The Jargon File v, part 6 of 17

[Eric S. Raymond]

Submitted-by: jargon at thyrsus.com
Archive-name: jargon/part06

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X
XDissociated Press: n. An algorithm for transforming any text into
X   potentially humorous garbage, even more efficiently than passing it
X   through a {marketroid}.  You start by printing any N consecutive
X   words (or letters) in the text.  Then at every step you search for
X   any random occurrence in the text of the last N words (or letters)
X   already printed and then print the next one.  EMACS has a handy
X   command for this.  Here is a short example of word-based
X   Dissociated Press applied to this Jargon File:
X
X     wart: n. A small, crocky {feature} that sticks out of
X     an array (C has no checks for this).  This is relatively
X     benign and easy to spot if the phrase is bent so as to be
X     not worth paying attention to the medium in question.
X
X   Here is a short example of letter-based Dissociated Press applied to this
X   Jargon File:
X
X     window sysIWYG: n. A bit was named aften /bee't@/ prefer
X     to use the other guy's re, especially in every cast a
X     chuckle on neithout getting into useful informash speech
X     makes removing a featuring a move or usage actual
X     abstractionsidered interj. Indeed spectace logic or problem!
X
X   A hackish idle pastime is to apply letter-based Dissociated Press
X   to a random body of text and {vgrep} the output in hopes of finding
X   an interesting new word.  (In the preceding example, `window
X   sysIWYG' and `informash' show some promise.)  Iterated applications
X   of Dissociated Press usually yield better results.  Similar
X   techniques called `travesty generators' have been employed with
X   considerable satirical effect to the utterances of USENET flamers;
X   see {pseudo}.
X
Xdistribution: n. 1. A software source tree packaged for
X   distribution; but see {kit}.  2. A vague term encompassing
X   mailing lists and USENET newsgroups; any topic-oriented message
X   channel with multiple recipients.  3. An information-space domain
X   (usually loosely correlated with geography) to which propagation of
X   a USENET message is restricted; a much-underutilized feature.
X
Xdo protocol: [from network protocol programming] vt. To perform an
X   interaction with somebody or something that follows a clearly
X   defined procedure.  For example, "Let's do protocol with the
X   check." at a restaurant means to ask for the check, calculate the
X   tip and everybody's share, collect money from everybody, generate
X   change as necessary, and pay the bill.  See {protocol}.
X
Xdoco: /do'koh/ [orig. in-house jargon at Symbolics] n. A
X   documentation writer.  See also {devo} and {mango}.
X
Xdocumentation:: n. The multiple kilograms of macerated, pounded,
X   steamed, bleached, and pressed trees that accompany most modern
X   software or hardware products (see also {tree-killer}).  Hackers
X   seldom read paper documentation and (too often) resist writing it;
X   they prefer theirs to be terse and on-line.  See {drool-proof
X   paper}, {verbiage}.
X
Xdodgy: adj. Syn. with {flaky}.  Preferred outside the U.S.
X
Xdogcow: n. See {Moof}.
X
Xdogwash: [From a quip in the `urgency' field of a very optional
X   software change request, about 1982.  It was something like,
X   "Urgency: Wash your dog first."] 1. n. A project of minimal
X   priority, undertaken as an escape from more serious work.  2. v.
X   To engage in such a project.  Many games and much {freeware} get
X   written this way.
X
Xdomainist: adj. 1. Said of an {{Internet address}} (as opposed to
X   a {bang path}) because the part to the right of the `@',
X   specifies a nested series of `domains'; for example,
X   `eric at snark.thyrsus.com' specifies the machine called
X   `snark' in the subdomain called `thyrsus' within the
X   top-level domain called `com'.  2. Said of a site, mailer or
X   routing program which knows how to handle domainist addresses.
X
XDon't do that, then!: [from an old doctor's office joke about a
X   patient with a trivial complaint] interj. Stock response to a user
X   complaint.  "When I type control-S, the whole system comes to a
X   halt for thirty seconds."  "Don't do that, then." (or "So don't
X   do that!").  Compare {RTFM}.
X
Xdongle: /dong'gl/ n. 1. A security device for commercial
X   microcomputer programs consisting of a serialized EPROM and some
X   drivers in a D-25 connector shell.  Programs that use a dongle
X   query the port at startup and at programmed intervals thereafter,
X   and terminate if it does not respond with the dongle's programmed
X   validation code.  Thus, users can make as many copies of the
X   program as they want but must pay for each dongle.  The idea was
X   clever but initially a failure, as users disliked tying up a serial
X   port this way.  Most dongles on the market today (1991) will pass
X   data through the port and monitor for `magic codes' (and
X   combinations of status lines) with minimal if any interference with
X   devices further down the line (this innovation was necessary to
X   allow daisy-chained dongles for multiple pieces of software).  The
X   devices are still not widely used, as the industry has moved away
X   from copy-protection schemes in general.  2. By extension, any
X   physical electronic key or transferrable ID required for a program
X   to function.  See {dongle-disk}.
X
Xdongle-disk: /don'gl disk/ n. See {dongle}; a `dongle-disk' is a
X   floppy disk with some coding that allows an application to
X   identify it uniquely.  It can therefore be used as a {dongle}.
X   Also called a "key disk".
X
Xdonuts: n. Collective noun for any set of memory bits.  This is
X   really archaic and may no longer be live jargon; it dates from the
X   days of ferrite-core memories in which each bit was represented by
X   a doughnut-shaped magnetic flip-flop.  Compare {core}.
X
Xdoorstop: n. Used to describe equipment that is non-functional and
X   halfway expected to remain so, especially obsolete equipment kept
X   around for political reasons or ostensibly as a backup.  "When we
X   get another Wyse-50 in here, that ADM3 will turn into a doorstop."
X   Compare {boat anchor}.
X
Xdot file: [UNIX] n. A file that is not visible to normal
X   directory-browsing tools (on UNIX, files named beginning with a dot
X   are normally invisible to the directory lister).
X
Xdouble bucky: adj. Using both the CTRL and META keys.  "The
X   command to burn all LEDs is double bucky F."
