eric@snark.thyrsus.com (Eric S. Raymond) (03/26/91)
This patch takes us to version 2.8.3.
New entries:
Devil Book
fragile
RETI
Changed entries:
ABEND
accumulator
chicken head
Discordianism
droid
FUBAR
juggling eggs
rococo
*** jargon282.ascii Sun Mar 24 02:51:38 1991
--- jargon.ascii Mon Mar 25 23:37:57 1991
***************
*** 1,4 ****
! ============ THIS IS THE JARGON FILE, VERSION 2.8.2, 23 MAR 1991 ============
Copyright 1991 by Eric S. Raymond, all rights reserved. Permission to
make copies and derived works for non-profit use is granted as long as
--- 1,4 ----
! ============ THIS IS THE JARGON FILE, VERSION 2.8.3, 25 MAR 1991 ============
Copyright 1991 by Eric S. Raymond, all rights reserved. Permission to
make copies and derived works for non-profit use is granted as long as
***************
*** 218,224 ****
0-06-091082-8). The other jargon-1 editors (Raphael Finkel, Don
Woods, and Mark Crispin) contributed to the revision, as did Richard
M. Stallman and Geoff Goodfellow. This book is hereafter referred to
! as `Steele-1983'. It is now out of print.
Shortly after the publication of Steele-1983, the File effectively
stopped growing and changing. Originally, this was because of a
--- 218,225 ----
0-06-091082-8). The other jargon-1 editors (Raphael Finkel, Don
Woods, and Mark Crispin) contributed to the revision, as did Richard
M. Stallman and Geoff Goodfellow. This book is hereafter referred to
! as `Steele-1983' and those five as the Steele-1983 coauthors. It is
! now out of print.
Shortly after the publication of Steele-1983, the File effectively
stopped growing and changing. Originally, this was because of a
***************
*** 421,439 ****
completely supersede or incorporate earlier versions, so there is
generally no point in keeping old versions around.
! Our thanks to the other co-authors of Steele-1983 for oversight and
! assistance; also to all the USENETters who contributed entries and
! encouragement. Special thanks go to our Scandinavian correspondent
! Per Lindberg (per@front.se), author of the remarkable Swedish
! language 'zine `Hackerbladet', for bringing FOO! comics to our
! attention and smuggling one of the IBM hacker underground's own baby
! jargon files out to us. Also, much gratitude to ace hacker/linguist
! Joe Keane (jkg@osc.osc.com) for helping us improve the pronunciation
! guides; and to Maarten Litmaath for generously allowing the inclusion
! of the ASCII pronunciation guide he formerly maintained. Don Libes
! contributed some appropriate material from his excellent book
! `Life With UNIX'. Linguists David Stampe and Charles Hoequist
! also contributed valuable criticism. Finally, Mark Brader
(msb@sq.com) submitted many thoughtful comments and did yeoman
service in catching typos and minor usage bobbles, and Eric Tiedemann
(est@thyrsus.com) contributed sage advice on rhetoric, amphigory, and
--- 422,453 ----
completely supersede or incorporate earlier versions, so there is
generally no point in keeping old versions around.
! Our thanks to the coauthors of Steele-1983 for oversight and
! assistance, and to the hundreds of USENETters (too many to name here)
! who contributed entries and encouragement. More thanks go to several
! of the old-timers on the USENET group alt.folklore.computers, who
! contributed much useful commentary and many corrections and valuable
! historical perspective: Joseph M. Newcomer <jn11+@andrew.cmu.edu>,
! Bernie Cosell <cosell@bbn.com>, Earl Boebert <boebert@SCTC.com>, and
! Joe Morris <jcmorris@mwunix.mitre.org>.
!
! We were fortunate enough to have the aid of several accomplished
! linguists. David Stampe and Charles Hoequist contributed valuable
! criticism; Joe Keane <jkg@osc.osc.com> helped us improve the
! pronunciation guides.
!
! A few bits of this text quote previous works. We are indebted to
! Brian A. LaMacchia <bal@zurich.ai.mit.edu> for obtaining permission
! for us to use material from the `TMRC Dictionary'; also, Don
! Libes contributed some appropriate material from his excellent book
! `Life With UNIX'.
!
! Scandinavian correspondent Per Lindberg (per@front.se), author of the
! remarkable Swedish language 'zine `Hackerbladet', for bringing
! FOO! comics to our attention and smuggling one of the IBM hacker
! underground's own baby jargon files out to us. Thanks also to Maarten
! Litmaath for generously allowing the inclusion of the ASCII
! pronunciation guide he formerly maintained. Finally, Mark Brader
(msb@sq.com) submitted many thoughtful comments and did yeoman
service in catching typos and minor usage bobbles, and Eric Tiedemann
(est@thyrsus.com) contributed sage advice on rhetoric, amphigory, and
***************
*** 591,597 ****
disgust => disgustitude
hack => hackification
! Finally, note the prevalence of certain kinds of nonstandard plural
forms. Some of these go back quite a ways; the TMRC Dictionary noted
that the defined plural of `caboose' is `cabeese'. On a similarly
Anglo-Saxon note, almost anything ending in `x' may form plurals in
--- 605,611 ----
disgust => disgustitude
hack => hackification
! Further, note the prevalence of certain kinds of nonstandard plural
forms. Some of these go back quite a ways; the TMRC Dictionary noted
that the defined plural of `caboose' is `cabeese'. On a similarly
Anglo-Saxon note, almost anything ending in `x' may form plurals in
***************
*** 627,632 ****
--- 641,662 ----
large universities, and the -P convention is found only where LISPers
flourish.
+ Semantically, one rich source of jargon constructions is the hackish
+ tendency to anthromorphize hardware and software. This isn't done in
+ a naive way; hackers don't personalize their stuff in the sense of
+ feeling empathy with it, nor mystically believe that the things they
+ work on every day are `alive'. What *is* common is to hear
+ hardware or software talked about as though it has little homunculi
+ talking to each other inside it, with intentions and desires. Thus,
+ one hears "The protocol handler got confused", or that programs
+ "are trying" to do things, or one may say of a routine that "its
+ goal in life is to X". One even hears explanations like "...
+ and its poor little brain couldn't understand X, and it died."
+ Sometimes modelling things this way actually seems to make them easier
+ to understand, perhaps because it's instinctively natural to think of
+ anything with a really complex behavioral reportoire as `like a
+ people' rather than `like a thing'.
+
Finally, note that many words in hacker jargon have to be
understood as members of sets of comparatives. This is especially
true of the adjectives and nouns used to describe the beauty and
***************
*** 646,659 ****
Hacker Speech Style
===================
! This features extremely precise diction, careful word choice, a
! relatively large working vocabulary, and relatively little use of
! contractions or `street slang'. Dry humor, irony, puns, and a
! mildly flippant attitude are highly valued --- but an underlying
! seriousness and intelligence is essential. One should use just
! enough jargon to communicate precisely and identify oneself as `in
! the culture'; overuse of jargon or a breathless, excessively
! gung-ho attitude are considered tacky and the mark of a loser.
