eric@snark.thyrsus.com (Eric S. Raymond) (03/23/91)
Submitted-by: jargon@thyrsus.com
Archive-name: jargon/part02
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Xemotional state is expressed, people tend to forget everything about
Xother parties except what is presented over that ASCII link. This has
Xboth good and bad effects. The good one is that it encourages
Xhonesty and tends to break down hierarchical authority relationships;
Xthe bad is that it may encourage depersonalization and gratuitous
Xrudeness.
X
XPerhaps in response to this, experienced netters often display a sort
Xof conscious formal politesse in their writing that has passed out of
Xfashion in other spoken and written media (for example, the phrase
X"Well said, sir!" is not uncommon).
X
XMany introverted hackers who are next to inarticulate in person
Xcommunicate with considerable fluency over the net, perhaps precisely
Xbecause they can forget on an unconscious level that they are dealing
Xwith people and thus don't feel stressed and anxious as they would
Xface to face.
X
XThough it is considered gauche to publicly criticize posters for poor
Xspelling or grammar, the network definitely places a premium on
Xliteracy and clarity of expression. It may well be that future
Xhistorians of literature will see in it a revival of the great
Xtradition of personal letters as art.
X
XInternational Style
X===================
X
XAlthough the Jargon File remains primarily a lexicon of hacker usage
Xin American English, we have made some effort to get input from
Xabroad. Though the hacker-speak of other languages often uses
Xtranslations of jargon from English (often as transmitted to them by
Xearlier Jargon File versions!), the local variations are interesting,
Xand knowledge of them may be of some use to travelling hackers.
X
XThere are some references herein to `Commonwealth English'. These are
Xintended to describe some variations in hacker usage as reported in
Xthe English spoken in Great Britain and the Commonwealth (Canada,
XAustralia, India, etc., though Canada is heavily influenced by
XAmerican usage). There is also an entry on {{Commonwealth Hackish}}
Xreporting some general phonetic and vocabulary differences from U.S.
Xhackish.
X
XHackers in Western Europe and (especially) Scandinavia are reported
Xto often use a mixture of English and their native languages for
Xtechnical conversation. Occasionally they develop idioms in their
XEnglish usage which are influenced by their native-language styles.
XSome of these are reported here.
X
XA note or two on hackish usages in Russian have been added where they
Xare parallel with English idioms and thus comprehensible to
XEnglish-speakers.
X
XPronunciation Guide
X===================
X
XPronunciation keys are provided in the jargon listing for all
Xentries that are neither dictionary words pronounced as in standard
XEnglish nor obvious compounds of same. Slashes bracket a phonetic
Xpronunciation to be interpreted using the following conventions:
X
X 1. Syllables are hyphen-separated, except that an apostrophe
X or back-apostrophe follows each accented syllable (the
X back apostrophe marks a secondary accent in some words of
X four or more syllables).
X
X 2. Consonants are pronounced as in American English. The letter `g' is
X always hard (as in "got" rather than "giant"); `ch' is soft
X ("church" rather than "chemist"). The letter `j' is the sound
X that occurs twice in "judge". The letter `s' is always as in
X "pass", never a z sound (but it is sometimes doubled at the end of
X syllables to emphasize this).
X The digraph `kh' is the guttural of "loch" or "l'chaim".
X
X 3. Vowels are represented as follows:
X
X a back, that
X ah father, palm
X ar far, mark
X aw flaw, caught
X ay bake, rain
X e less, men
X ee easy, ski
X eir their, software
X i trip, hit
X ie life, sky
X o cot, top
X oh flow, sew
X oo loot, through
X or more, door
X ow out, how
X oy boy, coin
X uh but, some
X u put, foot
X y yet
X yoo few
X [y]oo /oo/ with optional fronting as in `news' (/nooz/ or /nyooz/)
X
XA /*/ is used for the `schwa' sound of unstressed or occluded
Xvowels (the one that is often written with an upside-down `e'). The
Xschwa vowel is omitted in syllables containing vocalic r, l, m or n;
Xthat is, `kitten' and `color' would be rendered /kit'n/ and /kuhl'r/,
Xnot /kit'*n/ and /kuhl'*r/.
X
XEntries with a pronunciation of `//' are written-only usages (no,
XUNIX weenies, this does *not* mean `pronounce like previous
Xpronunciation!)
X
XOther Lexicon Conventions
X=========================
X
XEntries are sorted in case-blind ASCII collation order (rather than
Xthe letter-by-letter order ignoring interword spacing common in
Xmainstream dictionaries), except that all entries beginning with
Xnonalphabetic characters are sorted to the beginning. The
Xcase-blindness is a feature, not a bug.
X
XThe `OED' referred to in several entries is, of course, the Oxford
XEnglish Dictionary.
X
XIn pure ASCII renderings of the Jargon File, you will see {} used
Xto bracket words which themselves have entries in the File. This
Xisn't done all the time for every such word, but it is done everywhere
Xthat a reminder seems useful that the term has a jargon meaning and one
Xmight wish to refer to its entry.
X
XIn this all-ASCII version, headwords for topic entries are
Xdistinguished from those for ordinary entries by being followed by
X"::" rather than ":"; similarly, references are surrounded by
X"{{" and "}}" rather than "{" and "}".
X
XReferences such as `malloc(3)' and `patch(1)' are to UNIX
Xfacilities (some of which, such as `patch(1)', are actually freeware
Xdistributed over USENET). The UNIX manuals use `foo(n)' to refer
Xto item foo in section (n) of the manual, where n=1 is utilities, n=2
Xis system calls, n=3 is C library routines, n=6 is games, and n=8
X(where present) is system administration utilities. Sections 4, 5,
Xand 7 have changed roles frequently and in any case are not referred
Xto from any of the entries.
