view release on metacpan or  search on metacpan

factpacks/jargon-split.fact  view on Meta::CPAN

TCB is  /T-C-B/ [IBM] n. 1. Trouble Came Back.  An intermittent or   difficult-to-reproduce problem that has failed to respond to   neglect.  Compare {heisenbug}.  Not to be confused with   2. Trusted Computing Base, an `official jargon term from the...
ISO standard cup of tea is  [South Africa] n. A cup of tea with milk   and one teaspoon of sugar, where the milk is poured into the cup   before the tea.  Variations are ISO 0, with no sugar; ISO 2, with   two spoons of sugar; and so on.   Like many ...
ISO standard cup of tea2 is  ring in North   America, where hackers generally shun the decadent British practice   of adulterating perfectly good tea with dairy products and   prefer instead to add a wedge of lemon, if anything.  If one were   feelin...
ISO standard cup of tea3 is  analogous `ANSI   standard cup of tea and wind up with a political situation   distressingly similar to several that arise in much more serious   technical contexts.  Milk and lemon dont mix very well. 
TechRef is  /tekref/ [MS-DOS] n. The original `IBM PC   Technical Reference Manual, including the BIOS listing and   complete schematics for the PC.  The only PC documentation in the   issue package thats considered serious by real hackers.
TECO is  /teekoh/ obs. 1. vt. Originally, to edit using the TECO   editor in one of its infinite variations (see below).  2. vt.,obs.   To edit even when TECO is *not* the editor being used!  This   usage is rare and now primarily historical.  2. [or...
TECO2 is  and COrrector; later, `Text   Editor and COrrector] n. A text editor developed at MIT and   modified by just about everybody.  With all the dialects included,   TECO might have been the most prolific editor in use before   {EMACS}, to which...
TECO3 is  powerful programming-language-like features and its unspeakably   hairy syntax.  It is literally the case that every string of   characters is a valid TECO program (though probably not a useful   one); one common hacker game used to be ment...
TECO4 is  corresponding to human names did.  As an example   of TECOs obscurity, here is a TECO program that takes a list of   names such as     Loser, J. Random     Quux, The Great     Dick, Moby   sorts them alphabetically according to surname, and...
TECO5 is  comma, to produce the following     Moby Dick     J. Random Loser     The Great Quux   The program is     [1 J^P$L$$     J <.-Z; .,(S,$ -D .)FX1 @F^B $K L I $ G1 L>$$   (where ^B means `Control-B (ASCII 0000010) and $ is actually   an {ALT}...
TECO6 is  fact, this very program was used to produce the second, sorted   list from the first list.  The first hack at it had a {bug} GLS   (the author) had accidentally omitted the `@ in front   of `F^B, which as anyone can see is clearly the {Wron...
TECO7 is  There is no space to describe all the   features of TECO, but it may be of interest that `^P means   `sort and `J<.-Z; ... L> is an idiomatic series of commands   for `do once for every line.   In mid-1991, TECO is pretty much one with the ...
TECO8 is  affections of hackerdom by {EMACS}.   Descendants of an early (and somewhat lobotomized) version adopted   by DEC can still be found lurking on VMS and a couple of crufty   PDP-11 operating systems, however, and ports of the more advanced  ...
TECO9 is  antiquarian interest.  See   also {retrocomputing}, {write-only language}. 
tee is  n.,vt. [Purdue] A carbon copy of an electronic transmission.   "Oh, youre sending him the {bits} to that?  Slap on a tee for   me."  From the UNIX command `tee(1), itself named after a   pipe fitting (see {plumbing}).  Can also mean `save one...
Telerat is  /tel*-rat/ n. Unflattering hackerism for `Teleray, a   line of extremely losing terminals.  See also {terminak},   {sun-stools}, {HP-SUX}.
TELNET is  /telnet/ vt. To communicate with another Internet host   using the {TELNET} program.  TOPS-10 people used the word   IMPCOM, since that was the program name for them.  Sometimes   abbreviated to TN /T-N/.  "I usually TN over to SAIL just t...
ten-finger interface is  n. The interface between two networks that   cannot be directly connected for security reasons; refers to the   practice of placing two terminals side by side and having an   operator read from one and type into the other.
tense is  adj. Of programs, very clever and efficient.  A tense piece   of code often got that way because it was highly {bum}med, but   sometimes it was just based on a great idea.  A comment in a clever   routine by Mike Kazar, once a grad-student ...
tense2 is  will bring tears to your eyes."  A tense   programmer is one who produces tense code. 
tenured graduate student is  n. One who has been in graduate school   for 10 years (the usual maximum is 5 or 6) a `ten-yeared   student (get it?).  Actually, this term may be used of any grad   student beginning in his seventh year.  Students dont r...
tenured graduate student2 is  professors do, but a tenth-year graduate   student has probably been around the university longer than any   untenured professor. 
tera- is  /ter*/ [SI] pref. See {{quantifiers}}.
teraflop club is  /ter*-flop kluhb/ [FLOP = Floating Point   Operation] n. A mythical association of people who consume outrageous   amounts of computer time in order to produce a few simple pictures   of glass balls with intricate ray-tracing techni...
teraflop club2 is  said to have been the founder. 
terminak is  /termi-nak`/ [Caltech, ca. 1979] n. Any malfunctioning   computer terminal.  A common failure mode of Lear-Siegler ADM 3a   terminals caused the `L key to produce the `K code instead;   complaints about this tended to look like "Terminak...
terminak2 is  {sun-stools}, {Telerat},   {HP-SUX}. 
terminal brain death is  n. The extreme form of {terminal illness}   (sense 1).  What someone who has obviously been hacking   continuously for far too long is said to be suffering from.
terminal illness is  n. 1. Syn. {raster burn}.  2. The `burn-in   condition your CRT tends to get if you dont have a screen saver.
terminal junkie is  [UK] n. A {wannabee} or early   {larval stage} hacker who spends most of his or her time wandering   the directory tree and writing {noddy} programs just to get   a fix of computer time.  Variants include `terminal   jockey, `cons...
terminal junkie2 is  `console jockey seems to imply more expertise than the other   three (possibly because of the exalted status of the {{console}}   relative to an ordinary terminal).  See also {twink},   {read-only user}. 
terpri is  /terpree/ [from LISP 1.5 (and later, MacLISP)] vi. To   output a {newline}.  Now rare as jargon, though still used as   techspeak in Common LISP.  It is a contraction of `TERminate PRInt   line, named for the fact that, on early OSes, no c...
terpri2 is  line was formed, so this operation   terminated the line and emitted the output. 
test is  n. 1. Real users bashing on a prototype long enough to get   thoroughly acquainted with it, with careful monitoring and followup   of the results.  2. Some bored random user trying a couple of the   simpler features with a developer looking ...
test2 is  mistakes.  Judging by the quality of most   software, the second definition is far more prevalent.  See also   {demo}. 
TeX is  /tekh/ n. An extremely powerful {macro}-based   text formatter written by Donald E. Knuth, very popular in the   computer-science community (it is good enough to have displaced   UNIX `troff(1), the other favored formatter, even at many   UNI...
TeX2 is  correct (guttural)   pronunciation, and the correct spelling (all caps, squished   together, with the E depressed below the baseline; the   mixed-case `TeX is considered an acceptable kluge on ASCII-only   devices).  Fans like to proliferate...
