The Jargon File v2.2.1 15 DEC 1990, part 4 of 10

[Eric S. Raymond]

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X     {
X         case GREEN:
X             do_green();
X             break;
X         case PINK:
X             do_pink();
X        
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 GREEN,
X   do_red() when color is RED, do_blue() on any other color than PINK,
X   and (this is the important part) do_pink() and *then* do_red() when
X   color is PINK.  It is considered good practice to include a comment
X   highlighting the fall through, at ytje 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 third-world
X   dances such as the rhumba, cha-cha or watusi may be substituted.
X   See ALIASING BUG, PRECEDENCE LOSSAGE, SMASH THE STACK, MEMORY LEAK,
X   OVERRUN SCREW, CORE.
X
XFAQ LIST /ef-ay-kyoo list/ [Usenix] n. Compendium of accumulated lore,
X   posted periodically to high-volume newsgroups in an attempt to
X   forestall Frequently Asked Questions.
X   The jargon file itself serves as a good example of a collection
X   of one kind of lore, although it is far too big for a regular
X   posting.  Several extant FAQ lists do (or should) make reference
X   to the jargon file.  "How do you pronounce `char'?" and "What's
X   that funny name for the `#' character?" are, for example, both
X   Frequently Asked Questions.
X
XFASCIST adj. Said of a computer system with excessive or annoying
X   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" seens to
X   have been preferred at MIT, poss. by analogy with TOURISTIC.
X
XFAULTY adj. Non-functional; buggy.  Same denotation as "bagbiting",
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 CORE
X   LEAK, in which a program fails to close file descriptors ("fd"s)
X   after file operations are completed, and thus eventually runs out.
X   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   which are totally BRAIN DAMAGED but ubiquitous --- Intel 8086s, or
X   COBOL, or any IBM machine except the Rios (aka the RS/6000). "Ack.
X   They want PCs to be able to talk to the AI machine.  Fear and
X   loathing time!" See also IBM.
X
XFEATURE n.  1. An intended property or behavior (as of a program).
X   Whether it is good or not is immaterial.  2. A good property or
X   behavior (as of a program).  Whether it was intended or not is
X   immaterial.  3. A surprising property or behavior; in particular,
X   one that is purposely inconsistent because it works better that
X   way.  For example, in some versions of the EMACS text editor, the
X   "transpose characters" command exchanges the two characters on
X   either side of the cursor on the screen, *except* when the cursor
X   is at the end of a line, in which case the two characters before
X   the curspor are exchanged.  While this behavior is perhaps
X   surprising, and certainly inconsistent, it has been found through
X   extensive experimentation to be what most users want; the
X   inconsistency is therefore a FEATURE and not a BUG.  4. A property
X   or behavior that is gratuitous or unnecessary, though perhaps also
X   impressive or cute.  For example, one feature of the MACLISP
X   language is the ability to print numbers as Roman numerals.  See
X   BELLS AND WHISTLES.  5. A property or behavior that was put in to
X   help someone else but that happens to be in your way. 6. A BUG that
X   has been documented.  To call something a feature sometimes means
X   the author of the program did not consider the particular case, and
X   the program responded in a way that was unexpected, but not
X   strictly incorrect.  A standard joke is that a BUG can be turned
X   into a FEATURE simply by documenting it (then theoretically no one
X   can complain about it because it's in the manual), or even by
X   simply declaring it to be good.  "That's not a bug, that's a
X   feature!" See also FEETCH FEETCH.
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 are
X   performed because the remover believes the program would be more
X   elegant without the feature, or there is already an equivalent and
X   "better" way to achieve the same end.  (This is not quite the
X   same thing as removing a MISFEATURE.)  Reluctant featurectomies are
X   performed to satisfy some external constraint such as code size or
X   execution speed.
X
XFEEP /feep/ 1. n. The soft bell of a display terminal (except for a
X   VT-52!); a beep.  2. vi. To cause the display to make a feep sound.
X   TTY's do not have feeps; they have mechanical bells that ring.
X   Alternate forms: BEEP, BLEEP, or just about anything suitably
X   onomatopoeic.  (Jeff Macnelly, in his comic strip `Shoe', uses the
X   word `eep' for sounds made by computer terminals and video games;
X   this is perhaps the closest written approximation yet.)  The term
X   BREEDLE was sometimes heard at SAIL, where the terminal bleepers
X   are not particularly "soft" (they sound more like the musical
X   equivalent of a raspberry or Bronx cheer; for a close
X   approximation, imagine the sound of a Star Trek communicator's beep
X   lasting for five seconds.).  The "feeper" on a VT-52 has been
X   compared to the sound of a '52 Chevy stripping its gears.  See also
X   DING.
X
XFEEPER /fee'pr/ n. The device in a terminal or workstation (usually a
X   loudspeaker of some kind) that makes the FEEP sound.
X
XFEEPING CREATURITIS /fee'ping kree`ch at r-ie'tis/ n. Deliberate
X   spoonerization of CREEPING FEATURITIS, 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 probably derives from
X   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 improvement
X   to a program, you might respond, "Feetch, feetch!"  The meaning
X   of this depends critically on vocal inflection.  With enthusiasm,
X   it means something like, "Boy, that's great!  What a great hack!"
X   Grudgingly or with obvious doubt, it means "I don't know; it
X   sounds like just one more unnecessary and complicated thing."
X   With a tone of resignation, it means, "Well, I'd rather keep it
X   simple, but I suppose it has to be done."
X
XFENCEPOST ERROR n. 1. The discrete equivalent of a boundary condition.
X   Often exhibited in programs by iterative loops.  From the following
X   problem: "If you build a fence 100 feet long with posts ten feet
X   apart, how many posts do you need?"  (Either 9 or 11 is a better
X   answer than the obvious 10.)  For example, suppose you have a long
X   list or array of items, and want to process items m through n; how
X   many items are there?  The obvious answer is n - m, but that is off
X   by one; the right answer is n - m + 1.  A program that used the
X   "obvious" formula would have a fencepost error in it.  See also
X   OFF-BY-ONE ERROR, and note that not all off-by-one errors are
X   fencepost errors.  The game of Musical Chairs involves an
X   off-by-one problem where N people try to sit in N-1 chairs, but
X   it's not a fencepost error.  Fencepost errors come from counting
X   things rather than the spaces between them, or vice versa, or by
X   neglecting to consider whether one should count one or both ends of
X   a row.  2.  Occasionally, an error induced by unexpectedly regular
X   spacing of inputs, which can (for instance) screw up your hash
X   table.
