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X========= THIS IS THE JARGON FILE, VERSION 2.2.1 15 DEC 1990 =================
X
XIntroduction
X************
X
XThis `jargon file' is a collection of slang terms used by various
Xsubcultures of computer hackers.
X
XThe original `jargon file' was a collection of hacker slang from technical
Xcultures including 1) the MIT AI Lab, 2) the Stanford AI lab, 3) the old
XARPANET AI/LISP/PDP-10 communities, 3) Carnegie-Mellon University, 4)
XWorcester Polytechnic Institute. Some entries dated back to the early
X1970s. This file contains essentially the entire text of a late version of
Xthat file intermingled with the newer entries.
X
XA version of the original jargon-file (expanded with commentary for the
Xmass market) was edited by by Guy L. Steele into a book published in 1983
Xas _The_Hacker's_Dictionary_ (Harper & Row CN 1082, ISBN 0-06-091082-8).
XIt is now out of print, but this version contains about 80% of its text
X(omitting the introductions, the author bios, and a very few obsolescent
Xentries).
X
XThis new version casts a wider net than the old jargon file; its aim is to
Xcover not just AI but all the technical computing cultures wherein the true
Xhacker-nature is manifested. More than half of the entries now derive from
XUSENET and the C and UNIX communities.
X
XThe present maintainer of the jargon file is Eric S. Raymond
X(eric@snark.thyrsus.com) with assistance from Guy L. Steele
X(gls@think.com). Send all additions, corrections and correspondence
Xrelating to the jargon file to jargon@snark.thyrsus.com (UUCP-only sites
Xwithout connections to an autorouting smart site can use
X...!uunet!snark!jargon).
X
X(Warning: other email addresses appear in this file *but are not
Xguaranteed to be correct* later than the revision date on the first
Xline. *Don't* email us if an attempt to reach your idol bounces
X--- we have no magic way of checking addresses or looking up people)
X
XIt is intended that some `snapshot' of this on-line version will become the
Xmain text of a second paper edition, possibly as early as Fall 1991. The
Xmaintainers are committed to updating the on-line version of the jargon
Xfile through and beyond paper publication, and will continue to make it
Xavailable to archives and public-access sites as a trust of the hacker
Xcommunity.
X
XRevision History
X================
X
XThe original jargon file was compiled by Guy L. Steele Jr., Raphael Finkel,
XDon Woods, and Mark Crispin, with assistance from the MIT and Stanford AI
Xcommunities and Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Some contributions were
Xsubmitted via the ARPAnet from miscellaneous sites. The `old' jargon file
Xwas last revised in 1983; its revisions are all un-numbered and may be
Xcollectively considered `Version 1'.
X
XVersion 2.1.1, Jun 12 1990: the jargon file reorganization and massive
Xadditions were by Eric S. Raymond, approved by Guy Steele. Many items
Xof UNIX, C, USENET and microcomputer-based slang were added at that
Xtime (as well as The Untimely Demise of Mabel The Monkey). Some
Xobsolescent usages (mostly PDP-10 derived) were moved to appendix B.
X
XVersion 2.1.5, Nov 28 1990: Changes and additions by ESR in response to
Xnumerous USENET submissions and comment from the First Edition coauthors.
XThe bibliography (Appendix C) was also appended.
X
XVersion 2.2.1: most of the contents of the 1983 paper edition edited by Guy
XSteele was merged in. Many more USENET submissions added, including the
X`INTERNATIONAL STYLE' and `COMMONWEALTH HACKISH' material.
X
XVersion numbering: Read versions as <major>.<minor>.<revision>. Major
Xversion 1 is reserved for the `old' (ITS) Jargon File, jargon-1. Major
Xversion 2 encompasses revisions by ESR with assistance from GLS. Someday,
Xthe next maintainer will take over and spawn `version 3'. In general, later
Xversions will either completely obsolesce or incorporate earlier versions,
Xso there is generally no point in keeping old versions around.
X
XOur thanks to all the USENETters who contributed entries and encouragement.
XSpecial thanks to our Scandinavian correspondent Per Lindberg
X(per@front.se), author of the remarkable Swedish language 'zine
X_Hackerbladet_, for bring FOO! comics to our attention and smuggling the
XIBM hacker underground's own baby jargon file out to us. Also, much
Xgratitude to ace hacker/linguist Joe Keane (jkg@osc.osc.com) for helping
Xus improve the pronunciation guides; and to Maarten Litmath for generously
Xallowing the inclusion of the ASCII prononunciation guide he formerly
Xmaintained.
X
XFormat For New Entries
X======================
X
XTry to conform to the format already being used -- pronunciations in
Xslashes, etymologies in brackets, single-space after definition numbers and
Xword classes, etc. Stick to the standard ASCII character set (no high-half
Xcharacters or {nt}roff/TeX/Scribe escapes), as one of the versions
Xgenerated from the master file is an info document that has to be viewable
Xon a character tty.
X
XWe are looking to expand the file's range of technical specialties covered.
