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From: eric@snark.thyrsus.com (Eric S. Raymond)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers,comp.misc
Subject: The Jargon File v2.8.1, 22 MAR 1991, part 4 of 19
Message-ID: <1ZsDxg#9O5HWP2XZR7Z07gXlz3DwJvC=eric@snark.thyrsus.com>
Date: 22 Mar 91 23:38:44 GMT
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Submitted-by: jargon@thyrsus.com
Archive-name: jargon/part04

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X   See {{Pascal}}; oppose {languages of choice}.
X
Xbonk/oif: /bonk/, /oyf/ interj. In the {MUD} community, it has
X   become traditional to express pique or censure by `bonking' the
X   offending person.  There is a convention that one should
X   acknowledge a bonk by saying `oif!' and a myth to the effect that
X   failing to do so upsets the cosmic bonk/oif balance, causing much
X   trouble in the universe.  Some MUDs have implemented special
X   commands for bonking and oifing.  See also {talk mode},
X   {posing}.
X
Xbook titles:: There is a tradition in hackerdom of informally
X   tagging important textbooks and standards documents with the
X   dominant color of their covers or with some other conspicuous
X   feature of the cover.  Many of these are described in this lexicon
X   under their own entries.
X
X   See also {Blue Book}, {Red Book}, {Green Book}, {Silver
X   Book}, {Purple Book}, {Orange Book}, {White Book}, {Yellow
X   Book}, {Pink-Shirt Book}, {Aluminum Book}, {Dragon Book},
X   {Wizard Book}, {Cinderella Book}.
X
Xboot: [techspeak; from `by one's bootstraps'] v.,n. To load and
X   initialize the operating system on a machine.  This usage is no
X   longer jargon but has given rise to some derivatives which still
X   are.
X
X   The derivative `reboot' implies that the machine hasn't been
X   down for long, even that the boot is a {bounce} intended to clear
X   some state of {wedgitude}.  This is sometimes used of human
X   thought processes, as in the following exchange: "You've lost
X   me." "O.K., reboot.  Here's the theory...."
X
X   Also found in the variants `cold boot' (from power-off condition)
X   and `warm boot' (with the CPU and all devices already powered up,
X   as after a hardware reset or software crash).
X
X   Another variant: `soft boot', re-initialization of only part of a
X   system, under control of other software that's still running: "If
X   you're running the {mess-dos} emulator, control-alt-insert will
X   cause a soft-boot of the emulator, while leaving the rest of the
X   system running."
X
X   Opposed to this there is `hard boot', which connotes hostility
X   towards or frustration with the machine being booted.  "I'll have
X   to hard-boot this losing Sun" or "I recommend booting it hard."
X
X   Historical note: this term derives from `bootstrap loader', a short
X   program which was read in from cards or paper tape, or toggled in
X   from the front panel switches.  This program was always very short
X   (great efforts were expended on making it short in order to
X   minimize the labor and chance of error involved in toggling it in),
X   but was just smart enough to read in a slightly more complex
X   program (usually from a card or paper tape reader), to which it
X   handed control; this program in turn was smart enough to read the
X   application or operating system from a magnetic tape drive or disk
X   drive.  Thus, in successive steps, the computer "pulled itself up
X   by its bootstraps" to a useful operating state.  Nowadays the
X   bootstrap is usually found in ROM or EPROM, and reads the first
X   stage in from a fixed location on the disk, called the `boot
X   block'.  When this program gains control, it is powerful enough to
X   load the actual OS and hand control over to it.
X
Xbottom-up implementation: n. Hackish opposite of the techspeak term
X   `top-down design'.  It is now received wisdom in most
X   programming cultures that it is best to design from higher levels
X   of abstraction down to lower, specifying sequences of action in
X   increasing detail until you get to actual code.  Hackers often find
X   (especially in exploratory designs which cannot be closely
X   specified in advance) that it works best to `build' things in
X   the opposite order, by writing and testing a clean set of primitive
X   operations and then knitting them together.
X
Xbounce: v. 1. [UNIX, perhaps from the image of a thrown ball
X   bouncing off a wall] An electronic mail message which is
X   undeliverable and returns an error notification to the sender is
X   said to `bounce'.  See also {bounce message}.  2. [Stanford] To
X   play volleyball.  At the now-demolished DC Power building used by
X   the Stanford AI Lab in the 1970's there was a volleyball court on
X   the front lawn.  From 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM was the scheduled
X   maintenance time for the computer, so every afternoon at 5:00 the
X   computer would become unavailable, and over the intercom a voice
X   would cry , "Now hear this: bounce, bounce!" followed by Brian
X   McCune loudly bouncing a volleyball on the floor outside the
X   offices of known volleyballers.  3. To engage in sexual
X   intercourse; prob. from the expression `bouncing the mattress', but
X   influenced by Piglet's psychosexually loaded "Bounce on me too,
X   Tigger!" from the Winnie-the-Pooh books.  Compare {boink}.
X   4. To casually reboot a system in order to clear up a transient
X   problem.  Reported primarily among {VMS} users.  5. [IBM] To
X   {power cycle} a peripheral in order to reset it.
X
Xbounce message: [UNIX] n. Notification message returned to sender by
X   a site unable to relay {email} to the intended {{Internet address}}
X   recipient or the next link in a {bang path} (see {bounce}).
X   Reasons might include a nonexistent or misspelled username or a
X   down relay site.  Bounce messages can themselves fail, with
X   occasionally ugly results; see {sorcerer's apprentice mode}.
X   The collective `bounce mail' is also common.
X
Xbox: n. 1.  A computer; esp. in the construction "foo box"
X   where foo is some functional qualifier, like `graphics', or the
X   name of an OS (thus, `UNIX box', `MS-DOS box', etc.