X
XFIELD CIRCUS [a derogatory pun on "field service"] n.  The field
X   service organization of any hardware manufacturer, but especially
X   DEC.  There is an entire genre of jokes about DEC field circus
X   engineers:
X
X     Q: How can you recognize a DEC field circus engineer with a flat
X        tire?
X     A: He's swapping tires to see which one is flat.
X
X     Q: How can you recognize a DEC field circus engineer who is out
X        of gas?
X     A: He's swapping tires to see which one is flat.
X
XFILK /filk/ [from SF fandom, where a typo for "folk" was adopted as
X   a new word] n.,v. A "filk" is a popular or folk song with lyrics
X   revised or completely new lyrics, intended for humorous effect when
X   read and/or to be sung late at night at SF conventions.  There is a
X   flourishing subgenre of these called "computer filks", written by
X   hackers and often containing technical humor of quite sophisticated
X   nature.  See DOUBLE BUCKY for an example.
X
XFILM AT 11 [MIT, in parody of TV newscasters], interj.  Used in
X   conversation to announce ordinary events, with a sarcastic
X   implication that these events are earth-shattering. "ITS crashes;
X   film at 11." "Bug found in scheduler; film at 11."
X
XFILTER [orig. UNIX, now also in MS-DOS] n. A program which processes
X   an input text stream into an output text stream in some
X   well-defined way, and does no I/O to anywhere else except possibly
X   on error conditions; one designed to be used as a stage in a
X   PIPELINE (q.v.).
X
XFINE [WPI] adj. Good, but not good enough to be CUSPY.  The word FINE
X   is used elsewhere, of course, but without the implicit comparison
X   to the higher level implied by CUSPY.
X
XFINGER [SAIL's ITS, via BSD UNIX] 1. n. A program that displays a
X   particular user or all users logged on the system or a remote
X   system.  Typically shows full name, last login time, idle time,
X   terminal line and terminal location.  May also display a "plan
X   file" left by the user. 2.  vt.  To apply finger to a username. 3.
X   v. By extension, to check a human's current state by any means.
X   "Foodp?"  "T!"  "OK, finger Lisa and see if she's idle".
X
XFIREBOTTLE n. A large, primitive, power-hungry active electrical
X   device, similar to an FET constructed out of glass, metal, and
X   vacuum.  Characterized by high cost, low density, low reliability,
X   high-temperature operation, and high power dissipation.  Sometimes
X   mistakenly called a "tube" in the U.S. or a "valve" in England.
X
XFIREFIGHTING n. The act of throwing lots of manpower and late nights
X   at a project to get it out before deadline.
X
XFIREWALL MACHINE n. A dedicated gateway machine with special security
X   precautions on it, used to service outside network/mail/news
X   connections and/or accept remote logins for (read only)
X   shared-file-system access via FTP.  The idea is to protect a
X   cluster of more loosely administered machines `hidden' behind it
X   from crackers.  The typical `firewall' is an inexpensive
X   micro-based UNIX box kept clean of critical data, with a bunch of
X   modems and public network ports on it but just one carefully
X   watched connection back to the rest of the cluster.  The special
X   precautions may include threat monitoring, callback, and even a
X   complete IRON BOX keyable to particular incoming IDs or activity
X   patterns.  Syn. FLYTRAP, VENUS FLYTRAP.
X
XFIRMWARE n. Software installed into a computer-based piece of
X   equipment on ROM. So-called because it's harder to change than
X   software but easier than hardware.
X
XFLAG n. A variable or quantity that can take on one of two values; a
X   bit, particularly one that is used to indicate one of two outcomes
X   or is used to control which of two things is to be done.  Examples:
X   "This flag controls whether to clear the screen before printing
X   the message."  "The program status word contains several flag
X   bits." See also BIT.
X
XFLAG DAY n. A software change which is neither forward nor backward
X   compatible, and which is costly to make and costly to revert.
X   "Can we install that without causing a flag day for all users?"
X   This term has nothing to do with the use of the word FLAG to mean a
X   variable that has two values.  It came into use when a massive
X   change was made to the MULTICS timesharing system to convert from
X   the old ASCII code to the new one; this was scheduled for Flag Day,
X   June 14, 1966.
X
XFLAKEY, FLAKY adj. Subject to frequent lossages.  See LOSSAGE.  This
X   use is of course related to the common slang use of the word, to
X   describe a person as eccentric or crazy.  A system that is flakey
X   is working, sort of, enough that you are tempted to try to use it,
X   but it fails frequently enough that the odds in favor of finishing
X   what you start are low. Commonwealth hackish prefers DODGY (q.v.).
X
XFLAMAGE /flay'm at j/ n. High-noise, low-signal postings to USENET or
X   other electronic fora.  Often in the phrase "the usual flamage".
X
XFLAME 1. vi. To speak incessantly and/or rabidly on some relatively
X   uninteresting subject or with a patently ridiculous attitude.  When
X   a discussion degenerates into useless controversy, one might tell
X   the participants, "Now you're just flaming" or "Stop all that
X   flamage!"  to try to get them to cool down (so to speak).  2.  To
X   post an email message intended to insult and provoke.  FLAME ON: vi.
X   To continue to flame.  See RAVE, BURBLE.  The punning reference to
X   Marvel comics's Human Torch has been lost as recent usage completes
X   the circle: "Flame on" now usually means "beginning of flame".
X
X   A USENETter who was at WPI from 1972 to 1976 adds: I am 99% certain
X   that the use of "FLAME" originated at WPI.  Those who made a
X   nuisance of themselves insisting that they needed to use a TTY for
X   "real work" came to be known as "flaming asshole lusers".  Other,
X   particularly annoying people became "flaming asshole ravers", which
X   shortened to "flaming ravers", and ultimately "flamers".  I
X   remember someone picking up on the Human Torch pun, but I don't
X   think "FLAME ON/OFF" was ever much used at WPI.
X
XFLAME WAR n. Acrimonious dispute, especially when conducted on a
X   public electronic forum such as USENET.
X
XFLAMER v. One who habitually flames others.  Said esp. of obnoxious
X   USENET personalities.
X
XFLAP vt. To unload a DECtape (so it goes flap, flap, flap...).  Old
X   hackers at MIT tell of the days when the disk was device 0 and
X   microtapes were 1, 2,... and attempting to flap device 0 would
X   instead start a motor banging inside a cabinet near the disk!
X
XFLAVOR n. 1. Variety, type, kind.  "DDT commands come in two
X   flavors."  "These lights come in two flavors, big red ones and
X   small green ones."  See VANILLA.  2. The attribute that causes
X   something to be FLAVORFUL.  Usually used in the phrase "yields
X   additional flavor."  "This convention yields additional flavor by
X   allowing one to print text either right-side-up or upside-down."
