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accumulator is  n. 1. Archaic term for a register.  On-line use of it   as a synonym for `register' is a fairly reliable indication that   the user has been around for quite a while and/or that the   architecture under discussion is quite old.  The t...
accumulator2 is  microprocessor registers, for example, though   symbolic names for arithmetic registers beginning in `A' derive   from historical use of the term `accumulator' (and not, actually,   from `arithmetic').  Confusingly, though, an `A' re...
accumulator3 is  `address', as for example on the   Motorola 680x0 family.  2. A register being used for arithmetic or   logic (as opposed to addressing or a loop index), especially one   being used to accumulate a sum or count of many items.  This u...
accumulator4 is  stretch of code.  "The   FOOBAZ routine uses A3 as an accumulator."  3. One's in-basket   (esp. among old-timers who might use sense 1).  "You want this   reviewed?  Sure, just put it in the accumulator."  (See {stack}.) 
ACK is  /ak/ interj. 1. [from the ASCII mnemonic for 0000110]   Acknowledge.  Used to register one's presence (compare mainstream   *Yo!*).  An appropriate response to {ping} or {ENQ}.   2. [from the comic strip "Bloom County"] An exclamation of   su...
ACK2 is  Semi-humorous.   Generally this sense is not spelled in caps (ACK) and is   distinguished by a following exclamation point.  3. Used to   politely interrupt someone to tell them you understand their point   (see {NAK}).  Thus, for example, y...
ACK3 is  with "Ack.  Ack.  Ack.  I get it now".   There is also a usage "ACK?" (from sense 1) meaning "Are you   there?", often used in email when earlier mail has produced no   reply, or during a lull in {talk mode} to see if the person has   gone a...
ACK4 is  course {NAK}   (sense 2), i.e., "I'm not here"). 
ad-hockery is  /ad-hok'*r-ee/ [Purdue] n. 1. Gratuitous assumptions   made inside certain programs, esp. expert systems, which lead to   the appearance of semi-intelligent behavior but are in fact   entirely arbitrary.  For example, fuzzy-matching in...
ad-hockery2 is  against a symbol table can make it look as   though a program knows how to spell.  2. Special-case code to cope   with some awkward input that would otherwise cause a program to   {choke}, presuming normal inputs are dealt with in som...
ad-hockery3 is  `ad-hackery', `ad-hocity'   (/ad-hos'*-tee/).  See also {ELIZA effect}. 
Ada is  n. A {{Pascal}}-descended language that has been made   mandatory for Department of Defense software projects by the   Pentagon.  Hackers are nearly unanimous in observing that,   technically, it is precisely what one might expect given that ...
Ada2 is  committee, crockish, difficult   to use, and overall a disastrous, multi-billion-dollar boondoggle   (one common description is "The PL/I of the 1980s").  Hackers   find Ada's exception-handling and inter-process communication   features par...
Ada3 is  daughter of   Lord Byron who became the world's first programmer while   cooperating with Charles Babbage on the design of his mechanical   computing engines in the mid-1800s) would almost certainly blanch   at the use to which her name has ...
Ada4 is  been said about it is that there is probably a good   small language screaming to get out from inside its vast,   {elephantine} bulk. 
adger is  /aj'r/ [UCLA] vt. To make a bonehead move with consequences   that could have been foreseen with a slight amount of mental   effort.  E.g., "He started removing files and promptly adgered the   whole project".  Compare {dumbass attack}.
admin is  /ad-min'/ n. Short for `administrator'; very commonly   used in speech or on-line to refer to the systems person in charge   on a computer.  Common constructions on this include `sysadmin'   and `site admin' (emphasizing the administrator's...
admin2 is  or `newsadmin' (focusing specifically   on news).  Compare {postmaster}, {sysop}, {system   mangler}. 
ADVENT is  /ad'vent/ n. The prototypical computer adventure game, first   implemented on the {PDP-10} by Will Crowther as an attempt at   computer-refereed fantasy gaming, and expanded into a   puzzle-oriented game by Don Woods.  Now better known as ...
ADVENT2 is  system permitted only 6-letter   filenames.  See also {vadding}.   This game defined the terse, dryly humorous style now expected in   text adventure games, and popularized several tag lines that have   become fixtures of hacker-speak  "A...
ADVENT3 is  see no X here" (for some noun X).  "You are in a   maze of twisty little passages, all alike."  "You are in a little   maze of twisty passages, all different."  The `magic words'   {xyzzy} and {plugh} also derive from this game.   Crowthe...
ADVENT4 is  of the   Mammoth & Flint Ridge cave system; it actually *has* a   `Colossal Cave' and a `Bedquilt' as in the game, and the `Y2' that   also turns up is cavers' jargon for a map reference to a secondary   entrance. 
AI-complete is  /A-I k*m-pleet'/ [MIT, Stanford by analogy with   `NP-complete' (see {NP-})] adj. Used to describe problems or   subproblems in AI, to indicate that the solution presupposes a   solution to the `strong AI problem' (that is, the synthe...
