Source Code 1992 March/Source_Code_CD-ROM_Walnut_Creek_March_1992.iso/usenet/altsrcs/2/2939

Internet Message Format | 1991-03-03 | 49.9 KB

From: [e-mail] (Eric S. Raymond)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers,alt.sources,misc.misc
Subject: The Jargon File v, part 9 of 17
Message-ID: <1ZdTyJ#8v0bNq3B8SpG6O2vjQ6XqO8c=[e-mail]>
Date: 2 Mar 91 18:19:05 GMT

Submitted-by: [e-mail]
Archive-name: jargon/part09

---- Cut Here and feed the following to sh ----
#!/bin/sh
# this is jargon.09 (part 9 of jargon)
# do not concatenate these parts, unpack them in order with /bin/sh
# file jargon.ascii continued
#
if test ! -r _shar_seq_.tmp; then
    echo 'Please unpack part 1 first!'
    exit 1
fi
(read Scheck
 if test "$Scheck" != 9; then
    echo Please unpack part "$Scheck" next!
    exit 1
 else
    exit 0
 fi
) < _shar_seq_.tmp || exit 1
if test -f _shar_wnt_.tmp; then
sed 's/^X//' << 'SHAR_EOF' >> 'jargon.ascii' &&
X
Xhello, world: interj. 1. The canonical minimal test message in
X   the C/UNIX universe.  2. Any of the minimal programs that emit
X   this message. In folklore, the first program a C coder is supposed
X   to write in a new environment is one that just prints "hello,
X   world" to standard output (and indeed it is the first example
X   program in {K&R}).  Environments that generate an unreasonably
X   large executable for this trivial test or which require a {hairy}
X   compiler-linker invocation to generate it are considered to
X   {lose} (see {X}).  2. Greeting uttered by a hacker making an
X   entrance or requesting information from anyone present.  "Hello,
X   world!  Is the {VAX} back up yet?"
X
Xhex: n. 1. Short for {{hexadecimal}}, base 16.  2. A six-pack
X   of anything (compare {quad}, sense #2).  Neither usage has
X   anything to do with {magic} or {black art}, though the pun is
X   appreciated and occasionally used by hackers.  True story: as a
X   joke, some hackers once offered some surplused ICs for sale to be
X   worn as protective amulets against hostile magic.  The chips were,
X   of course, hex inverters.
X
Xhexadecimal:: n. Base 16.  Coined in the early 1960s to
X   replace earlier `sexadecimal', which was too racy and amusing for
X   stuffy IBM, and later adopted by the rest of the industry.
X   Actually, neither term is etymologically pure.  If we take `binary'
X   to be paradigmatic, the most etymologically correct term for base
X   10, for examples, is `denary' (compare `binary'), which comes from
X   `deni' (ten at a time, ten each), a Latin `distributive' number;
X   the corresponding term for base-16 would be something like
X   `sendenary'.  `Decimal' is from an ordinal number; the
X   corresponding prefix for six would imply something like
X   `sextidecimal'.  The `sexa-' prefix is Latin but incorrect in this
X   context and `hexa-' is Greek.  The word `octal' is similarly
X   incorrect; correct forms would be `octaval' (to go with decimal),
X   or `octonary' (to go with binary).  If anyone ever implements a
X   base-3 computer, computer scientists will be faced with the
X   unprecedented dilemma of a choice between two `correct' forms;
X   both `ternary' and `trinary' have a claim to this throne.
X
Xhexit: /hek'sit/ n. A hexadecimal digit (0-9, and A--F or a--f).
X   Used by people who claim that there are only *ten* digits,
X   dammit; sixteen-fingered human beings are rather rare, regardless
X   of what some keyboard designs might seem to imply (see
X   {space-cadet keyboard}).
X
Xhidden flag: [scientific computation] n. An extra option added to a
X   routine without changing the calling sequence.  For example,
X   instead of adding an explicit input variable to instruct a routine
X   to give extra diagnostic output, the programmer might just add a
X   test for some otherwise meaningless feature of the existing inputs,
X   such as a negative mass.  Liberal use of hidden flags can make a
X   program very hard to debug and understand.
X
Xhigh bit: [from `high order bit'] n. 1. The most significant bit
X   in a byte.  2. Also meaning most significant part of something
X   other than a data byte, e.g. "Spare me the whole {saga}, just give
X   me the high bit."  See also {meta bit}.
X
Xhigh moby: /hie mohb'ee/ n. The high half of a stock {PDP-10}'s
X   address space; the other half was of course the low moby.  This
X   usage has been generalized in a way that has outlasted the
X   {PDP-10}; for example, at the 1990 Washington D.C. Area Science
X   Fiction Conclave (Disclave) when a miscommunication resulted in two
X   separate wakes being held in commemoration of the shutdown of MIT's
X   last {ITS} machines, the one on the upper floor was dubbed the high
X   moby and the other the low moby.  All parties involved grokked this
X   instantly.  See {moby}.
X
Xhighly: [scientific computation] adv. The preferred modifier for
X   overstating an understatement.  As in: `highly nonoptimal', the
X   worst possible way to do something; `highly nontrivial', either
X   impossible or requiring a major research project; `highly
X   nonlinear', completely erratic and unpredictable; `highly
X   nontechnical', drivel written for {luser}s, oversimplified to the
X   point of being misleading or incorrect (compare {drool-proof
X   paper}).  In other computing cultures, postfixing of {in the
X   extreme} might be preferred.
X
Xhirsute: adj. Occasionally used humorously as a synonym for {hairy}.
X
XHLL: /aych-el-el/ n. [High-Level Language (as opposed to assembler)]
X   Found primarily in email and news rather than speech.  Rarely, the
X   variants `VHLL' and `MLL' are found.  VHLL = `Very-High-Level
X   Language' and is used to describe a {bondage-and-discipline
X   language} that the speaker happens to like; Prolog and Backus's FP
X   are often called VHLLs.  `MLL' = `Medium-Level Language' and is
X   sometimes used half-jokingly to describe C, alluding to its
X   `structured-assembler' image.  See also {languages of choice}.
X
Xhobbit: n. 1. The High Order Bit of a byte; same as the {meta
X   bit}.  2. The non-ITS name of [e-mail] (*Hobbit*), master
X   of lasers.