This speech style is a variety of the precisionist English normally
spoken by scientists, design engineers, and academics in technical
--- 676,689 ----
Hacker Speech Style
===================
! Hackish speech generally features extremely precise diction, careful
! word choice, a relatively large working vocabulary, and relatively
! little use of contractions or `street slang'. Dry humor, irony, puns,
! and a mildly flippant attitude are highly valued --- but an underlying
! seriousness and intelligence is essential. One should use just enough
! jargon to communicate precisely and identify oneself as `in the
! culture'; overuse of jargon or a breathless, excessively gung-ho
! attitude are considered tacky and the mark of a loser.
This speech style is a variety of the precisionist English normally
spoken by scientists, design engineers, and academics in technical
***************
*** 694,703 ****
grammatical rules. This is one aspect of a more general fondness for
form-versus-content language jokes that shows up particularly in
hackish writing. One correspondent reports that he consistently
! misspells `wrong' as `worng'. Others has been known to criticize
glitches in Jargon File drafts by observing "This sentence no verb",
or "Bad speling", or "Incorrectspa cing." Similarly, intentional
! Spoonerisms are often made of phrases relating to confusion, or things
which are confusing; `dain bramage' for `brain damage' is perhaps the
most common (similarly, a hacker would be likely to write "Excuse me,
I'm cixelsyd today", rather than "I'm dyslexic..."). This sort of
--- 724,733 ----
grammatical rules. This is one aspect of a more general fondness for
form-versus-content language jokes that shows up particularly in
hackish writing. One correspondent reports that he consistently
! misspells `wrong' as `worng'. Others have been known to criticize
glitches in Jargon File drafts by observing "This sentence no verb",
or "Bad speling", or "Incorrectspa cing." Similarly, intentional
! spoonerisms are often made of phrases relating to confusion, or things
which are confusing; `dain bramage' for `brain damage' is perhaps the
most common (similarly, a hacker would be likely to write "Excuse me,
I'm cixelsyd today", rather than "I'm dyslexic..."). This sort of
***************
*** 864,870 ****
usage. In particular, it is good hackish style to write a digit
sequence where you intend the reader to understand the text string
that names that number in English. So, hackers write "1970s" rather
! than "nineteen-seventies" or "1970's" (the later looks like a
possessive).
Finally, it should be noted that hackers exhibit much less reluctance
--- 894,900 ----
usage. In particular, it is good hackish style to write a digit
sequence where you intend the reader to understand the text string
that names that number in English. So, hackers write "1970s" rather
! than "nineteen-seventies" or "1970's" (the latter looks like a
possessive).
Finally, it should be noted that hackers exhibit much less reluctance
***************
*** 1064,1070 ****
Entries with a pronunciation of `//' are written-only usages (no,
UNIX weenies, this does *not* mean `pronounce like previous
! pronunciation!)
Other Lexicon Conventions
=========================
--- 1094,1100 ----
Entries with a pronunciation of `//' are written-only usages (no,
UNIX weenies, this does *not* mean `pronounce like previous
! pronunciation'!)
Other Lexicon Conventions
=========================
***************
*** 1126,1132 ****
of this form have been common in science fiction for at least fifty
years, and hackers (who are often science-fiction fans) have
probably been making `-oid' jargon for almost that long [though GLS
! and I can personally only confirm that the construction was already
common in the mid-1970s --- ESR]. See {droid}.
This suffix is expecially used to indicate a poor imitation,
--- 1156,1162 ----
of this form have been common in science fiction for at least fifty
years, and hackers (who are often science-fiction fans) have
probably been making `-oid' jargon for almost that long [though GLS
! and I can personally confirm only that the construction was already
common in the mid-1970s --- ESR]. See {droid}.
This suffix is expecially used to indicate a poor imitation,
***************
*** 1192,1211 ****
abbrev: /*'breev/, /*'brev/ n. Common abbreviation for
`abbreviation'.
! abend: [ABnormal END] /ab'end/ n. Abnormal termination (of
software); {crash}; {lossage}. Derives from an error message
on the IBM 360; used jokingly by hackers but seriously mainly by
! {code grinder}s.
! accumulator: n. Archaic term for a register. Cited here because
! on-line use of it is a fairly reliable indication that the user has
! been around for quite a while and/or that the architecture under
! discussion is quite old. The term in full is almost never used of
! microprocessor registers, for example, though symbolic names for
! arithmetic registers beginning in `A' derive from historical use of
! `accumulator' (and not, actually, from `arithmetic'!).
! Confusingly, though, an `a' register name prefix may also stand for
! `address', as for example on the Motorola 680x0 family.
ACK: /ak/ interj. 1. [from the ASCII mnemonic for #b0000110]
Acknowledge. Used to register one's presence (compare mainstream
--- 1222,1249 ----
abbrev: /*'breev/, /*'brev/ n. Common abbreviation for
`abbreviation'.
! ABEND: [ABnormal END] /ab'end/ n. Abnormal termination (of
software); {crash}; {lossage}. Derives from an error message
on the IBM 360; used jokingly by hackers but seriously mainly by
! {code grinder}s. Usually capitalized, but may appear as `abend'.
! Hackers will try to persuade you that ABEND is called `abend'
! because it is what system operators do to the machine late on
! Friday when they want to call it a day, and hence is from the
! German `Abend' == `Evening'.
! accumulator: n. 1. Archaic term for a register. Cited here because
! on-line use of it is as a synonym for `register' a fairly reliable
! indication that the user has been around for quite a while and/or
! that the architecture under discussion is quite old. The term in
! full is almost never used of microprocessor registers, for example,
! though symbolic names for arithmetic registers beginning in `A'
! derive from historical use of the term `accumulator' (and not,
! actually, from `arithmetic'!). Confusingly, though, an `a'
! register name prefix may also stand for `address', as for example
! on the Motorola 680x0 family. 2. A register being used for
! arithmetic or logic (as opposed to addressing or a loop index).
! This use is in context of a particular routine or stretch of code.
! "The FOOBAZ routine uses A3 as an accumulator."
ACK: /ak/ interj. 1. [from the ASCII mnemonic for #b0000110]
Acknowledge. Used to register one's presence (compare mainstream
***************
*** 1501,1643 ****
character pairs are sorted in by first member. For each character,
common names are given in rough order of popularity followed by
names which are reported but rarely seen; official ANSI/CCITT names
! are parenthesized. Square brackets mark the particularly silly
! names introduced by {INTERCAL}.
!
! Common: {bang}, pling, excl, shriek, (exclamation mark).
Rare: factorial, exclam, smash, cuss, boing, yell, wow, hey,
wham, [spot-spark], soldier.
"
Common: double quote, quote. Rare: literal mark,
! double-glitch, (quotation marks), (dieresis), dirk,
[rabbit-ears].
#
! Common: (number sign), pound, pound sign, hash, sharp,
{crunch}, hex, [mesh], octothorpe. Rare: flash, crosshatch,
grid, pig-pen, tictactoe, scratchmark, thud, thump, {splat}.
$
! Common: dollar, (dollar sign). Rare: currency symbol, buck,
cash, string (from BASIC), escape (when used as the echo of
ASCII ESC), ding, cache, [big money].
%
! Common: percent, (percent sign), mod, grapes. Rare:
[double-oh-seven].
&
! Common: (ampersand), amper, and. Rare: address (from C),
reference (from C++), andpersand, bitand, background (from
`sh(1)'), pretzel, amp. [INTERCAL called this `ampersand';
what could be sillier?]
'
! Common: single quote, quote, (apostrophe). Rare: prime,
! glitch, tick, irk, pop, [spark], (closing single quotation
! mark), (acute accent).