TeX3 is  TeXnician (TeX user), TeXhacker (TeX   programmer), TeXmaster (competent TeX programmer), TeXhax,   and TeXnique.   Knuth began TeX because he had become annoyed at the declining   quality of the typesetting in volumes I--III of his monument...
TeX4 is  {bible}).  In a   manifestation of the typical hackish urge to solve the problem at   hand once and for all, he began to design his own typesetting   language.  He thought he would finish it on his sabbatical in 1978;   he was wrong by only ...
TeX5 is  frozen around 1985, but volume IV of `The Art of Computer   Programming has yet to appear as of mid-1991.  The impact and   influence of TeXs design has been such that nobody minds this   very much.  Many grand hackish projects have started ...
TeX6 is  something else; Knuths diversion was   simply on a grander scale than most. 
text is  n. 1. [techspeak] Executable code, esp. a `pure code   portion shared between multiple instances of a program running in a   multitasking OS (compare {English}).  2. Textual material in the   mainstream sense; data in ordinary {{ASCII}} or {...
text2 is   "Those are text files;   you can review them using the editor."  These two contradictory   senses confuse hackers, too. 
thanks in advance is  [USENET] Conventional net.politeness ending a   posted request for information or assistance.  Sometimes written   `advTHANKSance or `aTdHvAaNnKcSe or abbreviated `TIA.  See   {net.-}, {netiquette}.
the X that can be Y is not the true X is  Yet another instance of   hackerdoms peculiar attraction to mystical references --- a common   humorous way of making exclusive statements about a class of   things.  The template is from the `Tao te Ching "T...
the X that can be Y is not the true X2 is  true Tao."  The implication   is often that the X is a mystery accessible only to the   enlightened.  See the {trampoline} entry for an example, and   compare {has the X nature}. 
theology is  n. 1. Ironically or humorously used to refer to   {religious issues}.  2. Technical fine points of an abstruse   nature, esp. those where the resolution is of theoretical   interest but is relatively {marginal} with respect to actual use...
theology2 is  software issues with a   heavy AI or language-design component, such as the smart-data vs.   smart-programs dispute in AI. 
theory is  n. The consensus, idea, plan, story, or set of rules that   is currently being used to inform a behavior.  This is a   generalization and abuse of the technical meaning.  "Whats the   theory on fixing this TECO loss?"  "Whats the theory on...
theory2 is  "Whats the current theory   on letting lusers on during the day?"  "The theory behind this   change is to fix the following well-known screw...." 
thinko is  /thingkoh/ [by analogy with `typo] n. A momentary,   correctable glitch in mental processing, especially one involving   recall of information learned by rote; a bubble in the stream of   consciousness.  Syn. {braino}.  Compare {mouso}.
This time, for sure! is  excl. Ritual affirmation frequently uttered   during protracted debugging sessions involving numerous small   obstacles (e.g., attempts to bring up a UUCP connection).  For the   proper effect, this must be uttered in a fruit...
This time, for sure!2 is  heard "Hey, Rocky!  Watch me pull a   rabbit out of my hat!"  The {canonical} response is, of course,   "But that trick *never* works!"  See {{Humor, Hacker}}. 
thrash is  vi. To move wildly or violently, without accomplishing   anything useful.  Paging or swapping systems that are overloaded   waste most of their time moving data into and out of core (rather   than performing useful computation) and are the...
thrash2 is  changing his mind (esp. about what to   work on next) is said to be thrashing.  A person frantically trying   to execute too many tasks at once (and not spending enough time on   any single task) may also be described as thrashing.  Compa...
thread is  n. [USENET, GEnie, CompuServe] Common abbreviation of   `topic thread, a more or less continuous chain of postings on a   single topic.
three-finger salute is  n. Syn. {Vulcan nerve pinch}.
thud is  n. 1. Yet another meta-syntactic variable (see {foo}).   It is reported that at CMU from the mid-1970s the canonical series of   these was `foo, `bar, `thud, `blat.  2. Rare term   for the hash character, `# (ASCII 0100011).  See {ASCII} for...
thunk is  /thuhnk/ n. 1. "A piece of coding which provides an   address", according to P. Z. Ingerman, who invented thunks   in 1961 as a way of binding actual parameters to their formal   definitions in Algol-60 procedure calls.  If a procedure is c...
thunk2 is  formal parameter, the compiler   generates a {thunk} to compute the expression and leave the   address of the result in some standard location.  2. Later   generalized into an expression, frozen together with its   environment, for later e...
thunk3 is  in techspeak is called a `closure).  The process of   unfreezing these thunks is called `forcing.  3. A   {stubroutine}, in an overlay programming environment, that loads   and jumps to the correct overlay.  Compare {trampoline}.   4. Peop...
thunk4 is  manner.  "It   occurred to me the other day that I am rather accurately modeled by   a thunk --- I frequently need to be forced to completion." ---   paraphrased from a {plan file}.   Historical note There are a couple of onomatopoeic myth...
thunk5 is  The most common is that   it is the sound made by data hitting the stack; another holds that   the sound is that of the data hitting an accumulator.  Yet another   holds that it is the sound of the expression being unfrozen at   argument-e...
thunk6 is  inventors, it   was coined after they realized (in the wee hours after hours of   discussion) that the type of an argument in Algol-60 could be   figured out in advance with a little compile-time thought,   simplifying the evaluation machi...
thunk7 is  thought of; thus it was christened a `thunk,   which is "the past tense of `think at two in the morning". 
tick is  n. 1. A {jiffy} (sense 1).  2. In simulations, the   discrete unit of time that passes between iterations of the   simulation mechanism.  In AI applications, this amount of time is   often left unspecified, since the only constraint of inter...
tick2 is  AI simulation is often   pejoratively referred to as `tick-tick-tick simulation,   especially when the issue of simultaneity of events with long,   independent chains of causes is {handwave}d. 3. In the FORTH   language, a single quote char...
tick-list features is  [Acorn Computers] n. Features in software or   hardware that customers insist on but never use (calculators in   desktop TSRs and that sort of thing).  The American equivalent   would be `checklist features, but this jargon sen...
tickle a bug is  vt. To cause a normally hidden bug to manifest   through some known series of inputs or operations.  "You can   tickle the bug in the Paradise VGA cards highlight handling by   trying to set bright yellow reverse video."
tiger team is  [U.S. military jargon] n. A team whose purpose is to   penetrate security, and thus test security measures.  These people   are paid professionals who do hacker-type tricks, e.g., leave   cardboard signs saying "bomb" in critical defen...
tiger team2 is  "Your codebooks have been stolen"   (they usually havent been) inside safes, etc.  After a successful   penetration, some high-ranking security type shows up the next   morning for a `security review and finds the sign, note, etc.,   ...
tiger team3 is  of tiger teams   sometimes lead to early retirement for base commanders and security   officers (see the {patch} entry for an example).   A subset of tiger teams are professional {cracker}s, testing the   security of military computer...
tiger team4 is  via networks or supposedly `secure comm channels.  Some of   their escapades, if declassified, would probably rank among the   greatest hacks of all times.  The term has been adopted in   commercial computer-security circles in this m...
time sink is  [poss. by analogy with `heat sink or `current sink] n.   A project that consumes unbounded amounts of time.
time T is  /tim T/ n. 1. An unspecified but usually well-understood   time, often used in conjunction with a later time T+1.   "Well meet on campus at time T or at Louies at   time T+1" means, in the context of going out for dinner   "We can meet on ...
