Walter Lippmann - "Public Opinion"

Ivan Turgenev - "On the Eve"

George Barr McCutcheon - "Quill's Window"

Jerome K. Jerome - "Idle Ideas in 1905"

New Philadelphia Book Publisher Highlights Local Talent
Book and Publishing News from Publishers Newswire(tm)

Looking for Child to be on Cover of a New Book, 'The Model Child'
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. -- The Philadelphia literary world will celebrate the launch of two new players today, April 10th: Kay Square Press, a new publishing company focused on Philadelphia-area artists, their stories, and their art; and Kay Square's first release, 'With the Rich and Mighty: Emlen Etting of Philadelphia' (ISBN: 978-0-9815129-0-7), a critical biography by Kenneth C. Kaleta.

FlatSigned Press Alleges Don Imus Remarks Damage Legacy of President Gerald R. Ford
NEW YORK, N.Y. -- Nathan Yungerberg, an accomplished model scout and professional child photographer is launching a nation-wide casting call to find the cover model for his highly anticipated book release, 'The Model Child: A Parents Guide to the Child Modeling Industry' (ISBN: 978-0-9817018-0-6).

Books: The New Hacker\'s Dictionary version 4.2.2

V >> Various editors >> The New Hacker\'s Dictionary version 4.2.2




* [3452]D. C. Power Lab:
* [3453]daemon:
* [3454]daemon book:
* [3455]dahmum:
* [3456]dancing frog:
* [3457]dangling pointer:
* [3458]dark-side hacker:
* [3459]Datamation:
* [3460]DAU:
* [3461]Dave the Resurrector:
* [3462]day mode:
* [3463]dd:
* [3464]DDT:
* [3465]de-rezz:
* [3466]dead:
* [3467]dead beef attack:
* [3468]dead code:
* [3469]dead link:
* [3470]DEADBEEF:
* [3471]deadlock:
* [3472]deadly embrace:
* [3473]death code:
* [3474]Death Square:
* [3475]Death Star:
* [3476]DEC:
* [3477]DEC:
* [3478]DEC Wars:
* [3479]decay:
* [3480]deckle:
* [3481]DED:
* [3482]deep hack mode:
* [3483]deep magic:
* [3484]deep space:
* [3485]defenestration:
* [3486]defined as:
* [3487]dehose:
* [3488]deletia:
* [3489]deliminator:
* [3490]delint:
* [3491]delta:
* [3492]demented:
* [3493]demigod:
* [3494]demo:
* [3495]demo mode:
* [3496]demoeffect:
* [3497]demogroup:
* [3498]demon:
* [3499]demon dialer:
* [3500]demoparty:
* [3501]demoscene:
* [3502]dentro:
* [3503]depeditate:
* [3504]deprecated:
* [3505]derf:
* [3506]deserves to lose:
* [3507]desk check:
* [3508]despew:
* [3509]Devil Book:
* [3510]/dev/null:
* [3511]dickless workstation:
* [3512]dictionary flame:
* [3513]diddle:
* [3514]die:
* [3515]die horribly:
* [3516]diff:
* [3517]digit:
* [3518]dike:
* [3519]Dilbert:
* [3520]ding:
* [3521]dink:
* [3522]dinosaur:
* [3523]dinosaur pen:
* [3524]dinosaurs mating:
* [3525]dirtball:
* [3526]dirty power:
* [3527]disclaimer:
* [3528]Discordianism:
* [3529]disk farm:
* [3530]display hack:
* [3531]dispress:
* [3532]Dissociated Press:
* [3533]distribution:
* [3534]distro:
* [3535]disusered:
* [3536]do protocol:
* [3537]doc:
* [3538]documentation:
* [3539]dodgy:
* [3540]dogcow:
* [3541]dogfood:
* [3542]dogpile:
* [3543]dogwash:
* [3544]domainist:
* [3545]Don't do that then!:
* [3546]dongle:
* [3547]dongle-disk:
* [3548]donuts:
* [3549]doorstop:
* [3550]DoS attack:
* [3551]dot file:
* [3552]double bucky:
* [3553]doubled sig:
* [3554]down:
* [3555]download:
* [3556]DP:
* [3557]DPB:
* [3558]DPer:
* [3559]Dr. Fred Mbogo:
* [3560]dragon:
* [3561]Dragon Book:
* [3562]drain:
* [3563]dread high-bit disease:
* [3564]Dread Questionmark Disease:
* [3565]DRECNET:
* [3566]driver:
* [3567]droid:
* [3568]drone:
* [3569]drool-proof paper:
* [3570]drop on the floor:
* [3571]drop-ins:
* [3572]drop-outs:
* [3573]drugged:
* [3574]drum:
* [3575]drunk mouse syndrome:
* [3576]dub dub dub:
* [3577]Duff's device:
* [3578]dumb terminal:
* [3579]dumbass attack:
* [3580]dumbed down:
* [3581]dump:
* [3582]dumpster diving:
* [3583]dup killer:
* [3584]dup loop:
* [3585]dusty deck:
* [3586]DWIM:
* [3587]dynner:
_________________________________________________________________

Node:D. C. Power Lab, Next:[3588]daemon, Previous:[3589]C|N>K,
Up:[3590]= D =

D. C. Power Lab n.

The former site of [3591]SAIL. Hackers thought this was very funny
because the obvious connection to electrical engineering was
nonexistent -- the lab was named for a Donald C. Power. Compare
[3592]Marginal Hacks.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:daemon, Next:[3593]daemon book, Previous:[3594]D. C. Power Lab,
Up:[3595]= D =

daemon /day'mn/ or /dee'mn/ n.

[from the mythological meaning, later rationalized as the acronym
`Disk And Execution MONitor'] A program that is not invoked
explicitly, but lies dormant waiting for some condition(s) to occur.
The idea is that the perpetrator of the condition need not be aware
that a daemon is lurking (though often a program will commit an action
only because it knows that it will implicitly invoke a daemon). For
example, under [3596]ITS writing a file on the [3597]LPT spooler's
directory would invoke the spooling daemon, which would then print the
file. The advantage is that programs wanting (in this example) files
printed need neither compete for access to nor understand any
idiosyncrasies of the [3598]LPT. They simply enter their implicit
requests and let the daemon decide what to do with them. Daemons are
usually spawned automatically by the system, and may either live
forever or be regenerated at intervals.

Daemon and [3599]demon are often used interchangeably, but seem to
have distinct connotations. The term `daemon' was introduced to
computing by [3600]CTSS people (who pronounced it /dee'mon/) and used
it to refer to what ITS called a [3601]dragon; the prototype was a
program called DAEMON that automatically made tape backups of the file
system. Although the meaning and the pronunciation have drifted, we
think this glossary reflects current (2000) usage.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:daemon book, Next:[3602]dahmum, Previous:[3603]daemon, Up:[3604]=
D =

daemon book n.