()
Common: left/right paren, left/right parenthesis, left/right,
paren/thesis, open/close paren, open/close, open/close
parenthesis, left/right banana. Rare: lparen/rparen,
! so/already, [wax/wane], (opening/closing parenthesis),
left/right ear, parenthisey/unparenthisey, open/close round
bracket.
*
! Common: star, {splat}, (asterisk). Rare: wildcard, gear,
dingle, mult, spider, aster, times, twinkle, glob (see
! {glob}), {Nathan Hale}. [INTERCAL called this `splat']
+
! Common: (plus), add. Rare: cross, [intersection].
,
! Common: (comma). Rare: (cedilla), [tail].
-
! Common: dash, (hyphen), (minus). Rare: [worm], option, dak,
bithorpe.
.
! Common: dot, point, (period), (decimal point). Rare: radix
point, full stop, [spot].
/
! Common: slash, stroke, (slant), forward slash. Rare:
diagonal, solidus, over, slak, virgule, [slat].
:
! Common: (colon). Rare: [two-spot].
;
! Common: (semicolon), semi. Rare: weenie, [hybrid].
<>
! Common: (less/greater than), left/right angle bracket,
bra/ket, left/right broket. Rare: from/{into,towards}, read
from/write to, suck/blow, comes-from/gozinta, in/out,
crunch/zap (all from UNIX), [angle/right angle].
=
! Common: (equals), gets, takes. Rare: quadrathorpe,
[half-mesh].
?
! Common: query, (question mark), {ques}. Rare: whatmark,
[what], wildchar, huh, hook, buttonhook, hunchback.
@
Common: at sign, at, strudel. Rare: each, vortex, whorl,
[whirlpool], cyclone, snail, ape, cat, rose, cabbage,
! (commercial at).
V
Rare: vee, [book].
[]
! Common: left/right square bracket, (opening/closing bracket),
bracket/unbracket, left/right bracket. Rare: square/unsquare,
[U turn/U turn back].
\
Common: backslash, escape (from C/UNIX), reverse slash, slosh,
! backslant, backwhack. Rare: bash, (reverse slant), reversed
virgule, [backslat].
^
! Common: hat, control, uparrow, caret, (circumflex). Rare:
chevron, [shark (or shark-fin)], to the (`to the power of'),
! fang.
_
! Common: (underline), underscore, underbar, under. Rare:
! score, backarrow (from the ASCII-1963 graphic), [flatworm].
`
Common: backquote, left quote, left single quote, open quote,
! (grave accent), grave. Rare: backprime, [backspark],
unapostrophe, birk, blugle, back tick, back glitch, push,
! (opening single quotation mark), quasiquote.
{}
Common: open/close brace, left/right brace, left/right
squiggly, left/right squiggly bracket/brace, left/right curly
! bracket/brace, (opening/closing brace). Rare: brace/unbrace,
left/right squirrelly, curly/uncurly, leftit/rytit,
[embrace/bracelet].
|
Common: bar, or, or-bar, v-bar, pipe, vertical bar. Rare:
! (vertical line), gozinta, thru, pipesinta (last three ones
! from UNIX), [spike].
~
! Common: (tilde), squiggle, {twiddle}, not. Rare: approx,
wiggle, swung dash, enyay, [sqiggle (sic)].
The pronunciation of `#' as `pound' is common in the U.S. but
--- 1539,1682 ----
character pairs are sorted in by first member. For each character,
common names are given in rough order of popularity followed by
names which are reported but rarely seen; official ANSI/CCITT names
! are surrounded by brokets <>. Square brackets mark the
! particularly silly names introduced by {INTERCAL}. Ordinary
! parentheticals provide some usage information.
!
! Common: {bang}, pling, excl, shriek, <exclamation mark>.
Rare: factorial, exclam, smash, cuss, boing, yell, wow, hey,
wham, [spot-spark], soldier.
"
Common: double quote, quote. Rare: literal mark,
! double-glitch, <quotation marks>, <dieresis>, dirk,
[rabbit-ears].
#
! Common: <number sign>, pound, pound sign, hash, sharp,
{crunch}, hex, [mesh], octothorpe. Rare: flash, crosshatch,
grid, pig-pen, tictactoe, scratchmark, thud, thump, {splat}.
$
! Common: dollar, <dollar sign>. Rare: currency symbol, buck,
cash, string (from BASIC), escape (when used as the echo of
ASCII ESC), ding, cache, [big money].
%
! Common: percent, <percent sign>, mod, grapes. Rare:
[double-oh-seven].
&
! Common: <ampersand>, amper, and. Rare: address (from C),
reference (from C++), andpersand, bitand, background (from
`sh(1)'), pretzel, amp. [INTERCAL called this `ampersand';
what could be sillier?]
'
! Common: single quote, quote, <apostrophe>. Rare: prime,
! glitch, tick, irk, pop, [spark], <closing single quotation
! mark>, <acute accent>.
()
Common: left/right paren, left/right parenthesis, left/right,
paren/thesis, open/close paren, open/close, open/close
parenthesis, left/right banana. Rare: lparen/rparen,
! so/already, [wax/wane], <opening/closing parenthesis>,
left/right ear, parenthisey/unparenthisey, open/close round
bracket.
*
! Common: star, [{splat}], <asterisk>. Rare: wildcard, gear,
dingle, mult, spider, aster, times, twinkle, glob (see
! {glob}), {Nathan Hale}.
+
! Common: <plus>, add. Rare: cross, [intersection].
,
! Common: <comma>. Rare: <cedilla>, [tail].
-
! Common: dash, <hyphen>, <minus>. Rare: [worm], option, dak,
bithorpe.
.
! Common: dot, point, <period>, <decimal point>. Rare: radix
point, full stop, [spot].
/
! Common: slash, stroke, <slant>, forward slash. Rare:
diagonal, solidus, over, slak, virgule, [slat].
:
! Common: <colon>. Rare: dots, [two-spot].
;
! Common: <semicolon>, semi. Rare: weenie, [hybrid].
<>
! Common: <less/greater than>, left/right angle bracket,
bra/ket, left/right broket. Rare: from/{into,towards}, read
from/write to, suck/blow, comes-from/gozinta, in/out,
crunch/zap (all from UNIX), [angle/right angle].
=
! Common: <equals>, gets, takes. Rare: quadrathorpe,
[half-mesh].
?
! Common: query, <question mark>, {ques}. Rare: whatmark,
[what], wildchar, huh, hook, buttonhook, hunchback.
@
Common: at sign, at, strudel. Rare: each, vortex, whorl,
[whirlpool], cyclone, snail, ape, cat, rose, cabbage,
! <commercial at>.
V
Rare: vee, [book].
[]
! Common: left/right square bracket, <opening/closing bracket>,
bracket/unbracket, left/right bracket. Rare: square/unsquare,
[U turn/U turn back].
\
Common: backslash, escape (from C/UNIX), reverse slash, slosh,
! backslant, backwhack. Rare: bash, <reverse slant>, reversed
virgule, [backslat].
^
! Common: hat, control, uparrow, caret, <circumflex>. Rare:
chevron, [shark (or shark-fin)], to the (`to the power of'),
! fang, pointer (in Pascal).
_
! Common: <underline>, underscore, underbar, under. Rare:
! score, backarrow (from the ASCII-1963 graphic>, [flatworm].