X
XThe Jargon Lexicon
X******************
X
X= [^A-Za-z] (see {regexp}) =
X============================
X
X'Snooze: /snooz/ [FidoNet] n. Fidonews, the weekly official on-line
X newsletter of FidoNet. As the editorial policy of Fidonews is
X "anything that arrives, we print", there are often large articles
X completely unrelated to FidoNet, which in turn tend to elicit
X {flamage} in subsequent issues.
X
X(TM): [USENET] ASCII rendition of the trademark-superscript symbol
X , appended to
X phrases that the author feels should be recorded for posterity,
X perhaps in future editions of this lexicon. Sometimes used
X ironically as a form of protest against the recent spate of
X software and algorithm patents and `look and feel' lawsuits. See
X also {UN*X}.
X
X-oid: [from `android'] suff. Used to form faintly derisory terms
X for classes of people. This has recently (as of 1991) gone
X mainstream (most notably in the term `trendoid' for victims of
X terminal hipness), probably under the influence of the term
X `droid' in `Star Wars' and its sequels. However, coinages
X of this form have been common in science fiction for at least fifty
X years, and hackers (who are often science-fiction fans) have
X probably been making `-oid' jargon for almost that long [though GLS
X and I can personally only confirm that the construction was already
X common in the mid-1970s --- ESR]. See {droid}.
X
X This suffix is expecially used to indicate a poor imitation,
X counterfeit, or otherwise slightly bogus resemblance: "He's a
X nerdoid" means someone who superficially resembles a nerd but
X can't make the grade; a `modemoid' might be a 300-baud box (Real
X Modems run at 9600), a `computeroid' might be any {bitty box},
X etc. The word `keyboid' could be used to describe a {chiclet
X keyboard}, but would have to be written; spoken, it would confuse
X the listener as to the speaker's city of origin.
X
X-ware: [from `software'] suff. Commonly used to form jargon terms
X for classes of software. For examples, see {careware},
X {crippleware}, {crudware}, {freeware}, {fritterware},
X {guiltware}, {liveware}, {meatware}, {payware},
X {psychedelicware}, {shareware}, {shelfware}, {vaporware},
X {wetware}.
X
X/dev/null: /dev-nuhl/ [from the UNIX null device, used as a data
X sink] n. A notional `black hole' in any information space being
X discussed, used or referred to. A controversial posting, for
X example, might end "Kudos to rasputin@kremlin.org, flames to
X /dev/null". See {bit bucket}, {null device}.
X
X120 reset: [from 120 volts, U.S. wall current] n. To cycle power on
X a machine in order to reset or unjam it. Compare {Big Red
X Switch}, {power cycle}.
X
X2: infix. In translation software written by hackers, infix 2 often
X represents the syllable *to* with the connotation
X `translate to'; as in dvi2ps (DVI to PostScript), int2string
X (integer to string) and texi2roff (Texinfo to [nt]roff).
X
X@-party: /at'par`tee/ [from the @-sign in an Internet address] n.
X (also `@-sign party' /at'sien par`tee/) Semi-closed parties thrown
X at science-fiction conventions (esp. the annual Worldcon) for
X hackers; one must have a {network address} to get in, or at least
X be in company with someone who does. One of the most reliable
X opportunities for hackers to meet face to face with people who
X might otherwise be represented by mere phosphor dots on their
X screens. Compare {boink}.
X
X@Begin: // [primarily CMU] n. Equivalent of {\begin} in the
X Scribe text formatting language; used as an idiom by Scribe users.
X
X\begin: // [from the LaTeX command] With \end, used
X humorously in writing to indicate a context or to remark on the
X surrounded text. For example:
X
X \begin{flame}
X Predicate logic is the only good programming language.
X Anyone who would use anything else is an idiot. Also,
X computers should be tredecimal instead of binary.
X \end{flame}
X
X The Scribe users at CMU and elsewhere used to use @Begin/@End in
X an identical way. On USENET, this construct would more frequently
X be rendered as "<FLAME ON>" and "<FLAME OFF>".
X
X= A =
X=====
X
Xabbrev: /*'breev/, /*'brev/ n. Common abbreviation for
X `abbreviation'.
X
Xabend: [ABnormal END] /ab'end/ n. Abnormal termination (of
X software); {crash}; {lossage}. Derives from an error message
X on the IBM 360; used jokingly by hackers but seriously mainly by
X {code grinder}s.
X
Xaccumulator: n. Archaic term for a register. Cited here because
X on-line use of it is a fairly reliable indication that the user has
X been around for quite a while and/or that the architecture under
X discussion is quite old. The term in full is almost never used of
X microprocessor registers, for example, though symbolic names for
X arithmetic registers beginning in `A' derive from historical use of
X `accumulator' (and not, actually, from `arithmetic'!).
X Confusingly, though, an `a' register name prefix may also stand for
X `address', as for example on the Motorola 680x0 family.
X
XACK: /ak/ interj. 1. [from the ASCII mnemonic for #b0000110]
X Acknowledge. Used to register one's presence (compare mainstream
X *Yo!*). An appropriate response to {ping} or {ENQ}.
X 2. [prob. from the Bloom County comic strip] An exclamation of
X surprised disgust, esp. in "Oop ack!". Semi-humorous.
X Generally this sense is distinguished by a following exclamation
X point. 3. Used to politely interrupt someone to tell them you
X understand their point. See {NAK}. Thus, for example, you might
X cut off an overly long explanation with "Ack. Ack. Ack. I get
X it now". See also {NAK}.
X
X There is also a usage "ACK?" (from sense #1) meaning "Are you
X there?", often used in email when earlier mail has produced no
X reply, or during a lull in {talk mode} to see if the person has
X gone away (the standard humorous response is of course {NAK}
X (sense #2), i.e., "I'm not here").