X
Xhog: n.,vt. Favored term to describe programs or hardware that seem
X   to eat far more than their share of a system's resources, esp.
X   those which noticeably degrade interactive response.  *Not*
X   used of programs that are simply extremely large or complex or
X   which are merely painfully slow themselves (see {pig, run like
X   a}).  More often than not encountered in qualified forms, e.g.
X   `memory hog', `core hog', `hog the processor', `hog
X   the disk'.  Example: "A controller that never gives up the I/O bus
X   gets killed after the bus-hog timer expires."
X
Xholy wars: [from {USENET}, but may predate it] n. {flame war}s
X   over {religious issues}.  The paper by Danny Cohen that
X   popularized the terms {big-endian} and {little-endian} in
X   connection with the LSB-first/MSB-first controversy was entitled
X   `On Holy Wars and a Plea for Peace'.  Other perennial Holy
X   Wars have included: {EMACS} vs. {vi}, my personal computer vs.
X   everyone else's personal computer, {ITS} vs. {UNIX}, {UNIX}
X   vs. {VMS}, {BSD} UNIX vs. {USG UNIX}, {C} vs. {{Pascal}},
X   {C} vs. {LISP}, etc. ad nauseam.  The characteristic that
X   distinguishes {holy wars} from normal technical disputes is that
X   most participants spend their time trying to pass off personal
X   value choices and cultural attachments as objective technical
X   evaluations. See also {theology}.
X
Xhome box: n. A hacker's personal machine, especially one he or she
X   owns.  "Yeah?  Well, *my* home box runs a full 4.2BSD, so
X   there!"
X
Xhook: n. A software or hardware feature included in order to
X   simplify later additions or changes by a user.  As another example,
X   a simple program that prints numbers might always print them in
X   base ten, but a more flexible version would let a variable
X   determine what base to use; setting the variable to 5 would make
X   the program print numbers in base five.  The variable is a simple
X   hook.  An even more flexible program might examine the variable
X   and treat a value of 16 or less as the base to use, but treat any
X   other number as the address of a user-supplied routine for printing
X   a number.  This is a hairy but powerful hook; one can then write a
X   routine to print numbers as Roman numerals, say, or as Hebrew
X   characters, and plug it into the program through the hook.  Often
X   the difference between a good program and a superb one is that the
X   latter has useful hooks in judiciously chosen places.  Both may do
X   the original job about equally well, but the one with the hooks is
X   much more flexible for future expansion of capabilities ({EMACS},
X   for example, is *all* hooks).  The term `user exit' is
X   synonymous but much more formal and less hackish.
X
Xhop: n. One file transmission in a series required to get a file
X   from point A to point B on a store-and-forward network.  On such
X   networks (including {UUCPNET} and {FidoNet}), the important
X   inter-machine metric is the number of hops in the shortest path
X   between them, rather than their geographical separation.  See
X   {bang path}.
X
Xhose: 1. vt. To make non-functional or greatly degraded in
X   performance, as in "That big ray-tracing program really hoses the
X   system."  See {hosed}.  2. n. A narrow channel through which
X   data flows under pressure.  Generally denotes data paths that
X   represent performance bottlenecks.  3. n. Cabling, especially
X   thick Ethernet cable.  This is sometimes called `bit hose' or
X   `hosery' (play on `hosiery') or `etherhose'.  See also
X   {washing machine}.
X
Xhosed: adj. Same as {down}.  Used primarily by UNIX hackers.
X   Humorous: also implies a condition thought to be relatively easy to
X   reverse.  Probably derived from the Canadian slang `hoser'
X   popularized by the Bob and Doug Mackenzie skits on SCTV.  See
X   {hose}.  It is also widely used of people in the mainstream sense
X   of `in an extremely unfortunate situation'.
X
X   Once upon a time, a Cray which had been experiencing periodic
X   difficulties crashed, and it was announced to have been {hosed}.
X   It was discovered that the crash was due to the disconnection of
X   some coolant hoses.  The problem was corrected, and users were then
X   assured that everything was OK because the system had been rehosed.
X
Xhot spot: n. 1. [primarily C/UNIX programmers, but spreading] It
X   is received wisdom that in most programs, less than 10% of the code
X   eats 90% of the execution time; if one were to graph instruction
X   visits versus code addresses, one would typically see a few huge
X   spikes amidst a lot of low-level noise.  Such spikes are called
X   `hot spots' and are good candidates for heavy optimization or
X   {hand-hacking}.  The term is especially used of tight loops and
X   recursions in the code's central algorithm, as opposed to (say)
X   initial set-up costs or large but infrequent I/O operations.  See
X   {tune}, {bum}, {hand-hacking}.  2. The active location of a
X   cursor on a bit-map display.  "Put the mouse's hot spot on the
X   `ON' widget and click the left button."  3. In a massively
X   parallel computer with shared memory, the one location that all ten
X   thousand processors are trying to read or write at once (perhaps
X   because they are all doing a {busy-wait} on the same lock).
X
Xhouse wizard: [prob. from ad-agency lingo, `house freak'] n. A
X   hacker occupying a technical-specialist, R&D, or systems position
X   at a commercial shop.  A really effective house wizard can have
X   influence out of all proportion to his/her ostensible rank and
X   still not have to wear a suit.  Used esp. of UNIX wizards.  The
X   term `house guru' is equivalent.
X
XHP-SUX: /aych pee suhx/ n. Unflattering hackerism for HP-UX,
X   Hewlett-Packard's UNIX port.  Features some truly unique bogosities
X   in the filesystem internals and elsewhere that occasionally create
X   portability problems.  HP-UX is often referred to as "hockey-pux"
X   inside HP, and one respondent claims that the proper pronunciation
X   is /aych-pee ukkkhhhh/ as though one were spitting.  Another such
X   alternate spelling and pronunciation is "H-PUX" /aych-puhks/.
X   Hackers at HP/Apollo (the former Apollo Computer that was swallowed
X   by HP in 1989) have been heard to complain that Mr. Packard should
X   have pushed to have his name first, if for no other reason than the
X   greater eloquence of the resulting acronym.  Compare {buglix}.
X   See also {Telerat}, {sun-stools}, {terminak}.
