Source Code 1992 March/Source_Code_CD-ROM_Walnut_Creek_March_1992.iso/usenet/altsrcs/2/2926

LaTeX Document | 1991-03-02 | 51KB

From: [e-mail] (Eric S. Raymond)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers,alt.sources,misc.misc
Subject: The Jargon File v, part 2 of 17
Message-ID: <1ZdTrt#6CHvMD3kXZdg7Gp9gK6sjhWz=[e-mail]>
Date: 2 Mar 91 18:14:32 GMT
Submitted-by: [e-mail]
Archive-name: jargon/part02
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X"::" rather than ":"; similarly, references are surrounded by
X"{{" and "}}" rather than "{" and "}".
XReferences such as `malloc(3)' and `patch(1)' are to UNIX
Xfacilities (some of which, such as `patch(1)', are actually freeware
Xdistributed over USENET).  The UNIX manuals use `foo(n)' to refer
Xto item foo in section (n) of the manual, where n=1 is utilities, n=2
Xis system calls, n=3 is C library routines, n=6 is games, and n=8
X(where present) is system administration utilities.  Sections 4, 5,
Xand 7 have changed roles frequently and in any case are not referred
Xto from any of the entries.
XThe Jargon Lexicon
X******************
X= [^A-Za-z] (see {regexp}) =
X============================
X'Snooze: /snooz/ [FidoNet] n. Fidonews, the weekly official on-line
X   newsletter of FidoNet.  As the editorial policy of Fidonews is
X   "anything that arrives, we print", there are often large articles
X   completely unrelated to FidoNet, which in turn tend to elicit
X   {flamage} in subsequent issues.
X(tm): [USENET] ASCII rendition of the trademark symbol, appended to
X   phrases that the author feels should be recorded for posterity,
X   perhaps in future editions of this lexicon.  Sometimes used
X   ironically as a form of protest against the recent spate of
X   software and algorithm patents and `look and feel' lawsuits.
X-ware: [from `software'] suff.  Commonly used to form jargon terms
X   for classes of software.  For examples, see {crippleware},
X   {crudware}, {firmware}, {freeware}, {fritterware},
X   {guiltware}, {liveware}, {meatware}, {payware},
X   {psychedelicware}, {shareware}, {shelfware}, {vaporware},
X   {wetware}.
X/dev/null: /dev-nuhl/ [from the UNIX null device, used as a data
X   sink] n. A notional `black hole' in any information space being
X   discussed, used or referred to.  A controversial posting, for
X   example, might end "Kudos to [e-mail], flames to
X   /dev/null".  See {bit bucket}, {null device}.
X120 reset: [from 120 volts, U.S. wall current] n. To cycle power on
X   a machine in order to reset or unjam it.  Compare {Big Red
X   Switch}, {power cycle}.
X2: infix. In translation software written by hackers, infix 2 often
X   represents the syllable *to* with the connotation
X   `translate to'; as in dvi2ps (DVI to PostScript), int2string
X   (integer to string) and texi2roff (Texinfo to [nt]roff).
X@-party: /at'par`tee/ [from the @-sign in an Internet address] n.
X   (also `@-sign party' /at'sien par`tee/) Semi-closed parties thrown
X   at science-fiction conventions (esp. the annual Worldcon) for
X   hackers; one must have a {network address} to get in, or at least
X   be in company with someone who does.  One of the most reliable
X   opportunities for hackers to meet face to face with people who
X   might otherwise be represented by mere phosphor dots on their
X   screens.  Compare {boink}.
X@Begin: [written only; primarily CMU] n. Equivalent of {\begin}
X   in the Scribe text formatting language; used as an idiom by Scribe
X   users.
X\begin: [written only, from the LaTeX command] With \end, used
X   humorously in writing to indicate a context or to remark on the
X   surrounded text.  For example:
X     \begin{flame}
X     Predicate logic is the only good programming language.
X     Anyone who would use anything else is an idiot.  Also,
X     computers should be tredecimal instead of binary.
X     \end{flame}
X   The Scribe users at CMU and elsewhere used to use @Begin/@End in
X   an identical way.  On USENET, this construct would more frequently
X   be rendered as "<FLAME ON>" and "<FLAME OFF>".
X= A =
X=====
Xabbrev: /@'breev/, /@'brev/ n. Common abbreviation for
X   `abbreviation'.
Xabend: [ABnormal End] /ab'end/ n. Abnormal termination (of
X   software); {crash}; {lossage}.  Derives from an error message
X   on the IBM 360; used jokingly by hackers but seriously mainly by
X   {code grinder}s.
Xaccumulator: n. Archaic term for a register.  Cited here because
X   on-line use of it is a fairly reliable indication that the user has
X   been around for quite a while and/or that the architecture under
X   discussion is quite old.  The term in full is almost never used of
X   microprocessor registers, for example, though symbolic names for
X   arithmetic registers beginning in `A' derive from historical use of
X   `accumulator' (and not, actually, from `arithmetic'!).
X   Confusingly, though, an `a' register name prefix may also stand for
X   `address', as for example on the Motorola 680x0 family.
XACK: /ak/ interj. 1. [from the ASCII mnemonic for #b0000110]
X   Acknowledge.  Used to register one's presence (compare mainstream
X   *Yo!*).  An appropriate response to {ping} or {ENQ}.  2.
X   [prob. from the Bloom County comic strip] An exclamation of
X   surprised disgust, esp. in "Oop ack!".  Semi-humorous.
X   Generally this sense is distinguished by a following exclamation
X   point.  3. Used to politely interrupt someone to tell them you
X   understand their point.  See {NAK}.  Thus, for example, you might
X   cut off an overly long explanation with "Ack.  Ack.  Ack.  I get
X   it now".  See also {NAK}.
X   There is also a usage "ACK?" (from sense #1) meaning "Are you
X   there?", often used in email when earlier mail has produced no
X   reply, or during a lull in {talk mode} to see if the person has
X   gone away (the standard humorous response is of course {NAK}
X   (sense #2), i.e., "I'm not here").