time T2 is  Louies   itself a bit later."  (Louies is a Chinese restaurant in Palo Alto   that is a favorite with hackers.)  Had the number 30 been used instead   of the number 1, it would have implied that the travel time from   campus to Louies is ...
time T3 is  hasnt been decided on yet), you can meet half an hour later at   Louies than you could on campus and end up eating at the same time.   See also {since time T equals minus infinity}. 
times-or-divided-by is  [by analogy with `plus-or-minus] quant. Term   occasionally used when describing the uncertainty associated with a   scheduling estimate, for either humorous or brutally honest effect.   For a software project, the factor is u...
tinycrud is  /tinee-kruhd/ n. A pejorative used by habitues of older   game-oriented {MUD} versions for TinyMUDs and other   user-extensible {MUD} variants; esp. common among users of the   rather violent and competitive AberMUD and MIST systems.  Th...
tinycrud2 is  how (allegedly)   inconsistent and lacking in genuine atmosphere the scenarios   generated in user extensible MUDs can be.  Other common knocks on   them are that they feature little overall plot, bad game topology,   little competitive...
tinycrud3 is  alleged   horrors of the TinyMUD code itself.  This dispute is one of the MUD   worlds hardiest perennial {holy wars}. 
tip of the ice-cube is  [IBM] n. The visible part of something small and   insignificant.  Used as an ironic comment in situations where `tip   of the iceberg might be appropriate if the subject were actually   nontrivial.
tired iron is  [IBM] n. Hardware that is perfectly functional but   far enough behind the state of the art to have been superseded by new   products, presumably with sufficient improvement in bang-per-buck that   the old stuff is starting to look a b...
tits on a keyboard is  n. Small bumps on certain keycaps to keep   touch-typists registered (usually on the `5 of a numeric keypad,   and on the `F and `J of a QWERTY keyboard).
TLA is  /T-L-A/ [Three-Letter Acronym] n. 1. Self-describing   acronym for a species with which computing terminology is infested.   2. Any confusing acronym.  Examples include MCA, FTP, SNA, CPU,   MMU, SCCS, DMU, FPU, NNTP, TLA.  People who like th...
TLA2 is  three letters, just as not all four-letter   words have four letters.  One also hears of `ETLA (Extended   Three-Letter Acronym, pronounced /ee tee el ay/) being used to   describe four-letter acronyms.  The term `SFLA (Stupid Four-Letter   ...
TLA3 is  {YABA}.   The self-effacing phrase "TDM TLA" (Too Damn Many...) is   often used to bemoan the plethora of TLAs in use.  In 1989, a   random of the journalistic persuasion asked hacker Paul Boutin   "What do you think will be the biggest prob...
TLA4 is  straight-faced response "There are only   17,000 three-letter acronyms." (To be exact, there are 26^3   = 17,576.) 
TMRC is  /tmerk/ n. The Tech Model Railroad Club at MIT, one of   the wellsprings of hacker culture.  The 1959 `Dictionary of   the TMRC Language compiled by Peter Samson included several terms   which became basics of the hackish vocabulary (see esp...
TMRC2 is  legendary layout was already a marvel of   complexity.  The control system alone featured about 1200 relays.   There were {scram switch}es located at numerous places around   the room that could be pressed if something undesirable was about...
TMRC3 is  an obstruction.   Another feature of the system was a digital clock on the dispatch   board.  Normally it ran at some multiple of real time, but if   someone hit a scram switch the clock stopped and the display was   replaced with the word ...
TMRC4 is  the Bibliography), gives a   stimulating account of those early years.  TMRCs Power and Signals   group included most of the early PDP-1 hackers and the people who   later bacame the core of the MIT AI Lab staff.  Thirty years later   that ...
TMRC5 is  lexicon   accordingly includes a number of entries from a recent revision of   the TMRC Dictionary. 
to a first approximation is  1. [techspeak] When one is doing certain   numerical computations, an approximate solution may be computed by   any of several heuristic methods, then refined to a final value.   By using the starting point of a first app...
to a first approximation2 is  algorithm that converges more quickly to the   correct result.  2. In jargon, a preface to any comment that   indicates that the comment is only approximately true.  The remark   "To a first approximation, I feel good" m...
to a first approximation3 is  reveal that not all is perfect (e.g., a   nagging cough still remains after an illness). 
to a zeroth approximation is  [from `to a first approximation] A   *really* sloppy approximation; a wild guess.  Compare   {social science number}.
toast is  1. n. Any completely inoperable system or component, esp.   one that has just crashed and burned "Uh, oh ... I think the   serial board is toast."  2. vt. To cause a system to crash   accidentally, especially in a manner that requires manua...
toast2 is  {firewall machine} again." 
toaster is  n. 1. The archetypal really stupid application for an   embedded microprocessor controller; often used in comments that   imply that a scheme is inappropriate technology (but see   {elevator controller}).  "{DWIM} for an assembler?  Thatd...
toaster2 is  toaster!"  2. A very, very dumb   computer. "You could run this program on any dumb toaster."  See   {bitty box}, {Get a real computer!}, {toy}, {beige toaster}.   3. A Macintosh, esp. the Classic Mac.  Some hold that this is   implied b...
toaster3 is  my box   without toasters, but since then Ive added two boards and a second   disk drive." 
toeprint is  n. A {footprint} of especially small size.
toggle is  vt. To change a {bit} from whatever state it is in to the   other state; to change from 1 to 0 or from 0 to 1.  This comes from   `toggle switches, such as standard light switches, though the   word `toggle actually refers to the mechanism...
toggle2 is  which it is flipped rather than to the   fact that the switch has two positions.  There are four things you   can do to a bit set it (force it to be 1), clear (or zero) it,   leave it alone, or toggle it.  (Mathematically, one would say t...
toggle3 is  functions of one boolean   argument, but saying that is much less fun than talking about   toggling bits.) 
tool is  1. n. A program used primarily to create, manipulate, modify,   or analyze other programs, such as a compiler or an editor or a   cross-referencing program.  Oppose {app}, {operating system}.   2. [UNIX] An application program with a simple,...
tool2 is  interface designed specifically to be used   in programmed combination with other tools (see {filter}).   3. [MIT general to students there] vi. To work; to study (connotes   tedium).  The TMRC Dictionary defined this as "to set ones brain ...
tool3 is  A student who   studies too much and hacks too little.  (MITs student humor   magazine rejoices in the name `Tool and Die.) 
toolsmith is  n. The software equivalent of a tool-and-die specialist;   one who specializes in making the {tool}s with which other   programmers create applications.  See also {uninteresting}.
topic drift is  n. Term used on GEnie, USENET and other electronic   fora to describe the tendency of a {thread} to drift away from   the original subject of discussion (and thus, from the Subject   header of the originating message), or the results ...
topic drift2 is  reminders that the discussion has   strayed off any useful track.  "I think we started with a question   about Nivens last book, but weve ended up discussing the sexual   habits of the common marmoset.  Now *thats* topic drift!" 
topic group is  n. Syn. {forum}.
TOPS-10 is  /tops-ten/ n. DECs proprietary OS for the fabled {PDP-10}   machines, long a favorite of hackers but now effectively extinct.   A fountain of hacker folklore; see appendix A.  See also {{ITS}},   {{TOPS-20}}, {{TWENEX}}, {VMS}, {operating...
TOPS-102 is  BOTS-10 (from `bottoms-ten) as a comment on the   inappropriateness of describing it as the top of anything. 
