any hacker. See also [10327]quan

headers." "That's not a bug, that's pilot error. His sendmail.cf is hosed." ________________________________________

"Ping!" (I'm happy; I am emitting a quantum of happiness; I have been struck by a quantum of happiness). The form "pingfulnes

Ping O' Death n. A notorious [10347]exploit that (when first discovered) could be easily used to crash a wide variety of machines by ov

ANSI standard /an'see stan'd*rd/ The ANSI standard usage of `ANSI standard' refers to any practice which is typical or broadl

A form of [10352]DoS attack consisting of a flood of [10353]ping requests (normally used to check network conditions) designed to disrupt th

the expansion "bit pipe" is understood. A "fat pipe" is a line with T1 or higher capacity. A person with a 28.8 modem might b

implies distrust of this theory. Compare [10370]bogo-sort. _________________________________________________________________ Node:pizza bo

[10377]memory smashes overwrite the control blocks or image memory of a bit-mapped display. The term "salt and pepper" may refer to a

almost universally to humorous and self-expressive purposes (like a [10388]sig block). See also [10389]Hacking X for Y. A recent innovation

and a compiler (ASP) is available on Usenet for producing them. See also [10392]twirling baton. _____________________________________________

algorithm has been tested against the platinum-iridium cons cell in Paris." Compare [10396]golden. _____________________________________

plingnet /pling'net/ n. Syn. [10412]UUCPNET. Also see [10413]Commonwealth Hackish, which uses `pling' for [10414]bang (as in [1

q quit :q ^C end x exit ZZ ^D ? help as the user vainly tries to find

the bottom of a [10423]kill file. While it originated in the [10424]newsgroup talk.bizarre, this term (usually written "*plonk*") is

AOL! n. [Usenet] Common synonym for "Me, too!" alluding to the legendary propensity of America Online users to utter contentless &

_________________________________________________________________ Node:plumbing, Next:[10433]PM, Previous:[10434]plugh, Up:[10435]= P =

1. v. (from `preventive maintenance') To bring down a machine for inspection or test purposes. See [10442]provocative maintenance; see als

illumination of this point. _________________________________________________________________ Node:pod, Next:[10450]point-and-drool interf

`point-and-grunt interface'. _________________________________________________________________ Node:pointy hat, Next:[10461]pointy-ha

instead." _________________________________________________________________ Node:poke, Next:[10474]poll, Previous:[10475]pointy-haire

Up:[10483]= P = polygon pusher n. A chip designer who spends most of his or her time at the physical layout level (which requires drawi

capitalized `POP') 1. vt. To remove something from a [10492]stack or [10493]PDL. If a person says he/she has popped something from his sta

A [10502]wannabee; not hacker slang, but used among crackers, phreaks and [10503]warez d00dz. Not as negative as [10504]lamer or [10505]leec

the author requests only that satisfied users send a postcard of their home town or something. (This practice, silly as it might seem, serves t

postmaster n. The email contact and maintenance person at a site connected to the Internet or UUCPNET. Often, but not always, the same as th

prefer more general-purpose tools.) See [576]killer app; oppose [577]tool, [578]operating system. ___________________________________________

rasterization, from Bezier curve descriptions, of high-quality fonts at low (e.g. 300 dpi) resolution (it was formerly believed that hand-tuned

[10543]Big Red Switch. Compare [10544]Vulcan nerve pinch, [10545]bounce (sense 4), and [10546]boot, and see the "[10547]Some AI Koans"

Node:pr0n, Next:[10556]precedence lossage, Previous:[10557]PPN, Up:[10558]= P = pr0n // [Usenet, IRC] Pornography. Originally this r

C programmers deliberately forget the language's [10567]baroque precedence hierarchy and parenthesize defensively). Can always be avoided

prestidigitization /pres`t*-di`j*-ti:-zay'sh*n/ n. 1. The act of putting something into digital notation via sleight of hand. 2. Dat

from a [10589]hairy internal representation; esp. used for the process of [10590]grinding (sense 1) program code, and most esp. for LISP code.

Node:prime time, Next:[10599]print, Previous:[10600]priesthood, Up:[10601]= P = prime time n. [from TV programming] Normal high-usag

he probably means it in the conventional sense of writing to a hardcopy device (compounds like `print job' and `printout', on the oth

yank one right out of [10615]hack mode. Classically used to describe being dragged away by an [10616]SO for immediate sex, but may also refer t

_________________________________________________________________ Node:progasm, Next:[10626]proggy, Previous:[10627]profile, Up:[10628]= P

Node:Revision History, Next:[39]Jargon Construction, Previous:[40]A Few Terms, Up:[41]Top Revision History The original Jargon File was a

_________________________________________________________________ Node:ARMM, Next:[593]armor-plated, Previous:[594]arg, Up:[595]= A = A

proglet /prog'let/ n. [UK] A short extempore program written to meet an immediate, transient need. Often written in BASIC, rarely mo

Node:Programmer's Cheer, Next:[10643]programming, Previous:[10644]program, Up:[10645]= P = Programmer's Cheer "Shift to

Previous:[10650]programming, Up:[10651]= P = programming fluid n. 1. Coffee. 2. Cola. 3. Any caffeinacious stimulant. Many hackers cons

propeller key n. [Mac users] See [10660]feature key. _________________________________________________________________ Node:proprieta

proprietary. The reverse is also possible, for example in binary-only freeware. _____________________________________________________________

Node:provocative maintenance, Next:[10671]prowler, Previous:[10672]protocol, Up:[10673]= P = provocative maintenance n. [common ironic

_________________________________________________________________ Node:pseudo, Next:[10685]pseudoprime, Previous:[10686]prowler, Up:[10687

Node:pseudoprime, Next:[10693]pseudosuit, Previous:[10694]pseudo, Up:[10695]= P = pseudoprime n. A backgammon prime (six consecutive

[10700]lobotomy. _________________________________________________________________ Node:psychedelicware, Next:[10701]psyton, Previous:[107

Node:pubic directory, Next:[10711]puff, Previous:[10712]psyton, Up:[10713]= P = pubic directory /pyoob'ik d*-rek't*-ree/) n.

for their Usenet feeds. One poster described the ARMM debacle as "instant Usenet history" (also establishing the term [599]despew), and

pumpkin holder n. See [10724]patch pumpkin. _________________________________________________________________ Node:pumpking, Next:

U.S. Census was a piece of cardboard about 90 mm by 215 mm. There is a widespread myth that it was designed to fit in the currency trays used f

"Drop back 15 yards and punt!"] 1. To give up, typically without any intention of retrying. "Let's punt the movie tonight.&qu

(O'Reilly, 1991, ISBN 0-937175-73-0). See also [10749]book titles. _________________________________________________________________

or [10760]PDL. If one says that something has been pushed onto one's stack, it means that the Damoclean list of things hanging over ones&apo

Node:= Q =, Next:[10772]= R =, Previous:[10773]= P =, Up:[10774]The Jargon Lexicon = Q = * [10775]quad: * [10776]quadruple bucky: *

1. Two bits; syn. for [10791]quarter, [10792]crumb, [10793]tayste. 2. A four-pack of anything (compare [10794]hex, sense 2). 3. The rectangl

Quadruple-bucky combinations were very seldom used in practice, because when one invented a new command one usually assigned it to some charact

prefix decimal binarykilo- 1000^1 1024^1 = 2^10 = 1,024mega- 1000^2 1024^2 = 2^20 = 1,048,576giga- 1000^3 1024^3 = 2^30 = 1,073,741,824t

atto- 1000^-6 (not used in jargon---yet)zepto- 1000^-7 (not used in jargon---yet)yocto- 1000^-8 (not used in jargon---yet) The prefi

_________________________________________________________________ Node:asbestos cork award, Next:[615]asbestos longjohns, Previous:[616]as

`meg' and `gig' are nouns that may (but do not always) pluralize with `s'.prefix decimal binary pronunciationkilo-

example of this: it is common to refer to the capacity of 3.5" [10814]microfloppies as `1.44 MB' In fact, this is a completely [10815

chico- available for future expansion. Sadly, there is little immediate prospect that Mr. Burke's eminently sensible proposal will be rati

[10824]psyton. _________________________________________________________________ Node:quarter, Next:[10825]ques, Previous:[10826]quantum b

_________________________________________________________________ Node:quick-and-dirty, Next:[10836]quine, Previous:[10837]ques, Up:[10838

some variants of BASIC in which a program consisting of a single empty string literal reproduces itself trivially.) Here is one classic quine:(

Page. _________________________________________________________________ Node:quote chapter and verse, Next:[10846]quotient, Previous:[10

quux /kwuhks/ n. [Mythically, from the Latin semi-deponent verb quuxo, quuxare, quuxandum iri; noun form variously `quux' (plural `q

qux /kwuhks/ The fourth of the standard [10869]metasyntactic variable, after [10870]baz and before the quu(u...)x series. See [10871]foo,

-- under a constraint now long obsolete. In early typewriters, fast typing using nearby type-bars jammed the mechanism. So Sholes fiddled the l

of the [625]asbestos coinages. Also `asbestos underwear', `asbestos overcoat', etc. _______________________________________________

* [10894]Random Number God: * [10895]random numbers: * [10896]randomness: * [10897]rape: * [10898]rare mode: * [10899]raster

* [10918]Real Programmer: * [10919]Real Soon Now: * [10920]real time: * [10921]real user: * [10922]Real World: * [10923]reali

* [10942]restriction: * [10943]retcon: * [10944]RETI: * [10945]retrocomputing: * [10946]return from the dead: * [10947]RFC:

* [10966]round tape: * [10967]RSN: * [10968]RTBM: * [10969]RTFAQ: * [10970]RTFB: * [10971]RTFM: * [10972]RTFS: * [109

creates one or more copies of itself, breeding like rabbits. Compare [10985]wabbit, [10986]fork bomb. _______________________________________

rainbow series n. Any of several series of technical manuals distinguished by cover color. The original rainbow series was the NCSC security

"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

Random Number God [rec.games.roguelike.angband; often abbreviated `RNG'] The malign force which lurks behind the random number generato

23 Sacred number of Eris, Goddess of Discord (along with 17 and 5). 42 The Answer to the Ultimate

Node:randomness, Next:[11024]rape, Previous:[11025]random numbers, Up:[11026]= R = randomness n. 1. An inexplicable misfeature; grat

characters, and have developed a considerable amount of verbal shorthand for them. Every character has one or more names -- some formal, some c

high-quality randomess, so hackers have sometimes felt the need to built special-purpose contraptions for this purpose alone. One well-known we

rare mode adj. [Unix] CBREAK mode (character-by-character with interrupts enabled). Distinguished from [11038]raw mode and [11039]cooked

Eyestrain brought on by too many hours of looking at low-res, poorly tuned, or glare-ridden monitors, esp. graphics monitors. See [11048]ter

twist tie or one of those humongous metal clip frobs). Small cable ties are `mouse belts'. _____________________________________________

Node:ratio site, Next:[11062]rave, Previous:[11063]rat dance, Up:[11064]= R = ratio site [warez d00dz] A FTP site storing pirated fi

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.

[primarily MIT/Boston usage] Jiao-zi (steamed or boiled) or Guo-tie (pan-fried). A Chinese appetizer, known variously in the plural as dumpling

_________________________________________________________________ Node:RBL, Next:[11087]rc file, Previous:[11088]raw mode, Up:[11089]= R =

file, [11097]profile (sense 1). _________________________________________________________________ Node:RE, Next:[11098]read-only user, Pre

README file n. Hacker's-eye introduction traditionally included in the top-level directory of a Unix source distribution, containing

<quotation marks>; <dieresis>; dirk; [rabbit-ears]; double prime. # Common: number sign; pound; po

Node:real estate, Next:[11116]real hack, Previous:[11117]real, Up:[11118]= R = real estate n. May be used for any critical resource

real operating system n. The sort the speaker is used to. People from the BSDophilic academic community are likely to issue comments like

debugger to edit his code because full-screen editors are for wimps. Real Programmers aren't satisfied with code that hasn't been [11

Real Soon Now adv. [orig. from SF's fanzine community, popularized by Jerry Pournelle's column in "BYTE"] 1. Supposed

stack and she came up with an algorithm in real time." _________________________________________________________________ Node:real us

etc. Places where programs do such commercially necessary but intellectually uninspiring things as generating payroll checks and invoices. 2. T

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 equ

A [11177]prowler that [11178]GFRs files. A file removed in this way is said to have been `reaped'. __________________________________

Previous:[11183]recompile the world, Up:[11184]= R = rectangle slinger n. See [11185]polygon pusher. ________________________________

Initially"). More recently, there is a Scheme compiler called LIAR (Liar Imitates Apply Recursively), and [11194]GNU (q.v., sense 1) stand

' Common: single quote; quote; <apostrophe>. Rare: prime; glitch; tick; irk; pop; [spark]; <closing single quotatio

(sense 4) -- IEEE 1003.1-1990, a.k.a ISO 9945-1 -- is (because of the color and the fact that it is printed on A4 paper) known in the USA as &q

regexp /reg'eksp/ n. [Unix] (alt. `regex' or `reg-ex') 1. Common written and spoken abbreviation for `regular expression&a

evaluation. Some designs with this problem, like the Intel 80x86, do have a handful of special-purpose registers that can be pressed into servi

See [11230]cycle of reincarnation. _________________________________________________________________ Node:reinvent the wheel, Next:[11231]

_________________________________________________________________ Node:religion of CHI, Next:[11238]religious issues, Previous:[11239]rela

religious issues n. Questions which seemingly cannot be raised without touching off [11247]holy wars, such as "What is the best oper

living organism, an idea (see [11256]meme), a program (see [11257]quine, [11258]worm, [11259]wabbit, [11260]fork bomb, and [11261]virus), a pat

[11276]marketroid types) to make it sound as though some crippling bogosity had been intended by the designers all along, or was forced upon th

preserving continuity) while completely changing their interpretation. For example, revealing that a whole season of "Dallas" was a dre

Syn. [11284]RTI _________________________________________________________________ Node:retrocomputing, Next:[11285]return from the dead

Common: dash; <hyphen>; <minus>. Rare: [worm]; option; dak; bithorpe. . Common: dot; point; <pe

Retrocomputing Museum, [11293]http://www.ccil.org/retro. _________________________________________________________________ Node:return fro

institution such as ANSI. For this reason, they remain known as RFCs even once adopted as standards. The RFC tradition of pragmatic, experie

Node:RFE, Next:[11301]rib site, Previous:[11302]RFC, Up:[11303]= R = RFE /R-F-E/ n. 1. [techspeak] Request For Enhancement (compare [1

rice box n. [from ham radio slang] Any Asian-made commodity computer, esp. an 80x86-based machine built to IBM PC-compatible ISA or EISA-

rip v. 1. To extract the digital representation of a piece of music from an audio CD. Software that does this is often called a "CD rip

_________________________________________________________________ Node:roach, Next:[11331]robocanceller, Previous:[11332]RL, Up:[11333]= R

Up:[11345]= R = robot n. See [11346]bot. _________________________________________________________________ Node:robust, Next:[11

Terminally [11356]baroque. Used to imply that a program has become so encrusted with the software equivalent of gold leaf and curlicues that th

An [11362]ISP which permits net abuse (usually in the form of [11363]spamming) by its customers, or which itself engages in such activities. Ro

[Unix] 1. The [11377]superuser account (with user name `root') that ignores permission bits, user number 0 on a Unix system. The term [

Common: <equals>; gets; takes. Rare: quadrathorpe; [half-mesh]. ? Common: query; <question mark>; [648]ques

[Usenet: from `rotate alphabet 13 places'] The simple Caesar-cypher encryption that replaces each English letter with the one 13 places fo

Node:round tape, Next:[11395]RSN, Previous:[11396]rotary debugger, Up:[11397]= R = round tape n. Industry-standard 1/2-inch magnetic ta

to a question from a [11408]newbie; the second would escalate to "RTFM". __________________________________________________________

anyone asking a question for which RTFB is the answer; the anger here is directed at the absence of both source and adequate documentation. _

obvious and not answerable from the manuals -- or the manuals are not yet written and maybe never will be. For even trickier situations, see [1

Node:RTI, Next:[11438]RTM, Previous:[11439]RTFS, Up:[11440]= R = RTI /R-T-I/ interj. The mnemonic for the `return from interrupt' in

Node:RTS, Next:[11449]rude, Previous:[11450]RTM, Up:[11451]= R = RTS /R-T-S/ imp. Abbreviation for `Read The Screen'. Mainly used

[11457]all-elbows. _________________________________________________________________ Node:runes, Next:[11458]runic, Previous:[11459]rude,

_________________________________________________________________ Node:rusty iron, Next:[11471]rusty memory, Previous:[11472]runic, Up:[11

rusty wire n. [Amateur Packet Radio] Any very noisy network medium, in which the packets are subject to frequent corruption. Most prevalent

^ Common: hat; control; uparrow; caret; <circumflex>. Rare: xor sign, chevron; [shark (or shark-fin)]; to the (`to the powe

* [11497]samizdat: * [11498]samurai: * [11499]sandbender: * [11500]sandbox: * [11501]sanity check: * [11502]Saturday-night sp

* [11521]scrool: * [11522]scrozzle: * [11523]scruffies: * [11524]SCSI: * [11525]ScumOS: * [11526]search-and-destroy mode:

* [11545]sex changer: * [11546]shambolic link: * [11547]shar file: * [11548]sharchive: * [11549]Share and enjoy!: * [11550]sh

* [11569]sig virus: * [11570]signal-to-noise ratio: * [11571]silicon: * [11572]silly walk: * [11573]silo: * [11574]Silver Boo

* [11593]smash the stack: * [11594]smiley: * [11595]smoke: * [11596]smoke and mirrors: * [11597]smoke test: * [11598]smoking

* [11617]social science number: * [11618]sock puppet: * [11619]sodium substrate: * [11620]soft boot: * [11621]softcopy: * [11

* [11641]spamhaus: * [11642]spamvertize: * [11643]spangle: * [11644]spawn: * [11645]special-case: * [11646]speedometer: *

* [11665]spungle: * [11666]square tape: * [11667]squirrelcide: * [11668]stack: * [11669]stack puke: * [11670]stale pointer bu

* [11689]stunning: * [11690]stupid-sort: * [11691]Stupids: * [11692]Sturgeon's Law: * [11693]sucking mud: * [11694]suffi

* [11713]swapped out: * [11714]swizzle: * [11715]sync: * [11716]syntactic salt: * [11717]syntactic sugar: * [11718]sys-frog:

his directory as AI:MRC;SAIL JARGON. The file was quickly renamed JARGON > (the `>' caused versioning under ITS) as a flurry of e

UNIX); [spike]. ~ Common: <tilde>; squiggle; [649]twiddle; not. Rare: approx; wiggle; swung dash; enyay;

Node:sacred, Next:[11730]saga, Previous:[11731]S/N ratio, Up:[11732]= S = sacred adj. Reserved for the exclusive use of something (an e

for a week on research business, to consult face-to-face with some people at Stanford, particularly our mutual friend Richard P. Gabriel

to a computer-science conference in Berkeley, California, the first time either of us had been on the West Coast. When not in the confere

in good humor, as long as we kept returning to Uncle Gaylord's. He loves ginger honey ice cream. Now RPG and his then-wife KBT

drowsy, and JONL actually dropped off to sleep for 5 minutes. When he awoke, RPG said, "Gee, JONL, you must have slept all the way o

JONL accepted this bit of wisdom. And he was not totally ignorant -- he knew perfectly well that University Avenue was in Berkeley,

At this point, RPG clued me in fully. RPG, KBT, and I retreated to a table, trying to stifle our chuckles. JONL remained at the coun

[My spies on the West Coast inform me that there is a close relative of the raspberry found out there called an `ollalieberry' --ESR] [

Up:[11745]= S = SAIL /sayl/, not /S-A-I-L/ n. 1. The Stanford Artificial Intelligence Lab. An important site in the early development o

computer salesman?A. The used-car dealer knows he's lying. [Some versions add: ...and probably knows how to drive.] This reflects the wid

tilde in typeset material but the ASCII tilde serves for both (compare [652]angle brackets). Some other common usages cause odd overlaps. Th

salt mines n. Dense quarters housing large numbers of programmers working long hours on grungy projects, with some hope of seeing the end

same-day service n. Ironic term used to describe long response time, particularly with respect to [11768]MS-DOS system calls (which ought to

unavailable, but not in the context of documents which are available through normal channels, for which unauthorized duplication would be uneth

[11780]sneaker, [11781]Stupids, [11782]social engineering, [11783]cracker, [11784]hacker ethic, and [11785]dark-side hacker. ________________

reference to Java implementations. _________________________________________________________________ Node:sanity check, Next:[11796]Saturd

Saturday-night special n. [from police slang for a cheap handgun] A [11803]quick-and-dirty program or feature kluged together during off hou

scag vt. To destroy the data on a disk, either by corrupting the filesystem or by causing media damage. "That last power hit scagged th

_________________________________________________________________ Node:schroedinbug, Next:[11822]science-fiction fandom, Previous:[11823]s

many go to `cons' (SF conventions) or are involved in fandom-connected activities such as the Society for Creative Anachronism. Some hacker

A correspondent reports a legend that "Scram" is an acronym for "Start Cutting Right Away, Man" (another less plausible va

Up:[658]= A = ASCII art n. The fine art of drawing diagrams using the ASCII character set (mainly |, -, /, \, and +). Also known as `ch

switch, Up:[11865]= S = scratch 1. [from `scratchpad'] adj. Describes a data structure or recording medium attached to a machine f

star of a biological research program at the University of Toronto. Mabel was not (so the legend goes) your ordinary monkey; the university had

demise occurred when DEC [11876]PMed the machine. Earlier versions of this entry were based on that story; this one has been corrected from an

seriously degrade the performance of a vanilla Unix system; the arriving "characters" are treated as userid/password pairs and tested

MUDs, and commercial on-line services since the mid-1990s. Hackers recognize the term but don't generally use it. ______________________

Up:[11903]= S = scribble n. To modify a data structure in a random and unintentionally destructive way. "Bletch! Somebody's d

incantations and asks only "what do I need to type to make this happen?" __________________________________________________________

an early version of the roundtable software had a bug where it would dump all 8K of scrool on a user's terminal. _______________________

SCSI n. [Small Computer System Interface] A bus-independent standard for system-level interfacing between a computer and intelligent devi

Node:search-and-destroy mode, Next:[11939]second-system effect, Previous:[11940]ScumOS, Up:[11941]= S = search-and-destroy mode n. H

| ,___| (oo) \/ \/ | / \/-------\ U (__) /____\ || | \ /---V `v'-

A similar effect can also happen in an evolving system; see [11947]Brooks's Law, [11948]creeping elegance, [11949]creeping featurism. See

which 17 hours of [11959]grovelling with adb actually dug up the underlying bug behind an instance of seventh-level damage! The hacker who acco

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?

SED /S-E-D/ n. [TMRC, from `Light-Emitting Diode'] Smoke-emitting diode. A [11971]friode that lost the war. See also [11972]LER.

Up:[11984]= S = segment /seg'ment/ vi. To experience a [11985]segmentation fault. Confusingly, this is often pronounced more like

2. To lose a train of thought or a line of reasoning. Also uttered as an exclamation at the point of befuddlement. __________________________

selvage /sel'v*j/ n. [from sewing and weaving] See [12001]chad (sense 1). ___________________________________________________________

automated; it still requires a smidge of clueful human interaction. Semi-automated programs usually come with written-out operator instructions

Previous:[12019]senior bit, Up:[12020]= S = September that never ended All time since September 1993. One of the seasonal rhythms of the

runs. A particularly common term on the Internet, which is rife with `web servers', `name servers', `domain servers', `news server

reproduced in the examples above, here are three more: (__) (__) (__) (\/) ($$)

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,

Syn. [12037]gender mender. _________________________________________________________________ Node:shambolic link, Next:[12038]shar file, P

sharchive /shar'ki:v/ n. [Unix and Usenet; from /bin/sh archive] A [12048]flattened representation of a set of one or more files, with

[12053]README files, this phrase indicates allegiance to the hacker ethic of free information sharing (see [12054]hacker ethic, sense 1). 2. Th

sharing violation [From a file error common to several [12071]OSs] A response to receiving information, typically of an excessively personal

shelfware /shelf'weir/ n. Software purchased on a whim (by an individual user) or in accordance with policy (by a corporation or govern

The user is meant to fill in whatever code is needed to get real work done. This usage is common in the AI and Microsoft Windows worlds, and co

shift left (or right) logical [from any of various machines' instruction sets] 1. vi. To move oneself to the left (right). To move o

Node:shitogram, Next:[12098]short card, Previous:[12099]shim, Up:[12100]= S = shitogram /shit'oh-gram/ n. A really nasty piece of

The software equivalent of [12110]Easter egging; the making of relatively undirected changes to software in the hope that a bug will be perturb

_/\_ ||\\_I_//|| _/\_ [_] []_/_L_J_\_[] [_] _/\_ ||\\_I_//|| _/\_ ||\ |__| ||=/_|_\=|| |__|_|_| _L_L_J_J_ |_|_|__| ||=/_|_\=|| |__| ||-

effectively unusable; one that absolutely has to be fixed before development can go on. Opposite in connotation from its original theatrical us

MUDders worships Shub-Internet, sacrificing objects and praying for good connections. To no avail -- its purpose is malign and evil, and is the

1. Syn. [12132]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 bo

_________________________________________________________________ Node:sig block, Next:[12137]sig quote, Previous:[12138]SIG, Up:[12139]=

[12148]sig block and intended to convey something of one's philosophical stance, pet peeves, or sense of humor. "Calm down, it's

signal-to-noise ratio [from analog electronics] n. Used by hackers in a generalization of its technical meaning. `Signal' refers to use

silly walk vi. [from Monty Python's Flying Circus] 1. A ridiculous procedure required to accomplish a task. Like [12171]grovel, but mor

Jensen and Wirth's infamous "Pascal User Manual and Report", so called because of the silver cover of the widely distributed Sprin

the creativity and humor they often display. Interpreting a sitename is not unlike interpreting a vanity license plate; one has to mentally unp

skulker n. Syn. [12199]prowler. _________________________________________________________________ Node:slab, Next:[12200]slack, Previ

`2001' and `48 HRS.'!" _________________________________________________________________ Node:astroturfing, Next:[664]atomi

fragmentation'. Antonym: [12206]hole. 2. In the theology of the [12207]Church of the SubGenius, a mystical substance or quality that is th

slash n. Common name for the slant (`/', ASCII 0101111) character. See [12216]ASCII for other synonyms. ___________________________

sleep vi. 1. [techspeak] To relinquish a claim (of a process on a multitasking system) for service; to indicate to the scheduler that a proc

1. A one-sided [12232]fudge factor, that is, an allowance for error but in only one of two directions. For example, if you need a piece of w

A lowest-priority task that waits around until everything else has `had its fill' of machine resources. Only when the machine would oth

[12244]Linux. Compare [12245]AIDX, [12246]HP-SUX, [12247]Nominal Semidestructor, [12248]Telerat, [12249]sun-stools. _________________________

exist any intelligent programs (yet -- see [12259]AI-complete). Compare [12260]robust (smart programs can be [12261]brittle). _______________

terminal you can educate." This illustrates a common design problem: The attempt to make peripherals (or anything else) intelligent someti

of a local array or other data structure. Code that smashes the stack can cause a return from the routine to jump to a random address, resultin

smoked, just like the last one." Used for both hardware (where it often describes an actual physical event), and software (where it's

Up:[669]= A = atomic adj. [from Gk. `atomos', indivisible] 1. Indivisible; cannot be split up. For example, an instruction may be

_________________________________________________________________ Node:smoke test, Next:[12303]smoking clover, Previous:[12304]smoke and m

[ITS] A [12311]display hack originally due to Bill Gosper. Many convergent lines are drawn on a color monitor in such a way that every pixel

bridge in the late 1980s. The Boston police have been known to use smoot markers to indicate accident locations on the bridge. ______________

smurf /smerf/ n. 1. [from the soc.motss newsgroup on Usenet, after some obnoxiously gooey cartoon characters] A newsgroup regular with a hab

[12326]Discordianism, often invoked by hackers to explain why authoritarian hierarchies screw up so reliably and systematically. The effect of

spake unto his section head, saying: "It is a container of excrement, and it is very strong, such that none may abide it."

will promote the growth of the company!" And the President looked upon the product, and saw that it was very good. After

Paper mail, as opposed to electronic. Sometimes written as the single word `SnailMail'. One's postal address is, correspondingly, a `sn

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

"This program starts by snarfing the entire database into core, then..." 5. [GEnie] To spray food or [12349]programming fluids due to

About an inch. `atto-' is the standard SI prefix for multiplication by 10^(-18). A parsec (parallax-second) is 3.26 light-years; an att

snarf down v. To [12358]snarf, with the connotation of absorbing, processing, or understanding. "I'll snarf down the latest versio

Up:[12366]= S = sneaker n. An individual hired to break into places in order to test their security; analogous to [12367]tiger team. Co

sniff v.,n. 1. To watch IP packets traversing a local network. Most often in the phrase `packet sniffer', a program for doing same. 2.S

in turn tend to elicit [12384]flamage in subsequent issues. _________________________________________________________________ Node:SO, Nex

include phoning up a mark who has the required information and posing as a field service tech or a fellow employee with an urgent access proble

[Usenet: from the act of placing a sock over your hand and talking to it and pretending it's talking back] In Usenet parlance, a [12410]ps

Up:[12421]= S = softcopy /soft'kop-ee/ n. [by analogy with `hardcopy'] A machine-readable form of corresponding hardcopy. See

project to describe the act of holding software proprietary, keeping it under trade secret or license terms which prohibit free redistribution

Node:software rot, Next:[12444]softwarily, Previous:[12445]software laser, Up:[12446]= S = software rot n. Term used to describe the te

mythical one was a real problem on early research computers (e.g., the R1; see [12452]grind crank). If a program that depended on a peculiar in

n. See [681]bogotify. _________________________________________________________________ Node:automagically, Next:[682]avatar, Previous:[68

In a way pertaining to software. "The system is softwarily unreliable." The adjective **`softwary' is not used. See [12458]hardw

Node:sorcerer's apprentice mode, Next:[12466]SOS, Previous:[12467]some random X, Up:[12468]= S = sorcerer's apprentice mode n.

Stopgap') of that editor, and many PDP-10 users gained the dubious pleasure of its acquaintance. Since then other programs similar in styl

A person from whom (or a place from which) useful information may be obtained. If you need to know about a program, a [12486]guru might be t

L lowercase l shift-L uppercase L front-L lowercase lambda front-shift-L up

four hands to operate. See [12492]bucky bits, [12493]cokebottle, [12494]double bucky, [12495]meta bit, [12496]quadruple bucky. Note: early v

SPACEWAR n. A space-combat simulation game, inspired by E. E. "Doc" Smith's "Lensman" books, in which two spaces

Node:spaghetti inheritance, Next:[12510]spam, Previous:[12511]spaghetti code, Up:[12512]= S = spaghetti inheritance n. [encountered

well- (or ill-) planned message (e.g. asking "What do you think of abortion?" on soc.women). This is often done with [12520]cross-posti

email account or network connection. In these senses the term `spam' has gone mainstream, though without its original sense or folkloric f

market, was edited by Guy Steele into a book published in 1983 as "The Hacker's Dictionary" (Harper & Row CN 1082, ISBN 0-06-0

[in Hindu mythology, the incarnation of a god] 1. Among people working on virtual reality and [689]cyberspace interfaces, an avatar is an icon

spamblock /spam'blok/ n. [poss. by analogy to sunblock] Text inserted in an email address to render it invalid and thus useless to spam

spamhaus spam'hows n. Pejorative term for an internet service provider that permits or even encourages [12540]spam mailings from its sy

_________________________________________________________________ Node:spangle, Next:[12548]spawn, Previous:[12549]spamvertize, Up:[12550]

Node:special-case, Next:[12557]speedometer, Previous:[12558]spawn, Up:[12559]= S = special-case vt. To write unique code to handle inpu

the eyes on one of the Cylons from the wretched "Battlestar Galactica" TV series. Historical note: One computer, the GE 600 (later

[12573]dictionary flame). Of course, people who are more than usually slovenly spellers are prone to think any correction is a spelling flame.

in one's web page is to insure that the page appears high on the list of matching entries to a search engine query. There are right and wr

To defeat a selection mechanism by introducing a (sometimes temporary) device that forces a specific result. The word is used in several ind

[abbrev, from Set Priority Level] The way traditional Unix kernels implement mutual exclusion by running code at high interrupt levels. Used in

appearance of the asterisk on many early line printers. 2. [MIT] Name used by some people for the # character (ASCII 0100011). 3. The [12606]fe

Node:= B =, Next:[699]= C =, Previous:[700]= A =, Up:[701]The Jargon Lexicon = B = * [702]B5: * [703]back door: * [704]backbone

Node:spod, Next:[12615]spoiler, Previous:[12616]splat out, Up:[12617]= S = spod n. [UK] 1. A lower form of life found on [12618]talker

would previously have been stigmatized by it (see [12629]computer geek). 3. [obs.] An ordinary person; a [12630]random. This is the meaning wit

_________________________________________________________________ Node:spoiler space, Next:[12637]sponge, Previous:[12638]spoiler, Up:[126

version. See also [12645]slurp. _________________________________________________________________ Node:spoof, Next:[12646]spool, Previous:

been used in connection with other peripherals (especially plotters and graphics devices) and occasionally even for input devices. See also [12

no actual usefulness. Example: Roger the Bent Paperclip in Microsoft Word '98. A spungle's only virtue is that it looks pretty, unless

little furry bodies. Result: one dead squirrel, one down computer installation. In this situation, the computer system is said to have been squ

At MIT, [12676]PDL used to be a more common synonym for [12677]stack in all these contexts, and this may still be true. Everywhere else [12678]

puke, Up:[12685]= S = stale pointer bug n. Synonym for [12686]aliasing bug used esp. among microcomputer hackers. ___________________

Up:[12693]= S = state n. 1. Condition, situation. "What's the state of your latest hack?" "It's winning away.&

* [720]bamf: * [721]banana label: * [722]banana problem: * [723]banner ad: * [724]banner site: * [725]barn: * [726]batbel

programming staff realizes what has happened. See [12698]smoke and mirrors. _________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________ Node:stiffy, Next:[12706]stir-fried random, Previous:[12707]STFW, Up:[12

_________________________________________________________________ Node:stomp on, Next:[12719]Stone Age, Previous:[12720]stir-fried random,

opposed to just mercury delay lines and/or relays). See also [12733]Iron Age. 2. More generally, a pejorative for any crufty, ancient piece of

Extreme [12742]lossage that renders something (usually something vital) completely unusable. "The recent system stoppage was caused by a [

pattern for the standard memory-caching schemes when the stride length is a multiple of the cache line size. Strided references are often gener

See [12759]ASCII for other synonyms. _________________________________________________________________ Node:stubroutine, Next:[12760]studl

Node:studlycaps, Next:[12767]stunning, Previous:[12768]studly, Up:[12769]= S = studlycaps /stuhd'lee-kaps/ n. A hackish form of si

Syn. [12777]bogo-sort. _________________________________________________________________ Node:Stupids, Next:[12778]Sturgeon's Law, Pr

science fiction author Theodore Sturgeon, who once said, "Sure, 90% of science fiction is crud. That's because 90% of everything is cru

* [744]batch: * [745]bathtub curve: * [746]baud: * [747]baud barf: * [748]baz: * [749]bazaar: * [750]bboard: * [751]B

sufficiently small adj. Syn. [12795]suitably small. _________________________________________________________________ Node:suit, Next

See [12810]win. _________________________________________________________________ Node:suitably small, Next:[12811]Sun, Previous:[12812

Sun Microsystems. Hackers remember that the name was originally an acronym, Stanford University Network. Sun started out around 1980 with so

an amazing amount of heat. _________________________________________________________________ Node:sun-stools, Next:[12823]sunspots, Previo

_________________________________________________________________ Node:super source quench, Next:[12834]superloser, Previous:[12835]sunspo

[Unix] A superuser with no clue - someone with root privileges on a Unix system and no idea what he/she is doing, the moral equivalent of a thr

Hackers tend to prefer the terms [12847]hacker and [12848]wizard. _________________________________________________________________ Node:s

_________________________________________________________________ Node:surf, Next:[12859]Suzie COBOL, Previous:[12860]support, Up:[12861]=

1. [IBM: prob. from Frank Zappa's `Suzy Creamcheese'] n. A coder straight out of training school who knows everything except the val

swap vt. 1. [techspeak] To move information from a fast-access memory to a slow-access memory (`swap out'), or vice versa (`swap in&

* [768]biff: * [769]Big Gray Wall: * [770]big iron: * [771]Big Red Switch: * [772]Big Room: * [773]big win: * [774]big-en

swap space n. Storage space, especially temporary storage space used during a move or reconfiguration. "I'm just using that corner

Up:[12897]= S = swizzle v. To convert external names, array indices, or references within a data structure into address pointers when t

Node:syntactic salt, Next:[12903]syntactic sugar, Previous:[12904]sync, Up:[12905]= S = syntactic salt n. The opposite of [12906]syn

formalism to make it `sweeter' for humans, features which do not affect the expressiveness of the formalism (compare [12911]chrome). Used

Up:[12919]= S = sysadmin /sis'ad-min/ n. Common contraction of `system admin'; see [12920]admin. __________________________

to address a message to `sysop' in an international [12930]echo, thus sending it to hundreds of sysops around the world. _______________

Node:system mangler, Next:[12938]SysVile, Previous:[12939]systems jock, Up:[12940]= S = system mangler n. Humorous synonym for `syst

= T = * [12950]T: * [12951]tail recursion: * [12952]talk mode: * [12953]talker system: * [12954]tall card: * [12955]tanked:

* [12972]ten-finger interface: * [12973]tense: * [12974]tentacle: * [12975]tenured graduate student: * [12976]tera-: * [12977

* [12996]thrash: * [12997]thread: * [12998]three-finger salute: * [12999]throwaway account: * [13000]thud: * [13001]thumb:

* [792]black hole: * [793]black magic: * [794]Black Screen of Death: * [795]Black Thursday: * [796]blammo: * [797]blargh:

* [13020]TMRC: * [13021]TMRCie: * [13022]TMTOWTDI: * [13023]to a first approximation: * [13024]to a zeroth approximation: * [

* [13044]trampoline: * [13045]trap: * [13046]trap door: * [13047]trash: * [13048]trawl: * [13049]tree-killer: * [13050]tr

* [13068]turist: * [13069]Tux: * [13070]tweak: * [13071]tweeter: * [13072]TWENEX: * [13073]twiddle: * [13074]twiddle:

causes misunderstandings. When a waiter or flight attendant asks whether a hacker wants coffee, he may absently respond `T', meaning that

talk mode n. A feature supported by Unix, ITS, and some other OSes that allows two or more logged-in users to set up a real-time on-line

BTW by the way BYE? are you ready to unlink? (this is the standard way to end a talk-mode conversa

FYA for your amusement GA go ahead (used when two people have tried to type simultaneously; this c

no (see [13097]NIL) NP no problem O over to you OO over and out /

are you there? SEC wait a second (sometimes written SEC...) SYN Are you busy? (expects ACK, SYN|AC

WTF the universal interrogative particle; WTF knows what it means? WTH what the hell? <double newline&

* [816]blow up: * [817]BLT: * [818]Blue Book: * [819]blue box: * [820]Blue Glue: * [821]blue goo: * [822]Blue Screen of D

Most of the above sub-jargon is used at both Stanford and MIT. Several of these expressions are also common in [13100]email, esp. FYI, FYA, BTW

HHOS [13101]ha ha only serious IMHO in my humble opinion (see [13102]IMHO) LOL laughin

CU l8tr see you later MORF male or female? TTFN ta-ta for now TTYL

The [13106]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

THX thanks (mutant of TNX; clearly this comes in batches of 1138 (the Lucasian K)). UOK? are you OK?

talker system n. British hackerism for software that enables real-time chat or [13114]talk mode. ____________________________________

Same as [13123]down, used primarily by Unix hackers. See also [13124]hosed. Popularized as a synonym for `drunk' by Steve Dallas in the

Previous:[13132]TANSTAAFL, Up:[13133]= T = tape monkey n. A junior system administrator, one who might plausibly be assigned to do phys

easily. Compare the more common [13139]tarball. _________________________________________________________________ Node:tarball, Next:[1314

which is dedicated to chronicling such incidents; but almost all hackers would instantly recognize the intention of the term and laugh. _____

* [840]bogotify: * [841]bogue out: * [842]bogus: * [843]Bohr bug: * [844]boink: * [845]bomb: * [846]bondage-and-disciplin

tayste /tayst/ n. Two bits; also as [13158]taste. Syn. [13159]crumb, [13160]quarter. See [13161]nybble. ________________________________

retching. Unlike such allegedly `standard' competitors such as X.25, DECnet, and the ISO 7-layer stack, TCP/IP evolved primarily by actual

Node:TECO, Next:[13175]tee, Previous:[13176]TechRef, Up:[13177]= T = TECO /tee'koh/ n.,v. obs. 1. [originally an acronym for `[pa

sorts them alphabetically according to surname, and then puts the surname last, removing the comma, to produce the following:Moby DickJ. Random L

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 opera

[13193]address harvester; a mail server deliberately set up to be really, really slow. To activate it, scatter addresses that look like users o

Node:Telerat, Next:[13201]TELNET, Previous:[13202]teledildonics, Up:[13203]= T = Telerat /tel'*-rat/ n. obs. Unflattering hackeris

Node:ten-finger interface, Next:[13215]tense, Previous:[13216]TELNET, Up:[13217]= T = ten-finger interface n. The interface between two

Node:tentacle, Next:[13222]tenured graduate student, Previous:[13223]tense, Up:[13224]= T = tentacle n. A covert [13225]pseudo, sense 1

graduate student has probably been around the university longer than any untenured professor. _______________________________________________

* [864]BQS: * [865]brain dump: * [866]brain fart: * [867]brain-damaged: * [868]brain-dead: * [869]braino: * [870]branch t

Node:terminak, Next:[13238]terminal brain death, Previous:[13239]teraflop club, Up:[13240]= T = terminak /ter'mi-nak`/ n. [Caltech

Node:terminal illness, Next:[13254]terminal junkie, Previous:[13255]terminal brain death, Up:[13256]= T = terminal illness n. 1. Syn. [

_________________________________________________________________ Node:terpri, Next:[13268]test, Previous:[13269]terminal junkie, Up:[1327

second definition is far more prevalent. See also [13275]demo. _________________________________________________________________ Node:TeX,

would finish it on his sabbatical in 1978; he was wrong by only about 8 years. The language was finally frozen around 1985, but volume IV of &q

between multiple instances of a program running in a multitasking OS. Compare [13289]English. 2. Textual material in the mainstream sense; data

The complainant, if unconvinced, is likely to retort that the bug is then at best a [13302]misfeature. See also [13303]feature. _____________

`networks', plus the corporate in-house networks and commercial time-sharing services (such as CompuServe, GEnie and AOL) that gateway to

Yet another instance of hackerdom's peculiar attraction to mystical references -- a common humorous way of making exclusive statements

T = theory n. The consensus, idea, plan, story, or set of rules that is currently being used to inform a behavior. This usage is a gene

* [888]BRS: * [889]brute force: * [890]brute force and ignorance: * [891]BSD: * [892]BSOD: * [893]BUAF: * [894]BUAG:

Node:This can't happen, Next:[13338]This time for sure!, Previous:[13339]thinko, Up:[13340]= T = This can't happen Less clipp

thrash vi. To move wildly or violently, without accomplishing anything useful. Paging or swapping systems that are overloaded waste most of

Interestingly, this is far from a neologism. The OED says: "That which connects the successive points in anything, esp. a narrative, trai

something which requires a valid email address but being able to ignore spam since the user will not look at the account again. _____________

Node:thundering herd problem, Next:[13372]thunk, Previous:[13373]thumb, Up:[13374]= T = thundering herd problem Scheduler thrashing.

parameters to their formal definitions in Algol-60 procedure calls. If a procedure is called with an expression in the place of a formal parame

`thunk', which is "the past tense of `think' at two in the morning". ______________________________________________________

insist on but never use (calculators in desktop TSRs and that sort of thing). The American equivalent would be `checklist features', but t

tricks, e.g., leave cardboard signs saying "bomb" in critical defense installations, hand-lettered notes saying "Your codebooks ha

A subspecies of [13402]logic bomb that is triggered by reaching some preset time, either once or periodically. There are numerous legends about

the SAIL computer continued as a Computer Science Department resource until 1991. Stanford became a major [47]TWENEX site, at one point operati

* [912]busy-wait: * [913]buzz: * [914]BWQ: * [915]by hand: * [916]byte: * [917]byte sex: * [918]bytesexual: * [919]Bz

_________________________________________________________________ Node:time T, Next:[13406]times-or-divided-by, Previous:[13407]time sink,

[by analogy with `plus-or-minus'] Term occasionally used when describing the uncertainty associated with a scheduling estimate, for eit

sites, or when logins are attempted using certain IDs. Named after `Project Tinkerbell', an experimental phone-tapping program developed b

Node:tired iron, Next:[13429]tits on a keyboard, Previous:[13430]tip of the ice-cube, Up:[13431]= T = tired iron n. [IBM] Hardware that

TLA /T-L-A/ n. [Three-Letter Acronym] 1. Self-describing abbreviation for a species with which computing terminology is infested. 2. Any

(TM) // [Usenet] ASCII rendition of the trademark-superscript symbol appended to phrases that the author feels should be recorded for pos

control system alone featured about 1200 relays. There were [13451]scram switches located at numerous places around the room that could be thwa

TMRCie /tmerk'ee/, n. [MIT] A denizen of [13457]TMRC. _________________________________________________________________ Node:TMT

converges more quickly to the correct result. 2. In jargon, a preface to any comment that indicates that the comment is only approximately true

a lot of debate among the other characters first. See also [13474]frog, [13475]FOD. _________________________________________________________

by designers or maintainers. The motivation for such holes is not always sinister; some operating systems, for example, come out of the box wit

running Unix on your [13486]toaster!" 2. A very, very dumb computer. "You could run this program on any dumb toaster." See [13487]

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&apo

the grindstone". See [13508]hack. 4. n. [MIT] A student who studies too much and hacks too little. (MIT's student humor magazine rejoic

The Bourne-Again Super-user. An alternate account with UID of 0, created on Unix machines where the root user has an inconvenient choice of she

The term `topic drift' is often used in gentle reminders that the discussion has strayed off any useful track. "I think we started w

sometimes called BOTS-10 (from `bottoms-ten') as a comment on the inappropriateness of describing it as the top of anything. ___________

[13550]lurker, [13551]read-only user. 2. [IRC] An [13552]IRC user who goes from channel to channel without saying anything; see [13553]channel

Having the quality of a [13560]tourist. Often used as a pejorative, as in `losing touristic scum'. Often spelled `turistic' or `turisti

A language useful for instructional purposes or as a proof-of-concept for some aspect of computer-science theory, but inadequate for general

toy program n. 1. One that can be readily comprehended; hence, a trivial program (compare [13582]noddy). 2. One for which the effort of i

again the next time around! And having done this once, he was then able to recompile the compiler from the original sources; the hack perpetuat

_________________________________________________________________ Node:trap, Next:[13591]trap door, Previous:[13592]trampoline, Up:[13593]

= trap door n. (alt. `trapdoor') 1. Syn. [13599]back door -- a [13600]Bad Thing. 2. [techspeak] A `trap-door function' is one

trawl v. To sift through large volumes of data (e.g., Usenet postings, FTP archives, or the Jargon File) looking for something of interest.

Printouts, books, and other information media made from pulped dead trees. Compare [13622]tree-killer, see [13623]documentation. _________

1. Too simple to bother detailing. 2. Not worth the speaker's time. 3. Complex, but solvable by methods so well known that anyone not utterl

name came from the expression "to run off a copy"). A companion program, [13640]nroff, formats output for terminals and line printers.

Node:troglodyte, Next:[13642]troglodyte mode, Previous:[13643]troff, Up:[13644]= T = troglodyte n. [Commodore] 1. A hacker who never

optional but recommended. See [13649]larval stage, [13650]hack mode. _________________________________________________________________ Nod

style of fishing in which one trails bait through a likely spot hoping for a bite. The well-constructed troll is a post that induces lots of ne

The use of `troll' in either sense is a live metaphor that readily produces elaborations and combining forms. For example, one not infrequ

Renaming and reined in the chaos of [936]Usenet during most of the 1980s. During most of its lifetime, the Cabal (as it was sometimes capitaliz

tron v. [NRL, CMU; prob. fr. the movie "Tron"] To become inaccessible except via email or talk(1), especially when one is normally

_________________________________________________________________ Node:tty, Next:[13682]tube, Previous:[13683]true-hacker, Up:[13684]= T =

1. n. A CRT terminal. Never used in the mainstream sense of TV; real hackers don't watch TV, except for Loony Toons, Rocky & Bullwinkle,

be found at the bottom of the manual pages of tunefs(8) in the original [13695]BSD 4.2 distribution. The joke was removed in later releases onc

designed as [13700]hooks for tuning, e.g., by changing #define lines in C. One may `tune for time' (fastest execution), `tune for space&apos

capabilities that differ only in speed from those of the most powerful and elegantly designed computers. However, no machine or language exactl

Tux the Penguin is the official emblem of [13721]Linux, This eventuated after a logo contest in 1996, during which Linus Torvalds endorsed t

tweak vt. 1. To change slightly, usually in reference to a value. Also used synonymously with [13728]twiddle. If a program is almost correct

TWENEX /twe'neks/ n. The TOPS-20 operating system by [13743]DEC -- the second proprietary OS for the PDP-10 -- preferred by most PDP-10

popular; in fact, there was a period in the early 1980s when it commanded as fervent a culture of partisans as Unix or ITS -- but DEC's de

backbone site n.,obs. Formerly, a key Usenet and email site, one that processes a large amount of third-party traffic, especially if it is t

[13754]toggle). 4. Uncommon name for the [13755]twirling baton prompt. _________________________________________________________________ N

Node:twirling baton, Next:[13765]two pi, Previous:[13766]twink, Up:[13767]= T = twirling baton n. [PLATO] The overstrike sequence -/|\-

two pi quant. The number of years it takes to finish one's thesis. Occurs in stories in the following form: "He started on his the

[13779]marketroid (compare [13780]Saturday-night special). The term may also be related to "The Twonky", title menace of a classic SF

* [13796]Unix conspiracy: * [13797]Unix weenie: * [13798]unixism: * [13799]unswizzle: * [13800]unwind the stack: * [13801]unw

u- pref. Written shorthand for [13819]micro-; techspeak when applied to metric units, jargon when used otherwise. Derived from the Greek let

spam is uttered by nonprofit and advocacy groups whose motives are not commercial. __________________________________________________________

UN*X n. Used to refer to the Unix operating system (a trademark of AT&T, then of Novell, then of SCO, and then of Caldera) in writing

Node:under the hood, Next:[13850]undocumented feature, Previous:[13851]undefined external reference, Up:[13852]= U = under the hood adj.

feature, Up:[13860]= U = uninteresting adj. 1. Said of a problem that, although [13861]nontrivial, can be solved simply by throwing suf

See [949]bignum (sense 3), [950]moby (sense 4), and [951]pseudoprime. _________________________________________________________________ No

[In the authors' words, "A weak pun on Multics"; very early on it was `UNICS'] (also `UNIX') An interactive time-sharing

get the spelling changed to `Unix' in a couple of Bell Labs papers, on the grounds that the word is not acronymic. He failed, and eventually

a line feed. Such things can make even a hardened [13883]jock weep. _________________________________________________________________ Node

by [13891]DEC president Kenneth Olsen shortly before DEC began actively promoting its own family of Unix workstations. (Olsen now claims to hav

Often appearing in the context "stupid Unix weenie". See [13896]Weenix, [13897]Unix conspiracy. See also [13898]weenie. ___________

Up:[13908]= U = unswizzle v. See [13909]swizzle. _________________________________________________________________ Node:unwind t

unwind-protect n. [MIT: from the name of a LISP operator] A task you must remember to perform before you leave a place or finish a projec

communications link from a system near you (espercially a smaller or peripheral `client' system) to one further away from you (especially a

See [13933]munchkin. _________________________________________________________________ Node:URL, Next:[13934]Usenet, Previous:[13935]urchi

information utility in existence. As of early 1996, it hosts over 10,000 [13941]newsgroups and an average of over 500 megabytes (the equivalent

on OS/360. _________________________________________________________________ Node:backreference, Next:[960]backronym, Previous:[961]backgr

applies only to certain newsgroups or hierarchies in Usenet. Compare [13948]Internet Death Penalty, with which this term is sometimes confused.

[13954]lusers. The users are looked down on by hackers to some extent because they don't understand the full ramifications of the system in

Previous:[13963]user-friendly, Up:[13964]= U = user-obsequious adj. Emphatic form of [13965]user-friendly. Connotes a system so verbose,

Refers to AT&T Unix commercial versions after [13975]Version 7, especially System III and System V releases 1, 2, and 3. So called becau

source. After 1978, AT&T's policy tightened up, so this objurgation was in theory appropriately directed only at associates of some outf

_________________________________________________________________ Node:= V =, Next:[13989]= W =, Previous:[13990]= U =, Up:[13991]The Jarg

* [14009]ventilator card: * [14010]Venus flytrap: * [14011]verbage: * [14012]verbiage: * [14013]Version 7: * [14014]vgrep:

_________________________________________________________________ Node:V7, Next:[14033]vadding, Previous:[14034]UUCPNET, Up:[14035]= V =

The most extreme and dangerous form of vadding is `elevator rodeo', a.k.a. `elevator surfing', a sport played by wrasslin' down a

hot-and-sour soup is the [14051]canonical soup to get (because that is what most of them usually order) even though it isn't the vanilla (

[967]recursive acronym (Cygnus), [968]Acme, and [969]mung. Discovering backronyms is a common form of wordplay among hackers. Compare [970]retc

common, and competition is the rule. The prototype was Vannevar Bush's prediction of `electronic brains' the size of the Empire State

Short for `variable'. Compare [14066]arg, [14067]param. _________________________________________________________________ Node:vas

4.2 BSD Unix (see [14075]BSD). Esp. noted for its large, assembler-programmer-friendly instruction set -- an asset that became a liability afte

Node:VAXectomy, Next:[14076]VAXen, Previous:[14077]VAX, Up:[14078]= V = VAXectomy /vak-sek't*-mee/ n. [by analogy with `vasecto

vaxherd /vaks'herd/ n. obs. [from `oxherd'] A VAX operator. The image is reinforced because VAXen actually did tend to come in

Among these are: 1. The assumption that dereferencing a null pointer is safe because it is all bits 0, and location 0 is readable and 0. P

address in memory (for example, that you can freely construct and dereference a pointer to a word- or greater-sized object at an odd

12. The assumption that it is meaningful to compare pointers to different objects not located within the same array, or to objects of d

vdiff /vee'dif/ v.,n. Visual diff. The operation of finding differences between two files by [14105]eyeball search. The term `optical d

Previous:[14114]veeblefester, Up:[14115]= V = velveeta n. [Usenet: by analogy with [14116]spam. The trade name Velveeta is attached in

deprecated but actively defeated. (Too often, the old and new versions cannot definitively be distinguished, such that lingering instances of t

[after the insect-eating plant] See [14127]firewall machine. _________________________________________________________________ Node:ver

_________________________________________________________________ Node:Version 7, Next:[14137]vgrep, Previous:[14138]verbiage, Up:[14139]=

Node:vgrep, Next:[14146]vi, Previous:[14147]Version 7, Up:[14148]= V = vgrep /vee'grep/ v.,n. Visual grep. The operation of findi

vi (and variants such as vim and elvis) is still widely used (about half the respondents in a 1991 Usenet poll preferred it), and even EMACS fa

An electronic service offering people the privilege of paying to read the weather on their television screens instead of having somebody read i

Node:virtual, Next:[14172]virtual beer, Previous:[14173]virgin, Up:[14174]= V = virtual adj. [via the technical term `virtual memory&ap

_________________________________________________________________ Node:virtual Friday, Next:[14180]virtual reality, Previous:[14181]virtua

[14186]cyberspace. 2. A form of network interaction incorporating aspects of role-playing games, interactive theater, improvisational comedy, a

_________________________________________________________________ Node:virus, Next:[14195]visionary, Previous:[14196]virtual shredder, Up:

Windows users; the lack of security on these machines enables viruses to spread easily, even infecting the operating system (Unix machines, by

[Durham, UK] Said of something that is both badly designed and wrongly executed. This common term is the prototype of, and is used by contra

IBM, apparently, such a penchant is viewed with awe and wonder. _________________________________________________________________ Node:VMS

Node:voice, Next:[14223]voice-net, Previous:[14224]VMS, Up:[14225]= V = voice vt. To phone someone, as opposed to emailing them or c

voodoo programming n. [from George Bush's "voodoo economics"] 1. The use by guess or cookbook of an [14236]obscure or [142

Node:Vulcan nerve pinch, Next:[14250]vulture capitalist, Previous:[14251]VR, Up:[14252]= V = Vulcan nerve pinch n. [from the old "

Node:= W =, Next:[14258]= X =, Previous:[14259]= V =, Up:[14260]The Jargon Lexicon = W = * [14261]W2K bug: * [14262]wabbit: * [1426

* [14280]warez kiddies: * [14281]warlording: * [14282]warm boot: * [14283]wart: * [14284]washing machine: * [14285]washing so

* [14304]whack: * [14305]whack-a-mole: * [14306]whacker: * [14307]whales: * [14308]whalesong: * [14309]What's a spline?:

* [14328]Windoze: * [14329]winged comments: * [14330]winkey: * [14331]winnage: * [14332]winner: * [14333]winnitude: * [14

* [14352]workaround: * [14353]working as designed: * [14354]worm: * [14355]wormhole: * [14356]wound around the axle: * [14357

engineering. Such is the power of Microsoft marketing, however, that it is also expected this will not become obvious until it has incurred hun

living document to icon, remained essentially untouched for seven years. This revision contains nearly the entire text of a late version of

[993]Good Thing. British correspondents confirm that [994]Bad Thing and [995]Good Thing (and prob. therefore [996]Right Thing and [997]Wrong Th

WAITS /wayts/ n. The mutant cousin of [14380]TOPS-10 used on a handful of systems at [14381]SAIL up to 1990. There was never an `official

programming terminals. _________________________________________________________________ Node:waldo, Next:[14384]walk, Previous:[14385]WAI

Traversal of a data structure, especially an array or linked-list data structure in [14395]core. See also [14396]codewalker, [14397]silly walk,

combination of a misaligned spindle or worn bearings and stick-slip interactions with the floor could cause them to `walk' across a room,

wall'. It was originally used in situations where, after you had carefully answered a question, the questioner stared at you blankly, clea

bureaucratic, by-the-book mentality. See also [14418]code grinder; compare [14419]droid. ____________________________________________________

directly into a wall outlet; called a `wart' because when installed on a power strip it tends to block up at least one more socket than it

(this is techspeak under the `Windows' graphical user interface to MS-DOS). 3. `wallpaper file' n. The file that contains the wallpaper

[Columbia University: prob. by mutation from Commonwealth slang v. `wank', to masturbate] Used much as [14439]hack is elsewhere, as a noun

prob. originally from biker slang] A would-be [14446]hacker. The connotations of this term differ sharply depending on the age and exposure of

Up:[1004]= B = bagbiter /bag'bi:t-*r/ n. 1. Something, such as a program or a computer, that fails to work, or works in a remarkab

fitting the popular image of hackers. Fortunately, to do this really well, one has to actually become a wizard. Nevertheless, old-time hackers

-ware suff. [from `software'] Commonly used to form jargon terms for classes of software. For examples, see [14460]annoyware, [14461]ca

warez d00dz /weirz doodz/ n. A substantial subculture of [14486]crackers refer to themselves as `warez d00dz'; there is evidently so

their hard disks. As Ozone Pilot acutely observes: [BELONG] is the only word you will need to know. Warez d00dz want to belong. They hav

warez kiddies n. Even more derogatory way of referring to [14499]warez d00dz; refers to the fact that most warez d00dz are around the age

Node:warm boot, Next:[14510]wart, Previous:[14511]warlording, Up:[14512]= W = warm boot n. See [14513]boot. ____________________

Previous:[14522]wart, Up:[14523]= W = washing machine n. 1. Old-style 14-inch hard disks in floor-standing cabinets. So called because

Node:water MIPS, Next:[14530]wave a dead chicken, Previous:[14531]washing software, Up:[14532]= W = water MIPS n. (see [14533]MIPS, sen

chicken, Up:[14543]= W = weasel n. [Cambridge] A naive user, one who deliberately or accidentally does things that are stupid or ill-ad

any other external peripherals, pre-configured to be controlled through an Ethernet port and function as a WWW server. Products of this kind (f

Node:bagbiting, Next:[1009]baggy pantsing, Previous:[1010]bagbiter, Up:[1011]= B = bagbiting adj. Having the quality of a [1012]bagbite

Wide Web information who is responsible for maintaining the public pages and keeping the Web server running and properly configured. ________

few things, but not be fully operational. For example, a process may become wedged if it [14568]deadlocks with another (but not all instances o

[Fairchild] A bug. Prob. related to [14577]wedged. _________________________________________________________________ Node:wedgitude, Next:

1. Refers to development projects or algorithms that have no possible relevance or practical application. Comes from `off in the weeds'.

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 b

independently of the ITS usage. _________________________________________________________________ Node:well-behaved, Next:[14611]well-conn

well-connected adj. Said of a computer installation, asserts that it has reliable email links with the network and/or that it relays a large

whack v. According to arch-hacker James Gosling (designer of [14634]NeWS, [14635]GOSMACS and Java), to "...modify a program with no ide

spawned in flocks when you surg to sites like Geocities or Tripod. _________________________________________________________________ Node:

_________________________________________________________________ Node:whalesong, Next:[14652]What's a spline?, Previous:[14653]whales,

particularly nice baggy pantsing may be "claimed" by immediately quoting the message in full, followed by your sig; this has the added

"Moral: don't hesitate to ask questions, even if they seem obvious." ___________________________________________________________

the system regardless of protections, change or look at any address in the running monitor, crash or reload the system, and kill or create jobs

Several iterations of this cycle have been observed in graphics-processor design, and at least one or two in communications and floating-point

describing the previously-secret format of Type 1 fonts; "Adobe Type 1 Font Format, version 1.1", (Addison-Wesley, 1990, ISBN 0-201-570

_________________________________________________________________ Node:wibble, Next:[14693]WIBNI, Previous:[14694]whizzy, Up:[14695]= W =

= WIBNI // n. [Bell Labs: Wouldn't It Be Nice If] What most requirements documents and specifications consist entirely of. Compare

[scientific computation] In solving partial differential equations by finite difference and similar methods, wiggles are sawtooth (up-down-u

Node:win, Next:[14717]win big, Previous:[14718]WIMP environment, Up:[14719]= W = win [MIT; now common everywhere] 1. vi. To succeed. A

_________________________________________________________________ Node:win win, Next:[14728]Winchester, Previous:[14729]win big, Up:[14730

developed.) _________________________________________________________________ Node:windoid, Next:[14735]window shopping, Previous:[14736]W

require that such a flag be treated as though it were [1024]live. _________________________________________________________________ Node:b

blue background." Serious window shoppers will spend their days with bitmap editors, creating new and different icons and background patte

Generally these refer only to the action(s) taken on that line. _________________________________________________________________ Node:win

1. n. An unexpectedly good situation, program, programmer, or person. 2. `real winner': Often sarcastic, but also used as high praise (se

Microsoft Windows plus Intel - the tacit alliance that dominated desktop computing in the 1990s. Now (1999) possibly on the verge of breakin

known for their ability to lash up an Ethernet terminator from spare resistors, for example. ________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________ Node:within delta of, Next:[14788]within epsilon of, Previous:[14789]wis

hardware works (that is, who [14799]groks it); esp. someone who can find and fix bugs quickly in an emergency. Someone is a [14800]hacker if he

0-262-01153-0), an excellent computer science text used in introductory courses at MIT. So called because of the wizard on the jacket. One of t

[from [14825]rogue] A special access mode of a program or system, usually passworded, that permits some users godlike privileges. Generally

the Chinese culinary utensil. _________________________________________________________________ Node:womb box, Next:[14833]WOMBAT, Previou

Up:[1035]= B = banana label n. The labels often used on the sides of [1036]macrotape reels, so called because they are shaped roughly l

[14840]crawling horror, [14841]SMOP. Also note the rather different usage as a metasyntactic variable in [14842]Commonwealth Hackish. Users

[from Australian slang] Yet another approximate synonym for [14850]broken. Specifically connotes a malfunction that produces behavior seen as c

workaround n. 1. A temporary [14861]kluge used to bypass, mask, or otherwise avoid a [14862]bug or [14863]misfeature in some system. Theo

not accepting a criticism or suggestion. At [14870]IBM, this sense is used in official documents! See [14871]BAD. ___________________________

[from the `wormhole' singularities hypothesized in some versions of General Relativity theory] 1. [n.,obs.] A location in a monitor which

Node:wrap around, Next:[14889]write-only code, Previous:[14890]wound around the axle, Up:[14891]= W = wrap around vi. (also n. `wraparo

anyone but its author, and possibly not even by him/her. A [14898]Bad Thing. ________________________________________________________________

engineer at Signetics once created a specification for a write-only memory and included it with a bunch of other specifications to be approved.

anything that is not the Right Thing. In cases where `the good is the enemy of the best', the merely good -- although good -- is neverthel

Gregory Yob. The wumpus lived somewhere in a cave with the topology of an dodecahedron's edge/vertex graph (later versions supported other

problem for a superficially similar but unrelated usage. _________________________________________________________________ Node:binary fou

Node:WYSIAYG, Next:[14925]WYSIWYG, Previous:[14926]wumpus, Up:[14927]= W = WYSIAYG /wiz'ee-ayg/ adj. Describes a user interface un

WYSIWYG /wiz'ee-wig/ adj. [Traced to Flip Wilson's "Geraldine" character c.1970] Describes a user interface under which

* [14943]X: * [14944]XEROX PARC: * [14945]XOFF: * [14946]XON: * [14947]xor: * [14948]xref: * [14949]XXX: * [14950]xyz

over-engineered and incredibly over-complicated window system developed at MIT and widely used on Unix systems. _____________________________

_________________________________________________________________ Node:XOFF, Next:[14960]XON, Previous:[14961]XEROX PARC, Up:[14962]= X =

its two arguments is true. _________________________________________________________________ Node:xref, Next:[14971]XXX, Previous:[14972]x

from [14982]ADVENT, in which the idea is to explore an underground cave with many rooms and to collect the treasures you find there. If you typ

The following passage from "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" by L. Frank Baum, suggesting a possible pre-ADVENT origin, has recently come to

* [14993]YAFIYGI: * [14994]YAUN: * [14995]Yellow Book: * [14996]yellow card: * [14997]yellow wire: * [14998]Yet Another:

_________________________________________________________________ Node:YABA, Next:[15013]YAFIYGI, Previous:[15014]YA-, Up:[15015]= Y =

go mainstream after the Internet population explosion of 1993-1994. 2. Attention span. 3. On [1054]Usenet, a measure of network capacity that i

less often, a necessary tradeoff ("Only a YAFIYGI tool can have full programmable flexibility in its interface."). This precise se

The print version of this Jargon File; "The New Hacker's Dictionary" from MIT Press; The book includes essentially all the materia

[IBM] Repair wires used when connectors (especially ribbon connectors) got broken due to some schlemiel pinching them, or to reconnect cut t

YHBT // [Usenet: very common] Abbreviation: You Have Been Trolled (see [15047]troll, sense 1). Especially used in "YHBT. YHL. HAND.&quo

Abbreviation for [15054]Your mileage may vary common on Usenet. _________________________________________________________________ Node:You

* not only do you check your email more often than your paper mail, but you remember your [15063]network address faster than your pos

_________________________________________________________________ Node:Your mileage may vary, Next:[15067]Yow!, Previous:[15068]You know y

Node:yoyo mode, Next:[15074]Yu-Shiang Whole Fish, Previous:[15075]Yow!, Up:[15076]= Y = yoyo mode n. The state in which the system i

is actually the name of a Chinese dish in which a fish is cooked whole (not [15080]parsed) and covered with Yu-Shiang (or Yu-Hsiang) sauce. Usa

* [15096]zorch: * [15097]Zork: * [15098]zorkmid: _________________________________________________________________ Node:zap, Nex

it. _________________________________________________________________ Node:bang on, Next:[1066]bang path, Previous:[1067]bang, Up:[1068]=

Node:zapped, Next:[15104]Zawinski's Law, Previous:[15105]zap, Up:[15106]= Z = zapped adj. Spicy. This term is used to distinguish

commonly cited, though with widely varying degrees of accuracy. _________________________________________________________________ Node:zbe

Node:zero, Next:[15124]zero-content, Previous:[15125]zen, Up:[15126]= Z = zero vt. 1. To set to 0. Usually said of small pieces of data

Zero-One-Infinity Rule prov. "Allow none of [15135]foo, one of [15136]foo, or any number of [15137]foo." A rule of thumb for softw

zeroth /zee'rohth/ adj. First. Among software designers, comes from C's and LISP's 0-based indexing of arrays. Hardware pe

character. Usage: primarily at IBM shops. 2. [proposed] n. The Unicode non-character U+FFFF (1111111111111111), a character code which is not a

zipperhead n. [IBM] A person with a closed mind. _________________________________________________________________ Node:zombie, Next:

network." 4. [MIT] n. Influence. Brownie points. Good karma. The intangible and fuzzy currency in which favors are measured. "I'd

zorkmid /zork'mid/ n. The canonical unit of currency in hacker-written games. This originated in [15174]Zork but has spread to [1517

Node:The Meaning of Hack, Next:[15185]TV Typewriters, Previous:[15186]Appendix A, Up:[15187]Appendix A The Meaning of `Hack' "Th

the account of user me on barbox. In the bad old days of not so long ago, before autorouting mailers became commonplace, people often publis

In 1961, students from Caltech (California Institute of Technology, in Pasadena) hacked the Rose Bowl football game. One student posed as

beaver -- nature's engineer -- as a mascot.) After the game, the Washington faculty athletic representative said: "Some th

Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. The device consisted of a weather balloon, a hydraulic ram powered by Freon gas to lift it out of the gro

The hacks above are verifiable history; they can be proved to have happened. Many other classic-hack stories from MIT and elsewhere, though ret

security on the Xerox CP-V timesharing system. Through a simple programming strategy, it was possible for a user program to trick the sys

rep, to no avail. Finally they decided to take direct action, to demonstrate to Xerox management just how easily the system could be crac

* The console would print snide and insulting messages from Robin Hood to Friar Tuck, or vice versa. * The Xerox card reader had two ou

Each ghost-job would detect the fact that the other had been killed, and would start a new copy of the recently slain program within a fe

Node:TV Typewriters, Next:[15199]A Story About Magic, Previous:[15200]The Meaning of Hack, Up:[15201]Appendix A TV Typewriters A Tale of Hac

Fair enough, said the two friends, and they left again. They were frustrated, of course, because they knew that the terminal was as harmless

corrections, and correspondence relating to the Jargon File to [52][email protected]. (Warning: other email addresses appear in this file b

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

[Antihistorical note: On September 23rd, 1992, the L.A. Times ran the following bit in Steve Harvey's `Only in L.A.' column:

the frame of one cabinet. It was obviously a homebrew job, added by one of the lab's hardware hackers (no one knows who). You don'

A year later, I told this story to yet another hacker, David Moon as I recall. He clearly doubted my sanity, or suspected me of a supernatur

the circuit as millionth-of-a-second pulses went through it. But we'll never know for sure; all we can really say is that the switch was [

These are some of the funniest examples of a genre of jokes told at the MIT AI Lab about various noted hackers. The original koans were compose

One day a student came to Moon and said: "I understand how to make a better garbage collector. We must keep a reference count of the point

"I do not want it to have any preconceptions of how to play", Sussman said. Minsky then shut his eyes. "Why do you close

AI Koans, Up:[15214]Appendix A OS and JEDGAR This story says a lot about the ITS ethos. On the ITS system there was a program that allowed

the user said yes, then JEDGAR would actually [15215]gun the job of the [15216]luser who was spying. Unfortunately, people found that this made

Real Programmers write in FORTRAN.Maybe they do now,in this decadent era ofLite beer, hand calculators, and ``user-friendly'' softwarebu

able to access the site. More often than not, the username/password painfully obtained by clicking on banners and subscribing to bogus services

The firm manufactured the LGP-30,a small, cheap (by the standards of the day)drum-memory computer,and had just started to manufacturethe RPC-4000, a m

Its effect was always dramatic.The LGP-30 booth was packed at every show,and the IBM salesmen stood aroundtalking to each other.Whether or not this ac

that is, locate instructions on the drumso that just as one finished its job,the next would be just arriving at the ``read head''and availab

and Mel's always ran faster.That was because the ``top-down'' method of program designhadn't been invented yet,and Mel wouldn&apos

the ``most pessimum''.After he finished the blackjack programand got it to run(``Even the initializer is optimized'',he said proud

a few Fellow Programmers.Mel finally gave in and wrote the code,but he got the test backwards,and, when the sense switch was turned on,the program wou

Mel was, I think, an unsung genius.Perhaps my greatest shock camewhen I found an innocent loop that had no test in it.No test. None.Common sense said

Instead, he would pull the instruction into a machine register,add one to its address,and store it back.He would then execute the modified instruction

so, after the last datum was handled,incrementing the instruction addresswould make it overflow.The carry would add one to theoperation code, changing

and I think that's how it should be.I didn't feel comfortablehacking up the code of a Real Programmer. This is one of hackerdom's gre

assembler. Commonly used in the phrase `programming on the bare metal', which refers to the arduous work of [1104]bit bashing needed to cr

Up:[15223]Top A Portrait of J. Random Hacker This profile reflects detailed comm

* [15231]Food: * [15232]Politics: * [15233]Gender and Ethnicity: * [15234]Religion: * [15235]Ceremonial Chemicals: * [15236]C

Dress Casual, vaguely post-hippie; T-shirts, jeans, running shoes, Birkenstocks (or bare feet). Long hair, beards, and moustaches are common.

hackers to quit a job rather than conform to a dress code. Female hackers almost never wear visible makeup, and many use none at all. __

Other Interests Some hobbies are widely shared and recognized as going with the culture: science fiction, music, medievalism (in the active for

does, not something one watches on TV. Further, hackers avoid most team sports like the plague. Volleyball was long a notable exception, per

this particularly odd. Today (2000), martial arts seems to have become established as the hacker exercise form of choice, and the martial-ar

be more respected, than his school-shaped counterpart. Academic areas from which people often gravitate into hackerdom include (besides the obv

Ethnic. Spicy. Oriental, esp. Chinese and most esp. Szechuan, Hunan, and Mandarin (hackers consider Cantonese vaguely déclassé). Hackers prefer

generalization is that hackers tend to be rather anti-authoritarian; thus, both conventional conservatism and `hard' leftism are rare. Hac

necessary; see [1109]ill-behaved). There, the term usually refers to bypassing the BIOS or OS interface and writing the application to directly

function of which ethnic groups tend to seek and value education. Racial and ethnic prejudice is notably uncommon and tends to be met with free

relaxed about it, hostile to organized religion in general and all forms of religious bigotry in particular. Many enjoy `parody' religions

Limited use of non-addictive psychedelic drugs, such as cannabis, LSD, psilocybin, nitrous oxide, etc., used to be relatively common and is

Geographical Distribution In the United States, hackerdom revolves on a Bay Area-to-Boston axis; about half of the hard core seems to live with

_________________________________________________________________ Node:Personality Characteristics, Next:[15289]Weaknesses of the Hacker P

inhaling Knuth's 477-page manual. My editor's flabbergasted reaction to this genuinely surprised me, because years of associating with

lives and chaotic elsewhere. Their code will be beautiful, even if their desks are buried in 3 feet of crap. Hackers are generally only very

`other people'. Unsurprisingly, hackers also tend towards self-absorption, intellectual arrogance, and impatience with people and tasks pe

might be okay if there weren't all those silly puzzles in the way. And, of course, there are the perennial [15306]holy wars -- [15307]EMAC

`hyperfocus' imaginatively on interesting tasks. In 1998-1999 another syndrome that is said to overlap with many hacker traits entered pop

one." See [1114]choke, [1115]gag. In Commonwealth Hackish, `barf' is generally replaced by `puke' or `vom'. [1116]barf is som

authority will always be inconvenienced by schoolchildren or workers or citizens who are prickly, intelligent individualists - thus, any social

grokked that cats have the hacker nature). Many drive incredibly decrepit heaps and forget to wash them; richer ones drive spiffy Porsches and

And the next time your friend or boss is thinking about some proprietary software `solution' that costs more than it's worth, be read

cryptography. The so-called `Communications Decency Act' was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, but U.S. cryptography policy

people I am a hacker, people think I'm admitting something naughty -- because newspapers such as yours misuse the word "hacker"

You owe hackers an apology; but more than that, you owe us ordinary respect. Sincerely, etc. ___________________________________

Illuminatus! I. "The Eye in the Pyramid" II. "The Golden Apple" III. "Leviathan". Robert Shea and Robert A

popular among hackers ever since the original British radio show. Read it if only to learn about Vogons (see [15327]bogon) and the significance

(thankfully) to have been quite misleading. Despite being a bit dated and containing some minor errors (many fixed in the paperback edition), t

Karla Jennings Norton, 1990 ISBN 0-393-30732-8 The author of this pioneering compendium knits together a great deal of computer- and hac

Node:barfulous, Next:[1128]barn, Previous:[1129]barfulation, Up:[1130]= B = barfulous /bar'fyoo-l*s/ adj. (alt. `barfucious&apo

amazingly well-done portrait of the hacker mindset -- although largely the hardware hacker -- done by a complete outsider. It is a bit thin in

True Names ... and Other Dangers Vernor Vinge Baen Books, 1987 ISBN 0-671-65363-6 Hacker demigod Richard Stallman used to say that the t

Cyberpunk: Outlaws and Hackers on the Computer Frontier Katie Hafner & John Markoff Simon & Schuster 1991 ISBN 0-671-68322-5 Thi

Barry's book takes a critical and humorous look at the `technobabble' of acronyms, neologisms, hyperbole, and metaphor spawned by the

1. http://www.tuxedo.org/jargon 2. jarg422h.htm#Introduction 3. jarg422h.htm#(dir) 4. jarg422h.htm#(dir) 5. mailto:[email protected]

24. jarg422h.htm#Top 25. jarg422h.htm#Top 26. jarg422h.htm#suit 27. jarg422h.htm#kluge 28. jarg422h.htm#elegant 29. jarg422h.htm#Appendix%20A

48. jarg422h.htm#Some%20AI%20Koans 49. jarg422h.htm#Usenet 50. mailto:<[email protected]> 51. mailto:<[email protected]> 52. mailto:

72. jarg422h.htm#Soundalike%20Slang 73. jarg422h.htm#The%20-P%20convention 74. jarg422h.htm#Overgeneralization 75. jarg422h.htm#Spoken%20Inarticu

96. jarg422h.htm#Gosperism 97. jarg422h.htm#Spoken%20Inarticulations 98. jarg422h.htm#The%20-P%20convention 99. jarg422h.htm#Jargon%20Constructio

120. jarg422h.htm#email 121. jarg422h.htm#lossage 122. jarg422h.htm#talk%20mode 123. jarg422h.htm#BNF 124. jarg422h.htm#random 125. jarg422h.htm#BNF

a barn on the cover. _________________________________________________________________ Node:barney, Next:[1134]baroque, Previous:[1135]bar

144. jarg422h.htm#cracker 145. jarg422h.htm#warez%20d00dz 146. jarg422h.htm#warez%20d00dz 147. jarg422h.htm#B1FF 148. jarg422h.htm#BBS 149. jarg422h.