X   2. [within IBM] Without qualification but within an SNA-using site
X   (see {Blue Glue}), this refers specifically to an IBM front-end
X   processor or FEP /eff-ee-pee/.  An FEP is a small computer
X   necessary to enable an IBM {mainframe} to communicate beyond the
X   limits of the {dinosaur pen}.  Typically used in expressions like
X   the cry that goes up when an SNA network goes down, "Looks like
X   the {box} has fallen over." (see {fall over}.) See also
X   {IBM}, {fear and loathing}, {fepped out}, {Blue Glue}.
X
Xboxed comments: n. Comments (explanatory notes in code) which occupy
X   several lines by themselves; so called because in assembler and C
X   code they are often surrounded by a box in a style something like
X   this:
X
X     /*************************************************
X      *
X      * This is a boxed comment in C style
X      *
X      *************************************************/
X
X   Common variants of this style omit the asterisks in column two or
X   add a matching row of asterisks closing the right end of the box.
X   The sparest variant omits all but the comment delimiters at
X   the extreme left; the `box' is implied.  Oppose {winged
X   comments}.
X
Xboxen: /bok'sn/ [by analogy with {VAXen}] pl.n. Fanciful plural of
X   {box} often encountered in the phrase `UNIX boxen', used to
X   describe commodity {UNIX} hardware.  The connotation is that any
X   two UNIX boxen are interchangeable.
X
Xboxology: /bok-sol'*-jee/ n. 1. The fine art of drawing diagrams
X   using the `box' characters (mainly, `|', `-', and
X   `+') in ASCII-monospace fonts.  Also known as `character
X   graphics' or `ASCII graphics'.  2. Boxological drawings.
X   "His report has a lot of boxology in it".  Compare {macrology}.
X
Xbozotic: /boh-zoh'tik/ [from a TV clown even more losing than
X   Ronald McDonald] adj. Resembling or having the quality of a bozo;
X   that is, clownish, ludicrously wrong, unintentionally humorous.
X   Compare {wonky}, {demented}.  Note that the noun `bozo' occurs
X   in slang, but the mainstream adjectival form would be `bozo-like'
X   or (in New England) `bozoish'; the formation `bozotic' is hackish.
X
XBQS: /bee-kyoo-ess/ adj. Syn. {Berkeley Quality Software}.
X
Xbrain dump: n. The act of telling someone everything one knows
X   about a particular topic or project.  Typically used when someone
X   is going to let a new party maintain a piece of code.  Conceptually
X   analogous to an operating system {core dump} in that it saves a
X   lot of useful {state} before an exit.  Example: "You'll have to
X   give me a brain dump on FOOBAR, before you start your new job at
X   HackerCorp."  See {core dump} (sense #4).  At Sun, this is also
X   known as `TOI' (transfer of information).
X
Xbrain-damaged: [generalization of `Honeywell Brain Damage' (HBD), a
X   theoretical disease invented to explain certain utter cretinisms
X   in Honeywell {Multics}] adj. Obviously wrong; {cretinous};
X   {demented}.  There is an implication that the person responsible
X   must have suffered brain damage, because he should have known
X   better.  Calling something brain-damaged is really bad; it also
X   implies it is unusable, and that its failure to work is due to poor
X   design rather than some accident.
X
Xbrain-dead: adj. Brain-damaged in the extreme.  Not quite like
X   mainstream use, as it tends to imply terminal design failure rather
X   than malfunction or simple stupidity.
X
Xbraino: /bray'no/ n. Syn. for {thinko}.
X
Xbranch to Fishkill: [IBM, from the location of one of their
X   facilities] n. Any unexpected jump in a program that produces
X   catastrophic or just plain weird results.  See {jump off into
X   never-never land}, {hyperspace}.
X
Xbrand brand brand: n. Humorous catch-phrase from {BartleMUD}s, in which
X   players were described carrying a list of objects, the most
X   common of which would usually be a brand.  Often used as a joke
X   in {talk mode} as in "Fred the wizard is here, carrying brand
X   ruby brand brand brand kettle broadsword flamethrower".  Prob.
X   influenced by the infamous Monty Python `Spam' skit.
X
Xbreak: 1. vt. To cause to be broken (in any sense).  "Your
X   latest patch to the editor broke the paragraph commands."  2. v.
X   (of a program) To stop temporarily, so that it may debugged.  The
X   place where it stops is a "breakpoint".  3. [techspeak] vi. To
X   send an RS-232 break (125 msec. of line high) over a serial comm
X   line.  4. [UNIX] vi. To strike whatever key currently causes the
X   tty driver to send SIGINT to the current process.  Normally break
X   (sense 3) or delete does this.
X
Xbreakage: 1. Brokenness and the consequent mess.  2. [IBM] n.
X   The extra people that must be added to an organization because its
X   master plan has changed; used esp. of software and hardware
X   development teams.
X
Xbreath-of-life packet: [XEROX PARC] n. An Ethernet packet that
X   contained bootstrap code, periodically sent out from a working
X   computer to infuse the `breath of life' into any computer on the
X   network that had happened to crash.  The machines had hardware or
X   firmware that would wait for such a packet after a catastrophic
X   error.
X
Xbring X to its knees: v. Of a machine, operating system, piece of
X   software, or algorithm; to present it with a load so extreme or
X   pathological that it grinds virtually to a halt.  "To bring a
X   MicroVAX to its knees, try twenty users running {vi} --- or four
X   running {EMACS}."  Compare {hog}.
X
Xbrittle: adj. Said of software that's functional but easily broken
X   by changes in operating environment or configuration, or by any
X   minor tweak to the software itself.  Also, any system which
X   responds inappropriately and disastrously to expected external
X   stimuli, e.g., a file system that is usually totally scrambled by a
X   power failure is said to be brittle.  This term is often used to
X   describe the results of a research effort that were never intended
X   to be robust, but can be applied to commercially developed
X   software.  Oppose {robust}.
X
Xbroadcast storm: n. An incorrect packet broadcast on a network that
X   causes most hosts to respond all at once, typically with wrong
X   answers that start the process over again.  See {network
X   meltdown}.
X
Xbroken: adj. 1. Not working properly (of programs).  2. Behaving
X   strangely; especially, (when used of people) exhibiting extreme
X   depression.