AI-complete2 is  problem that is AI-complete is, in   other words, just too hard.   Examples of AI-complete problems are `The Vision Problem'   (building a system that can see as well as a human) and `The   Natural Language Problem' (building a syste...
AI-complete3 is  language as well as a human).  These may appear   to be modular, but all attempts so far (1991) to solve them have   foundered on the amount of context information and `intelligence'   they seem to require. See also {gedanken}. 
AI koans is  /A-I koh'anz/ pl.n. A series of pastiches of Zen   teaching riddles created by Danny Hillis at the MIT AI Lab around   various major figures of the Lab's culture (several are included in   appendix A).  See also {ha ha only serious}, {mu...
AIDS is  /aydz/ n. Short for A* Infected Disk Syndrome (`A*' is a   {glob} pattern that matches, but is not limited to, Apple),   this condition is quite often the result of practicing unsafe   {SEX}.  See {virus}, {worm}, {Trojan horse},   {virgin}.
airplane rule is  n. "Complexity increases the possibility of   failure; a twin-engine airplane has twice as many engine problems   as a single-engine airplane."  By analogy, in both software and   electronics, the rule that simplicity increases robu...
airplane rule2 is  correspondingly argued that the   right way to build reliable systems is to put all your eggs in one   basket, after making sure that you've built a really *good*   basket. 
aliasing bug is  n. A class of subtle programming errors that can   arise in code that does dynamic allocation, esp. via   `malloc(3)' or equivalent.  If more than one pointer addresses   (`aliases for') a given hunk of storage, it may happen that th...
aliasing bug2 is  then referenced through   another, which may lead to subtle (and possibly intermittent) lossage   depending on the state and the allocation history of the malloc   {arena}.  Avoidable by use of allocation strategies that never   ali...
aliasing bug3 is  higher-level   languages, such as {LISP}, which employ a garbage collector   (see {GC}).  Also called a {stale pointer bug}.  See also   {precedence lossage}, {smash the stack}, {fandango on core},   {memory leak}, {overrun screw}, ...
aliasing bug4 is  nowadays associated with   C programming, it was already in use in a very similar sense in the   Algol-60 and FORTRAN communities in the 1960s. 
all-elbows is  adj. Of a TSR (terminate-and-stay-resident) IBM PC   program, such as the N pop-up calendar and calculator utilities   that circulate on {BBS} systems unsociable.  Used to describe a   program that rudely steals the resources that it n...
all-elbows2 is  also be resident.  One particularly   common form of rudeness is lock-up due to programs fighting over   the keyboard interrupt.  See also {mess-dos}. 
alpha particles is  n. See {bit rot}.
ALT is  /awlt/ 1. n. The ALT shift key on an IBM PC or {clone}.   2. [possibly lowercased] n. The `clover' or `Command' key on a   Macintosh; use of this term usually reveals that the speaker hacked   PCs before coming to the Mac (see also {command k...
ALT2 is  reserve `ALT' for the Option key.  3. n.obs.   [PDP-10] Alternate name for the ASCII ESC character (ASCII   0011011), after the keycap labeling on some older terminals.  Also   `ALTMODE' (/awlt'mohd/).  This character was almost never   pron...
ALT3 is  under   TOPS-10 --- always ALT, as in "Type ALT ALT to end a TECO   command" or "ALT U onto the system" (for "log onto the [ITS]   system").  This was probably because ALT is more convenient to say   than `escape', especially when followed b...
ALT4 is  *and* a character, for that matter). 
alt bit is  /awlt bit/ [from alternate] adj. See {meta bit}.
Aluminum Book is  [MIT] n. `Common LISP The Language', by   Guy L.  Steele Jr. (Digital Press, first edition 1984, second   edition 1990).  Note that due to a technical screwup some printings   of the second edition are actually of a color the author...
Aluminum Book2 is  also {{book titles}}. 
amoeba is  n. Humorous term for the Commodore Amiga personal computer.
amp off is  [Purdue] vt. To run in {background}.  From the UNIX shell `&'   operator.
amper is  n. Common abbreviation for the name of the ampersand (`&',   ASCII 0100110) character.  See {ASCII} for other synonyms.
angle brackets is  n. Either of the characters `<' (ASCII   0111100) and `>' (ASCII 0111110) (ASCII less-than or   greater-than signs).  The {Real World} angle brackets used by   typographers are actually taller than a less-than or greater-than   sig...
angry fruit salad is  n. A bad visual-interface design that uses too   many colors.  This derives, of course, from the bizarre day-glo   colors found in canned fruit salad.  Too often one sees similar   affects from interface designers using color wi...
angry fruit salad2 is  tendency to create displays that are flashy and   attention-getting but uncomfortable for long-term use. 
