Source Code 1992 March/Source_Code_CD-ROM_Walnut_Creek_March_1992.iso/usenet/altsrcs/2/2935

Internet Message Format | 1991-03-02 | 51KB

From: [e-mail] (Eric S. Raymond)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers,alt.sources,misc.misc
Subject: The Jargon File v, part 12 of 17
Message-ID: <1ZdV14#9YVCYV6gCbNO659p0Q0bw0p3=[e-mail]>
Date: 2 Mar 91 18:21:31 GMT

Submitted-by: [e-mail]
Archive-name: jargon/part12

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X   discussion offline."  Specifically used on {USENET} to suggest
X   that a discussion be taken off a public newsgroup to email.
X
Xold fart: n. Tribal elder.  A title self-assumed with remarkable
X   frequency by (esp.) USENETters who have been programming for more
X   than about twenty five years; frequently appears in {sig block}s
X   attached to Jargon File contributions of great archeological
X   significance.  This is a term of insult in second or third person
X   but pride in first person.
X
XOld Testament: n. [C programmers] The first edition of {K&R}, the
X   sacred text describing {Classic C}.
X
XONE BELL SYSTEM (IT WORKS): This was the output from the old UNIX
X   V6 `1' command.  The `1' command then did a random number roll that
X   gave it a one-in-ten chance of recursively executing itself.
X
Xone-line fix: n. Used (often sarcastically) of a change to a
X   program that is thought to be trivial or insignificant right up to
X   the moment it crashes the system.  Usually `cured' by another
X   one-line fix.  See also {I didn't change anything!}.
X
Xone-liner wars: n. Popular game among hackers who code in the
X   language APL (see {write-only language}).  The objective is to
X   see who can code the most interesting and/or useful routine in one
X   line of operators chosen from APL's exceedingly {hairy} primitive
X   set.  A similar amusement was practiced among {TECO} hackers.
X
X   Ken Iverson, the inventor of APL, once uttered the following
X   one-liner: given a number N, it produces a list of the prime
X   numbers from 1 to N!  It looks like this
X
X    (2 = 0 +.= T o.| T) / T <- iN
X
X   where `o' is the APL null character, the assignment arrow is a
X   single character, and `i' represents the APL iota.
X
Xooblick: /oo'blik/ [from Dr. Seuss's `Bartholomew and the
X   Oobleck'] n. A bizarre semi-liquid sludge made from cornstarch and
X   water.  Enjoyed among hackers who make batches during playtime at
X   parties for its amusing and extremely non-Newtonian behavior; it
X   pours and splatters, but resists rapid motion like a solid and will
X   even crack when hit by a hammer.  Often found near lasers.
X
X   Here's a field-tested ooblick recipe contributed by GLS:
X
X     1 cup cornstarch
X     1 cup baking soda
X     3/4 cup water
X     N drops of food coloring
X
X   This recipe isn't quite as non-Newtonian as a pure cornstarch
X   ooblick, but has an appropriately slimy feel.
X
Xopen: n. Abbreviation for `open (or left) parenthesis' --- used when
X   necessary to eliminate oral ambiguity.  To read aloud the LISP form
X   (DEFUN FOO (X) (PLUS X 1)) one might say: "Open defun foo, open
X   eks close, open, plus eks one, close close."
X
Xopen switch: [IBM, prob. from railroading] n. An unresolved
X   question, issue, or problem.
X
Xoperating system:: [techspeak] n. (Often abbreviated `OS') The
X   foundation software of a machine, of course; that which schedules
X   tasks, allocates storage, and presents a default interface to the
X   user between applications.  The facilities an operating system
X   provides and its general design philosophy exert an extremely
X   strong influence on programming style and the technical cultures
X   that grows up around its host machines.  Hacker folklore has been
X   shaped primarily by the UNIX, ITS, TOPS-10, TOPS-20/TWENEX, WAITS,
X   CP/M, MS-DOS, and Multics operating systems (most importantly by
X   ITS and UNIX). Each of these has its own entry, which see.
X
XOrange Book: n. The U.S. Government's standards document (Trusted
X   Computer System Evaluation Criteria, DOD standard 5200.28-STD,
X   December, 1985) characterizing secure computing architectures,
X   defining levels A1 (most secure) through D (least).  Stock UNIXes
X   are roughly C2.  See also {{book titles}}.
X
XOriental Food:: n. Hackers display an intense tropism towards
X   Oriental cuisine, especially Chinese, and especially of the spicier
X   varieties such as Szechuan and Hunan.  This phenomenon (which has
X   also been observed in subcultures which overlap heavily with
X   hackerdom, most notably science-fiction fandom) has never been
X   satisfactorily explained, but is sufficiently intense that one can
X   assume the target of a hackish dinner expedition to be the best
X   local Chinese place and be right at least 3 times out of 4. See
X   also {ravs}, {great-wall}, {stir-fried random}, {laser
X   chicken}, {Yu-Shiang Whole Fish}.  Thai, Indian, Korean, and
X   Vietnamese cuisines are also quite popular.
X
Xorphan: [UNIX] n. A process whose parent has died; one inherited by
X   `init(1)'.  Compare {zombie}.
X
Xorthogonal: [from mathematics] adj. Mutually independent; well
X   separated; sometimes, irrelevant to.  Used in a generalization of
X   its mathematical meaning to describe sets of primitives or
X   capabilities which, like a vector basis in geometry, span the
X   entire `capability space' of the system and are in some sense
X   non-overlapping or mutually independent.  For example, in
X   architectures such as the PDP-11 or VAX where all or nearly all
X   registers can be used interchangeably in any role with respect to
X   any instruction, the register set is said to be orthogonal.  Or, in
X   logic, the set of operators `not' and `or' is orthogonal,
X   but the set `nand', `or', and `not' is not (because any
X   one of these can be expressed in terms of the others).  Also used
X   in comments on human discourse: "This may be orthogonal to the
X   discussion, but...".
X
XOS: /oh ess/ 1. [Operating System] n. Acronym heavily used in email,
X   occasionally in speech. 2. n. obs. On ITS, an output spy.  See
X   Appendix A.