Xad-hockery: /ad-hok'@r-ee/ [Purdue] n. 1. Gratuitous assumptions
X   made inside certain programs, esp. expert systems, which lead to
X   the appearance of semi-intelligent behavior, but are in fact
X   entirely arbitrary.  2. Special-case code to cope with some awkward
X   input which would otherwise cause a program to {choke}, presuming
X   normal inputs are dealt with in some cleaner and more regular way.
X   Also called `ad-hackery'.
XAda:: n. A {{Pascal}}-descended language that has been made
X   mandatory for Department of Defense software projects by the
X   Pentagon.  Hackers are nearly unanimous in observing that,
X   technically, it is precisely what one might expect given that kind
X   of endorsement by fiat; designed by committee, crockish, difficult
X   to use, and overall a disastrous, multi-billion-dollar boondoggle;
X   one common description is "The PL/1 of the 1980s".  Hackers find
X   Ada's exception-handling and inter-process communication features
X   particularly hilarious.  Ada Lovelace (the daughter of Lord Byron
X   who became the world's first programmer while cooperating with
X   Babbage on the design of his mechanical computing engines in the
X   mid-1800s) would almost certainly blanch at the use her name has
X   been latterly put to; the kindest thing that has been said about it
X   it is that there is probably a good small language screaming to get
X   out from inside its vast, {elephantine} bulk.
Xadger: /adj'r/ [UCLA] vt. To make a bonehead move with consequences
X   that could have been foreseen with a slight amount of mental
X   effort.  E.g., "He started removing files and promptly adgered the
X   whole project."  Compare {dumbass attack}.
Xadmin: /ad-min'/ n. Short for `administrator'; very commonly used
X   in speech or on-line to refer to the systems person in charge on a
X   computer.  Common constructions on this include `sysadmin' and
X   `site admin' (emphasizing the administrator's role as a site
X   contact for email and news) or `newsadmin' (focusing on the
X   latter).  Compare {postmaster}, {sysop}, {system mangler}.
XADVENT: /ad'vent/ n. The prototypical computer adventure game, first
X   implemented on the {PDP-10} by Will Crowther as an attempt at
X   computer-refereed fantasy gaming, and expanded into a
X   puzzle-oriented game by Don Woods.  Now better known as Adventure,
X   but the {TOPS-10} operating system only permitted 6-letter
X   filenames.  See also {vadding}.
X   This game defined the terse, dryly humorous style now expected in
X   text adventure games, and popularized several tag lines that have
X   become fixtures of hacker-speak.  "A huge green fierce snake bars
X   the way!"  "I see no X here." (for some noun X).  "You are in a
X   maze of twisty little passages, all alike."  "You are in a little
X   maze of twisty passages, all different."  The "magic words"
X   {xyzzy} and {plugh} also derive from this game.
X   Crowther, by the way, participated in the exploration of the
X   Mammoth/Flint Ridge cave system; it actually *has* a `Colossal
X   Cave' and a `Bedquilt' as in the game, and the `Y2' that also turns
X   up is cavers' jargon for a map reference to a secondary entrance.
XAI koans: pl.n. A series of pastiches of Zen teaching riddles
X   created by Danny Hillis at the MIT AI Lab around various major
X   figures of the Lab's culture.  A selection are included in Appendix
X   A.  See also {ha ha only serious} and {{Humor, Hacker}}.
XAIDS: /aydz/ n. Short for A* Infected Disk Syndrome ("A*" matches,
X   but not limited to, Apple), this condition is the quite often the
X   result of practicing unsafe {SEX}.  See {virus}, {worm}, {Trojan
X   horse}, {virgin}.
Xairplane rule: n. "Complexity increases the possibility of
X   failure; a twin-engine airplane has twice as many engine problems
X   as a single-engine airplane."  By analogy, in both software and
X   electronics, the rule that simplicity increases robustness (see
X   also {KISS Principle}).  It is correspondingly argued that the
X   right way to build reliable systems is to design to put all your
X   eggs in one basket, after making sure that you've built a
X   *really good* basket.
Xaliasing bug: n. A class of subtle programming errors which can
X   arise in code that does dynamic allocation, esp.  via
X   `malloc(3)' or equivalent.  If more than one pointer addresses
X   (`aliases for') a given hunk of storage, it may happen that the
X   storage is freed through one alias and then referenced through
X   another, leading to subtle (and possibly intermittent) lossage
X   depending on the state and the allocation history of the malloc
X   {arena}.  Avoidable by use of allocation strategies that never
X   alias allocated core.  Also avoidable by use of higher-level
X   languages such as {LISP} which employ a garbage collector (see
X   {GC}).  Also called a {stale pointer bug}.  See also
X   {precedence lossage}, {smash the stack}, {fandango on core},
X   {memory leak}, {overrun screw}, {spam}.
X   Historical note: Though this term is nowadays associated with C
X   programming, it was already in use in a very similar sense in the
X   Algol-60 and FORTRAN communities in the 1960s.
Xall-elbows: adj. Of a TSR (terminate-and-stay-resident) IBM PC
X   program, such as the N pop-up calendar and calculator utilities
X   that circulate on {BBS} systems: unsociable.  Used to describe a
X   program that rudely steals the resources that it needs without
X   considering that other TSRs may also be resident.  One particularly
X   common form of rudeness is lock-up due to programs fighting over
X   the keyboard interrupt.  See also {mess-dos}.
XALT: /awlt/ 1. n. The ALT shift key on an IBM PC or {clone}.
X   2. [possibly lowercased] n. The `Apple' or `Command' key on a
X   Macintosh; use of this term usually reveals that the speaker hacked
X   PCs before coming to the Mac (see also {command key}).  3.
X   n.obs. [PDP-10] Alternate name for the ASCII ESC character, after
X   the keycap labeling on some older terminals.  Also `ALTMODE'.
X   This character was almost never pronounced "escape" on an ITS
X   system, in TECO, or under TOPS-10 --- always ALT, as in "Type ALT
X   ALT to end a TECO command" or "ALT U onto the system" (for "log
X   onto the [ITS] system").  This was probably because ALT is more
X   convenient to say than "escape", especially when followed by
X   another ALT or a character (or another ALT *and* a character,
X   for that matter!).