AOS is  1. /aws/ (East Coast), /ay-os/ (West Coast) [based on a   PDP-10 increment instruction] vt.,obs. To increase the amount of   something.  "AOS the campfire."  Usage considered silly, and now   obsolete.  Now largely supplanted by {bump}.  See ...
AOS2 is  supported at one time by Data General.  This   was pronounced /A-O-S/ or /A-os/.  A spoof of the standard   AOS system administrator's manual (`How to load and generate   your AOS system') was created, issued a part number, and circulated   ...
AOS3 is  goad and   levitate your chaos system'.  3. Algebraic Operating System, in   reference to those calculators which use infix instead of postfix   (reverse Polish) notation.   Historical note AOS in sense 1 was the name of a {PDP-10}   instruc...
AOS4 is  computer and added   1 to it; AOS meant `Add One and do not Skip'.  Why, you may ask,   does the `S' stand for `do not Skip' rather than for `Skip'?  Ah,   here was a beloved piece of PDP-10 folklore.  There were eight such   instructions AO...
AOS5 is  instruction   if the result was Equal to zero; AOSG added 1 and then skipped if   the result was Greater than 0; AOSN added 1 and then skipped   if the result was Not 0; AOSA added 1 and then skipped Always;   and so on.  Just plain AOS didn...
AOS6 is  For similar reasons, AOJ meant `Add One and do not Jump'.  Even   more bizarre, SKIP meant `do not SKIP'!  If you wanted to skip the   next instruction, you had to say `SKIPA'.  Likewise, JUMP meant   `do not JUMP'; the unconditional form wa...
AOS7 is  By some quirk of the 10's design, the {JRST}   (Jump and ReSTore flag with no flag specified) was actually faster   and so was invariably used.  Such were the perverse mysteries of   assembler programming. 
app is  /ap/ n. Short for `application program', as opposed to a   systems program.  What systems vendors are forever chasing   developers to create for their environments so they can sell more   boxes.  Hackers tend not to think of the things they t...
app2 is  parlance the term excludes compilers,   program editors, games, and messaging systems, though a user would   consider all those to be apps.  Oppose {tool}, {operating   system}. 
arc is  [primarily MSDOS] vt. To create a compressed {archive} from a   group of files using SEA ARC, PKWare PKARC, or a compatible   program.  Rapidly becoming obsolete as the ARC compression method   is falling into disuse, having been replaced by ...
arc2 is  feather}, {zip}. 
arc wars is  [primarily MSDOS] n. {holy wars} over which archiving   program one should use.  The first arc war was sparked when System   Enhancement Associates (SEA) sued PKWare for copyright and   trademark infringement on its ARC program.  PKWare'...
arc wars2 is  and speed while largely   retaining compatibility (it introduced a new compression type that   could be disabled for backward-compatibility).  PKWare settled out   of court to avoid enormous legal costs (both SEA and PKWare are   small ...
arc wars3 is  of PKARC was   changed to PKPAK.  The public backlash against SEA for bringing   suit helped to hasten the demise of ARC as a standard when PKWare   and others introduced new, incompatible archivers with better   compression algorithms....
archive is  n. 1. A collection of several files bundled into one file   by a program such as `ar(1)', `tar(1)', `cpio(1)',   or {arc} for shipment or archiving (sense 2).  See also {tar   and feather}.  2. A collection of files or archives (sense 1) ...
archive2 is  {FTP} or an email server. 
arena is  [UNIX] n. The area of memory attached to a process by   `brk(2)' and `sbrk(2)' and used by `malloc(3)' as   dynamic storage.  So named from a semi-mythical `malloc   corrupt arena' message supposedly emitted when some early versions   becam...
arena2 is  {aliasing   bug}, {memory leak}, {smash the stack}. 
arg is  /arg/ n. Abbreviation for `argument' (to a function),   used so often as to have become a new word (like `piano' from   `pianoforte').  "The sine function takes 1 arg, but the   arc-tangent function can take either 1 or 2 args."  Compare   {p...
armor-plated is  n. Syn. for {bulletproof}.
asbestos is  adj. Used as a modifier to anything intended to protect   one from {flame}s.  Important cases of this include {asbestos   longjohns} and {asbestos cork award}, but it is used more   generally.
asbestos cork award is  n. Once, long ago at MIT, there was a {flamer}   so consistently obnoxious that another hacker designed, had made,   and distributed posters announcing that said flamer had been   nominated for the `asbestos cork award'.  Pers...
asbestos cork award2 is  application of the cork should consult the   etymology under {flame}.  Since then, it is agreed that only a   select few have risen to the heights of bombast required to earn   this dubious dignity --- but there is no agreeme...
asbestos longjohns is  n. Notional garments often donned by {USENET}   posters just before emitting a remark they expect will elicit   {flamage}.  This is the most common of the {asbestos} coinages.   Also `asbestos underwear', `asbestos overcoat', e...
attoparsec is  n. `atto-' is the standard SI prefix for   multiplication by 10^{-18}.  A parsec (parallax-second) is   3.26 light-years; an attoparsec is thus 3.26 * 10^{-18} light   years, or about 3.1 cm (thus, 1 attoparsec/{microfortnight}   equal...
attoparsec2 is  be in use   (though probably not very seriously) among hackers in the U.K.  See   {micro-}. 
autobogotiphobia is  /aw'to-boh-got`*-foh'bee-*/ n. See {bogotify}.