X
XOS/2: /oh ess too/ n. The anointed successor to MS-DOS for
X   Intel-286 and 386-based micros; proof that IBM/Microsoft couldn't
X   get it right the second time, either.  Cited here because
X   mentioning it is usually good for a cheap laugh among hackers ---
X   the design was so {baroque}, and the implementation of 1.x so
X   bad, that three years after introduction you could still count the
X   major {app}s shipping for it on the fingers of two hands --- in
X   unary.  Often called `Half-an-OS'.  On 28 January 1991, Microsoft
X   announced that it was dropping its OS/2 development to concentrate
X   on Windows, leaving the OS entirely in the hands of IBM; on 29
X   January they claimed the media had got the story wrong, but were
X   vague about how.  It looks as though OS/2 is dead.  See
X   {vaporware}, {monstrosity}, {cretinous}, {second-system
X   effect}.
X
Xout-of-band: [from telecommunications and network] adj. In
X   software, describes values of a function which are not in its
X   `natural' range of return values, but are rather signals that some
X   kind of exception has occurred.  Many C functions, for example,
X   return either a nonnegative integral value or an out-of-band -1 to
X   indicate failure.  Compare {hidden flag}.
X
Xoverflow bit: n. 1. [techspeak] On some processors, an attempt to
X   calculate a result too large for a register to hold causes a
X   particular {flag} called an {overflow bit} to be set.  2.
X   Hackers use the term of human thought too.  "Well, the {{Ada}}
X   description was {baroque} all right, but I could hack it OK until
X   they got to the exception handling...that set my overflow bit."
X
Xoverrun: n. 1. [techspeak] Term for a frequent consequence of
X   data arriving faster than it can be consumed, esp. in serial line
X   communications.  For example, at 9600 baud there is almost exactly
X   one character per millisecond, so if your {silo} can hold only
X   two characters and the machine takes longer than 2ms to get to
X   service the interrupt at least one character will be lost.  2.
X   Also applied to non-serial-I/O communications. "I forgot to pay my
X   electric bill due to mail overrun." "Sorry, I got four phone
X   calls in three minutes last night and lost your message to
X   overrun."  When {thrash}ing at tasks, the next person to make a
X   request might be told "Overrun!"  3. More loosely, may refer to
X   a {buffer overflow} not necessarily related to processing time
X   (as in {overrun screw}).
X
Xoverrun screw: [C programming] n. A variety of {fandango on core}
X   produced by scribbling past the end of an array (C has no checks
X   for this).  This is relatively benign and easy to spot if the array
X   is static; if it is auto, the result may be to {smash the stack}
X   --- often resulting in {heisenbug}s of the most diabolical
X   subtlety.  The term {overrun screw} is used esp. of scribbles
X   beyond the end of arrays allocated with `malloc(3)'; this
X   typically trashes the allocation header for the next block in the
X   {arena}, producing massive lossage within malloc and often
X   a core dump on the next operation to use `stdio(3)' or
X   `malloc(3)' itself.  See {spam}, {overrun}; see also
X   {memory leak}, {aliasing bug}, {precedence lossage},
X   {fandango on core}.
X
X= P =
X=====
X
XP.O.D.: /pee-oh-dee/ Acronym for `Piece Of Data' (as opposed to a
X   code section). Usage: pedantic and rare.  See also {pod}.
X
Xpadded cell: n. Where you put lusers so they can't hurt anything.
X   A program that limits a {luser} to a carefully restricted subset
X   of the capabilities of the host system (for example, the
X   `rsh(1)' utility on UNIX).  Note that this is different from
X   an {iron box} because it's overt and not aimed at enforcing
X   security so much as protecting others (and the luser him/herself!)
X   from the consequences of the luser's boundless naivete (see
X   {naive}).  Also `padded cell environment'.
X
Xpage in: [MIT] vi. To become aware of one's surroundings again after
X   having paged out (see {page out}).  Usually confined to the sarcastic
X   comment, "So-and-so pages in.  Film at 11."  See {film at 11}.
X
Xpage out: [MIT] vi. To become unaware of one's surroundings
X   temporarily, due to daydreaming or preoccupation.  "Can you repeat
X   that?  I paged out for a minute."  See {page in}.  Compare
X   {glitch}, {thinko}.
X
Xpain in the net: n. A {flamer}.
X
Xpaper-net: n. Hackish way of referring to the postal service,
X   analogizing it to a very slow, low-reliability network.  USENET
X   {sig block}s not uncommonly include the sender's postal address
X   next to a "Paper-Net:" header; common variants of this are
X   "Papernet" and "P-Net".  Compare {voice-net}, {snail-mail}.
X
Xparam: /p@-ram'/ n. Shorthand for `parameter'.  See also
X   {parm}; Compare {arg}, {var}.
X
Xparent message: n. See {followup}.
X
Xparity errors: pl.n. Those little lapses of attention or (in more
X   severe cases) consciousness, usually brought on by having spent all
X   night and most of the next day hacking.  "I need to go home and
X   crash; I'm starting to get a lot of parity errors."  Derives from a
X   relatively common but nearly always correctable transient error in
X   RAM hardware.
X
Xparse: [from linguistic terminology via AI research] vt. 1. To
X   determine the syntactic structure of a sentence or other utterance
X   (close to the standard English meaning).  Example: "That was the
X   one I saw you."  "I can't parse that."  2. More generally, to
X   understand or comprehend.  "It's very simple; you just kretch the
X   glims and then aos the zotz."  "I can't parse that."  3. Of
X   fish, to have to remove the bones yourself (usually at a Chinese
X   restaurant).  "I object to parsing fish" means "I don't want to
X   get a whole fish, but a sliced one is okay."  A `parsed fish'
X   has been deboned.  There is some controversy over whether
X   `unparsed' should mean `bony', or also mean `deboned'.