X   See VANILLA.
X
XFLAVORFUL adj. Aesthetically pleasing.  See RANDOM and LOSING for
X   antonyms.  See also the entries for TASTE and ELEGANT.
X
XFLIPPY /flip'ee/ n. A single-side floppy disk altered for double-sided
X   use by addition of a second write-notch, so called because it must
X   be flipped over for the second side to be accessible.  No longer
X   common.
X
XFLUSH v. 1. To delete something, usually superfluous.  "All that
X   nonsense has been flushed."  Standard ITS terminology for aborting
X   an output operation (but note sense 4 below!); one speaks of the
X   text that would have been printed, but was not, as having been
X   flushed.  Under ITS, if you asked to have a file printed on your
X   terminal, it was printed a page at a time; at the end of each page,
X   it asked whether you want to see more, and if you said no, it
X   replied "FLUSHED".  (It is speculated that this term arose from a
X   vivid image of flushing unwanted characters by hosing down the
X   internal output buffer, washing the characters away before they can
X   be printed.)  2. To leave at the end of a day's work (as opposed to
X   leaving for a meal).  "I'm going to flush now."  "Time to
X   flush."  3. To exclude someone from an activity.  4.  [UNIX/C] To
X   force buffered I/O to disk, as with an fflush(3) call.  This is
X   *not* an abort as in sense 1 but a demand for early completion!
X   UNIX hackers find the ITS usage confusing and vice versa.
X
XFLYTRAP n. See FIREWALL.
X
XFOAF [USENET] n.  Written-only acronym for Friend Of A Friend.  The
X   source of an unverified, possibly untrue story.
X
XFOO /foo/ 1. [from Yiddish "feh" or the Anglo-Saxon "fooey!"]
X   interj.  Term of disgust.  2. [from FUBAR (Fucked Up Beyond All
X   Recognition), from WWII, often seen as FOOBAR] Name used for
X   temporary programs, or samples of three-letter names.  Other
X   similar words are BAR, BAZ (Stanford corruption of BAR), and rarely
X   RAG.  These have been used in Pogo as well.  3. Used very generally
X   as a sample name for absolutely anything.  The old `Smokey Stover'
X   comic strips often included the word FOO, in particular on license
X   plates of cars.  4. First on the standard list of metasyntactic
X   variables used in syntax examples.  See also: BAR, BAZ, QUX, QUUX,
X   QUUUX, CORGE, GRAULT, GARPLY, WALDO, FRED, PLUGH, XYZZY.  MOBY FOO:
X   See MOBY.  It is possible that hacker usage of FOO actually springs
X   from the title "FOO, Lampoons and Parody" of a comic book first
X   issued in September 1958; the byline read "C. Crumb" but this may
X   well have been a sort-of pseudonym for noted weird-comix artist
X   Robert Crumb.  The title FOO was featured in large letters on the
X   front cover.
X
XFOOL n. As used by hackers, specifically describes a person who
X   habitually reasons from obviously or demonstrably incorrect
X   premises and cannot be persuaded to do otherwise by evidence; it is
X   not generally used in its other senses, i.e. to describe a person
X   with a native incapacity to reason correctly, or a clown.  Indeed,
X   in hackish experience many fools are capable of reasoning all too
X   effectively in executing their errors.  See also CRETIN, LOSER.
X
XFOOTPRINT n. 1. The floor or desk area taken up by a piece of
X   hardware. 2. [IBM] The audit trail (if any) left by a crashed
X   program (often in plural, `footprints').
X
XFOREGROUND [UNIX] adj.v. On a time-sharing system, a task executing in
X   foreground is one able to accept input from and return output to
X   the user; oppose BACKGROUND.  Normally, there is only one
X   foreground task per terminal (or terminal window); having multiple
X   processes simultaneously reading the keyboard is a good way to
X   LOSE.  By extension, "to foreground" a task is to bring it to the
X   top of one's PDL or STACK for immediate processing, and in this
X   sense hackers often use it for non-computer tasks.
X
XFORKED [UNIX] adj. Terminally slow, or dead. Originated when the
X   system slowed to incredibly bad speeds due to a process recursively
X   spawning copies of itself (using the Unix system command fork(2))
X   and taking up all the process table entries.
X
XFORTUNE COOKIE [UNIX] n. A random quote, item of trivia, joke or maxim
X   printed to the user's tty at login time or (less commonly) at
X   logout time.  Items from this jargon file have often been used as
X   fortune cookies.
X
XFOSSIL n. 1. In software, a misfeature that becomes understandable
X   only in historical context, as a remnant of times past retained so
X   as not to break compatibility.  Example: the retention of octal as
X   default base for string escapes in C in spite of the better match
X   of hexadecimal to modern byte-addressible architectures.  See DUSTY
X   DECKS. 2. More restrictively, a feature with past but no present
X   utility.  Example: the force-all-caps (LCASE) bits in the V7 and
X   BSD UNIX tty driver, designed for use with monocase terminals.  In
X   a perversion of the usual backwards compatibility goal, this
X   functionality has actually been expanded and renamed in some later
X   USG UNIX releases as the IUCLC and OLCUC bits.
X
XFRED n. The personal name most frequently used as a metasyntactic
X   variable (see FOO).  Allegedly popular because it's easy to type on
X   a standard QWERTY keyboard.
X
XFREEWARE n. Free software, often written by enthusiasts and usually
X   distributed by electronic mail, local bulletin boards, USENET, or
X   other electronic media.  See SHAREWARE.
X
XFRIED adj. 1. Non-working due to hardware failure; burnt out.
X   Especially used of hardware brought doen by a power glitch, short,
X   or other electrical event.  (Sometimes this literally happens to
X   electronic circuits!  In particular, resistors can burn out and
X   transformers can melt down, emitting terribly-smelling smoke.
X   However, this term is also used metaphorically.)  2. Of people,
X   exhausted.  Said particularly of those who continue to work in such
X   a state.  Often used as an explanation or excuse.  "Yeah, I know
X   that fix destroyed the file system, but I was fried when I put it
X   in."
X
XFROB /frob/ 1. n. [MIT] The official Tech Model Railroad Club
X   definition is "FROB = protruding arm or trunnion", and by
X   metaphoric extension any somewhat small thing; an object that you
X   can comfortably hold in one hand; something you can frob.  See
X   FROBNITZ.  2. v. Abbreviated form of FROBNICATE.