X
Xad-hockery: /ad-hok'*r-ee/ [Purdue] n. 1. Gratuitous assumptions
X made inside certain programs, esp. expert systems, which lead to
X the appearance of semi-intelligent behavior, but are in fact
X entirely arbitrary. 2. Special-case code to cope with some awkward
X input which would otherwise cause a program to {choke}, presuming
X normal inputs are dealt with in some cleaner and more regular way.
X Also called `ad-hackery', `ad-hocity' (/ad-hos'*-tee/).
X
XAda:: n. A {{Pascal}}-descended language that has been made
X mandatory for Department of Defense software projects by the
X Pentagon. Hackers are nearly unanimous in observing that,
X technically, it is precisely what one might expect given that kind
X of endorsement by fiat; designed by committee, crockish, difficult
X to use, and overall a disastrous, multi-billion-dollar boondoggle
X (one common description is "The PL/I of the 1980s"). Hackers find
X Ada's exception-handling and inter-process communication features
X particularly hilarious. Ada Lovelace (the daughter of Lord Byron
X who became the world's first programmer while cooperating with
X Babbage on the design of his mechanical computing engines in the
X mid-1800s) would almost certainly blanch at the use her name has
X been latterly put to; the kindest thing that has been said about it
X is that there is probably a good small language screaming to get
X out from inside its vast, {elephantine} bulk.
X
Xadger: /adj'r/ [UCLA] vt. To make a bonehead move with consequences
X that could have been foreseen with a slight amount of mental
X effort. E.g., "He started removing files and promptly adgered the
X whole project." Compare {dumbass attack}.
X
Xadmin: /ad-min'/ n. Short for `administrator'; very commonly used
X in speech or on-line to refer to the systems person in charge on a
X computer. Common constructions on this include `sysadmin' and
X `site admin' (emphasizing the administrator's role as a site
X contact for email and news) or `newsadmin' (focusing on the
X latter). Compare {postmaster}, {sysop}, {system mangler}.
X
XADVENT: /ad'vent/ n. The prototypical computer adventure game, first
X implemented on the {PDP-10} by Will Crowther as an attempt at
X computer-refereed fantasy gaming, and expanded into a
X puzzle-oriented game by Don Woods. Now better known as Adventure,
X but the {TOPS-10} operating system only permitted 6-letter
X filenames. See also {vadding}.
X
X This game defined the terse, dryly humorous style now expected in
X text adventure games, and popularized several tag lines that have
X become fixtures of hacker-speak. "A huge green fierce snake bars
X the way!" "I see no X here." (for some noun X). "You are in a
X maze of twisty little passages, all alike." "You are in a little
X maze of twisty passages, all different." The "magic words"
X {xyzzy} and {plugh} also derive from this game.
X
X Crowther, by the way, participated in the exploration of the
X Mammoth/Flint Ridge cave system; it actually *has* a `Colossal
X Cave' and a `Bedquilt' as in the game, and the `Y2' that also turns
X up is cavers' jargon for a map reference to a secondary entrance.
X
XAI-complete: [MIT, Stanford, by analogy with `NP-complete']
X adj. Used to describe problems or subproblems in AI, to indicate
X that the solution presupposes a solution to the `strong AI problem'
X (that is, the synthesis of a human-level intelligence). A problem
X that is AI-complete is, in other words, just too hard.
X
X Examples of AI-complete problems are `The Vision Problem',
X building a system that can see as well as a human, and `The
X Natural Language Problem', building a system that can understand
X and speak a natural language as well as a human. These may appear
X to be modular, but all attempts so far (1991) to solve them have
X foundered on the amount of context information and `intelligence'
X they seem to require.
X
XAI koans: pl.n. A series of pastiches of Zen teaching riddles
X created by Danny Hillis at the MIT AI Lab around various major
X figures of the Lab's culture. A selection are included in Appendix
X A. See also {ha ha only serious} and {{Humor, Hacker}}.
X
XAIDS: /aydz/ n. Short for A* Infected Disk Syndrome ("A*" matches,
X but not limited to, Apple), this condition is the quite often the
X result of practicing unsafe {SEX}. See {virus}, {worm}, {Trojan
X horse}, {virgin}.
X
Xairplane rule: n. "Complexity increases the possibility of
X failure; a twin-engine airplane has twice as many engine problems
X as a single-engine airplane." By analogy, in both software and
X electronics, the rule that simplicity increases robustness (see
X also {KISS Principle}). It is correspondingly argued that the
X right way to build reliable systems is to design to put all your
X eggs in one basket, after making sure that you've built a
X *really good* basket.
X
Xaliasing bug: n. A class of subtle programming errors which can
X arise in code that does dynamic allocation, esp. via
X `malloc(3)' or equivalent. If more than one pointer addresses
X (`aliases for') a given hunk of storage, it may happen that the
X storage is freed through one alias and then referenced through
X another, leading to subtle (and possibly intermittent) lossage
X depending on the state and the allocation history of the malloc
X {arena}. Avoidable by use of allocation strategies that never
X alias allocated core. Also avoidable by use of higher-level
X languages such as {LISP} which employ a garbage collector (see
X {GC}). Also called a {stale pointer bug}. See also
X {precedence lossage}, {smash the stack}, {fandango on core},
X {memory leak}, {overrun screw}, {spam}.
X
X Historical note: Though this term is nowadays associated with C
X programming, it was already in use in a very similar sense in the
X Algol-60 and FORTRAN communities in the 1960s.
X
Xall-elbows: adj. Of a TSR (terminate-and-stay-resident) IBM PC
X program, such as the N pop-up calendar and calculator utilities
X that circulate on {BBS} systems: unsociable. Used to describe a
X program that rudely steals the resources that it needs without
X considering that other TSRs may also be resident. One particularly
X common form of rudeness is lock-up due to programs fighting over
X the keyboard interrupt. See also {mess-dos}.
X
XALT: /awlt/ 1. n. The ALT shift key on an IBM PC or {clone}.