168. jarg422h.htm#PDP-10 169. jarg422h.htm#The%20Jargon%20Lexicon 170. jarg422h.htm#Other%20Lexicon%20Conventions 171. jarg422h.htm#Top 172. mailto:j

192. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20P%20%3d 193. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20Q%20%3d 194. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20R%20%3d 195. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20S%20%3d 196. jarg422h.htm#%3d

216. jarg422h.htm#0 217. jarg422h.htm#%3d%200%20%3d 218. jarg422h.htm#indent%20style 219. jarg422h.htm#2 220. jarg422h.htm#1TBS 221. jarg422h.htm#%3d

240. jarg422h.htm#4.2 241. jarg422h.htm#%3d%200%20%3d 242. jarg422h.htm#network%20address 243. jarg422h.htm#boink 244. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20B%20%3d 245

264. jarg422h.htm#AI%20koans 265. jarg422h.htm#AIDS 266. jarg422h.htm#AIDX 267. jarg422h.htm#airplane%20rule 268. jarg422h.htm#Alderson%20loop 269. j

288. jarg422h.htm#ANSI 289. jarg422h.htm#ANSI%20standard 290. jarg422h.htm#ANSI%20standard%20pizza 291. jarg422h.htm#AOL! 292. jarg422h.htm#app 293.

312. jarg422h.htm#%40-party 313. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20A%20%3d 314. jarg422h.htm#accumulator 315. jarg422h.htm#abbrev 316. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20A%20%3d 31

336. jarg422h.htm#insanely%20great 337. jarg422h.htm#pistol 338. jarg422h.htm#ad-hockery 339. jarg422h.htm#Acme 340. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20A%20%3d 341.

360. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20A%20%3d 361. jarg422h.htm#nadger 362. jarg422h.htm#tenured%20graduate%20student 363. jarg422h.htm#dumbass%20attack 364. jarg4

_________________________________________________________________ Node:BASIC, Next:[1146]batbelt, Previous:[1147]baroque, Up:[1148]= B =

384. jarg422h.htm#ADVENT 385. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20A%20%3d 386. jarg422h.htm#AFK 387. jarg422h.htm#AFAIK 388. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20A%20%3d 389. jarg422h.

408. jarg422h.htm#AIDX 409. jarg422h.htm#AI%20koans 410. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20A%20%3d 411. jarg422h.htm#glob 412. jarg422h.htm#SEX 413. jarg422h.htm#vi

432. jarg422h.htm#elegant 433. jarg422h.htm#aliasing%20bug 434. jarg422h.htm#airplane%20rule 435. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20A%20%3d 436. jarg422h.htm#infini

456. jarg422h.htm#Alice%20and%20Bob 457. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20A%20%3d 458. jarg422h.htm#BBS 459. jarg422h.htm#rude 460. jarg422h.htm#mess-dos 461. jarg

480. jarg422h.htm#alt%20bit 481. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20A%20%3d 482. jarg422h.htm#book%20titles 483. jarg422h.htm#Amiga 484. jarg422h.htm#Aluminum%20Book

504. jarg422h.htm#holy%20wars 505. jarg422h.htm#weenie 506. jarg422h.htm#Get%20a%20life! 507. jarg422h.htm#amp%20off 508. jarg422h.htm#Amiga%20Persec

528. jarg422h.htm#Random%20Number%20God 529. jarg422h.htm#angry%20fruit%20salad 530. jarg422h.htm#Angband 531. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20A%20%3d 532. jarg42

552. jarg422h.htm#guiltware 553. jarg422h.htm#postcardware 554. jarg422h.htm#-ware 555. jarg422h.htm#payware 556. jarg422h.htm#ANSI%20standard 557. j

576. jarg422h.htm#killer%20app 577. jarg422h.htm#tool 578. jarg422h.htm#operating%20system 579. jarg422h.htm#arg 580. jarg422h.htm#app 581. jarg422h.

600. jarg422h.htm#Great%20Worm 601. jarg422h.htm#sorcerer's%20apprentice%20mode 602. jarg422h.htm#software%20laser 603. jarg422h.htm#network%20m

having acquired Pascal- and C-like procedures and control structures and shed their line numbers. --ESR] Note: the name is commonly parsed a

624. jarg422h.htm#flamage 625. jarg422h.htm#asbestos 626. jarg422h.htm#ASCII%20art 627. jarg422h.htm#asbestos%20longjohns 628. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20A%2

648. jarg422h.htm#ques 649. jarg422h.htm#twiddle 650. jarg422h.htm#Commonwealth%20Hackish 651. jarg422h.htm#ha%20ha%20only%20serious 652. jarg422h.ht

672. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20A%20%3d 673. jarg422h.htm#microfortnight 674. jarg422h.htm#micro- 675. jarg422h.htm#autobogotiphobia 676. jarg422h.htm#attopa

696. jarg422h.htm#Perl 697. jarg422h.htm#regexp 698. jarg422h.htm#newline 699. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20C%20%3d 700. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20A%20%3d 701. jarg42

720. jarg422h.htm#bamf 721. jarg422h.htm#banana%20label 722. jarg422h.htm#banana%20problem 723. jarg422h.htm#banner%20ad 724. jarg422h.htm#banner%20s

744. jarg422h.htm#batch 745. jarg422h.htm#bathtub%20curve 746. jarg422h.htm#baud 747. jarg422h.htm#baud%20barf 748. jarg422h.htm#baz 749. jarg422h.ht

768. jarg422h.htm#biff 769. jarg422h.htm#Big%20Gray%20Wall 770. jarg422h.htm#big%20iron 771. jarg422h.htm#Big%20Red%20Switch 772. jarg422h.htm#Big%20

792. jarg422h.htm#black%20hole 793. jarg422h.htm#black%20magic 794. jarg422h.htm#Black%20Screen%20of%20Death 795. jarg422h.htm#Black%20Thursday 796.

816. jarg422h.htm#blow%20up 817. jarg422h.htm#BLT 818. jarg422h.htm#Blue%20Book 819. jarg422h.htm#blue%20box 820. jarg422h.htm#Blue%20Glue 821. jarg4

840. jarg422h.htm#bogotify 841. jarg422h.htm#bogue%20out 842. jarg422h.htm#bogus 843. jarg422h.htm#Bohr%20bug 844. jarg422h.htm#boink 845. jarg422h.h

as a batbelt. _________________________________________________________________ Node:batch, Next:[1155]bathtub curve, Previous:[1156]batbe

864. jarg422h.htm#BQS 865. jarg422h.htm#brain%20dump 866. jarg422h.htm#brain%20fart 867. jarg422h.htm#brain-damaged 868. jarg422h.htm#brain-dead 869.

888. jarg422h.htm#BRS 889. jarg422h.htm#brute%20force 890. jarg422h.htm#brute%20force%20and%20ignorance 891. jarg422h.htm#BSD 892. jarg422h.htm#BSOD

912. jarg422h.htm#busy-wait 913. jarg422h.htm#buzz 914. jarg422h.htm#BWQ 915. jarg422h.htm#by%20hand 916. jarg422h.htm#byte 917. jarg422h.htm#byte%20

936. jarg422h.htm#Usenet 937. jarg422h.htm#mailing%20list 938. jarg422h.htm#Eric%20Conspiracy 939. jarg422h.htm#NANA 940. jarg422h.htm#backgammon 941

960. jarg422h.htm#backronym 961. jarg422h.htm#background 962. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20B%20%3d 963. jarg422h.htm#backspace%20and%20overstrike 964. jarg422h

984. jarg422h.htm#Bad%20Thing 985. jarg422h.htm#BAD 986. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20B%20%3d 987. jarg422h.htm#evil%20and%20rude 988. jarg422h.htm#Good%20Thin

1008. jarg422h.htm#lexiphage1009. jarg422h.htm#baggy%20pantsing1010. jarg422h.htm#bagbiter1011. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20B%20%3d1012. jarg422h.htm#bagbiter1

1032. http://www.tuxedo.org/jargon/1033. jarg422h.htm#banana%20problem1034. jarg422h.htm#bamf1035. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20B%20%3d1036. jarg422h.htm#macrot

1056. jarg422h.htm#bandwidth1057. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20B%20%3d1058. jarg422h.htm#bang%20path1059. jarg422h.htm#elder%20days1060. jarg422h.htm#excl1061.

1080. jarg422h.htm#bang%20path1081. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20B%20%3d1082. jarg422h.htm#spool1083. jarg422h.htm#banner%20site1084. jarg422h.htm#banner1085. j

Jargon File through and beyond paper publication, and will continue to make it available to archives and public-access sites as a trust of the

bathtub curve n. Common term for the curve (resembling an end-to-end section of one of those claw-footed antique bathtubs) that describes

1104. jarg422h.htm#bit%20bashing1105. jarg422h.htm#hand-hacking1106. jarg422h.htm#The%20Story%20of%20Mel1107. jarg422h.htm#Real%20Programmer1108. jarg

1128. jarg422h.htm#barn1129. jarg422h.htm#barfulation1130. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20B%20%3d1131. jarg422h.htm#barney1132. jarg422h.htm#barfulous1133. jarg42

1152. jarg422h.htm#batch1153. jarg422h.htm#BASIC1154. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20B%20%3d1155. jarg422h.htm#bathtub%20curve1156. jarg422h.htm#batbelt1157. jarg

1176. jarg422h.htm#bar1177. jarg422h.htm#TMRC1178. jarg422h.htm#bboard1179. jarg422h.htm#baz1180. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20B%20%3d1181. jarg422h.htm#Linux11

1200. jarg422h.htm#beanie%20key1201. jarg422h.htm#BCPL1202. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20B%20%3d1203. jarg422h.htm#softcopy1204. jarg422h.htm#blast1205. jarg422

1224. jarg422h.htm#toaster1225. jarg422h.htm#Macintrash1226. jarg422h.htm#maggotbox1227. jarg422h.htm#bells%20whistles%20and%20gongs1228. jarg422h.htm

1248. jarg422h.htm#Berzerkeley1249. jarg422h.htm#Berkeley%20Quality%20Software1250. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20B%20%3d1251. jarg422h.htm#BSD1252. jarg422h.htm

1272. jarg422h.htm#K&R1273. jarg422h.htm#Camel%20Book1274. jarg422h.htm#B1FF1275. jarg422h.htm#bible1276. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20B%20%3d1277. jarg422h

1296. jarg422h.htm#BI1297. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20B%20%3d1298. jarg422h.htm#B1FF1299. jarg422h.htm#big%20iron1300. jarg422h.htm#biff1301. jarg422h.htm#%3d

1320. jarg422h.htm#120%20reset1321. jarg422h.htm#scram%20switch1322. jarg422h.htm#big%20win1323. jarg422h.htm#Big%20Red%20Switch1324. jarg422h.htm#%3d

Communications Télégraphiques as an improvement on the then standard practice of referring to line speeds in terms of words per minute, and nam

1344. jarg422h.htm#bitty%20box1345. jarg422h.htm#bit1346. jarg422h.htm#bignum1347. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20B%20%3d1348. jarg422h.htm#religious%20issues1349

1368. jarg422h.htm#bit1369. jarg422h.htm#flag1370. jarg422h.htm#nybble1371. jarg422h.htm#bitblt1372. jarg422h.htm#bit%20bang1373. jarg422h.htm#mode%20

1392. jarg422h.htm#cosmic%20rays1393. jarg422h.htm#software%20rot1394. jarg422h.htm#bit-paired%20keyboard1395. jarg422h.htm#bit%20rot1396. jarg422h.ht

1416. jarg422h.htm#eighty-column%20mind1417. jarg422h.htm#RFC1418. jarg422h.htm#B1FF1419. jarg422h.htm#bitty%20box1420. jarg422h.htm#BITNET1421. jarg4

1440. jarg422h.htm#emoticon1441. jarg422h.htm#smiley1442. jarg422h.htm#black%20hole1443. jarg422h.htm#bixie1444. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20B%20%3d1445. jarg4

1464. jarg422h.htm#black%20magic1465. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20B%20%3d1466. jarg422h.htm#Microsloth%20Windows1467. jarg422h.htm#boot1468. jarg422h.htm#Blue%

1488. jarg422h.htm#bletch1489. jarg422h.htm#blast1490. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20B%20%3d1491. jarg422h.htm#blast1492. jarg422h.htm#thud1493. jarg422h.htm#ble

1512. jarg422h.htm#blit1513. jarg422h.htm#blink1514. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20B%20%3d1515. jarg422h.htm#dinosaur1516. jarg422h.htm#geef1517. jarg422h.htm#bl

1536. jarg422h.htm#BLOB1537. jarg422h.htm#blivet1538. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20B%20%3d1539. jarg422h.htm#block1540. jarg422h.htm#bloatware1541. jarg422h.htm

1560. jarg422h.htm#blow%20out1561. jarg422h.htm#blow%20an%20EPROM1562. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20B%20%3d1563. jarg422h.htm#nuke1564. jarg422h.htm#blow%20past

1. [common] The third [1173]metasyntactic variable "Suppose we have three functions: FOO, BAR, and BAZ. FOO calls BAR, which calls BAZ...

1584. jarg422h.htm#blit1585. jarg422h.htm#bitblt1586. jarg422h.htm#PDP-101587. jarg422h.htm#BLT1588. jarg422h.htm#BLT1589. jarg422h.htm#blue%20box1590

1608. jarg422h.htm#dinosaur%20pen1609. jarg422h.htm#Blue%20Screen%20of%20Death1610. jarg422h.htm#Blue%20Glue1611. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20B%20%3d1612. jarg

1632. jarg422h.htm#mumble1633. jarg422h.htm#boa1634. jarg422h.htm#blurgle1635. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20B%20%3d1636. jarg422h.htm#parse1637. jarg422h.htm#re

1656. jarg422h.htm#Church%20of%20the%20SubGenius1657. jarg422h.htm#BOFH1658. jarg422h.htm#luser1659. http://bob.bob.bofh.org/~giolla/bobcode.html1660.

1680. jarg422h.htm#BogoMIPS1681. jarg422h.htm#bogo-sort1682. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20B%20%3d1683. jarg422h.htm#bogosity1684. jarg422h.htm#Troll-O-Meter1685

1704. jarg422h.htm#magic%20smoke1705. jarg422h.htm#bogon%20flux1706. jarg422h.htm#bogon1707. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20B%20%3d1708. jarg422h.htm#bogosity1709

1728. jarg422h.htm#bogosity1729. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20B%20%3d1730. jarg422h.htm#bogosity1731. jarg422h.htm#bogus1732. jarg422h.htm#bogus1733. jarg422h.h

1752. jarg422h.htm#mandelbug1753. jarg422h.htm#schroedinbug1754. jarg422h.htm#bomb1755. jarg422h.htm#Bohr%20bug1756. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20B%20%3d1757. j

1776. jarg422h.htm#book%20titles1777. jarg422h.htm#bondage-and-discipline%20language1778. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20B%20%3d1779. jarg422h.htm#MUD1780. jarg42

1800. jarg422h.htm#rainbow%20series1801. jarg422h.htm#Borg1802. jarg422h.htm#book%20titles1803. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20B%20%3d1804. jarg422h.htm#bounce180

the Bazaar. The main argument of the paper was that [1183]Brooks's Law is not the whole story; given the right social machinery, debugging

1824. http://www.telefragged.com/thefatal/1825. jarg422h.htm#spider1826. jarg422h.htm#bottom%20feeder1827. jarg422h.htm#bot1828. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20B%

1848. jarg422h.htm#bounce1849. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20B%20%3d1850. jarg422h.htm#email1851. jarg422h.htm#Internet%20address1852. jarg422h.htm#bang%20path18

1872. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20B%20%3d1873. jarg422h.htm#winged%20comments1874. jarg422h.htm#boxology1875. jarg422h.htm#boxed%20comments1876. jarg422h.htm#%

1896. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20B%20%3d1897. jarg422h.htm#core%20dump1898. jarg422h.htm#state1899. jarg422h.htm#core%20dump1900. jarg422h.htm#brain-damaged19

1920. jarg422h.htm#braino1921. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20B%20%3d1922. jarg422h.htm#jump%20off%20into%20never-never%20land1923. jarg422h.htm#hyperspace1924. j

1944. jarg422h.htm#Breidbart%20Index1945. jarg422h.htm#breath-of-life%20packet1946. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20B%20%3d1947. jarg422h.htm#feep1948. jarg422h.ht

1968. jarg422h.htm#mail%20storm1969. jarg422h.htm#broken1970. jarg422h.htm#broadcast%20storm1971. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20B%20%3d1972. jarg422h.htm#vaporwa

1992. jarg422h.htm#broket1993. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20B%20%3d1994. jarg422h.htm#bazaar1995. jarg422h.htm#management1996. jarg422h.htm#creationism1997. jar

2016. jarg422h.htm#NP-2017. jarg422h.htm#ha%20ha%20only%20serious2018. jarg422h.htm#brittle2019. jarg422h.htm#BSD2020. jarg422h.htm#brute%20force2021.

2040. jarg422h.htm#BUAG2041. jarg422h.htm#BSOD2042. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20B%20%3d2043. jarg422h.htm#ASCII%20art2044. jarg422h.htm#banner2045. jarg422h.ht

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 bb

2064. jarg422h.htm#double%20bucky2065. jarg422h.htm#quadruple%20bucky2066. jarg422h.htm#buffer%20overflow2067. jarg422h.htm#bucky%20bits2068. jarg422h

2088. jarg422h.htm#bug2089. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20B%20%3d2090. jarg422h.htm#fossil2091. jarg422h.htm#misfeature2092. jarg422h.htm#bug-of-the-month%20club

2112. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20B%20%3d2113. jarg422h.htm#robust2114. jarg422h.htm#code2115. jarg422h.htm#armor-plated2116. jarg422h.htm#bum2117. jarg422h.ht

2136. jarg422h.htm#burn-in%20period2137. jarg422h.htm#burble2138. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20B%20%3d2139. jarg422h.htm#crufty2140. jarg422h.htm#bletcherous214

2160. jarg422h.htm#busy-wait2161. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20B%20%3d2162. jarg422h.htm#catatonic2163. jarg422h.htm#spin2164. jarg422h.htm#grovel2165. jarg422h

2184. jarg422h.htm#Bzzzt!%20Wrong.2185. jarg422h.htm#byte%20sex2186. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20B%20%3d2187. jarg422h.htm#big-endian2188. jarg422h.htm#little-

2208. jarg422h.htm#canonical2209. jarg422h.htm#card%20walloper2210. jarg422h.htm#careware2211. jarg422h.htm#cargo%20cult%20programming2212. jarg422h.h

2232. jarg422h.htm#chawmp2233. jarg422h.htm#check2234. jarg422h.htm#cheerfully2235. jarg422h.htm#chemist2236. jarg422h.htm#Chernobyl%20chicken2237. ja

2256. jarg422h.htm#clobber2257. jarg422h.htm#clock2258. jarg422h.htm#clocks2259. jarg422h.htm#clone2260. jarg422h.htm#clone-and-hack%20coding2261. jar

2280. jarg422h.htm#comm%20mode2281. jarg422h.htm#command%20key2282. jarg422h.htm#comment%20out2283. jarg422h.htm#Commonwealth%20Hackish2284. jarg422h.

exchange code at all. Post-Internet, BBSs are likely to be local newsgroups on an ISP; efficiency has increased but a certain flavor has been l

2304. jarg422h.htm#control-Q2305. jarg422h.htm#control-S2306. jarg422h.htm#Conway's%20Law2307. jarg422h.htm#cookbook2308. jarg422h.htm#cooked%20m

2328. jarg422h.htm#cosmic%20rays2329. jarg422h.htm#cough%20and%20die2330. jarg422h.htm#courier2331. jarg422h.htm#cow%20orker2332. jarg422h.htm#cowboy2

2352. jarg422h.htm#creeping%20elegance2353. jarg422h.htm#creeping%20featurism2354. jarg422h.htm#creeping%20featuritis2355. jarg422h.htm#cretin2356. ja

2376. jarg422h.htm#cuspy2377. jarg422h.htm#cut%20a%20tape2378. jarg422h.htm#cybercrud2379. jarg422h.htm#cyberpunk2380. jarg422h.htm#cyberspace2381. ja

2400. jarg422h.htm#C%20Programmer's%20Disease2401. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20C%20%3d2402. jarg422h.htm#snarf2403. jarg422h.htm#calculator2404. jarg422h.

2424. jarg422h.htm#console2425. jarg422h.htm#gun2426. jarg422h.htm#cancelbot2427. jarg422h.htm#can2428. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20C%20%3d2429. jarg422h.htm#f

2448. jarg422h.htm#Knights%20of%20the%20Lambda%20Calculus2449. jarg422h.htm#vanilla2450. jarg422h.htm#careware2451. jarg422h.htm#canonical2452. jarg42

2472. jarg422h.htm#cascade2473. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20C%20%3d2474. jarg422h.htm#feature2475. jarg422h.htm#software%20bloat2476. jarg422h.htm#DEC2477. jar

2496. jarg422h.htm#canonical2497. jarg422h.htm#blast2498. jarg422h.htm#cdr2499. jarg422h.htm#holy%20wars2500. jarg422h.htm#cathedral2501. jarg422h.htm

2520. jarg422h.htm#Exon2521. jarg422h.htm#chad2522. jarg422h.htm#CDA2523. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20C%20%3d2524. jarg422h.htm#loop%20through2525. jarg422h.ht

beam vt. [from Star Trek Classic's "Beam me up, Scotty!"] 1. To transfer [1203]softcopy of a file electronically; most often

2544. jarg422h.htm#chain2545. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20C%20%3d2546. jarg422h.htm#IRC2547. jarg422h.htm#channel%20op2548. jarg422h.htm#channel2549. jarg422h.

2568. jarg422h.htm#charityware2569. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20C%20%3d2570. jarg422h.htm#dangling%20pointer2571. jarg422h.htm#snap2572. jarg422h.htm#core%20du

2592. jarg422h.htm#chemist2593. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20C%20%3d2594. jarg422h.htm#laser%20chicken2595. jarg422h.htm#chicken%20head2596. jarg422h.htm#Cherno

2616. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20C%20%3d2617. jarg422h.htm#chomp2618. jarg422h.htm#choad2619. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20C%20%3d2620. jarg422h.htm#EMACS2621. jarg422h

2640. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20C%20%3d2641. jarg422h.htm#channel%20op2642. jarg422h.htm#Christmas%20tree%20packet2643. jarg422h.htm#CHOP2644. jarg422h.htm#%

2664. jarg422h.htm#slack2665. http://www.subgenius.com/2666. jarg422h.htm#CI$2667. jarg422h.htm#Church%20of%20the%20SubGenius2668. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20

2688. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20C%20%3d2689. jarg422h.htm#mung2690. jarg422h.htm#scribble2691. jarg422h.htm#trash2692. jarg422h.htm#smash%20the%20stack2693.

2712. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20C%20%3d2713. jarg422h.htm#feature%20key2714. jarg422h.htm#clustergeeking2715. jarg422h.htm#clover%20key2716. jarg422h.htm#%3d

2736. jarg422h.htm#software%20rot2737. jarg422h.htm#cobweb%20site2738. jarg422h.htm#COBOL2739. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20C%20%3d2740. jarg422h.htm#candygramm

2760. jarg422h.htm#Real%20Programmer2761. jarg422h.htm#Code%20of%20the%20Geeks2762. jarg422h.htm#code%20grinder2763. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20C%20%3d2764. j

seems to be generally preferred among micro hobbyists. _________________________________________________________________ Node:Befunge, Nex

2784. jarg422h.htm#cold%20boot2785. jarg422h.htm#coefficient%20of%20X2786. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20C%20%3d2787. jarg422h.htm#space-cadet%20keyboard2788. ja

2808. jarg422h.htm#comment%20out2809. jarg422h.htm#comm%20mode2810. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20C%20%3d2811. jarg422h.htm#feature%20key2812. jarg422h.htm#Commo

2832. jarg422h.htm#go-faster%20stripes2833. jarg422h.htm#grunge2834. jarg422h.htm#hakspek2835. jarg422h.htm#heavy%20metal2836. jarg422h.htm#leaky%20he

2856. jarg422h.htm#bogus2857. jarg422h.htm#bum2858. jarg422h.htm#chase%20pointers2859. jarg422h.htm#cosmic%20rays2860. jarg422h.htm#crippleware2861. j

2880. jarg422h.htm#compo2881. jarg422h.htm#compact2882. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20C%20%3d2883. jarg422h.htm#jock2884. jarg422h.htm#compress2885. jarg422h.htm

2904. jarg422h.htm#chad2905. jarg422h.htm#computron2906. jarg422h.htm#computer%20confetti2907. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20C%20%3d2908. jarg422h.htm#larval%20s

2928. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20C%20%3d2929. jarg422h.htm#fan2930. jarg422h.htm#condom2931. jarg422h.htm#con2932. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20C%20%3d2933. jarg422h.ht

2952. jarg422h.htm#considered%20harmful2953. jarg422h.htm#connector%20conspiracy2954. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20C%20%3d2955. jarg422h.htm#console2956. jarg42

2976. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20C%20%3d2977. jarg422h.htm#control-Q2978. jarg422h.htm#control-C2979. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20C%20%3d2980. jarg422h.htm#control-S29

3000. jarg422h.htm#Blue%20Book3001. jarg422h.htm#voodoo%20programming3002. jarg422h.htm#monkey%20up3003. jarg422h.htm#cookie3004. jarg422h.htm#cookboo

Node:bells and whistles, Next:[1227]bells whistles and gongs, Previous:[1228]beige toaster, Up:[1229]= B = bells and whistles n. [co

3024. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20C%20%3d3025. jarg422h.htm#cookie3026. jarg422h.htm#magic%20number3027. jarg422h.htm#copious%20free%20time3028. jarg422h.htm#c

3048. jarg422h.htm#copybroke3049. jarg422h.htm#copper3050. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20C%20%3d3051. jarg422h.htm#copycenter3052. jarg422h.htm#copy%20protection

3072. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20C%20%3d3073. jarg422h.htm#copybroke3074. jarg422h.htm#core%20cancer3075. jarg422h.htm#copywronged3076. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20C%2

3096. jarg422h.htm#core%20leak3097. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20C%20%3d3098. jarg422h.htm#core3099. http://www.koth.org/3100. jarg422h.htm#cosmic%20rays3101. j

3120. jarg422h.htm#die%20horribly3121. jarg422h.htm#scream%20and%20die3122. jarg422h.htm#cow%20orker3123. jarg422h.htm#cough%20and%20die3124. jarg422h

3144. jarg422h.htm#hacker3145. jarg422h.htm#CPU%20Wars3146. jarg422h.htm#cowboy3147. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20C%20%3d3148. jarg422h.htm#retcon3149. jarg422h

3168. jarg422h.htm#root3169. jarg422h.htm#cracking3170. jarg422h.htm#cracking3171. jarg422h.htm#crack%20root3172. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20C%20%3d3173. jarg

3192. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20C%20%3d3193. jarg422h.htm#crash3194. jarg422h.htm#crapplet3195. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20C%20%3d3196. jarg422h.htm#troff3197. jarg4

3216. jarg422h.htm#dusty%20deck3217. jarg422h.htm#gonkulator3218. jarg422h.htm#WOMBAT3219. jarg422h.htm#cray%20instability3220. jarg422h.htm#crawling%

3240. jarg422h.htm#computron3241. jarg422h.htm#number-crunching3242. jarg422h.htm#creep3243. jarg422h.htm#crayon3244. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20C%20%3d3245.

bells whistles and gongs n. A standard elaborated form of [1235]bells and whistles; typically said with a pronounced and ironic accent on th

3264. jarg422h.htm#feature3265. jarg422h.htm#second-system%20effect3266. jarg422h.htm#creeping%20elegance3267. jarg422h.htm#cretin3268. jarg422h.htm#c

3288. jarg422h.htm#nagware3289. jarg422h.htm#crlf3290. jarg422h.htm#crippleware3291. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20C%20%3d3292. jarg422h.htm#epsilon3293. jarg422

3312. jarg422h.htm#cross-post3313. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20C%20%3d3314. jarg422h.htm#upload3315. jarg422h.htm#download3316. jarg422h.htm#cruft3317. jarg422

3336. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20C%20%3d3337. jarg422h.htm#cruft3338. jarg422h.htm#crumb3339. jarg422h.htm#cruftsmanship3340. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20C%20%3d3341.

3360. jarg422h.htm#Obfuscated%20C%20Contest3361. jarg422h.htm#CTSS3362. jarg422h.htm#crunch3363. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20C%20%3d3364. jarg422h.htm#cube3365

3384. jarg422h.htm#cut%20a%20tape3385. jarg422h.htm#cursor%20dipped%20in%20X3386. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20C%20%3d3387. jarg422h.htm#DEC3388. jarg422h.htm#r

3408. jarg422h.htm#virtual%20reality3409. jarg422h.htm#the%20network3410. jarg422h.htm#Matrix3411. jarg422h.htm#wannabee3412. jarg422h.htm#meatspace34

3432. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20C%20%3d3433. jarg422h.htm#wheel%20of%20reincarnation3434. jarg422h.htm#cypherpunk3435. jarg422h.htm#cycle%20of%20reincarnatio

3456. jarg422h.htm#dancing%20frog3457. jarg422h.htm#dangling%20pointer3458. jarg422h.htm#dark-side%20hacker3459. jarg422h.htm#Datamation3460. jarg422h

3480. jarg422h.htm#deckle3481. jarg422h.htm#DED3482. jarg422h.htm#deep%20hack%20mode3483. jarg422h.htm#deep%20magic3484. jarg422h.htm#deep%20space3485

entries. Version 2.9.9, Apr 01 1992: folded in XEROX PARC lexicon. This version had 20298 lines, 159651 words, 1048909 characters, and 1821

(often abbreviated `BQS') Term used in a pejorative sense to refer to software that was apparently created by rather spaced-out hackers late

3504. jarg422h.htm#deprecated3505. jarg422h.htm#derf3506. jarg422h.htm#deserves%20to%20lose3507. jarg422h.htm#desk%20check3508. jarg422h.htm#despew350

3528. jarg422h.htm#Discordianism3529. jarg422h.htm#disk%20farm3530. jarg422h.htm#display%20hack3531. jarg422h.htm#dispress3532. jarg422h.htm#Dissociat

3552. jarg422h.htm#double%20bucky3553. jarg422h.htm#doubled%20sig3554. jarg422h.htm#down3555. jarg422h.htm#download3556. jarg422h.htm#DP3557. jarg422h

3576. jarg422h.htm#dub%20dub%20dub3577. jarg422h.htm#Duff's%20device3578. jarg422h.htm#dumb%20terminal3579. jarg422h.htm#dumbass%20attack3580. ja

3600. jarg422h.htm#CTSS3601. jarg422h.htm#dragon3602. jarg422h.htm#dahmum3603. jarg422h.htm#daemon3604. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20D%20%3d3605. jarg422h.htm#B

3624. jarg422h.htm#dangling%20pointer3625. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20D%20%3d3626. jarg422h.htm#cracker3627. jarg422h.htm#samurai3628. jarg422h.htm#DAU3629. j

3648. jarg422h.htm#dd3649. jarg422h.htm#Dave%20the%20Resurrector3650. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20D%20%3d3651. jarg422h.htm#phase3652. jarg422h.htm#DDT3653. ja

3672. jarg422h.htm#dead%20beef%20attack3673. jarg422h.htm#de-rezz3674. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20D%20%3d3675. jarg422h.htm#down3676. jarg422h.htm#crash3677.

3696. jarg422h.htm#dead%20link3697. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20D%20%3d3698. jarg422h.htm#heisenbug3699. jarg422h.htm#Bohr%20bug3700. jarg422h.htm#fool3701. ja

3720. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20D%20%3d3721. jarg422h.htm#BSD3722. jarg422h.htm#DEC%20Wars3723. jarg422h.htm#Death%20Star3724. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20D%20%3d3725

Berzerkeley /b*r-zer'klee/ n. [from `berserk', via the name of a now-deceased record label; poss. originated by famed columnist

3744. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20D%20%3d3745. jarg422h.htm#nybble3746. jarg422h.htm#nickle3747. jarg422h.htm#nybble3748. jarg422h.htm#deep%20hack%20mode3749.

3768. jarg422h.htm#defenestration3769. jarg422h.htm#deep%20magic3770. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20D%20%3d3771. jarg422h.htm#off%20the%20trolley3772. jarg422h.h

3792. jarg422h.htm#deletia3793. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20D%20%3d3794. jarg422h.htm#delta3795. jarg422h.htm#deliminator3796. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20D%20%3d3797.

3816. jarg422h.htm#demented3817. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20D%20%3d3818. jarg422h.htm#Unix3819. jarg422h.htm#C3820. jarg422h.htm#EMACS3821. jarg422h.htm#Perl3

3840. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20D%20%3d3841. jarg422h.htm#heads%20down3842. jarg422h.htm#demo3843. jarg422h.htm#app3844. jarg422h.htm#Microsloth%20Windows384

3864. jarg422h.htm#demon3865. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20D%20%3d3866. jarg422h.htm#BBS3867. jarg422h.htm#blue%20box3868. jarg422h.htm#phreaker3869. jarg422h.h

3888. http://www.scene.org/3889. jarg422h.htm#depeditate3890. jarg422h.htm#demoscene3891. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20D%20%3d3892. jarg422h.htm#demoscene3893.

3912. jarg422h.htm#losing3913. jarg422h.htm#mess-dos3914. jarg422h.htm#lose3915. jarg422h.htm#ITS3916. jarg422h.htm#Unix3917. jarg422h.htm#screw3918.

