The New Hacker's Dictionary - Eric S. Raymond (e book reader online txt) 📗
- Author: Eric S. Raymond
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copper -- or aluminum! Opposed to [3047]light pipe or, say, a
short-range microwave link.
Node:copy protection, Next:[3048]copybroke, Previous:[3049]copper,
Up:[3050]= C =
copy protection n.
A class of methods for preventing incompetent pirates from stealing
software and legitimate customers from using it. Considered silly.
Node:copybroke, Next:[3051]copycenter, Previous:[3052]copy protection,
Up:[3053]= C =
copybroke /kop'ee-brohk/ adj.
[play on `copyright'] Used to describe an instance of acopy-protected program that has been `broken'; that is, a copy with
the copy-protection scheme disabled. Syn. [3054]copywronged. 2.
Copy-protected software which is unusable because of some bit-rot or
bug that has confused the anti-piracy check. See also [3055]copy
protection.
Node:copycenter, Next:[3056]copyleft, Previous:[3057]copybroke,
Up:[3058]= C =
copycenter n.
[play on copyright' andcopyleft'] 1. The copyright notice carried
by the various flavors of freeware BSD. According to Kirk McKusick at
BSDCon 1999: "The way it was characterized politically, you had
copyright, which is what the big companies use to lock everything up;
you had copyleft, which is free software's way of making sure they
can't lock it up; and then Berkeley had what we called "copycenter",
which is "take it down to the copy center and make as many copies as
you want".
Node:copyleft, Next:[3059]copyparty, Previous:[3060]copycenter,
Up:[3061]= C =
copyleft /kop'ee-left/ n.
[play on copyright'] 1. The copyright notice (General Public
License') carried by [3062]GNU [3063]EMACS and other Free Software
Foundation software, granting reuse and reproduction rights to all
comers (but see also [3064]General Public Virus). 2. By extension, any
copyright notice intended to achieve similar aims.
Node:copyparty, Next:[3065]copywronged, Previous:[3066]copyleft,
Up:[3067]= C =
copyparty n.
[C64/amiga [3068]demoscene ]A computer party organized so demosceners
can meet other in real life, and to facilitate software copying
(mostly pirated software). The copyparty has become less common as the
Internet makes communication easier. The demoscene has gradually
evolved the [3069]demoparty to replace it.
Node:copywronged, Next:[3070]core, Previous:[3071]copyparty,
Up:[3072]= C =
copywronged /kop'ee-rongd/ adj.
[play on `copyright'] Syn. for [3073]copybroke.
Node:core, Next:[3074]core cancer, Previous:[3075]copywronged,
Up:[3076]= C =
core n.
Main storage or RAM. Dates from the days of ferrite-core memory; now
archaic as techspeak most places outside IBM, but also still used in
the Unix community and by old-time hackers or those who would sound
like them. Some derived idioms are quite current; `in core', for
example, means in memory' (as opposed toon disk'), and both
[3077]core dump and the core image' orcore file' produced by one
are terms in favor. Some varieties of Commonwealth hackish prefer
[3078]store.
Node:core cancer, Next:[3079]core dump, Previous:[3080]core,
Up:[3081]= C =
core cancer n.
[rare] A process that exhibits a slow but inexorable resource
[3082]leak -- like a cancer, it kills by crowding out productive
`tissue'.
Node:core dump, Next:[3083]core leak, Previous:[3084]core cancer,
Up:[3085]= C =
core dump n.
[common [3086]Iron Age jargon, preserved by Unix] 1. [techspeak] A
copy of the contents of [3087]core, produced when a process is aborted
by certain kinds of internal error. 2. By extension, used for humans
passing out, vomiting, or registering extreme shock. "He dumped core.
All over the floor. What a mess." "He heard about X and dumped core."
Occasionally used for a human rambling on pointlessly at greatlength; esp. in apology: "Sorry, I dumped core on you". 4. A
recapitulation of knowledge (compare [3088]bits, sense 1). Hence,
spewing all one knows about a topic (syn. [3089]brain dump), esp. in a
lecture or answer to an exam question. "Short, concise answers are
better than core dumps" (from the instructions to an exam at
Columbia). See [3090]core.
Node:core leak, Next:[3091]Core Wars, Previous:[3092]core dump,
Up:[3093]= C =
core leak n.
Syn. [3094]memory leak.
Node:Core Wars, Next:[3095]corge, Previous:[3096]core leak, Up:[3097]=
C =
Core Wars n.