X 2. [possibly lowercased] n. The `clover' or `Command' key on a
X Macintosh; use of this term usually reveals that the speaker hacked
X PCs before coming to the Mac (see also {command key}). Some Mac
X hackers, confusingly, reserve `ALT' for the Option key. 3. n.obs.
X [PDP-10] Alternate name for the ASCII ESC character, after the
X keycap labeling on some older terminals. Also `ALTMODE'. This
X character was almost never pronounced "escape" on an ITS system,
X in {TECO}, or under TOPS-10 --- always ALT, as in "Type ALT ALT
X to end a TECO command" or "ALT U onto the system" (for "log
X onto the [ITS] system"). This was probably because ALT is more
X convenient to say than "escape", especially when followed by
X another ALT or a character (or another ALT *and* a character,
X for that matter!).
X
Xalt bit: /awlt bit/ [from alternate] adj. See {meta bit}.
X
XAluminum Book: [MIT] n. `Common Lisp: The Language', by Guy L.
X Steele Jr., Digital Press, first edition, 1984, second edition
X 1990. Strictly speaking, only the first edition is the aluminum
X book, since the second edition has a yucky pale green cover. See
X also {{book titles}}.
X
Xamoeba: /*-mee'b*/ n. Humorous term for the Commodore Amiga
X personal computer.
X
Xamp off: [Purdue] vt. To run in {background}. From the UNIX shell `&'
X operator.
X
Xangle brackets: n. Either of the characters `<' and `>'
X (ASCII less-than or greater-than signs). The {Real World} angle
X brackets used by typographers are actually taller than a less-than
X or greater-than sign.
X See {broket}, {{ASCII}}.
X
Xangry fruit salad: n. A bad interface design that uses too many colors.
X
XAOS: 1. /aws/ (East coast), /ay-os/ (West coast) [based on a PDP-10
X increment instruction] vt.,obs. To increase the amount of
X something. "Aos the campfire." Usage: considered silly, and now
X obsolete. See {SOS}. Now largely supplanted by {bump}. 2. A
X crufty {Multics}-derived OS supported at one time by Data
X General. This was pronounced /ay-oh-ess/ or /ay-os/, the latter
X being prevalent internally at DG. A spoof of the standard AOS
X system administrator's manual (`How to load and generate your
X AOS system') was created, issued a part number, and allegedly
X released. It was called `How to goad and levitate your chaos
X system'.
X
X Historical note: AOS in sense #1 was the name of a {PDP-10}
X instruction that took any memory location in the computer and added
X one to it; AOS meant `Add One and do not Skip'. Why, you may ask,
X does the `S' stand for `do not Skip' rather than for `Skip'? Ah,
X here was a beloved piece of PDP-10 folklore. There were eight such
X instructions: AOSE added one and then skipped the next instruction
X if the result was Equal to zero; AOSG added one and then skipped if
X the result was Greater than zero; AOSN added one and then skipped
X if the result was Not zero; AOSA added one and then skipped Always;
X and so on. Just plain AOS didn't say when to skip, so it never
X skipped. For similar reasons, AOJ meant `Add One and do not Jump'.
X Even more bizarre, SKIP meant `Do not SKIP'! If you wanted to skip
X the next instruction, you had to say `SKIPA'. Likewise, JUMP means
X `Do not JUMP'; the unconditional form was JUMPA. However, hackers
X never did this. By some quirk of the 10's design, the {JRST} (Jump
X and Restore Flag with no flag specified) was actually faster, and
X so was invariably used. Such were the perverse mysteries of
X assembler programming.
X
Xapp: /ap/ n. Short for `application program', as opposed to a systems
X program. What systems vendors are forever chasing developers to do
X for their environments so they can sell more boxes. Hackers tend
X not to think of the things they themselves run as apps; thus, in
X hacker parlance the term excludes compilers, program editors,
X games, and messaging systems, though a user would consider all
X those apps. Oppose {tool}, {operating system}.
X
Xarc: [primarily MSDOS] vt. To create a compressed archive from a
X group of files using the SEA ARC, PKWare PKARC, or compatible
X program. Rapidly becoming obsolete as the ARC compression method
X is falling into disuse, having been replaced by newer compression
X techniques. See {tar and feather}, {zip}.
X
Xarc wars: [primarily MSDOS] n. {holy wars} over which archiving
X program one should use. The first arc war was sparked when System
X Enhancement Associates (SEA) sued PKWare for copyright and
X trademark infringement on its ARC program. PKWare's PKARC
X outperformed ARC on both compression and speed while largely
X retaining compatibility (it introduced a new compression type which
X could be disabled for backward-compatibility). PKWare settled out
X of court to avoid enormous legal costs (both SEA and PKWare are
X small companies); as part of the settlement, the name of PKARC was
X changed to PKPAK. The public backlash against SEA for bringing
X suit helped to hasten the demise of ARC as a standard when PKWare
X and others introduced new, incompatible archivers with better
X compression algorithms.
X
Xarchive: n. 1. A collection of several files bundled into one
X file with a program such as `ar(1)', `tar(1)',
X `cpio(1)', or {arc} for shipment or archiving (sense #2).
X See also {tar and feather}. 2. A collection of files or
X archives (sense #1) made available from an `archive site' via
X {FTP} or an email server.
X
Xarena: [UNIX] n. The area of memory attached to a process by
X `brk(2)' and `sbrk(2)' and used by `malloc(3)' as
X dynamic storage. So named from a semi-mythical `malloc:
X corrupt arena' message supposedly emitted when some early versions
X became terminally confused. See {overrun screw}, {aliasing
X bug}, {memory leak}, {smash the stack}.
X
Xarg: /arg/ n. Abbreviation for `argument' (to a function), used so
X often as to have become a new word (like `piano' from
X `pianoforte'). "The sine function takes one arg, but the
X arc-tangent function can take either one or two args". Compare
X {param}, {parm}, {var}.