X
Xhuff: v. To compress data using a Huffman code.  Various programs
X   that use such methods have been called `HUFF' or some variant
X   thereof.  Oppose {puff}.  Compare {crunch}, {compress}.
X
Xhumma: excl. A filler word used on various `chat' and `talk'
X   programs when you had nothing to say but felt that it was important
X   to say something.  The word apparently originated (at least with
X   this definition) on the MECC Timeshare System (MTS, a now-defunct
X   educational time-sharing system running in Minnesota during the
X   1970s and early '80s) but was later sighted on early UNIX systems.
X
Xhumungous: /hyoo-muhng'g@s/ alt. `humongous' (hyoo-mohng'g@s)
X   See {hungus}.  This is now used in a similar sense in mainstream
X   slang, but seems to have been in common use among hackers for years
X   before it became established there.  Some hackers believe it
X   originated at the MIT AI lab in the Sixties and spread outward from
X   there; alternatively, it may have been an early import from surfer
X   slang via Stanford.
X
XHumor, Hacker:: n. A distinctive style of shared intellectual humor
X   found among hackers, having the following distinctive
X   characteristics:
X
X   1) Fascination with form-vs.-content jokes, paradoxes, and humor
X   having to do with confusion of metalevels (see {meta}).  One way
X   to make a hacker laugh: hold an red index card in front of him/her
X   with "GREEN", or vice-versa (note, however, that this is only
X   funny the first time).
X
X   2) Elaborate deadpan parodies of large intellectual constructs such
X   as specifications (see {write-only memory}), standards documents,
X   language descriptions (see {INTERCAL}), and even entire scientific
X   theories (see {quantum bogodynamics}, {computron}).
X
X   3) Jokes that involve screwily precise reasoning from bizarre,
X   ludicrous, or just grossly counter-intuitive premises.
X
X   4) Fascination with puns and wordplay.
X
X   5) A fondness for apparently mindless humor with subversive
X   currents of intelligence in it, for example: old Warner Brothers
X   and Rocky & Bullwinkle cartoons, The Marx Brothers, the early
X   B-52s, and Monty Python's Flying Circus.  Humor which combines this
X   trait with elements of high camp and slapstick is especially
X   favored.
X
X   6) References to the symbol-object antinomies and associated ideas
X   in Zen Buddhism and (less often) Taoism.  See {has the X nature},
X   {Discordianism}, {zen}, {ha ha only serious}, {AI koans}.
X
X   See also {filk}, {retrocomputing}, and Appendix B.  If you have an
X   itchy feeling that all six of these traits are really aspects of
X   one thing that is incredibly difficult to talk about exactly, you
X   are (a) correct and (b) responding like a hacker.  These traits are
X   also recognizable (though in a less marked form) throughout
X   {{Science-Fiction Fandom}}.
X
Xhung: [from `hung up'] adj. Equivalent to {wedged}. but more
X   common at UNIX/C sites.  Not generally used of people.  Syn. with
X   {locked up}, {wedged}; compare {hosed}.  See also {hang}.
X   A hung state is distinguished from {crash}ed or {down}, where the
X   program or system is also unusable but because it is not running
X   rather than because it is waiting for something.  However, the
X   recovery from both situations is often the same.
X
Xhungry puppy: n. Syn. {slopsucker}.
X
Xhungus: /huhng'g@s/ [perhaps related to current slang `humungous';
X   which one came first (if either) is unclear] adj. Large, unwieldy,
X   usually unmanageable.  "TCP is a hungus piece of code."  "This
X   is a hungus set of modifications."
X
Xhyperspace: (hie'per-spays) n. A memory location that is *far*
X   away from where the program counter should be pointing, often
X   inaccessible because it is not even mapped in.  "Another core
X   dump... looks like the program jumped off to hyperspace
X   somehow", (compare {jump off into never-never land}).  This
X   usage is from the SF notion of a spaceship jumping `into
X   hyperspace', that is, taking a shortcut through higher-dimensional
X   space --- in other words, bypassing this universe.
X
X= I =
X=====
X
XI didn't change anything!: interj. An aggrieved cry often heard as
X   bugs manifest during a regression test.  The {canonical} reply to
X   this assertion is "Then it works just the same as it did before,
X   doesn't it?"  See also {one-line fix}.  This is also heard from
X   applications programmers trying to blame an obvious applications
X   problem on an unrelated systems software change, for example a
X   divide-by-zero fault after terminals were added to a network.
X   Usually, their statement is found to be false.  Upon close
X   questioning, they will admit some major restructuring of the
X   program that shouldn't have broken anything, in their opinion,
X   but actually hosed the code completely.
X
Xi14y: n. Written-only abbrev. for `interoperability', which is an
X   `i' followed by 14 letters followed by `y'.  Used in the {X}
X   community.
X
Xi18n: n. Written-only abbrev. for `internationalization', which is
X   an `i' followed by 18 letters followed by `n'.  Used in the {X}
X   community.
X
XIBM: /ie bee em/ Inferior But Marketable; It's Better Manually;
X   Insidious Black Magic; It's Been Malfunctioning; Incontinent Bowel
X   Movement; and a near-{infinite} number of even less complimentary
X   expansions, including `International Business Machines'.  See
X   {TLA}.  These abbreviations illustrate the considerable antipathy
X   most hackers have long felt for the `industry leader' (see {fear
X   and loathing}).
X
X   What galls hackers about most IBM machines above the PC level isn't
X   so much that they're underpowered and overpriced (though that does
X   count against them), but that the designs are incredibly archaic,
X   {crufty}, and {elephantine}...and you can't *fix* them
X   --- source code is locked up tight and programming tools are
X   expensive, hard to find, and bletcherous to use once you've found
X   them.  With the release of the UNIX-based RIOS family this may have
X   begun to change --- but then, we thought that when the PC-RT came
X   out, too.
X
X   In the spirit of universal peace and brotherhood, this lexicon now
X   includes a number of entries marked `IBM'; these derive from some
X   rampantly unofficial jargon lists circulated within IBM's own
X   beleaguered hacker underground.
X
XIBM discount: n. A price increase.  Outside IBM, this derives from
X   the common perception that IBM products are generally overpriced
X   (see {clone}); inside, it is said to spring from a belief that
X   large numbers of IBM employees living in an area cause prices to
X   rise.