"The Design and Implementation of the 4.3BSD UNIX Operating System",
by Samuel J. Leffler, Marshall Kirk McKusick, Michael J. Karels, and
John S. Quarterman (Addison-Wesley Publishers, 1989, ISBN
0-201-06196-1); or "The Design and Implementation of the 4.4 BSD
Operating System" by Marshall Kirk McKusick, Keith Bostic, Michael J.
Karels and John S. Quarterman (Addison-Wesley Longman, 1996, SBN
0-201-54979-4) Either of the standard reference books on the internals
of [3605]BSD Unix. So called because the covers have a picture
depicting a little devil (a visual play on [3606]daemon) in sneakers,
holding a pitchfork (referring to one of the characteristic features
of Unix, the fork(2) system call). Also known as the [3607]Devil Book.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:dahmum, Next:[3608]dancing frog, Previous:[3609]daemon book,
Up:[3610]= D =

dahmum /dah'mum/ n.

[Usenet] The material of which protracted [3611]flame wars, especially
those about operating systems, is composed. Homeomorphic to
[3612]spam. The term `dahmum' is derived from the name of a militant
[3613]OS/2 advocate, and originated when an extensively crossposted
OS/2-versus-[3614]Linux debate was fed through [3615]Dissociated
Press.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:dancing frog, Next:[3616]dangling pointer, Previous:[3617]dahmum,
Up:[3618]= D =

dancing frog n.

[Vancouver area] A problem that occurs on a computer that will not
reappear while anyone else is watching. From the classic Warner
Brothers cartoon "One Froggy Evening", featuring a dancing and singing
Michigan J. Frog that just croaks when anyone else is around (now the
WB network mascot).
_________________________________________________________________

Node:dangling pointer, Next:[3619]dark-side hacker,
Previous:[3620]dancing frog, Up:[3621]= D =

dangling pointer n.

[common] A reference that doesn't actually lead anywhere (in C and
some other languages, a pointer that doesn't actually point at
anything valid). Usually this happens because it formerly pointed to
something that has moved or disappeared. Used as jargon in a
generalization of its techspeak meaning; for example, a local phone
number for a person who has since moved to the other coast is a
dangling pointer. Compare [3622]dead link.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:dark-side hacker, Next:[3623]Datamation, Previous:[3624]dangling
pointer, Up:[3625]= D =

dark-side hacker n.

A criminal or malicious hacker; a [3626]cracker. From George Lucas's
Darth Vader, "seduced by the dark side of the Force". The implication
that hackers form a sort of elite of technological Jedi Knights is
intended. Oppose [3627]samurai.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:Datamation, Next:[3628]DAU, Previous:[3629]dark-side hacker,
Up:[3630]= D =

Datamation /day`t*-may'sh*n/ n.

A magazine that many hackers assume all [3631]suits read. Used to
question an unbelieved quote, as in "Did you read that in
`Datamation?'" (But see below; this slur may be dated by the time you
read this.) It used to publish something hackishly funny every once in
a while, like the original paper on [3632]COME FROM in 1973, and Ed
Post's "Real Programmers Don't Use Pascal" ten years later, but for a
long time after that it was much more exclusively [3633]suit-oriented
and boring. Following a change of editorship in 1994, Datamation is
trying for more of the technical content and irreverent humor that
marked its early days.

Datamation now has a WWW page at [3634]http://www.datamation.com worth
visiting for its selection of computer humor, including "Real
Programmers Don't Use Pascal" and the `Bastard Operator From Hell'
stories by Simon Travaglia (see [3635]BOFH).
_________________________________________________________________

Node:DAU, Next:[3636]Dave the Resurrector, Previous:[3637]Datamation,
Up:[3638]= D =

DAU /dow/ n.

[German FidoNet] German acronym for Dümmster Anzunehmender User
(stupidest imaginable user). From the engineering-slang GAU for
Grösster Anzunehmender Unfall, worst assumable accident, esp. of a LNG
tank farm plant or something with similarly disastrous consequences.
In popular German, GAU is used only to refer to worst-case nuclear
acidents such as a core meltdown. See [3639]cretin, [3640]fool,
[3641]loser and [3642]weasel.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:Dave the Resurrector, Next:[3643]day mode, Previous:[3644]DAU,
Up:[3645]= D =

Dave the Resurrector n.

[Usenet; also abbreviated DtR] A [3646]cancelbot that cancels cancels.
Dave the Resurrector originated when some [3647]spam-spewers decided
to try to impede spam-fighting by wholesale cancellation of anti-spam
coordination messages in the news.admin.net-abuse.usenet newsgroup.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:day mode, Next:[3648]dd, Previous:[3649]Dave the Resurrector,
Up:[3650]= D =

day mode n.

See [3651]phase (sense 1). Used of people only.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:dd, Next:[3652]DDT, Previous:[3653]day mode, Up:[3654]= D =

dd /dee-dee/ vt.

[Unix: from IBM [3655]JCL] Equivalent to [3656]cat or [3657]BLT.
Originally the name of a Unix copy command with special options
suitable for block-oriented devices; it was often used in heavy-handed
system maintenance, as in "Let's dd the root partition onto a tape,
then use the boot PROM to load it back on to a new disk". The Unix
dd(1) was designed with a weird, distinctly non-Unixy keyword option
syntax reminiscent of IBM System/360 JCL (which had an elaborate DD
`Dataset Definition' specification for I/O devices); though the
command filled a need, the interface design was clearly a prank. The
jargon usage is now very rare outside Unix sites and now nearly
obsolete even there, as dd(1) has been [3658]deprecated for a long
time (though it has no exact replacement). The term has been displaced
by [3659]BLT or simple English `copy'.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:DDT, Next:[3660]de-rezz, Previous:[3661]dd, Up:[3662]= D =

DDT /D-D-T/ n.

[from the insecticide para-dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethene] 1.
Generic term for a program that assists in debugging other programs by
showing individual machine instructions in a readable symbolic form
and letting the user change them. In this sense the term DDT is now
archaic, having been widely displaced by `debugger' or names of
individual programs like adb, sdb, dbx, or gdb. 2. [ITS] Under MIT's
fabled [3663]ITS operating system, DDT (running under the alias
HACTRN, a six-letterism for `Hack Translator') was also used as the
[3664]shell or top level command language used to execute other
programs. 3. Any one of several specific DDTs (sense 1) supported on
early [3665]DEC hardware and CP/M. The PDP-10 Reference Handbook
(1969) contained a footnote on the first page of the documentation for
DDT that illuminates the origin of the term:

Historical footnote: DDT was developed at MIT for the PDP-1
computer in 1961. At that time DDT stood for "DEC Debugging Tape".
Since then, the idea of an on-line debugging program has propagated
throughout the computer industry. DDT programs are now available
for all DEC computers. Since media other than tape are now
frequently used, the more descriptive name "Dynamic Debugging
Technique" has been adopted, retaining the DDT abbreviation.
Confusion between DDT-10 and another well known pesticide,
dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (C14-H9-Cl5) should be minimal
since each attacks a different, and apparently mutually exclusive,
class of bugs.