X
X   This term originated on the Stanford extended-ASCII keyboard, and
X   was later taken up by users of the {space-cadet keyboard} at MIT.
X   A typical MIT comment was that the Stanford {bucky bits} (control
X   and meta shifting keys) were nice, but there weren't enough of
X   them; you could only type 512 different characters on a Stanford
X   keyboard.  An obvious thing was simply to add more shifting keys,
X   and this was eventually done; one problem is that a keyboard with
X   that many shifting keys is hard on touch-typists, who don't like to
X   move their hands away from the home position on the keyboard.  It
X   was half-seriously suggested that the extra shifting keys be
X   pedals; typing on such a keyboard would be very much like playing a
X   full pipe organ.  This idea is mentioned below, in a parody of a
X   very fine song by Jeffrey Moss called `Rubber Duckie', which
X   was published in `The Sesame Street Songbook' (Simon and
X   Schuster 1971, ISBN 671-21036-X).  These lyrics were written on May
X   27, 1978, in celebration of the Stanford keyboard.
X
X     			Double Bucky
X
X     	Double bucky, you're the one!
X     	You make my keyboard lots of fun.
X     	    Double bucky, an additional bit or two:
X     	(Vo-vo-de-o!)
X     	Control and meta, side by side,
X     	Augmented ASCII, nine bits wide!
X     	    Double bucky!  Half a thousand glyphs, plus a few!
X     		Oh,
X     		I sure wish that I
X     		Had a couple of
X     		    Bits more!
X     		Perhaps a
X     		Set of pedals to
X     		Make the number of
X     		    Bits four:
X     		Double double bucky!
X     	Double bucky, left and right
X     	OR'd together, outta sight!
X     	    Double bucky, I'd like a whole word of
X     	    Double bucky, I'm happy I heard of
X     	    Double bucky, I'd like a whole word of you!
X
X     	--- The Great Quux (with apologies to Jeffrey Moss)
X
X   [This, by the way, is an excellent example of computer {filk} --- ESR]
X
X   See also {meta bit}, {cokebottle}, and {quadruple bucky}.
X
Xdouble DECkers: n. Used to describe married couples in which both
X   partners work for Digital Equipment Corporation.
X
Xdoubled sig: [USENET] n. A {sig block} that has been included
X   twice in a {USENET} article or, less frequently, in an electronic
X   mail message.  An article or message with a doubled sig can be
X   caused by improperly configured software.  More often, however, it
X   reveals the author's lack of experience in electronic
X   communication.  See {biff}, {pseudo}.
X
Xdown: 1. adj. Not operating.  "The up escalator is down." is
X   considered a humorous thing to say, but "The elevator is down."
X   always means "The elevator isn't working." and never refers to
X   what floor the elevator is on.  With respect to computers, this
X   usage has passed into the mainstream; the extension to other kinds
X   of machine is still hackish.  2. `go down' vi. To stop functioning;
X   usually said of the {system}.  The message every hacker hates to
X   hear from the operator is, "The system will go down in five
X   minutes."  3. `take down', `bring down' vt. To deactivate
X   purposely, usually for repair work.  "I'm taking the system down to
X   work on that bug in the tape drive."  See {crash}; oppose {up}.
X
Xdownload: vt. To transfer data or (esp.) code from a larger `host'
X   system (esp. a {mainframe}) over a digital comm link to a smaller
X   `client' system, esp. a microcomputer or specialized peripheral
X   device.  Oppose {upload}.
X
XDP: n. 1. Data Processing.  Listed here because, according to hackers,
X   use of it marks one immediately as a {suit}.  See {DPer}.  2.
X   Common abbrev for {Dissociated Press}.
X
XDPB: /d at -pib'/ [from the PDP-10 instruction set] vt. To plop
X   something down in the middle.  Usage: silly.  Example: "DPB
X   yourself into that couch, there."  The connotation would be that
X   the couch is full except for one slot just big enough for you to
X   sit in.  DPB means `DePosit Byte', and was the name of a PDP-10
X   instruction that inserts some bits into the middle of some other
X   bits.  This usage has been kept alive by the Common Lisp function
X   of the same name.
X
XDPer: n. Data Processor.  Hackers are absolutely amazed that {suit}s
X   use this term self-referentially.  "*Computers* process data,
X   not people!"  See {DP}.
X
Xdragon: n. [MIT] A program similar to a {daemon}, except that it
X   is not invoked at all, but is instead used by the system to perform
X   various secondary tasks.  A typical example would be an accounting
X   program, which keeps track of who is logged in, accumulates
X   load-average statistics, etc.  Under ITS, many terminals displayed
X   a list of people logged in, where they were, what they were
X   running, etc. along with some random picture (such as a unicorn,
X   Snoopy, or the Enterprise) which was generated by the `name
X   dragon'.  Usage: rare outside MIT --- under UNIX and most other OSs
X   this would be called a `background demon' or {daemon}.  The
X   best-known UNIX example of a dragon is `cron(1)'.  At SAIL,
X   they called this sort of thing a `phantom'.
X
XDragon Book: n. Aho, Sethi, and Ullman's classic text
X   `Compilers: Principles, Techniques and Tools', so called
X   because of the cover design depicting a knight slaying a dragon
X   labelled `compiler complexity'.  This actually describes the `Red
X   Dragon Book' (1986); an earlier edition (sans Sethi and titled
X   `Principles Of Compiler Design') was the `Green Dragon Book'
X   (1977).  There is now a third edition of the Dragon Book that has
X   the knight sitting in front of what, for all the world, looks like
X   a video-game display of the dragon, with the real dragon behind it.
X   The term `White Dragon Book' has been proposed.  See also
X   {{book titles}}.
X
Xdrain: [IBM] v. Syn. for {flush} (sense #2).  Has a connotation
X   of finality about it; one speaks of draining a device before taking
X   it offline.