X
Xice: [coined by USENETter Tom Maddox, popularized by William
X   Gibson's cyberpunk SF: acronym, `Intrusion Countermeasure
X   Electronics'] Security software (in Gibson's novels, software that
X   responds to intrusion by attempting to literally kill the
X   intruder).  Also, `icebreaker': a program designed for cracking
X   security on a system.  Neither term is in serious use yet as of
X   mid-1991, but many hackers find the metaphor attractive and both
X   terms may develop a denotation in the future.
X
Xill-behaved: adj. 1. [numerical analysis] Said of an algorithm or
X   computational method that tends to blow up due to accumulated
X   roundoff error or poor convergence properties.  2. Software which
X   bypasses the defined {OS} interfaces to do things (like screen,
X   keyboard, and disk I/O) itself, often in a way that depends on the
X   hardware of the machine it is running on or which is nonportable or
X   incompatible with other pieces of software.  In the IBM PC/MS-DOS
X   world, there is a folk theorem (nearly true) to the effect that
X   (due to gross inadequacies and performance penalties in the OS
X   interface) all interesting applications are ill-behaved.  See also
X   {bare metal}. Oppose {well-behaved}, compare {PC-ism}.  See
X   {mess-dos}.
X
XIMHO: [from SF fandom via USENET; written acronym for In My Humble
X   Opinion]  Example: "IMHO, mixed-case C names should be avoided, as
X   mistyping something in the wrong case can cause hard-to-detect
X   errors --- and they look too Pascalish anyhow."  Also seen in
X   variant forms such as IMNSHO (In My Not-So-Humble Opinion) and IMAO
X   (In My Arrogant Opinion).
X
Xin the extreme: adj. A preferred superlative suffix for many hackish
X   terms.  See, for example, `obscure in the extreme' under {obscure},
X   and compare {highly}.
X
Xincantation: n. Any particularly arbitrary or obscure command that
X   must be muttered at a system to attain a desired result.  Not used
X   of passwords or other explicit security features.  Especially used
X   of tricks that are so poorly documented they must be learned from a
X   {wizard}.  E.g. "This compiler normally locates initialized data
X   in the data segment, but if you {mutter} the right incantation they
X   will be forced into text space".
X
Xinclude: vt. [USENET] 1. To duplicate a portion (or whole) of
X   another's message (typically with attribution to the source) in a
X   reply or followup, for clarifying the context of one's response.
X   See the section on inclusion styles in the front matter.  2.
X   Derived from C: `#include <disclaimer.h>' has appeared in
X   {sig block}s to refer to a notional `standard disclaimer
X   file'.
X
Xinclude war: n. Excessive multi-leveled including within a
X   discussion {thread}, a practice which tends to annoy readers.  In
X   a forum with high-traffic newsgroups, such as USENET, this can lead
X   to {flame}s and the urge to start a {kill file}.
X
Xindent style: [C programmers] n. The rules one uses to indent code
X   in a readable fashion; a subject of {holy wars}.  There are four
X   major C indent styles, as described below; all have the aim of
X   making it easier for the reader to visually track the scope of
X   control constructs.  The significant variable is the placement of
X   `{' and `}' with respect to the statement(s) they
X   enclose and the guard or controlling statement (if, else, for
X   while, or do) on the block, if any.
X
X   `K&R style' --- Named after Kernighan & Ritchie, because the
X   examples in {K&R} are formatted this way.  Also called `kernel
X   style' because the UNIX kernel is written in it, and the `One True
X   Brace Style', abbr. 1TBS, by its partisans.  The basic indent shown
X   here is 8 spaces (or 1 tab) per level; 4 or 2 is occasionally seen,
X   but is much less common.
X
X     if (cond) {
X             <body>
X     }
X
X   `Allman style' --- Named for Eric Allman, a Berkeley hacker who
X   wrote a lot of the BSD utilities in it (it is sometimes called
X   `BSD style').  Resembles normal indent style in Pascal and
X   Algol.  Basic indent per level shown here is 8 spaces, but 4 is
X   just as common (esp. in C++ code).
X
X     if (cond)
X     {
X             <body>
X     }
X
X   `Whitesmiths style' --- popularized by the examples that came
X   with Whitesmiths C, an early commercial C compiler.  Basic indent
X   per level shown here is 8 spaces, but 4 is occasionally seen.
X
X     if (cond)
X             {
X             <body>
X             }
X
X   `GNU style' --- Used throughout GNU EMACS and the Free Software
X   Foundation code, and just about nowhere else.  Indents are always 4
X   spaces per level, with { and } halfway between the outer and
X   inner indent levels.
X
X     if (cond)
X       {
X          <body>
X       }
X
X   Statistically, surveys have shown the Allman and Whitesmiths styles
X   to be the most common, with about equal mind share.  K&R/1TBS used
X   to be nearly universal, but is now much less common (the opening
X   brace tends to get lost against the right paren of the guard part
X   in an `if' or `while', which is a {Bad Thing}).
X   Defenders of 1TBS argue that any putative gain in readability is
X   less important than their style's relative economy with vertical
X   space, which enables one to see more code on one's screen at once.
X   Doubtless these issues will continue to be the subjects of {holy
X   wars}.
X
Xinfant mortality: n. It is common lore among hackers that the chances
X   of sudden hardware failure drop off exponentially with a machine's
X   time since power-up (that is, until the relatively distant time at
X   which mechanical wear in I/O devices and thermal-cycling stress in
X   components has accumulated enough for the machine to start going
X   senile).  Up to half of all chip-and-wire failures happen within a
X   new system's first few weeks; such failures are often referred to
X   as `infant mortality' problems (or, occasionally, as `sudden
X   infant death syndrome').  See {bathtub curve}, {burn-in period}.
X
Xinfinite: adj. Consisting of a large number of objects; extreme.
X   Used very loosely as in: "This program produces infinite
X   garbage."  "He is an infinite loser."  The word most likely to
X   follow `infinite', though, is {hair} (it has been pointerd out
X   that fractals are an excellent example of infinite hair).  These
X   uses are abuses of the word's mathematical meaning.  The term
X   "semi-infinite" denoting an immoderately large amount of some
X   resource is also heard.  "This compiler is taking a semi-infinite
X   amount of time to optimize my program."  See also {semi}.
