The Jargon File - Eric S. Raymond (best books for 8th graders .txt) 📗
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example displayed, on any VT100, a Christmas tree with twinkling
lights and a toy train circling its base. The [4050]hack value of a
display hack is proportional to the esthetic value of the images times
the cleverness of the algorithm divided by the size of the code. Syn.
[4051]psychedelicware.
Node:dispress, Next:[4052]Dissociated Press, Previous:[4053]display
hack, Up:[4054]= D =
dispress vt.
[contraction of `Dissociated Press' due to eight-character MS-DOS
filenames] To apply the [4055]Dissociated Press algorithm to a block
of text. The resultant output is also referred to as a 'dispression'.
Node:Dissociated Press, Next:[4056]distribution,
Previous:[4057]dispress, Up:[4058]= D =
Dissociated Press n.
[play on `Associated Press'; perhaps inspired by a reference in the
1950 Bugs Bunny cartoon "What's Up, Doc?"] An algorithm for
transforming any text into potentially humorous garbage even more
efficiently than by passing it through a [4059]marketroid. The
algorithm starts by printing any N consecutive words (or letters) in
the text. Then at every step it searches for any random occurrence in
the original text of the last N words (or letters) already printed and
then prints the next word or letter. [4060]EMACS has a handy command
for this. Here is a short example of word-based Dissociated Press
applied to an earlier version of this Jargon File:
wart: n. A small, crocky [4061]feature that sticks out of an array
(C has no checks for this). This is relatively benign and easy to
spot if the phrase is bent so as to be not worth paying attention
to the medium in question.
Here is a short example of letter-based Dissociated Press applied to
the same source:
window sysIWYG: n. A bit was named aften /bee't*/ prefer to use the
other guy's re, especially in every cast a chuckle on neithout
getting into useful informash speech makes removing a featuring a
move or usage actual abstractionsidered interj. Indeed spectace
logic or problem!
A hackish idle pastime is to apply letter-based Dissociated Press to a
random body of text and [4062]vgrep the output in hopes of finding an
interesting new word. (In the preceding example, `window sysIWYG' and
`informash' show some promise.) Iterated applications of Dissociated
Press usually yield better results. Similar techniques called
`travesty generators' have been employed with considerable satirical
effect to the utterances of Usenet flamers; see [4063]pseudo.
Node:distribution, Next:[4064]distro, Previous:[4065]Dissociated
Press, Up:[4066]= D =
distribution n.
A software source tree packaged for distribution; but see[4067]kit. Since about 1996 unqualified use of this term often implies
`[4068]Linux distribution'. The short for [4069]distro is often used
for this sense. 2. A vague term encompassing mailing lists and Usenet
newsgroups (but not [4070]BBS [4071]fora); any topic-oriented message
channel with multiple recipients. 3. An information-space domain
(usually loosely correlated with geography) to which propagation of a
Usenet message is restricted; a much-underutilized feature.
Node:distro, Next:[4072]disusered, Previous:[4073]distribution,
Up:[4074]= D =
distro n.
Synonym for [4075]distribution, sense 1.
Node:disusered, Next:[4076]do protocol, Previous:[4077]distro,
Up:[4078]= D =
disusered adj.
[Usenet] Said of a person whose account on a computer has been
removed, esp. for cause rather than through normal attrition. "He got
disusered when they found out he'd been cracking through the school's
Internet access." The verbal form `disuser' is live but less common.
Both usages probably derive from the DISUSER account status flag on
VMS; setting it disables the account. Compare [4079]star out.
Node:do protocol, Next:[4080]doc, Previous:[4081]disusered, Up:[4082]=
D =
do protocol vi.
[from network protocol programming] To perform an interaction with
somebody or something that follows a clearly defined procedure. For
example, "Let's do protocol with the check" at a restaurant means to
ask for the check, calculate the tip and everybody's share, collect
money from everybody, generate change as necessary, and pay the bill.
See [4083]protocol.
Node:doc, Next:[4084]documentation, Previous:[4085]do protocol,
Up:[4086]= D =
doc /dok/ n.
Common spoken and written shorthand for `documentation'. Often used in
the plural docs' and in the constructiondoc file' (i.e.,
documentation available on-line).