X
Xdread high-bit disease: n. A condition endemic to PRIME (a.k.a
X   PR1ME) minicomputers which results in all the characters having
X   their high (0x80) bit ON rather than OFF.  This of course makes
X   transporting files to other systems much more difficult, not to
X   mention talking to true eight-bit devices.  It is reported that
X   PRIME adopted the reversed-eight-bit convention in order to save 25
X   cents per serial line per machine.  This probably qualifies as one
X   of the most {cretinous} design tradeoffs ever made.  See {meta
X   bit}.
X
XDRECNET: /drek'net/ [from Yiddish/German `dreck'] n. Deliberate
X   distortion of DECNET, a networking protocol used in the {VMS}
X   community.  So called because DEC helped write the Ethernet
X   specification and then (either stupidly or as a malignant
X   customer-control tactic) violated that spec in the design of
X   DRECNET in a way that made it incompatible.  See also {connector
X   conspiracy}.
X
Xdriver: n. 1. The {main loop} of an event-processing program; the
X   code that gets commands and dispatches them for execution.  2. In
X   `device driver', code designed to handle a particular
X   peripheral device such as a magnetic disk or tape.
X
Xdrool-proof paper: n. Documentation that has been obsessively dumbed
X   down, to the point where only a {cretin} could bear to read it, is
X   said to have succumbed to the `drool-proof paper syndrome' or to
X   have been `written on drool-proof paper'.  For example, this is
X   an actual quote from Apple's LaserWriter manual: "Do not expose
X   your LaserWriter to open fire or flame."
X
Xdrop on the floor: vt. To react to an error condition by silently
X   discarding messages or other valuable data.  Example: "The gateway
X   ran out of memory, so it just started dropping packets on the
X   floor."  Also frequently used of faulty mail and netnews relay
X   sites that lose messages.  See also {black hole}, {bit bucket}.
X
Xdrop-ins: [prob. by analogy with {drop-outs}] n. Spurious
X   characters appearing on a terminal or console due to line noise or
X   a system malfunction of some sort.  Esp. used when these are
X   interspersed with your own typed input.  Compare {drop-outs}.
X
Xdrop-outs: n. 1. A variety of `power glitch' (see {glitch});
X   momentary zero voltage on the electrical mains.  2. Missing
X   characters in typed input due to software malfunction or system
X   saturation (this can happen under UNIX, for example, when a bad
X   connect to a modem swamps the processor with spurious character
X   interrupts).  3. Mental glitches; used as a way of describing
X   those occasions when the mind just seems to shut down for a couple
X   of beats.  See {glitch}, {fried}.
X
Xdrugged: adj. (also `on drugs') 1. Conspicuously stupid,
X   heading towards {brain-damaged}.  Often accompanied by a
X   pantomime of toking a joint (but see Appendix B).  2. Of hardware,
X   very slow relative to normal performance.
X
Xdrunk mouse syndrome: n. A malady exhibited by the mouse pointing
X   device of some computers.  The typical symptom is for the mouse
X   cursor on the screen to move to random directions and not in sync
X   with the moving of the actual mouse.  Can usually be corrected by
X   unplugging the mouse and plugging it back again.  Another
X   recommended fix is to rotate your optical mouse pad 90 degrees.
X
Xdumbass attack: /duhm'ass @-tak'/ [Purdue] n. Notional cause of a
X   novice's mistake made by the experienced, especially one made while
X   running as root under UNIX, e.g. typing `rm -r *' or
X   `mkfs' on a mounted file system.  Compare {adger}.
X
Xdump: n. 1. An undigested and voluminous mass of information about a
X   problem or the state of a system, especially one routed to the
X   slowest available output device (compare {core dump}), and most
X   especially one consisting or hex and octal {runes} describing the
X   byte-by-byte state of memory, mass storage, or some file.  In elder
X   days, debugging was generally done by `grovelling over a dump'
X   (see {grovel}); increasing use of high-level languages and
X   interactive debuggers has made this uncommon, and the term `dump'
X   now has a faintly archaic flavor.  2. A backup.  This usage is
X   typical only at large timesharing installations.
X
Xdup killer: /d[y]oop killer/ [FidoNet] n. Software which is
X   supposed to detect and delete duplicates of a message which may
X   have reached the FidoNet system via different routes.
X
Xdup loop: /d[y]oop loop/ (also `dupe loop') [FidoNet] n. An
X   incorrectly configured system or network gateway may propagate
X   duplicate messages on one or more {echo}s, with different
X   identification information that renders {dup killer}s
X   ineffective.  If such a duplicate message eventually reaches a
X   system which it has already passed through (with the original
X   identification information), all systems passed on the way back to
X   that system are said to be involved in a {dup loop}.
X
Xdusty deck: n. Old software (especially applications) with which
X   one is obliged to remain compatible (or to maintain).  The term
X   implies that the software in question is a holdover from card-punch
X   days.  Used esp. when referring to old scientific and
X   {number-crunching} software, much of which was written in FORTRAN and
X   very poorly documented but is believed to be too expensive to
X   replace.  See {fossil}.
X
XDWIM: /dwim/ [Do What I Mean] 1. adj. Able to guess, sometimes
X   even correctly, the result intended when bogus input was provided.
X   2. n.,obs. The BBNLISP/INTERLISP function that attempted to
X   accomplish this feat by correcting many of the more common errors.
X   See {hairy}.  3. Occasionally, an interjection hurled at a
X   balky computer, esp.  when one senses one might be tripping over
X   legalisms (see {legalese}).
X
X   DWIM is often suggested in jest as a desired feature for a complex
X   program; also, occasionally described as the single instruction the
X   ideal computer would have.  Back when proofs of program correctness
X   were in vogue, there were also jokes about `DWIMC': Do What I
X   Mean, Correctly).  A related term, more often seen as a verb, is
X   DTRT (Do The Right Thing), see {Right Thing}.
X
Xdynner: /din'r/ 32 bits, by analogy with {nybble} and {{byte}}.  Usage:
X   rare and extremely silly.  See also {playte}, {tayste}, {crumb}.
X
X= E =
X=====
X
Xearthquake: [IBM] n. The ultimate real-world shock test for
X   computer hardware.  Hackish sources at IBM deny the rumor that the
X   Bay Area quake of 1989 was initiated by the company to test quality
X   assurance procedures at its California plants.