X
XParkinson's Law of Data: n. "Data expands to fill the space
X   available for storage"; buying more memory encourages the use of
X   more memory-intensive techniques.  It has been observed over the
X   last ten years that the memory usage of evolving systems tends to
X   double roughly once every 18 months.  Fortunately, memory density
X   available for constant dollars tends to double about once every
X   twelve months (see {Moore's Law}) but the laws of physics dictate
X   that this cannot be expected to continue indefinitely.
X
Xparm: /parm/ n. Further-compressed spoken-only form of {param};
X   the plural is `parms' /parmz/. Compare {arg}, {var}.
X
XPascal:: n. An Algol-descended language designed by Niklaus Wirth on
X   the CDC 6600 around 1967-68 as an instructional tool for elementary
X   programming.  This language, designed primarily to keep students
X   from shooting themselves in the foot and thus extremely restrictive
X   from a general-purpose-programming point of view, was later
X   promoted as a general-purpose tool and in fact became the ancestor
X   of a large family of languages including Modula-2 and Ada (see also
X   {bondage-and-discipline language}).  The hackish point of view on
X   Pascal was perhaps best summed up by a devastating (and, in its
X   deadpan way, screamingly funny) 1981 paper by Brian Kernighan (of
X   {K&R} fame) entitled `Why Pascal is Not My Favorite
X   Programming Language'.  Part of his summation is worth repeating
X   here, because its criticisms are still apposite to Pascal itself
X   after ten years of improvement and could also stand as an
X   indictment of many other bondage-and-discipline languages.  At
X   the end of a summary of the case against Pascal, he wrote:
X
X     9. There is no escape
X
X     This last point is perhaps the most important.  The language is
X     inadequate but circumscribed, because there is no way to escape its
X     limitations.  There are no casts to disable the type-checking when
X     necessary.  There is no way to replace the defective run-time
X     environment with a sensible one, unless one controls the compiler that
X     defines the "standard procedures".  The language is closed.
X
X     People who use Pascal for serious programming fall into a fatal trap.
X     Because the language is impotent, it must be extended.  But each group
X     extends Pascal in its own direction, to make it look like whatever
X     language they really want.  Extensions for separate compilation,
X     Fortran-like COMMON, string data types, internal static variables,
X     initialization, octal numbers, bit operators, etc., all add to the
X     utility of the language for one group but destroy its portability to
X     others.
X
X     I feel that it is a mistake to use Pascal for anything much beyond its
X     original target.  In its pure form, Pascal is a toy language, suitable
X     for teaching but not for real programming.
X
X   Pascal has since been almost entirely displaced (by {C}) from the
X   niches it had acquired in serious application and systems
X   programming, but retains some popularity as a hobbyist language in
X   the MS-DOS and Macintosh worlds.
X
Xpatch: 1. n. A temporary addition to a piece of code, usually as a
X   {quick and dirty} remedy to an existing bug or misfeature.  A
X   patch may or may not work, and may or may not eventually be
X   incorporated permanently into the program.  Compare {one-line
X   fix}.  2. vt. To insert a patch into a piece of code.  3. [in the
X   UNIX world] n. A {diff} (sense #2).
X
Xpath: n. 1. A {bang path}; a node-by-node specification of a
X   link between two machines.  2. [UNIX] A filename, fully specified
X   relative to the root directory (as opposed to relative to the
X   current directory; the latter is sometimes called a `relative
X   path'). This is also called a `pathname'.  3. [UNIX & MS-DOS]
X   The `search path', an environment variable specifying the
X   directories in which the {shell} (COMMAND.COM, under MS-DOS)
X   should look for commands.
X
Xpathological: [scientific computation] adj. Used of a data set
X   that is grossly atypical of the expected load, esp. one which
X   exposes a weakness or bug in whatever algorithm one is using.  An
X   algorithm that can be broken by pathological inputs may still be
X   useful if such inputs are very unlikely to occur in practice.  2.
X   When used of a test load, implies that it was purposefully
X   engineered as a worst case.  The implication in both senses is that
X   someone had to explicitly set out to break an algorithm in order to
X   come up with such a crazy example.
X
Xpayware: n. Commercial software.  Oppose {shareware} or
X   {freeware}.
X
XPBD: [abbrev. of `Programmer Brain Damage'] n. Applied to bug reports
X   revealing places where the program was obviously broken due to an
X   incompetent or short-sighted programmer.  Compare {UBD}; see also
X   {brain-damaged}.
X
XPC-ism: n. A piece of code or coding technique that takes advantage
X   of the unprotected single-tasking environment in IBM PCs and the
X   like, e.g., by busy-waiting on a hardware register, direct diddling
X   of screen memory, or using hard timing loops.  Compare
X   {ill-behaved}, {vaxism}, {unixism}.  Also, `pc-ware' n., a program
X   full of PC-isms on a machine with a more capable operating system.
X   Pejorative.
X
XPD: /pee-dee/ adj. Common abbreviation for "public domain", applied
X   to software distributed over {USENET} and from Internet archive
X   sites.  Much of this software is not in fact "public domain" in
X   the legal sense but travels under various copyrights granting
X   reproduction and use rights to anyone who can {snarf} a copy.  See
X   {copyleft}.
X
Xpdl: /pid'l/ or /puhd'l/ [acronym for Push Down List] 1. In ITS
X   days, the preferred MITism for {stack}.  2. Dave Lebling, one
X   of the co-authors of {Zork}; (his {network address} on the ITS
X   machines was at one time pdl@dms).  3. Program Design Language.
X   Any of a large class of formal and profoundly useless
X   pseudo-languages in which {management} forces one to design
X   programs.  {Management} often expects it to be maintained in
X   parallel with the code.  Used jokingly as in, "Have you finished
X   the PDL?"  See also {{flowchart}}.
X
XPDP-10: [Programmed Data Processor model 10] n. The machine that
X   made timesharing real.  Looms large in hacker folklore due to early
X   adoption in the mid-1970s by many university computing facilities and
X   research labs including the MIT AI lab, Stanford, and CMU.  Some
X   aspects of the instruction set (most notably the bit-field
X   instructions) are still considered unsurpassed.  Later editions
X   were labelled `DECsystem-10' as a way of differentiating them from
X   the PDP-11.  The '10 was eventually eclipsed by the VAX machines
X   (descendants of the PDP-11) and dropped from DEC's line in the
X   early 1980s, and in mid-1991 to have cut one's teeth on one is
X   considered something of a badge of honorable old-timerhood among
X   hackers.  See {TOPS-10}, {ITS}, {AOS}, {BLT}, {DDT},
X   {DPB}, {EXCH}, {HAKMEM}, {JFCL}, {LDB}, {pop},
X   {push}, Appendix A.
