The New Hacker's Dictionary - Eric S. Raymond (e book reader online txt) 📗
- Author: Eric S. Raymond
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when the authors are not quite sure whether the program is a
[3895]demo or an [3896]intro. Special-purpose coinages like wedtro
(some member of a group got married), invtro (invitation intro) etc.
have also been sighted.
Node:depeditate, Next:[3897]deprecated, Previous:[3898]dentro,
Up:[3899]= D =
depeditate /dee-ped'*-tayt/ n.
[by (faulty) analogy with `decapitate'] Humorously, to cut off the
feet of. When one is using some computer-aided typesetting tools,
careless placement of text blocks within a page or above a rule can
result in chopped-off letter descenders. Such letters are said to have
been depeditated.
Node:deprecated, Next:[3900]derf, Previous:[3901]depeditate,
Up:[3902]= D =
deprecated adj.
Said of a program or feature that is considered obsolescent and in the
process of being phased out, usually in favor of a specified
replacement. Deprecated features can, unfortunately, linger on for
many years. This term appears with distressing frequency in standards
documents when the committees writing the documents realize that large
amounts of extant (and presumably happily working) code depend on the
feature(s) that have passed out of favor. See also [3903]dusty deck.
[Usage note: don't confuse this word with `depreciate', or the verb
form deprecate' withdepreciated`. They are different words; see any
dictionary for discussion.]
Node:derf, Next:[3904]deserves to lose, Previous:[3905]deprecated,
Up:[3906]= D =
derf /derf/ v.,n.
[PLATO] The act of exploiting a terminal which someone else has
absentmindedly left logged on, to use that person's account,
especially to post articles intended to make an ass of the victim
you're impersonating. It has been alleged that the term originated as
a reversal of the name of the gentleman who most usually left himself
vulnerable to it, who also happened to be the head of the department
that handled PLATO at the University of Delaware.
Node:deserves to lose, Next:[3907]desk check, Previous:[3908]derf,
Up:[3909]= D =
deserves to lose adj.
[common] Said of someone who willfully does the [3910]Wrong Thing;
humorously, if one uses a feature known to be [3911]marginal. What is
meant is that one deserves the consequences of one's [3912]losing
actions. "Boy, anyone who tries to use [3913]mess-dos deserves to
[3914]lose!" ([3915]ITS fans used to say the same thing of [3916]Unix;
many still do.) See also [3917]screw, [3918]chomp, [3919]bagbiter.
Node:desk check, Next:[3920]despew, Previous:[3921]deserves to lose,
Up:[3922]= D =
desk check n.,v.
To [3923]grovel over hardcopy of source code, mentally simulating the
control flow; a method of catching bugs. No longer common practice in
this age of on-screen editing, fast compiles, and sophisticated
debuggers -- though some maintain stoutly that it ought to be. Compare
[3924]eyeball search, [3925]vdiff, [3926]vgrep.
Node:despew, Next:[3927]Devil Book, Previous:[3928]desk check,
Up:[3929]= D =
despew /d*-spyoo'/ v.
[Usenet] To automatically generate a large amount of garbage to the
net, esp. from an automated posting program gone wild. See [3930]ARMM.
Node:Devil Book, Next:[3931]/dev/null, Previous:[3932]despew,
Up:[3933]= D =
Devil Book n.
See [3934]daemon book, the term preferred by its authors.
Node:/dev/null, Next:[3935]dickless workstation, Previous:[3936]Devil
Book, Up:[3937]= D =
/dev/null /dev-nuhl/ n.
[from the Unix null device, used as a data sink] A notional `black
hole' in any information space being discussed, used, or referred to.
A controversial posting, for example, might end "Kudos to
rasputin@kremlin.org, flames to /dev/null". See [3938]bit bucket.
Node:dickless workstation, Next:[3939]dictionary flame,
Previous:[3940]/dev/null, Up:[3941]= D =
dickless workstation n.
Extremely pejorative hackerism for `diskless workstation', a class of
botches including the Sun 3/50 and other machines designed exclusively
to network with an expensive central disk server. These combine all
the disadvantages of time-sharing with all the disadvantages of
distributed personal computers; typically, they cannot even [3942]boot
themselves without help (in the form of some kind of
[3943]breath-of-life packet) from the server.
Node:dictionary flame, Next:[3944]diddle, Previous:[3945]dickless
workstation, Up:[3946]= D =
dictionary flame n.
[Usenet] An attempt to sidetrack a debate away from issues by
insisting on meanings for key terms that presuppose a desired
conclusion or smuggle in an implicit premise. A common tactic of
people who prefer argument over definitions to disputes about reality.
Compare [3947]spelling flame.