(The `tape' referred to was, incidentally, not magnetic but paper.)
Sadly, this quotation was removed from later editions of the handbook
after the [3666]suits took over and [3667]DEC became much more
`businesslike'.

The history above is known to many old-time hackers. But there's more:
Peter Samson, compiler of the original [3668]TMRC lexicon, reports
that he named `DDT' after a similar tool on the TX-0 computer, the
direct ancestor of the PDP-1 built at MIT's Lincoln Lab in 1957. The
debugger on that ground-breaking machine (the first transistorized
computer) rejoiced in the name FLIT (FLexowriter Interrogation Tape).
_________________________________________________________________

Node:de-rezz, Next:[3669]dead, Previous:[3670]DDT, Up:[3671]= D =

de-rezz /dee-rez'/

[from `de-resolve' via the movie "Tron"] (also `derez') 1. vi. To
disappear or dissolve; the image that goes with it is of an object
breaking up into raster lines and static and then dissolving.
Occasionally used of a person who seems to have suddenly `fuzzed out'
mentally rather than physically. Usage: extremely silly, also rare.
This verb was actually invented as fictional hacker jargon, and
adopted in a spirit of irony by real hackers years after the fact. 2.
vt. The Macintosh resource decompiler. On a Macintosh, many program
structures (including the code itself) are managed in small segments
of the program file known as `resources'; `Rez' and `DeRez' are a pair
of utilities for compiling and decompiling resource files. Thus,
decompiling a resource is `derezzing'. Usage: very common.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:dead, Next:[3672]dead beef attack, Previous:[3673]de-rezz,
Up:[3674]= D =

dead adj.

1. Non-functional; [3675]down; [3676]crashed. Especially used of
hardware. 2. At XEROX PARC, software that is working but not
undergoing continued development and support. 3. Useless;
inaccessible. Antonym: `live'. Compare [3677]dead code.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:dead beef attack, Next:[3678]dead code, Previous:[3679]dead,
Up:[3680]= D =

dead beef attack n.

[cypherpunks list, 1996] An attack on a public-key cryptosystem
consisting of publishing a key having the same ID as another key (thus
making it possible to spoof a user's identity if recipients aren't
careful about verifying keys). In PGP and GPG the key ID is the last
eight hex digits of (for RSA keys) the product of two primes. The
attack was demonstrated by creating a key whose ID was 0xdeadbeef (see
[3681]DEADBEEF).
_________________________________________________________________

Node:dead code, Next:[3682]dead link, Previous:[3683]dead beef attack,
Up:[3684]= D =

dead code n.

Routines that can never be accessed because all calls to them have
been removed, or code that cannot be reached because it is guarded by
a control structure that provably must always transfer control
somewhere else. The presence of dead code may reveal either logical
errors due to alterations in the program or significant changes in the
assumptions and environment of the program (see also [3685]software
rot); a good compiler should report dead code so a maintainer can
think about what it means. (Sometimes it simply means that an
extremely defensive programmer has inserted [3686]can't happen tests
which really can't happen -- yet.) Syn. [3687]grunge. See also
[3688]dead, and [3689]The Story of Mel.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:dead link, Next:[3690]DEADBEEF, Previous:[3691]dead code,
Up:[3692]= D =

dead link n.

[very common] A World-Wide-Web URL that no longer points to the
information it was written to reach. Usually this happens because the
document has been moved or deleted. Lots of dead links make a WWW page
frustrating and useless and are the #1 sign of poor page maintainance.
Compare [3693]dangling pointer, [3694]link rot.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:DEADBEEF, Next:[3695]deadlock, Previous:[3696]dead link,
Up:[3697]= D =

DEADBEEF /ded-beef/ n.

The hexadecimal word-fill pattern for freshly allocated memory
(decimal -21524111) under a number of IBM environments, including the
RS/6000. Some modern debugging tools deliberately fill freed memory
with this value as a way of converting [3698]heisenbugs into
[3699]Bohr bugs. As in "Your program is DEADBEEF" (meaning gone,
aborted, flushed from memory); if you start from an odd half-word
boundary, of course, you have BEEFDEAD. See also the anecdote under
[3700]fool and [3701]dead beef attack.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:deadlock, Next:[3702]deadly embrace, Previous:[3703]DEADBEEF,
Up:[3704]= D =

deadlock n.

1. [techspeak] A situation wherein two or more processes are unable to
proceed because each is waiting for one of the others to do something.
A common example is a program communicating to a server, which may
find itself waiting for output from the server before sending anything
more to it, while the server is similarly waiting for more input from
the controlling program before outputting anything. (It is reported
that this particular flavor of deadlock is sometimes called a
`starvation deadlock', though the term `starvation' is more properly
used for situations where a program can never run simply because it
never gets high enough priority. Another common flavor is
`constipation', in which each process is trying to send stuff to the
other but all buffers are full because nobody is reading anything.)
See [3705]deadly embrace. 2. Also used of deadlock-like interactions
between humans, as when two people meet in a narrow corridor, and each
tries to be polite by moving aside to let the other pass, but they end
up swaying from side to side without making any progress because they
always move the same way at the same time.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:deadly embrace, Next:[3706]death code, Previous:[3707]deadlock,
Up:[3708]= D =

deadly embrace n.

Same as [3709]deadlock, though usually used only when exactly two
processes are involved. This is the more popular term in Europe, while
[3710]deadlock predominates in the United States.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:death code, Next:[3711]Death Square, Previous:[3712]deadly
embrace, Up:[3713]= D =

death code n.

A routine whose job is to set everything in the computer -- registers,
memory, flags, everything -- to zero, including that portion of memory
where it is running; its last act is to stomp on its own "store zero"
instruction. Death code isn't very useful, but writing it is an
interesting hacking challenge on architectures where the instruction
set makes it possible, such as the PDP-8 (it has also been done on the
DG Nova).

Perhaps the ultimate death code is on the TI 990 series, where all
registers are actually in RAM, and the instruction "store immediate 0"
has the opcode "0". The PC will immediately wrap around core as many
times as it can until a user hits HALT. Any empty memory location is
death code. Worse, the manufacturer recommended use of this
instruction in startup code (which would be in ROM and therefore
survive).
_________________________________________________________________

Node:Death Square, Next:[3714]Death Star, Previous:[3715]death code,
Up:[3716]= D =

Death Square n.

The corporate logo of Novell, the people who acquired USL after AT&T
let go of it (Novell eventually sold the Unix group to SCO). Coined by
analogy with [3717]Death Star, because many people believed Novell was
bungling the lead in Unix systems exactly as AT&T did for many years.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:Death Star, Next:[3718]DEC, Previous:[3719]Death Square,
Up:[3720]= D =

Death Star n.