TOPS-20 is  /tops-twentee/ n. See {{TWENEX}}.
toto is  /tohtoh/ n. This is reported to be the default scratch   file name among French-speaking programmers --- in other words, a   francophone {foo}.
tourist is  [ITS] n. A guest on the system, especially one who   generally logs in over a network from a remote location for {comm   mode}, email, games, and other trivial purposes.  One step below   {luser}.  Hackers often spell this {turist}, perha...
tourist2 is  {luser} (this also expresses the   ITS cultures penchant for six-letterisms).  Compare {twink},   {read-only user}. 
tourist information is  n. Information in an on-line display that is   not immediately useful, but contributes to a viewers gestalt of   whats going on with the software or hardware behind it.  Whether a   given piece of info falls in this category d...
tourist information2 is  for at any given time.  The `bytes free   information at the bottom of an MS-DOS `dir display is   tourist information; so (most of the time) is the TIME information   in a UNIX `ps(1) display. 
touristic is  adj. Having the quality of a {tourist}.  Often used   as a pejorative, as in `losing touristic scum.  Often spelled   `turistic or `turistik, so that phrase might be more properly   rendered `lusing turistic scum.
toy is  n. A computer system; always used with qualifiers.   1. `nice toy One that supports the speakers hacking style   adequately.  2. `just a toy A machine that yields   insufficient {computron}s for the speakers preferred uses.  This   is not con...
toy2 is  least be fun.   It is also strongly conditioned by ones expectations; Cray XMP   users sometimes consider the Cray-1 a `toy, and certainly all RISC   boxes and mainframes are toys by their standards.  See also {Get   a real computer!}. 
toy language is  n. A language useful for instructional purposes or   as a proof-of-concept for some aspect of computer-science theory,   but inadequate for general-purpose programming.  {Bad Thing}s   can result when a toy language is promoted as a ...
toy language2 is  (see {bondage-and-discipline   language}); the classic example is {{Pascal}}.  Several moderately   well-known formalisms for conceptual tasks such as programming Turing   machines also qualify as toy languages in a less negative se...
toy problem is  [AI] n. A deliberately oversimplified case of a   challenging problem used to investigate, prototype, or test   algorithms for a real problem.  Sometimes used pejoratively.  See   also {gedanken}, {toy program}.
toy program is  n. 1. One that can be readily comprehended; hence, a   trivial program (compare {noddy}).  2. One for which the effort   of initial coding dominates the costs through its life cycle.   See also {noddy}.
trampoline is  n. An incredibly {hairy} technique, found in some   {HLL} and program-overlay implementations (e.g., on the   Macintosh), that involves on-the-fly generation of small executable   (and, likely as not, self-modifying) code objects to do...
trampoline2 is  pieces of {live data} are called   `trampolines.  Trampolines are notoriously difficult to understand   in action; in fact, it is said by those who use this term that the   trampoline that doesnt bend your brain is not the true   tram...
trap is  1. n. A program interrupt, usually an interrupt caused by   some exceptional situation in the user program.  In most cases, the   OS performs some action, then returns control to the program.   2. vi. To cause a trap.  "These instructions tr...
trap2 is  to indicate the cause of the   trap.  "The monitor traps all input/output instructions."   This term is associated with assembler programming (`interrupt   or `exception is more common among {HLL} programmers) and   appears to be fading int...
trap3 is  assembler continues to shrink.  However, it is still important to   computer architects and systems hackers (see {system},   sense 1), who use it to distinguish deterministically repeatable   exceptions from timing-dependent ones (such as I...
trap door is  alt. `trapdoor n. 1. Syn. {back door}.   2. [techspeak] A `trap-door function is one which is easy to   compute but very difficult to compute the inverse of.  Such   functions have important applications in cryptography, specifically   ...
trash is  vt. To destroy the contents of (said of a data structure).   The most common of the family of near-synonyms including {mung},   {mangle}, and {scribble}.
tree-killer is  [Sun] n. 1. A printer.  2. A person who wastes paper.   This should be interpreted in a broad sense; `wasting paper   includes the production of {spiffy} but {content-free} documents.   Thus, most {suit}s are tree-killers.
trit is  /trit/ [by analogy with `bit] n. One base-3 digit; the   amount of information conveyed by a selection among one of three   equally likely outcomes (see also {bit}).  These arise, for   example, in the context of a {flag} that should actuall...
trit2 is  as yes, no, or unknown.  Trits are   sometimes jokingly called `3-state bits.  A trit may be   semi-seriously referred to as `a bit and a half, although it is   linearly equivalent to 1.5849625 bits (that is,   log2(3)   bits). 
trivial is  adj. 1. Too simple to bother detailing.  2. Not worth the   speakers time.  3. Complex, but solvable by methods so well known   that anyone not utterly {cretinous} would have thought of them   already.  4. Any problem one has already solv...
trivial2 is  evaluates to `Ive seen it before).   Hackers notions of triviality may be quite at variance with those   of non-hackers.  See {nontrivial}, {uninteresting}. 
troglodyte is  [Commodore] n. 1. A hacker who never leaves his   cubicle.  The term `Gnoll (from Dungeons & Dragons) is also   reported.  2. A curmudgeon attached to an obsolescent computing   environment.  The combination `ITS troglodyte was flung a...
troglodyte2 is  wringle-wrangle attending the   2.x.x revision of the Jargon File; at least one of the people it   was intended to describe adopted it with pride. 
troglodyte mode is  [Rice University] n. Programming with the lights   turned off, sunglasses on, and the terminal inverted (black on   white) because youve been up for so many days straight that your   eyes hurt (see {raster burn}).  Loud music blar...
troglodyte mode2 is  optional but recommended.  See {larval   stage}, {hack mode}. 
Trojan horse is  [coined by MIT-hacker-turned-NSA-spook Dan Edwards]   n. A program designed to break security or damage a system that is   disguised as something else benign, such as a directory lister,   archiver, a game, or (in one notorious 1990 ...
Trojan horse2 is  destroy viruses!  See {back door}, {virus},   {worm}. 
true-hacker is  [analogy with `trufan from SF fandom] n. One who   exemplifies the primary values of hacker culture, esp. competence   and helpfulness to other hackers.  A high compliment.  "He spent   6 hours helping me bring up UUCP and netnews on ...
true-hacker2 is  act of a true-hacker."  Compare   {demigod}, oppose {munchkin}. 
tty is  /T-T-Y/ [UNIX], /titee/ [ITS, but some UNIX people say it   this way as well; this pronunciation is not considered to have   sexual undertones] n. 1. A terminal of the teletype variety,   characterized by a noisy mechanical printer, a very li...
tty2 is   Usage antiquated (like the   TTYs themselves).  See also {bit-paired keyboard}.   2. [especially UNIX] Any terminal at all; sometimes used to refer   to the particular terminal controlling a given job. 
tube is  1. n. A CRT terminal.  Never used in the mainstream sense of   TV; real hackers dont watch TV, except for Loony Toons, Rocky &   Bullwinkle, Trek Classic, the Simpsons, and the occasional cheesy   old swashbuckler movie (see appendix B).  2....
tube2 is  someone elses terminal.  "Tube me that   note?" 
tube time is  n. Time spent at a terminal or console.  More inclusive   than hacking time; commonly used in discussions of what parts of   ones environment one uses most heavily.  "I find Im spending too   much of my tube time reading mail since I st...
tunafish is  n. In hackish lore, refers to the mutated punchline of   an age-old joke to be found at the bottom of the manual pages of   `tunefs(8) in the original {BSD} 4.2 distribution.  The   joke was removed in later releases once commercial site...