XThere are doubtless rich veins of jargon yet untapped in the scientific
Xcomputing, graphics, and networking hacker communities; also in numerical
Xanalysis, computer architectures and VLSI design, language design, and many
Xother related fields. Send us your slang!
X
XWe are *not* interested in straight technical terms explained by
Xtextbooks or technical dictionaries unless an entry illuminates
X"underground" meanings or aspects not covered by official histories.
XWe are also not interested in "joke" entries -- there is a lot of
Xhumor in the file but it must flow naturally out of the explanations
Xof what hackers do and how they think.
X
XIt is OK to submit items of slang you have originated if they have spread
Xto the point of being used by people who are not personally acquainted with
Xyou. We prefer items to be attested by independent submission from two
Xdifferent sites.
X
XA few new definitions attached to entries are marked [proposed]. These are
Xcoinages generated by editors or USENET correspondents in the process of
Xresponding to previous definitions of those entries. These are *not*
Xrepresented as established jargon.
X
XThe jargon file will be regularly maintained and re-posted from now on and
Xwill include a version number. Read it, pass it around, contribute -- this
Xis *your* monument!
X
XJargon Construction
X===================
X
XThere are some standard methods of jargonification which became established
Xquite early (i.e before 1970), spreading from such sources as the MIT Model
XRailroad Club, the PDP-1 SPACEWAR hackers and John McCarthy's original crew
Xof LISPers. These include:
X
XVerb doubling: a standard construction is to double a verb and use it as a
Xcomment on what the implied subject does. Often used to terminate a
Xconversation. Typical examples involve WIN, LOSE, HACK, FLAME, BARF,
XCHOMP:
X
X "The disk heads just crashed." "Lose, lose."
X "Mostly he just talked about his @#!!$% crock. Flame, flame."
X "Boy, what a bagbiter! Chomp, chomp!"
X
XSome verb-doubled constructions have special meanings not immediately
Xobvious from the verb. These have their own listings in the lexicon.
X
XSoundalike slang: Phonetic distortions of a phrase intended to produce the
Xeffect of a pun or wordplay. Not really similar to the Cockney rhyming
Xslang it has been compared to in the past, because Cockney substitutions
Xare opaque whereas hacker rhyming slang is intentionally transparent.
XOften made up on the spur of the moment. Standard examples:
X
X Boston Globe => Boston Glob
X Herald American => Horrid (or Harried) American
X New York Times => New York Slime
X Prime Time => Slime Time
X Data General => Dirty Genitals
X Government Property - Do Not Duplicate (seen on keys)
X => Government Duplicity - Do Not Propagate
X for historical reasons => for hysterical raisins
X
XOften the substitution will be made in such a way as to slip in
Xa standard jargon word:
X
X Dr. Dobb's Journal => Dr. Frob's Journal
X Margaret Jacks Hall => Marginal Hacks Hall
X
XThe -P convention: turning a word into a question by appending the
Xsyllable "P"; from the LISP convention of appending the letter "P"
Xto denote a predicate (a Boolean-valued function). The question
Xshould expect a yes/no answer, though it needn't. (See T and NIL.)
X
X At dinnertime:
X Q: "Foodp?"
X A: "Yeah, I'm pretty hungry." or "T!"
X
X Q: "State-of-the-world-P?"
X A: (Straight) "I'm about to go home."
X A: (Humorous) "Yes, the world has a state."
X
X On the phone to Florida:
X Q: "State-p Florida?"
X A: "Been reading JARGON.TXT again, eh?"
X
X[One of the best of these is a Gosperism (i.e., due to Bill
XGosper). When we were at a Chinese restaurant, he wanted to know
Xwhether someone would like to share with him a two-person-sized
Xbowl of soup. His inquiry was: "Split-p soup?" --GLS]
X
XPeculiar grammar: Many hackers love to take various words and add the
Xwrong endings to them to make nouns and verbs, often by extending a
Xstandard rule to nonuniform cases. For example, because
X
X porous => porosity
X generous => generosity
X
Xhackers happily generalize:
X
X mysterious => mysteriosity
X ferrous => ferrocity
X
XAlso, note that all nouns can be verbed. e.g.: "All nouns can be
Xverbed", "I'll mouse it up", "Hang on while I clipboard it over",
X"I'm grepping the files". English as a whole is already heading in
Xthis direction (towards pure-positional grammar like Chinese);
Xhackers are simply a bit ahead of the curve.
X
XSimilarly, all verbs can be nouned. Thus:
X
X win -> winnitude, winnage
X disgust -> disgustitude
X hack -> hackification
X
XFinally, note the prevalence of certain kinds of nonstandard plural
Xforms. Anything ending in x may form plurals in -xen (see VAXEN and
XBOXEN in the main text). Even words ending in phonetic /k/ alone are
Xsometimes treated this way; ex. `soxen' for a bunch of socks. Other
Xfunny plurals are `frobbotzim' for the plural of FROBBOTZ (see main
Xtext) and `Unices' and `Tenices' (rather than `Unixes' and `Tenexes';
Xsee UNIX, TENEX in main text). But note that `Unixen' and `Tenexen'
Xare *never* used; there seems to be a rule that operating system
Xnames take the default English or Latin plural rather than the
XAnglo-Saxon or Hebrew.