Xalt bit: /awlt bit/ [from alternate] adj. See {meta bit}.
XAluminum Book: [MIT] n. `Common Lisp: The Language', by Guy L.
X   Steele Jr., Digital Press, first edition, 1984, second edition
X   1990.  Strictly speaking, only the first edition is the aluminum
X   book, since the second edition has a yucky pale green cover.  See
X   also {{book titles}}.
Xamoeba: /@-mee'b@/ n. Humorous term for the Commodore Amiga
X   personal computer.
Xamp off: [Purdue] vt. To run in {background}.  From the UNIX shell `&'
X   operator.
Xangle brackets: n. Either of the characters `<' and `>'
X   (ASCII less-than or greater-than signs).  The {Real World} angle
X   brackets used by typographers are actually taller than a less-than
X   or greater-than sign.
X   See {broket}, {{ASCII}}.
XAOS: 1. /aws/ (East coast), /ay-os/ (West coast) [based on a PDP-10
X   increment instruction] vt.,obs. To increase the amount of
X   something.  "Aos the campfire."  Usage: considered silly, and now
X   obsolete.  See {SOS}.  Now largely supplanted by {bump}.  2. A
X   crufty {Multics}-derived OS supported at one time by Data
X   General.  This was pronounced /ay-oh-ess/ or /ay-os/, the latter
X   being prevalent internally at DG.  A spoof of the standard AOS
X   system administrator's manual (`How to load and generate your
X   AOS system') was created, issued a part number, and allegedly
X   released.  It was called `How to goad and levitate your chaos
X   system'.
X   Historical note: AOS in sense #1 was the name of a {PDP-10}
X   instruction that took any memory location in the computer and added
X   one to it; AOS meant `Add One and do not Skip'.  Why, you may
X   ask, does the `S' stand for `do not Skip' rather than for
X   `Skip'?  Ah, here was a beloved piece of PDP-10 folklore.  There
X   were eight such instructions: AOSE added one and then skipped the
X   next instruction if the result was Equal to zero; AOSG added one
X   and then skipped if the result was Greater than zero; AOSN added
X   one and then skipped if the result was Not zero; AOSA added one and
X   then skipped Always; and so on.  Just plain AOS didn't say when to
X   skip, so it never skipped.  For similar reasons, AOJ meant `Add
X   One and do not Jump'.  Even more bizarre, SKIP meant `Do not
X   SKIP'!  If you wanted to skip the next instruction, you had to say
X   `SKIPA'.  Likewise, JUMP means `Do not JUMP'.  Such were the
X   perverse mysteries of assembler programming.
Xapp: /ap/ n. Short for `application program', as opposed to a systems
X   program.  What systems vendors are forever chasing developers to do
X   for their environments so they can sell more boxes.  Hackers tend
X   not to think of the things they themselves run as apps; thus, in
X   hacker parlance the term excludes compilers, program editors,
X   games, and messaging systems, though a user would consider all
X   those apps.  Oppose {tool}, {operating system}.
Xarc: [primarily MSDOS] vt. To create a compressed archive from a
X   group of files using the SEA ARC, PKWare PKARC, or compatible
X   program.  Rapidly becoming obsolete as the ARC compression method
X   is falling into disuse, having been replaced by newer compression
X   techniques.  See {tar and feather}, {zip}.
Xarc wars: [primarily MSDOS] n. {holy wars} over which archiving
X   program one should use.  The first arc war was sparked when System
X   Enhancement Associates (SEA) sued PKWare for copyright and
X   trademark infringement on its ARC program.  PKWare's PKARC
X   outperformed ARC on both compression and speed while largely
X   retaining compatibility (it introduced a new compression type which
X   could be disabled for backward-compatibility).  PKWare settled out
X   of court to avoid enormous legal costs (both SEA and PKWare are
X   small companies); as part of the settlement, the name of PKARC was
X   changed to PKPAK.  The public backlash against SEA for bringing
X   suit helped to hasten the demise of ARC as a standard when PKWare
X   and others introduced new, incompatible archivers with better
X   compression algorithms.
Xarena: [UNIX] n. The area of memory attached to a process by
X   `brk(2)' and `sbrk(2)' and used by `malloc(3)' as
X   dynamic storage.  So named from a semi-mythical `malloc:
X   corrupt arena' message supposedly emitted when some early versions
X   became terminally confused.  See {overrun screw}, {aliasing
X   bug}, {memory leak}, {smash the stack}.
Xarg: /arg/ n. Abbreviation for `argument' (to a function), used so
X   often as to have become a new word (like `piano' from
X   `pianoforte').  "The sine function takes one arg, but the
X   arc-tangent function can take either one or two args".  Compare
X   {param}, {parm}, {var}.
Xarmor-plated: n. Syn. for {bulletproof}.
Xasbestos: adj. Used as a modifier to anything intended to protect
X   one from {flame}s.  Important cases of this include {asbestos
X   longjohns} and {asbestos cork award}, but it is used more
X   generally.
Xasbestos cork award: n.  Once, long ago at MIT, there was a {flamer}
X   so consistently obnoxious that another hacker designed, had made,
X   and distributed posters announcing that said flamer had been
X   nominated for the `asbestos cork award'.  Persons in any doubt as
X   to the intended application of the cork should consult the
X   etymology under {flame}.  Since then, it is agreed that only a
X   select few have risen to the heights of bombast required to earn
X   this dubious dignity --- but there's no agreement on *which*
X   few.
Xasbestos longjohns: n. Notional garments often donned by {USENET}
X   posters just before emitting a remark they expect will elicit
X   {flamage}.  Also `asbestos underwear', `asbestos overcoat',
X   etc.
XASCII:: [American Standard Code for Information Interchange]
X   /as'kee/ n. The predominant character set encoding of present-day
X   computers.  Uses 7 bits for each character, whereas most earlier
X   codes (including one version of ASCII) used fewer.  This change
X   allowed the inclusion of lowercase letters, a major {win} --- but
X   it did not provide for accented letters or any other letterforms
X   not used in English (such as the German esszett and the ae-ligature
X   used in Norwegian and some other languages).  It could be worse,
X   though.  It could be much worse.  See {{EBCDIC}} to understand how.