`
Common: backquote, left quote, left single quote, open quote,
! <grave accent>, grave. Rare: backprime, [backspark],
unapostrophe, birk, blugle, back tick, back glitch, push,
! <opening single quotation mark>, quasiquote.
{}
Common: open/close brace, left/right brace, left/right
squiggly, left/right squiggly bracket/brace, left/right curly
! bracket/brace, <opening/closing brace>. Rare: brace/unbrace,
left/right squirrelly, curly/uncurly, leftit/rytit,
[embrace/bracelet].
|
Common: bar, or, or-bar, v-bar, pipe, vertical bar. Rare:
! <vertical line>, gozinta, thru, pipesinta (last three from
! UNIX), [spike].
~
! Common: <tilde>, squiggle, {twiddle}, not. Rare: approx,
wiggle, swung dash, enyay, [sqiggle (sic)].
The pronunciation of `#' as `pound' is common in the U.S. but
***************
*** 2415,2430 ****
register of a peripheral in an attempt to get it back to a known
state.
! bit-paired keyboard: n. obs. A non-standard keyboard layout which
! seems to have originated with the Teletype ASR-33 and remained
! common for several years on early computer equipment. The ASR-33
! was a mechanical device (see {EOU}), so the only way to generate
! the character codes from keystrokes was by some physical linkage.
! The design of the ASR-33 assigned each character key a basic
! pattern which could be modified by flipping bits if the SHIFT or
! CTRL key were pressed. In order to avoid making the thing more of
! a Rube Goldberg kluge than it already was, the design had to group
! characters which shared the same basic bit pattern on one key.
Looking at the ASCII chart, we find:
--- 2454,2470 ----
register of a peripheral in an attempt to get it back to a known
state.
! bit-paired keyboard: n. obs. (alt. `bit-shift keyboard') A
! non-standard keyboard layout which seems to have originated with
! the Teletype ASR-33 and remained common for several years on early
! computer equipment. The ASR-33 was a mechanical device (see
! {EOU}), so the only way to generate the character codes from
! keystrokes was by some physical linkage. The design of the ASR-33
! assigned each character key a basic pattern which could be modified
! by flipping bits if the SHIFT or CTRL key were pressed. In order
! to avoid making the thing more of a Rube Goldberg kluge than it
! already was, the design had to group characters which shared the
! same basic bit pattern on one key.
Looking at the ASCII chart, we find:
***************
*** 2619,2632 ****
refer to any task that should be expressible as an algorithm in
theory, but isn't.
! blow an EPROM: v. To program a read-only memory, e.g. for use with
! an embedded system. This term arises because the programming
! process for the Programmable Read-Only Memories (PROMs) that
! preceded present-day Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memories
! (EPROMs) involved intentionally blowing tiny electrical fuses on
! the chip. Thus, one was said to "blow a PROM" and the
! terminology carried over even though the write process on EPROMs is
! nondestructive.
blow away: vt. To remove files and directories from permanent storage
with extreme prejudice, generally by accident. Oppose {nuke}.
--- 2659,2672 ----
refer to any task that should be expressible as an algorithm in
theory, but isn't.
! blow an EPROM: v. (alt. `blast a PROM') To program a read-only
! memory, e.g. for use with an embedded system. This term arises
! because the programming process for the Programmable Read-Only
! Memories (PROMs) that preceded present-day Erasable Programmable
! Read-Only Memories (EPROMs) involved intentionally blowing tiny
! electrical fuses on the chip. Thus, one was said to "blow a
! PROM" and the terminology carried over even though the write
! process on EPROMs is nondestructive.
blow away: vt. To remove files and directories from permanent storage
with extreme prejudice, generally by accident. Oppose {nuke}.
***************
*** 2743,2756 ****
offending hardware is irreversibly dead or useless. 2. Also used
of people who just take up space.
! bogo-sort: n. The archetypical perversely awful algorithm (as
! opposed to {bubble sort}, which is merely the generic *bad*
! algorithm). Bogo-sort is equivalent to throwing a deck of cards in
! the air, picking them up, then testing whether they are in order.
! If not, repeat. Used as a sort of canonical example of awfulness.
! Usage: when one is looking at a program and sees a dumb algorithm,
! one might say "Oh, I see, this program uses bogo-sort." Compare
! {bogus}, {brute force}.
bogometer: n. See {bogosity}. Compare the `wankometer' described
in the {wank} entry, also {bogus}.
--- 2783,2796 ----
offending hardware is irreversibly dead or useless. 2. Also used
of people who just take up space.
! bogo-sort: n. (var. `stupid-sort') The archetypical perversely
! awful algorithm (as opposed to {bubble sort}, which is merely the
! generic *bad* algorithm). Bogo-sort is equivalent to throwing
! a deck of cards in the air, picking them up, then testing whether
! they are in order. If not, repeat. Used as a sort of canonical
! example of awfulness. Usage: when one is looking at a program and
! sees a dumb algorithm, one might say "Oh, I see, this program uses
! bogo-sort." Compare {bogus}, {brute force}.
bogometer: n. See {bogosity}. Compare the `wankometer' described
in the {wank} entry, also {bogus}.
***************
*** 2768,2774 ****
to go to the weekly staff bogon." 5. A person who is bogus or who
says bogus things. This was historically the original usage, but
has been overtaken by its derivative senses 1--4. See
! also {bogosity}, {bogus}.
bogon filter: /boh'gon fil'tr/ n. Any device, software or hardware,
which limits or suppresses the flow and/or emission of bogons.
--- 2808,2814 ----
to go to the weekly staff bogon." 5. A person who is bogus or who
says bogus things. This was historically the original usage, but
has been overtaken by its derivative senses 1--4. See
! also {bogosity}, {bogus}; compare {psyton}.
bogon filter: /boh'gon fil'tr/ n. Any device, software or hardware,
which limits or suppresses the flow and/or emission of bogons.
***************
*** 2841,2855 ****
one which manifests reliably under a possibly unknown but
well-defined set of conditions. Antonym of {heisenbug}.
! boink: /boynk/ [USENET, perh. from the TV series `Cheers' and
! `Moonlighting'] 1. To have sex with; compare {bounce},
sense #3. (This is mainstream slang.) In Commonwealth hackish the
! variant `bonk' is more common. 2. After the original Peter
! Korn `Boinkon' {USENET} parties, used for almost any net social
gathering, e.g. Miniboink, a small boink held by Nancy Gillett in
1988; Minniboink, a Boinkcon in Minnesota in 1989; Humpdayboinks,
Wednesday get-togethers held in the San Francisco Bay Area.
! Compare {@-party}.
bomb: 1. v. General synonym for {crash} (sense #1), esp. used
of software or OS failures. "Don't run Empire with less than 32K
--- 2881,2895 ----
one which manifests reliably under a possibly unknown but
well-defined set of conditions. Antonym of {heisenbug}.
! boink: /boynk/ [USENET, perh. from the TV series `Cheers'
! and `Moonlighting'] 1. To have sex with; compare {bounce},
sense #3. (This is mainstream slang.) In Commonwealth hackish the
! variant `bonk' is more common. 2. After the original Peter Korn
! `Boinkon' {USENET} parties, used for almost any net social
gathering, e.g. Miniboink, a small boink held by Nancy Gillett in
1988; Minniboink, a Boinkcon in Minnesota in 1989; Humpdayboinks,
Wednesday get-togethers held in the San Francisco Bay Area.