X
Xpeek: n.,vt. (and {poke}) The commands in most microcomputer
X   BASICs for directly accessing memory contents at an absolute
X   address; often extended to mean the corresponding constructs in any
X   {HLL}.  Much hacking on small, non-MMU micros consists of
X   {peek}ing around memory, more or less at random, to find the
X   location where the system keeps interesting stuff.  Long (and
X   variably accurate) lists of such addresses for various computers
X   circulate (see {{interrupt list, the}}).  The results of {poke}s
X   at these addresses may be highly useful, mildly amusing, useless
X   but neat, or (most likely) total {lossage} (see {killer poke}).
X
Xpencil and paper: n. An archaic information-storage and
X   transmission device that works by depositing smears of graphite on
X   bleached wood pulp.  More recent developments in paper-based
X   technology include improved `write-once' update devices which use
X   tiny rolling heads similar to mouse balls to deposit colored
X   pigment.  These devices require an operator skilled at so-called
X   `handwriting' technique.  These technologies are ubiquitous outside
X   hackerdom, but nearly forgotten inside it.  Most hackers had
X   terrible handwriting to begin with, and years of keyboarding tend
X   if anything to have encouraged it to degrade further.  Perhaps for
X   this reason hackers deprecate pencil and paper technology and
X   often resist using it in any but the most trivial contexts.
X
Xpeon: n. A person with no special ({root} or {wheel})
X   privileges on a computer system.  "I can't create an account on
X   foovax for you; I'm only a peon there."
X
Xpercent-s: /per-sent' ess/ [From "%s", the formatting sequence in
X   C's `printf(3)' library function used to indicate that an arbitrary
X   string may be inserted] n. An unspecified person or object.  "I
X   was just talking to some percent-s in administration."  Compare
X   {random}.
X
Xperf: /perf/ n. See {chad} (sense #1).  The term `perfory'
X   /per'f@-ree/ is also heard.
X
Xperfect programmer syndrome: n. Arrogance; the egotistical
X   conviction that one is above normal human error.  Most frequently
X   found among programmers of some native ability but relatively
X   little experience (especially new graduates; their perceptions may
X   be distorted by a history of excellent performance bashing toy
X   problems).  "Of course my program is correct, there is no need to
X   test it."  Or "Yes, I can see there may be a problem here, but
X   *I'll* never type `rm -r /' while in {root}."
X
XPerl: [Practical Extraction and Report Language, aka Pathologically
X   Eclectic Rubbish Lister] n. An interpreted language developed by
X   Larry Wall ([e-mail], author of `patch(1)' and
X   `rn(1)') and distributed over USENET.  Superficially resembles
X   `awk(1)', but is much more arcane (see {awk}).  Increasingly
X   considered one of the {languages of choice} by UNIX sysadmins,
X   who are almost always incorrigible hackers.  Perl has been
X   described, in a parody of a famous remark about `lex(1)', as
X   the `Swiss-army chainsaw' of UNIX programming.
X
Xpessimal: /pes'i-ml/ [Latin-based antonym for `optimal'] adj.
X   Maximally bad.  "This is a pessimal situation."  Also `pessimize'
X   vt. To make as bad as possible.  These words are the obvious
X   Latin-based antonyms for `optimal' and `optimize', but for some
X   reason they do not appear in most English dictionaries, although
X   `pessimize' is listed in the OED.
X
Xpessimizing compiler: /pes'i-miez-ing kuhm-pie'lr/ [antonym of
X   `optimizing compiler'] n. A compiler that produces object code that
X   is worse than the straightforward or obvious translation.  The
X   implication is that the compiler is actually trying to optimize the
X   program, but through stupidity is doing the opposite.  A few
X   pessimizing compilers have been written on purpose, however, as
X   pranks.
X
Xpeta-: /pe't@/ pref. Multiplier, 10 ^ 15 or [proposed] 2 ^ 50. See
X   {kilo-}.
X
XPETSCII: /pet'skee/ [abbreviation of PET ASCII] n. The variation
X   (many would say perversion) of the {{ASCII}} character set used by
X   the Commodore Business Machines PET series of personal computers
X   and the later Commodore C64, C16, and C128 machines.  The PETSCII
X   set used left-arrow and up-arrow (as in old-style ASCII) instead of
X   underscore and caret, placed the unshifted alphabet at positions
X   65-90, and put the shifted alphabet at positions 193-218, as well
X   as adding graphics characters.
X
Xphase: 1. n. The phase of one's waking-sleeping schedule with
X   respect to the standard 24-hour cycle.  This is a useful concept
X   among people who often work at night according to no fixed
X   schedule.  It is not uncommon to change one's phase by as much as
X   six hours/day on a regular basis.  "What's your phase?"  "I've
X   been getting in about 8 PM lately, but I'm going to {wrap around}
X   to the day schedule by Friday."  A person who is roughly 12 hours
X   out of phase is sometimes said to be in `night mode'.  (The
X   term `day mode' is also (but less frequently) used, meaning
X   you're working 9 to 5 (or more likely 10 to 6)).  The act of
X   altering one's cycle is called `changing phase'; `phase
X   shifting' has also been recently reported from Caltech.  2.
X   `change phase the hard way': to stay awake for a very long time
X   in order to get into a different phase.  3. `change phase the
X   easy way': To stay asleep etc.  However, some claim that either
X   staying awake longer or sleeping longer is easy, and that it's
X   *shortening* your day or night that's hard (see {wrap
X   around}).  The phenomenon of `jet lag' that afflicts travelers who
X   cross many time-zone boundaries may be attributed to two distinct
X   causes: the strain of travel per se, and the strain of changing
X   phase.  Hackers who suddenly find that they must change phase
X   drastically in a short period of time, particularly the hard way,
X   experience something very like jet lag without travelling.