Node:documentation, Next:[4087]dodgy, Previous:[4088]doc, Up:[4089]= D
=
documentation n.
The multiple kilograms of macerated, pounded, steamed, bleached, and
pressed trees that accompany most modern software or hardware products
(see also [4090]tree-killer). Hackers seldom read paper documentation
and (too) often resist writing it; they prefer theirs to be terse and
on-line. A common comment on this predilection is "You can't
[4091]grep dead trees". See [4092]drool-proof paper, [4093]verbiage,
[4094]treeware.
Node:dodgy, Next:[4095]dogcow, Previous:[4096]documentation,
Up:[4097]= D =
dodgy adj.
Syn. with [4098]flaky. Preferred outside the U.S.
Node:dogcow, Next:[4099]dogfood, Previous:[4100]dodgy, Up:[4101]= D =
dogcow /dog'kow/ n.
See [4102]Moof. The dogcow is a semi-legendary creature that lurks in
the depths of the Macintosh Technical Notes Hypercard stack V3.1. The
full story of the dogcow is told in technical note #31 (the particular
dogcow illustrated is properly named `Clarus'). Option-shift-click
will cause it to emit a characteristic Moof!' or!fooM' sound.
Getting to tech note 31 is the hard part; to discover how to do that,
one must needs examine the stack script with a hackerly eye. Clue:
[4103]rot13 is involved. A dogcow also appears if you choose `Page
Setup...' with a LaserWriter selected and click on the `Options'
button. It also lurks in other Mac printer drivers, notably those for
the now-discontinued Style Writers. Sadly, Apple has removed the pages
that used to describe the dogcow.
Node:dogfood, Next:[4104]dogpile, Previous:[4105]dogcow, Up:[4106]= D
=
dogfood n.
[Microsoft, Netscape] Interim software used internally for testing.
"To eat one's own dogfood" (from which the slang noun derives) means
to use the software one is developing, as part of one's everyday
development environment (the phrase is used outside Microsoft and
Netscape). The practice is normal in the Linux community and
elsewhere, but the term `dogfood' is seldom used as open-source betas
tend to be quite tasty and nourishing. The idea is that developers who
are using their own software will quickly learn what's missing or
broken. Dogfood is typically not even of [4107]beta quality.
Node:dogpile, Next:[4108]dogwash, Previous:[4109]dogfood, Up:[4110]= D
=
dogpile v.
[Usenet: prob. fr. mainstream "puppy pile"] When many people post
unfriendly responses in short order to a single posting, they are
sometimes said to "dogpile" or "dogpile on" the person to whom they're
responding. For example, when a religious missionary posts a
simplistic appeal to alt.atheism, he can expect to be dogpiled. It has
been suggested that this derives from U.S, football slang for a tackle
involving three or more people; among hackers, it seems at least as
likely do derive from an `autobiographical' Bugs Bunny cartoon in
which a gang of attacking canines actually yells "Dogpile on the
rabbit!".
Node:dogwash, Next:[4111]domainist, Previous:[4112]dogpile, Up:[4113]=
D =
dogwash /dog'wosh/
[From a quip in the `urgency' field of a very optional software change
request, ca. 1982. It was something like "Urgency: Wash your dog
first".] 1. n. A project of minimal priority, undertaken as an escape
from more serious work. 2. v. To engage in such a project. Many games
and much [4114]freeware get written this way.
Node:domainist, Next:[4115]Don't do that then!,
Previous:[4116]dogwash, Up:[4117]= D =
domainist /doh-mayn'ist/ adj.
[Usenet, by pointed analogy with "sexist", "racist", etc.] Someonewho judges people by the domain of their email addresses; esp. someone
who dismisses anyone who posts from a public internet provider. "What
do you expect from an article posted from aol.com?" 2. Said of an
[4118]Internet address (as opposed to a [4119]bang path) because the
part to the right of the @ specifies a nested series of `domains'; for
example, [4120]esr@snark.thyrsus.com specifies the machine called
snark in the subdomain called thyrsus within the top-level domain
called com. See also [4121]big-endian, sense 2.
The meaning of this term has drifted. At one time sense 2 was primary.