X
Xbroket: /broh'k*t/ or /broh'ket/ [by analogy with `bracket': a
X   `broken bracket'] n. Either of the characters `<' and
X   `>', when used as paired enclosing delimiters.  This word
X   originated as a contraction of the phrase `broken bracket', that
X   is, a bracket that is bent in the middle.  (At MIT, and apparently
X   in the {Real World} as well, these are usually called {angle
X   brackets}.)
X
XBrooks's Law: prov. "Adding manpower to a late software project
X   makes it later" --- a result of the fact that the advantage from
X   splitting work between N programmers is O(N), but the complexity
X   and communications cost associated with coordinating and then
X   merging their work is O(N^2).  The quote is from Fred Brooks, a
X   manager of IBM's OS/360 project and author of `The Mythical
X   Man-Month' (Addison-Wesley, 1975, ISBN, 0-201-00650-2), an
X   excellent early book on software engineering; the myth in question
X   has been most tersely expressed as "Programmer time is fungible",
X   and Brooks established conclusively that it is not.  Hackers have
X   never forgotten his advice; too often, {management} does.
X
XBRS: n. Syn. {Big Red Switch}.  This abbreviation is fairly
X   common on-line.
X
Xbrute force: adj. Describes a certain kind of primitive
X   programming style; broadly speaking, one in which the programmer
X   relies on the computer's processing power instead of using his/her
X   own intelligence to simplify the problem, often ignoring problems
X   of scale and applying naive methods suited to small problems
X   directly to large ones.
X
X   The {canonical} example of a brute force algorithm is associated
X   with the `Travelling salesman problem' (TSP), a classical NP-hard
X   problem: suppose a person is in Boston and wishes to drive to N
X   other cities.  In what order should he/she visit them in order to
X   minimize the distance travelled?  The brute force method is to
X   simply generate all possible routes and compare the distances;
X   while guaranteed to work and simple to implement, this algorithm is
X   clearly very `stupid' in that it considers even obviously absurd
X   routes (like going from Boston to Houston via San Francisco and New
X   York, in that order).  For small N it works well, but it rapidly
X   becomes absurdly inefficient when N increases (for N=15, there are
X   already 1,307,674,368,000 possible routes to consider, and for
X   N=1000...well, see {bignum}).  See also {NP-}.
X
X   A more simple-minded example of brute-force programming is finding
X   the smallest number in a large list by first using an existing
X   program to sort the list in ascending order, and then picking the
X   first number off the front.
X
X   Note that whether brute-force programming should be considered
X   stupid or not depends on the context; if the problem isn't too big,
X   the extra CPU time spent on a brute-force solution may cost less
X   than the programmer time it would take to develop a more
X   `intelligent' algorithm.  Alternatively, a more intelligent
X   algorithm may imply more long-term complexity cost and bug-chasing
X   than are justified by the speed improvement.
X
X   Ken Thompson, co-inventor of UNIX, is reported to have uttered the
X   epigram "When in doubt, use brute force".  He probably intended
X   this as a {ha ha only serious}, but the original UNIX kernel's
X   preference for simple, robust, and portable algorithms over fragile
X   `smart' ones does seem to have been a significant factor in the
X   success of that OS.  Like so many other tradeoffs in software
X   design, the choice between brute force and complex, finely-tuned
X   cleverness is often a difficult one that requires both engineering
X   savvy and delicate esthetic judgement.
X
Xbrute force and ignorance: n. A popular design technique at many
X   software houses --- {brute force} coding unrelieved by any
X   knowledge of how problems have been previously solved in elegant
X   ways.  Dogmatic adherence to design methodologies tends to
X   encourage it.  Characteristic of early {larval stage} programming;
X   unfortunately, many never outgrow it.  Often abbreviated BFI, as
X   in: "Gak, they used a bubble sort!  That's strictly from BFI."
X   Compare {bogosity}.
X
XBSD: /bee-ess-dee/ n. [acronym for Berkeley System Distribution] a
X   family of {UNIX} versions for the DEC {VAX} developed by Bill
X   Joy and others at University of California at Berkeley starting
X   around 1980, incorporating paged virtual memory, TCP/IP networking
X   enhancements and many other features.  The BSD versions (4.1, 4.2,
X   and 4.3) and commercial versions derived from them (SunOS, ULTRIX,
X   and Mt. Xinu) held the technical lead in the UNIX world until
X   AT&T's successful standardization efforts after about 1986, and are
X   still widely popular.  See {UNIX}, {USG UNIX}.
X
Xbubble sort: n. Techspeak for a particular sorting technique.
X   Because it is not very good compared to other methods, and is the
X   one typically stumbled on by {naive} and untutored programmers,
X   hackers consider it the canonical example of a naive algorithm.
X   The canonical example of a really *bad* algorithm is
X   {bogo-sort}.  A bubble sort might be used out of ignorance, but
X   any use of bogo-sort could issue only from brain-damage or willful
X   perversity.
X
Xbucky bits: /buh'kee bits/ n. 1. obs. The bits produced by the
X   CONTROL and META shift keys, on a SAIL keyboard, resulting in a
X   9-bit keyboard character set.  The MIT-AI TV (Knight) keyboards
X   extended this with TOP and separate left and right CONTROL and META
X   keys, resulting in a 12-bit character set; later, Lisp Machines
X   added such keys as SUPER, HYPER, and GREEK (see {space-cadet
X   keyboard}).  2. By extension, bits associated with `extra' shift
X   keys on any keyboard, e.g. the ALT on an IBM PC or command and
X   option keys on a Macintosh.
X
X   It is rumored that `bucky bits' were named for Buckminster Fuller
X   during a period when he was consulting at Stanford.  Actually,
X   `Bucky' was Niklaus Wirth's nickname when *he* was at
X   Stanford; he first suggested the idea of an EDIT key to set the 8th
X   bit of an otherwise 7-bit ASCII character.  This was used in a
X   number of editors written at Stanford or environs (TV-EDIT and NLS
X   being the most well-known).  The term spread to MIT and CMU early
X   and is now in general use.  See {double bucky}, {quadruple
X   bucky}.