3936. jarg422h.htm#Devil%20Book3937. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20D%20%3d3938. jarg422h.htm#bit%20bucket3939. jarg422h.htm#dictionary%20flame3940. jarg422h.htm#

3960. jarg422h.htm#crash3961. jarg422h.htm#crash3962. jarg422h.htm#go%20flatline3963. jarg422h.htm#casters-up%20mode3964. jarg422h.htm#diff3965. jarg4

still testing for compatibility and reserving judgment. 3. Flaky; dubious; suspect (since beta software is notoriously buggy). Historical no

3984. jarg422h.htm#Dilbert3985. jarg422h.htm#digit3986. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20D%20%3d3987. jarg422h.htm#ding3988. jarg422h.htm#dike3989. jarg422h.htm#%3d

4008. jarg422h.htm#big%20iron4009. jarg422h.htm#mainframe4010. jarg422h.htm#zipperhead4011. jarg422h.htm#dinosaurs%20mating4012. jarg422h.htm#dinosaur

4032. jarg422h.htm#disk%20farm4033. jarg422h.htm#disclaimer4034. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20D%20%3d4035. jarg422h.htm#Eris4036. jarg422h.htm#Religion4037. jar

4056. jarg422h.htm#distribution4057. jarg422h.htm#dispress4058. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20D%20%3d4059. jarg422h.htm#marketroid4060. jarg422h.htm#EMACS4061. j

4080. jarg422h.htm#doc4081. jarg422h.htm#disusered4082. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20D%20%3d4083. jarg422h.htm#protocol4084. jarg422h.htm#documentation4085. jar

4104. jarg422h.htm#dogpile4105. jarg422h.htm#dogcow4106. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20D%20%3d4107. jarg422h.htm#beta4108. jarg422h.htm#dogwash4109. jarg422h.htm

4128. jarg422h.htm#Don't%20do%20that%20then!4129. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20D%20%3d4130. jarg422h.htm#copy%20protection4131. jarg422h.htm#magic4132. jar

4152. jarg422h.htm#DoS%20attack4153. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20D%20%3d4154. jarg422h.htm#creep4155. jarg422h.htm#profile4156. jarg422h.htm#rc%20file4157. jar

4176. jarg422h.htm#system4177. jarg422h.htm#console4178. jarg422h.htm#PM4179. jarg422h.htm#crash4180. jarg422h.htm#up4181. jarg422h.htm#DP4182. jarg42

4200. jarg422h.htm#DPer4201. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20D%20%3d4202. jarg422h.htm#bogus4203. jarg422h.htm#bogon4204. jarg422h.htm#Bloggs%20Family4205. jarg422

`BFMI', `brute force and massive ignorance' and `BFBI' `brute force and bloody ignorance'. In dome parts of the U.S. this abb

4224. jarg422h.htm#cretinous4225. jarg422h.htm#meta%20bit4226. jarg422h.htm#DRECNET4227. jarg422h.htm#dread%20high-bit%20disease4228. jarg422h.htm#%3d

4248. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20D%20%3d4249. jarg422h.htm#drop%20on%20the%20floor4250. jarg422h.htm#drone4251. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20D%20%3d4252. jarg422h.htm#d

4272. jarg422h.htm#drop-outs4273. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20D%20%3d4274. jarg422h.htm#brain-damaged4275. jarg422h.htm#drunk%20mouse%20syndrome4276. jarg422h.

4296. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20D%20%3d4297. jarg422h.htm#glass%20tty4298. jarg422h.htm#smart%20terminal4299. jarg422h.htm#dumbed%20down4300. jarg422h.htm#du

4320. jarg422h.htm#cruft4321. jarg422h.htm#dup%20loop4322. jarg422h.htm#dumpster%20diving4323. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20D%20%3d4324. jarg422h.htm#dusty%20de

4344. jarg422h.htm#earthquake4345. jarg422h.htm#DWIM4346. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20D%20%3d4347. jarg422h.htm#nybble4348. jarg422h.htm#byte4349. jarg422h.htm

4368. jarg422h.htm#elegant4369. jarg422h.htm#elephantine4370. jarg422h.htm#elevator%20controller4371. jarg422h.htm#elite4372. jarg422h.htm#ELIZA%20eff

4392. jarg422h.htm#erotics4393. jarg422h.htm#error%20334394. jarg422h.htm#eurodemo4395. jarg422h.htm#evil4396. jarg422h.htm#evil%20and%20rude4397. jar

4416. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20E%20%3d4417. jarg422h.htm#eat%20flaming%20death4418. jarg422h.htm#Easter%20egg4419. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20E%20%3d4420. jarg422h.

4440. jarg422h.htm#FidoNet4441. jarg422h.htm#newsgroup4442. jarg422h.htm#ed4443. jarg422h.htm#echo4444. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20E%20%3d4445. jarg422h.htm#s

[1277]PostScript, NeXT, [1278]NeWS, VisiCalc, FrameMaker, TK!solver, EasyWriter) that have been raised above the ruck of common coinage by nons

4464. jarg422h.htm#card%20walloper4465. http://www.gnu.org/fun/jokes/last.bug.html4466. jarg422h.htm#elder%20days4467. jarg422h.htm#eighty-column%20mi

4488. jarg422h.htm#brute%20force%20and%20ignorance4489. jarg422h.htm#hairy4490. jarg422h.htm#monstrosity4491. jarg422h.htm#second-system%20effect4492.

4512. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20E%20%3d4513. jarg422h.htm#elegant4514. jarg422h.htm#elder%20days4515. jarg422h.htm#email4516. jarg422h.htm#elvish4517. jarg42

4536. jarg422h.htm#network%20address4537. jarg422h.htm#EMP4538. jarg422h.htm#email4539. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20E%20%3d4540. jarg422h.htm#newbie4541. jarg4

4560. jarg422h.htm#front%20end4561. jarg422h.htm#enhancement4562. jarg422h.htm#engine4563. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20E%20%3d4564. jarg422h.htm#source4565. ja

4584. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20E%20%3d4585. jarg422h.htm#out-of-band4586. jarg422h.htm#JCL4587. jarg422h.htm#EOL4588. jarg422h.htm#EOU4589. jarg422h.htm#EOF

4608. jarg422h.htm#marginal4609. jarg422h.htm#era%20the4610. jarg422h.htm#epsilon4611. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20E%20%3d4612. jarg422h.htm#epsilon4613. jarg4

4632. jarg422h.htm#Church%20of%20the%20SubGenius4633. jarg422h.htm#error%20334634. jarg422h.htm#Eris4635. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20E%20%3d4636. jarg422h.htm

4656. jarg422h.htm#rude4657. jarg422h.htm#exa-4658. jarg422h.htm#evil%20and%20rude4659. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20E%20%3d4660. jarg422h.htm#IBM4661. jarg422h

4680. jarg422h.htm#PostScript4681. jarg422h.htm#EXE4682. jarg422h.htm#EXCH4683. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20E%20%3d4684. jarg422h.htm#bang4685. jarg422h.htm#sh

[email protected]. [1993: Now It Can Be Told! My spies inform me that B1FF was originally created by Joe Talmadge <[email protected]>, also th

4704. jarg422h.htm#CDA4705. jarg422h.htm#exploit4706. jarg422h.htm#Exon4707. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20E%20%3d4708. jarg422h.htm#WIMP%20environment4709. jarg

4728. jarg422h.htm#desk%20check4729. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20G%20%3d4730. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20E%20%3d4731. jarg422h.htm#The%20Jargon%20Lexicon4732. jarg422h

4752. jarg422h.htm#feature%20creature4753. jarg422h.htm#feature%20creep4754. jarg422h.htm#feature%20key4755. jarg422h.htm#feature%20shock4756. jarg422

4776. jarg422h.htm#fine4777. jarg422h.htm#finger4778. jarg422h.htm#finger%20trouble4779. jarg422h.htm#finger-pointing%20syndrome4780. jarg422h.htm#fin

4800. jarg422h.htm#flame%20on4801. jarg422h.htm#flame%20war4802. jarg422h.htm#flamer4803. jarg422h.htm#flap4804. jarg422h.htm#flarp4805. jarg422h.htm#

4824. jarg422h.htm#fold%20case4825. jarg422h.htm#followup4826. jarg422h.htm#fontology4827. jarg422h.htm#foo4828. jarg422h.htm#foobar4829. jarg422h.htm

4848. jarg422h.htm#fred4849. jarg422h.htm#Fred%20Foobar4850. jarg422h.htm#frednet4851. jarg422h.htm#free%20software4852. jarg422h.htm#freeware4853. ja

4872. jarg422h.htm#-fu4873. jarg422h.htm#FUBAR4874. jarg422h.htm#fuck%20me%20harder4875. jarg422h.htm#FUD4876. jarg422h.htm#FUD%20wars4877. jarg422h.h

4896. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20F%20%3d4897. jarg422h.htm#fall%20through4898. jarg422h.htm#fairings4899. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20F%20%3d4900. jarg422h.htm#crash49

4920. jarg422h.htm#memory%20leak4921. jarg422h.htm#memory%20smash4922. jarg422h.htm#overrun%20screw4923. jarg422h.htm#core4924. jarg422h.htm#FAQ%20lis

was a legend that it had a habit of barking whenever the mailman came, but the author of biff says this is not true. No relation to [1298]B1FF.

4944. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20F%20%3d4945. jarg422h.htm#crash4946. jarg422h.htm#farming4947. jarg422h.htm#fat%20electrons4948. jarg422h.htm#farming4949. ja

4968. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20F%20%3d4969. jarg422h.htm#core%20leak4970. jarg422h.htm#leak4971. jarg422h.htm#feature4972. jarg422h.htm#fd%20leak4973. jarg4

4992. jarg422h.htm#computer%20geek4993. jarg422h.htm#feature%20creep4994. jarg422h.htm#feature4995. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20F%20%3d4996. jarg422h.htm#taste

5016. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20F%20%3d5017. jarg422h.htm#beep5018. jarg422h.htm#beep5019. jarg422h.htm#ding5020. jarg422h.htm#feeping%20creature5021. jarg42

5040. jarg422h.htm#zigamorph5041. jarg422h.htm#fiber-seeking%20backhoe5042. jarg422h.htm#fence5043. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20F%20%3d5044. jarg422h.htm#zerot

5064. jarg422h.htm#File%20Attach5065. jarg422h.htm#field%20servoid5066. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20F%20%3d5067. jarg422h.htm#FidoNet5068. jarg422h.htm#flamage

5088. jarg422h.htm#grilf5089. jarg422h.htm#hing5090. jarg422h.htm#pr0n5091. jarg422h.htm#newsfroup5092. jarg422h.htm#filter5093. jarg422h.htm#filk5094

5112. jarg422h.htm#cuspy5113. jarg422h.htm#finger%20trouble5114. jarg422h.htm#fine5115. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20F%20%3d5116. jarg422h.htm#plan%20file5117.

5136. jarg422h.htm#gang%20bang5137. jarg422h.htm#Mongolian%20Hordes%20technique5138. jarg422h.htm#firewall%20code5139. jarg422h.htm#firefighting5140.

5160. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20F%20%3d5161. jarg422h.htm#fish5162. jarg422h.htm#firmware5163. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20F%20%3d5164. jarg422h.htm#stiffy5165. jarg4

[common] Large, expensive, ultra-fast computers. Used generally of [1307]number-crunching supercomputers such as Crays, but can include more

5184. jarg422h.htm#flag%20day5185. jarg422h.htm#FIXME5186. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20F%20%3d5187. jarg422h.htm#bit5188. jarg422h.htm#hidden%20flag5189. jarg4

5208. jarg422h.htm#dahmum5209. jarg422h.htm#flame%20bait5210. jarg422h.htm#flamage5211. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20F%20%3d5212. jarg422h.htm#flame%20on5213. j

5232. jarg422h.htm#flarp5233. jarg422h.htm#flamer5234. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20F%20%3d5235. jarg422h.htm#macrotape5236. jarg422h.htm#flash%20crowd5237. jar

5256. jarg422h.htm#plain-ASCII5257. jarg422h.htm#flat-file5258. jarg422h.htm#flatten5259. jarg422h.htm#flat-ASCII5260. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20F%20%3d5261.

5280. jarg422h.htm#losing5281. jarg422h.htm#taste5282. jarg422h.htm#elegant5283. jarg422h.htm#flood5284. jarg422h.htm#flavorful5285. jarg422h.htm#%3d%

5304. jarg422h.htm#Flyspeck%2035305. jarg422h.htm#flush5306. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20F%20%3d5307. jarg422h.htm#banner5308. jarg422h.htm#flytrap5309. jarg42

5328. jarg422h.htm#FOD5329. jarg422h.htm#fnord5330. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20F%20%3d5331. jarg422h.htm#fold%20case5332. jarg422h.htm#FOAF5333. jarg422h.htm#

5352. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20F%20%3d5353. jarg422h.htm#metasyntactic%20variable5354. jarg422h.htm#bar5355. jarg422h.htm#baz5356. jarg422h.htm#qux5357. jar

5376. jarg422h.htm#foo5377. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20F%20%3d5378. jarg422h.htm#metasyntactic%20variable5379. jarg422h.htm#foo5380. jarg422h.htm#DEC5381. jar

5400. jarg422h.htm#TOPS-205401. jarg422h.htm#Mars5402. jarg422h.htm#Mars5403. jarg422h.htm#for%20free5404. jarg422h.htm#Foonly5405. jarg422h.htm#%3d%2

see also [1321]scram switch. _________________________________________________________________ Node:Big Room, Next:[1322]big win, Previous

5424. jarg422h.htm#foreground5425. jarg422h.htm#for%20values%20of5426. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20F%20%3d5427. jarg422h.htm#forum5428. jarg422h.htm#fork5429.

5448. jarg422h.htm#fork%20bomb5449. jarg422h.htm#fortune%20cookie5450. jarg422h.htm#forked5451. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20F%20%3d5452. jarg422h.htm#forum5453

5472. jarg422h.htm#USG%20Unix5473. jarg422h.htm#brain-dead5474. jarg422h.htm#BBS5475. jarg422h.htm#bare%20metal5476. jarg422h.htm#hook5477. jarg422h.h

5496. jarg422h.htm#J.%20Random%20Hacker5497. jarg422h.htm#Dr.%20Fred%20Mbogo5498. jarg422h.htm#barney5499. jarg422h.htm#frednet5500. jarg422h.htm#fred

5520. jarg422h.htm#fried5521. jarg422h.htm#freeware5522. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20F%20%3d5523. jarg422h.htm#frink5524. jarg422h.htm#freeze5525. jarg422h.htm

5544. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20F%20%3d5545. jarg422h.htm#macdink5546. jarg422h.htm#window%20shopping5547. jarg422h.htm#frobnicate5548. jarg422h.htm#fritterw

5568. jarg422h.htm#frogging5569. jarg422h.htm#frobnitz5570. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20F%20%3d5571. jarg422h.htm#foo5572. jarg422h.htm#bagbiting5573. jarg422h

5592. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20F%20%3d5593. jarg422h.htm#emoticon5594. jarg422h.htm#fry5595. jarg422h.htm#frowney5596. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20F%20%3d5597. jarg4

5616. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20F%20%3d5617. jarg422h.htm#GNU5618. jarg422h.htm#-fu5619. jarg422h.htm#FSF5620. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20F%20%3d5621. jarg422h.htm#b

5640. jarg422h.htm#fudge5641. jarg422h.htm#FUD5642. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20F%20%3d5643. jarg422h.htm#FUD5644. jarg422h.htm#fudge%20factor5645. jarg422h.ht

_________________________________________________________________ Node:big-endian, Next:[1329]bignum, Previous:[1330]big win, Up:[1331]= B

5664. jarg422h.htm#metasyntactic%20variable5665. jarg422h.htm#foo5666. jarg422h.htm#bar5667. jarg422h.htm#baz5668. jarg422h.htm#funky5669. jarg422h.ht

5688. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20F%20%3d5689. jarg422h.htm#The%20Jargon%20Lexicon5690. jarg422h.htm#G5691. jarg422h.htm#g-file5692. jarg422h.htm#gabriel5693.

5712. jarg422h.htm#Genius%20From%20Mars%20Technique5713. jarg422h.htm#gensym5714. jarg422h.htm#Get%20a%20life!5715. jarg422h.htm#Get%20a%20real%20comp

5736. jarg422h.htm#gnubie5737. jarg422h.htm#GNUMACS5738. jarg422h.htm#go%20flatline5739. jarg422h.htm#go%20root5740. jarg422h.htm#go-faster%20stripes5

5760. jarg422h.htm#GPV5761. jarg422h.htm#grault5762. jarg422h.htm#gray%20goo5763. jarg422h.htm#Great%20Renaming5764. jarg422h.htm#Great%20Runes5765. j

5784. jarg422h.htm#gronked5785. jarg422h.htm#grovel5786. jarg422h.htm#grue5787. jarg422h.htm#grunge5788. jarg422h.htm#gubbish5789. jarg422h.htm#Guido5

5808. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20G%20%3d5809. jarg422h.htm#gang%20bang5810. jarg422h.htm#gabriel5811. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20G%20%3d5812. jarg422h.htm#choke5813.

5832. jarg422h.htm#wedged5833. jarg422h.htm#flush5834. jarg422h.htm#Gates's%20Law5835. jarg422h.htm#gas5836. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20G%20%3d5837. jarg

5856. jarg422h.htm#Multics5857. jarg422h.htm#big%20iron5858. jarg422h.htm#gedanken5859. jarg422h.htm#GCOS5860. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20G%20%3d5861. jarg422

5880. jarg422h.htm#geek%20code5881. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20G%20%3d5882. jarg422h.htm#computer%20geek5883. jarg422h.htm#propeller%20head5884. jarg422h.htm#

consistent format; and to announce and distribute updated versions periodically. Current volunteer editors include: Eric Raymond [5]esr@snar

1990 entries. Version 3.2.0, Mar 15 1995: Spring 1995 update. This version had 23822 lines, 185961 words, 1226358 characters, and 2031 entri

JANET's big-endian way as one in the U.K. (domain uk) or in the standard little-endian way as one in the domain as (American Samoa) on the

5904. jarg422h.htm#gensym5905. jarg422h.htm#generate5906. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20G%20%3d5907. jarg422h.htm#grok5908. jarg422h.htm#zen5909. jarg422h.htm#Ge

5928. jarg422h.htm#prowler5929. jarg422h.htm#reaper5930. jarg422h.htm#GC5931. jarg422h.htm#GIFs%20at%20115932. jarg422h.htm#GFR5933. jarg422h.htm#%3d%

5952. jarg422h.htm#GIGO5953. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20G%20%3d5954. jarg422h.htm#bogosity5955. jarg422h.htm#ginger5956. jarg422h.htm#gilley5957. jarg422h.htm

5976. jarg422h.htm#glass%20tty5977. jarg422h.htm#glark5978. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20G%20%3d5979. jarg422h.htm#silicon5980. jarg422h.htm#glassfet5981. jarg4

6000. jarg422h.htm#heisenbug6001. jarg422h.htm#glork6002. jarg422h.htm#glitch6003. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20G%20%3d6004. jarg422h.htm#UN*X6005. jarg422h.htm

6024. jarg422h.htm#gnubie6025. jarg422h.htm#gnarly6026. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20G%20%3d6027. jarg422h.htm#recursive%20acronym6028. mailto:<[email protected]&g

6048. jarg422h.htm#go-faster%20stripes6049. jarg422h.htm#go%20flatline6050. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20G%20%3d6051. jarg422h.htm#root%20mode6052. jarg422h.htm

6072. jarg422h.htm#Christmas%20tree%20packet6073. jarg422h.htm#martian6074. jarg422h.htm#golf-ball%20printer6075. jarg422h.htm#Godzillagram6076. jarg4

6096. jarg422h.htm#gonzo6097. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20G%20%3d6098. jarg422h.htm#Bad%20Thing6099. jarg422h.htm#gopher%20hole6100. jarg422h.htm#Good%20Thing6

6120. jarg422h.htm#bar6121. jarg422h.htm#Gosperism6122. jarg422h.htm#gorp6123. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20G%20%3d6124. jarg422h.htm#EMACS6125. jarg422h.htm#GN

calculations on very large numbers, such as 1000! (the factorial of 1000, which is 1000 times 999 times 998 times ... times 2 times 1). For exa

6144. jarg422h.htm#grault6145. jarg422h.htm#GPL6146. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20G%20%3d6147. jarg422h.htm#General%20Public%20Virus6148. jarg422h.htm#gray%20go

6168. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20G%20%3d6169. jarg422h.htm#runes6170. jarg422h.htm#smash%20case6171. jarg422h.htm#fold%20case6172. jarg422h.htm#great-wall6173

6192. jarg422h.htm#White%20Book6193. jarg422h.htm#Unix6194. jarg422h.htm#Purple%20Book6195. jarg422h.htm#book%20titles6196. jarg422h.htm#green%20card6

6216. jarg422h.htm#grep6217. jarg422h.htm#Green's%20Theorem6218. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20G%20%3d6219. jarg422h.htm#gribble6220. jarg422h.htm#greenbar6

6240. jarg422h.htm#crunch6241. jarg422h.htm#grovel6242. jarg422h.htm#hog6243. jarg422h.htm#gripenet6244. jarg422h.htm#grind6245. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20G%

6264. jarg422h.htm#frob6265. jarg422h.htm#gronked6266. jarg422h.htm#gronk6267. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20G%20%3d6268. jarg422h.htm#grovel6269. jarg422h.htm#g

6288. jarg422h.htm#grunge6289. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20G%20%3d6290. jarg422h.htm#guiltware6291. jarg422h.htm#gubbish6292. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20G%20%3d6293. j

6312. jarg422h.htm#gunch6313. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20G%20%3d6314. jarg422h.htm#laser%20chicken6315. jarg422h.htm#guru6316. jarg422h.htm#gunpowder%20chicke

6336. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20G%20%3d6337. jarg422h.htm#The%20Jargon%20Lexicon6338. jarg422h.htm#h6339. jarg422h.htm#ha%20ha%20only%20serious6340. jarg422h

6360. jarg422h.htm#hairball6361. jarg422h.htm#hairy6362. jarg422h.htm#HAKMEM6363. jarg422h.htm#hakspek6364. jarg422h.htm#Halloween%20Documents6365. ja

885062768629671466746975629112340824392081601537808898939645182632436716167621791689097799119037540312746222899880051954444142820121873617459926429565

6384. jarg422h.htm#hash%20bucket6385. jarg422h.htm#hash%20collision6386. jarg422h.htm#hat6387. jarg422h.htm#HCF6388. jarg422h.htm#heads%20down6389. ja

6408. jarg422h.htm#hing6409. jarg422h.htm#hired%20gun6410. jarg422h.htm#hirsute6411. jarg422h.htm#HLL6412. jarg422h.htm#hoarding6413. jarg422h.htm#hob

6432. jarg422h.htm#huff6433. jarg422h.htm#humma6434. jarg422h.htm#hung6435. jarg422h.htm#hungry%20puppy6436. jarg422h.htm#hungus6437. jarg422h.htm#hyp

6456. jarg422h.htm#Zork6457. jarg422h.htm#vadding6458. jarg422h.htm#The%20Meaning%20of%20Hack6459. jarg422h.htm#neat%20hack6460. jarg422h.htm#real%20h

6480. jarg422h.htm#hack%20up6481. jarg422h.htm#hack%20on6482. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20H%20%3d6483. jarg422h.htm#cruft%20together6484. jarg422h.htm#hack%20v

6504. jarg422h.htm#critical%20mass6505. jarg422h.htm#hack%20up6506. jarg422h.htm#hacker%20ethic6507. jarg422h.htm#hacked%20up6508. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20

6528. jarg422h.htm#hacker%20ethic6529. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20H%20%3d6530. jarg422h.htm#meta6531. jarg422h.htm#write-only%20memory6532. jarg422h.htm#INTER

6552. jarg422h.htm#Hackintosh6553. jarg422h.htm#hacking%20run6554. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20H%20%3d6555. jarg422h.htm#plan%20file6556. jarg422h.htm#hackish6

6576. jarg422h.htm#TECO6577. jarg422h.htm#hairy6578. jarg422h.htm#hair6579. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20H%20%3d6580. jarg422h.htm#HAKMEM6581. jarg422h.htm#hair

6600. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20H%20%3d6601. jarg422h.htm#Evil%20Empire6602. http://www.opensource.org/halloween/6603. jarg422h.htm#Linux6604. jarg422h.htm#h

774045957417851608292301353580818400969963725242305608559037006242712434169090041536901059339838357779394109700277534720000000000000000000000000000000

6624. jarg422h.htm#hot%20spot6625. jarg422h.htm#HLL6626. jarg422h.htm#tune6627. jarg422h.htm#bum6628. jarg422h.htm#by%20hand6629. jarg422h.htm#cruft66

6648. jarg422h.htm#handle6649. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20H%20%3d6650. jarg422h.htm#do%20protocol6651. jarg422h.htm#protocol6652. jarg422h.htm#hang6653. jarg4

6672. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20H%20%3d6673. jarg422h.htm#hard%20boot6674. jarg422h.htm#happily6675. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20H%20%3d6676. jarg422h.htm#hack6677. j

6696. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20H%20%3d6697. jarg422h.htm#hardcoded6698. jarg422h.htm#hash%20bucket6699. jarg422h.htm#hardwired6700. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20H%20%

6719. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20H%20%3d6720. jarg422h.htm#toggle6721. jarg422h.htm#killer%20poke6722. jarg422h.htm#heartbeat6723. jarg422h.htm#HCF6724. jarg4

6743. jarg422h.htm#X6744. jarg422h.htm#voodoo%20programming6745. jarg422h.htm#heisenbug6746. jarg422h.htm#heavy%20wizardry6747. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20H%2

6767. jarg422h.htm#catatonic6768. jarg422h.htm#ill-behaved6769. jarg422h.htm#hello%20wall!6770. jarg422h.htm#Helen%20Keller%20mode6771. jarg422h.htm#%

6791. jarg422h.htm#black%20art6792. jarg422h.htm#hexit6793. jarg422h.htm#hex6794. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20H%20%3d6795. jarg422h.htm#HHOK6796. jarg422h.htm#

6815. jarg422h.htm#hobbit6816. jarg422h.htm#dread%20high-bit%20disease6817. jarg422h.htm#highly6818. jarg422h.htm#high%20bit6819. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20H

6839. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20H%20%3d6840. jarg422h.htm#HLL6841. jarg422h.htm#hired%20gun6842. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20H%20%3d6843. jarg422h.htm#hairy6844. jarg

Node:bit, Next:[1351]bit bang, Previous:[1352]bigot, Up:[1353]= B = bit n. [from the mainstream meaning and `Binary digIT'] 1. [t

6863. jarg422h.htm#hollised6864. jarg422h.htm#hog6865. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20H%20%3d6866. jarg422h.htm#flat6867. jarg422h.htm#holy%20wars6868. jarg422h.h

6887. jarg422h.htm#EMACS6888. jarg422h.htm#vi6889. jarg422h.htm#theology6890. jarg422h.htm#home%20machine6891. jarg422h.htm#holy%20wars6892. jarg422h.

6911. jarg422h.htm#EMACS6912. jarg422h.htm#hose6913. jarg422h.htm#hook6914. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20H%20%3d6915. jarg422h.htm#UUCPNET6916. jarg422h.htm#Fid

6935. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20H%20%3d6936. jarg422h.htm#hand-hacking6937. jarg422h.htm#tune6938. jarg422h.htm#bum6939. jarg422h.htm#hand-hacking6940. jarg4

6959. jarg422h.htm#sun-stools6960. jarg422h.htm#Slowlaris6961. jarg422h.htm#huff6962. jarg422h.htm#HP-SUX6963. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20H%20%3d6964. jarg422

6983. jarg422h.htm#hang6984. jarg422h.htm#crash6985. jarg422h.htm#down6986. jarg422h.htm#wedged6987. jarg422h.htm#hungus6988. jarg422h.htm#hung6989. j

7007. jarg422h.htm#I%20see%20no%20X%20here.7008. jarg422h.htm#IANAL7009. jarg422h.htm#IBM7010. jarg422h.htm#IBM%20discount7011. jarg422h.htm#ICBM%20ad

7030. jarg422h.htm#infinite7031. jarg422h.htm#infinite%20loop7032. jarg422h.htm#Infinite-Monkey%20Theorem7033. jarg422h.htm#infinity7034. jarg422h.htm

7054. jarg422h.htm#ironmonger7055. jarg422h.htm#ISO%20standard%20cup%20of%20tea7056. jarg422h.htm#ISP7057. jarg422h.htm#ITS7058. jarg422h.htm#IWBNI705

7078. jarg422h.htm#fear%20and%20loathing7079. jarg422h.htm#crufty7080. jarg422h.htm#elephantine7081. jarg422h.htm#Linux7082. jarg422h.htm#ICBM%20addre

bits. To [1354]toggle or `invert' a bit is to change it, either from 0 to 1 or from 1 to 0. See also [1355]flag, [1356]trit, [1357]mode bit.

%20it.7102. jarg422h.htm#idempotent7103. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20I%20%3d7104. jarg422h.htm#Internet%20Death%20Penalty7105. jarg422h.htm#UDP7106. jarg422h.h

7124. jarg422h.htm#OS7125. jarg422h.htm#bare%20metal7126. jarg422h.htm#well-behaved7127. jarg422h.htm#PC-ism7128. jarg422h.htm#mess-dos7129. jarg422h.

7148. jarg422h.htm#inc7149. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20I%20%3d7150. jarg422h.htm#wizard7151. jarg422h.htm#mutter7152. jarg422h.htm#include%20war7153. jarg422h

7172. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20I%20%3d7173. jarg422h.htm#coefficient%20of%20X7174. jarg422h.htm#infinite7175. jarg422h.htm#index%20of%20X7176. jarg422h.htm#

7196. jarg422h.htm#one-banana%20problem7197. jarg422h.htm#Linux7198. jarg422h.htm#bazaar7199. RFC27957200. jarg422h.htm#inflate7201. jarg422h.htm#Infi

7220. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20I%20%3d7221. jarg422h.htm#elegant7222. jarg422h.htm#hacker7223. jarg422h.htm#INTERCAL7224. jarg422h.htm#insanely%20great7225.

7244. jarg422h.htm#TOPS-107245. jarg422h.htm#TOPS-207246. jarg422h.htm#Unix7247. jarg422h.htm#TCP%2fIP7248. jarg422h.htm#killer%20app7249. jarg422h.ht

7268. jarg422h.htm#Internet%20Exploiter7269. jarg422h.htm#Internet%20Death%20Penalty7270. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20I%20%3d7271. jarg422h.htm#HP-SUX7272. jar

7292. jarg422h.htm#interrupt7293. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20I%20%3d7294. mailto:<[email protected]>7295. jarg422h.htm#intro7296. jarg422h.htm#interrupt%2

7316. jarg422h.htm#talk%20mode7317. jarg422h.htm#Iron%20Age7318. jarg422h.htm#IRC7319. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20I%20%3d7320. jarg422h.htm#mainframe7321. jar

presumably when UARTs were too expensive, and on archaic Z80 micros with a Zilog PIO but no SIO. In an interesting instance of the [1362]cycle

7340. jarg422h.htm#Bibliography7341. jarg422h.htm#padded%20cell7342. jarg422h.htm#honey%20pot7343. jarg422h.htm#ISO%20standard%20cup%20of%20tea7344. j

7364. jarg422h.htm#ITS7365. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20I%20%3d7366. jarg422h.htm#WIBNI7367. jarg422h.htm#J.%20Random7368. jarg422h.htm#IWBNI7369. jarg422h.htm

7388. jarg422h.htm#juggling%20eggs7389. jarg422h.htm#jump%20off%20into%20never-never%20land7390. jarg422h.htm#jupiter7391. jarg422h.htm#J.%20Random%20

7412. jarg422h.htm#Java7413. jarg422h.htm#jack%20in7414. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20J%20%3d7415. jarg422h.htm#JCL7416. jarg422h.htm#jaggies7417. jarg422h.htm#

7436. jarg422h.htm#IYFEG7437. jarg422h.htm#IYFEG7438. jarg422h.htm#retcon7439. jarg422h.htm#jello7440. jarg422h.htm#JEDR7441. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20J%20%

7460. jarg422h.htm#nano7461. jarg422h.htm#Real%20Soon%20Now7462. jarg422h.htm#jock7463. jarg422h.htm#jiffy7464. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20J%20%3d7465. jarg42

7484. jarg422h.htm#on%20the%20gripping%20hand7485. jarg422h.htm#jupiter7486. jarg422h.htm#juggling%20eggs7487. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20J%20%3d7488. jarg422

7508. jarg422h.htm#KIBO7509. jarg422h.htm#kiboze7510. jarg422h.htm#kibozo7511. jarg422h.htm#kick7512. jarg422h.htm#kill%20file7513. jarg422h.htm#kille

7532. jarg422h.htm#jupiter7533. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20K%20%3d7534. jarg422h.htm#kilo-7535. jarg422h.htm#meg7536. jarg422h.htm#gig7537. jarg422h.htm#quant

7556. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20K%20%3d7557. jarg422h.htm#Christmas%20tree%20packet7558. jarg422h.htm#RFC7559. jarg422h.htm#Chernobyl%20packet7560. jarg422h.

_________________________________________________________________ Node:bit bucket, Next:[1374]bit decay, Previous:[1375]bit bashing, Up:[1

7580. jarg422h.htm#kiboze7581. jarg422h.htm#kgbvax7582. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20K%20%3d7583. jarg422h.htm#GIGO7584. jarg422h.htm#SNAFU%20principle7585. htt

7604. jarg422h.htm#killer%20app7605. jarg422h.htm#kick7606. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20K%20%3d7607. jarg422h.htm#Usenet7608. jarg422h.htm#plonk7609. jarg422h.

7628. jarg422h.htm#KISS%20Principle7629. jarg422h.htm#kilo-7630. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20K%20%3d7631. jarg422h.htm#MIPS7632. jarg422h.htm#K7633. jarg422h.h

7652. jarg422h.htm#crock7653. jarg422h.htm#kluge7654. jarg422h.htm#kluge7655. jarg422h.htm#kluge%20around7656. jarg422h.htm#kludge7657. jarg422h.htm#%

7676. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20K%20%3d7677. jarg422h.htm#cruft%20together7678. jarg422h.htm#hack%20up7679. jarg422h.htm#hack%20on7680. jarg422h.htm#knobs768

7700. jarg422h.htm#koan7701. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20K%20%3d7702. jarg422h.htm#Usenet7703. jarg422h.htm#VAXen7704. jarg422h.htm#kgbvax7705. jarg422h.htm#la

7724. jarg422h.htm#leaf%20site7725. jarg422h.htm#leak7726. jarg422h.htm#leaky%20heap7727. jarg422h.htm#leapfrog%20attack7728. jarg422h.htm#leech7729.

7748. jarg422h.htm#linearithmic7749. jarg422h.htm#link%20farm7750. jarg422h.htm#link%20rot7751. jarg422h.htm#link-dead7752. jarg422h.htm#lint7753. jar

7772. jarg422h.htm#logical7773. jarg422h.htm#loop%20through7774. jarg422h.htm#loose%20bytes7775. jarg422h.htm#lord%20high%20fixer7776. jarg422h.htm#lo

7796. jarg422h.htm#lamer7797. jarg422h.htm#lace%20card7798. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20L%20%3d7799. jarg422h.htm#netlag7800. jarg422h.htm#language%20lawyer780

This term is used purely in jest. It is based on the fanciful notion that bits are objects that are not destroyed but only misplaced. This appe

7820. jarg422h.htm#C++7821. jarg422h.htm#LISP7822. jarg422h.htm#Perl7823. jarg422h.htm#Java7824. jarg422h.htm#Python7825. jarg422h.htm#Real%20Programm

7844. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20L%20%3d7845. jarg422h.htm#hacking%20run7846. jarg422h.htm#wannabee7847. jarg422h.htm#OS7848. jarg422h.htm#laser%20chicken7849

7868. jarg422h.htm#leaf%20site7869. jarg422h.htm#laundromat7870. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20L%20%3d7871. jarg422h.htm#DPB7872. jarg422h.htm#leak7873. jarg422h

7892. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20L%20%3d7893. jarg422h.htm#warez%20d00dz7894. jarg422h.htm#lamer7895. jarg422h.htm#legal7896. jarg422h.htm#leech7897. jarg422h

7916. jarg422h.htm#LER7917. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20L%20%3d7918. jarg422h.htm#letterbomb7919. jarg422h.htm#LERP7920. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20L%20%3d7921. jarg42

7940. jarg422h.htm#Life%20is%20hard7941. jarg422h.htm#lexiphage7942. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20L%20%3d7943. jarg422h.htm#TECO7944. jarg422h.htm#Gosperism7945

7964. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20L%20%3d7965. jarg422h.htm#line%20eater%20the7966. jarg422h.htm#like%20nailing%20jelly%20to%20a%20tree7967. jarg422h.htm#%3d%2

7988. jarg422h.htm#line%20starve7989. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20L%20%3d7990. jarg422h.htm#link%20rot7991. jarg422h.htm#linearithmic7992. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20L

8012. jarg422h.htm#Linux8013. jarg422h.htm#Wintel8014. jarg422h.htm#Linux8015. jarg422h.htm#Lintel8016. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20L%20%3d8017. jarg422h.htm#L

8036. jarg422h.htm#languages%20of%20choice8037. jarg422h.htm#COBOL8038. jarg422h.htm#Ada8039. jarg422h.htm#crock8040. jarg422h.htm#Right%20Thing8041.