X
XEaster egg: n. 1. A message hidden in the object code of a program
X   as a joke, intended to be found by persons disassembling or
X   browsing the code.  2. A message, graphic, or sound-effect emitted
X   by a program (or, on a PC, the BIOS ROM) in response to some
X   undocumented set of commands or keystrokes, intended as a joke or
X   to display program credits.  One well-known early Easter egg found
X   in a couple of OSs caused them to respond to the command `make
X   love' with `not war?'.  Many personal computers have much more
X   elaborate eggs hidden in ROM, including lists of the developers'
X   names, political exhortations, snatches of music, and (in one case)
X   graphics images of the entire development team.
X
XEaster egging: [IBM] n. The act of replacing unrelated parts more or
X   less at random in hopes that a malfunction will go away.  Hackers
X   consider this the normal operating mode of {field circus} techs and
X   do not love them for it.  Compare {shotgun debugging}.
X
Xeat flaming death: imp. A construction popularized among hackers by
X   the infamous {CPU Wars} comic; supposed to derive from a famously
X   turgid line in a WWII-era anti-Nazi propaganda comic which ran
X   "Eat flaming death, non-Aryan mongrels!" or something of the sort
X   (however, it is also reported that the Firesign Theater's 1975
X   album `In The Next World, You're On Your Own' included the
X   phrase "Eat flaming death, fascist media pigs"; this may have been
X   an influence).  Used in humorously overblown expressions of
X   hostility. "Eat flaming death, {{EBCDIC}} users!"
X
XEBCDIC:: /eb's@'dik/, /eb'see-dik/, or /eb'k at -dik/ [Extended Binary
X   Coded Decimal Interchange Code] n. An alleged character set used on
X   IBM {dinosaur}s.  It exists in six mutually incompatible
X   versions, all featuring such delights as non-contiguous letter
X   sequences and the absence of several ASCII punctuation characters
X   fairly important for modern computer languages (exactly which
X   characters are absent vary according to which version of EBCDIC
X   you're looking at).  IBM adapted EBCDIC from {{punched card}} code
X   in the early 1960s and promulgated it as a customer-control tactic
X   (see {connector conspiracy}), spurning the already established
X   ASCII standard.  Today, IBM claims to be an open-systems company,
X   but IBM's own description of the EBCDIC variants and how to convert
X   between them is still internally classified top-secret,
X   burn-before-reading.  Hackers blanch at the very *name* of
X   EBCDIC and consider it a manifestation of purest {evil}.  See
X   also {fear and loathing}.
X
Xecho: [FidoNet] n. A topic group on {FidoNet}'s echomail system.  Compare
X   {newsgroup}.
X
Xeighty-column mind: [IBM] n. The sort said to be employed by
X   persons for whom the transition from card to tape was traumatic
X   (nobody has dared tell them about disks yet).  It is said that
X   these people, like (according to an old joke) the founder of IBM,
X   will be buried `face down, 9-edge first' (the 9-edge is the bottom
X   of the card).  This directive is inscribed on IBM's 1422 and 1602
X   card readers, and referenced in a famous bit of doggerel called
X   `The Last Bug', which ends:
X
X        He died at the console
X        Of hunger and thirst.
X        Next day he was buried,
X        Face down, 9-edge first.
X
X   The eighty-column mind is thought by most hackers to dominate IBM's
X   customer base, and its thinking.  See {{punched card}}, {IBM},
X   {fear and loathing}, {card walloper}.
X
XEl Camino Bignum: /el' k at -mee'noh big'num/ n. El Camino Real.  El
X   Camino Real is the name of a street through the San Francisco
X   peninsula that originally extended (and still appears in places)
X   all the way down to Mexico City.  Navigation on the San Francisco
X   peninsula is usually done relative to El Camino Real, which defines
X   {logical} north and south even though it doesn't really run N/S
X   many places.  El Camino Real runs right past Stanford University
X   and so is familiar to hackers.  The Spanish word `real' (which has
X   two syllables /ray-ahl'/) means `royal'; El Camino Real is `the
X   royal road'.  In the FORTRAN language, a `real' quantity is a
X   number typically precise to seven significant digits, and a `double
X   precision' quantity is a larger floating-point number, precise to
X   perhaps fourteen significant digits (other languages have similar
X   `real' types).  When a hacker from MIT visited Stanford in 1976 or
X   so, he remarked what a long road El Camino Real was.  Making a pun
X   on `real', he started calling it `El Camino Double Precision' ---
X   but when the hacker was told that the road was hundreds of miles
X   long, he renamed it `El Camino Bignum', and that name has stuck.
X   (See {bignum}.)
X
Xelegant: [from mathematical usage] adj. Combining simplicity, power,
X   and a certain ineffable grace of design.  Higher praise than
X   `clever', `winning', or even {cuspy}.
X
Xelephantine: adj. Used of programs or systems that are both
X   conspicuous {hog}s (due perhaps to poor design founded on
X   {brute force and ignorance}) and exceedingly {hairy} in source
X   form.  An elephantine program may be functional and even friendly,
X   but (like the old joke about being in bed with an elephant) it's
X   tough to have around all the same (and, like a pachyderm, difficult
X   to maintain).  In extreme cases, hackers have been known to make
X   trumpeting sounds or perform expressive proboscatory mime at the
X   mention of the offending program.  Usage: semi-humorous.  Compare
X   `has the elephant nature' and the somewhat more pejorative
X   {monstrosity}.  See also {second-system effect} and
X   {baroque}.
X
Xelevator controller: n. Another archetypal dumb embedded-systems
X   application, like {toaster}.  During the deliberations of ANSI
X   X3J11, the C standardization committee, this was the canonical
X   example of its type.  "You can't require `printf(3)' to be
X   part of the default runtime library --- what if you're targeting an
X   elevator controller?"  Elevator controllers became important
X   rhetorical weapons on both sides of several {holy wars}.