X
Xbuffer overflow: n. What happens when you try to stuff more data
X   into a buffer (holding area) than it can handle.  This may be due
X   to a mismatch in the processing rates of the producing and
X   consuming processes (see {overrun}), or because the buffer is
X   simply too small to hold all the data that needs to accumulate
X   before a piece of it can be processed. For example, in a text
X   processing tool that crunches newline-terminated lines, a short
X   line buffer can result in {lossage} as input from a long line
X   overflows the buffer and trashes data beyond it.  See also
X   {spam}, {overrun screw}.
X
Xbug: n. An unwanted and unintended property of a program or hardware,
X   esp. one which causes it to malfunction.  Antonym of {feature}.
X   Examples: "There's a bug in the editor: it writes things out
X   backwards."  "The system crashed because of a hardware bug."
X   "Fred is a winner, but he has a few bugs."  (i.e., Fred is a good
X   guy, but he has a few personality problems.)
X
X   Some have said this term came from telephone company usage, in
X   which "bugs in a telephone cable" were blamed for noisy lines,
X   but this appears to be an incorrect folk etymology.  Admiral Grace
X   Hopper (an early computing pioneer better known for inventing
X   {COBOL}) liked to tell a story in which a technician solved a
X   persistent {glitch} in the Harvard Mark II machine by pulling an
X   actual physical bug out from between the contacts of one of its
X   relays, and she subsequently promulgated {bug} in its hackish
X   sense as a joke about the incident (though, as she was careful to
X   admit, she was not there when it happened).  For many years the
X   logbook associated with the incident and the actual bug in question
X   (a moth) sat in a display case at the Naval Surface Warfare Center;
X   it now resides in the Smithsonian.  The entire story, with a
X   picture of the logbook and the moth taped into it, is recorded in
X   the Annals of the History of Computing, Volume 3, Number 3 (July
X   1981), on pages 285--286.
X
X   Interestingly, the text of the log entry (from September 9th,
X   1945), which reads "1545 Relay #70 Panel F (moth) in relay.  First
X   actual case of bug being found", seems to establish that the term
X   was already in use at the time.  Indeed, the use of `bug' to mean
X   an industrial defect was already established in Thomas Edison's
X   time, and `bug' in the sense of an disruptive event goes back to
X   Shakespeare!  In the First Edition of Johnson's Dictionary one
X   meaning of `bug' is "A frightful object; a walking spectre"; this
X   is traced to `bugbear', a Welsh term for a variety of mythological
X   monster which (to complete the circle) has recently been
X   reintroduced into the popular lexicon through fantasy role-playing
X   games.
X
X   In any case, in jargon the word almost never refers to insects.
X   Here is a plausible conversation that never actually happened:
X
X   "There is a bug in this ant-farm!"
X
X   "What do you mean?  I don't see any ants in it."
X
X   "That's the bug."
X
Xbug-compatible: n. Said of a design or revision the design of which
X   has been badly compromised by a requirement to be compatible with
X   {fossil}s or {misfeature}s in other programs or (esp.) previous
X   releases of itself.
X
Xbug-for-bug compatible: n. Same as {bug-compatible}, with the
X   additional implication that much tedious effort went into ensuring
X   that each (known) bug was replicated.
X
Xbuglix: n. Pejorative term referring to DEC's ULTRIX operating
X   system in its earlier *severely* buggy versions.  Still used to
X   describe ULTRIX but without venom.  Compare {HP-SUX}.
X
Xbulletproof: adj. Used of an algorithm or implementation considered
X   extremely {robust}; lossage-resistant; capable of correctly
X   recovering from any imaginable exception condition.  This is a rare
X   and valued quality.  Syn. {armor-plated}.
X
Xbum: 1. vt. To make highly efficient, either in time or space,
X   often at the expense of clarity.  "I managed to bum three more
X   instructions out of that code."  "I spent half the night bumming
X   the interrupt code."  2. To squeeze out excess; to remove
X   something in order to improve whatever it was removed from (without
X   changing function; this distinguishes the process from a
X   featurectomy).  3. n. A small change to an algorithm, program, or
X   hardware device to make it more efficient.  "This hardware bum
X   makes the jump instruction faster."  Usage: now uncommon, largely
X   superseded by v. {tune} (and n. {tweak}, {hack}), though none
X   of these exactly capture sense #2.  Note that all these uses are
X   rare in Commonwealth hackish, because in the parent dialects of
X   English `bum' is interpreted as a rude synonym for `buttocks'.
X
Xbump: vt. Synonym for increment.  Has the same meaning as C's ++
X   operator.  Used esp. of counter variables, pointers, and index
X   dummies in `for', `while', and `do-while' loops.
X
Xburble: vi. Like {flame}, but connotes that the source is truly
X   clueless and ineffectual (mere flamers can be competent).  A term
X   of deep contempt.
X
Xburied treasure: n. A surprising piece of code found in some
X   program.  While usually not wrong, it tends to vary from {crufty}
X   to {bletcherous}, and has lain undiscovered only because it was
X   functionally correct, however horrible it is.  Used sarcastically,
X   because what is found is anything *but* treasure.  Buried
X   treasure almost always needs to be dug up and removed.  "I just
X   found that the scheduler sorts it queue using {bubble sort}!
X   Buried Treasure!"
X
Xburn-in period: n. 1. A factory test designed to catch systems
X   with {marginal} components before they get out the door; the
X   theory is that burn-in will protect customers by outwaiting the
X   steepest part of the {bathtub curve} (see {infant mortality}).
X   2. A period of indeterminate length in which a person using a
X   computer is so intensely involved in his project that he forgets
X   basic needs such as food, drink, sleep, sex, etc.  See {hack
X   mode}, {larval stage}.