X
Xphase of the moon: n. Used humorously as a random parameter on which
X   something is said to depend.  Sometimes implies unreliability of
X   whatever is dependent, or that reliability seems to be dependent on
X   conditions nobody has been able to determine.  "This feature
X   depends on having the channel open in mumble mode, having the foo
X   switch set, and on the phase of the moon."
X
X   True story: Once upon a time, a program written by Gerry Sussman
X   (professor of Electrical Engineering at MIT) and Guy Steele had a
X   bug that really did depend on the phase of the moon!  There is a
X   little subroutine that had traditionally been used in various
X   programs at MIT to calculate an approximation to the moon's true
X   phase; the phase is then printed out at the top of program
X   listings, for example, along with the date and time, purely for
X   {hack value}.  (Actually, since hackers spend a lot of time
X   indoors, this might be the only way they would ever know what the
X   moon's phase was!)  Steele incorporated this routine into a LISP
X   program that, when it wrote out a file, would print a `timestamp'
X   line almost 80 characters long.  Very occasionally the first line
X   of the message would be too long and would overflow onto the next
X   line, and when the file was later read back in the program would
X   {barf}.  The length of the first line depended on the precise
X   date and time when the timestamp was printed, and so the bug
X   literally depended on the phase of the moon!
X
X   The first paper edition of the Jargon File (Steele-1983) included
X   an example of this bug, but the typesetter `corrected' it.  This
X   has since been described as the phase-of-the-moon-bug bug.
X
Xphreaking: [from "phone phreak"] n. 1. The art and science of
X   cracking the phone network (so as, for example, to make free
X   long-distance calls).  2. By extension, security-cracking in any
X   other context (especially, but not exclusively, on communications
X   networks).
X
X   At one time phreaking was a semi-respectable activity among
X   hackers; there was a gentleman's agreement that phreaking as an
X   intellectual game and a form of exploration was O.K., but serious
X   theft of services was taboo.  There was significant crossover
X   between the hacker community and the hard-core phone phreaks who
X   ran semi-underground networks of their own like the legendary `TAP
X   Newsletter'.  This ethos began to break down in the mid-1980s as
X   wider dissemination of the techniques put them in the hands of less
X   responsible phreaks.  Around the same time, changes in the phone
X   network made old-style technical ingenuity less effective as a way
X   of hacking it, so phreaking came to depend more on overtly criminal
X   acts like stealing phone-card numbers.  The crimes and punishments
X   of gangs like the `414 group' turned that game very ugly.  A few
X   old-time hackers still phreak casually just to keep their hand in,
X   but most these days have hardly even heard of `blue boxes' or any
X   of the other paraphernalia of the great phreaks of yore.
X
Xpico-: [in measurement, a quantifier meaning * 10 ^ -12] pref.
X   Smaller than {nano-}; used in the same rather loose and
X   connotative way as {nano-} and {micro-}.  This usage is not yet
X   common in the way {nano-} and {micro-} are, but is instantly
X   recognizable to any hacker.  The remaining standard quantifiers are
X   `femto' (10 ^ -15) and `atto' (10 ^ -18); these,
X   interestingly, derive not from Greek but from Danish.  They have
X   not yet acquired jargon loadings, though it is easy to predict what
X   those will be once computing technology enters the required realms
X   of magnitude (however, see {attoparsec}).  See also {micro-}.
X
Xpig, run like a: adv. To run very slowly on given hardware, said of
X   software.  Distinct from {hog}.
X
Xping: /ping/ [from TCP/IP terminology, prob. originally contrived
X   to match the submariners' term for a sonar pulse.] n.,vt. 1.
X   Slang term for a small network message (ICMP ECHO) sent by a
X   computer to check for the presence and aliveness of another.
X   Occasionally used as a phone greeting.  See {ACK}, also {ENQ}.
X   2. To verify the presence of.  3. To get the attention of.
X   From the UNIX command by the same name (an acronym of `Packet
X   INternet Groper') that sends an ICMP ECHO packet to another host.
X   4. To send a message to all members of a {mailing list}
X   requesting an {ACK} (in order to verify that everybody's
X   addresses are reachable).  "We haven't heard much of anything from
X   Geoff, but he did respond with an ACK both times I pinged
X   jargon-friends."
X
X   The funniest use of `ping' to date was described in January 1991 by
X   Steve Hayman on the USENET group comp.sys.next.  He was trying to
X   isolate a faulty cable segment on a TCP/IP Ethernet hooked up to a
X   NeXT machine, and got tired of having to run back to his console
X   after each cabling tweak to see if the ping packets were getting
X   through.  So he used the sound-recording feature on the NeXT, then
X   wrote a script that repeatedly invoked ping, listened to the output,
X   and played back the recording on each returned packet.  Result?  A
X   program that caused the machine to repeat, over and over,
X   "Ping ... ping ... ping ..." as long as the network was
X   up.  He turned the volume to maximum, scurried through the building
X   with one ear cocked, and found a faulty tee connector in no time.
X
XPink-Shirt Book: `The Peter Norton Programmer's Guide to the IBM
X   PC'.  The original cover featured a picture of Peter Norton with a
X   silly smirk on his face, wearing a pink shirt.  Perhaps in
X   recognition of this usage, the current edition has a different
X   picture of Norton wearing a pink shirt.  See also {{book titles}}.
X
XPIP: /pip/ [Peripheral Interchange Program] vt.,obs. To copy, from
X   the program PIP on CP/M and RSX-11 that was used for file copying
X   (and in RSX for just about every other file operation you might
X   want to do).  Obsolete, but still occasionally heard.  It is said
X   that when the program was originated during the development of the
X   PDP-6 in 1963 it was called ATLATL (`Anything, Lord, to Anything,
X   Lord').