X   Common jargon names for ASCII characters are collected here.  See
X   individual entries for {bang}, {excl}, {open}, {ques},
X   {semi}, {shriek}, {splat}, {twiddle}, {what}, and {Yu-Shiang
X   Whole Fish}.  This list derives from revision 2.2 of the USENET
X   ASCII pronunciation guide.  Single characters are listed in ASCII
X   order; character pairs are sorted in by first member.  For each
X   character, common names are given in rough order of popularity
X   followed by names which are reported but rarely seen; official
X   ANSI/CCITT names are parenthesized.  Square brackets mark
X   the particularly silly names introduced by {INTERCAL}.
X     `!'
X          Common: {bang}, pling, excl, shriek, (exclamation mark).
X          Rare: factorial, exclam, smash, cuss, boing, yell, wow, hey,
X          wham, [spot-spark], soldier.
X     `"'
X          Common: double quote, quote.  Rare: literal mark,
X          double-glitch, (quotation marks), (dieresis), dirk,
X          [rabbit-ears].
X     `#'
X          Common: (number sign), pound, pound sign, hash, sharp,
X          {crunch}, hex, [mesh], octothorpe.  Rare: flash, crosshatch,
X          grid, pig-pen, tictactoe, scratchmark, thud, {splat}.
X     `$'
X          Common: dollar, (dollar sign).  Rare: currency symbol, buck,
X          cash, string (from BASIC), escape (from {TOPS-10}), ding,
X          cache, [big money].
X     `%'
X          Common: percent, (percent sign), mod, grapes.  Rare:
X          [double-oh-seven].
X     `&'
X          Common: (ampersand), amper, and.  Rare: address (from C),
X          reference (from C++), andpersand, bitand, background (from
X          `sh(1)'), pretzel, amp. [INTERCAL called this `ampersand';
X          what could be sillier?]
X     `''
X          Common: single quote, quote, (apostrophe).  Rare: prime,
X          glitch, tick, irk, pop, [spark], (closing single quotation
X          mark), (acute accent).
X     `()'
X          Common: left/right paren, left/right parenthesis, left/right,
X          paren/thesis, open/close paren, open/close, open/close
X          parenthesis, left/right banana.  Rare: lparen/rparen,
X          so/already, [wax/wane], (opening/closing parenthesis),
X          left/right ear, parenthisey/unparenthisey, open/close round
X          bracket.
X     `*'
X          Common: star, {splat}, (asterisk).  Rare: wildcard, gear,
X          dingle, mult, spider, aster, times, twinkle, glob (see
X          {glob}), {Nathan Hale}.  [INTERCAL called this `splat']
X     `+'
X          Common: (plus), add.  Rare: cross, [intersection].
X     `,'
X          Common: (comma).  Rare: (cedilla), [tail].
X     `-'
X          Common: dash, (hyphen), (minus).  Rare: [worm], option, dak,
X          bithorpe.
X     `.'
X          Common: dot, point, (period), (decimal point).  Rare: radix
X          point, full stop, [spot].
X     `/'
X          Common: slash, stroke, (slant), forward slash.  Rare:
X          diagonal, solidus, over, slak, virgule, [slat].
X     `:'
X          Common: (colon).  Rare: [two-spot].
X     `;'
X          Common: (semicolon), semi.  Rare: weenie, [hybrid].
X     `<>'
X          Common: (less/greater than), left/right angle bracket,
X          bra/ket, left/right broket.  Rare: from/{into,towards}, read
X          from/write to, suck/blow, comes-from/gozinta, in/out,
X          crunch/zap (all from UNIX), [angle/right angle].
X     `='
X          Common: (equals), gets.  Rare: quadrathorpe, [half-mesh].
X     `?'
X          Common: query, (question mark), {ques}.  Rare: whatmark,
X          [what], wildchar, huh, hook, buttonhook, hunchback.
X     `@'
X          Common: at sign, at, strudel.  Rare: each, vortex, whorl,
X          [whirlpool], cyclone, snail, ape, cat, rose, cabbage,
X          (commercial at).
X     `V'
X          Rare: vee, [book].
X     `[]'
X          Common: left/right square bracket, (opening/closing bracket),
X          bracket/unbracket, left/right bracket.  Rare: square/unsquare,
X          [U turn/U turn back].
X     `\'
X          Common: backslash, escape (from C/UNIX), reverse slash, slosh,
X          backslant.  Rare: bash, backwhack, (reverse slant), reversed
X          virgule, [backslat].
X     `^'
X          Common: hat, control, uparrow, caret, (circumflex).  Rare:
X          chevron, [shark (or shark-fin)], to the (`to the power of'),
X          fang.
X     `_'
X          Common: (underline), underscore, underbar, under.  Rare:
X          score, backarrow (from the ASCII-1963 graphic), [flatworm].
X     ``'
X          Common: backquote, left quote, left single quote, open quote,
X          (grave accent), grave.  Rare: backprime, [backspark],
X          unapostrophe, birk, blugle, back tick, back glitch, push,
X          (opening single quotation mark), quasiquote.
X     `{}'
X          Common: open/close brace, left/right brace, left/right
X          squiggly, left/right squiggly bracket/brace, left/right curly
X          bracket/brace, (opening/closing brace).  Rare: brace/unbrace,
X          left/right squirrelly, curly/uncurly, leftit/rytit,
X          [embrace/bracelet].
X     `|'
X          Common: bar, or, or-bar, v-bar, pipe.  Rare: vertical bar,
X          (vertical line), gozinta, thru, pipesinta (last three ones
X          from UNIX), [spike].
X     `~'
X          Common: (tilde), squiggle, {twiddle}, not.  Rare: approx,
X          wiggle, swung dash, enyay, [sqiggle (sic)].
X   The pronunciation of `#' as `pound' is common in the U.S. but
X   a bad idea; {{Commonwealth Hackish}} has its own rather more apposite
X   use of `pound sign' (confusingly, on British keyboards the pound
X   graphic happens to replace `#'; thus Britishers sometimes call `#'
X   on a US-ASCII keyboard `pound', compounding the American error).