! Compare {@-party}. 3. Var of `bonk'; see {bonk/oif}.
bomb: 1. v. General synonym for {crash} (sense #1), esp. used
of software or OS failures. "Don't run Empire with less than 32K
***************
*** 2885,2894 ****
feature of the cover. Many of these are described in this lexicon
under their own entries.
! See also {Blue Book}, {Red Book}, {Green Book}, {Silver
! Book}, {Purple Book}, {Orange Book}, {White Book}, {Yellow
! Book}, {Pink-Shirt Book}, {Aluminum Book}, {Dragon Book},
! {Wizard Book}, {Cinderella Book}.
boot: [techspeak; from `by one's bootstraps'] v.,n. To load and
initialize the operating system on a machine. This usage is no
--- 2925,2934 ----
feature of the cover. Many of these are described in this lexicon
under their own entries.
! See also {Aluminum Book}, {Blue Book}, {Cinderella Book},
! {Devil Book}, {Dragon Book}, {Green Book}, {Orange Book},
! {Pink-Shirt Book}, {Purple Book}, {Red Book}, {Silver Book},
! {White Book}, {Wizard Book}, {Yellow Book}.
boot: [techspeak; from `by one's bootstraps'] v.,n. To load and
initialize the operating system on a machine. This usage is no
***************
*** 3088,3094 ****
power failure is said to be brittle. This term is often used to
describe the results of a research effort that were never intended
to be robust, but can be applied to commercially developed
! software. Oppose {robust}.
broadcast storm: n. An incorrect packet broadcast on a network that
causes most hosts to respond all at once, typically with wrong
--- 3128,3135 ----
power failure is said to be brittle. This term is often used to
describe the results of a research effort that were never intended
to be robust, but can be applied to commercially developed
! software. The term `fragile' is sometimes used synonymously.
! Oppose {robust}.
broadcast storm: n. An incorrect packet broadcast on a network that
causes most hosts to respond all at once, typically with wrong
***************
*** 3601,3607 ****
chicken head: [Commodore] n. The Commodore Business Machines logo,
which strongly resembles a poultry part. Rendered in ASCII as
! `C='.
chiclet keyboard: n. A keyboard with small rectangular or
lozenge-shaped rubber or plastic keys that look like pieces of
--- 3642,3653 ----
chicken head: [Commodore] n. The Commodore Business Machines logo,
which strongly resembles a poultry part. Rendered in ASCII as
! `C='. With the (arguable) exception of the Amiga, Commodore's
! machines are notoriously crocky little {bitty box}es (see also
! {PETSCII}). Thus, this usage may owe something to Phillip K.
! Dick's novel `Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?' (the basis
! for the movie `Bladerunner'), in which a `chickenhead' is a
! mutant with below-average intelligence.
chiclet keyboard: n. A keyboard with small rectangular or
lozenge-shaped rubber or plastic keys that look like pieces of
***************
*** 3866,3871 ****
--- 3912,3919 ----
10 FORMAT(1X,I5,G10.4)
in which the trapdoor is just after the statement labelled 10.
+ (This is particularly surprising because the label doesn't appear
+ to have anything to do with the flow of control at all!)
While sufficiently astonishing to the unsuspecting reader, this
form of COME FROM statement isn't completely general. After all,
***************
*** 3887,3893 ****
chat, spelled with one or two Ms] Syn. for {talk mode}.
command key: [Mac users] n. The Macintosh key with the cloverleaf
! graphic on its keytop; sometimes referred to as `flower',
`clover', `propeller', or `beanie' (an apparent reference to the
propeller on a beanie). The Mac's equivalent to an {ALT} key.
--- 3935,3941 ----
chat, spelled with one or two Ms] Syn. for {talk mode}.
command key: [Mac users] n. The Macintosh key with the cloverleaf
! graphic on its keytop; sometimes referred to as `flower', `pretzel',
`clover', `propeller', or `beanie' (an apparent reference to the
propeller on a beanie). The Mac's equivalent to an {ALT} key.
***************
*** 3966,3996 ****
called `turbo nerd', `turbo geek'. See also
{clustergeeking}, {wannabee}, {terminal junkie}.
! computron: /kom'pyoo-tron`/ n. 1. A notional unit of computing power
! combining instruction speed and storage capacity, dimensioned
! roughly in instructions-per-second times megabytes-of-main-store times
! megabytes-of-mass-storage. "That machine can't run GNU EMACS, it
! doesn't have enough computrons!" This usage is usually found in
! metaphors that treat computing power as a fungible commodity good
! like a crop yield or diesel horsepower. See {bitty box}, {Get a
! real computer!}, {toy}, {crank}. 2. A mythical subatomic particle
! that bears the unit quantity of computation or information, in much
! the same way that an electron bears one unit of electric charge
! (see {bogon}). An elaborate pseudo-scientific theory of computrons
! has been worked out based on the physical fact that the molecules
! in a solid object move more rapidly as it is heated. It is argued
! that an object melts because the molecules have lost their
! information about where they are supposed to be (that is, they have
! emitted computrons). This explains why computers get so hot and
! require air conditioning; they use up computrons. Conversely, you
! should be able to cool down an object by placing it in the path of
! a computron beam. It is believed that this may also explain why
! machines that work at the factory fail in the computer room ---
! because the computrons there have been all used up by your other
! hardware. (This may owe something to the group of fantasy stories
! by Larry Niven, beginning with `What Good is a Glass Dagger?',
! in which magic is fueled by an exhaustible natural resource called
! `mana').
condition out: vt. To prevent a section of code from being compiled
by surrounding it with a conditional-compilation directive whose
--- 4014,4044 ----
called `turbo nerd', `turbo geek'. See also
{clustergeeking}, {wannabee}, {terminal junkie}.
! computron: /kom'pyoo-tron`/ n. 1. A notional unit of computing
! power combining instruction speed and storage capacity, dimensioned
! roughly in instructions-per-second times megabytes-of-main-store
! times megabytes-of-mass-storage. "That machine can't run GNU
! EMACS, it doesn't have enough computrons!" This usage is usually
! found in metaphors that treat computing power as a fungible
! commodity good like a crop yield or diesel horsepower. See
! {bitty box}, {Get a real computer!}, {toy}, {crank}. 2. A
! mythical subatomic particle that bears the unit quantity of
! computation or information, in much the same way that an electron
! bears one unit of electric charge (see {bogon}). An elaborate
! pseudo-scientific theory of computrons has been worked out based on
! the physical fact that the molecules in a solid object move more
! rapidly as it is heated. It is argued that an object melts because
! the molecules have lost their information about where they are
! supposed to be (that is, they have emitted computrons). This
! explains why computers get so hot and require air conditioning;
! they use up computrons. Conversely, you should be able to cool
! down an object by placing it in the path of a computron beam. It
! is believed that this may also explain why machines that work at
! the factory fail in the computer room --- because the computrons
! there have been all used up by your other hardware. (This may owe
! something to a group of 4 fantasy stories by Larry Niven, the best
! known being `What Good is a Glass Dagger?', in which magic is
! fueled by an exhaustible natural resource called `mana').
condition out: vt. To prevent a section of code from being compiled
by surrounding it with a conditional-compilation directive whose
***************
*** 4343,4349 ****
also {creeping elegance}.
creeping featuritis: /kree'ping fee'-chr-ie`t*s/ n. Variant of
! {creeping featurism}, with its own Spoonerization as `feeping
creaturitis'. Some people like to reserve this form for the
disease as it actually manifests in software or hardware, as
opposed to the lurking general tendency in designers' minds. After
--- 4391,4397 ----
also {creeping elegance}.
creeping featuritis: /kree'ping fee'-chr-ie`t*s/ n. Variant of
! {creeping featurism}, with its own spoonerization as `feeping
creaturitis'. Some people like to reserve this form for the
disease as it actually manifests in software or hardware, as
opposed to the lurking general tendency in designers' minds. After
***************
*** 4916,4921 ****
--- 4964,4978 ----
that it ought to be. Compare {eyeball search}, {vdiff},
{vgrep}.