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

cyberspace2 is  reality} interfaces   modeled explicitly on Gibsonian cyberspace are already under way,   using more conventional devices such as glove sensors and binocular   TV headsets.  Few hackers are prepared to deny outright the   possibility ...
cyberspace3 is  network   (see {network, the}).  2. Occasionally, the metaphoric location   of the mind of a person in {hack mode}.  Some hackers report   experiencing strong eidetic imagery when in hack mode;   interestingly, independent reports fro...
cyberspace4 is  common features to the experience.  In particular,   the dominant colors of this subjective `cyberspace' are often   gray and silver, and the imagery often involves constellations of   marching dots, elaborate shifting patterns of lin...
cycle is  1. n. The basic unit of computation.  What every hacker   wants more of (noted hacker Bill Gosper describes himself as a   "cycle junkie"). One can describe an instruction as taking so   many `clock cycles'.  Often the computer can access i...
cycle2 is  one speaks also of   `memory cycles'.  These are technical meanings of {cycle}.  The   jargon meaning comes from the observation that there are only so   many cycles per second, and when you are sharing a computer the   cycles get divided ...
cycle3 is  computer spends working on your program rather than someone else's,   the faster your program will run.  That's why every hacker wants   more cycles so he can spend less time waiting for the computer to   respond.  2. By extension, a notio...
cycle4 is  emphasizing that lots of things compete for the typical   hacker's think time.  "I refused to get involved with the Rubik's   Cube back when it was big.  Knew I'd burn too many cycles on it if   I let myself."  3. vt. Syn. {bounce}, {120 r...
cycle5 is  the machine again, that serial port's   still hung." 
cycle crunch is  n. A situation where the number of people trying to   use the computer simultaneously has reached the point where no one   can get enough cycles because they are spread too thin and the   system has probably begun to {thrash}.  This ...
cycle crunch2 is  applied to timesharing.  Usually the only   solution is to buy more computer.  Happily, this has rapidly become   easier in recent years, so much so that the very term `cycle   crunch' now has a faintly archaic flavor; most hackers ...
cycle crunch3 is  opposed to traditional   timesharing systems. 
cycle drought is  n. A scarcity of cycles.  It may be due to a {cycle   crunch}, but it could also occur because part of the computer is   temporarily not working, leaving fewer cycles to go around.   "The {high moby} is {down}, so we're running with...
cycle drought2 is  There will be a cycle drought   until it's fixed." 
cycle of reincarnation is  [coined by Ivan Sutherland ca. 1970] n.   Term used to refer to a well-known effect whereby function in a   computing system family is migrated out to special-purpose   peripheral hardware for speed, then the peripheral evo...
cycle of reincarnation2 is  its job, then somebody notices that   it is inefficient to support two asymmetrical processors in the   architecture and folds the function back into the main CPU, at   which point the cycle begins again.  Several iteratio...
cycle of reincarnation3 is  graphics-processor design, and at least   one or two in communications and floating-point processors.  Also   known as `the Wheel of Life', `the Wheel of Samsara', and other   variations of the basic Hindu/Buddhist theolog...
cycle server is  n. A powerful machine that exists primarily for   running large {batch} jobs.  Implies that interactive tasks such as   editing are done on other machines on the network, such as   workstations.*D.C. Power Lab n. The former site of {...
cycle server2 is  funny because the obvious connection to electrical   engineering was nonexistent --- the lab was named for a Donald C.   Power.  Compare {Marginal Hacks}. 
daemon is  /day'mn/ or /dee'mn/ [from the mythological meaning,   later rationalized as the acronym `Disk And Execution MONitor'] n.   A program that is not invoked explicitly, but lies dormant waiting   for some condition(s) to occur.  The idea is t...
daemon2 is  not be aware that a daemon is lurking (though   often a program will commit an action only because it knows that it   will implicitly invoke a daemon).  For example, under {{ITS}}   writing a file on the {LPT} spooler's directory would in...
daemon3 is  print the file.  The advantage is   that programs wanting (in this example) files printed need not   compete for access to the {LPT}.  They simply enter their   implicit requests and let the daemon decide what to do with them.   Daemons a...
daemon4 is  and may   either live forever or be regenerated at intervals.  Daemon and   {demon} are often used interchangeably, but seem to have   distinct connotations.  The term `daemon' was introduced to   computing by {CTSS} people (who pronounce...
daemon5 is  ITS called a {dragon}.  Although the   meaning and the pronunciation have drifted, we think this glossary   reflects current (1991) usage. 
dangling pointer is  n. A reference that doesn't actually lead   anywhere (in C and some other languages, a pointer that doesn't   actually point at anything valid).  Usually this is because it   formerly pointed to something that has moved or disapp...
dangling pointer2 is  of its techspeak meaning; for   example, a local phone number for a person who has since moved to the   other coast is a dangling pointer. 