X
XThe pattern here, as with other hackish grammatical quirks, is
Xgeneralization of an inflectional rule which (in English) is either
Xan import or a fossil (such as Hebrew plural in `-im', or the
XAnglo-Saxen plural in `en') to cases where it isn't normally
Xconsidered to apply.
X
XThis is not `poor grammar', as hackers are generally quite well
Xaware of what they are doing when they distort the language. It is
Xgrammatical creativity, a form of playfulness.
X
XSpoken inarticulations: Words such as "mumble", "sigh", and "groan"
Xare spoken in places where their referent might more naturally be
Xused. It has been suggested that this usage derives from the
Ximpossibility of representing such noises on a comm link. Another
Xexpression sometimes heard is "complain!", meaning "I have a
Xcomplaint!"
X
XOf the five listed constructions, verb doubling, peculiar noun
Xformations, and (especially!) spoken inarticulations have become quite
Xgeneral; but rhyming slang is still largely confined to MIT and other
Xlarge universities, and the P convention is found only where LISPers
Xflourish.
X
XFinally, note that many words in hacker jargon have to be
Xunderstood as members of sets of comparatives. This is especially
Xtrue of the adjectives and nouns used to describe the beauty and
Xfunctional quality of code. Here is an approximately correct
Xspectrum:
X
X MONSTROSITY BRAIN-DAMAGE SCREW BUG LOSE MISFEATURE
X CROCK KLUGE HACK WIN FEATURE ELEGANCE PERFECTION
X
XThe last is spoken of as a mythical absolute, never actually attained.
X
XHacker Speech Style
X===================
X
XFeatures extremely precise diction, careful word choice, a
Xrelatively large working vocabulary, and relatively little use of
Xcontractions or "street slang". Dry humor, irony, puns, and a
Xmildly flippant attitude are highly valued -- but an underlying
Xseriousness and intelligence is essential. One should use just
Xenough jargon to communicate precisely and identify oneself as "in
Xthe culture"; overuse of jargon or a breathless, excessively
Xgung-ho attitude are considered tacky and the mark of a loser.
X
XThis speech style is a variety of the precisionist English normally
Xspoken by scientists, design engineers, and academics in technical
Xfields. Unlike the jargon construction methods it is fairly constant
Xthroughout hackerdom.
X
XIt has been observed that many hackers are confused by negative
Xquestions -- or, at least, the people they're talking to are
Xconfused by the sense of their answers. The problem is that they've
Xdone so much coding that distinguishes between
X
X if (going) {
X
Xand
X
X if (!going) {
X
Xthat when they parse the question "Are you not going?" it seems to be
Xasking the opposite question from "Are you going?", and so merits the
Xopposite answer. This confuses non-hackers because they were taught
Xto answer as though the negative part weren't there. Hackers often
Xfind themselves wishing for a word like french "si" with which one
Xcould unambiguously answer `yes' to a negative question.
X
XFor similar reasons, English-speaking hackers almost never use a
Xdouble negative even if they live in a region where colloquial usage
Xallows it. The thought of uttering something that logically ought to
Xbe an affirmative knowing it will be mis-parsed as a negative tends to
Xdisturb them.
X
XHacker Writing Style
X====================
X
XHackers tend to use quotes as balanced delimiters like parens, much
Xto the dismay of editors. Thus, if "Jim is going" is a phrase, and
Xso is "Bill runs" and "Spock groks", then hackers generally
Xprefer to write: "Jim is going", "Bill runs", and"Spock groks".
XThis is incorrect according to prevalent usage (which would put the
Xcontinuation commas and the final period inside the string quotes)
Xbut it is counter-intuitive to hackers to mutilate literal strings
Xwith characters that don't belong there. The Jargon File follows
Xhackish usage fairly consistently throughout.
X
XHackers have also developed a number of punctuation and emphasis
Xconventions adapted to single-font all-ASCII communications links, and
Xthese are occasionally carried over into written documents even when
Xnormal means of font changes, underlining and the like are available.
X
XOne of these is that, TEXT IN ALL CAPS IS INTERPRETED AS "LOUD", and
Xthis becomes such a synesthetic reflex that a person who goes to
Xcaps-lock while in TALK MODE (see main text) may be asked to "stop
Xshouting, please, you're hurting my ears!".
X
XAlso, it is common to use bracketing with asterisks to signify
Xemphasis, as in "What the *hell*?".
X
XUnderlining is often suggested by substituting underscores for spaces
Xand prepending and appending one underscore to the underlined phrase.
XExample: "It is often alleged that Haldeman wrote _The_Forever_War_
Xin response to Robert Heinlein's earlier _Starship_Troopers_".
X
XAnother habit is that of using enclosure to "genericize" a term;
Xthis derives from conventions used in BNF (q.v.). Uses like
Xthe following are common:
X
X So this <ethnic> walks into a bar one day, and...