Node:diddle, Next:[3948]die, Previous:[3949]dictionary flame,
Up:[3950]= D =
diddle
vt. To work with or modify in a not particularly serious manner. "Ididdled a copy of [3951]ADVENT so it didn't double-space all the
time." "Let's diddle this piece of code and see if the problem goes
away." See [3952]tweak and [3953]twiddle. 2. n. The action or result
of diddling. See also [3954]tweak, [3955]twiddle, [3956]frob.
Node:die, Next:[3957]die horribly, Previous:[3958]diddle, Up:[3959]= D
=
die v.
Syn. [3960]crash. Unlike [3961]crash, which is used primarily of
hardware, this verb is used of both hardware and software. See also
[3962]go flatline, [3963]casters-up mode.
Node:die horribly, Next:[3964]diff, Previous:[3965]die, Up:[3966]= D =
die horribly v.
The software equivalent of [3967]crash and burn, and the preferred
emphatic form of [3968]die. "The converter choked on an FF in its
input and died horribly".
Node:diff, Next:[3969]digit, Previous:[3970]die horribly, Up:[3971]= D
=
diff /dif/ n.
A change listing, especially giving differences between (andadditions to) source code or documents (the term is often used in the
plural `diffs'). "Send me your diffs for the Jargon File!" Compare
[3972]vdiff. 2. Specifically, such a listing produced by the diff(1)
command, esp. when used as specification input to the patch(1) utility
(which can actually perform the modifications; see [3973]patch). This
is a common method of distributing patches and source updates in the
Unix/C world. 3. v. To compare (whether or not by use of automated
tools on machine-readable files); see also [3974]vdiff, [3975]mod.
Node:digit, Next:[3976]dike, Previous:[3977]diff, Up:[3978]= D =
digit n.,obs.
An employee of Digital Equipment Corporation. See also [3979]VAX,
[3980]VMS, [3981]PDP-10, [3982]TOPS-10, [3983]field circus.
Node:dike, Next:[3984]Dilbert, Previous:[3985]digit, Up:[3986]= D =
dike vt.
To remove or disable a portion of something, as a wire from a computer
or a subroutine from a program. A standard slogan is "When in doubt,
dike it out". (The implication is that it is usually more effective to
attack software problems by reducing complexity than by increasing
it.) The word `dikes' is widely used among mechanics and engineers to
mean `diagonal cutters', esp. the heavy-duty metal-cutting version,
but may also refer to a kind of wire-cutters used by electronics
techs. To `dike something out' means to use such cutters to remove
something. Indeed, the TMRC Dictionary defined dike as "to attack with
dikes". Among hackers this term has been metaphorically extended to
informational objects such as sections of code.
Node:Dilbert, Next:[3987]ding, Previous:[3988]dike, Up:[3989]= D =
Dilbert
n. Name and title character of a comic strip nationally syndicated in
the U.S. and enormously popular among hackers. Dilbert is an
archetypical engineer-nerd who works at an anonymous high-technology
company; the strips present a lacerating satire of insane working
conditions and idiotic [3990]management practices all too readily
recognized by hackers. Adams, who spent nine years in [3991]cube
4S700R at Pacific Bell (not [3992]DEC as often reported), often
remarks that he has never been able to come up with a fictional
management blunder that his correspondents didn't quickly either
report to have actually happened or top with a similar but even more
bizarre incident. In 1996 Adams distilled his insights into the
collective psychology of businesses into an even funnier book, "The
Dilbert Principle" (HarperCollins, ISBN 0-887-30787-6). See also
[3993]pointy-haired, [3994]rat dance.
Node:ding, Next:[3995]dink, Previous:[3996]Dilbert, Up:[3997]= D =
ding n.,vi.
Synonym for [3998]feep. Usage: rare among hackers, but more commonin the [3999]Real World. 2. `dinged': What happens when someone in
authority gives you a minor bitching about something, esp. something
trivial. "I was dinged for having a messy desk."
Node:dink, Next:[4000]dinosaur, Previous:[4001]ding, Up:[4002]= D =
dink /dink/ adj.
Said of a machine that has the [4003]bitty box nature; a machine too
small to be worth bothering with -- sometimes the system you're
currently forced to work on. First heard from an MIT hacker working on
a CP/M system with 64K, in reference to any 6502 system, then from
fans of 32-bit architectures about 16-bit machines. "GNUMACS will
never work on that dink machine." Probably derived from mainstream
`dinky', which isn't sufficiently pejorative. See [4004]macdink.
Node:dinosaur, Next:[4005]dinosaur pen, Previous:[4006]dink,
Up:[4007]= D =
dinosaur n.