X
Xarmor-plated: n. Syn. for {bulletproof}.
X
Xasbestos: adj. Used as a modifier to anything intended to protect
X one from {flame}s. Important cases of this include {asbestos
X longjohns} and {asbestos cork award}, but it is used more
X generally.
X
Xasbestos cork award: n. Once, long ago at MIT, there was a {flamer}
X so consistently obnoxious that another hacker designed, had made,
X and distributed posters announcing that said flamer had been
X nominated for the `asbestos cork award'. Persons in any doubt as
X to the intended application of the cork should consult the
X etymology under {flame}. Since then, it is agreed that only a
X select few have risen to the heights of bombast required to earn
X this dubious dignity --- but there's no agreement on *which*
X few.
X
Xasbestos longjohns: n. Notional garments often donned by {USENET}
X posters just before emitting a remark they expect will elicit
X {flamage}. This is the most common of the {asbestos} coinages.
X Also `asbestos underwear', `asbestos overcoat', etc.
X
XASCII:: [American Standard Code for Information Interchange]
X /as'kee/ n. The predominant character set encoding of present-day
X computers. Uses 7 bits for each character, whereas most earlier
X codes (including one version of ASCII) used fewer. This change
X allowed the inclusion of lowercase letters, a major {win} --- but
X it did not provide for accented letters or any other letterforms
X not used in English (such as the German sharp-S and the ae-ligature
X which is a letter in, for example, Norwegian). It could be worse,
X though. It could be much worse. See {{EBCDIC}} to understand how.
X
X Computers are much less flexible and pickier about spelling than
X humans; thus, hackers need to be very precise when talking about
X characters, and have developed a considerable amount of verbal
X shorthand for talking about characters. Every character has one or
X more names; some formal, some concise, some silly. Common jargon
X names for ASCII characters are collected here. See also individual
X entries for {bang}, {excl}, {open}, {ques}, {semi},
X {shriek}, {splat}, {twiddle}, and {Yu-Shiang Whole Fish}.
X
X This list derives from revision 2.2 of the USENET ASCII
X pronunciation guide. Single characters are listed in ASCII order;
X character pairs are sorted in by first member. For each character,
X common names are given in rough order of popularity followed by
X names which are reported but rarely seen; official ANSI/CCITT names
X are parenthesized. Square brackets mark the particularly silly
X names introduced by {INTERCAL}.
X
X !
X Common: {bang}, pling, excl, shriek, (exclamation mark).
X Rare: factorial, exclam, smash, cuss, boing, yell, wow, hey,
X wham, [spot-spark], soldier.
X
X "
X Common: double quote, quote. Rare: literal mark,
X double-glitch, (quotation marks), (dieresis), dirk,
X [rabbit-ears].
X
X #
X Common: (number sign), pound, pound sign, hash, sharp,
X {crunch}, hex, [mesh], octothorpe. Rare: flash, crosshatch,
X grid, pig-pen, tictactoe, scratchmark, thud, thump, {splat}.
X
X $
X Common: dollar, (dollar sign). Rare: currency symbol, buck,
X cash, string (from BASIC), escape (when used as the echo of
X ASCII ESC), ding, cache, [big money].
X
X %
X Common: percent, (percent sign), mod, grapes. Rare:
X [double-oh-seven].
X
X &
X Common: (ampersand), amper, and. Rare: address (from C),
X reference (from C++), andpersand, bitand, background (from
X `sh(1)'), pretzel, amp. [INTERCAL called this `ampersand';
X what could be sillier?]
X
X '
X Common: single quote, quote, (apostrophe). Rare: prime,
X glitch, tick, irk, pop, [spark], (closing single quotation
X mark), (acute accent).
X
X ()
X Common: left/right paren, left/right parenthesis, left/right,
X paren/thesis, open/close paren, open/close, open/close
X parenthesis, left/right banana. Rare: lparen/rparen,
X so/already, [wax/wane], (opening/closing parenthesis),
X left/right ear, parenthisey/unparenthisey, open/close round
X bracket.
X
X *
X Common: star, {splat}, (asterisk). Rare: wildcard, gear,
X dingle, mult, spider, aster, times, twinkle, glob (see
X {glob}), {Nathan Hale}. [INTERCAL called this `splat']
X
X +
X Common: (plus), add. Rare: cross, [intersection].
X
X ,
X Common: (comma). Rare: (cedilla), [tail].
X
X -
X Common: dash, (hyphen), (minus). Rare: [worm], option, dak,
X bithorpe.
X
X .
X Common: dot, point, (period), (decimal point). Rare: radix
X point, full stop, [spot].
X
X /
X Common: slash, stroke, (slant), forward slash. Rare:
X diagonal, solidus, over, slak, virgule, [slat].
X
X :
X Common: (colon). Rare: [two-spot].
X
X ;
X Common: (semicolon), semi. Rare: weenie, [hybrid].
X
X <>
X Common: (less/greater than), left/right angle bracket,
X bra/ket, left/right broket. Rare: from/{into,towards}, read
X from/write to, suck/blow, comes-from/gozinta, in/out,
X crunch/zap (all from UNIX), [angle/right angle].
X
X =
X Common: (equals), gets, takes. Rare: quadrathorpe,
X [half-mesh].
X
X ?
X Common: query, (question mark), {ques}. Rare: whatmark,
X [what], wildchar, huh, hook, buttonhook, hunchback.
X
X @
X Common: at sign, at, strudel. Rare: each, vortex, whorl,
X [whirlpool], cyclone, snail, ape, cat, rose, cabbage,
X (commercial at).
X
X V
X Rare: vee, [book].
X
X []
X Common: left/right square bracket, (opening/closing bracket),
X bracket/unbracket, left/right bracket. Rare: square/unsquare,
X [U turn/U turn back].