X
XFROBNICATE /frob'ni-kayt/ v. To manipulate or adjust, to tweak.  Thus:
X   "Please frob the light switch."  (That is, flip the light
X   switch.), but also "Stop frobbing that clasp; you'll break it."
X   Poss. derived from FROBNITZ (q.v.).  Usually abbreviated to FROB,
X   but FROBNICATE is recognized as the official full form.  Thus one
X   has the saying "to frob a frob".  See TWEAK and TWIDDLE.  Usage:
X   FROB, TWIDDLE, and TWEAK sometimes connote points along a
X   continuum.  FROB connotes aimless manipulation; TWIDDLE connotes
X   gross manipulation, often a coarse search for a proper setting;
X   TWEAK connotes fine-tuning.  If someone is turning a knob on an
X   oscilloscope, then if he's carefully adjusting it he is probably
X   tweaking it; if he is just turning it but looking at the screen he
X   is probably twiddling it; but if he's just doing it because turning
X   a knob is fun, he's frobbing it.
X
XFROBNITZ /frob'nits/, pl. FROBNITZEM (frob'nitsm) n. An unspecified
X   physical object, a widget.  Also refers to electronic black boxes.
X   This rare form is usually abbreviated to FROTZ, or more commonly to
X   FROB.  Also used are FROBNULE and FROBULE.  Starting perhaps in
X   1979, FROBOZZ (fruh-bahz'), plural FROBBOTZIM (fruh-bot'z at m) has
X   also become very popular, largely due to its exposure as a name via
X   ZORK.  These can also be applied to nonphysical objects, such as
X   data structures.
X
XFROG alt. PHROG 1. interj. Term of disgust (we seem to have a lot of
X   them).  2. Used as a name for just about anything.  See FOO.  3. n.
X   Of things, a crock.  Of people, somewhere inbetween a turkey and a
X   toad.  4. FROGGY: adj. Similar to BAGBITING (q.v.), but milder.
X   "This froggy program is taking forever to run!"
X
XFRONT END n. 1. A subsidiary computer that doesn't do much. 2. What
X   you're talking to when you have a conversation with someone who is
X   making replies without paying attention. "Look at the dancing
X   elephants!"  "Uh-huh" "Do you know what I just said?"
X   "Sorry, you were talking to the front end".
X
XFROTZ /frotz/ 1. n. See FROBNITZ.  2. MUMBLE FROTZ: An interjection of
X   very mild disgust.
X
XFROTZED /frotzt/ adj. DOWN due to hardware problems.
X
XFRY 1. vi. To fail.  Said especially of smoke-producing hardware
X   failures.  More generally, to become non-working.  Usage: never
X   said of software, only of hardware and humans.  See FRIED, MAGIC
X   SMOKE. 2. vt. To cause to fail; to ROACH, TOAST or HOSE a piece of
X   hardware (never used of software or humans).
X
XFTP /ef-tee-pee/, *not* /fit'ip/ 1. n. The File Transfer Protocol for
X   transmitting files between systems on the Internet.  2.  vt. To
X   transfer a file using the File Transfer Protocol. 3. Sometimes used
X   as a generic even for file transfers not using FTP. "Lemme get
X   this copy of Wuthering Heights FTP'd from uunet."
X
XFUCK ME HARDER excl. Sometimes uttered in response to egregious
X   misbehavior, esp. in software, and esp. of those which seem
X   unfairly persistent (as though designed in< by the imp of the
X   perverse).  Often theatrically elaborated: "Aiighhh! Fuck me with
X   a piledriver and sixteen feet of curare-tipped wrought-iron fence
X   *and no lubricants!*" The phrase is sometimes heard abbreviated
X   FMH in polite company.
X
XFUD WARS /fud worz/ n. [from `Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt'] Political
X   posturing engaged in by hardware and software vendors ostensibly
X   committed to standardization but actually willing to fragment the
X   market to protect their own share.  The OSF vs. UNIX International
X   conflict, for example.
X
XFUDGE 1. v. To perform in an incomplete but marginally acceptable way,
X   particularly with respect to the writing of a program.  "I didn't
X   feel like going through that pain and suffering, so I fudged it."
X   2. n. The resulting code.
X
XFUDGE FACTOR n. A value or parameter that is varied in an ad hoc way
X   to produce the desired result.  The terms "tolerance" and
X   "slop" are also used, though these usually indicate a one-sided
X   leeway, such as a buffer which is made larger than necessary
X   because one isn't sure exactly how large it needs to be, and it is
X   better to waste a little space than to lose completely for not
X   having enough.  A fudge factor, on the other hand, can often be
X   tweaked in more than one direction.  A good example is the FUZZ
X   typically needed in floating-point calculations: two numbers being
X   compared for equality must be allowed to differ by a small amount;
X   if that amount is too small, a computation may never terminate,
X   while if it is too large, results will be needlessly inaccurate.
X   Fudge factors are frequently adjusted incorrectly by programmers
X   who don't fully understand their import.
X
XFUEL UP vi. To eat or drink hurriedly in order to get back to hacking.
X   "Food-p?" "Yeah, let's fuel up." "Time for a GREAT-WALL!".
X   See also ORIENTAL FOOD.
X
XFUGGLY /fuhg'lee/ adj. Emphatic form of FUNKY; funky + ugly (or
X   possibly a contraction of "fuckin' ugly"). Unusually for hacker
X   slang, this may actually derive from black street-jive.  To say it
X   properly, the first syllable should be growled rather than spoken.
X   Usage: humorous.  "Man, the ASCII-to-EBCDIC code in that printer
X   driver is *fuggly*."  See also WONKY.
X
XFUNKY adj. Said of something which functions, but in a slightly
X   strange, klugey way.  It does the job and would be difficult to
X   change, so its obvious non-optimality is left alone.  Often used to
X   describe interfaces.  The more bugs something has that nobody has
X   bothered to fix because workarounds are easier, the funkier it is.
X   TECO and UUCP are funky.  The Intel i860's exception handling is
X   extraordinarily funky.  Most standards acquire funkiness as they
X   age.  "The new mailer is installed, but is still somewhat funky;
X   if it bounces your mail for no reason, try resubmitting it."
X   "This UART is pretty funky.  The data ready line is active-high in
X   interrupt mode, and active-low in DMA mode." See FUGGLY.
X
XFUNNY MONEY n. 1. Notional `dollar' units of computing time and/or
X   storage handed to students at the beginning of a computer course by
X   professors; also called "purple money" (in implicit opposition to
X   real or "green" money). When your funny money ran out, your
X   account froze and you needed to go to a professor to get more.