+ Devil Book: n. `The design and implementation of the 4.3BSD
+ Unix operating system' by Samuel J. Leffler, Marshall Kirk
+ McKusick, Michael J. Karels, and John S. Quarterman; Addison-Wesley
+ Publishers, Reading, Massachusetts, 1989. The standard reference
+ book on the internals of {BSD} UNIX, so called because the cover
+ has a picture depicting a little devil (visual play on {daemon})
+ in sneakers, holding a pitchfork (referring to one of the
+ characteristic features of UNIX, the {fork(2)} system call).
+
devo: /dee'voh/ [orig. in-house jargon at Symbolics] n. A person in a
development group. See also {doco} and {mango}.
***************
*** 5007,5022 ****
voltage significantly higher or lower than nominal, or just plain
noise can all cause problems of varying subtlety and severity.
! Discordianism: /dis-kor'di-*n-ism/ n. The veneration of {Eris}, aka
! Discordia; widely popular among hackers. Popularized by Robert
! Anton Wilson's `Illuminatus!' trilogy as a sort of self-subverting
! dada-Zen for Westerners --- it should on no account be taken
! seriously but is far more serious than most jokes. Usually
! connected with an elaborate conspiracy theory/joke involving
! millennia-long warfare between the anarcho-surrealist partisans of
! Eris and a malevolent, authoritarian secret society called the
! Illuminati. See Appendix B, {Church of the Sub-Genius}, and {ha ha
! only serious}.
disk farm: n. (also {laundromat}) A large room or rooms filled
with disk drives (esp. {washing machine}s).
--- 5064,5082 ----
voltage significantly higher or lower than nominal, or just plain
noise can all cause problems of varying subtlety and severity.
! Discordianism: /dis-kor'di-*n-ism/ n. The veneration of {Eris},
! aka Discordia; widely popular among hackers. Popularized by Robert
! Anton Wilson's `Illuminatus!' trilogy as a sort of
! self-subverting dada-Zen for Westerners --- it should on no account
! be taken seriously but is far more serious than most jokes.
! Consider, for example, the Fourth Commandment of the Pentabarf,
! from `Principia Discordia': "A Discordian is prohibited from
! believing what he reads." Discordianism is usually connected with
! an elaborate conspiracy theory/joke involving millennia-long
! warfare between the anarcho-surrealist partisans of Eris and a
! malevolent, authoritarian secret society called the Illuminati.
! See Appendix B, {Church of the Sub-Genius}, and {ha ha only
! serious}.
disk farm: n. (also {laundromat}) A large room or rooms filled
with disk drives (esp. {washing machine}s).
***************
*** 5310,5317 ****
authority figures; blind faith; (c) A rule-governed mentality, one
unwilling or unable to look beyond the `letter of the law' in
exceptional situations; (d) No interest in fixing that which is
! broken; an "It's not my job, man" attitude. Compare {suit},
! {marketroid}; see {-oid}.
drool-proof paper: n. Documentation that has been obsessively dumbed
down, to the point where only a {cretin} could bear to read it, is
--- 5370,5384 ----
authority figures; blind faith; (c) A rule-governed mentality, one
unwilling or unable to look beyond the `letter of the law' in
exceptional situations; (d) No interest in fixing that which is
! broken; an "It's not my job, man" attitude. Typical droid
! positions include supermarket checkout assistant and bank clerk;
! the syndrome is also endemic in low-level government employees.
! The implication is that the rules and official procedures
! constitute software which the droid is executing. This becomes a
! problem when the software has not been properly debugged. The term
! `droid mentality' is also used to describe the mindset behind
! this behaviour. Compare {suit}, {marketroid}; see {-oid}.
!
drool-proof paper: n. Documentation that has been obsessively dumbed
down, to the point where only a {cretin} could bear to read it, is
***************
*** 5738,5746 ****
subject of veneration in several `fringe' cultures, including
hackerdom. See {Discordianism}, {Church of the Sub-Genius}.
! erotics: /ee-ro'tiks/ n. Reported from Scandinavia as
! English-language university slang for electronics. Often used by
! hackers, maybe because good electronics makes them warm.
essentials: n. Things necessary to maintain a productive and secure
hacking environment. "A jug of wine, a loaf of bread, a
--- 5805,5814 ----
subject of veneration in several `fringe' cultures, including
hackerdom. See {Discordianism}, {Church of the Sub-Genius}.
! erotics: /ee-ro'tiks/ n. [Helsinki University of Technology,
! Finland] n. English-language university slang for electronics.
! Often used by hackers there, maybe because good electronics excites
! them and makes them warm.
essentials: n. Things necessary to maintain a productive and secure
hacking environment. "A jug of wine, a loaf of bread, a
***************
*** 6019,6025 ****
the camel's nose for a whole horde of new features.
feeping creaturism: /fee'ping kree`ch*r-izm/ n. Deliberate
! Spoonerism for {creeping featurism}, meant to imply that the
system or program in question has become a misshapen creature of
hacks. This term isn't really well-defined, but it sounds so neat
that most hackers have said or heard it. It is probably reinforced
--- 6087,6093 ----
the camel's nose for a whole horde of new features.
feeping creaturism: /fee'ping kree`ch*r-izm/ n. Deliberate
! spoonerism for {creeping featurism}, meant to imply that the
system or program in question has become a misshapen creature of
hacks. This term isn't really well-defined, but it sounds so neat
that most hackers have said or heard it. It is probably reinforced
***************
*** 6569,6574 ****
--- 6637,6644 ----
diagnose why the program doesn't produce the expected or desired
output.
+ fragile: adj. Syn {brittle}.
+
fred: n. 1. The personal name most frequently used as a
metasyntactic variable (see {foo}). Allegedly popular because
it's easy to type on a standard QWERTY keyboard. Unlike
***************
*** 6695,6703 ****
not using {FTP}. "Lemme get this copy of `Wuthering
Heights' ftp'd from uunet."
! FUBAR: n. The Failed UniBus Address Register in the PDP-11
! emulation part of a VAX. A good example of how jargon can
! occasionally be snuck past the {suit}s; see {foobar}.
fuck me harder: excl. Sometimes uttered in response to egregious
misbehavior, esp. in software, and esp. of those which seem
--- 6765,6773 ----
not using {FTP}. "Lemme get this copy of `Wuthering
Heights' ftp'd from uunet."