X
Xpipeline: [UNIX, orig. by Doug McIlroy; now also used under MS-DOS
X   and elsewhere] n. A chain of {filter} programs connected
X   `head-to-tail' so that the output of one becomes the input of the
X   next.  Under UNIX, user utilities can often be implemented or at
X   least prototyped by a suitable collection of pipelines and
X   temp-file grinding encapsulated in a shell script (this is called
X   {plumbing}); this is much less effort than writing C every time,
X   and the capability is considered one of UNIX's major winning
X   features.
X
Xpistol: [IBM] n. A tool that makes it all too easy for you to
X   shoot yourself in the foot.  "UNIX `rm *' makes such a nice
X   pistol!"
X
Xpizza box: [SUN] n. The largish thin box housing the electronics
X   in (especially SUN) desktop workstations, so named because of its
X   size and shape, and the dimpled pattern that looks like air holes.
X
Xpizza, ANSI standard: /an'see stan'd@rd peet'z@/ [CMU] Pepperoni
X   and mushroom pizza.  Coined allegedly because most pizzas ordered
X   by CMU hackers during some period leading up to mid-1990 were of
X   that flavor.  See also {rotary debugger}; compare {tea, ISO
X   standard cup of}.
X
Xplain-ASCII: Syn. {flat-ASCII}.
X
Xplan file: [UNIX] n. On systems that support {finger}, the
X   `.plan' file in a user's home directory is displayed when he or she
X   is fingered.  This feature was originally intended to be used to
X   keep potential fingerers apprised of one's near-future plans, but
X   has been turned almost universally to humorous and self-expressive
X   purposes (like a {sig block}).  See {Hacking X for Y}.
X
Xplatinum-iridium: adj. Standard, against which all others of the
X   same category are measured.  Usage: silly.  The notion is that one
X   of whatever it is has actually been cast in platinum-iridium alloy
X   and placed in the vault beside the Standard Kilogram at the
X   International Bureau of Weights and Measures near Paris.  (From
X   1889 to 1960, the meter was defined to be the distance between two
X   scratches in a platinum or platinum-iridium bar kept in the same
X   place.  Since 1960 it has been defined to be 1650763.73 wavelengths
X   of the orange-red line of krypton-86 propagating in a vacuum.  The
X   kilogram is now the only unit of measure officially defined in
X   terms of a unique artefact.)  "This garbage-collection algorithm
X   has been tested against the platinum-iridium cons cell in Paris."
X   Compare {golden}.
X
Xplaypen: [IBM] n. A room where programmers work.  Compare {salt
X   mines}.
X
Xplayte: /playt/ 16 bits, by analogy with {nybble} and {{byte}}.  Usage:
X   rare and extremely silly.  See also {dynner} and {crumb}.
X
Xplingnet: /pling'net/ n. Syn. {UUCPNET}. Also see {{Commonwealth
X   Hackish}}.
X
Xplonk: [USENET; possibly influenced by British slang `plonk' for
X   cheap booze] The sound a {newbie} makes as he falls to the bottom
X   of a {kill file}.  Almost exclusively used in the {newsgroup}
X   `talk.bizarre', this term (usually written "*plonk*") is a
X   form of public ridicule.
X
Xplugh: /ploogh/ [from the {ADVENT} game] v. See {xyzzy}.
X
Xplumbing: [UNIX] n. Term used for {shell} code, so called
X   because of the prevalence of `pipeline's that feed the output
X   of one program to the input of another.  Esp. used in the
X   construction `hairy plumbing' (see {hairy}).  "You can kluge
X   together a basic spell-checker out of `sort(1)',
X   `comm(1)', and `tr(1)' with a little plumbing."
X
XPM: /pee em/ 1. [from `preventive maintenance'] v. To bring down a
X   machine for inspection or test purposes; see {scratch monkey}.  2.
X   n. Abbrev. for `Presentation Manager', an {elephantine} OS/2
X   graphical user interface.  See also {provocative maintenance}.
X
Xpod: [allegedly from acronym POD for `Prince Of Darkness'] n. A
X   Diablo 630 (or, latterly, any impact letter-quality printer).  From
X   the DEC-10 PODTYPE program used to feed formatted text to same.
X   See also {P.O.D.}
X
Xpoke: n.,vt. See {peek}.
X
Xpoll: v.,n. 1. The action of checking the status of an input line,
X   sensor, or memory location to see if a particular external event
X   has been registered.  2. To ask.  "I'll poll everyone and see where
X   they want to go for lunch."
X
Xpolygon pusher: n. A chip designer who spends most of his/her time at
X   the physical layout level (which requires drawing *lots* of
X   multi-colored polygons).  Also `rectangle slinger'.
X
XPOM: /pee-oh-em/ n. Common acronym for {phase of the moon}.
X   Usage: usually used in the phrase `POM-dependent' which means
X   {flaky}.
X
Xpop: /pop/ [based on the stack operation that removes the top of a
X   stack, and the fact that procedure return addresses are saved on
X   the stack] (also POP, POPJ /pop-jay/) 1. vt. To remove something
X   from a {stack} or {pdl}.  If a person says he has popped
X   something from his stack, he means he has finally finished working
X   on it and can now remove it from the list of things hanging over
X   his head.  2. To return from a digression (the J-form derives
X   specifically from a {PDP-10} assembler instruction).  By verb
X   doubling, "Popj, popj" means roughly, "Now let's see, where were
X   we?"  See {RTI}.
X
Xposing: n. On a {MUD}, the use of `:' or an equivalent
X   command to announce to other players that one is taking a certain
X   physical action, which however has no effect on the game.  For
X   example, if one's character name is Firechild, one might type `:
X   begins hacking on the nearest terminal' to broadcast a message that
X   says `Firechild begins hacking on the nearest terminal'.
X
Xpost: v. To send a message to a {mailing list} or {newsgroup}.
X   Distinguished in context from `mail'; one might ask, for
X   example, "Are you going to post the patch or mail it to known
X   users?"
X
Xposting: n. Noun corresp. to v. {post} (but note that the
X   shorter word can be nouned).  Distinguished from a `letter' or
X   ordinary {email} message by the fact that it's broadcast rather
X   than point-to-point.  It is unclear whether messages sent to a
X   small mailing list are postings or email; perhaps the best dividing
X   line is that if you don't know the names of all the potential
X   recipients, it's a posting.