X   The U.S. usage derives from an old-fashioned commercial practice of
X   using a `#' suffix to tag pound weights on bills of lading.
X   The character is usually pronounced `hash' outside the U.S.
X   Also note that the `swung dash' or `approximation' sign is not
X   quite the same as tilde in typeset material
X   but the ASCII tilde serves for both (compare {angle
X   brackets}).
X   Some other common usages cause odd overlaps.  The `#',
X   `$', `>', and `&' chars, for example, are all
X   pronounced "hex" in different communities because various
X   assemblers use them as a prefix tag for hexadecimal constants (in
X   particular, `$' in the 6502 world, `>' at Texas
X   Instruments, and `&' on the Sinclair and some other Z80
X   machines).
X   The inability of ASCII text to correctly represent any of the
X   world's other major languages makes the designers' choice of 7 bits
X   look more and more like a serious {misfeature} as the use of
X   international networks continues to increase (See {software
X   rot}).  The assumption, which continues to be embedded in hardware
X   and software from the US, that ASCII is the *universal*
X   character set, is a now a major irritant to people who want to use
X   a character set suited to their own language.
Xattoparsec: n. `atto-' is the official SI prefix for
X   multiplication by 10 ^ -18, a parsec (parallax-second) is 3.26
X   light-years; an attoparsec is thus 3.26e-18 light years, or about
X   3.1 cm (thus, 1 attoparsec/{microfortnight} equals about 1
X   inch/sec).  This unit is reported to be in use (though probably not
X   very seriously) among hackers in Great Britain.  See {micro-}
Xautobogotiphobia: /aw'to-boh-got'@-foh`bee-uh/ n. See {bogotify}.
Xautomagically: /aw-toh-maj'i-klee/ or /aw-toh-maj'i-k@l-ee/ adv.
X   Automatically, but in a way which, for some reason (typically
X   because it is too complicated, or too ugly, or perhaps even too
X   trivial), the speaker doesn't feel like explaining to you.  See
X   {magic}.  "The C-INTERCAL compiler generates C, then automagically
X   invokes `cc(1)' to produce an executable."
Xawk: 1. n. [UNIX techspeak] An interpreted language developed by
X   Aho, Weinberg, and Kernighan (the name is from their initials).  It
X   is characterized by: C-like syntax, a BASIC-like approach to
X   variable typing and declarations, associative arrays, and
X   field-oriented text processing.  See also {Perl}.  2. n.
X   Editing term for an expression awkward to manipulate through normal
X   regular expression facilities.  3. vt. To process data using
X   `awk(1)'.
X= B =
X=====
Xback door: n. A hole in the security of a system deliberately left in
X   place by designers or maintainers.  The motivation for this is not
X   always sinister; some operating systems, for example, come out of
X   the box with privileged accounts intended for use by field service
X   or the vendor's maintenance programmers.
X   Historically, back doors have often lurked in systems longer than
X   anyone expected or planned, and a few have become widely known.
X   The infamous RTM worm of late 1988, for example, used a back door
X   in the {BSD} UNIX `sendmail(8)' utility.
X   Ken Thompson's 1983 Turing Award lecture to the ACM revealed the
X   existence of a back door in early UNIX versions that may have
X   qualified as the most fiendishly clever security hack of all time.
X   The binaries of the C compiler had code in them which would
X   automatically patch itself into the output executable whenever the
X   compiler itself was being recompiled, and also patch the
X   `login' command, when *it* was being recompiled, to
X   accept a password that gave Thompson entry to the computer whether
X   or not an account had been created for him!  Thompson describes
X   this hack as a {Trojan horse}.  This talk was published as
X   `Reflections on Trusting Trust', Communications of the ACM
X   27,8 (August 1984) pp. 761-763.  Although Thompson didn't say
X   whether the hacked version ever made it off site, it is commonly
X   believed that this back door was in fact propagated through
X   hundreds of machines without any clue to it ever showing up in
X   source.
X   Syn. {trap door}; may also be called a `wormhole'.  See also
X   {iron box}, {cracker}, {worm}, {logic bomb}.
Xbackbone cabal: n. A group of large-site administrators who pushed
X   through the {Great Renaming} and reined in the chaos of {USENET}
X   during most of the 1980s.  The cabal {mailing list} disbanded in late
X   1988 after a bitter internal catfight, but the net hardly noticed.
Xbackbone site: n. A key USENET and email site; one which processes
X   a large amount of third-party traffic, especially if it's the home
X   site of any of the regional coordinators for the USENET maps.
X   Notable backbone sites as of early 1991 include `uunet' and the
X   mail machines at Rutgers University, UC Berkeley, DEC's Western
X   Research Laboratories, Ohio State University, and the University of
X   Texas.  Compare {rib site}, {leaf site}.
Xbackgammon:: See {bignum}, {moby}, and {pseudoprime}.
Xbackground: n.,adj. 1. [techspeak] A task running in background
X   is detached from the terminal where it was started (and often
X   running at a lower priority); oppose {foreground}.  Nowadays this
X   term is primarily associated with {UNIX}, but it appears first to
X   have been used in this sense on OS/360.  2. By extension, to do a
X   task `in background' is to do it whenever {foreground}
X   matters are not claiming your undivided attention, and `to
X   background' something means to relegate it to a lower priority.
X   Note that this implies ongoing activity but at a reduced level or
X   in spare time, in contrast to mainstream `back burner' which
X   connotes benign neglect until some future resumption of activity.
X   Some people prefer to use the term for processing that they've
X   queued up for their unconscious minds (a tack that one can often
X   fruitfully take when encountering an obstacle in creative work).
X   Compare {amp off}, {slopsucker}.
Xbackspace and overstrike: interj. Whoa!  Back up.  Used to suggest
X   that someone just said or did something wrong.  Common among
X   APL programmers.
Xbackward combatability: /bak'w@rd k@m-bat'@-bil'@-tee/ [corruption
X   of "backward compatibility"] adj. A property pertaining to
X   hardware or software in which all previous protocols, formats, and
X   layouts are discarded in favor of the `new and improved'
X   protocols, formats, and layouts.  Occurs usually when making the
X   transition between major releases.  When the change is so drastic
X   that the old formats are not retained in the new version, it is
X   said to be `backward combatable'.  See {flag day}.