A game between `assembler' programs in a machine or machine simulator,
where the objective is to kill your opponent's program by overwriting
it. Popularized in the 1980s by A. K. Dewdney's column in "Scientific
American" magazine, but described in "Software Practice And
Experience" a decade earlier. The game was actually devised and played
by Victor Vyssotsky, Robert Morris Sr., and Doug McIlroy in the early
1960s (Dennis Ritchie is sometimes incorrectly cited as a co-author,
but was not involved). Their original game was called `Darwin' and ran
on a IBM 7090 at Bell Labs. See [3098]core. For information on the
modern game, do a web search for the `rec.games.corewar FAQ' or surf
to the [3099]King Of The Hill site.
Node:corge, Next:[3100]cosmic rays, Previous:[3101]Core Wars,
Up:[3102]= C =
corge /korj/ n.
[originally, the name of a cat] Yet another [3103]metasyntactic
variable, invented by Mike Gallaher and propagated by the
[3104]GOSMACS documentation. See [3105]grault.
Node:cosmic rays, Next:[3106]cough and die, Previous:[3107]corge,
Up:[3108]= C =
cosmic rays n.
Notionally, the cause of [3109]bit rot. However, this is a
semi-independent usage that may be invoked as a humorous way to
[3110]handwave away any minor [3111]randomness that doesn't seem worth
the bother of investigating. "Hey, Eric -- I just got a burst of
garbage on my [3112]tube, where did that come from?" "Cosmic rays, I
guess." Compare [3113]sunspots, [3114]phase of the moon. The British
seem to prefer the usage cosmic showers';alpha particles' is also
heard, because stray alpha particles passing through a memory chip can
cause single-bit errors (this becomes increasingly more likely as
memory sizes and densities increase).
Factual note: Alpha particles cause bit rot, cosmic rays do not
(except occasionally in spaceborne computers). Intel could not explain
random bit drops in their early chips, and one hypothesis was cosmic
rays. So they created the World's Largest Lead Safe, using 25 tons of
the stuff, and used two identical boards for testing. One was placed
in the safe, one outside. The hypothesis was that if cosmic rays were
causing the bit drops, they should see a statistically significant
difference between the error rates on the two boards. They did not
observe such a difference. Further investigation demonstrated
conclusively that the bit drops were due to alpha particle emissions
from thorium (and to a much lesser degree uranium) in the
encapsulation material. Since it is impossible to eliminate these
radioactives (they are uniformly distributed through the earth's
crust, with the statistically insignificant exception of uranium
lodes) it became obvious that one has to design memories to withstand
these hits.
Node:cough and die, Next:[3115]courier, Previous:[3116]cosmic rays,
Up:[3117]= C =
cough and die v.
Syn. [3118]barf. Connotes that the program is throwing its hands up by
design rather than because of a bug or oversight. "The parser saw a
control-A in its input where it was looking for a printable, so it
coughed and died." Compare [3119]die, [3120]die horribly, [3121]scream
and die.
Node:courier, Next:[3122]cow orker, Previous:[3123]cough and die,
Up:[3124]= C =
courier
[BBS & cracker cultures] A person who distributes newly cracked
[3125]warez, as opposed to a [3126]server who makes them available for
download or a [3127]leech who merely downloads them. Hackers recognize
this term but don't use it themselves, as the act is not part of their
culture. See also [3128]warez d00dz, [3129]cracker, [3130]elite.
Node:cow orker, Next:[3131]cowboy, Previous:[3132]courier, Up:[3133]=
C =
cow orker n.
[Usenet] n. fortuitous typo for co-worker, widely used in Usenet, with
perhaps a hint that orking cows is illegal. This term was popularized
by Scott Adams (the creator of [3134]Dilbert) but already appears in
the January 1996 version of the [3135]scary devil monastery FAQ. There
are plausible reports that it was in use on talk.bizarre as early as
Compare [3136]hing, [3137]grilf, [3138]filk, [3139]newsfroup.Node:cowboy, Next:[3140]CP/M, Previous:[3141]cow orker, Up:[3142]= C =
cowboy n.
[Sun, from William Gibson's [3143]cyberpunk SF] Synonym for
[3144]hacker. It is reported that at Sun this word is often said with
reverence.
Node:CP/M, Next:[3145]CPU Wars, Previous:[3146]cowboy, Up:[3147]= C =
CP/M /C-P-M/ n.