X
Xpostmaster: n. The email contact and maintenance person on a site
X   connected to the Internet or UUCPNET.  Often, but not always, the
X   same as the {admin}.  It is conventional for each machine to have
X   a `postmaster' alias that goes to this person.
X
Xpower cycle: vt. (also, `cycle power' or just `cycle') To
X   power off a machine and then power it on immediately, with the
X   intention of clearing some kind of {hung} or {gronk}ed state.
X   Syn. {120 reset}; see also {Big Red Switch}.  Compare {vulcan
X   nerve pinch}, {bounce}, {boot}, and see the AI Koan in Appendix
X   A about Tom Knight and the novice.
X
XPPN: /pip'n/ [from `Project-Programmer Number'] n. A user-ID under
X   {TOPS-10} and its various mutant progeny at SAIL, BBN,
X   CompuServe, and elsewhere.  Old-time hackers from the PDP-10 era
X   sometimes use this to refer to user IDs on other systems as well.
X
Xprecedence lossage: /pre's@-dens los'j/ [C programmers] n. Coding
X   error in an expression due to unexpected grouping of arithmetic or
X   logical operators by the compiler.  Used esp. of certain common
X   coding errors in C due to the nonintuitively low precedence levels
X   of `&', `|', `^', `<<', and `>>'.  Can
X   always be avoided by suitable use of parentheses.  {LISP} fans
X   enjoy pointing out that this can't happen in *their* favorite
X   language, which requires one to use explicit parentheses
X   everywhere.  See {aliasing bug}, {memory leak}, {smash the
X   stack}, {fandango on core}, {overrun screw}.
X
Xprepend: /pree`pend'/ [by analogy with `append'] vt. To prefix.
X   Like `append', but unlike `prefix' or `suffix' as a verb, the
X   direct object is always the thing being added and not the original
X   word (character string, etc).  No, this is *not* standard
X   English, yet!
X
Xpretty pictures: n. [scientific computation] The next step up from
X   {numbers}.  Interesting graphical output from a program which may
X   not have any real relationship to the reality the program is
X   intended to model.  Good for showing to {management}.
X
Xprettyprint: /prit'ee-print/ v. 1. To generate `pretty'
X   human-readable output from a {hairy} internal representation;
X   esp. used for the process of {grind}ing (sense #2) LISP code.  2.
X   To format in some particularly slick and nontrivial way.
X
Xprime time: [from TV programming] n. Normal high-usage hours on a
X   timesharing system; the day shift.  Avoidance of prime time is a
X   major reason for {night mode} hacking.
X
Xpriority interrupt: [from the hardware term] n. Describes any
X   stimulus compelling enough to yank one right out of {hack mode}.
X   Classically used to describe being dragged away by an {SO} for
X   immediate sex, but may also refer to more mundane interruptions
X   such as a fire alarm going off in the near vicinity.  Also called
X   an {NMI} (non-maskable interrupt), especially in PC-land.
X
Xprofile: [UNIX] n. 1. A control file for a program, esp. a text
X   file automatically read from each user's home directory and
X   intended to be easily modified by the user in order to customize
X   the program's behavior.  Used to avoid {hardcoded} choices.  2.
X   A report on the amounts of time spent in each routine of a program,
X   used to find and {tune} away the {hot spot}s in it.  This sense
X   is often verbed.  Some profiling modes report units other than time
X   (such as call counts) at granularities other than per-routine, but
X   the idea is similar.
X
Xprogram: 1. n. A magic spell cast over a computer allowing it to
X   turn one's input into error messages.  2. n. An exercise in
X   experimental epistemology.  3. vt. To engage in a pastime similar
X   to banging one's head against a wall, but with fewer opportunities
X   for reward.
X
XProgrammer's Cheer: "Shift to the left!  Shift to the right!  Pop
X   up, push down!  Byte!  Byte!  Byte!"  A joke so old it has hair on
X   it....
X
Xprogramming: n. In folklore, this was classically defined as "the
X   art of debugging a blank sheet of paper".  Following the rise of
X   on-line editing this should probably be recast as "The art of
X   debugging an empty source file".
X
Xpropeller head: n. Used by hackers, this is syn. with {computer
X   geek}.  Non-hackers sometimes use it to describe all techies.
X   Prob. derives from SF fandom's tradition (originally invented by
X   old-time fan Ray Faraday Nelson) of propeller beanies as fannish
X   insignia (though nobody actually wears them except as a joke).
X
Xproprietary: adj. 1. In {marketroid}-speak, superior; implies a
X   product imbued with exclusive magic by the unmatched brilliance of
X   their employer's hardware or software designers.  2. In the
X   language of hackers and users, inferior; implies a product not
X   conforming to open-systems standards, and thus one which puts the
X   customer at the mercy of a vendor able to gouge freely on service
X   and upgrade charges after the initial sale has locked the customer
X   in (that's assuming it wasn't too expensive in the first place).
X
Xprotocol: n. As used by hackers, this never refers to niceties
X   about the proper form for addressing letters to the Papal Nuncio or
X   the order in which one should use the forks in a Russian-style
X   place setting; hackers don't care about such things.  It is used
X   instead to describe any set of rules that allow different machines
X   or pieces of software to coordinate with each other without
X   ambiguity; for example, it does include niceties about the proper
X   form for addressing packets on a network or the order in which one
X   should use the forks in the Dining Philosophers Problem.  It
X   implies that there's some common message format and accepted set of
X   primitives or commands that all parties involved understand, and
X   that transactions among them follow predictable logical sequences.
X   See also {handshaking}, {do protocol}.
X
Xprovocative maintenance: [common ironic mutation of `preventive
X   maintenance'] n. Actions performed upon a machine at regularly
X   scheduled intervals to insure that the system remains in a usable
X   state.  So called because its all too frequently performed by a
X   {field servoid} who doesn't know what he is doing; this results
X   in the machine remaining in an *un*usable state for an
X   indeterminate amount of time.