Datamation is  /day`t*-may'sh*n/ n. A magazine that many hackers   assume all {suit}s read.  Used to question an unbelieved quote,   as in "Did you read that in `Datamation?'" It used to   publish something hackishly funny every once in a while, like...
Datamation2 is  but it has since become much   more exclusively {suit}-oriented and boring. 
day mode is  n. See {phase} (sense 1).  Used of people only.
dd is  /dee-dee/ [UNIX from IBM {JCL}] vt. Equivalent to {cat}   or {BLT}.  This was originally the name of a UNIX copy command   with special options suitable for block-oriented devices.  Often   used in heavy-handed system maintenance, as in "Let's...
dd2 is  the boot PROM to load it back on to   a new disk".  The UNIX `dd(1)' was designed with a weird,   distinctly non-UNIXy keyword option syntax reminiscent of IBM   System/360 JCL (which had a similar DD command); though the command   filled a n...
dd3 is  The   jargon usage is now very rare outside UNIX sites and now nearly   obsolete even there, as `dd(1)' has been {deprecated} for a   long time (though it has no exact replacement).  Replaced by   {BLT} or simple English `copy'. 
DDT is  /D-D-T/ n. 1. Generic term for a program that assists in   debugging other programs by showing individual machine instructions   in a readable symbolic form and letting the user change them.  In   this sense the term DDT is now archaic, havin...
DDT2 is  names of individual programs like   `dbx', `adb', `gdb', or `sdb'.  2. [ITS] Under   MIT's fabled {{ITS}} operating system, DDT (running under the alias   HACTRN) was also used as the {shell} or top level command   language used to execute o...
DDT3 is  specific DDTs (sense 1) supported on early DEC hardware.  The DEC   PDP-10 Reference Handbook (1969) contained a footnote on the first   page of the documentation for DDT which illuminates the origin of   the term     Historical footnote DDT...
DDT4 is  computer in 1961.  At that time DDT stood for "DEC Debugging Tape".     Since then, the idea of an on-line debugging program has propagated     throughout the computer industry.  DDT programs are now available     for all DEC computers.  Sin...
DDT5 is  used, the more descriptive name "Dynamic Debugging     Technique" has been adopted, retaining the DDT acronym.  Confusion     between DDT-10 and another well known pesticide,     dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (C14-H9-Cl5) should be minim...
DDT6 is  apparently mutually exclusive,     class of bugs.   Sadly, this quotation was removed from later editions of the   handbook after the {suit}s took over and DEC became much more   `businesslike'. 
de-rezz is  /dee-rez'/ [from `de-resolve' via the movie "Tron"]   (also `derez') 1. vi. To disappear or dissolve; the image that goes   with it is of an object breaking up into raster lines and static   and then dissolving.  Occasionally used of a pe...
de-rezz2 is  mentally rather than physically.   Usage extremely silly, also rare.  This verb was actually invented   as *fictional* hacker jargon, and adopted in a spirit of irony   by real hackers years after the fact.  2. vt. On a Macintosh, many  ...
de-rezz3 is  are managed in small   segments of the program file known as `resources'. The standard   resource compiler is Rez.  The standard resource decompiler is   DeRez.  Thus, decompiling a resource is `derezzing'.  Usage very   common. 
dead code is  n. Routines that can never be accessed because all calls   to them have been removed, or code that cannot be reached because   it is guarded by a control structure that provably must always   transfer control somewhere else.  The presen...
dead code2 is  errors due to alterations in the program or   significant changes in the assumptions and environment of the   program (see also {software rot}); a good compiler should report   dead code so a maintainer can think about what it means.  ...
DEADBEEF is  /ded-beef/ n. The hexadecimal word-fill pattern for   freshly allocated memory (decimal -21524111) under a number of   IBM environments, including the RS/6000.  As in "Your program is   DEADBEEF" (meaning gone, aborted, flushed from memo...
DEADBEEF2 is  boundary, of course, you have   BEEFDEAD. 
deadlock is  n. 1. [techspeak] A situation wherein two or more   processes are unable to proceed because each is waiting for one of   the others to do something.  A common example is a program   communicating to a server, which may find itself waitin...
deadlock2 is  anything more to it, while the   server is similarly waiting for more input from the controlling   program before outputting anything.  (It is reported that this   particular flavor of deadlock is sometimes called a `starvation   deadlo...
deadlock3 is  properly used for   situations where a program can never run simply because it never   gets high enough priority.  Another common flavor is   `constipation', where each process is trying to send stuff to   the other but all buffers are ...
deadlock4 is  See {deadly embrace}.  2. Also used of   deadlock-like interactions between humans, as when two people meet   in a narrow corridor, and each tries to be polite by moving aside   to let the other pass, but they end up swaying from side t...
deadlock5 is  they always both move the same   way at the same time. 
deadly embrace is  n. Same as {deadlock}, though usually used only when   exactly 2 processes are involved.  This is the more popular term in   Europe, while {deadlock} predominates in the United States.