tunafish2 is  to the `tuning of   file-system parameters for optimum performance, and at the bottom   of a few pages of wizardly inscriptions was a `BUGS section   consisting of the line "You can tune a file system, but you cant   tunafish".  Variant...
tunafish3 is  though it has been excised from some versions by humorless   management {droid}s.  The [nt]roff source for SunOS 4.1.1   contains a comment apparently designed to prevent this "Take this   out and a Unix Demon will dog your steps from n...
tune is  [from automotive or musical usage] vt. To optimize a program   or system for a particular environment, esp. by adjusting numerical   parameters designed as {hook}s for tuning, e.g., by changing   `#define lines in C.  One may `tune for time ...
tune2 is  memory use), or   `tune for configuration (most efficient use of hardware).  See   {bum}, {hot spot}, {hand-hacking}. 
turbo nerd is  n. See {computer geek}.
turist is  /toorist/ n. Var. sp. of {tourist}, q.v.  Also in   adjectival form, `turistic.  Poss. influenced by {luser} and   `Turing.
tweak is  vt. 1. To change slightly, usually in reference to a value.   Also used synonymously with {twiddle}.  If a program is almost   correct, rather than figure out the precise problem you might   just keep tweaking it until it works.  See {frobn...
tweak2 is  debugging}.  2. To {tune}   or {bum} a program; preferred usage in the U.K. 
TWENEX is  /tweneks/ n. The TOPS-20 operating system by DEC ---   the second proprietary OS for the PDP-10 --- preferred by most   PDP-10 hackers over TOPS-10 (that is, by those who were not   {{ITS}} or {{WAITS}} partisans).  TOPS-20 began in 1969 a...
TWENEX2 is  system using special paging   hardware.  By the early 1970s, almost all of the systems on the   ARPANET ran TENEX.  DEC purchased the rights to TENEX from BBN and   began work to make it their own.  The first in-house code name for   the ...
TWENEX3 is  Operating System);   when customers started asking questions, the name was changed to   SNARK so DEC could truthfully deny that there was any project   called VIROS.  When the name SNARK became known, the name was   briefly reversed to be...
TWENEX4 is  it was discovered that `krans meant `funeral shroud in   Swedish.  Ultimately DEC picked TOPS-20 as the name of the   operating system, and it was as TOPS-20 that it was marketed.  The   hacker community, mindful of its origins, quickly d...
TWENEX5 is  TENEX), even though by this   point very little of the original TENEX code remained (analogously   to the differences between AT&T V6 UNIX and BSD).  DEC people   cringed when they heard "TWENEX", but the term caught on   nevertheless (th...
TWENEX6 is  TWENEX was successful and very popular; in fact, there was a period   in the early 1980s when it commanded as fervent a culture of   partisans as UNIX or ITS --- but DECs decision to scrap all the   internal rivals to the VAX architecture...
TWENEX7 is  DEC-20 and put a sad end to TWENEXs brief day in   the sun.  DEC attempted to convince TOPS-20 hackers to convert to   {VMS}, but instead, by the late 1980s, most of the TOPS-20   hackers had migrated to UNIX. 
twiddle is  n. 1. Tilde (ASCII 1111110, `~).  Also   called `squiggle, `sqiggle (sic --- pronounced /skigl/),   and `twaddle, but twiddle is the most common term.  2. A small   and insignificant change to a program.  Usually fixes one bug and   gener...
twiddle2 is  something in a small   way.  Bits, for example, are often twiddled.  Twiddling a switch or   knob implies much less sense of purpose than toggling or tweaking   it; see {frobnicate}.  To speak of twiddling a bit connotes   aimlessness, a...
twiddle3 is  the   bit; `toggling a bit has a more specific meaning (see {bit   twiddling}, {toggle}). 
twink is  /twink/ [UCSC] n. Equivalent to {read-only user}.  Also   reported on the USENET group soc.motss; may derive from gay   slang for a cute young thing with nothing upstairs.
two pi is  quant. The number of years it takes to finish ones   thesis.  Occurs in stories in the following form "He started on   his thesis; 2 pi years later..."
two-to-the-N is  quant. An amount much larger than {N} but smaller   than {infinity}.  "I have 2-to-the-N things to do before I can   go out for lunch" means you probably wont show up.
twonkie is  /twonkee/ n. The software equivalent of a Twinkie (a   variety of sugar-loaded junk food, or (in gay slang) the male   equivalent of `chick); a useless `feature added to look sexy   and placate a {marketroid} (compare {Saturday-night   sp...
twonkie2 is  Twonky", title menace   of a classic SF short story by Lewis Padgett (Henry Kuttner and   C. L. Moore), first published in the September 1942   `Astounding Science Fiction and subsequently much   anthologized.*UBD /U-B-D/ [abbreviation f...
twonkie3 is  to close out trouble reports obviously due to   utter cluelessness on the user's part.  Compare {pilot error};   oppose {PBD}; see also {brain-damaged}. 
UN*X is  n. Used to refer to the UNIX operating system (a trademark of   AT&T) in writing, but avoiding the need for the ugly   {(TM)} typography.   Also used to refer to any or all varieties of Unixoid operating   systems.  Ironically, lawyers now s...
UN*X2 is  TM-postfix has no legal force, but the asterisk usage   is entrenched anyhow.  It has been suggested that there may be a   psychological connection to practice in certain religions   (especially Judaism) in which the name of the deity is ne...
UN*X3 is  `G--d' is used.  See also   {glob}. 
undefined external reference is  excl. [UNIX] A message from UNIX's   linker.  Used in speech to flag loose ends or dangling references   in an argument or discussion.
under the hood is  prep. [hot-rodder talk] 1. Used to introduce the   underlying implementation of a product (hardware, software, or   idea).  Implies that the implementation is not intuitively obvious   from the appearance, but the speaker is about ...
under the hood2 is  now look under the hood to see   how ...." 2. Can also imply that the implementation is much   simpler than the appearance would indicate "Under the hood, we   are just fork/execing the shell."  3. Inside a chassis, as in   "Under...
undocumented feature is  n. See {feature}.
uninteresting is  adj. 1. Said of a problem that, although   {nontrivial}, can be solved simply by throwing sufficient   resources at it.  2. Also said of problems for which a solution   would neither advance the state of the art nor be fun to design...
uninteresting2 is  problems as intolerable wastes of   time, to be solved (if at all) by lesser mortals.  *Real*   hackers (see {toolsmith}) generalize uninteresting problems   enough to make them interesting and solve them --- thus solving the   ori...
uninteresting3 is  {SMOP};   compare {toy problem}, oppose {interesting}. 
UNIX is  /yoo'niks/ [In the authors' words, "A weak pun on   Multics"] n. (also `Unix') An interactive time-sharing system   originally invented in 1969 by Ken Thompson after Bell Labs left   the Multics project, originally so he could play games on ...

factpacks/jargon-split.fact  view on Meta::CPAN

widget is  n. 1. A meta-thing.  Used to stand for a real object in   didactic examples (especially database tutorials).  Legend has it   that the original widgets were holders for buggy whips.  "But   suppose the parts list for a widget has 52 entrie...
widget2 is  user interface object in   {X} graphical user interfaces. 
wiggles is  n. [scientific computation] In solving partial differential   equations by finite difference and similar methods, wiggles are   sawtooth (up-down-up-down) oscillations at the shortest wavelength   representable on the grid.  If an algorit...
wiggles2 is  unstable waveform, so it grows to dominate the   solution.  Alternatively, stable (though inaccurate) wiggles can be   generated near a discontinuity by a Gibbs phenomenon. 