XBAD: [IBM; acronym, Broken As Designed] adj.  Said of a program
X   which is {bogus} due to bad design and misfeatures rather than
X   due to bugginess.  See {working as designed}.
XBad Thing: [from the 1962 Sellars & Yeatman parody `1066 and
X   All That'] n. Something which can't possibly result in improvement
X   of the subject.  This term is always capitalized, as in "Replacing
X   all of the 9600 baud modems with bicycle couriers would be a Bad
X   Thing."  Oppose {Good Thing}.  British correspondents confirm
X   that {Bad Thing} and {Good Thing} (and prob. therefore {Right
X   Thing} and {Wrong Thing}) come from the book referenced in the
X   etymology, which discusses rulers who were Good Kings, but Bad
X   Things.  This has apparently created a mainstream idiom on the
X   British side of the pond.
Xbagbiter: /bag'biet-@r/ n.  1. Something, such as a program or a
X   computer, that fails to work, or works in a remarkably clumsy
X   manner.  Example: "This text editor won't let me make a file with
X   a line longer than 80 characters!  What a bagbiter!"  2. A person
X   who has caused you some trouble, inadvertently or otherwise,
X   typically by failing to program the computer properly.  Synonyms:
X   {loser}, {cretin}, {chomper}.  3. adj. `bagbiting'
X   Having the quality of a bagbiter.  "This bagbiting system won't
X   let me compute the factorial of a negative number."  Compare
X   {losing}, {cretinous}, {bletcherous}, `barfucious' (under
X   {barfulous}) and `chomping' (under {chomp}).  4. `bite
X   the bag' vi. To fail in some manner.  "The computer keeps crashing
X   every five minutes."  "Yes, the disk controller is really biting
X   the bag."  The original loading of these terms was almost
X   undoubtedly obscene, possibly referring to the scrotum, but in
X   their current usage they have become almost completely sanitized.
Xbamf: /bamf/ 1. [from old X-Men comics] interj. Notional sound made
X   by a person or object teleporting in or out of the hearer's
X   vicinity.  Often used in {virtual reality} (esp. {MUD})
X   electronic fora when a character wishes to make a dramatic entrance
X   or exit.  2. The sound of magical transformation, used in virtual
X   reality fora like sense #1.  3. [from `Don Washington's
X   Survival Guide'] n. Acronym for `Bad-Ass Mother Fucker', used to
X   refer to one of the handful of nastiest monsters on an LPMUD or
X   similar MUD.
Xbanana label: n. The labels often used on the sides of {macrotape}
X   reels, so called because they're shaped roughly like blunt-ended
X   bananas.  This term, like macrotapes themselves, is still current
X   but visibly headed for obsolescence.
Xbanana problem: n. [from the story of the little girl who said "I
X   know how to spell `banana', but I don't know when to stop"].  Not
X   knowing where or when to bring a production to a close (compare
X   {fencepost error}).  One may say there is a banana problem of an
X   algorithm with poorly defined or incorrect termination conditions,
X   or in discussing the evolution of a design that may be succumbing
X   to featuritis (see also {creeping elegance}, {creeping
X   featuritis}).  See also item 176 under {HAKMEM}.
Xbandwidth: n. 1. Used by hackers in a generalization of its technical
X   meaning as the volume of information per unit time that a computer,
X   person or transmission medium can handle.  "Those are amazing
X   graphics but I missed some of the detail --- not enough bandwidth,
X   I guess."  2. Attention span.  3. On {USENET}, a measure of
X   network capacity that is often wasted by people complaining about
X   how network news items posted by others are a waste of bandwidth.
Xbang: 1. n. Common spoken name for `!' (ASCII #b0100001),
X   especially when used in pronouncing a {bang path} in spoken
X   hackish.  In elder days this was considered a CMUish usage, with
X   MIT and Stanford hackers preferring {excl} or {shriek}; but the
X   spread of UNIX has carried {bang} with it (esp. via the term
X   {bang path}) and it is now certainly the most common spoken name
X   for `!'.  Note that it is used exclusively for non-emphatic
X   written `!'; one would not say "Congratulations bang"
X   (except possibly for humorous purposes), but if one wanted to
X   specify the exact characters `FOO!', one would speak "Eff oh oh
X   bang".  See {shriek}, {{ASCII}}.  2. interj. An exclamation
X   signifying roughly "I have achieved enlightenment!", or "The
X   dynamite has cleared out my brain!".  Often used to acknowledge
X   that one has perpetrated a {thinko} immediately after one has
X   been called on it.
Xbang path: n. An old-style UUCP electronic-mail address specifying
X   hops to get from some assumed-reachable location to the addressee,
X   so called because each {hop} is signified by a {bang} sign.  Thus
X   the path `...!bigsite!foovax!barbox!me' directs correspondents
X   to route their mail to machine `bigsite' (presumably a well-known
X   location accessible to everybody) and from there through the
X   machine `foovax' to the account of user `me' on `barbox'.
X   In the bad old days of not so long ago, before autorouting mailers
X   became commonplace, people often published compound bang addresses
X   using the { } convention (see {glob}) to give paths from
X   *several* big machines, in the hopes that one's correspondent
X   might be able to get mail to one of them reliably (example:
X   ...!{seismo, ut-sally, gatech}!rice!beta!gamma!me).  Bang paths
X   of 8 to ten hops were not uncommon in 1981.  Late night dial-up
X   uucp links would cause week-long transmission times.  Bang paths
X   were often selected by both transmission time and reliability, as
X   messages would often get lost.  See {{Internet address}},
X   {network, the}, and {sitename}.
Xbanner: n. 1. The title page added to printouts by most print
X   spoolers see {spool}.  Typically includes user or account ID
X   information in very large character-graphics capitals.  2. A
X   similar printout generated (typically on multiple pages of fan-fold
X   paper) from user-specified text, e.g. by a program such as UNIX's
X   `banner([16])'.  3. On interactive software, a first screen
X   containing a logo and/or author credits and/or copyright notice.