Death Star is  [from the movie "Star Wars"] 1. The AT&T corporate   logo, which appears on computers sold by AT&T and bears an uncanny   resemblance to the `Death Star' in the movie.  This usage is   particularly common among partisans of {BSD} UNIX,...
Death Star2 is  inferior and AT&T as a bad guy.  Copies   still circulate of a poster printed by Mt. Xinu showing a starscape   with a space fighter labeled 4.2 BSD streaking away from a broken   AT&T logo wreathed in flames.  2. AT&T's internal maga...
Death Star3 is  incorrectly done AT&T logo   in which the inner circle in the top left is dark instead of light   --- a frequent result of dark-on-light logo images. 
DEC Wars is  n. A 1983 {USENET} posting by Alan Hastings and Steve Tarr   spoofing the "Star Wars" movies in hackish terms.  Some years   later, ESR (disappointed by Hastings and Tarr's failure to exploit a   great premise more thoroughly) posted a 3...
DEC Wars2 is  WARS"; the two are often confused. 
DEChead is  /dek'hed/ n. 1. A DEC {field servoid}.  Not flattering.   2. [from `deadhead'] A Grateful Dead fan working at DEC.
deckle is  /dek'l/ [from dec- and {nickle}] n. Two {nickle}s;   10 bits.  Reported among developers for Mattel's GI 1600 (the   Intellivision games processor), a chip with 16-bit-wide RAM but   10-bit-wide ROM.
deep hack mode is  n. See {hack mode}.
deep magic is  [poss. from C. S. Lewis's "Narnia" books] n. An   awesomely arcane technique central to a program or system, esp. one   not generally published and available to hackers at large (compare   {black art}); one that could only have been co...
deep magic2 is  optimization techniques and many aspects of   {OS} design used to be {deep magic}; many techniques in   cryptography, signal processing, graphics, and AI still are.   Compare {heavy wizardry}.  Esp. found in comments of the form   "De...
deep space is  n. 1. Describes the notional location of any program   that has gone {off the trolley}.  Esp. used of programs that   just sit there silently grinding long after either failure or some   output is expected.  "Uh oh.  I should have gott...
deep space2 is  in deep space somewhere." Compare   {buzz}, {catatonic}, {hyperspace}.  2. The metaphorical   location of a human so dazed and/or confused or caught up in some   esoteric form of {bogosity} that he or she no longer responds   coherent...
defenestration is  [from the traditional Czechoslovak method of   assassinating prime ministers, via SF fandom] n. 1. Proper karmic   retribution for an incorrigible punster.  "Oh, ghod, that was   *awful*!"  "Quick! Defenestrate him!"  2. The act of...
defenestration2 is  better response time from a   full-screen program.  This comes from the dictionary meaning of   `defenestrate', which is to throw something out a window.  3. The   act of discarding something under the assumption that it will   im...
defenestration3 is  left."  "Well,   why don't you defenestrate that 100 megs worth of old core dumps?"   4. [proposed] The requirement to support a command-line interface.   "It has to run on a VT100."  "Curses!  I've been   defenestrated!" 
defined as is  adj. In the role of, usually in an organization-chart   sense.  "Pete is currently defined as bug prioritizer."  Compare   {logical}.
dehose is  /dee-hohz/ vt. To clear a {hosed} condition.
delint is  /dee-lint/ v. To modify code to remove problems detected   when {lint}ing.
delta is  n. 1. [techspeak] A quantitative change, especially a small   or incremental one (this use is general in physics and   engineering).  "I just doubled the speed of my program!"  "What   was the delta on program size?"  "About 30 percent."  (...
delta2 is  increased its size by only 30   percent.)  2. [UNIX] A {diff}, especially a {diff} stored   under the set of version-control tools called SCCS (Source Code   Control System) or RCS (Revision Control System).  3. n. A small   quantity, but ...
delta3 is    {delta} and {epsilon} stems from the traditional use of these   letters in mathematics for very small numerical quantities,   particularly in `epsilon-delta' proofs in limit theory (as in the   differential calculus).  The term {delta} i...
delta4 is  mentioned, to mean a quantity that is   slightly bigger than {epsilon} but still very small.  "The cost   isn't epsilon, but it's delta" means that the cost isn't totally   negligible, but it is nevertheless very small.  Common   construct...
delta5 is  epsilon of   ---' that is, close to and even closer to. 