[from the movie "Star Wars"] 1. The AT&T corporate logo, which appears
on computers sold by AT&T and bears an uncanny resemblance to the
Death Star in the movie. This usage is particularly common among
partisans of [3721]BSD Unix, who tend to regard the AT&T versions as
inferior and AT&T as a bad guy. Copies still circulate of a poster
printed by Mt. Xinu showing a starscape with a space fighter labeled
4.2 BSD streaking away from a broken AT&T logo wreathed in flames. 2.
AT&T's internal magazine, "Focus", uses `death star' to describe an
incorrectly done AT&T logo in which the inner circle in the top left
is dark instead of light -- a frequent result of dark-on-light logo
images.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:DEC, Next:[3722]DEC Wars, Previous:[3723]Death Star, Up:[3724]= D
=

DEC /dek/ n.

1. v. Verbal (and only rarely written) shorthand for decrement, i.e.
`decrease by one'. Especially used by assembly programmers, as many
assembly languages have a dec mnemonic. Antonym: [3725]inc. 2. n.
Commonly used abbreviation for Digital Equipment Corporation, later
deprecated by DEC itself in favor of "Digital" and now entirely
obsolete following the buyout by Compaq. Before the [3726]killer micro
revolution of the late 1980s, hackerdom was closely symbiotic with
DEC's pioneering timesharing machines. The first of the group of
cultures described by this lexicon nucleated around the PDP-1 (see
[3727]TMRC). Subsequently, the PDP-6, [3728]PDP-10, [3729]PDP-20,
PDP-11 and [3730]VAX were all foci of large and important hackerdoms,
and DEC machines long dominated the ARPANET and Internet machine
population. DEC was the technological leader of the minicomputer era
(roughly 1967 to 1987), but its failure to embrace microcomputers and
Unix early cost it heavily in profits and prestige after [3731]silicon
got cheap. Nevertheless, the microprocessor design tradition owes a
major debt to the PDP-11 instruction set, and every one of the major
general-purpose microcomputer OSs so far (CP/M, MS-DOS, Unix, OS/2,
Windows NT) was either genetically descended from a DEC OS, or
incubated on DEC hardware, or both. Accordingly, DEC was for many
years still regarded with a certain wry affection even among many
hackers too young to have grown up on DEC machines.

DEC reclaimed some of its old reputation among techies in the first
half of the 1990s. The success of the Alpha, an innovatively-designed
and very high-performance [3732]killer micro, helped a lot. So did
DEC's newfound receptiveness to Unix and open systems in general. When
Compaq acquired DEC at the end of 1998 there was some concern that
these gains would be lost along with the DEC nameplate, but the merged
company has so far turned out to be culturally dominated by the ex-DEC
side.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:DEC Wars, Next:[3733]decay, Previous:[3734]DEC, Up:[3735]= D =

DEC Wars n.

A 1983 [3736]Usenet posting by Alan Hastings and Steve Tarr spoofing
the "Star Wars" movies in hackish terms. Some years later, ESR
(disappointed by Hastings and Tarr's failure to exploit a great
premise more thoroughly) posted a 3-times-longer complete rewrite
called [3737]Unix WARS; the two are often confused.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:decay, Next:[3738]deckle, Previous:[3739]DEC Wars, Up:[3740]= D =

decay n.,vi

[from nuclear physics] An automatic conversion which is applied to
most array-valued expressions in [3741]C; they `decay into'
pointer-valued expressions pointing to the array's first element. This
term is borderline techspeak, but is not used in the official standard
for the language.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:deckle, Next:[3742]DED, Previous:[3743]decay, Up:[3744]= D =

deckle /dek'l/ n.

[from dec- and [3745]nybble; the original spelling seems to have been
`decle'] Two [3746]nickles; 10 bits. Reported among developers for
Mattel's GI 1600 (the Intellivision games processor), a chip with
16-bit-wide RAM but 10-bit-wide ROM. See [3747]nybble for other such
terms.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:DED, Next:[3748]deep hack mode, Previous:[3749]deckle, Up:[3750]=
D =

DED /D-E-D/ n.

Dark-Emitting Diode (that is, a burned-out LED). Compare [3751]SED,
[3752]LER, [3753]write-only memory. In the early 1970s both Signetics
and Texas instruments released DED spec sheets as [3754]AFJs
(suggested uses included "as a power-off indicator").
_________________________________________________________________

Node:deep hack mode, Next:[3755]deep magic, Previous:[3756]DED,
Up:[3757]= D =

deep hack mode n.

See [3758]hack mode.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:deep magic, Next:[3759]deep space, Previous:[3760]deep hack mode,
Up:[3761]= D =

deep magic n.

[poss. from C. S. Lewis's "Narnia" books] An awesomely arcane
technique central to a program or system, esp. one neither generally
published nor available to hackers at large (compare [3762]black art);
one that could only have been composed by a true [3763]wizard.
Compiler optimization techniques and many aspects of [3764]OS design
used to be [3765]deep magic; many techniques in cryptography, signal
processing, graphics, and AI still are. Compare [3766]heavy wizardry.
Esp. found in comments of the form "Deep magic begins here...".
Compare [3767]voodoo programming.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:deep space, Next:[3768]defenestration, Previous:[3769]deep magic,
Up:[3770]= D =

deep space n.

1. Describes the notional location of any program that has gone
[3771]off the trolley. Esp. used of programs that just sit there
silently grinding long after either failure or some output is
expected. "Uh oh. I should have gotten a prompt ten seconds ago. The
program's in deep space somewhere." Compare [3772]buzz,
[3773]catatonic, [3774]hyperspace. 2. The metaphorical location of a
human so dazed and/or confused or caught up in some esoteric form of
[3775]bogosity that he or she no longer responds coherently to normal
communication. Compare [3776]page out.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:defenestration, Next:[3777]defined as, Previous:[3778]deep space,
Up:[3779]= D =

defenestration n.

[mythically from a traditional Czech assasination method, via SF
fandom] 1. Proper karmic retribution for an incorrigible punster. "Oh,
ghod, that was awful!" "Quick! Defenestrate him!" 2. The act of
exiting a window system in order to get better response time from a
full-screen program. This comes from the dictionary meaning of
`defenestrate', which is to throw something out a window. 3. The act
of discarding something under the assumption that it will improve
matters. "I don't have any disk space left." "Well, why don't you
defenestrate that 100 megs worth of old core dumps?" 4. Under a GUI,
the act of dragging something out of a window (onto the screen).
"Next, defenestrate the MugWump icon." 5. The act of completely
removing Micro$oft Windows from a PC in favor of a better OS
(typically Linux).
_________________________________________________________________

Node:defined as, Next:[3780]dehose, Previous:[3781]defenestration,
Up:[3782]= D =

defined as adj.

In the role of, usually in an organization-chart sense. "Pete is
currently defined as bug prioritizer." Compare [3783]logical.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:dehose, Next:[3784]deletia, Previous:[3785]defined as, Up:[3786]=
D =

dehose /dee-hohz/ vt.