Xbar: /bar/ n. 1. The second metasyntactic variable, after {foo}
X   and before {baz}.  "Suppose we have two functions FOO and BAR.
X   FOO calls BAR...."  2. Often appended to {foo} to produce
X   {foobar}.
Xbare metal: n. 1. New computer hardware, unadorned with such
X   snares and delusions as an {operating system}, {HLL}, or even
X   assembler.  Commonly in the phrase `programming on the bare metal',
X   which refers to the arduous work of {bit bashing} needed to
X   create these basic tools for a new machine.  Real bare-metal
X   programming involves things like building boot proms and BIOS
X   chips, implementing basic monitors used to test device drivers, and
X   writing the assemblers that will be used to write the compiler back
X   ends that will give the new machine a real development environment.
X   2. The same phrase is also used to describe a style of
X   {hand-hacking} that relies on bit-level peculiarities of a
X   particular hardware design, esp. tricks for speed and space
X   optimization that rely on crocks such as overlapping instructions
X   (or, as in the famous case described in Appendix A, interleaving of
X   opcodes on a magnetic drum to minimize fetch delays due to the
X   device's rotational latency).  This sort of thing has become less
X   common as the relative costs of programming time and machine
X   resources have changed, but is still found in heavily constrained
X   environments like industrial embedded systems.  See {real
X   programmer}.
X   In the personal computing world, bare metal programming (especially
X   in sense #1 but sometimes also in sense #2) is often considered a
X   {Good Thing}, or at least a necessary thing (because these
X   machines have frequently been sufficiently slow and poorly designed
X   to make it necessary; see {ill-behaved}).  There, the term
X   usually refers to bypassing the BIOS or OS interface and writing
X   the application to directly access device registers and machine
X   addresses.  "To get 19.2 on the serial port, you need to get down
X   to the bare metal."  People who can do this sort of thing held in
X   high regard.
Xbarf: /barf/ [from mainstream slang meaning `vomit'] 1. interj.
X   Term of disgust.  This is the closest hackish equivalent of the
X   Valspeak `gag me with a spoon' (Like, euwww!).  See {bletch}.  2.
X   To say "Barf!" or emit some similar expression of disgust. "I
X   showed him my latest hack and he barfed" means only that he
X   complained about it, not that he literally vomited.  3. vi. To fail
X   to work because of unacceptable input.  May mean to give an error
X   message.  Examples: "The division operation barfs if you try to
X   divide by zero."  (that is, division by zero fails in some
X   unspecified spectacular way) "The text editor barfs if you try to
X   read in a new file before writing out the old one."  See
X   {choke}, {gag}.  Note that in Commonwealth hackish, `barf' is
X   generally replaced by `puke' or `vom'.  {barf} is sometimes also
X   used as a metasyntactic variable like {foo} or {bar}.
Xbarfulation: interj. Variation of {barf} used around the Stanford
X   area.  An exclamation, expressing disgust.  On seeing some
X   particularly bad code one might exclaim, "Barfulation!  Who wrote
X   this, Quux?"
Xbarfulous: adj. (also `barfucious') Said of something which would
X   make anyone barf, if only for esthetic reasons.
Xbaroque: adj. Feature-encrusted; complex; gaudy; verging on
X   excessive.  Said of hardware or (esp.) software designs, this has
X   many of the connotations of {elephantine} or {monstrosity} but is
X   less extreme and not pejorative in itself.  See also {rococo}.
XBartleMUD: /bar'tl-muhd/ n. Any of the MUDs which are derived from
X   the original MUD game (see {MUD}) or use the same software
X   drivers.  BartleMUDs are noted for their (usually slightly offbeat)
X   humor, dry but friendly syntax, and lack of adjectives in object
X   descriptions, so a player is likely to come across `brand172', for
X   instance (see {brand brand brand}).  Some mudders intensely
X   dislike Bartle and this term, preferring to speak of `MUD-1'.
Xbatch: adj. Non-interactive.  Hackers use this somewhat more
X   loosely than the traditional technical definitions justify; in
X   particular, switches on a normally interactive program that prepare
X   it to receive non-interactive command input are often referred to
X   as `batch mode' switches.  A `batch file' is a series of
X   instructions written to be handed to an interactive program running
X   in batch mode.
Xbathtub curve: n. Common term for the curve (resembling an
X   end-to-end section of one of those claw-footed antique bathtubs)
X   that describes the expected failure rate of electronics with time:
X   initially high, dropping to near zero for most of the system's
X   lifetime, then rising again as it `tires out'.  See also {burn-in
X   period}, {infant mortality}.
Xbaud: /bawd/ [simplified from its technical meaning] n. Bits per
X   second.  Hence kilobaud or Kbaud, thousand bits per second.  The
X   technical meaning is `level transitions per second'; this coincides
X   with bps only for two-level modulation with no framing or stop
X   bits.  Hackers are generally aware of these nuances but blithely
X   ignore them.
Xbaud barf: /bawd barf/ n. The garbage one gets on the monitor when
X   using a modem connection with some protocol setting (esp. line
X   speed) incorrect, or when someone picks up a voice extension on the
X   same line, or when really bad line noise disrupts the connection.
X   Baud barf is not completely {random}, by the way; hackers with a
X   lot of serial-line experience can usually tell whether the device
X   at the other end is expecting a higher or lower speed than the
X   terminal is set to.  *Really* experienced ones can identify
X   particular speeds.
Xbaz: /baz/ [Stanford corruption of {bar}] n. 1. The third
X   metasyntactic variable, after {foo} and {bar} and before
X   {quux} (or, occasionally, `qux').  "Suppose we have three
X   functions FOO, BAR, and BAZ.  FOO calls BAR, which calls
X   BAZ...."  2. interj. A term of mild annoyance.  In this usage
X   the term is often drawn out for two or three seconds, producing an
X   effect not unlike the bleating of a sheep; /baaaaaaz/.  3.
X   Occasionally appended to {foo} to produce `foobaz'.
Xbboard: /bee'bord/ [contraction of `bulletin board'] n. 1.