X   Formerly a common practice, this has now been made sufficiently
X   rare by the plunging cost of timesharing CYCLES that it has become
X   folklore. The amounts allocated were almost invariably too small,
X   even for the non-hackers who wanted to slide by with minimum work.
X   In extreme cases the practice led to small-scale black markets in
X   bootlegged computer accounts. 2. By extension, phantom money or
X   quantity tickets of any kind used as a resource-allocation hack
X   within a system.
X
XFUZZ n. In floating-point arithmetic, the maximum difference allowed
X   between two quantities for them to compare equal.  Has to be set
X   properly relative to the FPU's precision limits.  See FUDGE FACTOR.
X
XFUZZBALL [TCP/IP hackers] n. A DEC LSI-11 running a particular suite
X   of homebrewed software by Dave Mills and assorted co-conspirators,
X   used in the early 80's for Internet protocol testbedding and
X   experimentation.  These were used as NSFnet backbone sites in its
X   early 56KB-line days; a few of these are still active on the
X   Internet as of early 1990, doing odd jobs such as network time
X   service.
X
X                                {= G =}
X
XGABRIEL /gay'bree- at l/ [for Dick Gabriel, SAIL volleyball fanatic] n.
X   An unnecessary (in the opinion of the opponent) stalling tactic,
X   e.g., tying one's shoelaces or hair repeatedly, asking the time,
X   etc.  Also used to refer to the perpetrator of such tactics.  Also,
X   "pulling a Gabriel", "Gabriel mode".
X
XGAG vi. Equivalent to CHOKE, but connotes more disgust. "Hey, this is
X   Fortran code.  No wonder the C compiler gagged." See also BARF.
X
XGARBAGE COLLECT vi., GARBAGE COLLECTION n. See GC.
X
XGARPLY /gar'plee/ n. [Stanford] Another meta-word popular among SAIL
X   hackers.
X
XGAS [as in "gas chamber"] interj. 1. A term of disgust and hatred,
X   implying that gas should be dispensed in generous quantities,
X   thereby exterminating the source of irritation.  "Some loser just
X   reloaded the system for no reason!  Gas!"  2. A term suggesting
X   that someone or something ought to be flushed out of mercy.  "The
X   system's wedging every few minutes.  Gas!"  3. vt.  FLUSH (q.v.).
X   "You should gas that old crufty software."  4.  GASEOUS adj.
X   Deserving of being gassed.  Usage: primarily used by Geoff
X   Goodfellow at SRI, but spreading; became particularly popular after
X   the Moscone/Milk murders in San Francisco, when it was learned that
X   Dan White (who supported Proposition 7) would get the gas chamber
X   under 7 if convicted.
X
XGC /jee-see/ [from LISP terminology; "Garbage Collect"] 1. vt. To
X   clean up and throw away useless things.  "I think I'll GC the top
X   of my desk today."  When said of files, this is equivalent to GFR
X   (q.v.).  2.  vt. To recycle, reclaim, or put to another use.  3. n.
X   An instantiation of the garbage collector process. `Garbage
X   collection' is computer science jargon for a particular class of
X   strategies for dynamically reallocating computer memory.  One such
X   strategy involves periodically scanning all the data in memory and
X   determining what is no longer useful; useless data items are then
X   discarded so that the memory they occupy can be recycled and used
X   for another purpose.  Implementations of the LISP language usually
X   use garbage collection.  In slang, the full phrase is sometimes
X   heard but the acronym is more frequently used because it's shorter.
X   Note that there is an ambiguity in usage that has to be resolved by
X   context: "I'm going to garbage-collect my desk" usually means to
X   clean out the drawers, but it could also mean to throw away or
X   recycle the desk itself.
X
XGCOS n. A quick and dirty clone of System/360 DOS that emerged from GE
X   about 1970; originally called GECOS (the General Electric
X   Comprehensive Operating System) and later kluged to support
X   primitive timesharing and transaction processing.  After the buyout
X   of GE's computer division by Honeywell the name was changed to
X   General Comprehensive Operating System (GCOS). Other OS groups at
X   Honeywell began referring to it as `God's Chosen Operating System',
X   allegedly in reaction to the GCOS crowd's uninformed and snotty
X   attitude about the superiority of their product.  All this might be
X   of zero interest, except for two facts: 1) the GCOS people won the
X   political war, resulting in the orphaning and eventual death of
X   Honeywell MULTICS (q.v.), and 2) GECOS/GCOS left one permanent mark
X   on UNIX.  Some early UNIX systems at Bell Labs were used as front
X   ends to GCOS machines; the field added to /etc/passwd to carry GCOS
X   ID information was called `the GECOS field' and survives today as
X   the pw_gecos member used for the user's full name and other
X   human-id information.  GCOS itself played a major rule in keeping
X   Honeywell a dismal also-ran in the mainframe market, and was itself
X   ditched for UNIX in the late 1980s when Honeywell retired its aging
X   BIG IRON designs.
X
XGECOS n. See GCOS
X
XGEDANKEN /g at -dahn'kn/ adj. Wild-eyed; impractical; not
X   well-thought-out; untried; untested.  "Gedanken" is a German word
X   for "thought".  A thought experiment is one you carry out in your
X   head.  In physics, the term "gedanken experiment" is used to
X   refer to an experiment that is impractical to carry out, but useful
X   to consider because you can reason about it theoretically.  (A
X   classic gedanken experiment of relativity theory involves thinking
X   about a man flying through space in an elevator.)  Gedanken
X   experiments are very useful in physics, but you have to be careful.
X   It was a gedanken experiment that led Aristotle to conclude that
X   heavy things always fall faster than light things (he thought about
X   a rock and a feather); this was accepted until Galileo proved
X   otherwise.  Among hackers, however, the word has a pejorative
X   connotation.  It is said of a project, especially one in artificial
X   intelligence research, which is written up in grand detail
X   (typically as a Ph.D. thesis) without ever being implemented to any
X   great extent.  Such a project is usually perpetrated by people who
X   aren't very good hackers or find programming distasteful or are
X   just in a hurry.  A gedanken thesis is usually marked by an obvious
X   lack of intuition about what is programmable and what is not, and
X   about what does and does not constitute a clear specification an
X   algorithm.
X
XGEEK OUT vi. To temporarily enter techno-nerd mode while in a
X   non-hackish context, for example at parties held near computer
X   equipment.  Especially used when you need to do something highly
X   technical and don't have time to explain: "Pardon me while I geek
X   out for a moment."
X
XGENDER MENDER n. (also "gender bender" and "sex changer") A cable
X   connector shell with either two male or two female connectors on
X   it, used to correct the mismatches that result when some LOSER
X   didn't understand the RS232C specification and the distinction
X   between DTE and DCE.  Used esp. for RS-232C parts in either the
X   original D-25 or the IBM PC's bogus D-9 format.