X
Xinfinity: n. 1. The largest value that can be represented in a
X   particular type of variable (register, memory location, data type,
X   whatever).  2. `minus infinity': The smallest such value, not
X   necessarily or even usually the simple negation of plus infinity.
X   In N-bit twos-complement arithmetic, infinity is `2 ^ (N-1) -
X   1' but minus infinity is `- (2 ^ (N-1))', not `-(2 ^
X   (N-1) - 1)'.  Note also that this is different from `time T
X   equals minus infinity', which is closer to a mathematician's usage
X   of infinity.
X
Xinsanely great: adj. [Mac community, from Steve Jobs; also BSD UNIX
X   people via Bill Joy] Something so incredibly {elegant} that it is
X   imaginable only to someone possessing the most puissant of
X   {hacker}-natures.
X
XINTERCAL: /in't@r-kal/ [said by the authors to stand for
X   `Compiler Language With No Pronounceable Acronym'] n. A
X   computer language designed by Don Woods and James Lyon in 1972.
X   INTERCAL is purposefully different from all other computer
X   languages in all ways but one; it is purely a written language,
X   being totally unspeakable.  An excerpt from the INTERCAL Reference
X   Manual will make the style of the language clear:
X
X   "It is a well-known and oft-demonstrated fact that a person whose
X   work is incomprehensible is held in high esteem.  For example, if
X   one were to state that the simplest way to store a value of 65536
X   in a 32-bit INTERCAL variable is:
X
X     DO :1 <- #0$#256
X
X   any sensible programmer would say that that was absurd.  Since this
X   is indeed the simplest method, the programmer would be made to look
X   foolish in front of his boss, who would of course have happened to
X   turn up, as bosses are wont to do.  The effect would be no less
X   devastating for the programmer having been correct."
X
X   INTERCAL has many other peculiar features designed to make it even
X   more unspeakable.  The Woods/Lyons implementation was actually used
X   by many (well, at least several) people at Princeton.  The language
X   has been recently re-implemented as C-INTERCAL and is consequently
X   enjoying an unprecedented level of unpopularity; there is even an
X   alt.lang.intercal newsgroup devoted to the study and ...
X   appreciation of the language on USENET.
X
Xinteresting: adj. In hacker parlance, this word is not simply
X   synonymous with `intriguing', but has strong connotations of
X   `annoying', or `difficult', or both.  Hackers relish a challenge,
X   and enjoy wringing all the irony possible out of the ancient
X   Chinese curse "May you live in interesting times".  Oppose
X   {trivial}, {uninteresting}.
X
XInternet address:: [techspeak] n. 1. [techspeak] An absolute
X   network address of the form [e-mail], where foo is a user name,
X   bar is a {sitename}, and baz is a `domain' name, possibly
X   including periods itself.  Contrasts with {bang path}; see also
X   {network, the} and {network address}.  All Internet machines
X   and most UUCP sites can now resolve these addresses, thanks to a
X   large amount of behind-the-scenes magic and PD software written
X   since 1980 or so.  See also {bang path}, {domainist}.  2.
X   More loosely, any network address reachable through Internet; this
X   includes {bang path} addresses and some internal corporate and
X   government networks.
X
X   Reading Internet addresses is something of an art.  Here are the
X   four most important top-level functional Internet domains followed
X   by a selection of geographical domains:
X
X     com
X          Commercial organizations.
X     edu
X          Educational institutions.
X     gov
X          U.S. government civilian sites.
X     mil
X          U.S. military sites.
X
X   Note that most of the sites in the com and edu domains are in the
X   U.S. or Canada.
X
X     us
X          Sites in the U.S. outside the functional domains.
X     su
X          Sites in the Soviet Union (only one really active one so far!).
X     uk
X          Sites in the United Kingdom.
X
X   Within the `us' domain there are subdomains for the fifty
X   states, generally with a name identical to the state's postal
X   abbreviation.  Within the `uk' domain there is an `ac' subdomain for
X   academic sites and a `co' domain for commercial ones.  Other
X   top-level domains may be divided up in similar ways.
X
Xinterrupt: 1. [techspeak] n. On a computer, an event that
X   interrupts normal processing and temporarily diverts
X   flow-of-control through an "interrupt handler" routine.  See also
X   {trap}.  2. interj. A request for attention from a hacker.
X   Often explicitly spoken.  "Interrupt --- have you seen Joe
X   recently?".  See {priority interrupt}.  3. Under MS-DOS, the
X   term `interrupt' is nearly synonymous with `system call', because
X   the OS and BIOS routines are both called using the INT instruction
X   (see {{interrupt list, the}}) and because programmers so often have
X   to bypass the OS (going directly to a BIOS interrupt) to get
X   reasonable performance.
X
Xinterrupt list, the:: [MSDOS] n. The list of all known software
X   interrupt calls (both documented and undocumented) for IBM PCs and
X   compatibles maintained and made available for free redistribution
X   by Ralf Brown ([e-mail]).  As of early 1991, it had grown to
X   approximately 1 megabyte in length.
X
Xinterrupts locked out: adj. When someone is ignoring you.  In a
X   restaurant, after several fruitless attempts to get the waitress's
X   attention, a hacker might well observe that "She must have
X   interrupts locked out."  The synonym `interrupts disabled' is
X   also common.  Variations of this abound; "to have one's interrupt
X   mask bit set" or "interrupts masked out"is also heard.  See also
X   {spl}.
X
Xiron: n. Hardware, especially older/larger hardware of {mainframe}
X   class with big metal cabinets housing relatively low-density
X   electronics (but also used of modern supercomputers).  Often in the
X   phrase {big iron}.  Oppose {silicon}.  See also {dinosaur}.
X
XIron Age: n. In the history of computing, 1961-1971 --- the formative
X   era of commercial {mainframe} technology, when {big iron}
X   {dinosaur}s ruled the earth (the hackish metaphors for the era
X   aren't quite paleontologically correct).  These began with the
X   delivery of the first PDP-1, coincided with the dominance of
X   ferrite {core}, and ended with the introduction of the first
X   commercial microprocessor (the Intel 4004) in 1971.  See also
X   {Stone Age}.