X
XEMACS: /ee'maks/ [from Editing MACroS] n. The ne plus ultra of
X   hacker editors, a program editor with an entire LISP system inside
X   it.  Originally written by Richard Stallman in {TECO} at the
X   MIT-AI lab, but the most widely used versions now run under UNIX.
X   It includes facilities to run compilation subprocesses and send and
X   receive mail; many hackers spend up to 80% of their {tube time}
X   inside it.  Some versions running under window managers iconify as
X   an overflowing kitchen sink, perhaps to suggest the one feature the
X   editor doesn't include.  Indeed, some hackers find EMACS too
X   heavyweight and {baroque} for their taste, and expand the name as
X   `Escape Meta Alt Control Shift' to spoof its heavy reliance on
X   keystrokes decorated with {bucky bits}.  Other spoof expansions
X   include `Eight Megabytes And Constantly Swapping', `Eventually
X   malloc()s All Computer Storage', and `EMACS Makes A Computer Slow'
X   (see {{recursive acronyms}}).  See also {vi}.
X
Xemail: /ee'mayl/ 1. n. Electronic mail automatically passed through
X   computer networks and/or via modems common-carrier lines.  Contrast
X   {snail-mail}, {paper-net}, {voice-net}.  See {network
X   address}.  2. vt. To send email to a person.
X
X   Oddly enough, the word `emailed' is actually listed in the OED; it
X   means "embossed (with a raised pattern) or arranged in a net work"!
X   A use from 1480 is given, and the word is derived from French
X   `emmailleure', network.
X
Xemoticon: /ee-moh'ti-con/ n. An ASCII glyph used to indicate an
X   emotional state in email or news.  Hundreds have been proposed, but
X   only a few are in common use.  These include:
X
X     :-) Smiley face (indicates humor, laughter, or friendliness)
X     :-( Frowney face (indicates sadness, anger, or upset)
X     ;-) Half-smiley ({ha ha only serious})
X         Also known as "semi-smiley" or "winkey face".
X     :-/ Wry face
X
X   It appears that the emoticon was invented by one Scott Fahlman on
X   the CMU {bboard} systems around 1980.  He later wrote "I wish I
X   had saved the original post, or at least recorded the date for
X   posterity, but I had no idea that I was starting something that
X   would soon pollute all the world's communication channels." (GLS
X   confirms that he remembers this original posting).
X
X   Of these, the first two are by far the most frequently encountered.
X   Hyphenless forms of them are common on CompuServe, GEnie, and BIX;
X   see also {bixie}.  On {USENET}, `smiley' is often used as a
X   generic synonymous with {emoticon}, as well as specifically for the
X   happy-face emoticon.
X
X   Note for the {newbie}: overuse of the smiley is a mark of
X   loserhood!  More than one per paragraph is a fairly sure sign that
X   you've gone over the line.
X
Xempire: n. Any of a family of military simulations derived from a
X   game written by Peter Langston many years ago.  There are 5 or 6
X   multi-player variants of varying degrees of sophistication, and one
X   single-player version implemented for both UNIX and VMS which is
X   even available as MS-DOS freeware.  All are notoriously addictive.
X
Xengine: n. 1. A piece of hardware that encapsulates some function
X   but can't be used without some kind of {front end}.  Today we
X   have, especially, `print engine': the guts of a laser printer.
X   2. An analogous piece of software; notionally, one that does a lot
X   of noisy crunching, such as a `database engine'.
X
X   The hackish senses of `engine' are actually close to its original,
X   pre-Industrial-Revolution sense of a skill, clever device, or
X   instrument (the word is cognate to `ingenuity').  This sense had
X   not been completely eclipsed by the modern connotation of
X   power-transducing machinery in Charles Babbage's time, which
X   explains why he named the stored-program computer that
X   he designed in 1844 the `Analytical Engine'.
X
XEnglish: n.,obs. The source code for a program, which may be in any
X   language, as opposed to the linkable or executable binary produced
X   from it by a compiler.  The idea behind the term is that to a real
X   hacker, a program written in his favorite programming language is
X   at least as readable as English.  Usage: used mostly by old-time
X   hackers, though recognizable in context.
X
Xenhancement: n. {Marketroid}-speak for a bug {fix}.  This abuse
X   of language is a popular and time-tested way to turn incompetence
X   into increased revenue.  A hacker being ironic would instead call
X   the fix a {feature} --- or perhaps save some effort by declaring
X   the bug itself to be a feature.
X
XENQ: /enkw/ [from the ASCII mnemonic `ENQuire' for #b0000101] ques.
X   An on-line convention for querying someone's availability.  After
X   opening a {talk mode} connection to someone apparently in heavy
X   hack mode, one might type "SYN SYN ENQ?" (the SYNs representing
X   notional synchronization bytes) expecting a return of {ACK} or
X   {NAK} depending on whether or not the person felt interruptible.
X   Compare {ping}, {finger}, and the usage of "FOO?"  listed
X   under {talk mode}.
X
XEOF: /ee-oh-ef/ [acronym, End Of File] n. 1. [techspeak]
X   Refers esp.  to whatever pseudo-character value is returned by C's
X   sequential character input functions (and their equivalents in
X   other environments) when the logical end of file has been reached
X   (this was 0 under V6 UNIX but, is -1 under V7 and all subsequent
X   versions and all non-UNIX C library implementations).  2. Used by
X   extension in non-computer contexts when a human is doing something
X   that can be modelled as a sequential read and can't go further.
X   "Yeah, I looked for a list of 360 mnemonics to post as a joke, but
X   I hit EOF pretty fast; all the library had was a {JCL} manual."
X   See also {EOL}.
X
XEOL: /ee-oh-el/ [End Of Line] n. Syn. for {newline} derived
X   perhaps from the original CDC6600 Pascal.  Now rare, but widely
X   recognized and occasionally used because it's shorter.  It's used
X   in the example entry under {BNF}.  See also {EOF}.