X
XGENERAL PUBLIC VIRUS n. Pejorative name for some versions of the GNU
X   project COPYLEFT (q.v.) or General Public License, which requires
X   that any tools or apps incorporating copylefted code must be
X   source-distributed on the same anti-commercial terms as GNU stuff.
X   Thus it is alleged that the copyleft `infects' software generated
X   with GNU tools.  FSF's official position is that only code
X   incorporating either the Bison parser skeleton or GNU CC libraries
X   is so infected.  Nevertheless, widespread suspicion that the
X   COPYLEFT language is `boobytrapped' has caused many developers to
X   avoid using GNU tools and the GPL license.
X
XGENERATE vt. To produce something according to an algorithm or program
X   or set of rules, or as a (possibly unintended) side effect of the
X   execution of an algorithm or program.  The opposite of PARSE.  This
X   term retains its mechanistic connotations (though often humorously)
X   when used of human behavior.
X
XGET A LIFE! imp. Hacker-standard way of suggesting that the person to
X   whom you are speaking has succumbed to terminal geekdom (see
X   COMPUTER GEEK).  Often heard on USENET.  It is alleged that this
X   exhortation was originally uttered by William Shatner to a crowd of
X   eager trekkies in a speach which ended "Get a job! Get a
X   *life*!".
X
XGET A REAL COMPUTER imp. Typical hacker response to news that somebody
X   is having trouble getting work done on a system that is a)
X   single-tasking, b) has no Winchester, or c) has an address space
X   smaller than 4 megabytes. This is as of 1990; note that the
X   threshold for `real computer' rises with time, and it may well be
X   (for example) that machines with character-only displays will be
X   considered `unreal' in a few years. See BITTY BOX and TOY.
X
XGFR /jee eff ar/ vt. [acronym, ITS] From "Grim File Reaper", an ITS
X   utility.  To remove a file or files according to some
X   program-automated or semi-automatic manual procedure, especially
X   one designed to reclaim mass storage space or reduce namespace
X   clutter.  Often generalized to pieces of data below file level.
X   "I used to have his phone number but I guess I GFRed it." See
X   also PROWLER, REAPER.
X
XGIG (gig) n. Short for "gigabyte" (1000 megabytes); esp. used in
X   describing amounts of CORE or mass storage. "My machine just got
X   upgraded to a quarter-gig".
X
XGIGO /gie'goh/ [acronym] 1. Garbage In, Garbage out --  Usually said in
X   response to lusers who complain that a program didn't complain
X   about faulty data.  Also commonly used to describe failures in
X   human decision making due to faulty, incomplete or imprecise data.
X   2. Garbage In, Gospel Out -- this more recent expansion is a
X   comment on the tendency human beings have to put excessive trust in
X   "computerized" data.
X
XGILLION /jill'yun/ n. 10^9.  [From giga, following construction of
X   mega/million and tera/trillion] Same as an American billion or a
X   British `myriad'.
X
XGLARK /glark/ vt. To figure something out from context, taken from an
X   old Scientific American "Mathematical Games" column. "The System
X   III manuals are pretty poor, but you can generally glark the
X   meaning from context".  Interestingly, the original sentence was
X   "This gubblick contains many nonsklarkish English flutzpahs, but
X   the overall pluggandisp can be glorked [sic] from context." by
X   David Moser, quoted by Douglas Hofstadter in his "Metamagical
X   Themas" column in the January 1981 Scientific American. It is
X   conjectured that hackish usage mutated the verb to `glark' because
X   GLORK (q.v.)  was already an established jargon term.
X
XGLASS [IBM] n. Synonym for SILICON.
X
XGLASS TTY /glas tee-tee-wie/ or /glas ti-tee/ n. A terminal which has a
X   display screen but which, because of hardware or software
X   limitations, behaves like a teletype or other printing terminal ,
X   thereby combining the disadvantages of both: like a printing
X   terminal, it can't do fancy display hacks, and like a display
X   terminal, it doesn't produce hard copy An example is Lear-Siegler
X   the ADM-3 (without cursor control).  See TUBE, TTY.  See Appendix A
X   for an interesting true story about glass TTYs.
X
XGLITCH /glich/ [from German "glitchen" to slip, via Yiddish
X   "glitshen", to slide or skid] 1. n. A sudden interruption in
X   electric service, sanity,, continuity, or program function.
X   Sometimes recoverable.  An interruption in electric service is
X   specfically called a POWER GLITCH.  This is of grave concern
X   because it usually crashes all the computers.  More common in
X   slang, though, a hacker who got to the middle of a sentence and
X   then forgotten how he or she intended to complete it might say,
X   "Sorry, I just glitched".  2. vi. To commit a glitch.  See
X   GRITCH.  3. vt.  [Stanford] To scroll a display screen several
X   lines at a time.  This derives from some oddities in the terminal
X   behavior on the ITS machines formerly used at SAIL. 4.  (obs.) Same
X   as MAGIC COOKIE, sense #2.
X
XGLOB /glob/, *not* /glohb/ [UNIX, from "glob", the name of a
X   subprogram that translated wildcards in archaic Bourne Shell
X   versions] v. To expand special characters in a wildcarded name (the
X   action is "globbing").  The UNIX conventions for filename
X   wildcarding have become sufficiently pervasive that many hackers
X   use some of them in written English, especially in email or news on
X   technical topics.  Those commonly encountered include:
X
X     *       wildcard for any string (see UN*X, U*IX).
X     ?       wildcard for any character (generally only read this
X             way at the beginning or in the middle of a word).
X     []      wildcard matching one character from a specified set.
X
X   Some examples: "He said his name was [KC]arl" (expresses
X   ambiguity).  "That got posted to talk.politics.*" (all the
X   talk.politics subgroups on USENET).  Other examples are given under
X   the entry for `X'.  GLOB as a noun refers to the act of expanding a
X   string using these conventions.  It is also used as a verb.
X
XGLORK /glork/ 1. interj. Term of mild surprise, usually tinged with
X   outrage, as when one attempts to save the results of two hours of
X   editing and finds that the system has just crashed.  2. Used as a
X   name for just about anything.  See FOO.  3. vt. Similar to GLITCH
X   (q.v.), but usually used reflexively.  "My program just glorked
X   itself."
X
XGNARLY adj. Both OBSCURE and HAIRY in the sense of complex.  "Yeech
X   --- the tuned assembler implementation of BitBlt is really gnarly!"