X
Xbusy-wait: vi. 1. [techspeak] To wait on an event by {spin}ning
X   through a tight or timed-delay loop that polls for the event on
X   each pass, as opposed to setting up an interrupt handler and
X   continuing execution on another part of the task.  A wasteful
X   technique, best avoided on time-sharing systems where a
X   busy-waiting program may hog the processor.  2. May be used of
X   human behavior to convey that one is busy waiting for someone or
X   something and that one intends to move instantly as soon as it
X   shows up (for example, if one is waiting at the office door of a
X   person in conference); thus that one cannot do anything else at the
X   moment.
X
Xbuzz: vi. 1. Of a program, to run with no indication of progress
X   and perhaps without guarantee of ever finishing; esp. said of
X   programs thought to be executing tight loops of code.  A program
X   which is buzzing appears to be {catatonic}, but you never get out
X   of catatonia, while a buzzing loop may eventually end of its own
X   accord.  Example: "The program buzzes for about ten seconds trying
X   to sort all the names into order."  See {spin}; see also
X   {grovel}.  2. [ETA Systems] To test a wire or printed circuit
X   trace for continuity by applying an AC signal as opposed to
X   applying a DC signal.  Some wire faults will pass DC tests but fail
X   a buzz test.
X
XBWQ: /bee duhb'l-yoo kyoo/ [IBM; acronym, Buzz Word Quotient] The
X   percentage of buzzwords in a speech or documents.  Usually roughly
X   proportional to {bogosity}.  See {TLA}.
X
Xby hand: adv. Said of an operation (especially a repetitive, trivial
X   and/or tedious one) which ought to be performed automatically by
X   the computer, but which a hacker instead has to step tediously
X   through.  "My mailer doesn't have a command to include the text of
X   the message I'm replying to, so I have to do it by hand".  Compare
X   {eyeball search}.
X
Xbyte:: /biet/ [techspeak] n. A unit of memory or data equal to the
X   amount used to represent one character; on modern architectures
X   this is usually 8 bits, but may be 9 on 36-bit machines.  Some
X   older architectures used `byte' for quantities of six or seven
X   bits, and the PDP-10 supported `bytes' which were actually
X   bitfields of 1 to 36 bits!  These usages are now obsolete, and even
X   9-bit bytes have become rare in the general trend power-of-two word
X   sizes.
X
X   The term originated in 1956 during the early design phase
X   for the IBM Stretch computer; originally it was described as one to
X   six bits (typical I/O equipment of the period used 6-bit chunks of
X   information).  The move to an 8-bit byte happened in late 1956, and
X   this size was later adopted and promulgated as a standard by the
X   System/360.  The term `byte' was coined by mutating the word
X   `bite' so it would not be accidentally misspelt as {bit}.  See
X   also {nybble}.
X
Xbytesexual: /biet-seks'u-*l/ adj. Said of hardware, denotes
X   willingness to compute or pass data in either {big-endian} or
X   {little-endian} format (depending, presumably, on a {mode bit}
X   somewhere).  See also {NUXI problem}.
X
X= C =
X=====
X
XC: n. 1. The third letter of the Latin alphabet.  2. ASCII
X   #b1000011.  3. The name of a programming language designed by
X   Dennis Ritchie during the early 1970s and immediately used to
X   re-implement {UNIX}.  So called because many features derived
X   from an earlier interpreter named `B' in commemoration of
X   *its* parent, BCPL; before Bjarne Stroustrup settled the
X   question by designing C++, there was a humorous debate over whether
X   C's successor should be named `D' or `P'.  C became immensely
X   popular outside Bell Labs after about 1980 and is now the dominant
X   language in systems and microcomputer applications programming.
X   See also {languages of choice}, {indent style}.
X
X   C is often described, with a mixture of fondness and disdain
X   varying according to the speaker, as "a language which combines
X   all the elegance and power of assembly language with the
X   readability and maintainability of assembly language".
X
Xcalculator: [Cambridge] n. Syn. for {bitty box}.
X
Xcan: vt. To abort a job on a time-sharing system.  Used esp. when the
X   person doing the deed is an operator, as in "canned from the
X   {{console}}".  Frequently used in an imperative sense, as in "Can
X   that print job, the LPT just popped a sprocket!".  Synonymous with
X   {gun}.  It is said that the ASCII character with mnemonic CAN
X   (#b0011000) was used as a kill-job character on some early OSes.
X
Xcanonical: [historically, `according to religious law'] adj. The
X   usual or standard state or manner of something.  This word has a
X   somewhat more technical meaning in mathematics.  For example, one
X   sometimes speaks of a formula as being in canonical form.  Two
X   formulas such as `9 + x' and `x + 9' are said to be
X   equivalent because they mean the same thing, but the second one is
X   in canonical form because it is written in the usual way, with the
X   highest power of `x' first.  Usually there are fixed rules you
X   can use to decide whether something is in canonical form.  The
X   jargon meaning is a relaxation of the technical meaning (this
X   generalization is actually not confined to hackers, and may be
X   found throughout academia).  Compare {vanilla}.
X
X   A true story: One Bob Sjoberg, new at the MIT AI Lab, expressed
X   some annoyance at the use of jargon.  Over his loud objections, GLS
X   and RMS made a point of using it as much as possible in his
X   presence, and eventually it began to sink in.  Finally, in one
X   conversation, he used the word `canonical' in jargon-like fashion
X   without thinking.  Steele: "Aha!  We've finally got you talking
X   jargon too!"  Stallman: "What did he say?"  Steele: "Bob just
X   used `canonical' in the canonical way."
X
X   Of course, canonicality depends on context, but is implicitly
X   defined as the way *hackers* normally expect things to be.
X   Thus, a hacker may claim with a straight face that "according to
X   religious law" is *not* the canonical meaning of `canonical'.
X
Xcard: n. 1. An electronic printed-circuit board (see also {tall
X   card}, {short card}.  2. obs. Syn. {{punched card}}.
X
Xcard walloper: n. An EDP programmer who grinds out batch programs
X   that do stupid things like print people's paychecks.  Compare
X   {code grinder}.  See also {{punched card}}, {eighty-column
X   mind}.