X
Xiron box: [UNIX/Internet] n. A special environment set up to trap a
X   {cracker} logging in over remote connections long enough to be
X   traced.  May include a modified {shell} restricting the hacker's
X   movements in unobvious ways, and `bait' files designed to keep him
X   interested and logged on.  See also {back door}, {firewall
X   machine}, {Venus flytrap}, and Clifford Stoll's account in
X   `Cuckoo's Egg' of how he made and used one (see Appendix C).
X
Xironmonger: [IBM] n. Derogatory.  A hardware specialist.  Compare
X   {sandbender}, {polygon pusher}.
X
XITS: /ie-tee-ess/ n. 1. Incompatible Time-sharing System, an
X   influential but highly idiosyncratic operating system written for
X   PDP-10s at MIT and long used at the MIT AI lab; much AI-hacker
X   jargon derives from ITS folklore.  After about 1982, most actual
X   work was shifted to newer machines, with the remaining ITS boxes
X   run essentially as a hobby and service to the hacker community.
X   The shutdown of the lab's last ITS machine in May 1990 marked the
X   end of an era and sent old-time hackers into mourning nationwide
X   (see {high moby}).  The Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden
X   is maintaining one `live' ITS site at its computer museum (right
X   next to the only TOPS-10 system still on the Internet), so ITS is
X   still alleged to hold the record for OS in longest continuous
X   `use'.  See Appendix A.  2. A mythical image of operating system
X   perfection worshipped by a bizarre, fervent retro-cult of old-time
X   hackers and ex-users (see {troglodyte}, sense #2).  ITS
X   worshippers manage somehow to continue believing that an OS that
X   supported only character I/O and monocase 6-character filenames in
X   one directory per account remains superior to today's state of
X   commercial art (their venom against UNIX is particularly intense).
X   See also {holy wars}, {Weenix}.
X
XIWBNI: [acronym] It Would Be Nice If.  No pronunciation, as this is
X   never spoken, only written.  Compare {WIBNI}.
X
XIYFEG: [USENET] Abbreviation for `Insert Your Favorite Ethnic
X   Group'.  Used as a meta-name when telling racist jokes on the net to
X   avoid offending anyone.  See {JEDR}.
X
X= J =
X=====
X
XJ. Random: /jay rand'm/ n. [generalized from {J. Random Hacker}]
X   Arbitrary; ordinary; any one; `any old'.  `J. Random' is often
X   prefixed to a noun to make a name out of it.  It means roughly
X   `some particular' or `any specific one'.  "Would you let
X   J. Random Loser marry your daughter?".  The most common uses are
X   `J. Random Hacker', `J. Random Loser' and `J. Random Nerd'
X   ("Should J. Random Loser be allowed to {gun} down other
X   people?"), but it can be used simply as an elaborate version of
X   {random} in any sense.
X
XJ. Random Hacker: [MIT] /jay rand'm hak'r/ n. A mythical figure
X   like the Unknown Soldier; the archetypal hacker nerd.  See
X   {random}, {Suzie COBOL}.  This may originally have been
X   inspired or influenced by `J. Fred Muggs', a show-biz chimpanzee
X   whose name was a household word back in the early days of the MIT
X   Model Railroad Club.
X
Xjaggies: /jag'eez/ n. The `stairstep' effect observable when an
X   edge (esp. a linear edge of shallow or steep slope) is rendered on
X   a pixel device (as opposed to a vector display).
X
XJCL: n. 1. IBM's supremely {rude} `Job Control Language'.
X   JCL is the script language used to control the execution of
X   programs in IBM's batch systems.  JCL has a very {fascist}
X   syntax, and some versions will, for example, {barf} if two spaces
X   appear where it expects one.  Most programmers confronted with JCL
X   simply copy a working file (or card deck), changing the file names.
X   Someone who actually understands and generates unique JCL is
X   regarded with the mixed respect which one gives to someone who
X   memorizes the phone book.  It is reported that hackers at IBM
X   itself sometimes sing "I-B-M, J-C-L, M-o-u-s-e" to the toune of
X   the Mickey Mouse Club theme to express their opinion of the beast
X   (think about the original lyrics).  2. Any very {rude} software
X   that a hacker is expected to use.  "That's as bad as JCL."  As
X   with {COBOL}, JCL is often used as an archetype of ugliness even
X   by those who haven't experienced it.  See also {IBM}, {fear and
X   loathing}.
X
XJEDR: n. Synonymous with {IYFEG}.  At one time, the
X   rec.humor.funny newsgroup on USENET tended to use JEDR instead of
X   {IYFEG} or <ethnic>; this stemmed from a nearly successful
X   attempt to kill the group once made by a loser with the initials
X   JEDR after he was offended by an ethnic joke posted there (the
X   practice was rationalized by the expanding these initials as `Joke
X   Ethnic/Denomination/Race').  After much sound and fury JEDR faded
X   away; this term appears to be doing likewise.
X
XJFCL: /jif'kl/ or /jaf'kl/ vt., obs. (alt. `jfcl') To cancel or
X   annul something.  "Why don't you jfcl that out?"  The fastest
X   do-nothing instruction on the PDP-10 happened to be JFCL, which
X   stands for "Jump if Flag set and then CLear the flag"; this does
X   something useful, but is a very fast no-operation if no flag is
X   specified.  Geoff Goodfellow, one of the jargon-1 co-authors, has
X   long had JFCL on the license plate of his BMW.  Usage: rare except
X   among old-time PDP-10 hackers.
X
Xjiffy: n. 1. The duration of one tick of the system clock on the
X   computer (see {tick}).  Often 1 AC cycle time (1/60 second in the
X   U.S. and Canada, 1/50 most other places) but more recently 1/100
X   sec has become common.  "The swapper runs every 6 jiffies"
X   means that the virtual memory management routine is executed once
X   for every 6 ticks of the clock, or about 10 times a second.  2.
X   Confusingly, the term is sometimes also used for a 1-millisecond
X   {wall time} interval.  3. Indeterminate time from a few seconds
X   to forever.  "I'll do it in a jiffy" means certainly not now and
X   possibly never.  This is a bit contrary to the more widespread use
X   of the word.  See also {Real Soon Now}.