X
XEOU: /ee-oh-yoo/ n. The mnemonic of a mythical ASCII control
X   character (End Of User) that could make a Model 33 Teletype explode
X   on receipt.  This parodied the numerous obscure delimiter and
X   control characters left in ASCII from the days when it was more
X   associated with wire-service teletypes than computers (e.g., FS,
X   GS, RS, US, EM, SUB, ETX, and esp. EOT).  It is worth remembering
X   that ASR-33s were big, noisy mechanical beasts with a lot of
X   clattering parts; the notion that one might explode was nowhere
X   near as ridiculous as it might seem to someone sitting in front of
X   a {tube} or flatscreen today.
X
Xepoch: [UNIX] [perhaps from astronomical timekeeping] n. The time
X   and date corresponding to zero in an operating system's clock and
X   timestamp values.  Under most UNIX versions, 00:00:00 GMT, January
X   1, 1970.  System time is measured in seconds or {tick}s past the
X   epoch.  Note that weird problems may ensue when the clock wraps
X   around (see {wrap around}), and that this is not a necessarily a
X   rare event; on systems counting 10 ticks per second, a signed
X   32-bit count of ticks is good only for 6.8 years.  The
X   1-tick-per-second clock of UNIX is good only until January 18,
X   2038, assuming word lengths don't increase by then.  See also
X   {wall time}.
X
Xepsilon: [see {delta} for etymology] 1. n. A small quantity of
X   anything.  "The cost is epsilon."  2. adj. Very small,
X   negligible; less than {marginal}.  "We can get this feature for
X   epsilon cost."  3. `within epsilon of': close enough to be
X   indistinguishable for all practical purposes.  This is even closer
X   than being `within delta of'.  Example: "That's not what I asked
X   for, but it's within epsilon of what I wanted."  Alternatively, it
X   may mean not close enough, but very little is required to get it
X   there: "My program is within epsilon of working."
X
Xepsilon squared: n. A quantity even smaller than {epsilon}, as
X   small in comparison to it as it is to something normal; completely
X   negligible.  If you buy a supercomputer for a million dollars, the
X   cost of the thousand-dollar terminal to go with it is {epsilon},
X   and the cost of the ten-dollar cable to connect the two is
X   {epsilon squared}.  Compare {lost in the underflow}, {lost in
X   the noise}.
X
Xera, the: Syn. {epoch}.  The Webster's Unabridged makes these words
X   almost synonymous, but `era' usually connotes a span of time
X   rather than a point in time.  The {epoch} usage is recommended.
X
XEric Conspiracy: n. A shadowy group of mustachioed hackers named
X   Eric first pinpointed as a sinister conspiracy by an infamous
X   talk.bizarre posting c. 1986; this was doubtless influenced by the
X   numerous `Eric' jokes in the Monty Python oeuvre.  There do indeed
X   seem to be considerably more mustachioed Erics in hackerdom than
X   the frequency of these three traits can account for unless they are
X   correlated in some arcane way.  Well-known examples include Eric
X   Allman (he of the `Allman style' described under {indent style}),
X   and Erik Fair (co-author of NNTP); your editor has heard from about
X   fourteen others by email, and the organization line `Eric
X   Conspiracy Secret Laboratories' now emanates regularly from more
X   than one site.
X
XEris: /e'ris/ pn. The Greek goddess of Chaos, Discord, Confusion,
X   and Things You Know Not Of; her name was latinized to Discordia and
X   she was worshiped by that name in Rome.  Not a very friendly deity
X   in the Classical original, she was re-invented as a more benign
X   personification of creative anarchy starting in 1959 by the
X   adherents of {Discordianism} and has since been a semi-serious
X   subject of veneration in several `fringe' cultures, including
X   hackerdom.  See {Discordianism}, {Church of the Sub-Genius}.
X
Xerotics: /ee-ro'tiks/ n. Reported from Scandinavia as
X   English-language university slang for electronics.  Often used by
X   hackers, maybe because good electronics makes them warm.
X
Xessentials: n. Things necessary to maintain a productive and secure
X   hacking environment.  "A jug of wine, a loaf of bread, a
X   20-megahertz 80386 box with 8 meg of core and a 300-megabyte disk
X   supporting full UNIX with source and X windows and EMACS and UUCP
X   via a 'blazer to a friendly Internet site, and thou."
X
Xevil: adj. As used by hackers, implies that some system, program,
X   person, or institution is sufficiently maldesigned as to be not
X   worth the bother of dealing with.  Unlike the adjectives in the
X   {cretinous}/{losing}/{brain-damaged} series, `evil' does not
X   imply incompetence or bad design, but rather a set of goals or
X   design criteria fatally incompatible with the speaker's.  This is
X   more an esthetic and engineering judgement than a moral one in the
X   mainstream sense.  "We thought about adding a {Blue Glue}
X   interface but decided it was too evil to deal with."  "{TECO}
X   is neat, but it can be pretty evil if you're prone to typos."
X   Often pronounced with the first syllable lengthened, as /eeee'vil/.
X
Xexa-: /ek's@/ pref. Multiplier, 10 ^ 18 or [proposed] 2 ^ 60.  See
X   {kilo-}.
X
Xexamining the entrails: n. The process of rooting through a core dump
X   or hex image in the attempt to discover the bug that brought your
X   program or system down.  Compare {runes}, {incantation}, {black
X   art}, {desk check}.
X
XEXCH: /eks'ch@, eksch/ vt. To exchange two things, each for the
X   other; to swap places.  If you point to two people sitting down and
X   say "Exch!", you are asking them to trade places.  EXCH,
X   meaning EXCHange, was originally the name of a PDP-10 instruction
X   that exchanged the contents of a register and a memory location.
X   Many newer hackers tend to be thinking instead of the PostScript
X   exchange operator (which is usually written in lowercase).
X
Xexcl: /eks'kl/ n. Abbreviation for `exclamation point'.  See
X   {bang}, {shriek}, {{ASCII}}.
X
XEXE: /eks'ee/, /eek'see/ n. An executable binary file.  Some
X   operating systems (notably MS-DOS, VMS, and TOPS-20/TWENEX) use the
X   extension .EXE to mark such files.  This usage is also occasionally
X   found among UNIX programmers even though UNIX executables don't
X   have any required extension (in fact, the term `extension' in this
X   sense is not part of UNIX jargon).