X
XAnother special form of enclosure uses the square brackets [, ]. This
Xis often interpreted as "comment by an editor" in contexts where
Xthat's reasonable, and there's a semi-standard way to identify the
Xeditor where there might be more than one. For example:
X
X [This is an editorial comment -- ESR]
X
Xis a comment by an editor with initials ESR. You'll see examples of
Xthis in the lexicon at places where present or past editors have added
Xtheir own glosses on various entries. It is also common in moderated
Xgroups on USENET (q.v.).
X
XOne quirk that shows up frequently in the email style of UNIX hackers
Xin particular is a tendency for some things which are normally
Xall-lowercase (including usernames and the names of commands and C
Xroutines) to remain uncapitalized even when they occur at the
Xbeginning of sentences. It is clear that for many hackers, the case of
Xsuch identifiers becomes a part of their internal representation and
Xcannot be overridden without mental effort (an appopriate reflex
Xbecause UNIX and C both distinguish cases and confusing them can lead
Xto lossage). The *rest* of us simply avoid using these
Xconstructions at the beginning of sentences.
X
XFinally, it should be noted that hackers exhibit much less
Xreluctance to use multiply-nested parentheses than is normal in
XEnglish (this is almost certainly due to influence from LISP (which
Xuses deeply nested parentheses in its syntax)).
X
XInternational Style
X===================
X
XAlthough the Jargon File remains primarily a lexicon of hacker
Xusage in American English, we have made some effort to get input from
Xabroad. Though the hacker-speak of other languages often uses
Xtranslations of English slang (often as transmitted to them by earlier
XJargon File versions!) the local variations are interesting, and
Xknowledge of them may be of some use to traveling hackers.
X
XThere are some references 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.) There is also an entry on COMMONWEALTH HACKISH,
Xwhich see.
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 and comprehensible to English-speakers.
X
XUNIX Conventions
X================
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 to
Xitem foo in section n) of the manual, where n=1 is utilities, n=2 is
Xsystem calls, n=3 is C library routines and n=6 is games. Sections
X4, 5, 7 and 8 have changed roles frequently and in any case are not
Xreferred to from any of the entries.
X
XPronunciation Guide
X===================
X
XPronunciation keys are provided in the jargon listing for all
Xentries which 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
X "g" is always hard (as in "got" rather than "giant");
X "ch" is soft ("church" rather than "chemist"). The letter
X "j" is the sound that occurs twice in "judge". The letter
X "s" is always as in "pass", never a z sound (but it is
X sometimes doubled at the end of syllables to emphasize this).
X The digraph `dh' is the th of `these clothes', not of `thick'.
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' (noos or nyoos)
X
XAn at-sign 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
X/kul'r/, not /kit'@n/ and /kul'@r/.
X
XThe Jargon (Low Moby, Current Terminology)
X******************************************
X
X {= =}
X
X@-SIGN PARTY n. Semi-closed parties thrown at SF conventions (esp.
X the annual Worldcon) for hackers; one must have a NETWORK ADDRESS
X to get in, or at least be in company with someone who is. One of
X the most reliable opportunities for hackers to meet face to face
X with people who might otherwise be represented by mere phosphor
X dots on their screens. Compare BOINK.
X
X@BEGIN [primarily CMU] with @End, used humorously in writing to
X indicate a context or to remark on the surrounded text. From the
X SCRIBE command of the same name. 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 On USENET, this construct would more frequently be rendered as
X <FLAME ON> and <FLAME OFF>.
X
X/DEV/NULL [from the UNIX null device, used as a data sink; note, if
X you are viewing an ASCII-only version of this file, that the actual
X case is all-lower: "/dev/null"] n. A notional `black hole' in
X any information space being discussed, used or referred to. A
X controversial posting, for example, might end "Kudos to
X rasputin@kremlin.org, flames to /dev/null". See BIT BUCKET, NULL
X DEVICE.
X
X2 INFIX n. In translation software written by hackers, infix 2 often
X represents the syllable "to" with the comnnotation "translate to";
X as in dvi2ps (DVI to PostScript), int2string (integer to string)
X and texi2roff (Texinfo to [nt]roff).
X
X {= A =}
X
XACK /ak/ interj. 1. [from the ASCII mnemonic for 00110] Acknowledge.
X Used to register one's presence (compare mainstream "Yo!"). An
X appropriate response to PING or ENQ (q.v.). 2. [prob. from
X _Bloom_County_] An exclamation of surprised disgust, esp. in "Oop
X ack!". Semi-humorous. Also in the form ACK? 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 gone
X away (the standard humorous response is of course NAK (010101),
X i.e. "I'm not here").
X
XADGER /adj'r/ [UCLA] v. To make a bonehead move that could have been
X foreseen with a slight amount of mental effort. E.g., "He started
X removing files and promptly adgered the whole project." Compare
X DUMBASS ATTACK.
X
XAD-HOCKERY /ad-hok'@r-ee/ [Purdue] n. 1. Gratuitous assumptions made
X inside certain programs, esp. expert systems, which lead to the
X appearance of semi-intelligent behavior, but are in fact entirely
X arbitrary. 2. Special-case code to cope with some awkward input
X which would otherwise cause a program to CHOKE, presuming normal
X inputs are dealt with in some cleaner and more regular way.