X
Xjob security: n. When some piece of code is written in a
X   particularly {obscure} fashion, and no good reason (such as time
X   or space optimization) can be discovered, it is often said that the
X   programmer was attempting to increase his job security (i.e., by
X   making himself indispensable for maintenance).  This sour joke
X   seldom has to be said in full; if two hackers are looking over some
X   code together and one points at a section and says `job security',
X   the other one may just nod.
X
Xjock: n. 1. Programmer who is characterized by large and somewhat
X   brute-force programs.  See {brute force}.  2. When modified by
X   another noun, describes a specialist in some particular computing
X   area.  The compounds `compiler jock' and `systems jock' seem to be
X   the best established examples of this.
X
Xjoe code: /joh' kohd`/ n. 1. Code that is overly {tense} and
X   unmaintainable.  "{Perl} may be a handy program, but if you look
X   at the source, it's complete joe code."  2. Badly written,
X   possibly buggy.
X
X   Correspondents wishing to remain anonymous have fingered a
X   particular Joe at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory and observed
X   that usage has drifted slightly; the original sobriquet `Joe code'
X   was intended in sense #1.
X
XJR[LN]: /jay ahr en/, /jay ahr el/ n. The names JRN and JRL were
X   sometimes used as example names when discussing a kind of user ID
X   used under {TOPS-10}; they were understood to be the initials of
X   (fictitious) programmers named `J. Random Nerd' and `J. Random
X   Loser' (see {J. Random}).  For example, if one said "To log in,
X   type log one comma jay are en" (that is, "log 1,JRN"), the
X   listener would have understood that he should use his own computer
X   id in place of `JRN'.
X
Xjump off into never-never land: [from J. M. Barrie's `Peter
X   Pan'] v. Same as {branch to Fishkill}, but more common in
X   technical cultures associated with non-IBM computers that use the
X   term `jump' rather than `branch'.  Compare {hyperspace}.
X
X= K =
X=====
X
XK: /kay/ [from {kilo-}] n. A kilobyte.  This is used both as a
X   spoken word and a written suffix (like {meg} and {gig} for
X   megabyte and gigabyte).  The formal SI metric prefix for 1000 is
X   `k'; some people use this strictly, reserving `K' for
X   multiplication by 1024.  See also {kilo-}.
X
XK&R: [Kernighan and Ritchie] n. Brian Kernighan & Dennis Ritchie's
X   `The C Programming Language', esp. the classic and influential
X   first edition (Prentice-Hall 1978, ISBN 0-113-110163-3).  Syn.
X   {White Book}, {Old Testament}.  See also {New Testament}.
X
Xkahuna: /k@-hoo'nuh/ [IBM, from the Hawaiian title for a shaman] n.
X   Synonym for {wizard}, {guru}.
X
Xkamikaze packet: n. The `official' jargon for what is more commonly
X   called a {Christmas tree packet}. RFC1025, `TCP and IP Bake Off'
X   says:
X
X     10 points for correctly being able to process a "Kamikaze"
X     packet (AKA nastygram, christmas tree packet, lamp test
X     segment, et al.).  That is, correctly handle a segment with the
X     maximum combination of features at once (e.g., a SYN URG PUSH
X     FIN segment with options and data).
X
X   See also {Chernobyl packet}.
X
Xken: /ken/ n. A flaming user.  This was originated by the Software
X   Support group at Symbolics because the two greatest flamers in the
X   user community were both named Ken.
X
Xkgbvax: /kay-jee-bee-vaks/ n. See {kremvax}.
X
Xkill file: [USENET] n. (alt. `KILL file') Per-user file(s) used
X   by some {USENET} reading programs (originally Larry Wall's
X   `rn(1)') to discard summarily (without presenting for reading)
X   articles which match some particularly uninteresting (or unwanted)
X   patterns of subject, author, or other header lines.  Thus to "add
X   a person (or subject) to one's kill file" is to arrange for that
X   person to be ignored by one's newsreader in future.  By extension,
X   it may be used for a decision to ignore the person or subject in
X   other media.  See also {plonk}.
X
Xkiller micro: [popularized by Eugene Brooks] n. A
X   microprocessor-based machine that infringes on mini, mainframe or
X   supercomputer performance turf.  Often heard in "No one will
X   survive the attack of the killer micros!", the battle cry of the
X   downsizers.  Used esp. of RISC architectures.
X
Xkiller poke: n. A recipe for inducing hardware damage on a machine
X   via insertion of invalid values (see {poke}) in a memory-mapped
X   control register; used esp. of various fairly well-known tricks on
X   MMU-less {bitty box}es like the IBM PC and Commodore PET that can
X   overload and trash analog electronics in the monitor.  See also
X   {HCF}.
X
Xkilo-: [from metric measure] pref. 1. Used with anything that
X   naturally comes in powers of 2 (especially byte quantities),
X   `kilo-' usually denotes multiplication by 1024.  2. With units of
X   time or things that come in powers of 10, such as money, it retains
X   its usual meaning of multiplication of 1000.
X
X   Similarly, the higher metric prefixes may denote multiplication by
X   powers of 1024 = 2 ^ 10 rather than of 1000:
X
X     prefix   binary               decimal
X     kilo-    1024 ^ 1 = 2 ^ 10    1,024
X     mega-    1024 ^ 2 = 2 ^ 20    1,048,576
X     giga-    1024 ^ 3 = 2 ^ 30    1,073,741,824
X     tera-    1024 ^ 4 = 2 ^ 40    1,099,511,627,776
X     peta-    1024 ^ 5 = 2 ^ 50    1,125,899,906,842,624
X     exa-     1024 ^ 6 = 2 ^ 60    1,152,921,504,606,846,976.
X
X   Confusion of 1000 and 1024 (or other powers of 2 and 10 close in
X   magnitude), for example, describing memory in units of 500K or 524K
X   (see {K}) instead of 512K, is a sure sign of the {marketroid}.
X   See also {mega-},  {giga-},  {tera-},  {peta-},  {exa-}.
X
XKIPS: [acronym, by analogy with {MIPS} using {K}] n. Thousands
X   (*not* 1024s) of Instructions Per Second.  Usage: rare.