To clear a [3787]hosed condition.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:deletia, Next:[3788]deliminator, Previous:[3789]dehose,
Up:[3790]= D =

deletia n. /d*-lee'sha/

[USENET; common] In an email reply, material omitted from the quote of
the original. Usually written rather than spoken; often appears as a
pseudo-tag or ellipsis in the body of the reply, as "[deletia]" or
"".
_________________________________________________________________

Node:deliminator, Next:[3791]delint, Previous:[3792]deletia,
Up:[3793]= D =

deliminator /de-lim'-in-ay-t*r/ n.

[portmanteau, delimiter + eliminate] A string or pattern used to
delimit text into fields, but which is itself eliminated from the
resulting list of fields. This jargon seems to have originated among
Perl hackers in connection with the Perl split() function; however, it
has been sighted in live use among Java and even Visual Basic
programmers.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:delint, Next:[3794]delta, Previous:[3795]deliminator, Up:[3796]=
D =

delint /dee-lint/ v. obs.

To modify code to remove problems detected when [3797]linting.
Confusingly, this process is also referred to as `linting' code. This
term is no longer in general use because ANSI C compilers typically
issue compile-time warnings almost as detailed as lint warnings.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:delta, Next:[3798]demented, Previous:[3799]delint, Up:[3800]= D =

delta n.

1. [techspeak] A quantitative change, especially a small or
incremental one (this use is general in physics and engineering). "I
just doubled the speed of my program!" "What was the delta on program
size?" "About 30 percent." (He doubled the speed of his program, but
increased its size by only 30 percent.) 2. [Unix] A [3801]diff,
especially a [3802]diff stored under the set of version-control tools
called SCCS (Source Code Control System) or RCS (Revision Control
System). 3. n. A small quantity, but not as small as [3803]epsilon.
The jargon usage of [3804]delta and [3805]epsilon stems from the
traditional use of these letters in mathematics for very small
numerical quantities, particularly in `epsilon-delta' proofs in limit
theory (as in the differential calculus). The term [3806]delta is
often used, once [3807]epsilon has been mentioned, to mean a quantity
that is slightly bigger than [3808]epsilon but still very small. "The
cost isn't epsilon, but it's delta" means that the cost isn't totally
negligible, but it is nevertheless very small. Common constructions
include `within delta of --', `within epsilon of --': that is, `close
to' and `even closer to'.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:demented, Next:[3809]demigod, Previous:[3810]delta, Up:[3811]= D
=

demented adj.

Yet another term of disgust used to describe a malfunctioning program.
The connotation in this case is that the program works as designed,
but the design is bad. Said, for example, of a program that generates
large numbers of meaningless error messages, implying that it is on
the brink of imminent collapse. Compare [3812]wonky,
[3813]brain-damaged, [3814]bozotic.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:demigod, Next:[3815]demo, Previous:[3816]demented, Up:[3817]= D =

demigod n.

A hacker with years of experience, a world-wide reputation, and a
major role in the development of at least one design, tool, or game
used by or known to more than half of the hacker community. To qualify
as a genuine demigod, the person must recognizably identify with the
hacker community and have helped shape it. Major demigods include Ken
Thompson and Dennis Ritchie (co-inventors of [3818]Unix and [3819]C),
Richard M. Stallman (inventor of [3820]EMACS), Larry Wall (inventor of
[3821]Perl), Linus Torvalds (inventor of [3822]Linux), and most
recently James Gosling (inventor of Java, [3823]NeWS, and
[3824]GOSMACS) and Guido van Rossum (inventor of [3825]Python). In
their hearts of hearts, most hackers dream of someday becoming
demigods themselves, and more than one major software project has been
driven to completion by the author's veiled hopes of apotheosis. See
also [3826]net.god, [3827]true-hacker.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:demo, Next:[3828]demo mode, Previous:[3829]demigod, Up:[3830]= D
=

demo /de'moh/

[short for `demonstration'] 1. v. To demonstrate a product or
prototype. A far more effective way of inducing bugs to manifest than
any number of [3831]test runs, especially when important people are
watching. 2. n. The act of demoing. "I've gotta give a demo of the
drool-proof interface; how does it work again?" 3. n. Esp. as `demo
version', can refer either to an early, barely-functional version of a
program which can be used for demonstration purposes as long as the
operator uses exactly the right commands and skirts its numerous bugs,
deficiencies, and unimplemented portions, or to a special version of a
program (frequently with some features crippled) which is distributed
at little or no cost to the user for enticement purposes. 4.
[[3832]demoscene] A sequence of [3833]demoeffects (usually) combined
with self-composed music and hand-drawn ("pixelated") graphics. These
days (1997) usually built to attend a [3834]compo. Often called
`eurodemos' outside Europe, as most of the [3835]demoscene activity
seems to have gathered in northern Europe and especially Scandinavia.
See also [3836]intro, [3837]dentro.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:demo mode, Next:[3838]demoeffect, Previous:[3839]demo, Up:[3840]=
D =

demo mode n.

1. [Sun] The state of being [3841]heads down in order to finish code
in time for a [3842]demo, usually due yesterday. 2. A mode in which
video games sit by themselves running through a portion of the game,
also known as `attract mode'. Some serious [3843]apps have a demo mode
they use as a screen saver, or may go through a demo mode on startup
(for example, the Microsoft Windows opening screen -- which lets you
impress your neighbors without actually having to put up with
[3844]Microsloth Windows).
_________________________________________________________________

Node:demoeffect, Next:[3845]demogroup, Previous:[3846]demo mode,
Up:[3847]= D =

demoeffect n.

[[3848]demoscene] What among hackers is called a [3849]display hack.
Classical effects include "plasma" (colorful mess), "keftales"
(x*x+y*y and other similar patterns, usually combined with
color-cycling), realtime fractals, realtime 3d graphics, etc.
Historically, demo effects have cheated as much as possible to gain
more speed and more complexity, using low-precision math and masses of
assembler code and building animation realtime are three common
tricks, but use of special hardware to fake effects is a [3850]Good
Thing on the demoscene (though this is becoming less common as
platforms like the Amiga fade away).
_________________________________________________________________

Node:demogroup, Next:[3851]demon, Previous:[3852]demoeffect,
Up:[3853]= D =

demogroup n.

[[3854]demoscene] A group of [3855]demo (sense 4) composers. Job
titles within a group include coders (the ones who write programs),
graphicians (the ones who painstakingly pixelate the fine art),
musicians (the music composers), [3856]sysops, traders/swappers (the
ones who do the trading and other PR), and organizers (in larger
groups). It is not uncommon for one person to do multiple jobs, but it
has been observed that good coders are rarely good composers and vice
versa. [How odd. Musical talent seems common among Internet/Unix
hackers --ESR]
_________________________________________________________________

Node:demon, Next:[3857]demon dialer, Previous:[3858]demogroup,
Up:[3859]= D =

demon n.