! FUBAR: n. The Failed UniBus Address Register in a VAX. A good
! example of how jargon can occasionally be snuck past the {suit}s;
! see {foobar}.
fuck me harder: excl. Sometimes uttered in response to egregious
misbehavior, esp. in software, and esp. of those which seem
***************
*** 8668,8674 ****
juggling eggs: vi. Keeping a lot of {state} in your head while
modifying a program. "Don't bother me now, I'm juggling eggs",
meaning an interrupt is likely to result in the program being
! scrambled. See {hack mode}.
jump off into never-never land: [from J. M. Barrie's `Peter
Pan'] v. Same as {branch to Fishkill}, but more common in
--- 8738,8748 ----
juggling eggs: vi. Keeping a lot of {state} in your head while
modifying a program. "Don't bother me now, I'm juggling eggs",
meaning an interrupt is likely to result in the program being
! scrambled. In the classic first-contact SF novel `The Mote in
! God's Eye' by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, an alien describes a
! very difficult task by saying "We juggle priceless eggs in
! variable gravity." That was a very hackish use of language. See
! also {hack mode}.
jump off into never-never land: [from J. M. Barrie's `Peter
Pan'] v. Same as {branch to Fishkill}, but more common in
***************
*** 10007,10021 ****
don't work on dose, man!", or to compare it with a dose of
brain-damaging drugs. See {mess-dos}, {ill-behaved}.
! MUD: [abbr: Multi User Dungeon] 1. n. A class of {virtual reality}
! experiments accessible via the Internet. These are real-time chat
! forums with structure; they have multiple `locations' like an
! adventure game and may include combat, traps, puzzles, magic, a
! simple economic system, and the capability for characters to build
! more structure onto the database that represents the existing
! world. 2. vi. To play a MUD (see {hack-and-slay}). The acronym MUD
! is often lower-cased and/or verbed; thus, one may speak of `going
! mudding', etc.
Historically, MUDs (and their more recent progeny with names of MU-
form) derive from an AI experiment by Richard Bartle and Roy
--- 10081,10095 ----
don't work on dose, man!", or to compare it with a dose of
brain-damaging drugs. See {mess-dos}, {ill-behaved}.
! MUD: [acronym, Multi User Dungeon; alt. Multi-User Dimension] 1. n.
! A class of {virtual reality} experiments accessible via the
! Internet. These are real-time chat forums with structure; they
! have multiple `locations' like an adventure game and may include
! combat, traps, puzzles, magic, a simple economic system, and the
! capability for characters to build more structure onto the database
! that represents the existing world. 2. vi. To play a MUD (see
! {hack-and-slay}). The acronym MUD is often lower-cased and/or
! verbed; thus, one may speak of `going mudding', etc.
Historically, MUDs (and their more recent progeny with names of MU-
form) derive from an AI experiment by Richard Bartle and Roy
***************
*** 11727,11734 ****
psyton: [TMRC] n. Elementary particle carrying the sinister force.
The probability of a process losing is proportional to the number
! of psytons falling on it. [This term appears to have been largely
! superseded by {bogon} -- ESR]
pubic directory: [NYU] (also `pube directory' /pyoob/) n. The
`pub' (public) directory on a machine that allows {FTP}
--- 11801,11810 ----
psyton: [TMRC] n. Elementary particle carrying the sinister force.
The probability of a process losing is proportional to the number
! of psytons falling on it. Psytons are generated by observers,
! which is why demos are more likely to fail when lots of people are
! watching. [This term appears to have been largely superseded by
! {bogon}; see also {quantum bogodynamics} -- ESR]
pubic directory: [NYU] (also `pube directory' /pyoob/) n. The
`pub' (public) directory on a machine that allows {FTP}
***************
*** 11848,11854 ****
nano- 1000^-3 even smaller (see {nano-})
pico- 1000^-4 even smaller yet (see {pico-})
femto- 1000^-5 (not used in jargon -- yet)
! femto- 1000^-6 (not used in jargon -- yet)
The binary peta- and exa- loadings are not yet in common use, and
the prefix milli- denoting multiplication by `1000^-1' has
--- 11924,11930 ----
nano- 1000^-3 even smaller (see {nano-})
pico- 1000^-4 even smaller yet (see {pico-})
femto- 1000^-5 (not used in jargon -- yet)
! atto- 1000^-6 (not used in jargon -- yet)
The binary peta- and exa- loadings are not yet in common use, and
the prefix milli- denoting multiplication by `1000^-1' has
***************
*** 12337,12342 ****
--- 12413,12420 ----
association with hackerdom within a couple of years; for the
record, it started here. --- ESR]
+ RETI: v. Syn. {RTI}
+
retrocomputing: /ret'-roh-k*m-pyoo'ting/ n. Refers to emulations
of way-behind-the-state-of-the-art hardware or software, or
implementations of never-was-state-of-the-art; esp. if such
***************
*** 12400,12406 ****
gold leaf and curlicues that they have completely swamped the
underlying design. Called after the later and more extreme forms
of Baroque architecture and decoration prevalent during the
! mid-1700s in Europe.
rogue: [UNIX] n. Dungeons-And-Dragons-like game using character
graphics, written under BSD UNIX and subsequently ported to other
--- 12478,12486 ----
gold leaf and curlicues that they have completely swamped the
underlying design. Called after the later and more extreme forms
of Baroque architecture and decoration prevalent during the
! mid-1700s in Europe. Fred Brooks (the man who coined
! {second-system effect}) said: "Every program eventually becomes
! rococo, and then rubble."
rogue: [UNIX] n. Dungeons-And-Dragons-like game using character
graphics, written under BSD UNIX and subsequently ported to other
***************
*** 12462,12469 ****
RTI: /ahr-tee-ie/ interj. The mnemonic for the `return from
interrupt' instruction on many computers including the 6502 and
! Z80. Equivalent to "Now, where was I?" or used to end a
! conversational digression. See {pop}; see also {POPJ}.
RTM: /ahr-tee-em/ [USENET, acronym for `Read The Manual']
1. Politer variant of {RTFM}. 2. Robert T. Morris, perpetrator
--- 12542,12551 ----
RTI: /ahr-tee-ie/ interj. The mnemonic for the `return from
interrupt' instruction on many computers including the 6502 and
! 6800. The variant `RETI' is found among ex-Z80 hackers (almost
! nobody programs these things in assembler anymore). Equivalent to
! "Now, where was I?" or used to end a conversational digression.
! See {pop}; see also {POPJ}.
RTM: /ahr-tee-em/ [USENET, acronym for `Read The Manual']
1. Politer variant of {RTFM}. 2. Robert T. Morris, perpetrator
***************
*** 12777,12788 ****
scratch monkey: n. As in, "Before testing or reconfiguring, always
mount a scratch monkey.", a proverb used to advise caution when
dealing with irreplaceable data or devices. Used to refer to any
! non-expendable device or scratch volume hooked to a computer, in
! memory of Mabel, the Swimming Wonder Monkey who expired when a
! computer vendor {PM}ed a machine which was regulating the gas
! mixture that the monkey was breathing at the time. See Appendix A.
! See {scratch}.
screw: [MIT] n. A {lose}, usually in software. Especially used for
user-visible misbehavior caused by a bug or misfeature. This use
has become quite widespread outside MIT.