Node:bit rot, Next:[1388]bit twiddling, Previous:[1389]bit decay, Up:[1390]= B = bit rot n. [common] Also [1391]bit decay. Hypotheti

8060. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20L%20%3d8061. jarg422h.htm#virus8062. jarg422h.htm#vi8063. jarg422h.htm#hook8064. jarg422h.htm#trampoline8065. jarg422h.htm#li

8084. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20L%20%3d8085. jarg422h.htm#locked%20up8086. jarg422h.htm#locals%20the8087. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20L%20%3d8088. jarg422h.htm#Winche

8108. jarg422h.htm#loop%20through8109. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20L%20%3d8110. jarg422h.htm#shim8111. jarg422h.htm#lose8112. jarg422h.htm#loose%20bytes8113. j

8132. jarg422h.htm#lossage8133. jarg422h.htm#losing8134. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20L%20%3d8135. jarg422h.htm#lossage8136. jarg422h.htm#lost%20in%20the%20nois

8156. jarg422h.htm#content-free8157. jarg422h.htm#suit8158. jarg422h.htm#zero-content8159. jarg422h.htm#bandwidth8160. jarg422h.htm#math-out8161. jarg

8180. jarg422h.htm#heatseeker8181. jarg422h.htm#luser8182. jarg422h.htm#lunatic%20fringe8183. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20L%20%3d8184. jarg422h.htm#flamage8185

8204. jarg422h.htm#macro8205. jarg422h.htm#macro-8206. jarg422h.htm#macrology8207. jarg422h.htm#macrotape8208. jarg422h.htm#maggotbox8209. jarg422h.ht

8228. jarg422h.htm#marginally8229. jarg422h.htm#marketroid8230. jarg422h.htm#Mars8231. jarg422h.htm#martian8232. jarg422h.htm#massage8233. jarg422h.ht

8252. jarg422h.htm#meta8253. jarg422h.htm#meta%20bit8254. jarg422h.htm#metasyntactic%20variable8255. jarg422h.htm#MFTL8256. jarg422h.htm#mickey8257. j

8276. jarg422h.htm#missile%20address8277. jarg422h.htm#miswart8278. jarg422h.htm#MMF8279. jarg422h.htm#mobo8280. jarg422h.htm#moby8281. jarg422h.htm#m

Version 4.1.0, 8 Apr 1999: The Jargon File rides again after three years. This version had 25777 lines, 206825 words, 1359992 characters, and 2

effect, bit rot the notional cause. _________________________________________________________________ Node:bit twiddling, Next:[1394]bit-p

8300. jarg422h.htm#mouse%20around8301. jarg422h.htm#mouse%20belt8302. jarg422h.htm#mouse%20droppings8303. jarg422h.htm#mouse%20elbow8304. jarg422h.htm

8324. jarg422h.htm#music8325. jarg422h.htm#mutter8326. jarg422h.htm#M$8327. jarg422h.htm#luser8328. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20M%20%3d8329. jarg422h.htm#quant

8348. jarg422h.htm#machoflops8349. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20M%20%3d8350. jarg422h.htm#toy8351. jarg422h.htm#Macintrash8352. jarg422h.htm#macro8353. jarg422h

8372. jarg422h.htm#mega-8373. jarg422h.htm#macrotape8374. jarg422h.htm#macro-8375. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20M%20%3d8376. jarg422h.htm#LISP8377. jarg422h.htm

8396. jarg422h.htm#deep%20magic8397. jarg422h.htm#heavy%20wizardry8398. jarg422h.htm#magic%20number8399. jarg422h.htm#magic8400. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20M%

8420. jarg422h.htm#hairball8421. jarg422h.htm#mailing%20list8422. jarg422h.htm#mail%20storm8423. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20M%20%3d8424. jarg422h.htm#email842

8444. jarg422h.htm#big%20iron8445. jarg422h.htm#dinosaur8446. jarg422h.htm#Stone%20Age8447. jarg422h.htm#number-crunching8448. jarg422h.htm#cray8449.

8468. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20M%20%3d8469. jarg422h.htm#mung8470. jarg422h.htm#scribble8471. jarg422h.htm#mangled%20name8472. jarg422h.htm#mangler8473. jar

8492. jarg422h.htm#core8493. jarg422h.htm#GC8494. jarg422h.htm#win8495. jarg422h.htm#marginally8496. jarg422h.htm#marginal8497. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20M%2

8516. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20M%20%3d8517. jarg422h.htm#Christmas%20tree%20packet8518. jarg422h.htm#Godzillagram8519. jarg422h.htm#math-out8520. jarg422h.h

several years on early computer equipment. The ASR-33 was a mechanical device (see [1402]EOU), so the only way to generate the character codes

8540. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20M%20%3d8541. jarg422h.htm#washing%20machine8542. jarg422h.htm#walking%20drives8543. jarg422h.htm#meatware8544. jarg422h.htm#m

8564. jarg422h.htm#MEGO8565. jarg422h.htm#mega-8566. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20M%20%3d8567. jarg422h.htm#meltdown%20network8568. jarg422h.htm#megapenny8569.

8588. jarg422h.htm#memory%20leak8589. jarg422h.htm#memetics8590. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20M%20%3d8591. jarg422h.htm#memory%20smash8592. jarg422h.htm#memory%

8612. jarg422h.htm#WIMP%20environment8613. jarg422h.htm#for%20the%20rest%20of%20us8614. jarg422h.htm#meta8615. jarg422h.htm#menuitis8616. jarg422h.htm

8636. jarg422h.htm#canonical8637. jarg422h.htm#scratch8638. jarg422h.htm#foo8639. jarg422h.htm#bar8640. jarg422h.htm#baz8641. jarg422h.htm#quux8642. j

8660. jarg422h.htm#baz8661. jarg422h.htm#foobar8662. jarg422h.htm#barf8663. jarg422h.htm#mumble8664. jarg422h.htm#Commonwealth%20Hackish8665. jarg422h

8684. jarg422h.htm#quantifiers8685. jarg422h.htm#attoparsec8686. jarg422h.htm#nanoacre8687. jarg422h.htm#microfortnight8688. jarg422h.htm#macro-8689.

8708. jarg422h.htm#tenured%20graduate%20student8709. jarg422h.htm#microserf8710. jarg422h.htm#microLenat8711. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20M%20%3d8712. jarg422h

8732. jarg422h.htm#middle-endian8733. jarg422h.htm#Microsoft8734. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20M%20%3d8735. jarg422h.htm#Microsoft8736. jarg422h.htm#bogus8737.

8756. jarg422h.htm#minifloppies8757. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20M%20%3d8758. jarg422h.htm#benchmark8759. jarg422h.htm#marketroid8760. jarg422h.htm#BogoMIPS876

The result would have been something closer to a normal keyboard. But as it happened, Teletype had to use a lot of persuasion just to keep ASCI

8780. jarg422h.htm#Berzerkeley8781. jarg422h.htm#miswart8782. jarg422h.htm#Missed'em-five8783. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20M%20%3d8784. jarg422h.htm#ICBM%

8804. jarg422h.htm#Appendix%20A8805. jarg422h.htm#bignum8806. jarg422h.htm#core8807. jarg422h.htm#brain-damaged8808. jarg422h.htm#mod8809. jarg422h.ht

8828. jarg422h.htm#losing8829. jarg422h.htm#modulo8830. jarg422h.htm#mode8831. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20M%20%3d8832. jarg422h.htm#flag8833. jarg422h.htm#fla

8852. jarg422h.htm#hack%20up8853. jarg422h.htm#kluge%20up8854. jarg422h.htm#cruft%20together8855. jarg422h.htm#monstrosity8856. jarg422h.htm#monkey%20

8876. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20M%20%3d8877. jarg422h.htm#Parkinson's%20Law%20of%20Data8878. jarg422h.htm#Gates's%20Law8879. jarg422h.htm#moria8880

8900. jarg422h.htm#MOTAS8901. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20M%20%3d8902. jarg422h.htm#MOTAS8903. jarg422h.htm#MOTSS8904. jarg422h.htm#SO8905. jarg422h.htm#MOTAS8

8924. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20M%20%3d8925. jarg422h.htm#rat%20belt8926. jarg422h.htm#mouse%20elbow8927. jarg422h.htm#mouse%20belt8928. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20M

8948. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20M%20%3d8949. jarg422h.htm#koan8950. jarg422h.htm#has%20the%20X%20nature8951. jarg422h.htm#Some%20AI%20Koans8952. jarg422h.htm

8972. jarg422h.htm#multician8973. jarg422h.htm#mudhead8974. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20M%20%3d8975. jarg422h.htm#wizard8976. jarg422h.htm#luser8977. jarg422h.

8996. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20M%20%3d8997. jarg422h.htm#thrash8998. jarg422h.htm#mumble8999. jarg422h.htm#multitask9000. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20M%20%3d9001. ja

The doom of the bit-paired keyboard was the large-scale introduction of the computer terminal into the normal office environment, where out-

9020. jarg422h.htm#cracker9021. jarg422h.htm#hacked%20off9022. jarg422h.htm#munchkin9023. jarg422h.htm#munching9024. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20M%20%3d9025. j

9044. jarg422h.htm#recursive%20acronym9045. jarg422h.htm#munge9046. jarg422h.htm#BLT9047. jarg422h.htm#Finagle's%20Law9048. jarg422h.htm#scribble

9068. jarg422h.htm#magic%20smoke9069. jarg422h.htm#Finagle's%20Law9070. jarg422h.htm#mutter9071. jarg422h.htm#Murphy's%20Law9072. jarg422h.h

9092. jarg422h.htm#NAK9093. jarg422h.htm#NANA9094. jarg422h.htm#nano9095. jarg422h.htm#nano-9096. jarg422h.htm#nanoacre9097. jarg422h.htm#nanobot9098.

9116. jarg422h.htm#netburp9117. jarg422h.htm#netdead9118. jarg422h.htm#nethack9119. jarg422h.htm#netiquette9120. jarg422h.htm#netlag9121. jarg422h.htm

9140. jarg422h.htm#NIL9141. jarg422h.htm#Ninety-Ninety%20Rule9142. jarg422h.htm#nipple%20mouse9143. jarg422h.htm#NMI9144. jarg422h.htm#no-op9145. jarg

9164. jarg422h.htm#nyetwork9165. jarg422h.htm#nadger9166. jarg422h.htm#mutter9167. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20N%20%3d9168. jarg422h.htm#Lubarsky's%20Law%

9188. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20N%20%3d9189. jarg422h.htm#like%20nailing%20jelly%20to%20a%20tree9190. jarg422h.htm#naive%20user9191. jarg422h.htm#nailing%20j

9212. jarg422h.htm#nanoacre9213. jarg422h.htm#nano9214. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20N%20%3d9215. jarg422h.htm#micro-9216. jarg422h.htm#micro-9217. jarg422h.htm

9236. jarg422h.htm#nanocomputer9237. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20N%20%3d9238. jarg422h.htm#microfortnight9239. jarg422h.htm#attoparsec9240. jarg422h.htm#micro-

the case of overlapping source and destination rectangles is what makes BitBlt tricky). 2. Synonym for [1409]blit or [1410]BLT. Both uses are b

9260. jarg422h.htm#bounce%20message9261. jarg422h.htm#nature9262. jarg422h.htm#nastygram9263. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20N%20%3d9264. jarg422h.htm#splat9265.

9284. jarg422h.htm#neep-neep9285. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20N%20%3d9286. jarg422h.htm#music9287. jarg422h.htm#oriental%20food9288. jarg422h.htm#nerd%20knob92

9308. jarg422h.htm#net.god9309. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20N%20%3d9310. jarg422h.htm#Usenet9311. jarg422h.htm#net.god9312. jarg422h.htm#NetBOLLIX9313. jarg422

9332. jarg422h.htm#netburp9333. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20N%20%3d9334. jarg422h.htm#IRC9335. jarg422h.htm#netburp9336. jarg422h.htm#link-dead9337. jarg422h.h

9356. jarg422h.htm#netlag9357. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20N%20%3d9358. jarg422h.htm#Usenet9359. jarg422h.htm#Netscrape9360. jarg422h.htm#netnews9361. jarg422h

9380. jarg422h.htm#bang%20path9381. jarg422h.htm#Internet%20address9382. jarg422h.htm#New%20Jersey9383. jarg422h.htm#network%20address9384. jarg422h.h

9404. jarg422h.htm#newline9405. jarg422h.htm#newbie9406. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20N%20%3d9407. jarg422h.htm#newsgroup9408. jarg422h.htm#flamer9409. jarg422h

9428. jarg422h.htm#pr0n9429. jarg422h.htm#filk9430. jarg422h.htm#nick9431. jarg422h.htm#newsfroup9432. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20N%20%3d9433. jarg422h.htm#Us

9452. jarg422h.htm#phase9453. jarg422h.htm#NIL9454. jarg422h.htm#night%20mode9455. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20N%20%3d9456. jarg422h.htm#spl9457. jarg422h.htm#

9476. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20N%20%3d9477. jarg422h.htm#great-wall9478. jarg422h.htm#node9479. jarg422h.htm#no-op9480. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20N%20%3d9481. jarg

1. Information. Examples: "I need some bits about file formats." ("I need to know about file formats.") Compare [1422]core

9500. jarg422h.htm#Slowlaris9501. jarg422h.htm#Internet%20Exploder9502. jarg422h.htm#nonlinear9503. jarg422h.htm#Nominal%20Semidestructor9504. jarg422

9524. jarg422h.htm#not%20ready%20for%20prime%20time9525. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20N%20%3d9526. jarg422h.htm#flaky9527. jarg422h.htm#down9528. jarg422h.htm#n

9548. jarg422h.htm#NSP9549. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20N%20%3d9550. jarg422h.htm#bare%20metal9551. jarg422h.htm#nuke9552. jarg422h.htm#nude9553. jarg422h.htm#

9572. jarg422h.htm#NUXI%20problem9573. jarg422h.htm#number-crunching9574. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20N%20%3d9575. jarg422h.htm#pretty%20pictures9576. jarg422h

9596. jarg422h.htm#deckle9597. jarg422h.htm#chawmp9598. jarg422h.htm#chawmp9599. jarg422h.htm#gawble9600. jarg422h.htm#gawble9601. jarg422h.htm#Ob-960

9620. jarg422h.htm#-oid9621. jarg422h.htm#old%20fart9622. jarg422h.htm#Old%20Testament9623. jarg422h.htm#on%20the%20gripping%20hand9624. jarg422h.htm#

9644. jarg422h.htm#OSS9645. jarg422h.htm#OSU9646. jarg422h.htm#OTOH9647. jarg422h.htm#out-of-band9648. jarg422h.htm#overclock9649. jarg422h.htm#overfl

9668. jarg422h.htm#obscure9669. jarg422h.htm#obi-wan%20error9670. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20O%20%3d9671. jarg422h.htm#Right%20Thing9672. jarg422h.htm#octal%2

9692. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20O%20%3d9693. jarg422h.htm#fencepost%20error9694. jarg422h.htm#ogg9695. jarg422h.htm#off-by-one%20error9696. jarg422h.htm#%3d%

9716. jarg422h.htm#Classic%20C9717. jarg422h.htm#one-banana%20problem9718. jarg422h.htm#Old%20Testament9719. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20O%20%3d9720. jarg422h.

bixen pl.n. Users of BIX (the BIX Information eXchange, formerly the Byte Information eXchange). Parallels other plurals like boxen, [1436

9740. jarg422h.htm#Perl9741. jarg422h.htm#op9742. jarg422h.htm#one-liner%20wars9743. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20O%20%3d9744. jarg422h.htm#Ceremonial%20Chemica

9764. jarg422h.htm#optical%20diff9765. jarg422h.htm#open%20switch9766. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20O%20%3d9767. jarg422h.htm#Unix9768. jarg422h.htm#ITS9769. ja

9788. jarg422h.htm#Orange%20Book9789. jarg422h.htm#optimism9790. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20O%20%3d9791. jarg422h.htm#oriental%20food9792. jarg422h.htm#Oracle

9812. jarg422h.htm#OS9813. jarg422h.htm#orphaned%20i-node9814. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20O%20%3d9815. jarg422h.htm#OS%2f29816. jarg422h.htm#orthogonal9817. j

9836. jarg422h.htm#OSU9837. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20O%20%3d9838. jarg422h.htm#overclock9839. jarg422h.htm#OTOH9840. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20O%20%3d9841. jarg422

9860. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20O%20%3d9861. jarg422h.htm#PDL9862. jarg422h.htm#PDL9863. jarg422h.htm#stack9864. jarg422h.htm#overrun%20screw9865. jarg422h.h

9884. jarg422h.htm#precedence%20lossage9885. jarg422h.htm#fandango%20on%20core9886. jarg422h.htm#secondary%20damage9887. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20Q%20%3d988

9908. jarg422h.htm#patch9909. jarg422h.htm#patch%20pumpkin9910. jarg422h.htm#patch%20space9911. jarg422h.htm#path9912. jarg422h.htm#pathological9913.

9932. jarg422h.htm#pessimizing%20compiler9933. jarg422h.htm#peta-9934. jarg422h.htm#PETSCII9935. jarg422h.htm#PFY9936. jarg422h.htm#phage9937. jarg422

9956. jarg422h.htm#plan%20file9957. jarg422h.htm#platinum-iridium9958. jarg422h.htm#playpen9959. jarg422h.htm#playte9960. jarg422h.htm#plingnet9961. j

systems area (compare [1445]black magic). VLSI design and compiler code optimization were (in their beginnings) considered classic examples of

9980. jarg422h.htm#postcardware9981. jarg422h.htm#posting9982. jarg422h.htm#postmaster9983. jarg422h.htm#PostScript9984. jarg422h.htm#pound%20on9985.

10004. jarg422h.htm#program10005. jarg422h.htm#Programmer's%20Cheer10006. jarg422h.htm#programming10007. jarg422h.htm#programming%20fluid10008. j

10028. jarg422h.htm#Python10029. jarg422h.htm#P.O.D.10030. jarg422h.htm#overrun%20screw10031. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20P%20%3d10032. jarg422h.htm#email10033

10052. jarg422h.htm#film%20at%201110053. jarg422h.htm#swap10054. jarg422h.htm#pain%20in%20the%20net10055. jarg422h.htm#page%20in10056. jarg422h.htm#%3

10076. jarg422h.htm#P-mail10077. jarg422h.htm#PARC10078. jarg422h.htm#paper-net10079. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20P%20%3d10080. jarg422h.htm#parm10081. jarg422

10100. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20P%20%3d10101. jarg422h.htm#param10102. jarg422h.htm#arg10103. jarg422h.htm#arg10104. jarg422h.htm#var10105. jarg422h.htm#Pas

10124. jarg422h.htm#mod10125. jarg422h.htm#HLL10126. jarg422h.htm#one-line%20fix10127. jarg422h.htm#diff10128. jarg422h.htm#patch%20space10129. jarg42

10148. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20P%20%3d10149. jarg422h.htm#PBD10150. jarg422h.htm#pathological10151. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20P%20%3d10152. jarg422h.htm#shareware

10172. jarg422h.htm#PD10173. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20P%20%3d10174. jarg422h.htm#management10175. jarg422h.htm#flowchart10176. jarg422h.htm#PostScript10177.

10196. jarg422h.htm#pop10197. jarg422h.htm#push10198. http://www.inwap.com/pdp10/10199. jarg422h.htm#PEBKAC10200. jarg422h.htm#PDP-1010201. jarg422h.h

Compare [1454]bit bucket and see [1455]RBL. _________________________________________________________________ Node:black magic, Next:[1456

10220. jarg422h.htm#peek10221. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20P%20%3d10222. jarg422h.htm#Pentium10223. jarg422h.htm#pencil%20and%20paper10224. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20

10244. jarg422h.htm#perf10245. jarg422h.htm#Perl10246. jarg422h.htm#perf10247. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20P%20%3d10248. jarg422h.htm#toy%20problem10249. jarg4

10268. jarg422h.htm#peta-10269. jarg422h.htm#pessimal10270. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20P%20%3d10271. jarg422h.htm#PETSCII10272. jarg422h.htm#pessimizing%20com

10292. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20P%20%3d10293. jarg422h.htm#wrap%20around10294. jarg422h.htm#wrap%20around10295. jarg422h.htm#phase-wrapping10296. jarg422h.h

10316. jarg422h.htm#phreaker10317. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20P%20%3d10318. jarg422h.htm#cracking10319. jarg422h.htm#cracking10320. jarg422h.htm#pig-tail10321

10340. jarg422h.htm#ENQ10341. jarg422h.htm#mailing%20list10342. jarg422h.htm#ACK10343. jarg422h.htm#blargh10344. jarg422h.htm#ping%20storm10345. jarg4

10364. jarg422h.htm#pipe10365. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20P%20%3d10366. jarg422h.htm#pizza%20box10367. jarg422h.htm#pistol10368. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20P%20%3d103

10388. jarg422h.htm#sig%20block10389. jarg422h.htm#Hacking%20X%20for%20Y10390. jarg422h.htm#finger10391. jarg422h.htm#letterbomb10392. jarg422h.htm#tw

10412. jarg422h.htm#UUCPNET10413. jarg422h.htm#Commonwealth%20Hackish10414. jarg422h.htm#bang10415. jarg422h.htm#bang%20path10416. jarg422h.htm#plonk1

10436. jarg422h.htm#shell10437. jarg422h.htm#hairy10438. jarg422h.htm#tee10439. jarg422h.htm#pnambic10440. jarg422h.htm#plumbing10441. jarg422h.htm#%3

Death. See also [1468]Blue Screen of Death, which has become rather more common. ____________________________________________________________

10460. jarg422h.htm#drool-proof%20paper10461. jarg422h.htm#pointy-haired10462. jarg422h.htm#point-and-drool%20interface10463. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20P%20%

10484. jarg422h.htm#pop10485. jarg422h.htm#polygon%20pusher10486. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20P%20%3d10487. jarg422h.htm#phase%20of%20the%20moon10488. jarg422h

10508. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20P%20%3d10509. jarg422h.htm#mailing%20list10510. jarg422h.htm#newsgroup10511. jarg422h.htm#posting10512. jarg422h.htm#post105

10532. jarg422h.htm#EMACS10533. jarg422h.htm#power%20cycle10534. jarg422h.htm#PostScript10535. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20P%20%3d10536. jarg422h.htm#bang%20on

10556. jarg422h.htm#precedence%20lossage10557. jarg422h.htm#PPN10558. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20P%20%3d10559. jarg422h.htm#warez%20kiddies10560. jarg422h.htm

10580. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20P%20%3d10581. jarg422h.htm#prettyprint10582. jarg422h.htm#prestidigitization10583. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20P%20%3d10584. jarg422h

10604. jarg422h.htm#printing%20discussion10605. jarg422h.htm#prime%20time10606. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20P%20%3d10607. jarg422h.htm#C10608. jarg422h.htm#tty

10628. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20P%20%3d10629. jarg422h.htm#proglet10630. jarg422h.htm#progasm10631. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20P%20%3d10632. jarg422h.htm#proglet106

10652. jarg422h.htm#wirewater10653. jarg422h.htm#propeller%20key10654. jarg422h.htm#programming%20fluid10655. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20P%20%3d10656. jarg422

10676. jarg422h.htm#pseudo10677. jarg422h.htm#provocative%20maintenance10678. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20P%20%3d10679. jarg422h.htm#daemon10680. jarg422h.htm#

characters, and 2269 entries. Version 4.2.2, 12 Aug 2000: This version had 27171 lines, 219630 words, 1444887 characters, and 2302 entries.

incarnation of the blammo-gun is the command used to forcibly eject a user, operators speak of different levels of blammo-gun fire; e.g., a bla

10700. jarg422h.htm#lobotomy10701. jarg422h.htm#psyton10702. jarg422h.htm#pseudosuit10703. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20P%20%3d10704. jarg422h.htm#display%20hac

10724. jarg422h.htm#patch%20pumpkin10725. jarg422h.htm#punched%20card10726. jarg422h.htm#pumpkin%20holder10727. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20P%20%3d10728. jarg4

10748. jarg422h.htm#Wizard%20Book10749. jarg422h.htm#book%20titles10750. jarg422h.htm#push10751. jarg422h.htm#Purple%20Book10752. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20P

10772. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20R%20%3d10773. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20P%20%3d10774. jarg422h.htm#The%20Jargon%20Lexicon10775. jarg422h.htm#quad10776. jarg422h.ht

10796. jarg422h.htm#quad10797. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20Q%20%3d10798. jarg422h.htm#space-cadet%20keyboard10799. jarg422h.htm#raw%20mode10800. jarg422h.htm#d

10820. jarg422h.htm#suit10821. jarg422h.htm#bogon10822. jarg422h.htm#computron10823. jarg422h.htm#suit10824. jarg422h.htm#psyton10825. jarg422h.htm#qu

10844. jarg422h.htm#Obfuscated%20C%20Contest10845. http://www.nyx.org/~gthompso/quine.htm10846. jarg422h.htm#quotient10847. jarg422h.htm#quine10848. j

10868. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20Q%20%3d10869. jarg422h.htm#metasyntactic%20variable10870. jarg422h.htm#baz10871. jarg422h.htm#foo10872. jarg422h.htm#bar1087

10892. jarg422h.htm#rainbow%20series10893. jarg422h.htm#random10894. jarg422h.htm#Random%20Number%20God10895. jarg422h.htm#random%20numbers10896. jarg

10916. jarg422h.htm#real%20hack10917. jarg422h.htm#real%20operating%20system10918. jarg422h.htm#Real%20Programmer10919. jarg422h.htm#Real%20Soon%20Now

logout. _________________________________________________________________ Node:blat, Next:[1488]bletch, Previous:[1489]blast, Up:[1490]= B

10940. jarg422h.htm#replicator10941. jarg422h.htm#reply10942. jarg422h.htm#restriction10943. jarg422h.htm#retcon10944. jarg422h.htm#RETI10945. jarg422

10964. jarg422h.htm#rot1310965. jarg422h.htm#rotary%20debugger10966. jarg422h.htm#round%20tape10967. jarg422h.htm#RSN10968. jarg422h.htm#RTBM10969. ja

10988. jarg422h.htm#rabbit%20job10989. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20R%20%3d10990. jarg422h.htm#incantation10991. jarg422h.htm#magic10992. jarg422h.htm#voodoo%20

11012. jarg422h.htm#random%20numbers11013. jarg422h.htm#random11014. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20R%20%3d11015. jarg422h.htm#Angband11016. jarg422h.htm#Shub-Int

11036. jarg422h.htm#rape11037. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20R%20%3d11038. jarg422h.htm#raw%20mode11039. jarg422h.htm#cooked%20mode11040. jarg422h.htm#raster%20b

11060. jarg422h.htm#random11061. jarg422h.htm#Infinite-Monkey%20Theorem11062. jarg422h.htm#rave11063. jarg422h.htm#rat%20dance11064. jarg422h.htm#%3d%

11084. jarg422h.htm#bogus11085. jarg422h.htm#rare%20mode11086. jarg422h.htm#cooked%20mode11087. jarg422h.htm#rc%20file11088. jarg422h.htm#raw%20mode11

11108. jarg422h.htm#lurker11109. jarg422h.htm#real11110. jarg422h.htm#read-only%20user11111. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20R%20%3d11112. jarg422h.htm#real%20esta

11132. jarg422h.htm#proprietary11133. jarg422h.htm#Get%20a%20real%20computer!11134. jarg422h.htm#Real%20Soon%20Now11135. jarg422h.htm#real%20operating

11156. jarg422h.htm#reality%20check11157. jarg422h.htm#real%20user11158. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20R%20%3d11159. jarg422h.htm#COBOL11160. jarg422h.htm#IBM111

Disgusting in design or function; esthetically unappealing. This word is seldom used of people. "This keyboard is bletcherous!" (Per

11180. jarg422h.htm#reaper11181. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20R%20%3d11182. jarg422h.htm#recursion11183. jarg422h.htm#recompile%20the%20world11184. jarg422h.htm

11204. jarg422h.htm#White%20Book11205. jarg422h.htm#Green%20Book11206. jarg422h.htm#Orange%20Book11207. jarg422h.htm#book%20titles11208. jarg422h.htm#

11228. jarg422h.htm#rehi11229. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20R%20%3d11230. jarg422h.htm#cycle%20of%20reincarnation11231. jarg422h.htm#relay%20rape11232. jarg422h

11252. jarg422h.htm#Get%20a%20life!11253. jarg422h.htm#reply11254. jarg422h.htm#religious%20issues11255. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20R%20%3d11256. jarg422h.htm

11276. jarg422h.htm#marketroid11277. jarg422h.htm#flamage11278. jarg422h.htm#RETI11279. jarg422h.htm#restriction11280. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20R%20%3d11281

11300. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20R%20%3d11301. jarg422h.htm#rib%20site11302. jarg422h.htm#RFC11303. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20R%20%3d11304. jarg422h.htm#RFC11305. j

11324. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20R%20%3d11325. jarg422h.htm#chad11326. jarg422h.htm#roach11327. jarg422h.htm#ripoff11328. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20R%20%3d11329. ja

11348. jarg422h.htm#robot11349. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20R%20%3d11350. jarg422h.htm#bulletproof11351. jarg422h.htm#smart11352. jarg422h.htm#brittle11353. ja

11372. jarg422h.htm#luser11373. jarg422h.htm#drool-proof%20paper11374. jarg422h.htm#root%20mode11375. jarg422h.htm#room-temperature%20IQ11376. jarg422

11396. jarg422h.htm#rotary%20debugger11397. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20R%20%3d11398. jarg422h.htm#macrotape11399. jarg422h.htm#square%20tape11400. jarg422h.ht

Node:blinkenlights, Next:[1512]blit, Previous:[1513]blink, Up:[1514]= B = blinkenlights /blink'*n-li:tz/ n. [common] Front-panel d

11420. jarg422h.htm#guru11421. jarg422h.htm#Don't%20do%20that%20then!11422. jarg422h.htm#randomness11423. jarg422h.htm#FM11424. jarg422h.htm#RTFA

11444. jarg422h.htm#RTI11445. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20R%20%3d11446. jarg422h.htm#RTFM11447. jarg422h.htm#Great%20Worm11448. jarg422h.htm#RTFM11449. jarg422

11468. jarg422h.htm#runes11469. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20R%20%3d11470. jarg422h.htm#obscure11471. jarg422h.htm#rusty%20memory11472. jarg422h.htm#runic11473.

11492. jarg422h.htm#salescritter11493. jarg422h.htm#salt11494. jarg422h.htm#salt%20mines11495. jarg422h.htm#salt%20substrate11496. jarg422h.htm#same-d

11516. jarg422h.htm#screw11517. jarg422h.htm#screwage11518. jarg422h.htm#scribble11519. jarg422h.htm#script%20kiddies11520. jarg422h.htm#scrog11521. j

11540. jarg422h.htm#semi-infinite11541. jarg422h.htm#senior%20bit11542. jarg422h.htm#September%20that%20never%20ended11543. jarg422h.htm#server11544.

11564. jarg422h.htm#Shub-Internet11565. jarg422h.htm#sidecar11566. jarg422h.htm#SIG11567. jarg422h.htm#sig%20block11568. jarg422h.htm#sig%20quote11569

11588. jarg422h.htm#Slowlaris11589. jarg422h.htm#slurp11590. jarg422h.htm#smart11591. jarg422h.htm#smart%20terminal11592. jarg422h.htm#smash%20case115

11612. jarg422h.htm#sniff11613. jarg422h.htm#snivitz11614. jarg422h.htm#'Snooze11615. jarg422h.htm#SO11616. jarg422h.htm#social%20engineering1161

11636. jarg422h.htm#spaghetti%20code11637. jarg422h.htm#spaghetti%20inheritance11638. jarg422h.htm#spam11639. jarg422h.htm#spam%20bait11640. jarg422h.

it was reported at London University's ATLAS computing site. There are several variants of it in circulation, some of which actually do end

11660. jarg422h.htm#spoiler%20space11661. jarg422h.htm#sponge11662. jarg422h.htm#spoof11663. jarg422h.htm#spool11664. jarg422h.htm#spool%20file11665.

11684. jarg422h.htm#stroke11685. jarg422h.htm#strudel11686. jarg422h.htm#stubroutine11687. jarg422h.htm#studly11688. jarg422h.htm#studlycaps11689. jar

11708. jarg422h.htm#Suzie%20COBOL11709. jarg422h.htm#swab11710. jarg422h.htm#swap11711. jarg422h.htm#swap%20space11712. jarg422h.htm#swapped%20in11713

11732. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20S%20%3d11733. jarg422h.htm#sagan11734. jarg422h.htm#sacred11735. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20S%20%3d11736. jarg422h.htm#gabriel11737.

11756. jarg422h.htm#frob11757. jarg422h.htm#salt%20substrate11758. jarg422h.htm#salt11759. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20S%20%3d11760. jarg422h.htm#playpen11761.

11780. jarg422h.htm#sneaker11781. jarg422h.htm#Stupids11782. jarg422h.htm#social%20engineering11783. jarg422h.htm#cracker11784. jarg422h.htm#hacker%20

11804. jarg422h.htm#salescritter11805. jarg422h.htm#scag11806. jarg422h.htm#Saturday-night%20special11807. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20S%20%3d11808. jarg422h.h

11828. jarg422h.htm#mandelbug11829. jarg422h.htm#scram%20switch11830. jarg422h.htm#schroedinbug11831. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20S%20%3d11832. jarg422h.htm#de

11852. jarg422h.htm#science-fiction%20fandom11853. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20S%20%3d11854. jarg422h.htm#Big%20Red%20Switch11855. jarg422h.htm#frob11856. jarg

11876. jarg422h.htm#PM11877. jarg422h.htm#screaming%20tty11878. jarg422h.htm#scratch%20monkey11879. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20S%20%3d11880. jarg422h.htm#coug

front-panel cutouts, almost nobody needs or wants to interpret machine-register states on the fly anymore) are only part of the story. Another

11900. jarg422h.htm#lossage11901. jarg422h.htm#script%20kiddies11902. jarg422h.htm#screwage11903. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20S%20%3d11904. jarg422h.htm#trash1

11924. jarg422h.htm#SCSI11925. jarg422h.htm#scrozzle11926. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20S%20%3d11927. jarg422h.htm#neats%20vs.%20scruffies11928. jarg422h.htm#Sc

11948. jarg422h.htm#creeping%20elegance11949. jarg422h.htm#creeping%20featurism11950. jarg422h.htm#Multics11951. jarg422h.htm#OS%2f211952. jarg422h.ht

11972. jarg422h.htm#LER11973. jarg422h.htm#seggie11974. jarg422h.htm#SED11975. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20S%20%3d11976. jarg422h.htm#segment11977. jarg422h.ht

11996. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20S%20%3d11997. jarg422h.htm#self-reference11998. jarg422h.htm#semi11999. jarg422h.htm#self-reference12000. jarg422h.htm#%3d%2

12020. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20S%20%3d12021. jarg422h.htm#netiquette12022. jarg422h.htm#AOL!12023. jarg422h.htm#SEX12024. jarg422h.htm#September%20that%20n

12044. jarg422h.htm#sharchive12045. jarg422h.htm#Share%20and%20enjoy!12046. jarg422h.htm#shar%20file12047. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20S%20%3d12048. jarg422h.h

12068. jarg422h.htm#shebang12069. jarg422h.htm#shareware12070. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20S%20%3d12071. jarg422h.htm#OS12072. jarg422h.htm#shelfware12073. jar

12092. jarg422h.htm#PDP-1012093. jarg422h.htm#Programmer's%20Cheer12094. jarg422h.htm#shitogram12095. jarg422h.htm#shift%20left%20(or%20right)%20

12116. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20S%20%3d12117. jarg422h.htm#Shub-Internet12118. jarg422h.htm#showstopper12119. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20S%20%3d12120. jarg422h.htm#

network equipment often blink in visually pleasing and seemingly coordinated ways. Although this is different in some ways from register readin

12140. jarg422h.htm#automagically12141. jarg422h.htm#sig%20quote12142. jarg422h.htm#fool%20file12143. jarg422h.htm#bandwidth12144. jarg422h.htm#double

12164. jarg422h.htm#signal-to-noise%20ratio12165. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20S%20%3d12166. jarg422h.htm#iron12167. jarg422h.htm#sandbender12168. jarg422h.htm#

12188. jarg422h.htm#skrog12189. jarg422h.htm#since%20time%20T%20equals%20minus%20infinity12190. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20S%20%3d12191. jarg422h.htm#network%

12212. jarg422h.htm#sidecar12213. jarg422h.htm#slashdot%20effect12214. jarg422h.htm#slap%20on%20the%20side12215. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20S%20%3d12216. jarg

12236. jarg422h.htm#slop12237. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20S%20%3d12238. jarg422h.htm#background12239. jarg422h.htm#slurp12240. jarg422h.htm#slopsucker12241. j

12260. jarg422h.htm#robust12261. jarg422h.htm#brittle12262. jarg422h.htm#smash%20case12263. jarg422h.htm#smart12264. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20S%20%3d12265.

12284. jarg422h.htm#memory%20smash12285. jarg422h.htm#precedence%20lossage12286. jarg422h.htm#overrun%20screw12287. jarg422h.htm#smoke12288. jarg422h.