demented is  adj. Yet another term of disgust used to describe a   program.  The connotation in this case is that the program works as   designed, but the design is bad.  Said, for example, of a program   that generates large numbers of meaningless e...
demented2 is  brink of imminent collapse.  Compare   {wonky}, {bozotic}. 
demigod is  n. A hacker with years of experience, a national reputation,   and a major role in the development of at least one design, tool,   or game used by or known to more than half of the hacker community.   To qualify as a genuine demigod, the ...
demigod2 is  hacker community and have helped shape it.  Major   demigods include Ken Thompson and Dennis Ritchie (co-inventors of   {{UNIX}} and {C}) and Richard M. Stallman (inventor of   {EMACS}).  In their hearts of hearts, most hackers dream of ...
demigod3 is  more than one major   software project has been driven to completion by the author's   veiled hopes of apotheosis.  See also {net.god}, {true-hacker}. 
demo is  /de'moh/ [short for `demonstration'] 1. v. To demonstrate a   product or prototype.  A far more effective way of inducing bugs to   manifest than any number of {test} runs, especially when   important people are watching.  2. n. The act of d...
demo mode is  [Sun] n. 1. The state of being {heads down} in order   to finish code in time for a {demo}, usually due yesterday.   2. A mode in which video games sit there by themselves running   through a portion of the game, also known as `attract ...
demo mode2 is  they use as a screen saver,   or may go through a demo mode on startup (for example, the   Microsoft Windows opening screen --- which lets you impress your   neighbors without actually having to put up with {Microsloth   Windows}). 
demon is  n. 1. [MIT] A portion of a program that is not invoked   explicitly, but that lies dormant waiting for some condition(s) to   occur.  See {daemon}.  The distinction is that demons are   usually processes within a program, while daemons are ...
demon2 is  system.  Demons are particularly   common in AI programs.  For example, a knowledge-manipulation   program might implement inference rules as demons.  Whenever a new   piece of knowledge was added, various demons would activate (which   de...
demon3 is  and would create   additional pieces of knowledge by applying their respective   inference rules to the original piece.  These new pieces could in   turn activate more demons as the inferences filtered down through   chains of logic.  Mean...
demon4 is  whatever its primary task was.  2. [outside MIT] Often used   equivalently to {daemon} --- especially in the {{UNIX}} world,   where the latter spelling and pronunciation is considered mildly   archaic. 
depeditate is  /dee-ped'*-tayt/ [by (faulty) analogy with   `decapitate'] vt.  Humorously, to cut off the feet of.  When one is   using some computer-aided typesetting tools, careless placement of   text blocks within a page or above a rule can resul...
depeditate2 is  letters are said to have been depeditated. 
deprecated is  adj. Said of a program or feature that is considered   obsolescent and in the process of being phased out, usually in   favor of a specified replacement.  Deprecated features can,   unfortunately, linger on for many years.
deserves to lose is  adj. Said of someone who willfully does the   {Wrong Thing}; humorously, if one uses a feature known to be   {marginal}.  What is meant is that one deserves the consequences   of one's {losing} actions.  "Boy, anyone who tries to...
deserves to lose2 is  ({{ITS}} fans used to say this   of {{UNIX}}; many still do.)  See also {screw}, {chomp},   {bagbiter}. 
desk check is  n.,v. To {grovel} over hardcopy of source code,   mentally simulating the control flow; a method of catching bugs.   No longer common practice in this age of on-screen editing, fast   compiles, and sophisticated debuggers --- though so...
desk check2 is  Compare {eyeball search},   {vdiff}, {vgrep}. 
Devil Book is  n. `The Design and Implementation of the 4.3BSD   UNIX Operating System', by Samuel J. Leffler, Marshall Kirk   McKusick, Michael J. Karels, and John S. Quarterman (Addison-Wesley   Publishers, 1989) --- the standard reference book on ...
Devil Book2 is  because the cover has a picture   depicting a little devil (a visual play on {daemon}) in   sneakers, holding a pitchfork (referring to one of the   characteristic features of UNIX, the {fork(2)} system call). 
devo is  /dee'voh/ [orig. in-house jargon at Symbolics] n. A person in a   development group.  See also {doco} and {mango}.
dickless workstation is  n. Extremely pejorative hackerism for   `diskless workstation', a class of botches including the Sun 3/50   and other machines designed exclusively to network with an   expensive central disk server.  These combine all the di...
dickless workstation2 is  disadvantages of distributed personal   computers. 
dictionary flame is  [USENET] n. An attempt to sidetrack a debate   away from issues by insisting on meanings for key terms that   presuppose a desired conclusion or smuggle in an implicit premise.   A common tactic of people who prefer argument over...
diddle is  1. vt. To work with or modify in a not particularly   serious manner.  "I diddled a copy of {ADVENT} so it didn't   double-space all the time."  "Let's diddle this piece of code and   see if the problem goes away."  See {tweak} and {twiddl...