--- 12859,12883 ----
scratch monkey: n. As in, "Before testing or reconfiguring, always
mount a scratch monkey.", a proverb used to advise caution when
dealing with irreplaceable data or devices. Used to refer to any
! scratch volume hooked to a computer during any risky operation as a
! replacement for some precious resource or data that might get
! trashed.
+ This term preserves the memory of Mabel, the Swimming Wonder
+ Monkey, star of a biological research program at a great American
+ university. Mabel was not (so the legend goes) your ordinary
+ monkey; the university had spent years teaching her how to swim,
+ breathing through a regulator, in order to study the effects of
+ different gas mixtures on her physiology. Mabel suffered an
+ untimely demise one day when a computer vendor {PM}ed the machine
+ controlling her regulator (see also {provocative maintainance}).
+ It is recorded that, after calming down an understandably irate
+ customer sufficiently to ascertain the facts of the matter, the
+ vendor's troubleshooter called up the {field circus} manager
+ responsible and asked him sweetly "Can you swim?". The moral is
+ clear: when in doubt, always mount a scratch monkey. See
+ {scratch}.
+
screw: [MIT] n. A {lose}, usually in software. Especially used for
user-visible misbehavior caused by a bug or misfeature. This use
has become quite widespread outside MIT.
***************
*** 13653,13658 ****
--- 13748,13755 ----
"You want to code *what* in ADA? That's...a stunning idea!"
See also {non-optimal solution}.
+ stupid-sort: n. Syn. {bogo-sort}.
+
subshell: [UNIX, MS-DOS] n. An OS command interpreter (see
{shell}) spawned from within a program, such that exit from the
command interpreter returns one to the parent program in a state
***************
*** 15177,15186 ****
feature or algorithm that one does not truly understand. The
implication is that the technique may not work, and if it doesn't,
one will never know why. Almost synonymous with {black magic},
! except that black magic typically isn't documented and **
! understands it. Compare {magic}, {deep magic}, {heavy
! wizardry}, {rain dance}, {cargo-cult programming}, {wave a
! dead chicken}.
VR: [MUD] n. On-line abbrev for Virtual Reality, as opposed to
{RL}.
--- 15274,15283 ----
feature or algorithm that one does not truly understand. The
implication is that the technique may not work, and if it doesn't,
one will never know why. Almost synonymous with {black magic},
! except that black magic typically isn't documented and
! *nobody* understands it. Compare {magic}, {deep magic},
! {heavy wizardry}, {rain dance}, {cargo-cult programming},
! {wave a dead chicken}.
VR: [MUD] n. On-line abbrev for Virtual Reality, as opposed to
{RL}.
***************
*** 15751,15757 ****
XXX: /eks-eks-eks/ n. A marker that attention is needed.
Commonly used in program comments to indicate areas that are kluged
! up or need to be. Some hackers liked `XXX' to the notional
heavy-porn rating.
xyzzy: /eks-wie-zee-zee-wie/, /ik-zi'zee/, /eks-wie-ziz'ee/,
--- 15848,15854 ----
XXX: /eks-eks-eks/ n. A marker that attention is needed.
Commonly used in program comments to indicate areas that are kluged
! up or need to be. Some hackers liken `XXX' to the notional
heavy-porn rating.
xyzzy: /eks-wie-zee-zee-wie/, /ik-zi'zee/, /eks-wie-ziz'ee/,
***************
*** 15894,15905 ****
which connotes a time-extended version of zenning a system.
Compare {hack mode}. See also {guru}.
! zero: vt. 1. To set to zero. Usually said of small pieces of data,
! such as bits or words. 2. To erase; to discard all data from.
! Said of disks and directories, where `zeroing' need not involve
! actually writing zeroes throughout the area being zeroed. One may
! speak of something being `logically zeroed' rather than being
! `physically zeroed'. See {scribble}.
zero-content: adj. Syn. {content-free}.
--- 15991,16002 ----
which connotes a time-extended version of zenning a system.
Compare {hack mode}. See also {guru}.
! zero: vt. 1. To set to zero (esp. as `zero out'). Usually said of
! small pieces of data, such as bits or words. 2. To erase; to
! discard all data from. Said of disks and directories, where
! `zeroing' need not involve actually writing zeroes throughout the
! area being zeroed. One may speak of something being `logically
! zeroed' rather than `physically zeroed'. See {scribble}.
zero-content: adj. Syn. {content-free}.
***************
*** 16204,16265 ****
not recorded that any serious disciplinary action was taken against
either of them.
- The Untimely Demise of Mabel the Monkey
- =======================================
-
- The following, modulo a couple of inserted commas and
- capitalization changes for readability, is the exact text of a famous
- USENET message. The reader may wish to review the definitions of
- {PM} in the main text before continuing.
-
- Date: Wed 3 Sep 86 16:46:31-EDT
- From: "Art Evans" <Evans@TL-20B.ARPA>
- Subject: Always Mount a Scratch Monkey
- To: Risks@CSL.SRI.COM
-
- My friend Bud used to be the intercept man at a computer vendor for
- calls when an irate customer called. Seems one day Bud was sitting at
- his desk when the phone rang.
-
- Bud: Hello. Voice: YOU KILLED MABEL!!
- B: Excuse me? V: YOU KILLED MABEL!!
-
- This went on for a couple of minutes and Bud was getting nowhere, so he
- decided to alter his approach to the customer.
-
- B: HOW DID I KILL MABEL? V: YOU PM'ED MY MACHINE!!
-
- Well, to avoid making a long story even longer, I will abbreviate what had
- happened. The customer was a Biologist at the University of Blah-de-blah,
- and he had one of our computers that controlled gas mixtures that Mabel (the
- monkey) breathed. Now, Mabel was not your ordinary monkey. The University
- had spent years teaching Mabel to swim, and they were studying the effects
- that different gas mixtures had on her physiology. It turns out that the
- repair folks had just gotten a new Calibrated Power Supply (used to
- calibrate analog equipment), and at their first opportunity decided to
- calibrate the D/A converters in that computer. This changed some of the gas
- mixtures and poor Mabel was asphyxiated. Well, Bud then called the branch
- manager for the repair folks:
-
- Manager: Hello
- B: This is Bud, I heard you did a PM at the University of
- Blah-de-blah.
- M: Yes, we really performed a complete PM. What can I do
- for you?
- B: Can you swim?
-
- The moral is, of course, that you should always mount a scratch monkey.
-
- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-
- There are several morals here related to risks in use of computers.
- Examples include, "If it ain't broken, don't fix it." However, the
- cautious philosophical approach implied by "always mount a scratch
- monkey" says a lot that we should keep in mind.
-
- Art Evans
- Tartan Labs
-
TV Typewriters: A Tale Of Hackish Ingenuity
===========================================
--- 16301,16306 ----
***************
*** 16844,16850 ****
Bureaucracies. Stupid people. Easy listening music. Television
(except for cartoons, movies, the old `Star Trek', and the new
`Simpsons'). Business suits. Dishonesty. Incompetence.
! Boredom. BASIC. Character-based menu interfaces.
Food:
--- 16885,16891 ----
Bureaucracies. Stupid people. Easy listening music. Television
(except for cartoons, movies, the old `Star Trek', and the new
`Simpsons'). Business suits. Dishonesty. Incompetence.
! Boredom. COBOL. BASIC. Character-based menu interfaces.
Food:
--
Eric S. Raymond = eric@snark.thyrsus.com (mad mastermind of TMN-Netnews)