X
X \
X Common: backslash, escape (from C/UNIX), reverse slash, slosh,
X backslant, backwhack. Rare: bash, (reverse slant), reversed
X virgule, [backslat].
X
X ^
X Common: hat, control, uparrow, caret, (circumflex). Rare:
X chevron, [shark (or shark-fin)], to the (`to the power of'),
X fang.
X
X _
X Common: (underline), underscore, underbar, under. Rare:
X score, backarrow (from the ASCII-1963 graphic), [flatworm].
X
X `
X Common: backquote, left quote, left single quote, open quote,
X (grave accent), grave. Rare: backprime, [backspark],
X unapostrophe, birk, blugle, back tick, back glitch, push,
X (opening single quotation mark), quasiquote.
X
X {}
X
X Common: open/close brace, left/right brace, left/right
X squiggly, left/right squiggly bracket/brace, left/right curly
X bracket/brace, (opening/closing brace). Rare: brace/unbrace,
X left/right squirrelly, curly/uncurly, leftit/rytit,
X [embrace/bracelet].
X
X |
X Common: bar, or, or-bar, v-bar, pipe, vertical bar. Rare:
X (vertical line), gozinta, thru, pipesinta (last three ones
X from UNIX), [spike].
X
X ~
X Common: (tilde), squiggle, {twiddle}, not. Rare: approx,
X wiggle, swung dash, enyay, [sqiggle (sic)].
X
X The pronunciation of `#' as `pound' is common in the U.S. but
X a bad idea; {{Commonwealth Hackish}} has its own rather more apposite
X use of `pound sign' (confusingly, on British keyboards the pound
X graphic happens to replace `#'; thus Britishers sometimes call `#'
X on a US-ASCII keyboard `pound', compounding the American error).
X The U.S. usage derives from an old-fashioned commercial practice of
X using a `#' suffix to tag pound weights on bills of lading.
X The character is usually pronounced `hash' outside the U.S.
X
X Also note that the `swung dash' or `approximation' sign is not
X quite the same as tilde in typeset material
X but the ASCII tilde serves for both (compare {angle
X brackets}).
X
X Some other common usages cause odd overlaps. The `#',
X `$', `>', and `&' chars, for example, are all
X pronounced "hex" in different communities because various
X assemblers use them as a prefix tag for hexadecimal constants (in
X particular, `$' in the 6502 world, `>' at Texas
X Instruments, and `&' on the Sinclair and some other Z80
X machines).
X
X The inability of ASCII text to correctly represent any of the
X world's other major languages makes the designers' choice of 7 bits
X look more and more like a serious {misfeature} as the use of
X international networks continues to increase (see {software
X rot}). Hardware and software from the US still tends to embody the
X assumption that ASCII is the *universal* character set; this
X is a now a major irritant to people who want to use a character set
X suited to their own language.
X
Xattoparsec: n. `atto-' is the official SI prefix for
X multiplication by `10 ^ -18', a parsec (parallax-second) is 3.26
X light-years; an attoparsec is thus 3.26e-18 light years, or about
X 3.1 cm (thus, 1 attoparsec/{microfortnight} equals about 1
X inch/sec). This unit is reported to be in use (though probably not
X very seriously) among hackers in Great Britain. See {micro-}
X
Xautobogotiphobia: /aw'to-boh-got'*-foh`bee-uh/ n. See {bogotify}.
X
Xautomagically: /aw-toh-maj'i-klee/ or /aw-toh-maj'i-k*l-ee/ adv.
X Automatically, but in a way which, for some reason (typically
X because it is too complicated, or too ugly, or perhaps even too
X trivial), the speaker doesn't feel like explaining to you. See
X {magic}. "The C-INTERCAL compiler generates C, then automagically
X invokes `cc(1)' to produce an executable."
X
Xavatar: [CMU, Textronix] n. Syn. {root}, {superuser}. There
X are quite a few UNIX machines on which the name of the superuser
X account is `avatar' rather than `root'. This quirk was originated
X by a CMU hacker who disliked the term `superuser' and propagated
X through an ex-CMU hacker at Textronix.
X
Xawk: 1. n. [UNIX techspeak] An interpreted language developed by
X Aho, Weinberg, and Kernighan (the name is from their initials). It
X is characterized by: C-like syntax, a BASIC-like approach to
X variable typing and declarations, associative arrays, and
X field-oriented text processing. See also {Perl}. 2. n.
X Editing term for an expression awkward to manipulate through normal
X regular expression facilities. 3. vt. To process data using
X `awk(1)'.
X
X= B =
X=====
X
Xback door: n. A hole in the security of a system deliberately left in
X place by designers or maintainers. The motivation for this is not
X always sinister; some operating systems, for example, come out of
X the box with privileged accounts intended for use by field service
X or the vendor's maintenance programmers.
X
X Historically, back doors have often lurked in systems longer than
X anyone expected or planned, and a few have become widely known.
X The infamous {RTM} worm of late 1988, for example, used a back door
X in the {BSD} UNIX `sendmail(8)' utility.
X
X Ken Thompson's 1983 Turing Award lecture to the ACM revealed the
X existence of a back door in early UNIX versions that may have
X qualified as the most fiendishly clever security hack of all time.
X The binaries of the C compiler had code in them which would
X automatically patch itself into the output executable whenever the
X compiler itself was being recompiled, and also patch the
X `login' command, when *it* was being recompiled, to
X accept a password that gave Thompson entry to the computer whether
X or not an account had been created for him! Thompson describes
X this hack as a {Trojan horse}. This talk was published as
X `Reflections on Trusting Trust', Communications of the ACM
X 27,8 (August 1984) pp. 761--763. Although Thompson didn't say
X whether the hacked version ever made it off site, it is commonly
X believed that this back door was in fact propagated through
X hundreds of machines without any clue to it ever showing up in
X source.