X
Xcareware: n. {Shareware} for which either the author suggests
X   that some payment be made to a nominated charity, or a levy
X   directed to charity is included on top of the distribution charge.
X   Syn. {charityware}.  Compare {crippleware}, sense #2.
X
Xcargo-cult programming: n. A style of (incompetent) programming
X   dominated by ritual inclusion of code or program structures that
X   serve no real purpose.  A cargo-cult programmer will usually
X   explain the extra code as a way of working around some bug
X   encountered in the past, but usually neither the bug nor the
X   reason the code avoided the bug were ever fully understood (compare
X   {shotgun debugging}).
X
X   The term cargo-cult is a reference to aboriginal religions that
X   grew up in the South Pacific after World War II.  The practices of
X   these cults center on building elaborate mockups of airplanes and
X   military style landing strips in the hope of bringing the return of
X   the god-like airplanes that brought such marvelous cargo during the
X   war.  Hackish usage probably derives from Richard Feynman's
X   characterization of certain practices as "cargo-cult science" in
X   his book `Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman' (W. W Norton &
X   Co, New York 1985, ISBN 0-393-01921-7).
X
Xcase and paste: [from `cut and paste'] n. 1. The addition of a new
X   {feature} to an existing system by selecting the code from an
X   existing feature and pasting it in with minor changes.  Common in
X   telephony circles because most operations in a telephone switch are
X   selected using case statements.  Leads to {software bloat}.
X
X   In some circles of EMACS users this is called `programming by
X   Meta-W', because Meta-W is the EMACS command for copying a block of
X   text to a kill buffer in preparation to pasting it in elsewhere.
X   The term is condescending, implying that the programmer is acting
X   mindlessly rather than thinking carefully about what is required to
X   integrate the code for two similar cases.
X
Xcasters-up mode: /cas'trz uhp mohd/ [IBM] n. Yet another synonym
X   for `broken' or `down'.
X
Xcasting the runes: n. The act of getting a {guru} to run a
X   particular program and type at it because it never works for anyone
X   else; esp.  used when nobody can ever see what the guru is doing
X   different from what J. Random Luser does.  Compare {incantation},
X   {runes}, {examining the entrails}; also see the AI koan about
X   Tom Knight in Appendix A.
X
Xcat: [from `catenate' via {UNIX} `cat(1)'] vt.
X   1. [techspeak] To spew an entire file to the screen or some other
X   output sink without pause.  2. By extension, to dump large amounts
X   of data at an unprepared target or with no intention of browsing it
X   carefully.  Usage: considered silly.  Rare outside UNIX sites.  See
X   also {dd}, {BLT}.
X
X   Among UNIX-haters, `cat(1)' is considered the {canonical}
X   example of poor user-interface design.  This because it is more
X   often used to {blast} a file to standard output than to
X   concatenate two files.  The name `cat' for the former
X   operation is just as unintuitive as, say, LISP's {cdr}.
X
Xcatatonic: adj. Describes a condition of suspended animation in
X   which something is so {wedged} or {hung} that it makes no
X   response.  For example, if you are typing on a terminal and
X   suddenly the computer doesn't even echo the letters back to the
X   screen as you type, let alone do what you're asking it to do, then
X   the computer is suffering from catatonia (possibly because it has
X   crashed).  Compare {buzz}.
X
Xcdr: /ku'dr/ or /kuh'dr/ [from LISP] vt. To skip past the first
X   item from a list of things (generalized from the LISP operation on
X   binary tree structures).  In the form `cdr down', to trace down
X   a list of elements.  "Shall we cdr down the agenda?"  Usage:
X   silly.  See also {loop through}.
X
X   Historical note: the instruction format of the IBM 7090 that hosted
X   the original LISP implementation featured two 15-bit fields called
X   the `address' and `decrement' parts.  The term `cdr' was originally
X   `Contents of Decrement part of Register'.  Similarly, `car' stood
X   for `Contents of Address part of Register'.
X
X   The `cdr' and `car' operations have since become bases for
X   formation of compound metaphors in non-LISP contexts.  GLS recalls,
X   for example, a programming project in which strings were
X   represented as linked lists; the get-character and skip-character
X   operations were of course called CHAR and CHDR.
X
Xchad: /chad/ n. 1. The perforated edge strips on printer paper, after
X   they have been separated from the printed portion.  Also called
X   {selvage} and {perf}.  2. obs. The confetti-like paper bits punched
X   out of cards or paper tape; this was also called `chaff', `computer
X   confetti', and `keypunch droppings'.
X
X   Historical note: one correspondent believes `chad' (sense #2)
X   derives from the Chadless keypunch (named for its inventor), which
X   cut little u-shaped tabs in the card to make a hole when the tab
X   folded back, rather than punching out a circle/rectangle; it was
X   clear that if the `Chadless' keypunch didn't make them, then the
X   stuff that other keypunches made had to be `chad'.
X
Xchad box: n. {Iron Age} card punches contained boxes inside them,
X   about the size of a lunchbox (or in some models a large
X   wastebasket), that held the {chad} (squares of paper punched out
X   of punch cards).  You had to open the covers of the card punch
X   periodically and empty the chad box.  The {bit bucket} was
X   notionally the equivalent device in the CPU enclosure, which was
X   typically across the room in another great grey-and-blue box.
X
Xchain: [orig. from BASIC's CHAIN statement] vi. When used of
X   programming languages, refers to a statement that allows a parent
X   executable to hand off execution to a child or successor without
X   going through the {OS} command interpreter.  The state of the
X   parent program is lost and there is no returning to it.  Though
X   this facility used to be common on memory-limited micros and is
X   still widely supported for backward compatibility, the jargon usage
X   is semi-obsolescent; in particular, most UNIX programmers will think
X   of this as an {exec}.  Oppose the more modern {subshell}.
X
Xchar: /keir/ or /char/; rarely, /kar/ n. Shorthand for `character'.
X   Esp. used by C programmers, as `char' is C's typename for
X   character data.
X
Xcharityware: n. Syn. {careware}.