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 filenames.
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 X some noun). "You are in a
X maze of twisty little passages, all alike". 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 KOANS pl.n. A series of pastiches of Zen teaching riddles created
X at the MIT AI Lab around various major figures of the Lab's
X culture. A selection are included in Appendix A. See also HA HA
X ONLY SERIOUS and HUMOR, HACKER.
X
XALIASING BUG [C programmers] n. A class of subtle programming errors
X which can arise in code that does dynamic allocation via malloc(3).
X If more than one pointer addresses (`aliases for') a given hunk of
X storage, it may happen that the storage is freed through one alias
X and then referenced through another, leading to subtle (and
X possibly intermittent) lossage depending on the state and the
X allocation history of the malloc ARENA. Avoidable by use of
X allocation strategies that never alias allocated core. Also called
X a STALE POINTER BUG. See also PRECEDENCE LOSSAGE, SMASH THE STACK,
X FANDANGO ON CORE, MEMORY LEAK, OVERRUN SCREW.
X
XALT BIT /ahlt bit/ [from alternate?] adj. See META BIT.
X
XAMP OFF [Purdue] v. To run in BACKGROUND. From the UNIX shell '&'
X operator.
X
XANGLE BRACKETS [primarily MIT] n. Either of the characters "<" and
X ">" (ASCII less-than or greater-than signs). The `real world'
X angle bracket used by typographers is actually taller than these.
X See BROKET, ASCII.
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
XARENA [UNIX] n. The area of memory attached to a process by brk(2) and
X sbrk(2) and used by malloc(3) as dynamic storage. So named from a
X semi-mythical "malloc: corrupt arena" message supposedly emitted
X when some early versions became terminally confused. See OVERRUN
X SCREW, ALIASING 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, VAR.
X
XASBESTOS LONGJOHNS, UNDERPANTS, or OVERCOAT n. Metaphoric garments
X often donned by USENET posters just before emitting a remark they
X expect will elicit FLAMAGE.
X
XASCII /as'kee/ Common slang names for ASCII characters are collected
X here. See individual entries for BANG, CLOSE, EXCL, OPEN, QUES,
X SEMI, SHRIEK, SPLAT, TWIDDLE, WHAT, WOW, and YU-SHIANG WHOLE FISH.
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 "official" names appear first, then others in order of popularity
X (more or less).
X
X!
X exclamation point, exclamation, bang, factorial, excl,
X ball-bat, pling, smash, shriek, cuss, wow, hey,
X
X"
X double quote, quote, dirk, literal mark, rabbit ears
X
X#
X pound sign, number sign, sharp, crunch, mesh, hex, hash,
X flash, grid, pig-pen, tictactoe, scratchmark, octothorpe
X (from Bell System)
X
X$
X dollar sign, currency symbol, buck, cash, string (from
X BASIC), escape (from TOPS-10), ding, big-money
X
X%
X percent sign, percent, mod, double-oh-seven
X
X&
X ampersand, amper, and, address (from C), andpersand
X
X'
X apostrophe, single quote, quote, prime, tick, irk, pop,
X spark
X
X()
X open/close parenthesis, left/right parenthesis,
X paren/thesis, lparen/rparen, parenthisey, unparenthisey,
X open/close round bracket, ears, so/already, wax/wane
X
X*
X asterisk, star, splat, wildcard, gear, dingle, mult
X
X+
X plus sign, plus, add, cross, intersection
X
X,
X comma, tail
X
X-
X hyphen, dash, minus sign, worm
X
X.
X period, dot, decimal point, radix point, point, full stop,
X spot
X
X/
X virgule, slash, stroke, slant, diagonal, solidus, over, slat
X
X:
X colon
X
X;
X semicolon, semi
X
X<>
X angle brackets, brokets, left/right angle, less/greater
X than, read from/write to, from/into, from/toward, in/out,
X comesfrom/ gozinta (all from UNIX), funnel, crunch/zap,
X suck/blow
X
X=
X equal sign, equals, quadrathorp, gets, half-mesh
X
X?
X question mark, query, whatmark, what, wildchar, ques, huh,
X hook
X
X@
X at sign, at, each, vortex, whorl, whirlpool, cyclone, snail,
X ape, cat
X
XV
X vee, book
X
X[]
X square brackets, left/right bracket, bracket/unbracket,
X bra/ket, square/unsquare, U turns
X
X\
X reversed virgule, backslash, bash, backslant, backwhack,
X backslat, escape (from UNIX), slosh.
X
X^
X circumflex, caret, uparrow, hat, chevron, sharkfin, to ("to
X the power of"), fang
X
X_
X underscore, underline, underbar, under, score, backarrow
X
X`
X grave accent, grave, backquote, left quote, open quote,
X backprime, unapostrophe, backspark, birk, blugle, back tick,
X push
X
X{}
X open/close brace, left/right brace, brace/unbrace, curly
X bracket, curly/uncurly, leftit/rytit, embrace/bracelet
X
X|
X vertical bar, bar, or, or-bar, v-bar, pipe, gozinta, thru,
X pipesinta (last four from UNIX)
X
X~
X tilde, squiggle, approx, wiggle, twiddle, swung dash, enyay
X
XASYMPTOTIC adj. Infinitely close to. This is used in a generalization
X of its mathematical meaning to allege that something is WITHIN
X EPSILON OF some standard, reference or goal (see EPSILON).