[Control Program/Monitor; later [3148]retconned to Control Program for
Microcomputers] An early microcomputer [3149]OS written by hacker Gary
Kildall for 8080- and Z80-based machines, very popular in the late
1970s but virtually wiped out by MS-DOS after the release of the IBM
PC in 1981. Legend has it that Kildall's company blew its chance to
write the OS for the IBM PC because Kildall decided to spend a day
IBM's reps wanted to meet with him enjoying the perfect flying weather
in his private plane. Many of CP/M's features and conventions strongly
resemble those of early [3150]DEC operating systems such as
[3151]TOPS-10, OS/8, RSTS, and RSX-11. See [3152]MS-DOS,
[3153]operating system.
Node:CPU Wars, Next:[3154]crack, Previous:[3155]CP/M, Up:[3156]= C =
CPU Wars /C-P-U worz/ n.
A 1979 large-format comic by Chas Andres chronicling the attempts of
the brainwashed androids of IPM (Impossible to Program Machines) to
conquer and destroy the peaceful denizens of HEC (Human Engineered
Computers). This rather transparent allegory featured many references
to [3157]ADVENT and the immortal line "Eat flaming death, minicomputer
mongrels!" (uttered, of course, by an IPM stormtrooper). The whole
shebang is now [3158]available on the Web.
It is alleged that the author subsequently received a letter of
appreciation on IBM company stationery from the head of IBM's Thomas
J. Watson Research Laboratories (then, as now, one of the few islands
of true hackerdom in the IBM archipelago). The lower loop of the B in
the IBM logo, it is said, had been carefully whited out. See [3159]eat
flaming death.
Node:crack, Next:[3160]crack root, Previous:[3161]CPU Wars, Up:[3162]=
C =
crack
[warez d00dz] 1. v. To break into a system (compare [3163]cracker). 2.
v. Action of removing the copy protection from a commercial program.
People who write cracks consider themselves challenged by the copy
protection measures. They will often do it as much to show that they
are smarter than the developper who designed the copy protection
scheme than to actually copy the program. 3. n. A program,
instructions or patch used to remove the copy protection of a program
or to uncripple features from a demo/time limited program. 4. An
[3164]exploit.
Node:crack root, Next:[3165]cracker, Previous:[3166]crack, Up:[3167]=
C =
crack root v.
[very common] To defeat the security system of a Unix machine and gain
[3168]root privileges thereby; see [3169]cracking.
Node:cracker, Next:[3170]cracking, Previous:[3171]crack root,
Up:[3172]= C =
cracker n.
One who breaks security on a system. Coined ca. 1985 by hackers in
defense against journalistic misuse of [3173]hacker (q.v., sense 8).
An earlier attempt to establish `worm' in this sense around 1981-82 on
Usenet was largely a failure.
Use of both these neologisms reflects a strong revulsion against the
theft and vandalism perpetrated by cracking rings. While it is
expected that any real hacker will have done some playful cracking and
knows many of the basic techniques, anyone past [3174]larval stage is
expected to have outgrown the desire to do so except for immediate,
benign, practical reasons (for example, if it's necessary to get
around some security in order to get some work done).
Thus, there is far less overlap between hackerdom and crackerdom than
the [3175]mundane reader misled by sensationalistic journalism might
expect. Crackers tend to gather in small, tight-knit, very secretive
groups that have little overlap with the huge, open poly-culture this
lexicon describes; though crackers often like to describe themselves
as hackers, most true hackers consider them a separate and lower form
of life.
Ethical considerations aside, hackers figure that anyone who can't
imagine a more interesting way to play with their computers than
breaking into someone else's has to be pretty [3176]losing. Some other
reasons crackers are looked down on are discussed in the entries on
[3177]cracking and [3178]phreaking. See also [3179]samurai,
[3180]dark-side hacker, and [3181]hacker ethic. For a portrait of the
typical teenage cracker, see [3182]warez d00dz.
Node:cracking, Next:[3183]crank, Previous:[3184]cracker, Up:[3185]= C
=
cracking n.
[very common] The act of breaking into a computer system; what a
[3186]cracker does. Contrary to widespread myth, this does not usually
involve some mysterious leap of hackerly brilliance, but rather
persistence and the dogged repetition of a handful of fairly
well-known tricks that exploit common weaknesses in the security of
target systems. Accordingly, most crackers are only mediocre hackers.
Node:crank, Next:[3187]crapplet, Previous:[3188]cracking, Up:[3189]= C
=
crank vt.
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