1. [MIT] A portion of a program that is not invoked explicitly, but
that lies dormant waiting for some condition(s) to occur. See
[3860]daemon. The distinction is that demons are usually processes
within a program, while daemons are usually programs running on an
operating system. 2. [outside MIT] Often used equivalently to
[3861]daemon -- especially in the [3862]Unix world, where the latter
spelling and pronunciation is considered mildly archaic.

Demons in sense 1 are particularly common in AI programs. For example,
a knowledge-manipulation program might implement inference rules as
demons. Whenever a new piece of knowledge was added, various demons
would activate (which demons depends on the particular piece of data)
and would create additional pieces of knowledge by applying their
respective inference rules to the original piece. These new pieces
could in turn activate more demons as the inferences filtered down
through chains of logic. Meanwhile, the main program could continue
with whatever its primary task was.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:demon dialer, Next:[3863]demoparty, Previous:[3864]demon,
Up:[3865]= D =

demon dialer n.

A program which repeatedly calls the same telephone number. Demon
dialing may be benign (as when a number of communications programs
contend for legitimate access to a [3866]BBS line) or malign (that is,
used as a prank or denial-of-service attack). This term dates from the
[3867]blue box days of the 1970s and early 1980s and is now
semi-obsolescent among [3868]phreakers; see [3869]war dialer for its
contemporary progeny.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:demoparty, Next:[3870]demoscene, Previous:[3871]demon dialer,
Up:[3872]= D =

demoparty n.

[[3873]demoscene] Aboveground descendant of the [3874]copyparty, with
emphasis shifted away from software piracy and towards [3875]compos.
Smaller demoparties, for 100 persons or less, are held quite often,
sometimes even once a month, and usually last for one to two days. On
the other end of the scale, huge demo parties are held once a year
(and four of these have grown very large and occur annually - Assembly
in Finland, The Party in Denmark, The Gathering in Norway, and NAID
somewhere in north America). These parties usually last for three to
five days, have room for 3000-5000 people, and have a party network
with connection to the internet.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:demoscene, Next:[3876]dentro, Previous:[3877]demoparty,
Up:[3878]= D =

demoscene /dem'oh-seen/

[also `demo scene'] A culture of multimedia hackers located primarily
in Scandinavia and northern Europe. Demoscene folklore recounts that
when old-time [3879]warez d00dz cracked some piece of software they
often added an advertisement of in the beginning, usually containing
colorful [3880]display hacks with greetings to other cracking groups.
The demoscene was born among people who decided building these display
hacks is more interesting than hacking and began to build
self-contained display hacks of considerable elaboration and beauty
(within the culture such a hack is called a [3881]demo). The split
seems to have happened at the end of the 1980s. As more of these
[3882]demogroups emerged, they started to have [3883]compos at copying
parties (see [3884]copyparty), which later evolved to standalone
events (see [3885]demoparty). The demoscene has retained some traits
from the [3886]warez d00dz, including their style of handles and group
names and some of their jargon.

Traditionally demos were written in assembly language, with lots of
smart tricks, self-modifying code, undocumented op-codes and the like.
Some time around 1995, people started coding demos in C, and a couple
of years after that, they also started using Java.

Ten years on (in 1998-1999), the demoscene is changing as its original
platforms (C64, Amiga, Spectrum, Atari ST, IBM PC under DOS) die out
and activity shifts towards Windows, Linux, and the Internet. While
deeply underground in the past, demoscene is trying to get into the
mainstream as accepted art form, and one symptom of this is the
commercialization of bigger demoparties. Older demosceneers frown at
this, but the majority think it's a good direction. Many demosceneers
end up working in the computer game industry. Demoscene resource pages
are available at [3887]http://www.oldskool.org/demos/explained/ and
[3888]http://www.scene.org/.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:dentro, Next:[3889]depeditate, Previous:[3890]demoscene,
Up:[3891]= D =

dentro /den'troh/

[[3892]demoscene] Combination of [3893]demo (sense 4) and [3894]intro.
Other name mixings include intmo, dentmo etc. and are used usually
when the authors are not quite sure whether the program is a
[3895]demo or an [3896]intro. Special-purpose coinages like wedtro
(some member of a group got married), invtro (invitation intro) etc.
have also been sighted.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:depeditate, Next:[3897]deprecated, Previous:[3898]dentro,
Up:[3899]= D =

depeditate /dee-ped'*-tayt/ n.

[by (faulty) analogy with `decapitate'] Humorously, to cut off the
feet of. When one is using some computer-aided typesetting tools,
careless placement of text blocks within a page or above a rule can
result in chopped-off letter descenders. Such letters are said to have
been depeditated.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:deprecated, Next:[3900]derf, Previous:[3901]depeditate,
Up:[3902]= D =

deprecated adj.

Said of a program or feature that is considered obsolescent and in the
process of being phased out, usually in favor of a specified
replacement. Deprecated features can, unfortunately, linger on for
many years. This term appears with distressing frequency in standards
documents when the committees writing the documents realize that large
amounts of extant (and presumably happily working) code depend on the
feature(s) that have passed out of favor. See also [3903]dusty deck.

[Usage note: don't confuse this word with `depreciate', or the verb
form `deprecate' with `depreciated`. They are different words; see any
dictionary for discussion.]
_________________________________________________________________

Node:derf, Next:[3904]deserves to lose, Previous:[3905]deprecated,
Up:[3906]= D =

derf /derf/ v.,n.

[PLATO] The act of exploiting a terminal which someone else has
absentmindedly left logged on, to use that person's account,
especially to post articles intended to make an ass of the victim
you're impersonating. It has been alleged that the term originated as
a reversal of the name of the gentleman who most usually left himself
vulnerable to it, who also happened to be the head of the department
that handled PLATO at the University of Delaware.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:deserves to lose, Next:[3907]desk check, Previous:[3908]derf,
Up:[3909]= D =

deserves to lose adj.

[common] Said of someone who willfully does the [3910]Wrong Thing;
humorously, if one uses a feature known to be [3911]marginal. What is
meant is that one deserves the consequences of one's [3912]losing
actions. "Boy, anyone who tries to use [3913]mess-dos deserves to
[3914]lose!" ([3915]ITS fans used to say the same thing of [3916]Unix;
many still do.) See also [3917]screw, [3918]chomp, [3919]bagbiter.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:desk check, Next:[3920]despew, Previous:[3921]deserves to lose,
Up:[3922]= D =

desk check n.,v.

To [3923]grovel over hardcopy of source code, mentally simulating the
control flow; a method of catching bugs. No longer common practice in
this age of on-screen editing, fast compiles, and sophisticated
debuggers -- though some maintain stoutly that it ought to be. Compare
[3924]eyeball search, [3925]vdiff, [3926]vgrep.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:despew, Next:[3927]Devil Book, Previous:[3928]desk check,
Up:[3929]= D =

despew /d*-spyoo'/ v.