X   From a similar but less specific usage in surfer slang.
X
XGNU /gnoo/, *not* /noo/ 1. [acronym for "GNU's Not UNIX!"] A
X   UNIX-workalike development effort of the Free Software Foundation
X   headed by Richard Stallman (rms at prep.ai.mit.edu).  GNU EMACS and
X   the GNU C compiler, two tools designed for this project, have
X   become very popular in hackerdom.  See EMACS, COPYLEFT.  2. Noted
X   UNIX hacker John Gilmore (gnu at hoptoad.com), ironically enough one
X   of the best-known and most vocal opponents of the "information
X   should not be property" philosophy behind GNU (sense #1).
X
XGNUMACS /gnoo'maks/ [contraction of "Gnu Emacs"] Often-heard
X   abbreviated name for the GNU project's flagship tool, EMACS.  Used
X   esp. in contrast with GOSMACS.
X
XGO FLATLINE [from cyberpunk SF, refers to flattening of EEG traces
X   upon brain-death] vi., also adjectival FLATLINED. 1. To die,
X   terminate, or fail, esp. irreversibly.  In hacker parlance this is
X   used of machines only, human death being considered somewhat too
X   serious a matter to employ jargon-jokes about. 2. To go completely
X   quiescent; said of machines undergoing controlled shutdown. "You
X   can suffer file damage if you shut down UNIX but power off before
X   the system has gone flatline." 3. A particular failure mode of
X   video tubes in which vertical scan is lost, so all one sees is a
X   bright horizontal line bisecting the screen.
X
XGOBBLE vt. To consume or to obtain.  GOBBLE UP tends to imply
X   "consume", while GOBBLE DOWN tends to imply "obtain".  "The
X   output spy gobbles characters out of a TTY output buffer."  "I
X   guess I'll gobble down a copy of the documentation tomorrow."  See
X   SNARF.
X
XGONK /gonk/ vt.,n. 1. To prevaricate or to embellish the truth beyond any
X   reasonable recognition.  In German the term is (fictively)
X   "GONKEN", in spanish the verb becomes "GONKAR."  "You're
X   gonking me.  That story you just told me is a bunch of gonk." In
X   German, "Du Gonkst mir."  (You're pulling my leg.) See also
X   GONKULATOR.  2. [British] To grab some sleep at an odd time.
X
XGONKULATOR /gon'kyoo-lay-tr/ [from the old "Hogan's Heroes" TV
X   series] n. A pretentious piece of equipment that actually serves no
X   useful purpose.  Usually used to describe one's least favorite
X   piece of computer hardware.  See GONK.
X
XGONZO /gon'zo/ [from Hunter S. Thompson] adj. Overwhelming;
X   outrageous; over the top; very large, esp.  used of collections of
X   source code, source files or individual functions.  Has some of the
X   connotations of MOBY and HAIRY, q.v.
X
XGOOD THING adj. Always capitalized. 1. Self-evidently wonderful to
X   anyone in a position to notice: "The Trailblazer's 19.2Kbaud PEP
X   mode with on-the-fly Lempel-Ziv compression is a Good Thing for
X   sites relaying netnews." 2. Something which can't possibly have
X   any ill side effects and may save considerable grief later:
X   "Removing the self-modifying code from that shared library would
X   be a Good Thing." 3. When said of software tools or libraries, as
X   in "YACC is a Good Thing", specifically connotes that the thing
X   has drastically reduced a programmer's work load.  Oppose BAD
X   THING.
X
XGORILLA ARM n. The side-effect that destroyed touch-screens as a
X   mainstream input technology despite a promising start in the early
X   eighties.  It seems the designers of all those SPIFFY touch-menu
X   systems failed to notice that humans aren't designed to hold their
X   arms in front of their faces making small motions.  After more than
X   a very few selects the arm begins to feel sore, cramped, and
X   oversized, hence "gorilla arm".  This is now considered a classic
X   Horrible Example and cautionary tale to human-factors designers;
X   "remember the gorilla arm" is shorthand for "how's this gonna
X   fly in *real* use?"
X
XGORP /gorp/ [CMU, perhaps from a brand of dried hiker's food?]
X   Another metasyntactic variable, like FOO and BAR.
X
XGOSMACS /goz'maks/ [contraction of "Gosling Emacs"] n. The first
X   EMACS-in-C implementation, predating but now largely eclipsed by
X   GNUMACS (q.v.).  Originally freeware; a commercial version is now
X   modestly popular as "UniPress Emacs".
X
XGOSPERISM /goss'p at r'iz'm/ A hack, invention, or saying by
X   arch-hacker R. William (Bill) Gosper.  This notion merits its own
X   term because there are so many of them.  Many of the entries in
X   HAKMEM are Gosperisms; see also LIFE.
X
XGRAULT /grawlt/ n. Yet another meta-syntactic variable, invented by
X   Mike Gallaher and propagated by the GOSMACS documentation.  See
X   CORGE.
X
XGRAY GOO n. A hypothetical substance composed of billions of
X   sub-micron-sized Von Neumann machines (self-replicating robots)
X   programmed to make copies of themselves out of whatever is
X   available.  The image that goes with the term is one of the entire
X   biosphere of Earth being eventually converted to robot goo.  This
X   is the simplest of the NANOTECHNOLOGY (q.v.) disaster scenarios and
X   is easuky refuted by arguments from energy requirements and
X   elemental abundances.
X
XGREAT RENAMING n. The FLAG DAY on which all of the groups on the
X   USENET had their names changed from the net.* format to the current
X   multiple-hierarchies scheme.
X
XGREAT-WALL [from SF fandom] vi.,n. A mass expedition to an oriental
X   restaurant, esp. one where food is seved family-style and shared.
X   There is a common heuristic about the amount of food to order
X   expressed as "For N people, get N - 1 entrees.".  See ORIENTAL
X   FOOD, RAVS, STIR-FRIED RANDOM.
X
XGREEN BOOK n. 1. The X/Open Compatibility Guide.  Defines an
X   international standard UNIX environment that is a proper superset
X   of POSIX/SVID; also includes descriptions of a standard utility
X   toolkit, systems administrations features, and the like.  This
X   grimoire is taken with particular seriousness in Europe.  See
X   PURPLE BOOK. 2. One of the three standard PostScript references
X   (see also RED BOOK, BLUE BOOK). 3. The P1003.1 POSIX Utilities
X   standard has been dubbed THE UGLY GREEN BOOK.  4. Any of the 1992
X   standards which will be issued by the CCIT 10th plenary assembly.