X   Any electronic bulletin board; esp. used of {BBS} systems
X   running on personal micros, less frequently of a USENET
X   {newsgroup} (in fact, use of the term for a newsgroup generally
X   marks one either as a {newbie} fresh in from the BBS world or as
X   a real old-timer pedating USENET).  2. At CMU and other colleges
X   with similar facilities, refers to campus-wide electronic bulletin
X   boards.  3. The term `physical bboard' is sometimes used to
X   refer to a old-fashioned, non-electronic cork memo board.  At CMU,
X   it refers to a particular one outside the CS Lounge.
X   In either of senses 1 or 2, the term is usually prefixed by the
X   name of the intended board (`the Moonlight Casino bboard' or
X   `market bboard'); however, if the context is clear, the better-read
X   bboards may be referred to by name alone, as in [at CMU] "Don't
X   post for-sale ads on general".
XBBS: [acronym, Bulletin Board System] n. An electronic bulletin
X   board system; that is, a message database where people can log in
X   and leave broadcast messages for others grouped (typically) into
X   topic areas.  Thousands of local BBS systems are in operation
X   throughout the U.S., typically run by amateurs for fun out of their
X   homes on MS-DOS boxes with a single modem line each.  Fans of
X   USENET and Internet or the big commercial timesharing bboards like
X   CompuServe or GEnie tend to consider local BBSes the `low-rent
X   district' of the hacker culture, but they serve a valuable function
X   by knitting together lots of hackers and users in the
X   personal-micro world who would otherwise be unable to exchange code
X   at all.
Xbeam: [from Star Trek Classic's "Beam me up, Scotty!"] vt. To
X   transfer {softcopy} of a file electronically; most often in
X   combining forms such as `beam me a copy' or `beam that over to
X   his site'.  Compare {blast}, {snarf}, {BLT}.
Xbeep: n.,v. Syn. {feep}.  This term seems to be preferred among micro
X   hobbyists.
Xbeige toaster: n. A Macintosh. See {toaster}; compare
X   {Macintrash}, {maggotbox}.
Xbells and whistles: [by analogy with steam calliopes] n. Features
X   added to a program or system to make it more {flavorful} from a
X   hacker's point of view, without necessarily adding to its utility
X   for its primary function.  Distinguished from {chrome}, which is
X   intended to attract users.  "Now that we've got the basic program
X   working, let's go back and add some bells and whistles."  However,
X   no one seems to know what distinguishes a bell from a whistle.
Xbells, whistles, and gongs: n. A standard elaborated form of
X   {bells and whistles}; typically said with a pronounced and ironic
X   accent on the `gongs'.
Xbenchmark: [techspeak] n. An inaccurate measure of computer
X   performance.  "In the computer industry, there are three kinds of
X   lies: lies, damn lies, and benchmarks."  Well-known ones include
X   Whetstone, Dhrystone, the Gabriel LISP benchmarks (see
X   {gabriel}), Rhealstone (see {h}) and LINPACK.  See also
X   {machoflops}, {MIPS}.
XBerkeley Quality Software: adj. (often abbreviated `BQS') Term used
X   in a pejorative sense to refer to software which was apparently
X   created by rather spaced-out hackers late at night to solve some
X   unique problem.  It usually has nonexistent, incomplete, or
X   incorrect documentation, has been tested on at least two examples,
X   and usually core dumps when anyone else attempts to use it.  This
X   term was frequently applied to early versions of the `dbx(1)'
X   debugger.  See also {Berzerkeley}.
Xberklix: /ber'kliks/ n.,adj. [contraction of `Berkeley UNIX'] See
X   {BSD}.  Not used at Berkeley itself.  May be more common among
X   {suit}s attempting to sound like cognoscenti than among hackers,
X   who usually just say `BSD'.
Xberserking: vi. A {MUD} term meaning to gain points *only*
X   by killing other players and mobiles (non-player characters).
X   Hence a Berserker-Wizard is a player character that has achieved
X   enough points to become a wizard, but only by killing other
X   characters.  Berserking is sometimes frowned upon because of its
X   inherently antisocial nature, but some MUDs have a `berserker
X   mode' in which a player becomes *permanently* berserk, can
X   never flee out of a fight, cannot use magic, gets no score for
X   treasure, but *does* get double kill points.  "Berserker
X   wizards can seriously damage your elf!"
XBerzerkeley: [from "berserk"] /b@r-zer'klee/ [from the name of a
X   now-deceased record label] n. Humorous distortion of `Berkeley'
X   used esp. to refer to the practices or products of the {BSD} UNIX
X   hackers.  See {software bloat}, {Missed'em-five}, {Berkeley
X   Quality Software}.
Xbeta: /be't@/, /bay't@/ or (Commonwealth) /bee't@/ n. 1. In the
X   {Real World}, software often goes through two stages of testing:
X   Alpha (in-house) and Beta (out-house?).  Software is said to be
X   `in beta'.  2. Anything that is new and experimental is in
X   beta. "His girlfriend is in beta."  3. Beta software is
X   notoriously buggy, so `in beta' connotes flakiness.
X   Historical note: More formally, to beta-test is to test a
X   pre-release (potentially unreliable) version of a piece of software
X   by making it available to selected customers and users.  This term
X   derives from early 1960s terminology for product cycle checkpoints,
X   first used at IBM but later standard throughout the industry.
X   `Alpha Test' was the unit, module, or component test phase; `Beta
X   Test' was initial system test.  These themselves came from earlier
X   A- and B-tests for hardware.  The A-test was a feasibility and
X   manufacturability evaluation done before any commitment to design
X   and development.  The B-test was a demonstration that the
X   engineering model functioned as specified.  The C-test
X   (corresponding to today's beta) was the B-test performed on early
X   samples of the production design.
XBFI: n. See {brute force and ignorance}.  Also encountered in the
X   variant `BFMI', `brute force and *massive* ignorance'.
Xbible: n. 1. One of a small number of fundamental source books
X   such as {Knuth} and {K&R}.  2. The most detailed and
X   authoritative reference for a particular language, operating
X   system, or other complex software system.
XBiCapitalization: adj. The act said to have been performed on
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