X
Xchase pointers: 1. vi. To go through multiple levels of
X   indirection, as in traversing a linked list or graph structure.
X   Used esp. by programmers in C, where explicit pointers are a very
X   common data type.  This is almost techspeak, but remains jargon when
X   used of human networks.  "I'm chasing pointers.  Bob said you
X   could tell me who to talk to about...."  2. [Cambridge]
X   `pointer chase' or `pointer hunt': the process of going
X   through a dump (interactively or on a large piece of paper printed
X   with hex {runes}) following dynamic data-structures.  Only used
X   in a debugging context.
X
Xchemist: [Cambridge] n. Someone who wastes computer time on
X   {number-crunching} when you'd far rather the machine were doing
X   something more productive, such as working out anagrams of your
X   name or printing Snoopy calendars or running {life} patterns.
X   May or may not refer to someone who actually studies chemistry.
X
XChernobyl packet: /cher-noh'b*l pak'*t/ n. A network packet that
X   induces {network meltdown} (the result of a {broadcast storm}),
X   in memory of the 1987 nuclear accident at Chernobyl in the Ukraine.
X   The typical case of this is an IP Ethernet datagram that passes
X   through a gateway with both source and destination Ether and IP
X   address set as the respective broadcast addresses for the
X   subnetworks being gated between.  Compare {Christmas tree
X   packet}.
X
Xchicken head: [Commodore] n. The Commodore Business Machines logo,
X   which strongly resembles a poultry part.  Rendered in ASCII as
X   `C='.
X
Xchiclet keyboard: n. A keyboard with small rectangular or
X   lozenge-shaped rubber or plastic keys that look like pieces of
X   chewing gum (Chiclet is a brand-name and also the Spanish common
X   noun for the stuff).  Used esp. to describe the original IBM PCjr
X   keyboard.  Vendors unanimously liked these because they were cheap,
X   and a lot of early portable and laptop products got launched using
X   them.  Customers rejected the idea with almost equal unanimity, and
X   chiclets are not often seen on anything larger than a digital watch
X   any more.
X
Xchine nual: /sheen'yu*l/ [MIT] n.,obs. The Lisp Machine Manual, so
X   called because the title was wrapped around the cover so only those
X   letters show.
X
XChinese Army technique: n. Syn. {Mongolian Hordes technique}.
X
Xchoke: vt. To reject input, often ungracefully.  "I tried building
X   an {EMACS} binary to use {X}, but `cpp(1)' choked on all
X   those `#define's."  See {barf}, {gag}, {vi}.
X
Xchomp: vt. To lose; specifically, to chew on something of which
X   more was bitten off than one can.  Probably related to gnashing of
X   teeth.  See {bagbiter}.  A hand gesture commonly accompanies
X   this, consisting of the four fingers held together as if in a
X   mitten or hand puppet, and the fingers and thumb open and close
X   rapidly to illustrate a biting action (much like what the PacMan
X   does in the classic video game, though this pantomime seems to
X   predate that).  The gesture alone means "chomp chomp" (see Verb
X   Doubling).  The hand may be pointed at the object of complaint, and
X   for real emphasis you can use both hands at once.  For example, to
X   do this to a person is equivalent to saying "You chomper!"  If
X   you point the gesture at yourself, it is a humble but humorous
X   admission of some failure.  You might do this if someone told you
X   that a program you had written had failed in some surprising way
X   and you felt dumb for not having anticipated it.
X
Xchomper: n. Someone or something that is chomping; a loser.  See
X   {loser}, {bagbiter}, {chomp}.
X
XChristmas tree: n. A kind of RS-232 line tester or breakout box
X   featuring rows of blinking red and green LEDs like Christmas
X   lights.
X
XChristmas tree packet: n. A packet with every single option set for
X   whatever protocol is in use.  See {kamikaze packet}, {Chernobyl
X   packet}.
X
Xchug: vi. To run slowly; to {grind} or {grovel}.  "The disk is
X   chugging like crazy."
X
Xchrome: [from automotive slang via wargaming] n. Showy features
X   added to attract users but which contribute little or nothing to
X   the power of a system.  "The 3D icons in Motif are just chrome,
X   but they certainly are `pretty' chrome!"  Distinguished from
X   {bells and whistles} by the fact that the latter are usually
X   added to gratify developers' own desires for featurefulness. 
X   Often used as a term of contempt.
X
XChurch of the Sub-Genius: n. A mutant offshoot of {Discordianism}
X   launched in 1981 as a spoof of fundamentalist Christianity by the
X   `Reverend' Ivan Stang, a brilliant satirist with a gift for
X   promotion.  Popular among hackers as a rich source of bizarre
X   imagery and references such as: `Bob' the divine
X   drilling-equipment salesman, the Benevolent Space Xists, and the
X   Stark Fist of Removal.  Much Sub-Genius theory is concerned with
X   the acquisition of the mystical substance or quality of `slack'.
X   See also {ha ha only serious}.
X
XCinderella Book: [CMU] n. `Introduction to Automata Theory,
X   Languages, and Computation', by John Hopcroft and Jeffrey Ullman,
X   Addison-Wesley, 1979.  So-called because the cover depicts a girl
X   (putatively Cinderella) sitting in front of a Rube Goldberg device
X   and holding a rope from that device.  The back cover depicts the
X   girl with the Rube Goldberg in shambles after having pulled on the
X   rope.  See also {{book titles}}.
X
XCI$: // n. Hackerism for `CIS', Compuserve Information Service.
X   The dollar refers to CompuServe's rather steep line charges.  Often
X   used in {sig block}s just before a CompuServe address.
X
XClassic C: /klas'ik see/ [a play on `Classic Coke'] n. The C
X   programming language as defined in the first edition of {K&R},
X   with some small additions.  It is also known as `K&R C'.  The
X   name came into use during the standardization process for C by the
X   ANSI X3J11 committee.  Also `C Classic'.  This is sometimes
X   applied elsewhere: thus, `X Classic' where X = Star Trek (referring
X   to the original TV series), or X = PC (referring to IBM's ISA-bus
X   machines as opposed to the PS/2 series).  This construction is
X   especially used of product series in which the newer versions are
X   considered serious losers relative to the older ones.
