Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!csd4.csd.uwm.edu!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!ames!think!barmar
From: barmar@think.COM (Barry Margolin)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions
Subject: Re: what is 'frobbed'?
Message-ID: <28947@news.Think.COM>
Date: 7 Sep 89 03:13:12 GMT
References: <925@manta.NOSC.MIL>
Sender: news@Think.COM
Distribution: usa
Organization: Thinking Machines Corporation, Cambridge MA, USA
Lines: 23

In article <925@manta.NOSC.MIL> psm@manta.nosc.mil (Scot Mcintosh) writes:
>In looking at some unix source code, I've encountered several uses of
>the word 'frobbed'.  From the context, it appears that it means
>'manipulated in some unspecified way'.  Is this an accurate
>interpretation, or is there another meaning?  Is this even a
>unix-domain word, or just some neologism generated by a bored
>programmer?

Yes, you've deduced the meaning correctly.

It's not a Unix neologism, but a hacker neologism, which came from MIT
in the 60's or 70's.  It comes from the noun "frob", which is a short
form of the word "frobozz" (if you've ever played Zork, you've
probably seen this word), which are hacker jargon for "thing".
Another verb form that used to be used was "frobnicate", but this
seems to have been supplanted by the verb use of "frob".


Barry Margolin
Thinking Machines Corp.

barmar@think.com
{uunet,harvard}!think!barmar