WIMP environment is  n. [acronymic from `Window, Icon, Menu, Pointing   device (or Pull-down menu)'] A graphical-user-interface-based   environment such as {X} or the Macintosh interface, as described   by a hacker who prefers command-line interfaces...
WIMP environment2 is  extensibility.  See {menuitis},   {user-obsequious}. 
win is  [MIT] 1. vi. To succeed.  A program wins if no unexpected   conditions arise, or (especially) if it sufficiently {robust} to   take exceptions in stride.  2. n. Success, or a specific instance   thereof.  A pleasing outcome.  A {feature}.  Em...
win2 is  `hyper-win' (often used   interjectively as a reply).  For some reason `suitable win' is   also common at MIT, usually in reference to a satisfactory solution   to a problem.  Oppose {lose}; see also {big win}, which isn't   quite just an in...
win big is  vi. To experience serendipity.  "I went shopping and won   big; there was a 2-for-1 sale." See {big win}.
win win is  interj. Expresses pleasure at a {win}.
Winchester is  n. Informal generic term for `floating-head'   magnetic-disk drives in which the read-write head planes over the   disk surface on an air cushion.  The name arose because the   original 1973 engineering prototype for what later became ...
Winchester2 is  volumes; 30--30 became   `Winchester' when somebody noticed the similarity to the common   term for a famous Winchester rifle (in the latter, the first 30   referred to caliber and the second to the grain weight of the   charge). 
winged comments is  n. Comments set on the same line as code, as   opposed to {boxed comments}.  In C, for example     d = sqrt(x*x + y*y);  /* distance from origin */   Generally these refer only to the action(s) taken on that line.
winkey is  n. (alt. `winkey face')  See {emoticon}.
winnage is  /win'*j/ n. The situation when a lossage is corrected, or   when something is winning.
winner is  1. n. An unexpectedly good situation, program, programmer,   or person.  "So it turned out I could use a {lexer} generator   instead of hand-coding my own pattern recognizer.  What a win!"   2. `real winner' Often sarcastic, but also used ...
winner2 is  {user}). "He's a real winner --- never   reports a bug till he can duplicate it and send in an   example." 
winnitude is  /win'*-t[y]ood/ n. The quality of winning (as opposed   to {winnage}, which is the result of winning).  "Guess what?   They tweaked the microcode and now the LISP interpreter runs twice   as fast as it used to." "That's really great!  B...
winnitude2 is  a half-hour's winnage on the   next run of my program."  Perhaps curiously, the obvious antonym   `lossitude' is rare. 
wired is  n. See {hardwired}.
wirehead is  /wir'hed/ n. [prob. from SF slang for an   electrical-brain-stimulation addict] 1. A hardware hacker,   especially one who concentrates on communications hardware.  2. An   expert in local-area networks.  A wirehead can be a network   so...
wirehead2 is  ability to deal with   network hardware, down to the smallest component.  Wireheads are   known for their ability to lash up an Ethernet terminator from   spare resistors, for example. 
wish list is  n. A list of desired features or bug fixes that probably   won't get done for a long time, usually because the person   responsible for the code is too busy or can't think of a clean way   to do it.  "OK, I'll add automatic filename com...
wish list2 is  interface." Compare {tick-list features}. 
within delta of is  adj. See {delta}.
within epsilon of is  adj. See {epsilon}.
wizard is  n. 1. A person who knows how a complex piece of software   or hardware works (that is, who {grok}s it); esp. someone who   can find and fix bugs quickly in an emergency.  Someone is a   {hacker} if he or she has general hacking ability, bu...
wizard2 is  if he or she has specific detailed   knowledge of that thing.  A good hacker could become a wizard for   something given the time to study it.  2. A person who is permitted   to do things forbidden to ordinary people; one who has {wheel} ...
wizard3 is  esp. a UNIX systems   programmer.  This usage is well enough established that `UNIX   Wizard' is a recognized job title at some corporations and to most   headhunters.  See {guru}, {lord high fixer}.  See also   {deep magic}, {heavy wizar...
wizard4 is  dance}, {voodoo programming}, {wave a   dead chicken}. 
Wizard Book is  n. Hal Abelson and Jerry Sussman's `Structure   and Interpretation of Computer Programs' (MIT Press, 1984; ISBN   0-262-01077-1, an excellent computer science text used in   introductory courses at MIT.  So called because of the wizar...
Wizard Book2 is  LISP/Scheme   world. 
wizard mode is  [from {rogue}] n. A special access mode of a program or   system, usually passworded, that permits some users godlike   privileges.  Generally not used for operating systems themselves   (`root mode' or `wheel mode' would be used inst...
wizardly is  adj. Pertaining to wizards.  A wizardly {feature} is one   that only a wizard could understand or use properly.
womb box is  n. 1. [TMRC] Storage space for equipment.  2. [proposed]   A variety of hard-shell equipment case with heavy interior padding   and/or shaped carrier cutouts in a foam-rubber matrix; mundanely   called a `flight case'.  Used for delicate...
WOMBAT is  [Waste Of Money, Brains, And Time] adj. Applied to problems   which are both profoundly {uninteresting} in themselves and   unlikely to benefit anyone interesting even if solved.  Often used   in fanciful constructions such as `wrestling w...
WOMBAT2 is  {SMOP}.  Also note the rather different   usage as a meta-syntactic variable in {{Commonwealth Hackish}}. 
wonky is  /wong'kee/ [from Australian slang] adj. Yet another   approximate synonym for {broken}.  Specifically connotes a   malfunction that produces behavior seen as crazy, humorous, or   amusingly perverse.  "That was the day the printer's font lo...
wonky2 is  out in Tengwar."  Also in   `wonked out'.  See {funky}, {demented}, {bozotic}. 
workaround is  n. A temporary {kluge} inserted in a system under   development or test in order to avoid the effects of a {bug} or   {misfeature} so that work can continue.  Theoretically,   workarounds are always replaced by {fix}es; in practice,   ...
workaround2 is  workarounds in the   first couple of releases.  "The code died on NUL characters in the   input, so I fixed it to interpret them as spaces."  "That's not a   fix, that's a workaround!" 
working as designed is  [IBM] adj. 1. In conformance to a wrong or   inappropriate specification; useful, but misdesigned.   2. Frequently used as a sardonic comment on a program's utility.   3. Unfortunately also used as a bogus reason for not accep...
working as designed2 is  this sense is used in   official documents!  See {BAD}. 
worm is  [from `tapeworm' in John Brunner's novel `The   Shockwave Rider', via XEROX PARC] n. A program that propagates   itself over a network, reproducing itself as it goes.  Compare   {virus}.  Nowadays the term has negative connotations, as it is...
worm2 is  Perhaps the   best-known example was Robert T. Morris's `Internet Worm' of 1988,   a `benign' one that got out of control and hogged hundreds of   Suns and VAXen across the U.S.  See also {cracker}, {RTM},   {Trojan horse}, {ice}. 
wound around the axle is  adj. In an infinite loop.  Often used by older   computer types.
wrap around is  vi. (also n. `wraparound' and v. shorthand `wrap')   1. [techspeak] The action of a counter that starts over at zero or at   `minus infinity' (see {infinity}) after its maximum value has   been reached, and continues incrementing, eit...