X   They change color each review cycle (1984 was RED BOOK, 1988 BLUE
X   BOOK).  These include, among other things, the X.400 email spec and
X   the Group 1 through 4 fax standards.  See also BLUE BOOK, RED BOOK,
X   GREEN BOOK, SILVER BOOK, PURPLE BOOK, ORANGE BOOK, WHITE BOOK,
X   DRAGON BOOK, PINK-SHIRT BOOK.
X
XGREEN LIGHTNING [IBM] n. Apparently random flashing streaks on the
X   face of 3278-9 terminals while a programmable symbol set is being
X   loaded.  This hardware bug was left deliberately unfixed, as some
X   bright spark suggested that this would let the user know that
X   `something is happening'. It certainly does.  2. [proposed] Any bug
X   perverted into an alleged feature by adroit rationalization or
X   marketing.  E.g.  "Motorola calls the CISC cruft in the 8800
X   architecture `compatibility logic', but I call it green
X   lightning".
X
XGREP /grep/ [from the qed/ed editor idiom g/re/p (Global search for
X   Regular Expression and Print) via UNIX grep(1)] vt. To rapidly scan
X   a file or file set looking for a particular string or pattern.  By
X   extension, to look for something by pattern. "Grep the bulletin
X   board for the system backup schedule, would you?"
X
XGRIND vt. 1. [MIT and Berkeley] To format code, especially LISP code,
X   by indenting lines so that it looks pretty.  This usage was
X   associated with the MACLISP community and is now rare; PRETTY PRINT
X   was and is the generic term for such operations.  2. [UNIX] To
X   generate the formatted version of a document from the nroff, troff,
X   TeX or Scribe source. 3. To run seemingly interminably, performing
X   some tedious and inherently useless task.  Similar to CRUNCH,
X   GROVEL.  3. GRIND GRIND excl. "Isn't the machine slow today!"
X
XGRIND CRANK n. A mythical accessory to a terminal.  A crank on the
X   side of a monitor, which when operated makes a zizzing noise and
X   causes the computer to run faster.  Usually one does not refer to a
X   grind crank out loud, but merely makes the appropriate gesture and
X   noise.  See GRIND, and WUGGA WUGGA.
X
X   Historical note: At least one real machine actually had a grind
X   crank --- the R1, a research machine built towards the the end of
X   the great days of vacuum tube computers in 1959.  R1 (also known as
X   "The Rice Institute Computer" - TRIC, and later as "The Rice
X   University Computer" - TRUC) had a single step/free run switch for
X   use when debugging programs.  Since single stepping through a large
X   program was rather tedious, there was also a crank with a cam and
X   gear arrangement that repeatedly pushed the single step button.
X   This allowed one to "crank" through a lot of code, then slow down
X   to single step a bit when you got near the code of interest, poke
X   at some registers using the "console typewriter", and then keep on
X   cranking.
X
XGRITCH /grich/ 1. n. A complaint (often caused by a GLITCH (q.v.)).
X   2. vi. To complain.  Often verb-doubled: "Gritch gritch".  3.  A
X   synonym for GLITCH (as verb or noun).
X
XGROK /grok/ [from the novel "Stranger in a Strange Land", by Robert
X   Heinlein, where it is a Martian verb meaning literally "to drink"
X   and metaphorically "to be one with"] vt. 1. To understand,
X   usually in a global sense.  Connotes intimate and exhaustive
X   knowledge.  Contrast ZEN, similar supernal understanding as a
X   single brief flash.  2. Used of programs, may connote merely
X   sufficient understanding, e.g., "Almost all C compilers grok void
X   these days."
X
XGRONK /gronk/ [popularized by the cartoon strip "B.C." by Johnny
X   Hart, but the word apparently predates that] vt. 1. To clear the
X   state of a wedged device and restart it.  More severe than "to
X   frob" (q.v.).  2. To break.  "The teletype scanner was gronked,
X   so we took the system down."  3. GRONKED: adj. Of people, the
X   condition of feeling very tired or sick.  Oppose BROKEN, which
X   means about the same as GRONK used of hardware but connotes
X   depression or mental/emotional problems in people.  4. GRONK OUT:
X   vi. To cease functioning.  Of people, to go home and go to sleep.
X   "I guess I'll gronk out now; see you all tomorrow."
X
XGROVEL vi. 1. To work interminably and without apparent progress.
X   Often used transitively with "over" or "through". "The file
X   scavenger has been grovelling through the file directories for ten
X   minutes now."  Compare GRIND and CRUNCH.  Emphatic form: GROVEL
X   OBSCENELY.  2. To examine minutely or in complete detail.  "The
X   compiler grovels over the entire source program before beginning to
X   translate it."  "I grovelled through all the documentation, but I
X   still couldn't find the command I wanted."
X
XGRUNGE [Cambridge] n. Code which is `dead' (can never be accessed) due
X   to changes in other parts of the program.
X
XGRUNGY /gruhn'jee/ adj. Incredibly dirty, greasy, or grubby.  Anything
X   which has been washed within the last year is not really grungy.
X   Also used metaphorically; hence some programs (especially crocks)
X   can be described as grungy.  Now (1990) also common in mainstream
X   slang.
X
XGUBBISH /guh'bish/ [a portmanteau of "garbage" and "rubbish"?] n.
X   Garbage; crap; nonsense.  "What is all this gubbish?"
X
XGUILTWARE n. FREEWARE decorated with a message telling one how long
X   and hard the author worked on this program and intimating that one
X   is a no-good shit if one does not immediately send the poor
X   suffering martyr gobs of money.
X
XGUMBY /guhm'bee/ [from a class of Monty Python characters] n. An act
X   of minor but conspicuous stupidity, often in GUMBY MANEUVER or PULL
X   A GUMBY.
X
XGUN [from the GUN command on ITS] vt. To forcibly terminate a program
X   or job (computer, not career).  "Some idiot left a background
X   process running soaking up half the cycles, so I gunned it."
X   Compare CAN.
X
XGURFLE /ger'fl/ interj. An expression of shocked disbelief. "He said
X   we have to recode this thing in FORTRAN by next week.  Gurfle!"
X   Compare WEEBLE.
X
XGURU n. 1. A UNIX expert.  Implies not only WIZARD skill but a history
X   of being a knowledge resource for others.  Less often, used (with a
X   qualifier) for other experts on other systems, as in "VMS guru".
X   2. Amiga equivalent of "panic" in UNIX. When the system crashes a
SHAR_EOF
chmod 0644 jsplit.ad || echo "restore of jsplit.ad fails"
if [ $TOUCH = can ]
then
    touch -am 1215215290 jsplit.ad
fi
exit 0