[Usenet] To automatically generate a large amount of garbage to the
net, esp. from an automated posting program gone wild. See [3930]ARMM.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:Devil Book, Next:[3931]/dev/null, Previous:[3932]despew,
Up:[3933]= D =

Devil Book n.

See [3934]daemon book, the term preferred by its authors.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:/dev/null, Next:[3935]dickless workstation, Previous:[3936]Devil
Book, Up:[3937]= D =

/dev/null /dev-nuhl/ n.

[from the Unix null device, used as a data sink] A notional `black
hole' in any information space being discussed, used, or referred to.
A controversial posting, for example, might end "Kudos to
rasputin@kremlin.org, flames to /dev/null". See [3938]bit bucket.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:dickless workstation, Next:[3939]dictionary flame,
Previous:[3940]/dev/null, Up:[3941]= D =

dickless workstation n.

Extremely pejorative hackerism for `diskless workstation', a class of
botches including the Sun 3/50 and other machines designed exclusively
to network with an expensive central disk server. These combine all
the disadvantages of time-sharing with all the disadvantages of
distributed personal computers; typically, they cannot even [3942]boot
themselves without help (in the form of some kind of
[3943]breath-of-life packet) from the server.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:dictionary flame, Next:[3944]diddle, Previous:[3945]dickless
workstation, Up:[3946]= D =

dictionary flame n.

[Usenet] An attempt to sidetrack a debate away from issues by
insisting on meanings for key terms that presuppose a desired
conclusion or smuggle in an implicit premise. A common tactic of
people who prefer argument over definitions to disputes about reality.
Compare [3947]spelling flame.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:diddle, Next:[3948]die, Previous:[3949]dictionary flame,
Up:[3950]= D =

diddle

1. vt. To work with or modify in a not particularly serious manner. "I
diddled a copy of [3951]ADVENT so it didn't double-space all the
time." "Let's diddle this piece of code and see if the problem goes
away." See [3952]tweak and [3953]twiddle. 2. n. The action or result
of diddling. See also [3954]tweak, [3955]twiddle, [3956]frob.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:die, Next:[3957]die horribly, Previous:[3958]diddle, Up:[3959]= D
=

die v.

Syn. [3960]crash. Unlike [3961]crash, which is used primarily of
hardware, this verb is used of both hardware and software. See also
[3962]go flatline, [3963]casters-up mode.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:die horribly, Next:[3964]diff, Previous:[3965]die, Up:[3966]= D =

die horribly v.

The software equivalent of [3967]crash and burn, and the preferred
emphatic form of [3968]die. "The converter choked on an FF in its
input and died horribly".
_________________________________________________________________

Node:diff, Next:[3969]digit, Previous:[3970]die horribly, Up:[3971]= D
=

diff /dif/ n.

1. A change listing, especially giving differences between (and
additions to) source code or documents (the term is often used in the
plural `diffs'). "Send me your diffs for the Jargon File!" Compare
[3972]vdiff. 2. Specifically, such a listing produced by the diff(1)
command, esp. when used as specification input to the patch(1) utility
(which can actually perform the modifications; see [3973]patch). This
is a common method of distributing patches and source updates in the
Unix/C world. 3. v. To compare (whether or not by use of automated
tools on machine-readable files); see also [3974]vdiff, [3975]mod.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:digit, Next:[3976]dike, Previous:[3977]diff, Up:[3978]= D =

digit n.,obs.

An employee of Digital Equipment Corporation. See also [3979]VAX,
[3980]VMS, [3981]PDP-10, [3982]TOPS-10, [3983]field circus.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:dike, Next:[3984]Dilbert, Previous:[3985]digit, Up:[3986]= D =

dike vt.

To remove or disable a portion of something, as a wire from a computer
or a subroutine from a program. A standard slogan is "When in doubt,
dike it out". (The implication is that it is usually more effective to
attack software problems by reducing complexity than by increasing
it.) The word `dikes' is widely used among mechanics and engineers to
mean `diagonal cutters', esp. the heavy-duty metal-cutting version,
but may also refer to a kind of wire-cutters used by electronics
techs. To `dike something out' means to use such cutters to remove
something. Indeed, the TMRC Dictionary defined dike as "to attack with
dikes". Among hackers this term has been metaphorically extended to
informational objects such as sections of code.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:Dilbert, Next:[3987]ding, Previous:[3988]dike, Up:[3989]= D =

Dilbert

n. Name and title character of a comic strip nationally syndicated in
the U.S. and enormously popular among hackers. Dilbert is an
archetypical engineer-nerd who works at an anonymous high-technology
company; the strips present a lacerating satire of insane working
conditions and idiotic [3990]management practices all too readily
recognized by hackers. Adams, who spent nine years in [3991]cube
4S700R at Pacific Bell (not [3992]DEC as often reported), often
remarks that he has never been able to come up with a fictional
management blunder that his correspondents didn't quickly either
report to have actually happened or top with a similar but even more
bizarre incident. In 1996 Adams distilled his insights into the
collective psychology of businesses into an even funnier book, "The
Dilbert Principle" (HarperCollins, ISBN 0-887-30787-6). See also
[3993]pointy-haired, [3994]rat dance.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:ding, Next:[3995]dink, Previous:[3996]Dilbert, Up:[3997]= D =

ding n.,vi.

1. Synonym for [3998]feep. Usage: rare among hackers, but more common
in the [3999]Real World. 2. `dinged': What happens when someone in
authority gives you a minor bitching about something, esp. something
trivial. "I was dinged for having a messy desk."
_________________________________________________________________

Node:dink, Next:[4000]dinosaur, Previous:[4001]ding, Up:[4002]= D =

dink /dink/ adj.

Said of a machine that has the [4003]bitty box nature; a machine too
small to be worth bothering with -- sometimes the system you're
currently forced to work on. First heard from an MIT hacker working on
a CP/M system with 64K, in reference to any 6502 system, then from
fans of 32-bit architectures about 16-bit machines. "GNUMACS will
never work on that dink machine." Probably derived from mainstream
`dinky', which isn't sufficiently pejorative. See [4004]macdink.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:dinosaur, Next:[4005]dinosaur pen, Previous:[4006]dink,
Up:[4007]= D =

dinosaur n.

1. Any hardware requiring raised flooring and special power. Used
especially of old minis and mainframes, in contrast with newer
microprocessor-based machines. In a famous quote from the 1988 Unix
EXPO, Bill Joy compared the liquid-cooled mainframe in the massive IBM
display with a grazing dinosaur "with a truck outside pumping its
bodily fluids through it". IBM was not amused. Compare [4008]big iron;
see also [4009]mainframe. 2. [IBM] A very conservative user; a
[4010]zipperhead.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:dinosaur pen, Next:[4011]dinosaurs mating,
Previous:[4012]dinosaur, Up:[4013]= D =

dinosaur pen n.