X
Xclean: 1. adj. Used of hardware or software designs, implies
X   `elegance in the small', that is, a design or implementation which
X   may not hold any surprises but does things in a way that is
X   reasonably intuitive and relatively easy to comprehend from the
X   outside.  The antonym is `grungy' or {crufty}.  2. v. To remove
X   unneeded or undesired files in a effort to reduce clutter.  "I'm
X   cleaning up my account", or "I cleaned up the garbage and now have
X   100 Meg free on that partition."
X
XCLM: /see el em/ [Sun, `Career Limiting Move'] 1. n. An action
X   endangering one's future prospects of getting plum projects and
X   raises, also possibly one's job.  "He used a {bubble sort}!
X   What a CLM!"  2. adj. Denotes extreme severity of a bug,
X   discovered by a customer and obviously due to poor testing:
X   "That's a CLM bug!"
X
Xclobber: vt. To overwrite; usually unintentionally.  As in "I
X   walked off the end of the array and clobbered the stack."  Compare
X   {mung}, {scribble}, {trash}, and {smash the stack}.
X
Xclocks: n. Processor logic cycles, so called because each generally
X   corresponds to one clock pulse in the processor's timing.  The
X   relative execution times of instructions on a machine are usually
X   discussed in clocks rather than absolute fractions of a second.
X   Compare {cycle}.
X
Xclone: n. 1. An exact duplicate, as in "Our product is a clone of
X   their product."  Implies a legal re-implementation from
X   documentation or by reverse-engineering.  Also connotes lower
X   price.  2. A shoddy, spurious copy, as in "Their product is a
X   clone of our product."  3. A blatant ripoff, most likely violating
X   copyright, patent, or trade secret protections, as in "Your
X   product is a clone of my product."  This usage implies legal
X   action is pending.  4. A `PC clone'; a PC-BUS/ISA or
X   EISA-compatible 80x86 based microcomputer (this use is sometimes
X   spelled `klone' or `PClone').  These invariably have much
X   more bang for the buck than the IBM archetypes they resemble.
X   5. In the construction `UNIX clone': An OS designed to deliver
X   a UNIX-lookalike environment sans UNIX license fees, or with
X   additional `mission-critical' features such as support for
X   real-time programming.  6. v. To make an exact copy of something.
X   "Let me clone that" might mean "I want to borrow that paper so I
X   can make a photocopy" or "Let me get a copy of that file before
X   you {mung} it".
X
Xclustergeeking: /kluh'ster-gee`king/ [CMU] n. An activity defined by
X   spending more time at a computer cluster doing CS homework than
X   most people spend breathing.
X
XCOBOL: [COmmon Business-Oriented Language] n. Synonymous with
X   {evil} --- a weak, verbose, and flabby language used by {card
X   walloper}s to do boring mindless things on {dinosaur} mainframes.
X   Hackers believe all COBOL programmers are {suit}s or {code
X   grinder}s, and no self-respecting hacker will ever admit to having
X   learned the language.  Its very name is seldom uttered without
X   ritual expressions of disgust or horror.  See also {fear and
X   loathing}, {software rot}.
X
XCOBOL fingers: /koh'bol fing'grs/ n. Reported from Sweden, a
X   (hypothetical) disease one might get from programming in COBOL.
X   The language requires code verbose beyond all reason.  Programming
X   too much in COBOL causes the fingers to wear down (by endless
X   typing), until short stubs remain.  This malformity is called
X   `COBOL fingers'.  "I refuse to type in all that source code
X   again; it would give me COBOL fingers!"
X
Xcode grinder: n. 1. A {suit}-wearing minion of the sort hired in
X   legion strength by banks and insurance companies to implement
X   payroll packages in RPG and other such unspeakable horrors.  In his
X   native habitat, the code grinder often removes the suit jacket to
X   reveal an underplumage consisting of button-down shirt (starch
X   optional) and a tie.  In times of dire stress, the sleeves (if
X   long) may be rolled up and the tie loosened about half an inch.  It
X   seldom helps.  The {code grinder}'s milieu is about as far from
X   hackerdom as you can get and still touch a computer; the term
X   connotes pity.  See {Real World}, {suit}.  2. Used of or to a
X   hacker, a really serious slur on the person's creative ability;
X   connotes a design style characterized by primitive technique,
X   rule-boundedness, and utter lack of imagination.  Compare {card
X   walloper}.
X
Xcode police: [by analogy with `thought police'] n. A mythical team
X   of Gestapo-like storm troopers that might burst into one's office
X   and arrest one for violating style rules.  May be used either
X   seriously, to underline a claim that a particular style violation
X   is dangerous, or ironically, to suggest that the practice under
X   discussion is condemned mainly by anal-retentive weenies.  The
X   ironic usage is perhaps more common.
X
Xcodewalker: n. A program component that traverses other programs for
X   a living.  Compilers have codewalkers in their front ends; so do
X   cross-reference generators and some database front-ends.  Other
X   utility programs that try to do too much with source code may turn
X   into codewalkers.  As in "This new `vgrind' feature would require a
X   codewalker to implement."
X
Xcoefficient of x: n. Hackish speech makes rather heavy use of
X   pseudo-mathematical metaphors.  Four particularly important ones
X   involve the terms `coefficient', `factor', `index' and
X   `quotient'.  They are often loosely applied to things you
X   cannot really be quantitative about, but there are subtle
X   distinctions between them that convey information about the way the
X   speaker mentally models whatever he or she is describing.
X
X   `Foo factor' and `foo quotient' tend to describe something
X   for which the issue is one of presence or absence.  The canonical
X   example is {fudge factor}.  It's not important how much you're
SHAR_EOF
true || echo 'restore of jargon.ascii failed'
fi
echo 'End of part 4, continue with part 5'
echo 5 > _shar_seq_.tmp
exit 0