X
XKISS Principle: n. "Keep It Simple, Stupid".  A maxim often
X   invoked when discussing design to fend off {creeping featurism}
X   and control development complexity.  Possibly related to the
X   {marketroid} maxim on sales presentations, "Keep It Short and
X   Simple".
X
Xkit: [USENET] n. A source software distribution that has been
X   packaged in such a way that it can (theoretically) be unpacked and
X   installed according to a series of steps using only standard UNIX
X   tools, and entirely documented by some reasonable chain of
X   references from the top-level {README file}.  The more general
X   term {distribution} may imply that special tools or more
X   stringent conditions on the host environment are required.
X
Xkluge: /klooj/ alt. kludge /kluhj/ [from the German `klug',
X   clever; /klooj/ is the original pronunciation, more common in the
X   US; /kluhj/ is reported more common in England.  A plurality of
X   hackers pronounce this word /klooj/ but spell it incorrectly as
X   `kludge' (compare the pronunciation drift of {mung}).  Some
X   observers consider this appropriate in view of its meaning.] 1.
X   n. A Rube Goldberg (or Heath Robinson) device in hardware or
X   software.  (A long-ago {Datamation} article by Jackson Granholme
X   said: "An ill-assorted collection of poorly matching parts,
X   forming a distressing whole.")  2. n. A clever programming trick
X   intended to solve a particular nasty case in an expedient, if not
X   clear, manner.  Often used to repair bugs.  Often involves
X   {ad-hockery} and verges on being a {crock}.  3. n. Something
X   that works for the wrong reason.  4. vt. To insert a kluge into a
X   program.  "I've kluged this routine to get around that weird bug,
X   but there's probably a better way."  5. [WPI] n. A feature that
X   is implemented in a {rude} manner.
X
Xkluge around: vt. To avoid a bug or difficult condition by
X   inserting a {kluge}.  Compare {workaround}.
X
Xkluge up: vt. To lash together a quick hack to perform a task; this
X   is milder than {cruft together} and has some of the connotations
X   of {hack up} (note, however, that the construction `kluge on'
X   corresponding to {hack on} is never used).  "I've kluged up this
X   routine to dump the buffer contents to a safe place."
X
XKnights of the Lambda Calculus: n. A semi-mythical organization of
X   wizardly LISP and Scheme hackers (the name refers to a mathematical
X   formalism invented by Alonzo Church with which LISP is intimately
X   connected).  There is no enrollment list and the criteria for
X   induction are unclear, but one well-known LISPer has been known to
X   give out buttons and, in general, the *members* know who they
X   are....
X
XKnuth: [Donald Knuth's `The Art of Computer Programming'] n.
X   Mythically, the reference that answers all questions about data
X   structures or algorithms.  A safe answer when you do not know, as
X   in "I think you can find that in Knuth."  Contrast {literature,
X   the}.  See also {bible}.
X
Xkremvax: /krem-vaks/ [from the then large number of {USENET}
X   {VAXen} with names of the form `foovax'] n. A fictitious USENET
X   site at the Kremlin, announced on April 1, 1984, in a posting
X   ostensibly originated there by Soviet leader Konstantin Chernenko.
X   The posting was actually forged by Piet Beertema as an April Fool's
X   joke.  Other sites mentioned in the hoax were moskvax and
X   {kgbvax}, which now seems to be the one by which it is
X   remembered.  This was probably the funniest of the many April
X   Fool's forgeries perpetrated on USENET (which has negligible
X   security against them), because the notion that USENET might ever
X   penetrate the Iron Curtain seemed so totally absurd at the time.
X
X   In fact, it was only 6 years later that the first genuine site in
X   Moscow, demos.su, joined USENET.  Some readers needed convincing
X   that it wasn't another prank.  Vadim Antonov ([e-mail]),
X   the major poster from Moscow up to at least the end of 1990, was
X   quite aware of all this, referred to it frequently in his own
X   postings, and at one point twitted some credulous readers by
X   blandly admitting that he *was* a hoax!  [Mr. Antonov also
X   contributed the Russian-language material for this File --- ESR]
X
X= L =
X=====
X
Xlace card: n. obs. A {{punched card}} with all holes punched (also
X   called a `whoopee card').  Card readers jammed when they got to
X   one of these, as the resulting card had too little structural
X   strength to avoid buckling inside the mechanism.  Card punches
X   could also jam trying to produce these things due to power-supply
X   problems.  When some practical joker fed a lace card through the
X   reader, you needed to clear the jam with a `card knife' ---
X   which you used on the joker first.
X
Xlanguage lawyer: n. A person, usually an experienced or senior
X   software engineer, who is intimately familiar with many or most of
X   the numerous restrictions and features (both useful and esoteric)
X   applicable to one or more computer programming languages.  A
X   language lawyer is distinguished by the ability to show you the
X   five sentences scattered throughout a 200-plus page manual which
X   together imply the answer to your question "if only you had
X   thought to look there".  Compare {wizard}, {legal},
X   {legalese}.
X
Xlanguages of choice: n. {C} and {LISP}. Essentially all hackers
X   know one of these and most good ones are fluent in both.  Smalltalk
X   and Prolog are also popular in small but influential communities.
X
X   There is also a rapidly dwindling category of older hackers with
X   FORTRAN, or even assembler, as their language of choice.  They
X   often prefer to be known as <real programmer>s, and other hackers
X   consider them a bit odd (see `The Story of Mel, a Real Programmer'
X   in Appendix A).  Assembler is generally no longer considered
X   interesting or appropriate for anything but HLL implementation,
X   glue, and a few time-critical and hardware-specific uses in systems
X   programs.  FORTRAN occupies a shrinking niche in scientific
X   programming.
X
X   Most hackers tend to frown at languages like {{Pascal}} and
X   {{Ada}} which don't give them the near-total freedom considered
X   necessary for hacking (see {bondage-and-discipline language}), and
X   to regard everything that's even remotely connected with {COBOL}
X   or other traditional {card walloper} languages as a total
X   {loss}.
X
Xlarval stage: n. Describes a period of monomaniacal concentration
X   on coding apparently passed through by all fledgling hackers.
SHAR_EOF
true || echo 'restore of jargon.ascii failed'
fi
echo 'End of part 9, continue with part 10'
echo 10 > _shar_seq_.tmp
exit 0