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
XAWK n. 1. [UNIX] An interpreted language developed by Aho, Weinberg
X and Kernighan, characterized by: C-like syntax, a BASIC-like
X approach to variable typing and declarations, associative arrays,
X and field-oriented text processing. See also PERL. 2. Editing term
X for an expression awkward to manipulate through normal regular
X expression facilities.
X
X {= B =}
X
XBACKBONE CABAL n. Semi-mythical group of large-site administrators who
X pushed 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
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. Historically, back doors
X have often lurked in systems longer than anyone expected or
X planned, and a few have become widely known. The famous RTM worm
X of late 1988, for example, used a back door in the BSD UNIX
X sendmail(1) utility. Syn. TRAP DOOR. See also IRON BOX, CRACKER,
X WORM, LOGIC BOMB.
X
XBACKGROUND vt.,adj. A task running in background is detached from the
X terminal where it was started (and often running at a lower
X priority); oppose FOREGROUND. Nowadays this term is primarily
X associated with UNIX, but it was appears first to have been used in
X this sense on OS/360. By extension, to do a task "in background"
X is to do it whenever FOREGROUND matters are not claiming your
X undivided attention, and "to background" something means to
X relegate it to a lower priority. Compare AMP OFF, SLOPSUCKER.
X
XBAD THING n. Something which can't possibly result in improvement of
X 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. One correspondent suggests that BAD
X THING and GOOD THING (and prob. therefore RIGHT THING and WRONG
X THING) come from the book "1066 and All That", which discusses
X rulers who were Good Kings, but Bad Things.
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. Also in the form BAGBITING adj. Having
X the quality of a bagbiter. `This bagbiting system won't let me
X compute the factorial of a negative number.' Compare LOSING,
X CRETINOUS, BLETCHEROUS, BARFUCIOUS and CHOMPING; and BITE THE BAG
X vi. To fail in some manner. "The computer keeps crashing every
X five minutes." "Yes, the disk controller is really biting the
X bag." The original loading of these terms was almost undoubtedly
X obscene, probably referring to the scrotum, but in their current
X usage they have become almost completely sanitized.
X
XBAMF /bamf/ [from comix] interj. Notional sound made by a person or
X object teleporting in or out of the hearer's vicinity. Often used
X in VIRTUAL REALITY (q.v.) electronic fora when a character wishes
X to make a dramatic entrance or exit.
X
XBANDWIDTH n. 1. Used by hackers in a generalization of its techniucal
X meaning as the volume of information per unit time that a computer,
X person or transmission medium can handle. "Those are amazing
X graphics but I missed some of the detail --- not enough bandwidth, I
X guess." 2. Attention span. 3. Very loosely, total data volume.
X "Never underestimate the bandwidth of a station-wagon full of
X magtapes." 4. 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 33), especially when used
X in pronouncing a BANG PATH (q.v.) in spoken hackish. In elder days
X this was considered a CMUish usage, with MIT and Stanford hackers
X preferring EXCL or SHRIEK; but the spread of UNIX has carried BANG
X with it (esp. via the term BANG PATH) and it is now certainly the
X most common spoken name for `!'. Note that it is used exclusively
X for non-emphatic written `!'; one would not say "Congratulations
X bang.", but if one wanted to specify the exact characters
X "FOO!", one would speak "Eff oh oh bang". See SHRIEK, ASCII.
X 2. interj. An exclamation signifying roughly "I have achieved
X enlightenment!" or "The dynamite has cleared out my brain!".
X Often used to acknowledge that one has perpetrated a THINKO
X immediately after one has been called on it.
X
XBANG PATH n. An old-style UUCP electronic-mail address specifying hops
X to get from some assumed-reachable location to the addressee, so
X called because each hop is signified by a BANG sign. Thus the path
X "...!bigsite!foovax!barbox!me" directs correspondents to route
X their mail to machine bigsite (presumably a well-known location
X accessible to everybody) and from there through the machine
X "foovax" to the account of user "me" on "barbox". See
X INTERNET ADDRESS, NETWORK, and SITENAME.
X
XBAR /bar/ 1. The second metasyntactic variable, after FOO and before
X BAZ. "Suppose we have two functions FOO and BAR. FOO calls
X BAR..." 2. Often appended to FOO to produce FOOBAR.