X
X Syn. {trap door}; may also be called a `wormhole'. See also
X {iron box}, {cracker}, {worm}, {logic bomb}.
X
Xbackbone cabal: n. A group of large-site administrators who pushed
X through the {Great Renaming} and reined in the chaos of {USENET}
X during most of the 1980s. The cabal {mailing list} disbanded in late
X 1988 after a bitter internal catfight, but the net hardly noticed.
X
Xbackbone site: n. A key USENET and email site; one which processes
X a large amount of third-party traffic, especially if it's the home
X site of any of the regional coordinators for the USENET maps.
X Notable backbone sites as of early 1991 include `uunet' and the
X mail machines at Rutgers University, UC Berkeley, DEC's Western
X Research Laboratories, Ohio State University, and the University of
X Texas. Compare {rib site}, {leaf site}.
X
Xbackgammon:: See {bignum}, {moby}, and {pseudoprime}.
X
Xbackground: n.,adj. 1. [techspeak] A task running in background
X is detached from the terminal where it was started (and often
X running at a lower priority); oppose {foreground}. Nowadays this
X term is primarily associated with {UNIX}, but it appears first to
X have been used in this sense on OS/360. 2. By extension, to do a
X task `in background' is to do it whenever {foreground}
X matters are not claiming your undivided attention, and `to
X background' something means to relegate it to a lower priority.
X Note that this implies ongoing activity but at a reduced level or
X in spare time, in contrast to mainstream `back burner' which
X connotes benign neglect until some future resumption of activity.
X Some people prefer to use the term for processing that they've
X queued up for their unconscious minds (a tack that one can often
X fruitfully take when encountering an obstacle in creative work).
X Compare {amp off}, {slopsucker}.
X
Xbackspace and overstrike: interj. Whoa! Back up. Used to suggest
X that someone just said or did something wrong. Common among
X APL programmers.
X
Xbackward combatability: /bak'w*rd k*m-bat'*-bil'*-tee/ [corruption
X of "backward compatibility"] adj. A property pertaining to
X hardware or software in which all previous protocols, formats, and
X layouts are discarded in favor of the `new and improved'
X protocols, formats, and layouts. Occurs usually when making the
X transition between major releases. When the change is so drastic
X that the old formats are not retained in the new version, it is
X said to be `backward combatable'. See {flag day}.
X
XBAD: [IBM; acronym, Broken As Designed] adj. Said of a program
X which is {bogus} due to bad design and misfeatures rather than
X due to bugginess. See {working as designed}.
X
XBad Thing: [from the 1930 Sellars & Yeatman parody `1066 And
X all that'] n. Something which can't possibly result in improvement
X of the subject. This term is always capitalized, as in "Replacing
X all of the 9600 baud modems with bicycle couriers would be a Bad
X Thing." Oppose {Good Thing}. British correspondents confirm
X that {Bad Thing} and {Good Thing} (and prob. therefore {Right
X Thing} and {Wrong Thing}) come from the book referenced in the
X etymology, which discusses rulers who were Good Kings, but Bad
X Things. This has apparently created a mainstream idiom on the
X British side of the pond.
X
Xbagbiter: /bag'biet-*r/ n. 1. Something, such as a program or a
X computer, that fails to work, or works in a remarkably clumsy
X manner. Example: "This text editor won't let me make a file with
X a line longer than 80 characters! What a bagbiter!" 2. A person
X who has caused you some trouble, inadvertently or otherwise,
X typically by failing to program the computer properly. Synonyms:
X {loser}, {cretin}, {chomper}. 3. adj. `bagbiting'
X Having the quality of a bagbiter. "This bagbiting system won't
X let me compute the factorial of a negative number." Compare
X {losing}, {cretinous}, {bletcherous}, `barfucious' (under
X {barfulous}) and `chomping' (under {chomp}). 4. `bite
X the bag' vi. To fail in some manner. "The computer keeps crashing
X every five minutes." "Yes, the disk controller is really biting
X the bag." The original loading of these terms was almost
X undoubtedly obscene, possibly referring to the scrotum, but in
X their current usage they have become almost completely sanitized.
X
X A program on the old MIT-AI PDP-10 called Lexiphage would first
X draw, on a selected victim's bitmapped terminal, the words "THE
X BAG" in gothic letters and then a pair of jaws biting pieces of it
X off. This is the the first known example of a program
X *intended* to be a bagbiter.
X
Xbamf: /bamf/ 1. [from old X-Men comics] interj. Notional sound made
X by a person or object teleporting in or out of the hearer's
X vicinity. Often used in {virtual reality} (esp. {MUD})
X electronic fora when a character wishes to make a dramatic entrance
X or exit. 2. The sound of magical transformation, used in virtual
X reality fora like sense #1. 3. [from `Don Washington's
X Survival Guide'] n. Acronym for `Bad-Ass Mother Fucker', used to
X refer to one of the handful of nastiest monsters on an LPMUD or
X similar MUD.
X
Xbanana label: n. The labels often used on the sides of {macrotape}
X reels, so called because they're shaped roughly like blunt-ended
X bananas. This term, like macrotapes themselves, is still current
X but visibly headed for obsolescence.
X
Xbanana problem: n. [from the story of the little girl who said "I
X know how to spell `banana', but I don't know when to stop"]. Not
X knowing where or when to bring a production to a close (compare
X {fencepost error}). One may say there is a banana problem of an
X algorithm with poorly defined or incorrect termination conditions,
X or in discussing the evolution of a design that may be succumbing
X to featuritis (see also {creeping elegance}, {creeping
X featuritis}). See also item 176 under {HAKMEM}.
X
Xbandwidth: n. 1. Used by hackers in a generalization of its
X technical meaning as the volume of information per unit time that a
X computer, person or transmission medium can handle. "Those are
X amazing graphics but I missed some of the detail --- not enough
X bandwidth, I guess." Compare {low-bandwidth}. 2. Attention
X span. 3. On {USENET}, a measure of network capacity that is
X often wasted by people complaining about how network news items
X posted by others are a waste of bandwidth.