wrap around2 is  because of an overflow (as when a car's   odometer starts over at 0).  2. To change {phase} gradually and   continuously by maintaining a steady wake-sleep cycle somewhat   longer than 24 hours, e.g., living six long (28-hour) days i...
wrap around3 is  rate of 10 microhertz). 
write-only code is  [a play on `read-only memory'] n. Code so   arcane, complex, or ill-structured that it cannot be modified or   even comprehended by anyone but its author, and possibly not even   by him/her.  A {Bad Thing}.
write-only language is  n. A language with syntax (or semantics)   sufficiently dense and bizarre that any routine of significant size   is {write-only code}.  A sobriquet applied occasionally to C and   often to APL, though {INTERCAL} and {TECO} cer...
write-only memory is  n. The obvious antonym to `read-only   memory'.  Out of frustration with the long and seemingly useless   chain of approvals required of component specifications, during   which no actual checking seemed to occur, an engineer at...
write-only memory2 is  a write-only memory and included   it with a bunch of other specifications to be approved.  This   inclusion came to the attention of Signetics {management} only   when regular customers started calling and asking for pricing  ...
write-only memory3 is  edition of the data   book and requested the return of the `erroneous' ones.  Later,   around 1974, Signetics bought a double-page spread in `Electronics'   magazine's April issue and used the spec as an April Fools' Day   joke...
write-only memory4 is  characteristic curves, the   25120 "fully encoded, 9046 x N, Random Access, write-only-memory"   data sheet included diagrams of "bit capacity vs. Temp.",   "Iff vs. Vff", "Number of pins remaining vs. number of socket   insert...
write-only memory5 is  required a   6.3 VAC VFF supply, a +10V VCC, and VDD of 0V,   +/- 2%. 
Wrong Thing is  n. A design, action, or decision that is clearly   incorrect or inappropriate.  Often capitalized; always emphasized   in speech as if capitalized.  The opposite of the {Right Thing};   more generally, anything that is not the Right T...
Wrong Thing2 is  of the best', the merely good --- although   good --- is nevertheless the Wrong Thing. "In C, the default is for   module-level declarations to be visible everywhere, rather than   just within the module.  This is clearly the Wrong T...
wugga wugga is  /wuh'g* wuh'g*/ n. Imaginary sound that a computer   program makes as it labors with a tedious or difficult task.   Compare {cruncha cruncha cruncha}, {grind} (sense 4).
WYSIWYG is  /wiz'ee-wig/ adj. Describes a user interface under which   "What You See Is What You Get", as opposed to one that uses   more-or-less obscure commands which do not result in immediate   visual feedback.  The term can be mildly derogatory,...
WYSIWYG2 is  {user-friendly} interfaces targeted   at non-programmers; a hacker has no fear of obscure commands.   On the other hand, EMACS was one of the very first WYSIWYG editors,   replacing (actually, at first overlaying) the extremely obscure, ...
WYSIWYG3 is  environment}.  [Oddly   enough, this term has already made it into the OED. --- ESR]*X /X/ n. 1. Used in various speech and writing contexts (also   in lowercase) in roughly its algebraic sense of `unknown within a   set defined by conte...
WYSIWYG4 is  680x0 stands for 68000, 68010, 68020, 68030, or 68040, and 80x86   stands for 80186, 80286 80386 or 80486 (note that a UNIX hacker   might write these as 680[0-4]0 and 80[1-4]86 or 680?0 and 80?86   respectively; see {glob}).  2. [after ...
WYSIWYG5 is  `W'] An over-sized, over-featured,   over-engineered and incredibly over-complicated window system   developed at MIT and widely used on UNIX systems. 
XOFF is  /X'of/ n. Syn. {control-s}.
xor is  /X'or/, /kzor/ conj. Exclusive or.  `A xor B' means   `A or B, but not both'.  "I want to get cherry pie xor a   banana split."  This derives from the technical use of the term as   a function on truth-values that is true if exactly one of it...
xref is  /X'ref/ vt., n. Hackish standard abbreviation for   `cross-reference'.
XXX is  /X-X-X/ n. A marker that attention is needed.   Commonly used in program comments to indicate areas that are kluged   up or need to be.  Some hackers liken `XXX' to the notional   heavy-porn movie rating.
xyzzy is  /X-Y-Z-Z-Y/, /X-Y-ziz'ee/, /ziz'ee/, or /ik-ziz'ee/   [from the ADVENT game] adj.  The {canonical} `magic word'.   This comes from {ADVENT}, in which the idea is to explore an   underground cave with many rooms and to collect the treasures ...
xyzzy2 is  appropriate time, you can   move instantly between two otherwise distant points.  If, therefore,   you encounter some bit of {magic}, you might remark on this   quite succinctly by saying simply "Xyzzy!"  "Ordinarily you   can't look at so...
xyzzy3 is  if   you type quadruple-bucky-clear the system will let you do it   anyway."  "Xyzzy!"  Xyzzy has actually been implemented as an   undocumented no-op command on several OSes; in Data General's   AOS/VS, for example, it would typically res...
xyzzy4 is  if the magic was invoked at the   wrong spot or before a player had performed the action that enabled   the word.  See also {plugh}. 
YA- is  [Yet Another] abbrev. In hackish acronyms this almost   invariably expands to {Yet Another}, following the precedent set   by UNIX `yacc(1)'.  See {YABA}.
YABA is  /ya'b*/ [Cambridge] n. Yet Another Bloody Acronym.  Whenever   some program is being named, someone invariably suggests that it be   given a name that is acronymic.  The response from those with a   trace of originality is to remark ironical...
YABA2 is  `YABA-compatible'.  Also used in response to questions   like "What is WYSIWYG?"  See also {TLA}. 
YAUN is  /yawn/ [Acronym for `Yet Another UNIX Nerd'] n. Reported   from the San Diego Computer Society (predominantly a microcomputer   users' group) as a good-natured punning insult aimed at UNIX   zealots.
Yellow Book is  [proposed] n. The print version of this Jargon File;   `The New Hacker's Dictionary', forthcoming from MIT Press,   1991.  Includes all the material in the File, plus a Foreword by   Guy L.  Steele and a Preface by Eric S. Raymond.  M...
Yellow Book2 is  typeset and includes almost all of the   infamous Crunchly cartoons by the Great Quux, each attached to an   appropriate entry. 
Yet Another is  adj. [From UNIX's `yacc(1)', `Yet Another Compiler-   Compiler', a LALR parser generator]  1. Of your own work A humorous   allusion often used in titles to acknowledge that the topic is not   original, though the content is.  As in `...
Yet Another2 is  Simulated Annealing Algorithm'.  2. Of others'   work Describes something of which there are far too many.  See   also {YA-}, {YABA}, {YAUN}. 
You are not expected to understand this is  cav. [UNIX] The canonical   comment describing something {magic} or too complicated to   bother explaining properly.  From an infamous comment in the   context-switching code of the V6 UNIX kernel.
You know you've been hacking too long when... is  The set-up line   for a genre of one-liners told by hackers about themselves.  These   include the following   * not only do you check your email more often than your paper     mail, but you remember ...
You know you've been hacking too long when...2 is  postal one.   * your {SO} kisses you on the neck and the first thing you     think is "Uh, oh, {priority interrupt}."   * you go to balance your checkbook and discover that you're     doing it in oct...