12308. jarg422h.htm#smoot12309. jarg422h.htm#smoke%20test12310. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20S%20%3d12311. jarg422h.htm#display%20hack12312. jarg422h.htm#SMOP12

12332. jarg422h.htm#snail-mail12333. jarg422h.htm#snap12334. jarg422h.htm#snail12335. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20S%20%3d12336. jarg422h.htm#email12337. jarg42

12356. jarg422h.htm#snarf%20&%20barf12357. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20S%20%3d12358. jarg422h.htm#snarf12359. jarg422h.htm#nethack12360. jarg422h.htm#sneak

"Blit" stood for the Bacon, Lettuce, and Interactive Tomato.) _________________________________________________________________

12380. jarg422h.htm#glitch12381. jarg422h.htm#SO12382. jarg422h.htm#snivitz12383. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20S%20%3d12384. jarg422h.htm#flamage12385. jarg422h

12404. jarg422h.htm#numbers12405. jarg422h.htm#math-out12406. jarg422h.htm#pretty%20pictures12407. jarg422h.htm#sodium%20substrate12408. jarg422h.htm#

12428. jarg422h.htm#creeping%20featuritis12429. jarg422h.htm#X12430. jarg422h.htm#BSD12431. jarg422h.htm#Missed'em-five12432. jarg422h.htm#OS%2f2

12452. jarg422h.htm#grind%20crank12453. jarg422h.htm#snarf12454. jarg422h.htm#bit%20rot12455. jarg422h.htm#softy12456. jarg422h.htm#software%20rot1245

12476. jarg422h.htm#sorcerer's%20apprentice%20mode12477. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20S%20%3d12478. jarg422h.htm#losing12479. jarg422h.htm#quick-and-dirty1

12500. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20S%20%3d12501. jarg422h.htm#Perl12502. jarg422h.htm#spaghetti%20code12503. jarg422h.htm#spaceship%20operator12504. jarg422h.h

12524. jarg422h.htm#UCE12525. jarg422h.htm#UBE12526. jarg422h.htm#luser12527. jarg422h.htm#spamblock12528. jarg422h.htm#spam12529. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20

12548. jarg422h.htm#spawn12549. jarg422h.htm#spamvertize12550. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20S%20%3d12551. jarg422h.htm#bells%20and%20whistles12552. jarg422h.htm

12572. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20S%20%3d12573. jarg422h.htm#dictionary%20flame12574. jarg422h.htm#spider%20food12575. jarg422h.htm#spelling%20flame12576. jar

12596. jarg422h.htm#spin12597. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20S%20%3d12598. jarg422h.htm#interrupts%20locked%20out12599. jarg422h.htm#splat12600. jarg422h.htm#spl

but unkillable development effort. 5. An embarrassing bug that pops up during a customer demo. 6. In the subjargon of computer security special

12620. jarg422h.htm#RL12621. jarg422h.htm#computer%20geek12622. jarg422h.htm#newbie12623. jarg422h.htm#tourist12624. jarg422h.htm#weenie12625. jarg422

12644. jarg422h.htm#filter12645. jarg422h.htm#slurp12646. jarg422h.htm#spool12647. jarg422h.htm#sponge12648. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20S%20%3d12649. jarg422h

12668. jarg422h.htm#stack12669. jarg422h.htm#square%20tape12670. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20S%20%3d12671. jarg422h.htm#stack%20puke12672. jarg422h.htm#squirre

12692. jarg422h.htm#star%20out12693. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20S%20%3d12694. jarg422h.htm#wedged12695. jarg422h.htm#steam-powered12696. jarg422h.htm#state126

12716. jarg422h.htm#laser%20chicken12717. jarg422h.htm#oriental%20food12718. jarg422h.htm#mumble12719. jarg422h.htm#Stone%20Age12720. jarg422h.htm#sti

12740. jarg422h.htm#stone%20knives%20and%20bearskins12741. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20S%20%3d12742. jarg422h.htm#lossage12743. jarg422h.htm#fried12744. jarg42

12764. jarg422h.htm#stubroutine12765. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20S%20%3d12766. jarg422h.htm#hairy12767. jarg422h.htm#stunning12768. jarg422h.htm#studly12769.

12788. jarg422h.htm#sufficiently%20small12789. jarg422h.htm#Sturgeon's%20Law12790. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20S%20%3d12791. jarg422h.htm#wedged12792. jar

12812. jarg422h.htm#suitable%20win12813. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20S%20%3d12814. jarg422h.htm#random%20numbers12815. jarg422h.htm#sun%20lounge12816. jarg422h

12836. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20S%20%3d12837. jarg422h.htm#Godzillagram12838. jarg422h.htm#breath-of-life%20packet12839. jarg422h.htm#superprogrammer12840.

Node:BLOB, Next:[1539]block, Previous:[1540]bloatware, Up:[1541]= B = BLOB 1. n. [acronym: Binary Large OBject] Used by database peopl

12860. jarg422h.htm#support12861. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20S%20%3d12862. jarg422h.htm#swab12863. jarg422h.htm#surf12864. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20S%20%3d12865. ja

12884. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20S%20%3d12885. jarg422h.htm#swapped%20out12886. jarg422h.htm#swap%20space12887. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20S%20%3d12888. jarg422h.htm

12908. jarg422h.htm#sys-frog12909. jarg422h.htm#syntactic%20salt12910. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20S%20%3d12911. jarg422h.htm#chrome12912. jarg422h.htm#candygr

12932. jarg422h.htm#sysop12933. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20S%20%3d12934. jarg422h.htm#system%20mangler12935. jarg422h.htm#system12936. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20S%20

12956. jarg422h.htm#TANSTAAFL12957. jarg422h.htm#tape%20monkey12958. jarg422h.htm#tar%20and%20feather12959. jarg422h.htm#tarball12960. jarg422h.htm#ta

12980. jarg422h.htm#terminal%20illness12981. jarg422h.htm#terminal%20junkie12982. jarg422h.htm#terpri12983. jarg422h.htm#test12984. jarg422h.htm#TeX12

13003. jarg422h.htm#thunk13004. jarg422h.htm#tick13005. jarg422h.htm#tick-list%20features13006. jarg422h.htm#tickle%20a%20bug13007. jarg422h.htm#tiger

13027. jarg422h.htm#toaster13028. jarg422h.htm#toeprint13029. jarg422h.htm#toggle13030. jarg422h.htm#tool13031. jarg422h.htm#toolsmith13032. jarg422h.

13051. jarg422h.htm#trit13052. jarg422h.htm#trivial13053. jarg422h.htm#troff13054. jarg422h.htm#troglodyte13055. jarg422h.htm#troglodyte%20mode13056.

13075. jarg422h.htm#twilight%20zone13076. jarg422h.htm#twink13077. jarg422h.htm#twirling%20baton13078. jarg422h.htm#two%20pi13079. jarg422h.htm#two-to

We were fortunate enough to have the aid of some accomplished linguists. David Stampe [57]<[email protected]> and Charles Hoequist [58

Node:block transfer computations, Next:[1547]Bloggs Family, Previous:[1548]block, Up:[1549]= B = block transfer computations n. [fro

13099. jarg422h.htm#prepend13100. jarg422h.htm#email13101. jarg422h.htm#ha%20ha%20only%20serious13102. jarg422h.htm#IMHO13103. jarg422h.htm#initgame13

13123. jarg422h.htm#down13124. jarg422h.htm#hosed13125. jarg422h.htm#tape%20monkey13126. jarg422h.htm#tanked13127. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20T%20%3d13128. ja

13147. jarg422h.htm#tardegy13148. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20T%20%3d13149. jarg422h.htm#flavor13150. jarg422h.htm#flavor13151. jarg422h.htm#flavor13152. jarg4

13171. jarg422h.htm#creationism13172. jarg422h.htm#TECO13173. jarg422h.htm#TCP%2fIP13174. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20T%20%3d13175. jarg422h.htm#tee13176. jarg

13195. jarg422h.htm#teergrube13196. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20T%20%3d13197. jarg422h.htm#VR13198. jarg422h.htm#MUD13199. jarg422h.htm#ha%20ha%20only%20seriou

13219. jarg422h.htm#ten-finger%20interface13220. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20T%20%3d13221. jarg422h.htm#bum13222. jarg422h.htm#tenured%20graduate%20student1322

13243. jarg422h.htm#AIDX13244. jarg422h.htm#Nominal%20Semidestructor13245. jarg422h.htm#ScumOS13246. jarg422h.htm#sun-stools13247. jarg422h.htm#Telera

13267. jarg422h.htm#read-only%20user13268. jarg422h.htm#test13269. jarg422h.htm#terminal%20junkie13270. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20T%20%3d13271. jarg422h.htm#

13291. jarg422h.htm#EBCDIC13292. jarg422h.htm#flat-ASCII13293. jarg422h.htm#That's%20not%20a%20bug%20that's%20a%20feature!13294. jarg422h.ht

13314. jarg422h.htm#Internet13315. jarg422h.htm#bang%20path13316. jarg422h.htm#Internet%20address13317. jarg422h.htm#network%20address13318. jarg422h.

as the old [1553]DEC Telephone Directory. Compare [1554]Dr. Fred Mbogo; [1555]J. Random Hacker; [1556]Fred Foobar. __________________________

13337. jarg422h.htm#mouso13338. jarg422h.htm#This%20time%20for%20sure!13339. jarg422h.htm#thinko13340. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20T%20%3d13341. jarg422h.htm#c

13361. jarg422h.htm#ISP13362. jarg422h.htm#spam13363. jarg422h.htm#thumb13364. jarg422h.htm#throwaway%20account13365. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20T%20%3d13366.

13385. jarg422h.htm#handwave13386. jarg422h.htm#tickle%20a%20bug13387. jarg422h.htm#tick13388. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20T%20%3d13389. jarg422h.htm#tiger%20t

13409. jarg422h.htm#since%20time%20T%20equals%20minus%20infinity13410. jarg422h.htm#TINC13411. jarg422h.htm#time%20T13412. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20T%20%3d1

13433. jarg422h.htm#TLA13434. jarg422h.htm#tired%20iron13435. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20T%20%3d13436. jarg422h.htm#QWERTY13437. jarg422h.htm#(TM)13438. jarg4

13457. jarg422h.htm#TMRC13458. jarg422h.htm#to%20a%20first%20approximation13459. jarg422h.htm#TMRCie13460. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20T%20%3d13461. jarg422h.h

13481. jarg422h.htm#toeprint13482. jarg422h.htm#toast13483. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20T%20%3d13484. jarg422h.htm#elevator%20controller13485. jarg422h.htm#DWI

13505. jarg422h.htm#operating%20system13506. jarg422h.htm#filter13507. jarg422h.htm#plumbing13508. jarg422h.htm#hack13509. jarg422h.htm#toor13510. jar

13529. jarg422h.htm#topic%20group13530. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20T%20%3d13531. jarg422h.htm#DEC13532. jarg422h.htm#PDP-1013533. jarg422h.htm#ITS13534. jarg4

13553. jarg422h.htm#channel%20hopping13554. jarg422h.htm#touristic13555. jarg422h.htm#tourist13556. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20T%20%3d13557. jarg422h.htm#toy1

accident. "He reformatted the wrong partition and blew away last night's netnews." Oppose [1563]nuke. ________________________

13577. jarg422h.htm#gedanken13578. jarg422h.htm#toy%20program13579. jarg422h.htm#trampoline13580. jarg422h.htm#toy%20problem13581. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20

13601. jarg422h.htm#Good%20Thing13602. jarg422h.htm#trawl13603. jarg422h.htm#trap%20door13604. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20T%20%3d13605. jarg422h.htm#mung13606

13625. jarg422h.htm#treeware13626. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20T%20%3d13627. jarg422h.htm#bit13628. jarg422h.htm#flag13629. jarg422h.htm#troff13630. jarg422h.h

13649. jarg422h.htm#larval%20stage13650. jarg422h.htm#hack%20mode13651. jarg422h.htm#troll13652. jarg422h.htm#troglodyte%20mode13653. jarg422h.htm#%3d

13673. jarg422h.htm#true-hacker13674. jarg422h.htm#Troll-O-Meter13675. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20T%20%3d13676. jarg422h.htm#spod13677. jarg422h.htm#tty13678.

13697. jarg422h.htm#turbo%20nerd13698. jarg422h.htm#tunafish13699. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20T%20%3d13700. jarg422h.htm#hook13701. jarg422h.htm#bum13702. jar

13721. jarg422h.htm#Linux13722. http://www.woodsoup.org/~sbaker/tux/doc/13723. http://www.isc.tamu.edu/~lewing/linux/13724. http://www.ao.com/~regan/p

13745. jarg422h.htm#WAITS13746. jarg422h.htm#VMS13747. jarg422h.htm#twilight%20zone13748. jarg422h.htm#TWENEX13749. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20T%20%3d13750. j

13769. jarg422h.htm#twirling%20baton13770. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20T%20%3d13771. jarg422h.htm#twonkie13772. jarg422h.htm#two%20pi13773. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20

13793. jarg422h.htm#uninteresting13794. jarg422h.htm#Unix13795. jarg422h.htm#Unix%20brain%20damage13796. jarg422h.htm#Unix%20conspiracy13797. jarg422h

blow up vi. 1. [scientific computation] To become unstable. Suggests that the computation is diverging so rapidly that it will soon overf

13817. jarg422h.htm#twonkie13818. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20U%20%3d13819. jarg422h.htm#micro-13820. jarg422h.htm#UBE13821. jarg422h.htm#u-13822. jarg422h.htm

13841. jarg422h.htm#undefined%20external%20reference13842. jarg422h.htm#UDP13843. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20U%20%3d13844. jarg422h.htm#(TM)13845. jarg422h.ht

13865. jarg422h.htm#toy%20problem13866. jarg422h.htm#interesting13867. jarg422h.htm#Unix%20brain%20damage13868. jarg422h.htm#uninteresting13869. jarg4

13889. jarg422h.htm#back%20door13890. jarg422h.htm#virus13891. jarg422h.htm#DEC13892. jarg422h.htm#Linux13893. jarg422h.htm#unixism13894. jarg422h.htm

13913. jarg422h.htm#smash%20the%20stack13914. jarg422h.htm#up13915. jarg422h.htm#unwind%20the%20stack13916. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20U%20%3d13917. jarg422h.

13937. jarg422h.htm#Usenet%20Death%20Penalty13938. jarg422h.htm#URL13939. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20U%20%3d13940. jarg422h.htm#bboard13941. jarg422h.htm#news

13961. jarg422h.htm#user-obsequious13962. jarg422h.htm#userland13963. jarg422h.htm#user-friendly13964. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20U%20%3d13965. jarg422h.htm#u

13985. jarg422h.htm#UTSL13986. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20U%20%3d13987. jarg422h.htm#bang%20path13988. jarg422h.htm#network%20address13989. jarg422h.htm#%3d%2

14009. jarg422h.htm#ventilator%20card14010. jarg422h.htm#Venus%20flytrap14011. jarg422h.htm#verbage14012. jarg422h.htm#verbiage14013. jarg422h.htm#Ver

14033. jarg422h.htm#vadding14034. jarg422h.htm#UUCPNET14035. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20V%20%3d14036. jarg422h.htm#Version%20714037. jarg422h.htm#vanilla14038

Blue Book n. 1. Informal name for one of the four standard references on the page-layout and graphics-control language [1592]PostScript

14057. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20V%20%3d14058. jarg422h.htm#videotex14059. jarg422h.htm#var14060. jarg422h.htm#vannevar14061. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20V%20%3d14062

14081. jarg422h.htm#VAXectomy14082. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20V%20%3d14083. jarg422h.htm#DEC14084. jarg422h.htm#boxen14085. jarg422h.htm#vaxism14086. jarg422

14105. jarg422h.htm#eyeball%20search14106. jarg422h.htm#diff14107. jarg422h.htm#velveeta14108. jarg422h.htm#vdiff14109. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20V%20%3d1411

14129. jarg422h.htm#Venus%20flytrap14130. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20V%20%3d14131. jarg422h.htm#verbiage14132. jarg422h.htm#content-free14133. jarg422h.htm#Ve

14153. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20V%20%3d14154. jarg422h.htm#BSD14155. jarg422h.htm#EMACS14156. jarg422h.htm#holy%20wars14157. jarg422h.htm#videotex14158. jar

14177. jarg422h.htm#virtual%20Friday14178. jarg422h.htm#virtual14179. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20V%20%3d14180. jarg422h.htm#virtual%20reality14181. jarg422h.h

14201. jarg422h.htm#display%20hack14202. jarg422h.htm#cracker14203. jarg422h.htm#luser14204. jarg422h.htm#worm14205. jarg422h.htm#Trojan%20horse14206.

14225. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20V%20%3d14226. jarg422h.htm#talk%20mode14227. jarg422h.htm#voodoo%20programming14228. jarg422h.htm#voice14229. jarg422h.htm#%

14249. jarg422h.htm#RL14250. jarg422h.htm#vulture%20capitalist14251. jarg422h.htm#VR14252. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20V%20%3d14253. jarg422h.htm#three-finger%

14273. jarg422h.htm#wango14274. jarg422h.htm#wank14275. jarg422h.htm#wannabee14276. jarg422h.htm#war%20dialer14277. jarg422h.htm#-ware14278. jarg422h.

possible for the phone companies to move them out of band, one could actually hear the switching tones used to route long-distance calls. Early

14297. jarg422h.htm#weeble14298. jarg422h.htm#weeds14299. jarg422h.htm#weenie14300. jarg422h.htm#Weenix14301. jarg422h.htm#well-behaved14302. jarg422h

14321. jarg422h.htm#WIMP%20environment14322. jarg422h.htm#win14323. jarg422h.htm#win%20big14324. jarg422h.htm#win%20win14325. jarg422h.htm#Winchester1

14345. jarg422h.htm#wizardly14346. jarg422h.htm#wok-on-the-wall14347. jarg422h.htm#womb%20box14348. jarg422h.htm#WOMBAT14349. jarg422h.htm#womble14350

14369. jarg422h.htm#WAITS14370. jarg422h.htm#W2K%20bug14371. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20W%20%3d14372. jarg422h.htm#virus14373. jarg422h.htm#worm14374. jarg422

14393. jarg422h.htm#waldo14394. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20W%20%3d14395. jarg422h.htm#core14396. jarg422h.htm#codewalker14397. jarg422h.htm#silly%20walk14398.

14417. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20W%20%3d14418. jarg422h.htm#code%20grinder14419. jarg422h.htm#droid14420. jarg422h.htm#wall%20wart14421. jarg422h.htm#wall%20

14441. jarg422h.htm#bogometer14442. jarg422h.htm#neep-neep14443. jarg422h.htm#war%20dialer14444. jarg422h.htm#wank14445. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20W%20%3d144

14465. jarg422h.htm#fritterware14466. jarg422h.htm#guiltware14467. jarg422h.htm#liveware14468. jarg422h.htm#meatware14469. jarg422h.htm#payware14470.

14489. jarg422h.htm#wannabee14490. jarg422h.htm#handle14491. jarg422h.htm#elite14492. jarg422h.htm#courier14493. jarg422h.htm#leech14494. jarg422h.htm

14513. jarg422h.htm#boot14514. jarg422h.htm#washing%20machine14515. jarg422h.htm#warm%20boot14516. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20W%20%3d14517. jarg422h.htm#crock

pens. A correspondent at U. Minn. reports that the CS department there has about 80 bottles of the stuff hanging about, so they often refer to

14537. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20W%20%3d14538. jarg422h.htm#voodoo%20programming14539. jarg422h.htm#rain%20dance14540. jarg422h.htm#casting%20the%20runes1454

14561. jarg422h.htm#postmaster14562. jarg422h.htm#wedged14563. jarg422h.htm#webmaster14564. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20W%20%3d14565. jarg422h.htm#wedgie14566.

14585. jarg422h.htm#gurfle14586. jarg422h.htm#weenie14587. jarg422h.htm#weeble14588. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20W%20%3d14589. jarg422h.htm#branch%20to%20Fishk

14609. jarg422h.htm#ITS14610. http://www.cs.brown.edu/courses/cs167/weenix.html14611. jarg422h.htm#well-connected14612. jarg422h.htm#Weenix14613. jarg

14633. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20W%20%3d14634. jarg422h.htm#NeWS14635. jarg422h.htm#GOSMACS14636. jarg422h.htm#whacker14637. jarg422h.htm#glark14638. jarg422

14657. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20W%20%3d14658. jarg422h.htm#wheel%20bit14659. jarg422h.htm#What's%20a%20spline%3f14660. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20W%20%3d14661.

14681. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20W%20%3d14682. jarg422h.htm#K&R14683. jarg422h.htm#Red%20Book14684. jarg422h.htm#Green%20Book14685. jarg422h.htm#Blue%20B

14705. jarg422h.htm#WIBNI14706. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20W%20%3d14707. jarg422h.htm#X14708. jarg422h.htm#WIMP%20environment14709. jarg422h.htm#widget14710.

14729. jarg422h.htm#win%20big14730. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20W%20%3d14731. jarg422h.htm#win14732. jarg422h.htm#windoid14733. jarg422h.htm#win%20win14734. ja

14753. jarg422h.htm#winnage14754. jarg422h.htm#winged%20comments14755. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20W%20%3d14756. jarg422h.htm#emoticon14757. jarg422h.htm#winne

of Death but much more common (many non-hackers have picked it up). Due to the extreme fragility and bugginess of Microsoft Windows misbehaving

14777. jarg422h.htm#wirewater14778. jarg422h.htm#wired14779. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20W%20%3d14780. jarg422h.htm#wish%20list14781. jarg422h.htm#wirehead1478

14801. jarg422h.htm#wheel14802. jarg422h.htm#guru14803. jarg422h.htm#lord%20high%20fixer14804. jarg422h.htm#deep%20magic14805. jarg422h.htm#heavy%20wi

14825. jarg422h.htm#rogue14826. jarg422h.htm#wok-on-the-wall14827. jarg422h.htm#wizard%20mode14828. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20W%20%3d14829. jarg422h.htm#feat

14849. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20W%20%3d14850. jarg422h.htm#broken14851. jarg422h.htm#funky14852. jarg422h.htm#demented14853. jarg422h.htm#bozotic14854. jarg

14873. jarg422h.htm#working%20as%20designed14874. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20W%20%3d14875. jarg422h.htm#virus14876. jarg422h.htm#cracker14877. jarg422h.htm#Gr

14897. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20W%20%3d14898. jarg422h.htm#Bad%20Thing14899. jarg422h.htm#write-only%20memory14900. jarg422h.htm#write-only%20code14901. jar

14921. jarg422h.htm#ADVENT14922. jarg422h.htm#ADVENT14923. jarg422h.htm#Zork14924. http://www.ccil.org/retro14925. jarg422h.htm#WYSIWYG14926. jarg422h

14945. jarg422h.htm#XOFF14946. jarg422h.htm#XON14947. jarg422h.htm#xor14948. jarg422h.htm#xref14949. jarg422h.htm#XXX14950. jarg422h.htm#xyzzy14951. j

14969. jarg422h.htm#XON14970. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20X%20%3d14971. jarg422h.htm#XXX14972. jarg422h.htm#xor14973. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20X%20%3d14974. jarg422h

14993. jarg422h.htm#YAFIYGI14994. jarg422h.htm#YAUN14995. jarg422h.htm#Yellow%20Book14996. jarg422h.htm#yellow%20card14997. jarg422h.htm#yellow%20wire

after mainstreanm slang `bodge' for a clumsy improvisation or sloppy job of work. Compare [1624]purple wire, [1625]red wire, [1626]yellow

15016. jarg422h.htm#TLA15017. jarg422h.htm#YAUN15018. jarg422h.htm#YABA15019. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20Y%20%3d15020. jarg422h.htm#WYSIWYG15021. jarg422h.htm

15040. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20Y%20%3d15041. jarg422h.htm#YA-15042. jarg422h.htm#YABA15043. jarg422h.htm#YAUN15044. jarg422h.htm#YKYBHTLW15045. jarg422h.ht

15063. jarg422h.htm#network%20address15064. jarg422h.htm#SO15065. jarg422h.htm#priority%20interrupt15066. http://albrecht.ecn.purdue.edu/~taylor/humor

15086. jarg422h.htm#zbeba15087. jarg422h.htm#zen15088. jarg422h.htm#zero15089. jarg422h.htm#zero-content15090. jarg422h.htm#Zero-One-Infinity%20Rule15

15110. jarg422h.htm#zap15111. jarg422h.htm#zbeba15112. jarg422h.htm#zapped15113. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20Z%20%3d15114. jarg422h.htm#zen15115. jarg422h.htm#

15134. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20Z%20%3d15135. jarg422h.htm#foo15136. jarg422h.htm#foo15137. jarg422h.htm#foo15138. jarg422h.htm#random15139. jarg422h.htm#in

15158. jarg422h.htm#zipperhead15159. jarg422h.htm#%3d%20Z%20%3d15160. jarg422h.htm#orphan15161. jarg422h.htm#Zork15162. jarg422h.htm#zombie15163. jarg

15182. jarg422h.htm#Some%20AI%20Koans15183. jarg422h.htm#OS%20and%20JEDGAR15184. jarg422h.htm#The%20Story%20of%20Mel15185. jarg422h.htm#TV%20Typewrite

15206. jarg422h.htm#Appendix%20A15207. jarg422h.htm#dike15208. jarg422h.htm#magic15209. jarg422h.htm#OS%20and%20JEDGAR15210. jarg422h.htm#A%20Story%20

15230. jarg422h.htm#Things%20Hackers%20Detest%20and%20Avoid15231. jarg422h.htm#Food15232. jarg422h.htm#Politics15233. jarg422h.htm#Gender%20and%20Ethn

languages, command sets, and the like. Widely used for language descriptions but seldom documented anywhere, so that it must usually be learned

15254. jarg422h.htm#Education15255. jarg422h.htm#Other%20Interests15256. jarg422h.htm#Appendix%20B15257. jarg422h.htm#Things%20Hackers%20Detest%20and%

15278. jarg422h.htm#Appendix%20B15279. jarg422h.htm#on%20the%20gripping%20hand15280. jarg422h.htm#Geographical%20Distribution15281. jarg422h.htm#Cerem

15302. jarg422h.htm#ADVENT15303. jarg422h.htm#Zork15304. jarg422h.htm#MUD15305. jarg422h.htm#IRC15306. jarg422h.htm#holy%20wars15307. jarg422h.htm#EMA

15326. jarg422h.htm#Church%20of%20the%20SubGenius15327. jarg422h.htm#bogon15328. jarg422h.htm#random%20numbers15329. jarg422h.htm#A%20Story%20About%20

comments, and done yeoman service in catching typos and minor usage bobbles. Their rare combination of enthusiasm, persistence, wide-ranging te

specifier, followed by a street number, followed by a street name. A zip-part consists of a town-name, followed by a comma, followed by a state

after they have been coiled for some time. It is rumored within IBM that channel cables for the 370 are limited to 200 feet because beyond that

hobbyist system; originally a term of annoyance, but became more and more affectionate as the hardware became more and more obsolete. _______

customer is always right", it was decided that there had to be at least one "Bob" on duty at all times, just in case. This si

BOF /B-O-F/ or /bof/ n. 1. [common] Abbreviation for the phrase "Birds Of a Feather" (flocking together), an informal discussio

Several people have written stories about BOFHs. The set usually considered canonical is by Simon Travaglia and may be found at the [1670]Ba

interesting property that, if the Many Worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics is true, it can sort an arbitrarily large array in constant t

BogoMIPS /bo'go-mips/ n. The number of million times a second a processor can do absolutely nothing. The [1690]Linux OS measures BogoMI

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

Node:bogon filter, Next:[1705]bogon flux, Previous:[1706]bogon, Up:[1707]= B = bogon filter /boh'gon fil'tr/ n. Any device, s

and John McCarthy's original crew of LISPers. These include verb doubling, soundalike slang, the `-P' convention, overgeneralization,

bogosity /boh-go's*-tee/ n. 1. [orig. CMU, now very common] The degree to which something is [1719]bogus. Bogosity is measured with

become bogotified and you had better not use it any more. This coinage led to the notional `autobogotiphobia' defined as `the fear of beco

bogus program." 3. False. "Your arguments are bogus." 4. Incorrect. "That algorithm is bogus." 5. Unbelievable. "Yo

unlisted [1746]Dr. Fred Mbogo. By the early 1980s `bogus' was also current in something like hacker usage sense in West Coast teen slan

and "Soap"] 1. v. To have sex with; compare [1757]bounce, sense 3. (This is mainstream slang.) In Commonwealth hackish the variant `bon

in this situation. _________________________________________________________________ Node:bondage-and-discipline language, Next:[1769]bonk

that one should acknowledge a bonk by saying `oif!' and there is a myth to the effect that failing to do so upsets the cosmic bonk/oif bal

Since about 1983 this tradition has gotten a boost from the popular O'Reilly and Associates line of technical books, which usually feature

Another variant: `soft boot', reinitialization of only part of a system, under control of other software still running: "If you're

powerful enough to load the actual OS and hand control over to it. _________________________________________________________________ Node:

A standard construction in English is to double a verb and use it as an exclamation, such as "Bang, bang!" or "Quack, quack!&quo

employees, all former members of Routing Geeks, showed up with t-shirts printed with "Recovering Borg". ___________________________

remarkably impressive Turing-test experiments, able to pass as human for as long as ten or fifteen minutes of conversation. 2. An AI-controlled

Node:bottom feeder, Next:[1830]bottom-up implementation, Previous:[1831]bot spot, Up:[1832]= B = bottom feeder n. 1. An Internet use

Hackish opposite of the techspeak term `top-down design'. It has been received wisdom in most programming cultures that it is best to design

Lab building used by the Stanford AI Lab in the 1970s had a volleyball court on the front lawn. From 5 P.M. to 7 P.M. was the scheduled mainten

Reasons might include a nonexistent or misspelled username or a [1854]down relay site. Bounce messages can themselves fail, with occasionally u

box n. 1. A computer; esp. in the construction `foo box' where foo is some functional qualifier, like `graphics', or the name of a

/************************************************* * * This is a boxed comment in C style * *************************************************/ Co

Node:boxology, Next:[1880]bozotic, Previous:[1881]boxen, Up:[1882]= B = boxology /bok-sol'*-jee/ n. Syn. [1883]ASCII art. This ter

BQS /B-Q-S/ adj. Syn. [1893]Berkeley Quality Software. _________________________________________________________________ Node:brai

comp.unix.internals.system.calls.brk.brk.brk sci.physics.edward.teller.boom.boom.boom alt.sadistic.dentists.drill.drill.drill _______

brain fart n. The actual result of a [1903]braino, as opposed to the mental glitch that is the braino itself. E.g., typing dir on a Unix box

_________________________________________________________________ Node:brain-dead, Next:[1911]braino, Previous:[1912]brain-damaged, Up:[19

[IBM: from the location of one of the corporation's facilities] Any unexpected jump in a program that produces catastrophic or just plain

Up:[1930]= B = break 1. vt. To cause to be [1931]broken (in any sense). "Your latest patch to the editor broke the paragraph comma

which the language is sufficiently effective that one can implement the language in itself. That is, for a new language called, hypothetically,

during the reboot process. See also [1943]dickless workstation. The notional `kiss-of-death packet', with a function complementary to t

A measurement of the severity of spam invented by long-time hacker Seth Breidbart, used for programming cancelbots. The Breidbart Index take

bring X to its knees v. [common] To present a machine, operating system, piece of software, or algorithm with a load so extreme or [1956]

_________________________________________________________________ Node:broadcast storm, Next:[1964]brochureware, Previous:[1965]brittle, U

than and inferior to the alternatives that had been available for years. _________________________________________________________________

However, terms like these are often made up on the spur of the moment. Standard examples include: Data General => Dirty Genitals IBM 360

Note: to appreciate this term fully, it helps to know that `broken arrow' is also military jargon for an accident involving nuclear weapon

brackets.) _________________________________________________________________ Node:Brooks's Law, Next:[1991]brown-paper-bag bug, Pre

Node:brown-paper-bag bug, Next:[1999]browser, Previous:[2000]Brooks's Law, Up:[2001]= B = brown-paper-bag bug n. A bug in a public

browser. _________________________________________________________________ Node:BRS, Next:[2005]brute force, Previous:[2006]browser, Up:[2

The [2013]canonical example of a brute-force algorithm is associated with the `traveling salesman problem' (TSP), a classical [2014]NP-ha

programmer time it would take to develop a more `intelligent' algorithm. Additionally, a more intelligent algorithm may imply more long-te

methodologies tends to encourage this sort of thing. Characteristic of early [2023]larval stage programming; unfortunately, many never outgrow

Node:BSOD, Next:[2036]BUAF, Previous:[2037]BSD, Up:[2038]= B = BSOD /B-S-O-D/ Very commmon abbreviation for [2039]Blue Screen of Death

BUAG // n. [abbreviation, from alt.fan.warlord] Big Ugly ASCII Graphic. Pejorative term for ugly [2050]ASCII art, especially as found in [

ignorance, but any use of bogo-sort could issue only from brain damage or willful perversity. _______________________________________________

boolean-valued function). The question should expect a yes/no answer, though it needn't. (See [94]T and [95]NIL.) At dinnertime:

after a prominent portion of his dental anatomy, and this nickname transferred to the bit. Bucky-bit commands were used in a number of editors

area) than it can handle. This problem is commonly exploited by [2073]crackers to get arbitrary commands executed by a program running with roo

Examples: "There's a bug in the editor: it writes things out backwards." "The system crashed because of a hardware bug."

Indeed, the use of `bug' to mean an industrial defect was already established in Thomas Edison's time, and a more specific and rathe

keyers, and it could take some practice to ensure one didn't introduce extraneous dots into the code by holding the key down a fraction too

walking spectre"; this is traced to `bugbear', a Welsh term for a variety of mythological monster which (to complete the circle) has

History of American Technology Museum didn't know this and agreed that it would make a worthwhile exhibit. It was moved to the Smithsonian i

Same as [2095]bug-compatible, with the additional implication that much tedious effort went into ensuring that each (known) bug was replicat

buglix /buhg'liks/ n. [uncommon] Pejorative term referring to [2104]DEC's ULTRIX operating system in its earlier severely buggy ve

Up:[2118]= B = bullschildt /bul'shilt/ n. [comp.lang.c on USENET] A confident, but incorrect, statement about a programming langua

* [6]Introduction: The purpose and scope of this File * [7]A Few Terms: Of Slang, Jargon and Techspeak * [8]Revision History: How the Fil

[One of the best of these is a [96]Gosperism. Once, when we were at a Chinese restaurant, Bill Gosper wanted to know whether someone would like

to improve whatever it was removed from (without changing function; this distinguishes the process from a [2125]featurectomy). 3. n. A small ch

[from Lewis Carroll's "Jabberwocky"] Like [2135]flame, but connotes that the source is truly clueless and ineffectual (mere fla

burn-in period n. 1. A factory test designed to catch systems with [2145]marginal components before they get out the door; the theory is

_________________________________________________________________ Node:busy-wait, Next:[2154]buzz, Previous:[2155]burst page, Up:[2156]= B

buzz vi. 1. Of a program, to run with no indication of progress and perhaps without guarantee of ever finishing; esp. said of programs thoug

Node:by hand, Next:[2170]byte, Previous:[2171]BWQ, Up:[2172]= B = by hand adv. [common] 1. Said of an operation (especially a repetiti

byte /bi:t/ n. [techspeak] A unit of memory or data equal to the amount used to represent one character; on modern architectures this is

byte sex n. [common] The byte sex of hardware is [2182]big-endian or [2183]little-endian; see those entries. ___________________________

programs, such as Truth or Consequences, where an incorrect answer earns one a blast from the buzzer and condolences from the interlocutor. A w

* [2208]canonical: * [2209]card walloper: * [2210]careware: * [2211]cargo cult programming: * [2212]cascade: * [2213]case and

porous => porosity generous => generosity hackers happily generalize: mysterious => mysteriosity ferrous => fer

* [2232]chawmp: * [2233]check: * [2234]cheerfully: * [2235]chemist: * [2236]Chernobyl chicken: * [2237]Chernobyl packet:

* [2256]clobber: * [2257]clock: * [2258]clocks: * [2259]clone: * [2260]clone-and-hack coding: * [2261]clover key: * [2262

* [2280]comm mode: * [2281]command key: * [2282]comment out: * [2283]Commonwealth Hackish: * [2284]compact: * [2285]compiler

* [2304]control-Q: * [2305]control-S: * [2306]Conway's Law: * [2307]cookbook: * [2308]cooked mode: * [2309]cookie: *

* [2328]cosmic rays: * [2329]cough and die: * [2330]courier: * [2331]cow orker: * [2332]cowboy: * [2333]CP/M: * [2334]CPU

* [2352]creeping elegance: * [2353]creeping featurism: * [2354]creeping featuritis: * [2355]cretin: * [2356]cretinous: * [235

* [2376]cuspy: * [2377]cut a tape: * [2378]cybercrud: * [2379]cyberpunk: * [2380]cyberspace: * [2381]cycle: * [2382]cycle

earlier Algol-derived language, CPL.) Before Bjarne Stroustrup settled the question by designing [2392]C++, there was a humorous debate over wh

68 (or even as much as 70, to allow for future expansion) and recompile. This gives the programmer the comfortable feeling of having made the e

Designed by Bjarne Stroustrup of AT&T Bell Labs as a successor to [2406]C. Now one of the [2407]languages of choice, although many hackers

Also, note that all nouns can be verbed. E.g.: "All nouns can be verbed", "I'll mouse it up", "Hang on while I clip

C = Camel Book n. Universally recognized nickname for the book "Programming Perl", by Larry Wall and Randal L. Schwartz, O&ap

Node:can't happen, Next:[2426]cancelbot, Previous:[2427]can, Up:[2428]= C = can't happen The traditional program comment for

[Usenet: compound, cancel + robot] 1. Mythically, a [2433]robocanceller 2. In reality, most cancelbots are manually operated by being fed lists

By early 1995, others had stepped into the spam-cancel business, and appeared to be comporting themselves well, after the 'Moose's m

[The overtones from the old Chevy Chase skit on Saturday Night Live should not be overlooked. This was a "Jaws" parody. Someone lurking

you can use to decide whether something is in canonical form. The jargon meaning, a relaxation of the technical meaning, acquired its present l

Alongside this usage was the promulgation of `canons' (`rules') for the government of the Catholic Church. The techspeak usages (&quo

card walloper n. An EDP programmer who grinds out batch programs that do stupid things like print people's paychecks. Compare [2453]cod

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 s

compiler with poor error recovery. Too frequently, one trivial syntax error (such as a missing `)' or `}') throws the parser out of syn

win => winnitude, winnage disgust => disgustitude hack => hackification Further, note the prevalence of certain kinds of

rather than thinking carefully about what is required to integrate the code for two similar cases. At [2476]DEC (now Compaq), this is someti

What a [2483]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

cat [from `catenate' via [2492]Unix cat(1)] vt. 1. [techspeak] To spew an entire file to the screen or some other output sink without p

= catatonic adj. Describes a condition of suspended animation in which something is so [2503]wedged or [2504]hung that it makes no resp

incomplete) in the classical assumptions. _________________________________________________________________ Node:cd tilde, Next:[2512]CDA,

with imprisonment anyone who "knowingly" makes accessible to minors any message that "describes, in terms patently offensive as me

cdr /ku'dr/ or /kuh'dr/ vt. [from LISP] To skip past the first item from a list of things (generalized from the LISP operation on

chad /chad/ n. 1. [common] The perforated edge strips on printer paper, after they have been separated from the printed portion. Also called

A metal box about the size of a lunchbox (or in some models a large wastebasket), for collecting the [2535]chad (sense 2) that accumulated i

for one which is of interest to the executing program. The implication is that there is a very large number of links on the chain. __________

The pattern here, as with other hackish grammatical quirks, is generalization of an inflectional rule that in English is either an import or

channel hopping n. [common; IRC, GEnie] To rapidly switch channels on [2550]IRC, or a GEnie chat board, just as a social butterfly might hop