X
Xbang: 1. n. Common spoken name for `!' (ASCII #b0100001),
X especially when used in pronouncing a {bang path} in spoken
X hackish. In elder days this was considered a CMUish usage, with
X MIT and Stanford hackers preferring {excl} or {shriek}; but the
X spread of UNIX has carried {bang} with it (esp. via the term
X {bang path}) and it is now certainly the most common spoken name
X for `!'. Note that it is used exclusively for non-emphatic
X written `!'; one would not say "Congratulations bang"
X (except possibly for humorous purposes), but if one wanted to
X specify the exact characters `FOO!', one would speak "Eff oh oh
X bang". See {shriek}, {{ASCII}}. 2. interj. An exclamation
X signifying roughly "I have achieved enlightenment!", or "The
X dynamite has cleared out my brain!". Often used to acknowledge
X that one has perpetrated a {thinko} immediately after one has
X been called on it.
X
Xbang on: vt. To stress-test a piece of hardware or software, as in
X "Pete, I banged on the new version of the simulator all day
X yesterday and it didn't crash once. I guess it is ready to
X release." The term {pound on} is synonymous.
X
Xbang path: n. An old-style UUCP electronic-mail address specifying
X hops to get from some assumed-reachable location to the addressee,
X so called because each {hop} is signified by a {bang} sign. Thus
X the path `...!bigsite!foovax!barbox!me' directs correspondents
X to route their mail to machine `bigsite' (presumably a well-known
X location accessible to everybody) and from there through the
X machine `foovax' to the account of user `me' on `barbox'.
X
X In the bad old days of not so long ago, before autorouting mailers
X became commonplace, people often published compound bang addresses
X using the { } convention (see {glob}) to give paths from
X *several* big machines, in the hopes that one's correspondent
X might be able to get mail to one of them reliably (example:
X ...!{seismo, ut-sally, gatech}!rice!beta!gamma!me). Bang paths
X of 8 to 10 hops were not uncommon in 1981. Late night dial-up
X uucp links would cause week-long transmission times. Bang paths
X were often selected by both transmission time and reliability, as
X messages would often get lost. See {{Internet address}},
X {network, the}, and {sitename}.
X
Xbanner: n. 1. The title page added to printouts by most print
X spoolers see {spool}. Typically includes user or account ID
X information in very large character-graphics capitals. 2. A
X similar printout generated (typically on multiple pages of fan-fold
X paper) from user-specified text, e.g. by a program such as UNIX's
X `banner([16])'. 3. On interactive software, a first screen
X containing a logo and/or author credits and/or copyright notice.
X
Xbar: /bar/ n. 1. The second metasyntactic variable, after {foo}
X and before {baz}. "Suppose we have two functions FOO and BAR.
X FOO calls BAR...." 2. Often appended to {foo} to produce
X {foobar}.
X
Xbare metal: n. 1. New computer hardware, unadorned with such
X snares and delusions as an {operating system}, {HLL}, or even
X assembler. Commonly in the phrase `programming on the bare metal',
X which refers to the arduous work of {bit bashing} needed to
X create these basic tools for a new machine. Real bare-metal
X programming involves things like building boot proms and BIOS
X chips, implementing basic monitors used to test device drivers, and
X writing the assemblers that will be used to write the compiler back
X ends that will give the new machine a real development environment.
X 2. The same phrase is also used to describe a style of
X {hand-hacking} that relies on bit-level peculiarities of a
X particular hardware design, esp. tricks for speed and space
X optimization that rely on crocks such as overlapping instructions
X (or, as in the famous case described in Appendix A, interleaving of
X opcodes on a magnetic drum to minimize fetch delays due to the
X device's rotational latency). This sort of thing has become less
X common as the relative costs of programming time and machine
X resources have changed, but is still found in heavily constrained
X environments like industrial embedded systems. See {real
X programmer}.
X
X In the personal computing world, bare metal programming (especially
X in sense #1 but sometimes also in sense #2) is often considered a
X {Good Thing}, or at least a necessary thing (because these
X machines have frequently been sufficiently slow and poorly designed
X to make it necessary; see {ill-behaved}). There, the term
X usually refers to bypassing the BIOS or OS interface and writing
X the application to directly access device registers and machine
X addresses. "To get 19.2 on the serial port, you need to get down
X to the bare metal." People who can do this sort of thing are held in
X high regard.
X
Xbarf: /barf/ [from mainstream slang meaning `vomit'] 1. interj.
X Term of disgust. This is the closest hackish equivalent of the
X Valspeak `gag me with a spoon' (Like, euwww!). See {bletch}.
X 2. To say "Barf!" or emit some similar expression of disgust. "I
X showed him my latest hack and he barfed" means only that he
X complained about it, not that he literally vomited. 3. vi. To fail
X to work because of unacceptable input. May mean to give an error
X message. Examples: "The division operation barfs if you try to
X divide by zero." (That is, the division operation checks for an
X attempt to divide by zero, and if one is encountered it causes the
X operation to fail in some unspecified, but generally obvious,
X manner) "The text editor barfs if you try to read in a new file
X before writing out the old one." See {choke}, {gag}. Note
X that in Commonwealth hackish, `barf' is generally replaced by
X `puke' or `vom'. {barf} is sometimes also used as a
X metasyntactic variable like {foo} or {bar}.
X
Xbarfulation: interj. Variation of {barf} used around the Stanford
X area. An exclamation, expressing disgust. On seeing some
X particularly bad code one might exclaim, "Barfulation! Who wrote
X this, Quux?"
SHAR_EOF
true || echo 'restore of jargon.ascii failed'
fi
echo 'End of part 2, continue with part 3'
echo 3 > _shar_seq_.tmp
exit 0