Any hardware requiring raised flooring and special power. Usedespecially of old minis and mainframes, in contrast with newer
microprocessor-based machines. In a famous quote from the 1988 Unix
EXPO, Bill Joy compared the liquid-cooled mainframe in the massive IBM
display with a grazing dinosaur "with a truck outside pumping its
bodily fluids through it". IBM was not amused. Compare [4008]big iron;
see also [4009]mainframe. 2. [IBM] A very conservative user; a
[4010]zipperhead.
Node:dinosaur pen, Next:[4011]dinosaurs mating,
Previous:[4012]dinosaur, Up:[4013]= D =
dinosaur pen n.
A traditional [4014]mainframe computer room complete with raised
flooring, special power, its own ultra-heavy-duty air conditioning,
and a side order of Halon fire extinguishers. See [4015]boa.
Node:dinosaurs mating, Next:[4016]dirtball, Previous:[4017]dinosaur
pen, Up:[4018]= D =
dinosaurs mating n.
Said to occur when yet another [4019]big iron merger or buyout occurs;
reflects a perception by hackers that these signal another stage in
the long, slow dying of the [4020]mainframe industry. In its glory
days of the 1960s, it was `IBM and the Seven Dwarves': Burroughs,
Control Data, General Electric, Honeywell, NCR, RCA, and Univac. RCA
and GE sold out early, and it was `IBM and the Bunch' (Burroughs,
Univac, NCR, Control Data, and Honeywell) for a while. Honeywell was
bought out by Bull; Burroughs merged with Univac to form Unisys (in
1984 -- this was when the phrase `dinosaurs mating' was coined); and
in 1991 AT&T absorbed NCR (but spat it back out a few years later).
Control Data still exists but is no longer in the mainframe business.
More such earth-shaking unions of doomed giants seem inevitable.
Node:dirtball, Next:[4021]dirty power, Previous:[4022]dinosaurs
mating, Up:[4023]= D =
dirtball n.
[XEROX PARC] A small, perhaps struggling outsider; not in the major or
even the minor leagues. For example, "Xerox is not a dirtball
company".
[Outsiders often observe in the PARC culture an institutional
arrogance which usage of this term exemplifies. The brilliance and
scope of PARC's contributions to computer science have been such that
this superior attitude is not much resented. --ESR]
Node:dirty power, Next:[4024]disclaimer, Previous:[4025]dirtball,
Up:[4026]= D =
dirty power n.
Electrical mains voltage that is unfriendly to the delicate innards of
computers. Spikes, [4027]drop-outs, average voltage significantly
higher or lower than nominal, or just plain noise can all cause
problems of varying subtlety and severity (these are collectively
known as [4028]power hits).
Node:disclaimer, Next:[4029]Discordianism, Previous:[4030]dirty power,
Up:[4031]= D =
disclaimer n.
[Usenet] Statement ritually appended to many Usenet postings
(sometimes automatically, by the posting software) reiterating the
fact (which should be obvious, but is easily forgotten) that the
article reflects its author's opinions and not necessarily those of
the organization running the machine through which the article entered
the network.
Node:Discordianism, Next:[4032]disk farm, Previous:[4033]disclaimer,
Up:[4034]= D =
Discordianism /dis-kor'di-*n-ism/ n.
The veneration of [4035]Eris, a.k.a. Discordia; widely popular among
hackers. Discordianism was popularized by Robert Shea and Robert Anton
Wilson's novel "Illuminatus!" as a sort of self-subverting Dada-Zen
for Westerners -- it should on no account be taken seriously but is
far more serious than most jokes. Consider, for example, the Fifth
Commandment of the Pentabarf, from "Principia Discordia": "A
Discordian is Prohibited of Believing What he Reads." Discordianism is
usually connected with an elaborate conspiracy theory/joke involving
millennia-long warfare between the anarcho-surrealist partisans of
Eris and a malevolent, authoritarian secret society called the
Illuminati. See [4036]Religion in Appendix B, [4037]Church of the
SubGenius, and [4038]ha ha only serious.
Node:disk farm, Next:[4039]display hack, Previous:[4040]Discordianism,
Up:[4041]= D =
disk farm n.
(also [4042]laundromat) A large room or rooms filled with disk drives
(esp. [4043]washing machines).
Node:display hack, Next:[4044]dispress, Previous:[4045]disk farm,
Up:[4046]= D =
display hack n.
A program with the same approximate purpose as a kaleidoscope: to make
pretty pictures. Famous display hacks include [4047]munching squares,
[4048]smoking clover, the BSD Unix rain(6) program, worms(6) on
miscellaneous Unixes, and the [4049]X kaleid(1) program. Display hacks
can also be implemented by creating text files containing numerous
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