X
Xexec: /eg-zek'/ [shortened from `executive' or `execute']
X   vt.,n. 1. [UNIX] Synonym for {chain}, derives from the
X   `exec(2)' call.  2. obs. The command interpreter for an
X   {OS} (see {shell}); term esp. used on mainframes, and prob.
X   derived from UNIVAC's archaic EXEC 2 and EXEC 8 operating systems.
X   3. At IBM, the equivalent of a shell command file (this is among
X   VM/CMS users).
X
Xexercise, left as an: [from technical books] Used to complete a
X   proof when one doesn't mind a {handwave}, or to avoid one
X   entirely.  The complete phrase is: "The proof (or the rest) is left as
X   an exercise for the reader."  This comment *has* occasionally
X   been attached to unsolved research problems by authors possessed of
X   either an evil sense of humor or a vast faith in the capabilities
X   of their audiences.
X
Xeyeball search: n. To look for something in a mass of code or data
X   {by hand}, as opposed to using some sort of pattern matcher like
X   {grep} or any other automated search tool.  Also called a
X   {vgrep}; compare {vdiff}, {desk check}.
X
X= F =
X=====
X
Xfab: /fab/ [from `fabricate'] v. 1. To produce chips from a
X   design that may have been created by someone at another company.
X   Fabbing chips based on the designs of others is the activity of a
X   {silicon foundry}.  To a hacker, `fab' is practically never short
X   for `fabulous'.  2. `fab line': the production system
X   (lithography, diffusion, etching, etc.) for chips at a chip
X   manufacturer.  Different `fab lines' are run with different
X   process parameters, die sizes, or technologies, or simply to
X   provide more manufacturing volume.
X
Xface time: n. Time spent interacting with somebody face-to-face (as
X   opposed to via electronic links).  "Oh, yeah, I spent some face
X   time with him at the last Usenix."
X
Xfall over: [IBM] vi. Yet another synonym for {crash} or {lose}.
X   `Fall over hard' equates to {crash and burn}.
X
Xfall through: v. (n. `fallthrough', var. `fall-through')
X   1. To exit a loop by exhaustion, i.e. by having fulfilled its exit
X   condition rather than via a break or exception condition that exits
X   from the middle of it.  This usage appears to be *really* old,
X   as in dating from the 1940s and '50s.  It may no longer be live
X   jargon.  2. To fail a test that would have passed control to a
X   subroutine or other distant portion of code.  3. In C,
X   `fall-through' occurs when the flow of execution in a
X   switch statement reaches a `case' label other than by jumping
X   there from the switch header, passing a point where one would
X   normally expect to find a `break'.  A trivial example:
X
X     switch (color)
X     {
X     case GREEN:
X        do_green();
X        break;
X     case PINK:
X        do_pink();
X        /* FALL THROUGH */
X     case RED:
X        do_red();
X        break;
X     default:
X        do_blue();
X        break;
X     }
X
X   The effect of this code is to `do_green()' when color is
X   `GREEN', `do_red()' when color is `RED',
X   `do_blue()' on any other color other than `PINK', and
X   (and this is the important part) `do_pink()' *and then*
X   `do_red()' when color is `PINK'.  Fall-through is
X   {considered harmful} by some, though there are contexts such as
X   the coding of state machines in which it is natural; it is
X   generally considered good practice to include a comment
X   highlighting the fallthrough, at the point one would normally
X   expect a break.
X
Xfandango on core: [UNIX/C hackers, from the Mexican dance] n. In C, a
X   wild pointer that runs out of bounds causing a {core dump}, or
X   corrupts the `malloc(3)' {arena} in such a way as to cause mysterious
X   failures later on, is sometimes said to have `done a fandango on
X   core'.  On low-end personal machines without an MMU, this can
X   corrupt the OS itself, causing massive lossage.  Other frenetic
X   dances such as the rhumba, cha-cha, or watusi may be substituted.
X   See {aliasing bug}, {precedence lossage}, {smash the stack},
X   {memory leak}, {overrun screw}, {core}.
X
XFAQ list: /ef-ay-kyoo list/ [Usenix] n. A compendium of accumulated
X   lore, posted periodically to high-volume newsgroups in an attempt
X   to forestall Frequently Asked Questions.  This lexicon itself
X   serves as a good example of a collection of one kind of lore,
X   although it is far too big for a regular posting.  Several extant
X   FAQ lists do (or should) make reference to the Jargon File (the
X   on-line version of this lexicon).  "How do you pronounce `char'?"
X   and "What's that funny name for the `#' character?" for
X   example, are both Frequently Asked Questions.
X
Xfarming: [Adelaide University, Australia] n. What the heads of a
X   disk drive are said to do when they plow little furrows in the
X   magnetic media.  Associated with a {crash}.  Typically used as
X   follows: "Oh no, the machine has just crashed; I hope the hard
X   drive hasn't gone {farming} again."
X
Xfascist: adj. 1. Said of a computer system with excessive or
X   annoying security barriers, usage limits, or access policies.  The
X   implication is that said policies are preventing hackers from
X   getting interesting work done.  The variant `fascistic' seems
X   to have been preferred at MIT, poss. by analogy with
X   `touristic' (see {tourist}).  2. In the design of languages
X   and other software tools, `the fascist alternative' is the most
X   restrictive and structured way of capturing a particular function;
X   the implication is that this may be desirable in order to simplify
X   the implementation or provide tighter error checking.  Compare
X   {bondage-and-discipline language}; but that term is global rather
X   than local.
X
XFAtt: [FidoNet] n. Written-only abbreviation for {File Attach}.
X
Xfaulty: adj. Non-functional; buggy.  Same denotation as
X   {bletcherous}, {losing}, q.v., but the connotation is much
X   milder.
X
Xfd leak: /ef dee leek/ n. A kind of programming bug analogous to a
X   {core leak}, in which a program fails to close file descriptors
X   (`fd's) after file operations are completed, and thus eventually
X   runs out.  See {leak}.