diddle2 is  See also {tweak},   {twiddle}, {frob}. 
diff is  /dif/ n. 1. A change listing, especially giving differences   between (and additions to) source code or documents (the term is   often used in the plural `diffs').  "Send me your diffs for the   Jargon File!"  Compare {vdiff}.  2. Specifical...
diff2 is  command, esp. when used as   specification input to the `patch(1)' utility (which can   actually perform the modifications; see {patch}).  This is a   common method of distributing patches and source updates in the   UNIX/C world.  See also...
digit is  n. An employee of Digital Equipment Corporation.  See also   {VAX}, {VMS}, {PDP-10}, {{TOPS-10}}, {DEChead}, {double   DECkers}, {field circus}.
dike is  vt. To remove or disable a portion of something, as a wire   from a computer or a subroutine from a program.  A standard slogan   is "When in doubt, dike it out".  (The implication is that it is   usually more effective to attack software pr...
dike2 is  increasing it.)  The word `dikes' is widely   used among mechanics and engineers to mean `diagonal cutters',   esp.  a heavy-duty metal-cutting device, but may also refer to a   kind of wire-cutters used by electronics techs.  To `dike   so...
dike3 is  remove something.   Indeed, the TMRC Dictionary defined dike as "to attack with   dikes".  Among hackers this term has been metaphorically extended   to informational objects such as sections of code. 
ding is  n.,vi. 1. Synonym for {feep}.  Usage rare among hackers,   but commoner in the {Real World}.  2. `dinged' What happens   when someone in authority gives you a minor bitching about   something, esp. something trivial.  "I was dinged for havin...
dink is  /dink/ n. Said of a machine that has the {bitty box}   nature; a machine too small to be worth bothering with --- sometimes   the system you're currently forced to work on.  First heard from an   MIT hacker (BADOB) working on a CP/M system w...
dink2 is  then from fans of 32-bit architectures about   16-bit machines.  "GNUMACS will never work on that dink machine."   Probably derived from mainstream `dinky', which isn't sufficiently   pejorative. 
dinosaur is  n. 1. Any hardware requiring raised flooring and special   power.  Used especially of old minis and mainframes, in contrast   with newer microprocessor-based machines.  In a famous quote from   the 1988 UNIX EXPO, Bill Joy compared the m...
dinosaur2 is  grazing dinosaur "with a truck outside pumping   its bodily fluids through it".  IBM was not amused.  Compare   {big iron}; see also {mainframe}.  2. [IBM] A very conservative   user; a {zipperhead}. 
dinosaur pen is  n. A traditional {mainframe} computer room complete with   raised flooring, special power, its own ultra-heavy-duty air   conditioning, and a side order of Halon fire extinguishers.  See   {boa}.
dinosaurs mating is  n. Said to occur when yet another {big iron}   merger or buyout occurs; reflects a perception by hackers that   these signal another stage in the long, slow dying of the   {mainframe} industry.  In its glory days of the 1960s, it...
dinosaurs mating2 is  Control Data, General   Electric, Honeywell, NCR, RCA, and Univac.  RCA and GE sold out   early, and it was `IBM and the Bunch' (Burroughs, Univac, NCR,   Control Data, and Honeywell) for a while.  Honeywell was bought out   by ...
dinosaurs mating3 is  Unisys (in 1984 --- this   was when the phrase `dinosaurs mating' was coined); and as this is   written AT&T is attempting to recover from a disastrously bad first   6 years in the hardware industry by absorbing NCR.  More such ...
dirty power is  n. Electrical mains voltage that is unfriendly to   the delicate innards of computers.  Spikes, {drop-outs}, average   voltage significantly higher or lower than nominal, or just plain   noise can all cause problems of varying subtlet...
Discordianism is  /dis-kor'di-*n-ism/ n. The veneration of   {Eris}, a.k.a. Discordia; widely popular among hackers.   Discordianism was popularized by Robert Anton Wilson's   `Illuminatus!' trilogy as a sort of self-subverting Dada-Zen   for Western...
Discordianism2 is  seriously but   is far more serious than most jokes.  Consider, for example, the   Fifth Commandment of the Pentabarf, from `Principia   Discordia' "A Discordian is Prohibited of Believing What he   Reads."  Discordianism is usuall...
Discordianism3 is  theory/joke involving millennia-long warfare between the   anarcho-surrealist partisans of Eris and a malevolent,   authoritarian secret society called the Illuminati.  See   appendix B, {Church of the SubGenius}, and {ha ha only  ...
disk farm is  n. (also {laundromat}) A large room or rooms filled   with disk drives (esp. {washing machine}s).
display hack is  n. A program with the same approximate purpose as a   kaleidoscope to make pretty pictures.  Famous display hacks   include {munching squares}, {smoking clover}, the BSD UNIX   `rain(6)' program, `worms(6)' on miscellaneous UNIXes,  ...