X
XBARE METAL n. 1. New computer hardware, unadorned with such snares and
X delusions as an OPERATING SYSTEM, HLL or even assembler. Commonly
X in the phrase "programming on the bare metal" which refers to the
X arduous work of BIT-BASHING needed to create these basic tools for
X a new machine. Real bare-metal programming involves things like
X building boot proms and BIOS chips, implementing basic monitors
X used to test device drivers, and writing the assemblers that will
X be used to write the compiler back ends that will give the new
X machine a real development environment. 2. The same phrase is also
X used to describe a style of HAND-HACKING that relies on bit-level
X peculiarities of a particular hardware design, esp. tricks for
X speed and space optimization that rely on crocks like overlapping
X opcodes (or, in one famous case, interleaving of opcodes on a
X magnetic drum to minimize fetch delays due to the device's
X rotational latency). This sort of thing has become less common as
X the relative costs of programming time and machine resources have
X changed, but is still found in heavily constrained environments
X like industrial embedded systems. See REAL PROGRAMMER.
X
XBARF /barf/ [from mainstream slang meaning "vomit"] 1. interj. Term
X of disgust. See BLETCH. 2. To say "Barf!" or emit some similar
X expression of disgust. 3. vi. To fail to work because of
X unacceptable input. May mean to give an error message. Examples:
X "The division operation barfs if you try to divide by zero."
X (that is, division by zero fails in some unspecified spectacular
X way) "The text editor barfs if you try to read in a new file
X before writing out the old one." 4. Also BARFULOUS, BARFUCIOUS:
X adj. Said of something which would make anyone barf, if only for
X aesthetic reasons. See CHOKE, GAG. Note that in Commonwealth
X English, "barf" is generally replaced by "puke" or "vom".
X BARF is sometimes also used as a metasyntactic variable like
X FOO or BAR.
X
XBAUD BARF /bawd barf/ n. The garbage one gets on the monitor when
X using a modem connection with some protocol setting (esp. line
X speed) incorrect, or when someone picks up a voice extension on the
X same line, or when really bad line noise disrupts the connection.
X Baud barf is not completely RANDOM, by the way; hackers with a lot
X of serial-line experience can usually tell whether the device at
X the other end is expecting a higher or lower speed than the
X terminal is set to. *Really* experienced ones can identify
X particular speeds.
X
XBAZ /baz/ 1. The third metasyntactic variable, after FOO and BAR and
X before QUX. "Suppose we have three functions FOO, BAR, and BAZ.
X FOO calls BAR, which calls BAZ..." 2. interj. Term of mild
X annoyance. In this usage the term is often drawn out for two or
X three seconds, producing an effect not unlike the bleating of a
X sheep; /baaaaaaz/. 3. Occasionally appended to FOO to produce
X FOOBAZ.
X
XBEAM [from "Beam me up, Scotty!"] vt. To transfer SOFTCOPY of a file
X electronically; most often in combining forms such as "beam me a
X copy" or "beam that over to his site". Compare BLAST, SNARF,
X BLT.
X
XBELLS AND WHISTLES [by analogy with steam calliopies] n. Features
X added to a program or system to make it more FLAVORFUL from a
X hacker's point of view, without necessarily adding to its utility
X for its primary function. Distinguished from CHROME which is
X intended to attract users. "Now that we've got the basic program
X working, let's go back and add some bells and whistles." However,
X no one seems to know what distinguishes a bell from a whistle.
X
XBENCHMARK n. An inaccurate measure of computer performance. "In the
X computer industry, there are three kinds of lies: lies, damn lies,
X and benchmarks." See also MIPS.
X
XBERKLIX /ber'kliks/ n.,adj. Contraction of Berkeley UNIX. See BSD.
X Not used at Berkeley itself. May be more common among SUITS
X attempting to sound like cognoscenti than hackers, who usually just
X say `BSD'.
X
XBERZERKELY /b@r-zer'klee/ [from the name of a now-deceased record
X label] n. Humorous, often-used distortion of "Berkeley" used esp.
X to refer to the practices or products of the BSD UNIX hackers.
X
XBIBLE n. As used by hackers, usually refers to one of a small number
X of fundamental source books including Donald Knuth's "The Art Of
X Computer Programming" or the WHITE BOOK.
X
XBIFF /bif/ [USENET] n. The most famous PSEUDO, and the prototypical
X NEWBIE. Articles from BIFF are characterized by all upper case
X letters sprinkled liberally with BANGS, typos, "cute"
X misspellings (EVRY BUDY LUVS GOOD OLD BIFF CUZ HE"S A K00L DOOD AN
X HE RITES REEL AWESUM THINGZ IN CAPITULL LETTRS LIKE THIS!!!), a
X long SIG (sometimes even a DOUBLED SIG), and unbounded naivete.
X BIFF posts articles using his elder brother's VIC-20. BIFF's
X location is a mystery, as his articles appear to come from a
X variety of sites. However, BITNET seems to be the most frequent
X origin. The theory that BIFF is a denizen of BITNET is supported
X by BIFF's (unfortunately invalid) electronic mail address:
X BIFF@BIT.NET. See also DOUBLED SIG.
X
XBIG-ENDIAN [From Swift's "Gulliver's Travels" via a famous 1980
X paper by Danny Cohen] adj. Describes a computer architecture in
X which, within a given 16- or 32-bit word, lower byte addresses have
X higher significance (the word is stored `big-end-first'). Most
X processors including the IBM 370 family and the PDP-10 and Motorola
X microprocessor families and most of the various RISC designs
X current in 1990 are big-endian. See LITTLE-ENDIAN, MIDDLE-ENDIAN.