You know you've been hacking too long when...3 is  value than your car.   * in your universe, `round numbers' are powers of 2, not 10.   * more than once, you have woken up recalling a dream in     some programming language.   * you realize you have ...
You know you've been hacking too long when...4 is  early version of this entry said "All but one of these   have been reliably reported as hacker traits (some of them quite   often).  Even hackers may have trouble spotting the ringer."  The   ringer ...
You know you've been hacking too long when...5 is  made up out   of whole cloth.  Although more respondents picked that one   out as fiction than any of the others, I also received multiple   independent reports of its actually happening. --- ESR] 
Your mileage may vary is  cav. [from the standard disclaimer attached   to EPA mileage ratings by American car manufacturers] 1. A ritual   warning often found in UNIX freeware distributions.  Translates   roughly as "Hey, I tried to write this porta...
Your mileage may vary2 is  system?"  2. A qualifier more   generally attached to advice.  "I find that sending flowers works   well, but your mileage may vary." 
Yow! is  /yow/ [from "Zippy the Pinhead" comix] interj. A favored hacker   expression of humorous surprise or emphasis.  "Yow!  Check out what   happens when you twiddle the foo option on this display hack!"   Compare {gurfle}.
yoyo mode is  n. The state in which the system is said to be when it   rapidly alternates several times between being up and being down.   Interestingly (and perhaps not by coincidence), many hardware   vendors give out free yoyos at Usenix exhibits....
yoyo mode2 is  SIGPLAN '88.  Tourists   staying at one of Atlanta's most respectable hotels were   subsequently treated to the sight of 200 of the country's top   computer scientists testing yo-yo algorithms in the lobby. 
Yu-Shiang Whole Fish is  /yoo-shyang hohl fish/ n. obs. The   character gamma (extended SAIL ASCII 0001001), which with a loop in   its tail looks like a little fish swimming down the page.  The term   is actually the name of a Chinese dish in which ...
Yu-Shiang Whole Fish2 is  covered with Yu-Shiang (or Yu-Hsiang)   sauce.  Usage primarily by people on the MIT LISP Machine, which   could display this character on the screen.  Tends to elicit   incredulity from people who hear about it second-hand....
zap is  1. n. Spiciness.  2. vt. To make food spicy.  3. vt. To make   someone `suffer' by making his food spicy.  (Most hackers love   spicy food.  Hot-and-sour soup is considered wimpy unless it makes   you wipe your nose for the rest of the meal.)...
zap2 is  correct; esp. used when the action   is performed with a debugger or binary patching tool.  Also implies   surgical precision.  "Zap the debug level to 6 and run it again."   In the IBM mainframe world, binary patches are applied to programs...
zap3 is  `superzap', whose file name is   `IMASPZAP' (I M A SuPerZAP).  5. vt. To erase or reset.  6. To   {fry} a chip with static electricity. "Uh oh --- I think that   lightning strike may have zapped the disk controller." 
zapped is  adj. Spicy.  This term is used to distinguish between food   that is hot (in temperature) and food that is *spicy*-hot.   For example, the Chinese appetizer Bon Bon Chicken is a kind of   chicken salad that is cold but zapped; by contrast,...
zapped2 is  zapped.  See also {{oriental food}},   {laser chicken}.  See {zap}, senses 1 and 2. 
zen is  vt. To figure out something by meditation or by a sudden flash   of enlightenment.  Originally applied to bugs, but occasionally   applied to problems of life in general.  "How'd you figure out the   buffer allocation problem?"  "Oh, I zenned...
zen2 is  time-extended version of zenning a system.   Compare {hack mode}.  See also {guru}. 
zero is  vt. 1. To set to 0.  Usually said of small pieces of data,   such as bits or words (esp. in the construction `zero out').  2. To   erase; to discard all data from.  Said of disks and directories,   where `zeroing' need not involve actually w...
zero2 is  zeroed.  One may speak of something being   `logically zeroed' rather than being `physically zeroed'.  See   {scribble}. 
zero-content is  adj. Syn. {content-free}.
zeroth is  /zee'rohth/ adj. First.  Among software designers, comes   from C's and LISP's 0-based indexing of arrays.  Hardware people   also tend to start counting at 0 instead of 1; this is natural   since, e.g., the 256 states of 8 bits correspond...
zeroth2 is  the digital devices known as `counters'   count in this way.   Hackers and computer scientists often like to call the first   chapter of a publication `chapter 0', especially if it is of an   introductory nature (one of the classic instan...
zeroth3 is  recent years this trait has also been   observed among many pure mathematicians (who have an independent   tradition of numbering from 0).  Zero-based numbering tends to   reduce {fencepost error}s, though it cannot eliminate them   entir...
zigamorph is  /zig'*-morf/ n. Hex FF (11111111) when used as a   delimiter or {fence} character.  Usage primarily at IBM   shops.
zip is  [primarily MS-DOS] vt. To create a compressed archive from a   group of files using PKWare's PKZIP or a compatible archiver.  Its   use is spreading now that portable implementations of the algorithm   have been written.  Commonly used as fol...
zip2 is  See {arc}, {tar and feather}. 
zipperhead is  [IBM] n. A person with a closed mind.
zombie is  [UNIX] n. A process that has died but has not yet   relinquished its process table slot (because the parent process   hasn't executed a `wait(2)' for it yet).  These can be seen in   `ps(1)' listings occasionally.  Compare {orphan}.
zorch is  /zorch/ 1. [TMRC] v. To attack with an inverse heat sink.   2. [TMRC] v. To travel, with v approaching c [that   is, with velocity approaching lightspeed --- ESR].  3. [MIT] v. To   propel something very quickly.  "The new comm software is ...
zorch2 is  the network."  4. [MIT] n.   Influence.  Brownie points.  Good karma.  The intangible and fuzzy   currency in which favors are measured.  "I'd rather not ask him   for that just yet; I think I've used up my quota of zorch with him   for th...
zorch3 is  ability.  "I think   I'll {punt} that change for now; I've been up for 30 hours   and I've run out of zorch." 
Zork is  /zork/ n. The second of the great early experiments in computer   fantasy gaming; see {ADVENT}.  Originally written on MIT-DM   during the late 1970s, later distributed with BSD UNIX and   commercialized as `The Zork Trilogy' by Infocom.
zorkmid is  /zork'mid/ n. The canonical unit of currency in   hacker-written games.  This originated in {zork} but has spread   to {nethack} and is referred to in several other games.= [^A-Za-z] (see {regexp}) =
'Snooze is  /snooz/ [FidoNet] n. Fidonews, the weekly official on-line   newsletter of FidoNet.  As the editorial policy of Fidonews is   "anything that arrives, we print", there are often large articles   completely unrelated to FidoNet, which in tu...
(TM) is  // [USENET] ASCII rendition of the trademark-superscript symbol   appended to phrases that the author feels should be recorded for   posterity, perhaps in future editions of this lexicon.  Sometimes   used ironically as a form of protest aga...
(TM)2 is  algorithm patents and `look and feel' lawsuits.  See   also {UN*X}. 
-oid is  [from `android'] suff. 1. This suffix is used as in   mainstream English to indicate a poor imitation, a counterfeit, or   some otherwise slightly bogus resemblance.  Hackers will happily   use it with all sorts of non-Greco/Latin stem words...
-oid2 is  mainstream English.  For example, "He's a   nerdoid" means that he superficially resembles a nerd but can't   make the grade; a `modemoid' might be a 300-baud box (Real Modems   run at 9600); a `computeroid' might be any {bitty box}.  The  ...