In elder days it was also used of a site, mailer, or routing program
which knew how to handle domainist addresses; or of a person (esp. a
site admin) who preferred domain addressing, supported a domainist
mailer, or proselytized for domainist addressing and disdained
[4122]bang paths. These senses are now (1996) obsolete, as effectively
all sites have converted.
Node:Don't do that then!, Next:[4123]dongle, Previous:[4124]domainist,
Up:[4125]= D =
Don't do that then! imp.
[from an old doctor's office joke about a patient with a trivial
complaint] Stock response to a user complaint. "When I type control-S,
the whole system comes to a halt for thirty seconds." "Don't do that,
then!" (or "So don't do that!"). Compare [4126]RTFM.
Here's a classic example of "Don't do that then!" from Neil
Stephenson's "In The Beginning Was The Command Line". A friend of his
built a network with a load of Macs and a few high-powered database
servers. He found that from time to time the whole network would lock
up for no apparent reason. The problem was eventually tracked down to
MacOS's cooperative multitasking: when a user held down the mouse
button for too long, the network stack wouldn't get a chance to run...
Node:dongle, Next:[4127]dongle-disk, Previous:[4128]Don't do that
then!, Up:[4129]= D =
dongle /dong'gl/ n.
[now obs.] A security or [4130]copy protection device forproprietary software consisting of a serialized EPROM and some drivers
in a D-25 connector shell, which must be connected to an I/O port of
the computer while the program is run. Programs that use a dongle
query the port at startup and at programmed intervals thereafter, and
terminate if it does not respond with the dongle's programmed
validation code. Thus, users can make as many copies of the program as
they want but must pay for each dongle. The idea was clever, but it
was initially a failure, as users disliked tying up a serial port this
way. By 1993, dongles would typically pass data through the port and
monitor for [4131]magic codes (and combinations of status lines) with
minimal if any interference with devices further down the line -- this
innovation was necessary to allow daisy-chained dongles for multiple
pieces of software. These devices have become rare as the industry has
moved away from copy-protection schemes in general. 2. By extension,
any physical electronic key or transferable ID required for a program
to function. Common variations on this theme have used parallel or
even joystick ports. See [4132]dongle-disk. 3. An adaptor cable mating
a special edge-type connector on a PCMCIA or on-board Ethernet card to
a standard RJ45 Ethernet jack. This usage seems to have surfaced in
1999 and is now dominant. Laptop owners curse these things because
they're notoriously easy to lose and the vendors commonly charge
extortionate prices for replacements.
[Note: in early 1992, advertising copy from Rainbow Technologies (a
manufacturer of dongles) included a claim that the word derived from
"Don Gall", allegedly the inventor of the device. The company's
receptionist will cheerfully tell you that the story is a myth
invented for the ad copy. Nevertheless, I expect it to haunt my life
as a lexicographer for at least the next ten years. :-( --ESR]
Node:dongle-disk, Next:[4133]donuts, Previous:[4134]dongle, Up:[4135]=
D =
dongle-disk /don'gl disk/ n.
A special floppy disk that is required in order to perform some task.
Some contain special coding that allows an application to identify it
uniquely, others are special code that does something that
normally-resident programs don't or can't. (For example, AT&T's "Unix
PC" would only come up in [4136]root mode with a special boot disk.)
Also called a `key disk'. See [4137]dongle.
Node:donuts, Next:[4138]doorstop, Previous:[4139]dongle-disk,
Up:[4140]= D =
donuts n. obs.
A collective noun for any set of memory bits. This usage is extremely
archaic and may no longer be live jargon; it dates from the days of
ferrite-[4141]core memories in which each bit was implemented by a
doughnut-shaped magnetic flip-flop.
Node:doorstop, Next:[4142]DoS attack, Previous:[4143]donuts,
Up:[4144]= D =
doorstop n.
Used to describe equipment that is non-functional and halfway expected
to remain so, especially obsolete equipment kept around for political
reasons or ostensibly as a backup. "When we get another Wyse-50 in
here, that ADM 3 will turn into a doorstop." Compare [4145]boat
anchor.
Node:DoS attack, Next:[4146]dot
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