[IRC] See [2559]channel op. _________________________________________________________________ Node:char, Next:[2560]charityware, Previo

chase pointers 1. vi. To go through multiple levels of indirection, as in traversing a linked list or graph structure. Used esp. by programm

FORTH hacks that made the overloading intolerable. For similar reasons, /gaw'bl/ (spelled `gawble' or possibly `gawbul') was in us

Node:cheerfully, Next:[2582]chemist, Previous:[2583]check, Up:[2584]= C = cheerfully adv. See [2585]happily. ___________________

Chernobyl chicken n. See [2594]laser chicken. _________________________________________________________________ Node:Chernobyl packet

[Commodore] The Commodore Business Machines logo, which strongly resembles a poultry part (within Commodore itself the logo was always called `

using them. Customers rejected the idea with almost equal unanimity, and chiclets are not often seen on anything larger than a digital watch an

languages have confirmed that `choad' is in fact an Indian vernacular word equivalent to `fuck'; it is therefore likely to have entered

A hand gesture commonly accompanies this. To perform it, hold the four fingers together and place the thumb against their tips. Now open and

sometimes heard is "Complain!", meaning "I have a complaint!" _____________________________________________________________

Node:CHOP, Next:[2638]Christmas tree, Previous:[2639]chomper, Up:[2640]= C = CHOP /chop/ n. [IRC] See [2641]channel op. ___________

derives from a fanciful image of each little option bit being represented by a different-colored light bulb, all turned on.) Compare [2650]Godz

like crazy." _________________________________________________________________ Node:Church of the SubGenius, Next:[2660]Cinderella Bo

Hopcroft and Jeffrey Ullman, (Addison-Wesley, 1979). So called because the cover depicts a girl (putatively Cinderella) sitting in front of a R

known as `K&R C'. The name came into use while C was being standardized by the ANSI X3J11 committee. Also `C Classic'. An anal

Node:CLM, Next:[2683]clobber, Previous:[2684]clean, Up:[2685]= C = CLM /C-L-M/ [Sun: `Career Limiting Move'] 1. n. An action endange

1. n 1. [techspeak] The master oscillator that steps a CPU or other digital circuit through its paces. This has nothing to do with the time

Node:clone, Next:[2702]clone-and-hack coding, Previous:[2703]clocks, Up:[2704]= C = clone n. 1. An exact duplicate: "Our produc

Node:clone-and-hack coding, Next:[2706]clover key, Previous:[2707]clone, Up:[2708]= C = clone-and-hack coding n. [DEC] Syn. [2709]case

got to hit him with a two-by-four. That's to get his attention." The clue-by-four is a close relative of the [2717]LART. Syn. `clue sti

anything with a really complex behavioral repertoire as `like a person' rather than `like a thing'. At first glance, to anyone who

Co-lo boxes are typically web and FTP servers remote-administered by their owners, who may seldom or never visit the actual site. ___________

boring mindless things on [2732]dinosaur mainframes. Hackers believe that all COBOL programmers are [2733]suits or [2734]code grinders, and no

Node:cobweb site, Next:[2741]code, Previous:[2742]COBOL fingers, Up:[2743]= C = cobweb site n. A World Wide Web Site that hasn't b

code grinder n. 1. A [2753]suit-wearing minion of the sort hired in legion strength by banks and insurance companies to implement payroll

1. A person only capable of grinding out code, but unable to perform the higher-primate tasks of software architecture, analysis, and design. M

Gestapo-like storm troopers that might burst into one's office and arrest one for violating programming style rules. May be used either se

A program component that traverses other programs for a living. Compilers have codewalkers in their front ends; so do cross-reference genera

of liking a movie for its silliness factor. Quotient tends to imply that the property is a ratio of two opposing factors: "I would have wo

cokebottle /kohk'bot-l/ n. Any very unusual character, particularly one you can't type because it isn't on your keyboard. MIT

_________________________________________________________________ Node:COME FROM, Next:[2794]comm mode, Previous:[2795]cold boot, Up:[2796

Hackers tend to take this a step further and argue that the difference between a substrate of CHON atoms and water and a substrate of silicon a

continues at the statement following the DO. Some generous FORTRANs would allow arbitrary statements (other than CONTINUE) for the statement, l

COME FROM was supported under its own name for the first time 15 years later, in C-INTERCAL (see [2802]INTERCAL, [2803]retrocomputing); knowled

comment out vt. To surround a section of code with comment delimiters or to prefix every line in the section with a comment marker; this

/sohsh wib'l/). Preferred [2821]metasyntactic variables include [2822]blurgle, eek, ook, frodo, and bilbo; [2823]wibble, wobble, and in

[2833]grunge, [2834]hakspek, [2835]heavy metal, [2836]leaky heap, [2837]lord high fixer, [2838]loose bytes, [2839]muddie, [2840]nadger, [2841]n

non-compact through accreting [2877]features and [2878]cruft that don't merge cleanly into the overall design scheme (thus, some fans of [

compos, quick [2890]demo compos (build a demo within 4 hours for example), etc. _____________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________ Node:computer confetti, Next:[2901]computer geek, Previous:[2902]Compu$e

Cannot be used by outsiders without implied insult to all hackers; compare black-on-black vs. white-on-black usage of `nigger'. A computer

like a crop yield or diesel horsepower. See [2921]bitty box, [2922]Get a real computer!, [2923]toy, [2924]crank. 2. A mythical subatomic partic

intentional stance. _________________________________________________________________ Node:Comparatives, Previous:[113]Anthropomorphizatio

con n. [from SF fandom] A science-fiction convention. Not used of other sorts of conventions, such as professional meetings. This term, unli

condom n. 1. The protective plastic bag that accompanies 3.5-inch microfloppy diskettes. Rarely, also used of (paper) disk envelopes. Unlike

Common soundalike slang for `computer'. Usually encountered in compounds such as `confuser room', `personal confuser', `confuse

(A closely related phenomenon, with a slightly different intent, is the habit manufacturers have of inventing new screw heads so that only D

In LISP itself, cons is the most fundamental operation for building structures. It takes any two objects and returns a `dot-pair' or tw

papers and parodies have borne titles of the form "X considered Y". The structured-programming wars eventually blew over with the rea

Node:console jockey, Next:[2965]content-free, Previous:[2966]console, Up:[2967]= C = console jockey n. See [2968]terminal junkie. _

Node:control-C, Next:[2974]control-O, Previous:[2975]content-free, Up:[2976]= C = control-C vi. 1. "Stop whatever you are doing

Node:control-Q, Next:[2981]control-S, Previous:[2982]control-O, Up:[2983]= C = control-Q vi. "Resume." From the ASCII DC1 or

Up:[2992]= C = Conway's Law prov. The rule that the organization of the software and the organization of the software team will be

rare in the U.S.) and may change places with `flaky' for some speakers. Coinages for describing [115]lossage seem to call forth the ver

Up:[2997]= C = cookbook n. [from amateur electronics and radio] A book of small code segments that the reader can use to do various [29

driver. Oppose [3007]raw mode, [3008]rare mode. This term is techspeak under Unix but jargon elsewhere; other operating systems often have simi

Up:[3016]= C = cookie bear n. obs. Original term, pre-Sesame-Street, for what is now universally called a [3017]cookie monster. A corre

from various sources including this lexicon. _________________________________________________________________ Node:cookie jar, Next:[3022

[3034]mainframe), repeatedly demanding "I WANT A COOKIE". The required responses ranged in complexity from "COOKIE" through &

_________________________________________________________________ Node:copper, Next:[3044]copy protection, Previous:[3045]copious free tim

copybroke /kop'ee-brohk/ adj. 1. [play on `copyright'] Used to describe an instance of a copy-protected program that has been `bro

Node:copyleft, Next:[3059]copyparty, Previous:[3060]copycenter, Up:[3061]= C = copyleft /kop'ee-left/ n. [play on `copyright&ap

Node:copywronged, Next:[3070]core, Previous:[3071]copyparty, Up:[3072]= C = copywronged /kop'ee-rongd/ adj. [play on `copyright

Node:core cancer, Next:[3079]core dump, Previous:[3080]core, Up:[3081]= C = core cancer n. [rare] A process that exhibits a slow but in

subcultures of computer hackers. Though some technical material is included for background and flavor, it is not a technical dictionary; what w

common (similarly, a hacker would be likely to write "Excuse me, I'm cixelsyd today", rather than "I'm dyslexic today&qu

lecture or answer to an exam question. "Short, concise answers are better than core dumps" (from the instructions to an exam at Colum

1960s (Dennis Ritchie is sometimes incorrectly cited as a co-author, but was not involved). Their original game was called `Darwin' and ran

[3110]handwave away any minor [3111]randomness that doesn't seem worth the bother of investigating. "Hey, Eric -- I just got a burst of

these hits. _________________________________________________________________ Node:cough and die, Next:[3115]courier, Previous:[3116]cosmi

culture. See also [3128]warez d00dz, [3129]cracker, [3130]elite. _________________________________________________________________ Node:co

Node:CP/M, Next:[3145]CPU Wars, Previous:[3146]cowboy, Up:[3147]= C = CP/M /C-P-M/ n. [Control Program/Monitor; later [3148]retconned

conquer and destroy the peaceful denizens of HEC (Human Engineered Computers). This rather transparent allegory featured many references to [31

scheme than to actually copy the program. 3. n. A program, instructions or patch used to remove the copy protection of a program or to uncrippl

Use of both these neologisms reflects a strong revulsion against the theft and vandalism perpetrated by cracking rings. While it is expected

_________________________________________________________________ Node:cracking, Next:[3183]crank, Previous:[3184]cracker, Up:[3185]= C =

Then delete a line from the file by typing "dd." but that would be very bad -- because the reader would be prone to type the s

_________________________________________________________________ Node:crapplet, Next:[3190]CrApTeX, Previous:[3191]crank, Up:[3192]= C =

_________________________________________________________________ Node:crash, Next:[3199]crash and burn, Previous:[3200]CrApTeX, Up:[3201]

Up:[3210]= C = crash and burn vi.,n. A spectacular crash, in the mode of the conclusion of the car-chase scene in the movie "Bulli

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...&q

1. A shortcoming of a program or algorithm that manifests itself only when a large problem is being run on a powerful machine (see [3227]cra

crayola books n. The [3235]rainbow series of National Computer Security Center (NCSC) computer security standards (see [3236]Orange Book). U

Node:creationism, Next:[3242]creep, Previous:[3243]crayon, Up:[3244]= C = creationism n. The (false) belief that large, innovative soft

low-budget monster movies. _________________________________________________________________ Node:creeping elegance, Next:[3249]creeping f

Unix has always been creeping featurism." 2. More generally, the tendency for anything complicated to become even more complicated because

means `condition' or `pursuit of', whereas -itis usually means `inflammation of'.) ___________________________________________

was a personal quirk of mine until I checked with Usenet --ESR]. One further permutation that is definitely not standard is a hackish tendency

[3281]losing, [3282]brain-damaged. _________________________________________________________________ Node:crippleware, Next:[3283]critical

Node:critical mass, Next:[3289]crlf, Previous:[3290]crippleware, Up:[3291]= C = critical mass n. In physics, the minimum amount of f

influence this usage has become less common (Unix uses a bare line feed as its `CRLF'). ________________________________________________

Node:cross-post, Next:[3307]crossload, Previous:[3308]crock, Up:[3309]= C = cross-post vi. [Usenet; very common] To post a single ar

appropriate for ananonymized networks like Gnutella and Freenet. _________________________________________________________________ Node:cr

something normally (and better) done by a compiler (see [3325]hand-hacking). 4. n. Excess; superfluous junk; used esp. of redundant or supersed

[from [3337]cruft] The antithesis of craftsmanship. _________________________________________________________________ Node:crufty, Next:[3

have been the physics department's radar lab during WWII. To this day (early 1993) the windows appear to be full of random techno-junk. MIT

complicated scheme that produces bit configurations completely unrelated to the original data, such as by a Huffman code. (The file ends up loo

Node:CTSS, Next:[3364]cube, Previous:[3365]cryppie, Up:[3366]= C = CTSS /C-T-S-S/ n. Compatible Time-Sharing System. An early (1963) e

notable in this respect that other hackish inventions (for example, in vocabulary) also tend to carry very precise shades of meaning even when

cubing vi. [parallel with `tubing'] 1. Hacking on an IPSC (Intel Personal SuperComputer) hypercube. "Louella's gone cubing

Up:[3382]= C = cursor dipped in X n. There are a couple of metaphors in English of the form `pen dipped in X' (perhaps the most co

Node:cut a tape, Next:[3389]cybercrud, Previous:[3390]cuspy, Up:[3391]= C = cut a tape vi. To write a software or document distribut

Node:cybercrud, Next:[3392]cyberpunk, Previous:[3393]cut a tape, Up:[3394]= C = cybercrud /si:'ber-kruhd/ n. 1. [coined by Ted Nel

"Neuromancer" (though its roots go back through Vernor Vinge's "True Names" (see the [3399]Bibliography in Appendix C) t

Up:[3406]= C = cyberspace /si:'br-spays`/ n. 1. Notional `information-space' loaded with visual cues and navigable with brain

silver, and the imagery often involves constellations of marching dots, elaborate shifting patterns of lines and angles, or moire patterns.

was big. Knew I'd burn too many cycles on it if I let myself." 3. vt. Syn. [3418]bounce (sense 4), [3419]120 reset; from the phrase `cy

Previous:[3425]cycle crunch, Up:[3426]= C = cycle drought n. A scarcity of cycles. It may be due to a [3427]cycle crunch, but it could

A powerful machine that exists primarily for running large compute-, disk-, or memory-intensive jobs (more formally called a `compute server&ap

by "=hell=", "\hell/", or "/hell/" are occasionally seen (it's claimed that in the last example the first slas

[Usenet] Coffee through Nose to Keyboard; that is, "I laughed so hard I [3446]snarfed my coffee onto my keyboard.". Common on alt.

* [3462]day mode: * [3463]dd: * [3464]DDT: * [3465]de-rezz: * [3466]dead: * [3467]dead beef attack: * [3468]dead code:

* [3486]defined as: * [3487]dehose: * [3488]deletia: * [3489]deliminator: * [3490]delint: * [3491]delta: * [3492]demented

* [3510]/dev/null: * [3511]dickless workstation: * [3512]dictionary flame: * [3513]diddle: * [3514]die: * [3515]die horribly:

* [3534]distro: * [3535]disusered: * [3536]do protocol: * [3537]doc: * [3538]documentation: * [3539]dodgy: * [3540]dogcow

* [3558]DPer: * [3559]Dr. Fred Mbogo: * [3560]dragon: * [3561]Dragon Book: * [3562]drain: * [3563]dread high-bit disease:

* [3582]dumpster diving: * [3583]dup killer: * [3584]dup loop: * [3585]dusty deck: * [3586]DWIM: * [3587]dynner: ________

[from the mythological meaning, later rationalized as the acronym `Disk And Execution MONitor'] A program that is not invoked explicitly,

Node:daemon book, Next:[3602]dahmum, Previous:[3603]daemon, Up:[3604]= D = daemon book n. "The Design and Implementation of the 4.

those about operating systems, is composed. Homeomorphic to [3612]spam. The term `dahmum' is derived from the name of a militant [3613]OS/

for some [124]random member of a larger class (this is straight from [125]BNF). Examples like the following are common:So this <ethnic> wal

[common] A reference that doesn't actually lead anywhere (in C and some other languages, a pointer that doesn't actually point at any

A magazine that many hackers assume all [3631]suits read. Used to question an unbelieved quote, as in "Did you read that in `Datamation

(stupidest imaginable user). From the engineering-slang GAU for Grösster Anzunehmender Unfall, worst assumable accident, esp. of a LNG tank far

See [3651]phase (sense 1). Used of people only. _________________________________________________________________ Node:dd, Next:[3652]DDT,

DDT /D-D-T/ n. [from the insecticide para-dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethene] 1. Generic term for a program that assists in debugging other p

dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (C14-H9-Cl5) should be minimal since each attacks a different, and apparently mutually exclusive, class

Occasionally used of a person who seems to have suddenly `fuzzed out' mentally rather than physically. Usage: extremely silly, also rare.

dead beef attack n. [cypherpunks list, 1996] An attack on a public-key cryptosystem consisting of publishing a key having the same ID as

think about what it means. (Sometimes it simply means that an extremely defensive programmer has inserted [3686]can't happen tests which r

(decimal -21524111) under a number of IBM environments, including the RS/6000. Some modern debugging tools deliberately fill freed memory with

line-based chat systems.I've seen that term used on alt.foobar often.Send it to Erik for the File.Oops...s/Erik/Eric/. The s/Erik/Eric/ says

`constipation', in which each process is trying to send stuff to the other but all buffers are full because nobody is reading anything.) S

A routine whose job is to set everything in the computer -- registers, memory, flags, everything -- to zero, including that portion of memory w

analogy with [3717]Death Star, because many people believed Novell was bungling the lead in Unix systems exactly as AT&T did for many years.

DEC /dek/ n. 1. v. Verbal (and only rarely written) shorthand for decrement, i.e. `decrease by one'. Especially used by assembly pro

hackers too young to have grown up on DEC machines. DEC reclaimed some of its old reputation among techies in the first half of the 1990s. T

decay n.,vi [from nuclear physics] An automatic conversion which is applied to most array-valued expressions in [3741]C; they `decay into

DED /D-E-D/ n. Dark-Emitting Diode (that is, a burned-out LED). Compare [3751]SED, [3752]LER, [3753]write-only memory. In the early 1970s bo

one that could only have been composed by a true [3763]wizard. Compiler optimization techniques and many aspects of [3764]OS design used to be

Node:defenestration, Next:[3777]defined as, Previous:[3778]deep space, Up:[3779]= D = defenestration n. [mythically from a traditional

In the role of, usually in an organization-chart sense. "Pete is currently defined as bug prioritizer." Compare [3783]logical. _

In on-line exchanges, hackers tend to use decimal forms or improper fractions (`3.5' or `7/2') rather than `typewriter style' mixe

Node:deliminator, Next:[3791]delint, Previous:[3792]deletia, Up:[3793]= D = deliminator /de-lim'-in-ay-t*r/ n. [portmanteau, delim

Node:delta, Next:[3798]demented, Previous:[3799]delint, Up:[3800]= D = delta n. 1. [techspeak] A quantitative change, especially a small

Node:demented, Next:[3809]demigod, Previous:[3810]delta, Up:[3811]= D = demented adj. Yet another term of disgust used to describe a ma

[3821]Perl), Linus Torvalds (inventor of [3822]Linux), and most recently James Gosling (inventor of Java, [3823]NeWS, and [3824]GOSMACS) and Gu

at little or no cost to the user for enticement purposes. 4. [[3832]demoscene] A sequence of [3833]demoeffects (usually) combined with self-com

Node:demoeffect, Next:[3845]demogroup, Previous:[3846]demo mode, Up:[3847]= D = demoeffect n. [[3848]demoscene] What among hackers is c

graphicians (the ones who painstakingly pixelate the fine art), musicians (the music composers), [3856]sysops, traders/swappers (the ones who d

demons. Whenever a new piece of knowledge was added, various demons would activate (which demons depends on the particular piece of data) and w

Up:[3872]= D = demoparty n. [[3873]demoscene] Aboveground descendant of the [3874]copyparty, with emphasis shifted away from software p

often added an advertisement of in the beginning, usually containing colorful [3880]display hacks with greetings to other cracking groups. The

A related practice borrows syntax from preferred programming languages to express ideas in a natural-language text. For example, one might s

this, but the majority think it's a good direction. Many demosceneers end up working in the computer game industry. Demoscene resource pages

[by (faulty) analogy with `decapitate'] Humorously, to cut off the feet of. When one is using some computer-aided typesetting tools, carel

Node:derf, Next:[3904]deserves to lose, Previous:[3905]deprecated, Up:[3906]= D = derf /derf/ v.,n. [PLATO] The act of exploiting a

[3914]lose!" ([3915]ITS fans used to say the same thing of [3916]Unix; many still do.) See also [3917]screw, [3918]chomp, [3919]bagbiter.

Node:Devil Book, Next:[3931]/dev/null, Previous:[3932]despew, Up:[3933]= D = Devil Book n. See [3934]daemon book, the term preferred

Extremely pejorative hackerism for `diskless workstation', a class of botches including the Sun 3/50 and other machines designed exclusiv

diddle 1. vt. To work with or modify in a not particularly serious manner. "I diddled a copy of [3951]ADVENT so it didn't doubl

The software equivalent of [3967]crash and burn, and the preferred emphatic form of [3968]die. "The converter choked on an FF in its input

An employee of Digital Equipment Corporation. See also [3979]VAX, [3980]VMS, [3981]PDP-10, [3982]TOPS-10, [3983]field circus. ____________

Dilbert n. Name and title character of a comic strip nationally syndicated in the U.S. and enormously popular among hackers. Dilbert is an

#include <disclaimer.h>-- == Frank Foonly (Fubarco Systems) In the above, the #ifdef/#endif pair is a conditional compilation

authority gives you a minor bitching about something, esp. something trivial. "I was dinged for having a messy desk." _____________

microprocessor-based machines. In a famous quote from the 1988 Unix EXPO, Bill Joy compared the liquid-cooled mainframe in the massive IBM disp

reflects a perception by hackers that these signal another stage in the long, slow dying of the [4020]mainframe industry. In its glory days of

scope of PARC's contributions to computer science have been such that this superior attitude is not much resented. --ESR] ______________

article reflects its author's opinions and not necessarily those of the organization running the machine through which the article entered

Node:disk farm, Next:[4039]display hack, Previous:[4040]Discordianism, Up:[4041]= D = disk farm n. (also [4042]laundromat) A large room

[4051]psychedelicware. _________________________________________________________________ Node:dispress, Next:[4052]Dissociated Press, Prev

the original text of the last N words (or letters) already printed and then prints the next word or letter. [4060]EMACS has a handy command for

`travesty generators' have been employed with considerable satirical effect to the utterances of Usenet flamers; see [4063]pseudo. _____

Synonym for [4075]distribution, sense 1. _________________________________________________________________ Node:disusered, Next:[4076]do p

in the slang of jazz musicians and some kinds of fine artists but hard to detect in most technical or scientific cultures; parts of it are code

You seem well-suited for a career in government.</flame> Another recent (late 1990s) construction now common on USENET seems to be borrowed

ask for the check, calculate the tip and everybody's share, collect money from everybody, generate change as necessary, and pay the bill.

on-line. A common comment on this predilection is "You can't [4091]grep dead trees". See [4092]drool-proof paper, [4093]verbiage,

[4103]rot13 is involved. A dogcow also appears if you choose `Page Setup...' with a LaserWriter selected and click on the `Options' b

= dogpile v. [Usenet: prob. fr. mainstream "puppy pile"] When many people post unfriendly responses in short order to a singl

from more serious work. 2. v. To engage in such a project. Many games and much [4114]freeware get written this way. _________________________

[4122]bang paths. These senses are now (1996) obsolete, as effectively all sites have converted. ____________________________________________

then!, Up:[4129]= D = dongle /dong'gl/ n. 1. [now obs.] A security or [4130]copy protection device for proprietary software consis

1999 and is now dominant. Laptop owners curse these things because they're notoriously easy to lose and the vendors commonly charge extort

Node:donuts, Next:[4138]doorstop, Previous:[4139]dongle-disk, Up:[4140]= D = donuts n. obs. A collective noun for any set of memory

Node:DoS attack, Next:[4146]dot file, Previous:[4147]doorstop, Up:[4148]= D = DoS attack // [Usenet,common; note that it's unrelat

communication have shown that electronic links have a de-inhibiting effect on people. Deprived of the body-language cues through which emotiona

creating the appropriate file in the current or home directory. (Therefore, dot files tend to [4154]creep -- with every nontrivial application

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

Bits four: Double double bucky! Double bucky, left and right OR'd together, outta sight!

experience in electronic communication. See [4171]B1FF, [4172]pseudo. _________________________________________________________________ No

Node:download, Next:[4181]DP, Previous:[4182]down, Up:[4183]= D = download vt. To transfer data or (esp.) code from a far-away system (es

Node:DPB, Next:[4191]DPer, Previous:[4192]DP, Up:[4193]= D = DPB /d*-pib'/ vt. [from the PDP-10 instruction set] To plop somethin

Node:Dr. Fred Mbogo, Next:[4199]dragon, Previous:[4200]DPer, Up:[4201]= D = Dr. Fred Mbogo /*m-boh'goh, dok'tr fred/ n. [Stan

invoked at all, but is instead used by the system to perform various secondary tasks. A typical example would be an accounting program, which k

V. Aho and Jeffrey D. Ullman; Addison-Wesley, 1977; ISBN 0-201-00022-9), was the `Green Dragon Book' (1977). (Also `New Dragon Book',

(including ASR-33 teletypes and PRIME minicomputers) that results in all characters having their high (0x80) bit forced on. This of course make

Node:Email Quotes, Next:[129]Hacker Speech Style, Previous:[130]Hacker Writing Style, Up:[131]Top Email Quotes and Inclusion Conventions O

up as questionmarks. The usual culprit is the misnamed `smart quotes' feature in Microsoft Word. For more details (and a program called `d

gets commands and dispatches them for execution. 2. [techspeak] In `device driver', code designed to handle a particular peripheral device

broken; an "It's not my job, man" attitude. Typical droid positions include supermarket checkout assistant and bank clerk; th

knowledge about the products they sell, yet possessed of the conviction that they are more competent than their hacker customers. Usage: "

drop on the floor vt. To react to an error condition by silently discarding messages or other valuable data. "The gateway ran out of

drop-outs n. 1. A variety of `power glitch' (see [4267]glitch); momentary 0 voltage on the electrical mains. 2. Missing characters in t

drum adj, n. Ancient techspeak term referring to slow, cylindrical magnetic media that were once state-of-the-art storage devices. Under

(isopropyl alcohol) at their desks. When the steel ball on the mouse had picked up enough [4283]cruft to be unreliable, the mouse was doused in

The most dramatic use yet seen of [4290]fall through in C, invented by Tom Duff when he was at Lucasfilm. Trying to [4291]bum all the instructi

controversial single feature; Duff observed that "This code forms some sort of argument in that debate, but I'm not sure whether it&apo

used to quote lines starting with "From" in text, so they wouldn't look like the beginnings of new message headers). Inclusions wi

Node:dumbass attack, Next:[4299]dumbed down, Previous:[4300]dumb terminal, Up:[4301]= D = dumbass attack /duhm'as *-tak'/ n.

Up:[4311]= D = dump n. 1. An undigested and voluminous mass of information about a problem or the state of a system, especially one rou

what is elsewhere called a `skip'). Back in AT&T's monopoly days, before paper shredders became common office equipment, phone phre

Node:dup loop, Next:[4324]dusty deck, Previous:[4325]dup killer, Up:[4326]= D = dup loop /d[y]oop loop/ (also `dupe loop') n. [Fid

card-punch days. Used esp. when referring to old scientific and [4334]number-crunching software, much of which was written in FORTRAN and very

Some victims of DWIM thus claimed that the acronym stood for `Damn Warren's Infernal Machine!'. In one notorious incident, Warren

_________________________________________________________________ Node:dynner, Next:[4344]earthquake, Previous:[4345]DWIM, Up:[4346]= D =

* [4363]ed: * [4364]egosurf: * [4365]eighty-column mind: * [4366]El Camino Bignum: * [4367]elder days: * [4368]elegant: *

* [4387]epsilon: * [4388]epsilon squared: * [4389]era the: * [4390]Eric Conspiracy: * [4391]Eris: * [4392]erotics: * [439

_________________________________________________________________ Node:earthquake, Next:[4411]Easter egg, Previous:[4412]dynner, Up:[4413]

quoted and thus pull the message below the rejection threshold. Because the default mailers supplied with Unix and other operating systems h

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

A construction popularized among hackers by the infamous [4426]CPU Wars comic; supposedly derive from a famously turgid line in a WWII-era a

card code in the early 1960s and promulgated it as a customer-control tactic (see [4433]connector conspiracy), spurning the already established

Node:ed, Next:[4447]egosurf, Previous:[4448]ECP, Up:[4449]= E = ed n. "ed is the standard text editor." Line taken from orig

_________________________________________________________________ Node:eighty-column mind, Next:[4457]El Camino Bignum, Previous:[4458]ego

walloper. A copy of "The Last Bug" lives on the the GNU site at [4465]http://www.gnu.org/fun/jokes/last.bug.html. _________________

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 calli

been rather consciously adopted from J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy epic "The Lord of the Rings". Compare [4477]Iron Age; see also [44

elephantine adj. Used of programs or systems that are both conspicuous [4487]hogs (owing perhaps to poor design founded on [4488]brute fo

the canonical example of a really stupid, memory-limited computation environment. "You can't require printf(3) to be part of the defaul

Thanks to poor design of some PC-based mail agents, one will occasionally see the entire quoted message after the response, like this respo

A true hacker would be more likely to use `wizardly'. Oppose [4502]lamer. ______________________________________________________________

a [4506]Good Thing when writing a programming language, but it can blind you to serious shortcomings when analyzing an Artificial Intelligence

called `Böcklin', an art-Noveau display font. _________________________________________________________________ Node:EMACS, Next:[451

Some EMACS versions running under window managers iconify as an overflowing kitchen sink, perhaps to suggest the one feature the editor does no

open work". A use from 1480 is given. The word is probably derived from French `émaillé' (enameled) and related to Old French `emmail

by [4540]newbies), resulting in arguments and [4541]flame wars. Hundreds of emoticons have been proposed, but only a few are in common use.

also [4543]bixie. On [4544]Usenet, `smiley' is often used as a generic term synonymous with [4545]emoticon, as well as specifically for the

empire n. Any of a family of military simulations derived from a game written by Peter Langston many years ago. A number of multi-player

engine n. 1. A piece of hardware that encapsulates some function but can't be used without some kind of [4560]front end. Today we have,

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

authoritative sources such as standards documents; the intended allusion is to the root prompt (the special Unix command prompt issued when one

Node:ENQ, Next:[4573]EOF, Previous:[4574]enhancement, Up:[4575]= E = ENQ /enkw/ or /enk/ [from the ASCII mnemonic ENQuire for 0000101] An

terminal driver into an end-of-file condition. 3. Used by extension in non-computer contexts when a human is doing something that can be modele

ASCII from the days when it was associated more with wire-service teletypes than computers (e.g., FS, GS, RS, US, EM, SUB, ETX, and esp. EOT).

increase by then. See also [4603]wall time. Microsoft Windows, on the other hand, has an epoch problem every 49.7 days - but this is seldom not

epsilon squared n. A quantity even smaller than [4612]epsilon, as small in comparison to epsilon as epsilon is to something normal; complete

Eric Conspiracy n. A shadowy group of mustachioed hackers named Eric first pinpointed as a sinister conspiracy by an infamous talk.bizarre p

original, she was reinvented as a more benign personification of creative anarchy starting in 1959 by the adherents of [4630]Discordianism and

_________________________________________________________________ Node:eurodemo, Next:[4639]evil, Previous:[4640]error 33, Up:[4641]= E =

can be pretty evil if you're prone to typos." Often pronounced with the first syllable lengthened, as /eeee'vil/. Compare [4651]ev

Evil Empire n. [from Ronald Reagan's famous characterization of the communist Soviet Union] Formerly [4660]IBM, now [4661]Microsoft. Fu

It has been observed that many hackers are confused by negative questions -- or, at least, that the people to whom they are talking are often c

The process of [4671]grovelling through a [4672]core dump or hex image in an attempt to discover the bug that brought a program or system down.

Abbreviation for `exclamation point'. See [4684]bang, [4685]shriek, [4686]ASCII. ____________________________________________________

systems. 3. At IBM and VM/CMS shops, the equivalent of a shell command file (among VM/CMS users). The mainstream `exec' as an abbreviat

A generic obscenity that quickly entered wide use on the Internet and Usenet after [4703]Black Thursday. From the last name of Senator James

over the network. The [4712]Ping O' Death is a famous exploit. 2. More grammatically, a program that exploits an exploit in sense 1, ___

also told this term is mainstream slang for soft pornography, but that sense does not appear to be live among hackers. ______________________

* [4736]fall through: * [4737]fan: * [4738]fandango on core: * [4739]FAQ: * [4740]FAQ list: * [4741]FAQL: * [4742]faradiz

* [4760]feeping creaturism: * [4761]feetch feetch: * [4762]fence: * [4763]fencepost error: * [4764]fiber-seeking backhoe: * [

* [4784]firewall code: * [4785]firewall machine: * [4786]fireworks mode: * [4787]firmware: * [4788]firmy: * [4789]fish: *

* [4808]flat-file: * [4809]flatten: * [4810]flavor: * [4811]flavorful: * [4812]flippy: * [4813]flood: * [4814]flowchart:

disturb them. In a related vein, hackers sometimes make a game of answering questions containing logical connectives with a strictly literal

* [4832]footprint: * [4833]for free: * [4834]for the rest of us: * [4835]for values of: * [4836]fora: * [4837]foreground:

* [4856]friode: * [4857]fritterware: * [4858]frob: * [4859]frobnicate: * [4860]frobnitz: * [4861]frog: * [4862]frogging:

* [4880]Full Monty: * [4881]fum: * [4882]functino: * [4883]funky: * [4884]funny money: * [4885]furrfu: * [4886]fuzzball:

See [4893]coefficient of X. _________________________________________________________________ Node:fairings, Next:[4894]fall over, Previou

Node:fall through, Next:[4903]fan, Previous:[4904]fall over, Up:[4905]= F = fall through v. (n. `fallthrough', var. `fall-throu

do_red(); break;default: do_blue(); break;} The variant spelling /* FALL THRU */ is also common. The effect of the above code is to do

Without qualification, indicates a fan of science fiction, especially one who goes to [4911]cons and tends to hang out with other fans. Many ha

_________________________________________________________________ Node:FAQ, Next:[4924]FAQ list, Previous:[4925]fandango on core, Up:[4926

_________________________________________________________________ Node:FAQL, Next:[4931]faradize, Previous:[4932]FAQ list, Up:[4933]= F =

farkled /far'kld/ adj. [DeVry Institute of Technology, Atlanta] Syn. [4941]hosed. Poss. owes something to Yiddish `farblondjet' an

intended to describe some variations in hacker usage as reported in the English spoken in Great Britain and the Commonwealth (Canada, Australia

fascist adj. 1. [common] Said of a computer system with excessive or annoying security barriers, usage limits, or access policies. The im

the big generators with a pair of coil taps located near the top of the dynamo. When the normal tap brushes get dirty, they take them off line

Node:faulty, Next:[4961]fd leak, Previous:[4962]fat-finger, Up:[4963]= F = faulty adj. Non-functional; buggy. Same denotation as [49

[from Hunter S. Thompson] A state inspired by the prospect of dealing with certain real-world systems and standards that are totally [4974]b

format function is the ability to print numbers in two different Roman-numeral formats (see [4985]bells whistles and gongs). 5. A property or b

A: "Oh. Then it's a misfeature; they should have increased the spacing between rows here." B: "Yes. But if they'd i

[poss. fr. slang `creature feature' for a horror movie] 1. One who loves to add features to designs or programs, perhaps at the expense

`beanie' (an apparent reference to the major feature of a propeller beanie), [5006]splat, `open-apple' or (officially, in Mac documen

antiquity. _________________________________________________________________ Node:feature shock, Next:[5007]featurectomy, Previous:[5008]f

featurectomies are performed to satisfy some external constraint such as code size or execution speed. ______________________________________

game to be played for conscious pleasure. Their inventions thus display an almost unique combination of the neotenous enjoyment of language-pla

European hackers report that this happens partly because the English terms make finer distinctions than are available in their native vocabular

Node:feeper, Next:[5020]feeping creature, Previous:[5021]feep, Up:[5022]= F = feeper /fee'pr/ n. The device in a terminal or wo

A deliberate spoonerism for [5032]creeping featurism, meant to imply that the system or program in question has become a misshapen creature

Node:fence, Next:[5036]fencepost error, Previous:[5037]feetch feetch, Up:[5038]= F = fence n. 1. A sequence of one or more distinguishe

_________________________________________________________________ Node:fencepost error, Next:[5041]fiber-seeking backhoe, Previous:[5042]f

binary tree or hash table implementation. (The error here involves the difference between expected and worst case behaviors of an algorithm.)

cheap Internet access probably means its days are numbered. In early 1999 Fidonet has approximately 30,000 nodes, down from 38K in 1996. ____

There is also the `Field Circus Cheer' (from the old [5058]plan file for DEC on MIT-AI):Maynard! Maynard!Don't mess with us!We'

Fight-o-net n. [FidoNet] Deliberate distortion of [5067]FidoNet, often applied after a flurry of [5068]flamage in a particular [5069]echo

system automatically dials another and [5079]snarfs one or more files. Often abbreviated `FReq'; files are often announced as being "

sung late at night at SF conventions. There is a flourishing subgenre of these called `computer filks', written by hackers and often conta

typically have neither significant programming ability, nor Internet expertise, nor experience with UNIX or other true multi-user systems). The

doing the fixing rather than responding to questions, the answers to which will appear on the normal "11:00 news", if people will just

The generalized or `folk' version of [5106]Murphy's Law, fully named "Finagle's Law of Dynamic Negatives" and usually

Node:finger, Next:[5113]finger trouble, Previous:[5114]fine, Up:[5115]= F = finger [WAITS, via BSD Unix] 1. n. A program that displays

surprisingly common among hackers, given the amount of time they spend at keyboards). "I keep putting colons at the end of statements instea

from the `Finn' character in William Gibson's seminal cyberpunk novel "Count Zero", who at one point says to another (much yo

An opposite of hacking. "Been hacking your new newsreader?" "No, a power glitch hosed the network and I spent the whole afternoon

firewall code n. 1. The code you put in a system (say, a telephone switch) to make sure that the users can't do any damage. Since us

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 watc

separately this was quite a spectacular effect. _________________________________________________________________ Node:firmware, Next:[515

_________________________________________________________________ Node:fish, Next:[5165]FISH queue, Previous:[5166]firmy, Up:[5167]= F =

TIME. These traits are similar to those of [147]B1FF, who originated as a parody of naive [148]BBS users; also of his latter-day equ

Node:FITNR, Next:[5173]fix, Previous:[5174]FISH queue, Up:[5175]= F = FITNR // adj. [Thinking Machines, Inc.] Fixed In The Next Release.