X
Xfear and loathing: [from Hunter Thompson] n. State inspired by the
X   prospect of dealing with certain real-world systems and standards
X   that are totally {brain-damaged} but ubiquitous --- Intel 8086s,
X   or {COBOL}, or {{EBCDIC}}, or any {IBM} machine except the Rios (aka
X   the RS/6000).  "Ack!  They want PCs to be able to talk to the AI
X   machine.  Fear and loathing time!"
X
Xfeature: n. 1. A good property or behavior (as of a program).
X   Whether it was intended or not is immaterial.  2. An intended
X   property or behavior (as of a program).  Whether it is good or not
X   is immaterial (but if bad, it is also a {misfeature}).  3. A
X   surprising property or behavior; in particular, one that is
X   purposely inconsistent because it works better that way --- such an
X   inconsistency is therefore a {feature} and not a {bug}.  This
X   kind of feature is sometimes called a {miswart}; see that entry
X   for a classic example.  4. A property or behavior that is
X   gratuitous or unnecessary, though perhaps also impressive or cute.
X   For example, one feature of Common LISP's FORMAT function is the
X   ability to print numbers in two different Roman-numeral formats
X   (see {bells, whistles, and gongs}).  5. A property or behavior
X   that was put in to help someone else but that happens to be in your
X   way.  6. A bug that has been documented.  To call something a
X   feature sometimes means the author of the program did not consider
X   the particular case, and the program responded in a way that was
X   unexpected, but not strictly incorrect.  A standard joke is that a
X   bug can be turned into a {feature} simply by documenting it (then
X   theoretically no one can complain about it because it's in the
X   manual), or even by simply declaring it to be good.  "That's not a
X   bug, that's a feature!"  See also {feetch feetch}, {creeping
X   featurism}, {wart}, {green lightning}.
X
X   The relationship between bugs, features, misfeatures, warts, and
X   miswarts might be clarified by the following exchange between two
X   hackers on an airplane:
X
X   A: "This seat doesn't recline."
X
X   B: "That's not a bug, that's a feature.  There is an emergency
X   exit door built around the window behind you, and the route has to
X   be kept clear."
X
X   A: "Oh.  Then it's a misfeature; they should have increased the
X   spacing between rows here."
X
X   B: "Yes.  But if they'd only increased spacing in one section it
X   would have been a wart --- they would've had to make
X   nonstandard-length ceiling panels to fit over the displaced
X   seats."
X
X   A: "A miswart, actually.  If they widened all the seats they'd
X   lose several rows and a chunk out of the profit margin.  So unequal
X   spacing would actually be the Right Thing."
X
X   B: "Indeed."
X
X   Finally, note that {undocumented feature} is a common, allegedly
X   humorous euphemism for a {bug}.
X
Xfeature creature: [poss. fr. slang `creature feature' for a horror
X   movie] n. One who loves to add features to designs or programs,
X   perhaps at the expense of coherence, concision, or {taste}.  See
X   also {creeping featurism}.
X
Xfeature shock: [from Alvin Toffler's title `Future Shock'] n.
X   A user's (or programmer's!) confusion when confronted with a
X   package that has too many features and poor introductory material.
X
Xfeaturectomy: /fee`ch at r-ek'to-mee/ n. The act of removing a feature
X   from a program.  Featurectomies generally come in two varieties,
X   the `righteous' and the `reluctant'.  Righteous featurectomies
X   are performed because the remover believes the program would be
X   more elegant without the feature, or there is already an equivalent
X   and `better' way to achieve the same end.  (This is not quite the
X   same thing as removing a {misfeature}.)  Reluctant featurectomies
X   are performed to satisfy some external constraint such as code size
X   or execution speed.
X
Xfeep: /feep/ 1. n. The soft electronic `bell' sound of a display terminal
X   (except for a VT-52!); a beep (in fact, the microcomputer world
X   seems to prefer {beep}).  2. vi. To cause the display to make a
X   feep sound.  ASR 33s (the original TTYs) do not feep; they
X   have mechanical bells that ring.  Alternate forms: {beep},
X   `bleep', or just about anything suitably onomatopoeic.  (Jeff
X   MacNelly, in his comic strip `Shoe', uses the word `eep' for
X   sounds made by computer terminals and video games; this is perhaps
X   the closest written approximation yet.)  The term `breedle' was
X   sometimes heard at SAIL, where the terminal bleepers are not
X   particularly `soft' (they sound more like the musical equivalent of
X   a raspberry or Bronx cheer; for a close approximation, imagine the
X   sound of a Star Trek communicator's beep lasting for five
X   seconds).  The `feeper' on a VT-52 has been compared to the sound
X   of a '52 Chevy stripping its gears.  See also {ding}.
X
Xfeeper: /fee'pr/ n. The device in a terminal or workstation (usually
X   a loudspeaker of some kind) that makes the {feep} sound.
X
Xfeeping creature: [from {feeping creaturism}] n. An unnecessary
X   feature; a bit of {chrome} that, in the speaker's judgement, is
X   the camel's nose for a whole horde of new features.
X
Xfeeping creaturism: /fee'ping kree`ch at r-izm/ n. Deliberate
X   Spoonerism for {creeping featurism}, meant to imply that the
X   system or program in question has become a misshapen creature of
X   hacks.  This term isn't really well-defined, but it sounds so neat
X   that most hackers have said or heard it.  It is probably reinforced
X   by an image of terminals prowling about in the dark making their
X   customary noises.
X
Xfeetch feetch: interj. If someone tells you about some new
X   improvement to a program, you might respond, "Feetch, feetch!".
X   The meaning of this depends critically on vocal inflection.  With
X   enthusiasm, it means something like, "Boy, that's great!  What a
X   great hack!"  Grudgingly or with obvious doubt, it means "I don't
X   know; it sounds like just one more unnecessary and complicated
X   thing."  With a tone of resignation, it means, "Well, I'd rather
X   keep it simple, but I suppose it has to be done."
SHAR_EOF
true || echo 'restore of jargon.ascii failed'
fi
echo 'End of part 6, continue with part 7'
echo 7 > _shar_seq_.tmp
exit 0