X
XBIG IRON n. Large, expensive, ultra-fast computers. Used generally of
X number crunching supercomputers such as Crays, but can include more
X conventional big commercial IBMish mainframes. Term of approval;
X compare HEAVY METAL, oppose DINOSAUR.
X
XBIG RED SWITCH [IBM] n. The power switch on a computer, esp. on an
X IBM-PC where it really is large and red. "This !@%$% BITTY BOX is
X hung again, time to hit the big red switch." Sources at IBM report
X that, in tune with the company's passion for TLAs (q.v.) this is
X often acronymized as "BRS".
X
XBIGNUM /big'num/ [orig. from MIT MACLISP; the name is said to derive
X from a pun on the FORTRAN REAL type] n. 1. A multiple-precision
X computer representation for very large integers. More generally,
X any very large number. "Have you ever looked at the United States
X Budget? There's bignums for you!"
X
X Most computer languages provide a kind of data called
X "integer", but such computer integers are usually very limited in
X size; usually they must be smaller than 2 ^ 31 (2147483648) or (on
X losing BITTY BOXES) 2 ^ 15 (32767). If you want to work with
X numbers larger than that, you have to use floating-point numbers,
X which are usually only accurate to six or seven decimal places.
X Computer languages that provide bignums can perform exact
X calculations on very large numbers, such as 1000! (the factorial of
X 1000, which is 1000 times 999 times 998 times ... times 2 times 1)
X exactly. For example, this value for 1000! was computed by the
X MACLISP system using bignums:
X
X 4023872600770937735437024339230039857193748642107146325437999104
X 2993851239862902059204420848696940480047998861019719605863166687
X 2994808558901323829669944590997424504087073759918823627727188732
X 5197795059509952761208749754624970436014182780946464962910563938
X 8743788648733711918104582578364784997701247663288983595573543251
X 3185323958463075557409114262417474349347553428646576611667797396
X 6688202912073791438537195882498081268678383745597317461360853795
X 3452422158659320192809087829730843139284440328123155861103697680
X 1357304216168747609675871348312025478589320767169132448426236131
X 4125087802080002616831510273418279777047846358681701643650241536
X 9139828126481021309276124489635992870511496497541990934222156683
X 2572080821333186116811553615836546984046708975602900950537616475
X 8477284218896796462449451607653534081989013854424879849599533191
X 0172335555660213945039973628075013783761530712776192684903435262
X 5200015888535147331611702103968175921510907788019393178114194545
X 2572238655414610628921879602238389714760885062768629671466746975
X 6291123408243920816015378088989396451826324367161676217916890977
X 9911903754031274622289988005195444414282012187361745992642956581
X 7466283029555702990243241531816172104658320367869061172601587835
X 2075151628422554026517048330422614397428693306169089796848259012
X 5458327168226458066526769958652682272807075781391858178889652208
X 1643483448259932660433676601769996128318607883861502794659551311
X 5655203609398818061213855860030143569452722420634463179746059468
X 2573103790084024432438465657245014402821885252470935190620929023
X 1364932734975655139587205596542287497740114133469627154228458623
X 7738753823048386568897646192738381490014076731044664025989949022
X 2221765904339901886018566526485061799702356193897017860040811889
X 7299183110211712298459016419210688843871218556461249607987229085
X 1929681937238864261483965738229112312502418664935314397013742853
X 1926649875337218940694281434118520158014123344828015051399694290
X 1534830776445690990731524332782882698646027898643211390835062170
X 9500259738986355427719674282224875758676575234422020757363056949
X 8825087968928162753848863396909959826280956121450994871701244516
X 4612603790293091208890869420285106401821543994571568059418727489
X 9809425474217358240106367740459574178516082923013535808184009699
X 6372524230560855903700624271243416909004153690105933983835777939
X 4109700277534720000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
X 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
X 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
X 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
X 00000000.
X
X 2. BIGNUMS [from Macsyma] n. In backgammon, large numbers on the
X dice, especially a roll of double fives or double sixes. See also
X EL CAMINO BIGNUM.
X
XBIT [from the unit of information] n. 1. The unit of information; the
X amount of information obtained by asking a yes-or-no question (this
X is straight technicalese). 2. A computational quantity that can
X take on one of two values, such as true and false, or zero and one.
X 3. A mental flag: a reminder that something should be done
X eventually. Example: "I have a bit set for you." (I haven't seen
X you for a while, and I'm supposed to tell or ask you something.) A
X bit is said to be "set" if its value is true or one, and
X "reset" or "clear" if its value is false or zero. One speaks
X of setting and clearing bits. To "toggle" or "invert" a bit is
X to change it, either from zero to one or from one to zero.
X
XBIT BANG n. Transmission of data on a serial line accomplished by
X rapidly tweaking a single output bit at the appropriate times
SHAR_EOF
chmod 0644 jsplit.aa || echo "restore of jsplit.aa fails"
if [ $TOUCH = can ]
then
touch -am 1215215290 jsplit.aa
fi
exit 0