X
Xprowler: [UNIX] n. A {demon} that is run periodically (typically once
X   a week) to seek out and erase core files (see {core}), truncate
X   administrative logfiles, nuke `lost+found' directories, and otherwise
X   clean up the {cruft} that tends to pile up in the corners of a file
X   system.  See also {GFR}, {reaper}, {skulker}.
X
Xpseudo: /soo'doh/ [USENET] n. 1. An electronic-mail or {USENET}
X   persona adopted by a human for amusement value or as a means of
X   avoiding negative repercussions of his/her net.behavior; a `nom de
X   USENET', often associated with forged postings designed to conceal
X   message origins.  Perhaps the best-known and funniest hoax of this
X   type is {BIFF}.  2. Notionally, a {flamage}-generating AI
X   program simulating a USENET user.  Many flamers have been accused
X   of actually being such entities, despite the fact that no AI
X   program of the required sophistication exists.  However, in 1989
X   there was a famous series of forged postings that used a
X   phrase-frequency-based travesty generator to simulate the styles of
X   several well-known flamers based on large samples of their back
X   postings (compare {Dissociated Press}).  A significant number of
X   people were fooled by these, and the debate over their authenticity
X   was only settled when the perpetrator of the hoax came publicly
X   forward to admit the deed.
X
Xpseudoprime: n. A backgammon prime (six consecutive occupied points)
X   with one point missing.  This term is an esoteric pun derived from
X   a mathematical method which, rather than determining precisely
X   whether a number is prime (has no divisors), uses a statistical
X   technique to decide whether the number is "probably" prime.  A
X   number that passes this test is called a pseudoprime.  The hacker
X   backgammon usage stems from the idea that a pseudoprime is almost as
X   good as a prime: it does the job of a prime until proven otherwise,
X   and that probably won't happen.
X
Xpseudosuit: n. A {suit} wannabee; a hacker who's decided that he
X   wants to be in management or administration and begins wearing
X   ties, sport coats, and (shudder!) suits voluntarily.  His
X   funeral....
X
Xpsychedelicware: /sie`k@-del'-ik-weir/ [Great Britain] n. Syn.
X   {display hack}.  See also {smoking clover}.
X
Xpubic directory: [NYU] n. The `pub' (public) directory on a
X   machine that allows {FTP} access; the top-level directory owned
X   by ftp.  So called because it is the default location for {SEX}
X   (sense #1).
X
Xpuff: vt. To decompress data that has been crunched by Huffman
X   coding.  At least one widely distributed Huffman decoder program
X   was actually *named* `PUFF', but these days it isn't usually
X   separate from the encoder.  Oppose {huff}.
X
Xpunched card:: alt. `punch card' [techspeak] n.obs. The
X   signature medium of computing's {Stone Age}, now obsolescent
X   outside of some IBM shops.  The punched card actually predated
X   computers considerably, originating as a control device for
X   mechanical looms.  The version patented by Hollerith and used with
X   mechanical tabulating machines in the 1890 U.S. Census was a piece
X   of cardboard about 90 mm by 215 mm, designed to fit exactly in the
X   currency trays used for that era's larger dollar bills.
X
X   IBM (which originated as a tabulating-machine manufacturer) married
X   the punched card to computers, encoding binary information as
X   patterns of small rectangular holes; one character per column, 80
X   columns per card.  Later, other coding schemes, sizes of card, and
X   hole shape were tried.
X
X   The 80-column width of most character terminals is a legacy of the
X   punched card; so is the size of the quick reference cards
X   distributed with many varieties of computers even today.  See
X   {chad}, {chad box}, {eighty-column mind}, {green card},
X   {dusty deck}, {lace card}, {card walloper}.
X
Xpunt: [from the punch line of an old joke referring to American
X   football: "Drop back 15 yards and punt"] vt. 1. To give up, typically
X   without any intention of retrying.  "Let's punt the movie
X   tonight."  "I was going to hack all night to get this feature in,
X   but I decided to punt" may mean that you've decided not to stay up
X   all night, and may also mean you're not ever even going to put in
X   the feature.  2. More specifically, to give up on figuring out what
X   the {Right Thing} is and resort to an inefficient hack.
X
XPurple Book: n. The `System V Interface Definition'.  The covers
X   of the first editions were an amazingly nauseating shade of
X   off-lavender.  See also {{book titles}}.
X
Xpush: [based on the stack operation that puts the current
X   information on a stack, and the fact that procedure return
X   addresses are saved on the stack] Also PUSH or PUSHJ /push-jay/,
X   based on the PDP-10 procedure call instruction.  1. To put
X   something onto a {stack} or {pdl}.  If a person says something
X   has been pushed onto his stack, he means yet another thing has been
X   added to the list of things hanging over his head for him to do.
X   This may also imply that he will deal with it *before* other
X   pending items; otherwise he might have said the thing was "added
X   to his queue".  2. vi. To enter upon a digression, to save the
X   current discussion for later.  Antonym of {pop}; see also
X   {stack}, {pdl}.
X
X= Q =
X=====
X
Xquad: n. 1. Two bits; syn. for {quarter}, {crumb},
X   {tayste}.  2. A four-pack of anything (compare {hex}, sense
X   #2).  3. The rectangle or box glyph used in the APL language for
X   various arcane purposes mostly related to I/O.  Ex-Ivy-Leaguers and
X   Oxbridge types are said to associate it with nostalgic memories of
X   dear old University.
X
Xquadruple bucky: n., obs. 1. On an MIT {space-cadet keyboard},
X   use of all four of the shifting keys control, meta, hyper, and
X   super while typing a character key.  2. On a Stanford or MIT
X   keyboard in {raw mode}, use of four shift keys while typing a
X   fifth character, where the four shift keys are the control and meta
X   keys on *both* sides of the keyboard.  This was very difficult
X   to do!  One accepted technique was to press the left-control and
X   left-meta keys with your left hand, the right-control and
X   right-meta keys with your right hand, and the fifth key with your
SHAR_EOF
true || echo 'restore of jargon.ascii failed'
fi
echo 'End of part 12, continue with part 13'
echo 13 > _shar_seq_.tmp
exit 0