Compare [5183]XXX. _________________________________________________________________ Node:flag, Next:[5184]flag day, Previous:[5185]FIXME,

to do with the use of the word [5193]flag to mean a variable that has two values. It came into use when a massive change was made to the [5194]

Node:flamage, Next:[5202]flame, Previous:[5203]flaky, Up:[5204]= F = flamage /flay'm*j/ n. [very common] Flaming verbiage, esp. h

or "Stop all that flamage!" to try to get them to cool down (so to speak). The term may have been independently invented at severa

flame bait n. [common] A posting intended to trigger a [5215]flame war, or one that invites flames in reply. See also [5216]troll. _____

Node:flamer, Next:[5227]flap, Previous:[5228]flame war, Up:[5229]= F = flamer n. [common] One who habitually [5230]flames. Said esp. o

Node:flarp, Next:[5236]flash crowd, Previous:[5237]flap, Up:[5238]= F = flarp /flarp/ n. [Rutgers University] Yet another [5239]meta

[5244]slashdot effect). _________________________________________________________________ Node:flat, Next:[5245]flat-ASCII, Previous:[5246

flat-ASCII adj. [common] Said of a text file that contains only 7-bit ASCII characters and uses only ASCII-standard control characters (that

Pronunciation Guide Pronunciation keys are provided in the jargon listings for all entries that are neither dictionary words pronounced as in stan

[common] To remove structural information, esp. to filter something with an implicit tree structure into a simple sequence of leaves; also t

system. Though the Flavors design has been superseded (notably by the Common LISP CLOS facility), the term `flavor' is still used as a gen

Node:flood, Next:[5286]flowchart, Previous:[5287]flippy, Up:[5288]= F = flood v. [common] 1. To overwhelm a network channel with mec

lower forms of life. This attitude follows from the observations that flowcharts (at least from a hacker's point of view) are no easier to

or deletion as in sense 1, but a demand for early completion! 3. To leave at the end of a day's work (as opposed to leaving for a meal). &

Node:Flyspeck 3, Next:[5308]flytrap, Previous:[5309]flypage, Up:[5310]= F = Flyspeck 3 n. Standard name for any font that is so tiny

the manual itself in the [5319]RTFM. "Have you seen the Networking FM lately?" 2. Abbreviation for "Fucking Magic", used in t

hackers (it is used in Jan Brunvand's books on urban folklore), but is much better recognized on Usenet and elsewhere than in mainstream E

= fold case v. See [5339]smash case. This term tends to be used more by people who don't mind that their tools smash case. It also

= fontology n. [XEROX PARC] The body of knowledge dealing with the construction and use of new fonts (e.g., for window systems and type

/a/ back, that /ah/ father, palm (see note) /ar/ fa

[5361]waldo, [5362]fred, [5363]plugh, [5364]xyzzy, [5365]thud. When `foo' is used in connection with `bar' it has generally traced t

English `fooey' and `fool'. Holman's strip featured a firetruck called the Foomobile that rode on two wheels. The comic strip

here" or something similar showed up. Several slang dictionaries aver that FOO probably came from Forward Observation Officer, but this (l

something like this: FOO: The first syllable of the sacred chant phrase "FOO MANE PADME HUM." Our first obligation is to keep

slang or jargon sense. See also [5382]Fred Foobar. In RFC1639, "FOOBAR" was made an abbreviation for "FTP Operation Over Big Addre

forbid the use of Algol on its computers. See also [5390]DEADBEEF. _________________________________________________________________ Node:

an error message emitted by a PDP-10 assembler at SAIL meaning "FOO is Not a Legal Identifier". The intention was to leapfrog from the

eclipsed by the [5401]Mars, and the company never quite recovered. See the [5402]Mars entry for the continuation and moral of this story. ___

for free adj. [common] Said of a capability of a programming language or hardware that is available by its design without needing cleverness

get in the way of the task instead of helping accomplish it. Used in reference to Macintosh software which doesn't provide obvious capabil

/i/ trip, hit /i:/ life, sky /o/ block, stock (see

Historical note: at MIT this usage has traditionally been traced to the programming language MAD (Michigan Algorithm Decoder), an Algol-58-l

[Unix; common] To bring a task to the top of one's [5431]stack for immediate processing, and hackers often use it in this sense for non-co

later be folded back into the original source code base. Nor should it be confused with what happens when a new distribution of Linux or some o

the gods down upon the perpetrator. See also [5443]logic bomb. _________________________________________________________________ Node:fork

_________________________________________________________________ Node:Fortrash, Next:[5449]fortune cookie, Previous:[5450]forked, Up:[545

Up:[5458]= F = forum n. [Usenet, GEnie, CI$; pl. `fora' or `forums'] Any discussion group accessible through a dial-in [5459]

and [5471]BSD Unix tty driver, designed for use with monocase terminals. (In a perversion of the usual backward-compatibility goal, this functi

glossies, give me the tech ref manuals." Often applied as an indication of superficiality even when the material is printed on ordinary pa

Syn [5490]brittle. _________________________________________________________________ Node:fred, Next:[5491]Fred Foobar, Previous:[5492]fra

Fred Foobar n. [5502]J. Random Hacker's cousin. Any typical human being, more or less synomous with `someone' except that Fred Foo

/uh/ but, some /u/ put, foot /y/ yet, young

As defined by Richard M. Stallman and used by the Free Software movement, this means software that gives users enough freedom to be used by

_________________________________________________________________ Node:freeze, Next:[5520]fried, Previous:[5521]freeware, Up:[5522]= F =

used of hardware brought down by a `power glitch' (see [5526]glitch), [5527]drop-outs, a short, or some other electrical event. (Sometimes

friode /fri:'ohd/ n. [TMRC] A reversible (that is, fused or blown) diode. Compare [5539]fried; see also [5540]SED, [5541]LER. __

[MIT; very common] The [5550]TMRC definition was "FROB = a protruding arm or trunnion"; by metaphoric extension, a `frob' is any r

Usage: frob, twiddle, and tweak sometimes connote points along a continuum. `Frob' connotes aimless manipulation; `twiddle' connotes

[5566]Zork. These variants can also be applied to nonphysical objects, such as data structures. Pete Samson, compiler of the original [5567]

= frogging [University of Waterloo] v. 1. Partial corruption of a text file or input stream by some bug or consistent glitch, as oppose

(usually more powerful but less friendly) machine (a `back end'). 2. What you're talking to when you have a conversation with someone w

machine that is merely frotzed may be fixable without replacing parts, but a fried machine is more seriously damaged. _______________________

network announcers and typical of educated speech in the Upper Midwest, Chicago, Minneapolis/St. Paul and Philadelphia). However, we separate /

for papers and other literature during 1995. The term was in steady though not common use until 1998 and the invention of [5599]open source.

[5612]scary devil monastery and the bofh.net newsgroups, but became much more widespread following the passage of [5613]CDA. Also occasionally

Node:-fu, Next:[5623]FUBAR, Previous:[5624]FTP, Up:[5625]= F = -fu [common; generalized from `kung-fu'] Combining form denoting e

fuck me harder excl. Sometimes uttered in response to egregious misbehavior, esp. in software, and esp. of misbehaviors which seem unfairly

Node:FUD, Next:[5635]FUD wars, Previous:[5636]fuck me harder, Up:[5637]= F = FUD /fuhd/ n. Defined by Gene Amdahl after he left IBM

software vendors ostensibly committed to standardization but actually willing to fragment the market to protect their own shares. The Unix Inte

produce the desired result. The terms `tolerance' and [5650]slop are also used, though these usually indicate a one-sided leeway, such as a

Node:Full Monty, Next:[5657]fum, Previous:[5658]fuel up, Up:[5659]= F = Full Monty n. See [5660]monty, sense 2. ________________

a function in C and C++. By association with sub-atomic particles such as the neutrino, it accurately conveys an impression of smallness (one p

Node:funny money, Next:[5675]furrfu, Previous:[5676]funky, Up:[5677]= F = funny money n. 1. Notional `dollar' units of computing t

Other Lexicon Conventions Entries are sorted in case-blind ASCII collation order (rather than the letter-by-letter order ignoring interword spa

furrfu excl. [Usenet; written, only rarely spoken] Written-only equivalent of "Sheesh!"; it is, in fact, "sheesh" mod

Jargon Lexicon = G = * [5690]G: * [5691]g-file: * [5692]gabriel: * [5693]gag: * [5694]gang bang: * [5695]garbage collect:

* [5710]General Public Virus: * [5711]generate: * [5712]Genius From Mars Technique: * [5713]gensym: * [5714]Get a life!: * [5

* [5734]gnarly: * [5735]GNU: * [5736]gnubie: * [5737]GNUMACS: * [5738]go flatline: * [5739]go root: * [5740]go-faster str

* [5758]gotcha: * [5759]GPL: * [5760]GPV: * [5761]grault: * [5762]gray goo: * [5763]Great Renaming: * [5764]Great Runes:

* [5782]gronk: * [5783]gronk out: * [5784]gronked: * [5785]grovel: * [5786]grue: * [5787]grunge: * [5788]gubbish: * [

_________________________________________________________________ Node:g-file, Next:[5803]gabriel, Previous:[5804]G, Up:[5805]= G = g-f

unnecessary (in the opinion of the opponent) stalling tactic, e.g., tying one's shoelaces or combing one's hair repeatedly, asking the

inevitable result is enormous buggy masses of code entirely lacking in [5817]orthogonality. When market-driven managers make a list of all the

Node:gas, Next:[5829]gaseous, Previous:[5830]garply, Up:[5831]= G = gas [as in `gas chamber'] 1. interj. A term of disgust and ha

Defining instances of terms and phrases appear in `slanted type'. A defining instance is one which occurs near to or as part of an expl

Deserving of being [5837]gassed. Disseminated by Geoff Goodfellow while at SRI; became particularly popular after the Moscone-Milk killings in

See [5845]chawmp. _________________________________________________________________ Node:GC, Next:[5846]GCOS, Previous:[5847]gawble, Up

is more frequently used because it is shorter. Note that there is an ambiguity in usage that has to be resolved by context: "I'm going

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 othe

but useful to consider because it can be reasoned about theoretically. (A classic gedanken experiment of relativity theory involves thinking ab

[ostensibly from `gefingerpoken'] vt. Syn. [5870]mung. See also [5871]blinkenlights. ___________________________________________________

The geek code originated in 1993; it was inspired (according to the inventor) by previous "bear", "smurf" and "twink&quo

Short for [5887]generate, used frequently in both spoken and written contexts. ___________________________________________________________

General Public Virus n. Pejorative name for some versions of the [5895]GNU project [5896]copyleft or General Public License (GPL), which req

rules, or as a (possibly unintended) side effect of the execution of an algorithm or program. The opposite of [5902]parse. This term retains it

The intensity and consciousness of hackish invention make a compilation of hacker slang a particularly effective window into the surrounding

Various abbreviations used frequently in the lexicon are summarized here: abbrev. abbreviation adj. adjective

[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

mainstream currency via the sitcom "Get A Life" in 1990. _________________________________________________________________ Node:

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 [5927

[Fidonet] Fidonet alternative to [5938]film at 11, especially in echoes (Fidonet topic areas) where uuencoded GIFs are permitted. Other formats

[5950]lusers who complain that a program didn't "do the right thing" when given imperfect input or otherwise mistreated in some wa

tera/trillion] 10^9. Same as an American billion or a British `milliard'. How one pronounces this depends on whether one speaks [5959]giga

glark /glark/ vt. To figure something out from context. "The System III manuals are pretty poor, but you can generally glark the meanin

glass tty /glas T-T-Y/ or /glas ti'tee/ n. A terminal that has a display screen but which, because of hardware or software limitations,

glitch /glich/ [very common; from German `glitschig' to slip, via Yiddish `glitshen', to slide or skid] 1. n. A sudden interrup

_________________________________________________________________ Node:glob, Next:[6001]glork, Previous:[6002]glitch, Up:[6003]= G = gl

excl. exclamation imp. imperative interj. interjection n. noun

alternation of comma-separated alternatives; thus, `foo{baz,qux}' would be read as `foobaz' or `fooqux'

_________________________________________________________________ Node:glue, Next:[6014]gnarly, Previous:[6015]glork, Up:[6016]= G = gl

1. [acronym: `GNU's Not Unix!', see [6027]recursive acronym] A Unix-workalike development effort of the Free Software Foundation h

Written-only variant of [6038]newbie in common use on IRC channels, which implies specifically someone who is new to the Linux/open source/free

serious a matter to employ jargon-jokes about. 2. To go completely quiescent; said of machines undergoing controlled shutdown. "You can su

_________________________________________________________________ Node:GoAT, Next:[6056]gobble, Previous:[6057]go-faster stripes, Up:[6058

Godwin's Law prov. [Usenet] "As a Usenet discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approa

packet, [6073]martian. _________________________________________________________________ Node:golden, Next:[6074]golf-ball printer, Prev

and jerked alarmingly in action and when in motion was sometimes described as an `infuriated golf ball'. This was the technology that enab

gonkulator /gon'kyoo-lay-tr/ n. [common; from the 1960s "Hogan's Heroes" TV series] A pretentious piece of equipment tha

prob. probably prov. proverbial quant. quantifier suff. suffix

Good Thing n.,adj. [very common; often capitalized; always pronounced as if capitalized.] 1. Self-evidently wonderful to anyone in a positio

the University of Minnesota, was named after the Minnesota Gophers (a sports team). Others claim the word derives from American slang `gofer&ap

gorets /gor'ets/ n. The unknown ur-noun, fill in your own meaning. Found esp. on the Usenet newsgroup alt.gorets, which seems to be

like one afterwards. This is now considered a classic cautionary tale to human-factors designers; "Remember the gorilla arm!" is shorth

to invent [6126]NeWS and the programming language Java; the latter earned him [6127]demigod status. _________________________________________

even correct. It puts the value of b into a and then executes code if a is non-zero. What the programmer probably meant was if (a==b) {code;},

Yet another [6151]metasyntactic variable, invented by Mike Gallaher and propagated by the [6152]GOSMACS documentation. See [6153]corge. __

The [6163]flag day in 1987 on which all of the non-local groups on the [6164]Usenet had their names changed from the net.- format to the curren

teleprinter codes was well established by 1870, long before Teletype was even founded. ______________________________________________________

[from SF fandom] A mass expedition to an oriental restaurant, esp. one where food is served family-style and shared. There is a common heuristi

vt. transitive verb Where alternate spellings or pronunciations are given, alt. separates two possibilities with nearly equa

like. This grimoire is taken with particular seriousness in Europe. See [6194]Purple Book. 4. The IEEE 1003.1 POSIX Operating Systems Interface

Node:green card, Next:[6202]green lightning, Previous:[6203]green bytes, Up:[6204]= G = green card n. [after the "IBM System/36

Node:green lightning, Next:[6206]green machine, Previous:[6207]green card, Up:[6208]= G = green lightning n. [IBM] 1. Apparently random

mechanical shock, extremes of temperature and humidity, and so forth). Comes from the olive-drab `uniform' paint used for military equipment

_________________________________________________________________ Node:grep, Next:[6219]gribble, Previous:[6220]greenbar, Up:[6221]= G =

data stream are displayed as gribble. Modems with mismatched bitrates usually generate gribble (more specifically, [6227]baud barf). Dumping a

1. [MIT and Berkeley; now rare] To prettify hardcopy of code, especially LISP code, by reindenting lines, printing keywords and comments in dis

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

Node:gritch, Next:[6250]grok, Previous:[6251]gripenet, Up:[6252]= G = gritch /grich/ [MIT] 1. n. A complaint (often caused by a [6253]

[from the novel "Stranger in a Strange Land", by Robert A. Heinlein, where it is a Martian word meaning literally `to drink' and

CMU Carnegie-Mellon University Commodore Commodore Business Machines DEC The Digital E

= gronk out vi. To cease functioning. Of people, to go home and go to sleep. "I guess I'll gronk out now; see you all tomorro

1. To work interminably and without apparent progress. Often used transitively with `over' or `through'. "The file scavenger ha

The grue, according to scholars of the Great Underground Empire, is a sinister, lurking presence in the dark places of the earth. Its favorite

Node:gubbish, Next:[6287]Guido, Previous:[6288]grunge, Up:[6289]= G = gubbish /guhb'*sh/ n. [a portmanteau of `garbage' and `ru

1. A piece of [6297]freeware decorated with a message telling one how long and hard the author worked on it and intimating that one is a no-goo

[ITS, now rare: from the :GUN command] To forcibly terminate a program or job (computer, not career). "Some idiot left a background process

Up:[6317]= G = gurfle /ger'fl/ interj. An expression of shocked disbelief. "He said we have to recode this thing in FORTRAN b

Amiga equivalent of `panic' in Unix (sometimes just called a `guru' or `guru event'). When the system crashes, a cryptic message o

[WPI] 1. v. To [6332]hack, usually at night. At WPI, from 1975 onwards, one who gweeped could often be found at the College Computing Center pu

* [6344]hack together: * [6345]hack up: * [6346]hack value: * [6347]hacked off: * [6348]hacked up: * [6349]hacker: * [635

NRL Naval Research Laboratories NYU New York University OED The Oxford English Dictionary

* [6368]hand cruft: * [6369]hand-hacking: * [6370]handle: * [6371]handle: * [6372]hand-roll: * [6373]handshaking: * [6374

* [6392]heavy wizardry: * [6393]heavyweight: * [6394]heisenbug: * [6395]Helen Keller mode: * [6396]hello sailor!: * [6397]hel

* [6416]hollised: * [6417]holy wars: * [6418]home box: * [6419]home machine: * [6420]home page: * [6421]honey pot: * [642

Node:h, Next:[6439]ha ha only serious, Previous:[6440]gweep, Up:[6441]= H = h [from SF fandom] A method of `marking' common wor

[from SF fandom, orig. as mutation of HHOK, `Ha Ha Only Kidding'] A phrase (often seen abbreviated as HHOS) that aptly captures the flavor

"What are you doing?" "I'm hacking TECO." In a general (time-extended) sense: "What do you do around here?" &q

Up:[6463]= H = hack attack n. [poss. by analogy with `Big Mac Attack' from ads for the McDonald's fast-food chain; the varian

mode is more than a little habituating. The intensity of this experience is probably by itself sufficient explanation for the existence of hack

pre-existing hunk of code that one is evolving, as opposed to something one might [6479]hack up. ____________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________ Node:hack value, Next:[6494]hacked off, Previous:[6495]hack up, Up:[6496

Sun Microsystems TMRC Some MITisms go back as far as the Tech Model Railroad Club (TMRC) at MIT c. 1960. Mater

become annoyed, upset, or touchy owing to suspicions that their sites have been or are going to be victimized by crackers, or used for inapprop

Node:hacker, Next:[6506]hacker ethic, Previous:[6507]hacked up, Up:[6508]= H = hacker n. [originally, someone who makes furniture wi

community defined by the net (see [6511]the network and [6512]Internet address). For discussion of some of the basics of this culture, see the

1. The belief that information-sharing is a powerful positive good, and that it is an ethical duty of hackers to share their expertise by writi

The most reliable manifestation of either version of the hacker ethic is that almost all hackers are actively willing to share technical tricks

as specifications (see [6531]write-only memory), standards documents, language descriptions (see [6532]INTERCAL), and even entire scientific th

(b) responding like a hacker. These traits are also recognizable (though in a less marked form) throughout [6544]science-fiction fandom. __

_________________________________________________________________ Node:Hacking X for Y, Next:[6552]Hackintosh, Previous:[6553]hacking run,

belonging to different models in the line. _________________________________________________________________ Node:hackish, Next:[6559]hack

hackitude n. Syn. [6571]hackishness; this word is considered sillier. _________________________________________________________________

XEROX PARC XEROX's Palo Alto Research Center, site of much pioneering research in user interface design and networking

1. [Fidonet] A large batch of messages that a store-and-forward network is failing to forward when it should. Often used in the phrase "Fi

associate the term `hairy' with the informal version of this theorem; "You can't comb a hairy ball smooth." The adjectiv

and elsewhere. (The title of the memo really is "HAKMEM", which is a 6-letterism for `hacks memo'.) Some of them are very useful

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 g

This ensures that every 4-letter string output occurs in the original. The program typed BANANANANANANANA... We note an ambiguity in the phras

A shorthand method of spelling found on many British academic bulletin boards and [6596]talker systems. Syllables and whole words in a sente

were extensively cited on the Internet and in the press and proved so embarrassing that Microsoft PR barely said a word in public for six month

Node:HAND, Next:[6612]hand cruft, Previous:[6613]hamster, Up:[6614]= H = HAND // [Usenet: very common] Abbreviation: Have A Nice Day

1. [rare] The practice of translating [6624]hot spots from an [6625]HLL into hand-tuned assembler, as opposed to trying to coerce the compiler

Node:handle, Next:[6634]handshaking, Previous:[6635]hand-roll, Up:[6636]= H = handle n. 1. [from CB slang] An electronic pseudonym;

Previous:[170]Other Lexicon Conventions, Up:[171]Top Format For New Entries You can mail submissions for the Jargon File to [172]jargon@snark

_________________________________________________________________ Node:handshaking, Next:[6647]handwave, Previous:[6648]handle, Up:[6649]=

If someone starts a sentence with "Clearly..." or "Obviously..." or "It is self-evident that...", it is a good b

hang v. 1. [very common] To wait for an event that will never occur. "The system is hanging because it can't read from the cras

"Logic of Empire", a classic 1941 SF story by Robert A. Heinlein, who calls it the `devil theory' of sociology. Heinlein's po

output is going to /dev/null." Also used to suggest that a program or device would really rather be doing something destructive, and is be

See [6682]boot. _________________________________________________________________ Node:hardcoded, Next:[6683]hardwarily, Previous:[6684

though it has recently been reported from the U.K. See [6693]softwarily. _________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________ Node:hash bucket, Next:[6704]hash collision, Previous:[6705]has the X na

[from the techspeak] (var. `hash clash') When used of people, signifies a confusion in associative memory or imagination, especially a per

semi-mythical machine instructions with destructive side-effects, supposedly included for test purposes on several well-known architectures goi

We are not interested in straight technical terms explained by textbooks or technical dictionaries unless an entry illuminates `underground&apo

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 con

selling it to them as release (n+1). Microsoft in fact seems to have mastered this technique. _______________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________ Node:heavyweight, Next:[6745]heisenbug, Previous:[6746]heavy wizardry, U

[from Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle in quantum physics] A bug that disappears or alters its behavior when one attempts to probe or is

bypasses the very interrupts the screen saver watches for activity. Your choices are to try to get from the program's current state throug

hello, wall! excl. See [6777]wall. _________________________________________________________________ Node:hello world, Next:[6778]

Up:[6787]= H = hex n. 1. Short for [6788]hexadecimal, base 16. 2. A 6-pack of anything (compare [6789]quad, sense 2). Neither usage has

base-16 would be something like `sendenary'. `Decimal' is from an ordinal number; the corresponding prefix for 6 would imply something

HHOK See [6802]ha ha only serious. _________________________________________________________________ Node:HHOS, Next:[6803]hidden fla

hurry. _________________________________________________________________ Node:high bit, Next:[6810]high moby, Previous:[6811]hidden flag,

either necessary or desirable to eliminate all such; they, too, contribute flavor, and one of this document's major intended audiences --

The Jargon Lexicon * [176]= 0 =: * [177]= A =: * [178]= B =: * [1

miscommunication resulted in two separate wakes being held in commemoration of the shutdown of MIT's last [6822]ITS machines, the one on t

[IRC] Fortuitous typo for `hint', now in wide intentional use among players of [6834]initgame. Compare [6835]newsfroup, [6836]filk. _

HLL /H-L-L/ n. [High-Level Language (as opposed to assembler)] Found primarily in email and news rather than speech. Rarely, the variants `V

[6858]high bit. 2. The non-ITS name of [6859][email protected] (*Hobbit*), master of lasers. ___________________________________________________

hole n. A region in an otherwise [6866]flat entity which is not actually present. For example, some Unix filesystems can store large file

threat of being fired in 1994 at the behest of NASA public-relations officers. The result was, of course, a huge publicity black eye for NASA.

[Free|Net|Open]BSD. Hardy perennials include [6887]EMACS vs. [6888]vi, my personal computer vs. everyone else's personal computer, ad naus

1. Syn. [6896]home box. 2. The machine that receives your email. These senses might be distinct, for example, for a hacker who owns one comp

in action. It is usually well isolated from the rest of the network, but has extensive logging (usually network layer, on a different machine).

Often the difference between a good program and a superb one is that the latter has useful hooks in judiciously chosen places. Both may do the

* [198]= V =: * [199]= W =: * [200]= X =: * [201]= Y =: * [202]= Z =: _______________________________________________________

hose 1. vt. [common] To make non-functional or greatly degraded in performance. "That big ray-tracing program really hoses the system.&

difficulties crashed, and it was announced to have been hosed. It was discovered that the crash was due to the disconnection of some coolant ho

amidst a lot of low-level noise. Such spikes are called `hot spots' and are good candidates for heavy optimization or [6936]hand-hacking.

A [6946]hot spot on a World Wide Web page; an area, which, when clicked or selected, chases a URL. Also spelled `hot link'. Use of this te

Unflattering hackerism for HP-UX, Hewlett-Packard's Unix port, which features some truly unique bogosities in the filesystem internals an

Node:huff, Next:[6966]humma, Previous:[6967]HTH, Up:[6968]= H = huff v. To compress data using a Huffman code. Various programs that use

hung adj. [from `hung up'; common] Equivalent to [6979]wedged, but more common at Unix/C sites. Not generally used of people. Syn. with

hungus /huhng'g*s/ adj. [perhaps related to slang `humongous'] Large, unwieldy, usually unmanageable. "TCP is a hungus pie

Node:hysterical reasons, Next:[6999]I didn't change anything!, Previous:[7000]hyperspace, Up:[7001]= H = hysterical reasons n.

* [7010]IBM discount: * [7011]ICBM address: * [7012]ice: * [7013]ID10T error: * [7014]idempotent: * [7015]IDP: * [7016]If

Numeric zero, as opposed to the letter `O' (the 15th letter of the English alphabet). In their unmodified forms they look a lot alike,

* [7034]inflate: * [7035]Infocom: * [7036]initgame: * [7037]insanely great: * [7038]installfest: * [7039]INTERCAL: * [704

* [7058]IWBNI: * [7059]IYFEG: _________________________________________________________________ Node:I didn't change anything!,

I see no X here. Hackers (and the interactive computer games they write) traditionally favor this slightly marked usage over other possible

Inferior But Marketable; It's Better Manually; Insidious Black Magic; It's Been Malfunctioning; Incontinent Bowel Movement; and a nea

IBM's own beleaguered hacker underground. _________________________________________________________________ Node:IBM discount, Next:[

became traditional to refer to this as one's `ICBM address' or `missile address', and some people include it in their [7089]sig bl

and computer scientists formed ICE (International Cryptographic Experiment) in 1994. ICE is a consortium to promote uniform international acces

header files, which contain common definitions and declarations to be included by several source files. If a header file is ever included twice

If you want X, you know where to find it. There is a legend that Dennis Ritchie, inventor of [7109]C, once responded to demands for features

IIRC // Common abbreviation for "If I Recall Correctly". _________________________________________________________________

capital letter-O (this was endorsed by a draft ANSI standard for how to draw ASCII characters, but the final standard changed the distinguisher

IMHO // abbrev. [from SF fandom via Usenet; abbreviation for `In My Humble Opinion'] "IMHO, mixed-case C names should be avoide

increasing volume, or the possible loss of a key node or link, or the potential for lawsuits when ignoramuses post copyrighted material, etc.,

Node:incantation, Next:[7147]include, Previous:[7148]inc, Up:[7149]= I = incantation n. Any particularly arbitrary or obscure comman

#include <disclaimer.h> has appeared in [7156]sig blocks to refer to a notional `standard [7157]disclaimer file'. ________________

and Java, which have C-like syntaxes. The significant variable is the placement of { and } with respect to the statement(s) they enclose and to

<body>} `Whitesmiths style' -- popularized by the examples that came with Whitesmiths C, an early commercial C compiler. Basic

while, which is a [7168]Bad Thing). Defenders of 1TBS argue that any putative gain in readability is less important than their style's rel

Node:infant mortality, Next:[7174]infinite, Previous:[7175]index of X, Up:[7176]= I = infant mortality n. It is common lore among hacke

infinite loser." The word most likely to follow `infinite', though, is [7182]hair. (It has been pointed out that fractals are an excell

Infinite-Monkey Theorem n. "If you put an [7193]infinite number of monkeys at typewriters, eventually one will bash out the script for

2 infix. In translation software written by hackers, infix 2 often represents the syllable to with the connotation `translate to': as i

Theorem, Up:[7202]= I = infinity n. 1. The largest value that can be represented in a particular type of variable (register, memory loc

I = Infocom n. A now-legendary games company, active from 1979 to 1989, that commercialized the MDL parser technology used for [7210]Zo

Node:initgame, Next:[7212]insanely great, Previous:[7213]Infocom, Up:[7214]= I = initgame /in-it'gaym/ n. [IRC] An [7215]IRC versi

[Mac community, from Steve Jobs; also BSD Unix people via Bill Joy] Something so incredibly [7221]elegant that it is imaginable only to someone

Pronounceable Acronym'] A computer language designed by Don Woods and James Lyons in 1972. INTERCAL is purposely different from all other

of the language on Usenet. Inevitably, INTERCAL has a home page on the Web: [7229]http://www.tuxedo.org/~esr/intercal/. An extended version,

Internet n. The mother of all networks. First incarnated beginning in 1969 as the ARPANET, a U.S. Department of Defense research testbed. Th

microcomputers. The Internet's protocols grew more capable, most notably in the move from NCP/IP to [7247]TCP/IP in 1982 and the implement

the second wave of wide-area networking after 1980. It is now (1996) a commonplace even in mainstream media to predict that a globally-extended

most important top-level functional Internet domains followed by a selection of geographical domains: com commercial organizations

the administrators of the hosting site as a result of net abuse by the website operators. The term is a tongue-in-cheek reference to the standa

uk sites in the United Kingdom Within the us domain, there are subdomains for the fifty states, each generally with a name i

Internet Exploder [very common] Pejorative hackerism for Microsoft's "Internet Explorer" web browser (also "Internet

interrupt 1. [techspeak] n. On a computer, an event that interrupts normal processing and temporarily diverts flow-of-control through an &

_________________________________________________________________ Node:interrupts locked out, Next:[7295]intro, Previous:[7296]interrupt l

_________________________________________________________________ Node:IRC, Next:[7310]iron, Previous:[7311]intro, Up:[7312]= I = IRC /

electronics (but the term is also used of modern supercomputers). Often in the phrase [7321]big iron. Oppose [7322]silicon. See also [7323]dino

[Unix/Internet] A special environment set up to trap a [7334]cracker logging in over remote connections long enough to be traced. May include a

[South Africa] A cup of tea with milk and one teaspoon of sugar, where the milk is poured into the cup before the tea. Variations are ISO 0, wi

ISP /I-S-P/ Common abbreviation for Internet Service Provider, a kind of company that barely existed before 1993. ISPs sell Internet access

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 er

par`tee/) A semi-closed party thrown for hackers at a science-fiction convention (esp. the annual World Science Fiction Convention or "Wor

[Usenet] Abbreviation for `Insert Your Favorite Ethnic Group'. Used as a meta-name when telling ethnic jokes on the net to avoid offending

* [7388]juggling eggs: * [7389]jump off into never-never land: * [7390]jupiter: _____________________________________________________

[very common] A mythical figure like the Unknown Soldier; the archetypal hacker nerd. This term is one of the oldest in the jargon, apparent

Node:jaggies, Next:[7412]Java, Previous:[7413]jack in, Up:[7414]= J = jaggies /jag'eez/ n. The `stairstep' effect observable

embraced by many in the hacker community - but it has been a considerable source of frustration to many others, for reasons ranging from uneven

language used to control the execution of programs in IBM's batch systems. JCL has a very [7426]fascist syntax, and some versions will, fo

Synonymous with [7436]IYFEG. At one time, people in the Usenet newsgroup rec.humor.funny tended to use `JEDR' instead of [7437]IYFEG or `&

substitutions endemic to the script kiddie and [7446]warez d00dz communities. Jeff's offerings, among other things, include hardware advic

recognized but not commonly used; most people refer to both kinds of abuse or their combination as spam. ____________________________________

Node:job security, Next:[7462]jock, Previous:[7463]jiffy, Up:[7464]= J = job security n. When some piece of code is written in a partic

* [249]accumulator: * [250]ACK: * [251]Acme: * [252]acolyte: * [253]ad-hockery: * [254]Ada: * [255]address harvester:

_________________________________________________________________ Node:joe code, Next:[7470]jolix, Previous:[7471]jock, Up:[7472]= J =

Up:[7477]= J = jolix /joh'liks/ n.,adj. 386BSD, the freeware port of the BSD Net/2 release to the Intel i386 architecture by Bill

Node:jump off into never-never land, Next:[7485]jupiter, Previous:[7486]juggling eggs, Up:[7487]= J = jump off into never-never land v.

Jargon Lexicon = K = * [7499]K: * [7500]K&R: * [7501]k-: * [7502]kahuna: * [7503]kamikaze packet: * [7504]kangaroo co

* [7519]kit: * [7520]klone: * [7521]kludge: * [7522]kluge: * [7523]kluge around: * [7524]kluge up: * [7525]Knights of the

K&R [Kernighan and Ritchie] n. Brian Kernighan and Dennis Ritchie's book "The C Programming Language", esp. the classi

kahuna /k*-hoo'n*/ n. [IBM: from the Hawaiian title for a shaman] Synonym for [7552]wizard, [7553]guru. ___________________________

Node:kangaroo code, Next:[7560]ken, Previous:[7561]kamikaze packet, Up:[7562]= K = kangaroo code n. Syn. [7563]spaghetti code. ____

_________________________________________________________________ Node:kernel-of-the-week club, Next:[7569]kgbvax, Previous:[7570]ken, Up:

1. [acronym] Knowledge In, Bullshit Out. A summary of what happens whenever valid data is passed through an organization (or person) that de

* [273]alpha particles: * [274]alt: * [275]alt bit: * [276]Aluminum Book: * [277]ambimouseterous: * [278]Amiga: * [279]Am

[Usenet] One who [7594]kibozes but is not Kibo (see [7595]KIBO, sense 2). ________________________________________________________________

discard summarily (without presenting for reading) articles matching some particularly uninteresting (or unwanted) patterns of subject, author,

Node:killer micro, Next:[7612]killer poke, Previous:[7613]killer app, Up:[7614]= K = killer micro n. [popularized by Eugene Brooks]

micros as far as the eye can see. --ESR] _________________________________________________________________ Node:killer poke, Next:[7618]ki

Node:KIPS, Next:[7628]KISS Principle, Previous:[7629]kilo-, Up:[7630]= K = KIPS /kips/ n. [abbreviation, by analogy with [7631]MIPS usi

[Usenet; poss. fr. [7641]DEC slang for a full software distribution, as opposed to a patch or upgrade] A source software distribution that h

1960s, and widely confounded in Great Britain since the end of World War II. 2. [TMRC] A [7652]crock that works. (A long-ago "Datamation&quo

key, a hint, a main point)] 1. n. A Rube Goldberg (or Heath Robinson) device, whether in hardware or software. 2. n. A clever programming trick

printing presses. Legend has it that the Kluge feeder was designed before small, cheap electric motors and control electronics; it relied on a

The variant `kludge' was apparently popularized by the [7665]Datamation article mentioned above; it was titled "How to Design a Kl

* [297]asbestos: * [298]asbestos cork award: * [299]asbestos longjohns: * [300]ASCII: * [301]ASCII art: * [302]ASCIIbetical o

Some observers consider this mess appropriate in view of the word's meaning. ________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________ Node:Knights of the Lambda Calculus, Next:[7680]knobs, Previous:[7681]kl

_________________________________________________________________ Node:Knuth, Next:[7687]koan, Previous:[7688]knobs, Up:[7689]= K = Knu

Koans, [7697]has the X nature, [7698]hacker humor. _________________________________________________________________ Node:kremvax, Next:[7

asserting that he was a hoax! Eventually he even arranged to have the domain's gateway site named kremvax, thus neatly turning fiction

Node:kyrka, Next:[7705]lace card, Previous:[7706]kremvax, Up:[7707]= K = kyrka /chur'ka/ n. [Swedish] See [7708]feature key. _

* [7723]LDB: * [7724]leaf site: * [7725]leak: * [7726]leaky heap: * [7727]leapfrog attack: * [7728]leech: * [7729]leech m

* [7747]line starve: * [7748]linearithmic: * [7749]link farm: * [7750]link rot: * [7751]link-dead: * [7752]lint: * [7753]

* [7771]logic bomb: * [7772]logical: * [7773]loop through: * [7774]loose bytes: * [7775]lord high fixer: * [7776]lose: *

lace card n. obs. A [7795]punched card with all holes punched (also called a `whoopee card' or `ventilator card'). Card readers

Linguists usually refer to informal language as `slang' and reserve the term `jargon' for the technical vocabularies of various occup

ABEND /a'bend/, /*-bend'/ n. [ABnormal END] 1. Abnormal termination (of software); [317]crash; [318]lossage. Derives from an er

L = lamer n. [prob. originated in skateboarder slang] 1. Synonym for [7803]luser, not used much by hackers but common among [7804]warez

above. _________________________________________________________________ Node:language lawyer, Next:[7810]languages of choice, Previous:

knows one of C or LISP, and most good ones are fluent in both. C++, despite some serious drawbacks, is generally preferred to other object-orie

_________________________________________________________________ Node:LART, Next:[7835]larval stage, Previous:[7836]languages of choice,