A traditional [4014]mainframe computer room complete with raised
flooring, special power, its own ultra-heavy-duty air conditioning,
and a side order of Halon fire extinguishers. See [4015]boa.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:dinosaurs mating, Next:[4016]dirtball, Previous:[4017]dinosaur
pen, Up:[4018]= D =

dinosaurs mating n.

Said to occur when yet another [4019]big iron merger or buyout occurs;
reflects a perception by hackers that these signal another stage in
the long, slow dying of the [4020]mainframe industry. In its glory
days of the 1960s, it was `IBM and the Seven Dwarves': Burroughs,
Control Data, General Electric, Honeywell, NCR, RCA, and Univac. RCA
and GE sold out early, and it was `IBM and the Bunch' (Burroughs,
Univac, NCR, Control Data, and Honeywell) for a while. Honeywell was
bought out by Bull; Burroughs merged with Univac to form Unisys (in
1984 -- this was when the phrase `dinosaurs mating' was coined); and
in 1991 AT&T absorbed NCR (but spat it back out a few years later).
Control Data still exists but is no longer in the mainframe business.
More such earth-shaking unions of doomed giants seem inevitable.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:dirtball, Next:[4021]dirty power, Previous:[4022]dinosaurs
mating, Up:[4023]= D =

dirtball n.

[XEROX PARC] A small, perhaps struggling outsider; not in the major or
even the minor leagues. For example, "Xerox is not a dirtball
company".

[Outsiders often observe in the PARC culture an institutional
arrogance which usage of this term exemplifies. The brilliance and
scope of PARC's contributions to computer science have been such that
this superior attitude is not much resented. --ESR]
_________________________________________________________________

Node:dirty power, Next:[4024]disclaimer, Previous:[4025]dirtball,
Up:[4026]= D =

dirty power n.

Electrical mains voltage that is unfriendly to the delicate innards of
computers. Spikes, [4027]drop-outs, average voltage significantly
higher or lower than nominal, or just plain noise can all cause
problems of varying subtlety and severity (these are collectively
known as [4028]power hits).
_________________________________________________________________

Node:disclaimer, Next:[4029]Discordianism, Previous:[4030]dirty power,
Up:[4031]= D =

disclaimer n.

[Usenet] Statement ritually appended to many Usenet postings
(sometimes automatically, by the posting software) reiterating the
fact (which should be obvious, but is easily forgotten) that the
article reflects its author's opinions and not necessarily those of
the organization running the machine through which the article entered
the network.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:Discordianism, Next:[4032]disk farm, Previous:[4033]disclaimer,
Up:[4034]= D =

Discordianism /dis-kor'di-*n-ism/ n.

The veneration of [4035]Eris, a.k.a. Discordia; widely popular among
hackers. Discordianism was popularized by Robert Shea and Robert Anton
Wilson's novel "Illuminatus!" as a sort of self-subverting Dada-Zen
for Westerners -- it should on no account be taken seriously but is
far more serious than most jokes. Consider, for example, the Fifth
Commandment of the Pentabarf, from "Principia Discordia": "A
Discordian is Prohibited of Believing What he Reads." Discordianism is
usually connected with an elaborate conspiracy theory/joke involving
millennia-long warfare between the anarcho-surrealist partisans of
Eris and a malevolent, authoritarian secret society called the
Illuminati. See [4036]Religion in Appendix B, [4037]Church of the
SubGenius, and [4038]ha ha only serious.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:disk farm, Next:[4039]display hack, Previous:[4040]Discordianism,
Up:[4041]= D =

disk farm n.

(also [4042]laundromat) A large room or rooms filled with disk drives
(esp. [4043]washing machines).
_________________________________________________________________

Node:display hack, Next:[4044]dispress, Previous:[4045]disk farm,
Up:[4046]= D =

display hack n.

A program with the same approximate purpose as a kaleidoscope: to make
pretty pictures. Famous display hacks include [4047]munching squares,
[4048]smoking clover, the BSD Unix rain(6) program, worms(6) on
miscellaneous Unixes, and the [4049]X kaleid(1) program. Display hacks
can also be implemented by creating text files containing numerous
escape sequences for interpretation by a video terminal; one notable
example displayed, on any VT100, a Christmas tree with twinkling
lights and a toy train circling its base. The [4050]hack value of a
display hack is proportional to the esthetic value of the images times
the cleverness of the algorithm divided by the size of the code. Syn.
[4051]psychedelicware.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:dispress, Next:[4052]Dissociated Press, Previous:[4053]display
hack, Up:[4054]= D =

dispress vt.

[contraction of `Dissociated Press' due to eight-character MS-DOS
filenames] To apply the [4055]Dissociated Press algorithm to a block
of text. The resultant output is also referred to as a 'dispression'.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:Dissociated Press, Next:[4056]distribution,
Previous:[4057]dispress, Up:[4058]= D =

Dissociated Press n.

[play on `Associated Press'; perhaps inspired by a reference in the
1950 Bugs Bunny cartoon "What's Up, Doc?"] An algorithm for
transforming any text into potentially humorous garbage even more
efficiently than by passing it through a [4059]marketroid. The
algorithm starts by printing any N consecutive words (or letters) in
the text. Then at every step it searches for any random occurrence in
the original text of the last N words (or letters) already printed and
then prints the next word or letter. [4060]EMACS has a handy command
for this. Here is a short example of word-based Dissociated Press
applied to an earlier version of this Jargon File:

wart: n. A small, crocky [4061]feature that sticks out of an array
(C has no checks for this). This is relatively benign and easy to
spot if the phrase is bent so as to be not worth paying attention
to the medium in question.

Here is a short example of letter-based Dissociated Press applied to
the same source:

window sysIWYG: n. A bit was named aften /bee't*/ prefer to use the
other guy's re, especially in every cast a chuckle on neithout
getting into useful informash speech makes removing a featuring a
move or usage actual abstractionsidered interj. Indeed spectace
logic or problem!

A hackish idle pastime is to apply letter-based Dissociated Press to a
random body of text and [4062]vgrep the output in hopes of finding an
interesting new word. (In the preceding example, `window sysIWYG' and
`informash' show some promise.) Iterated applications of Dissociated
Press usually yield better results. Similar techniques called
`travesty generators' have been employed with considerable satirical
effect to the utterances of Usenet flamers; see [4063]pseudo.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:distribution, Next:[4064]distro, Previous:[4065]Dissociated
Press, Up:[4066]= D =

distribution n.

1. A software source tree packaged for distribution; but see
[4067]kit. Since about 1996 unqualified use of this term often implies
`[4068]Linux distribution'. The short for [4069]distro is often used
for this sense. 2. A vague term encompassing mailing lists and Usenet
newsgroups (but not [4070]BBS [4071]fora); any topic-oriented message
channel with multiple recipients. 3. An information-space domain
(usually loosely correlated with geography) to which propagation of a
Usenet message is restricted; a much-underutilized feature.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:distro, Next:[4072]disusered, Previous:[4073]distribution,
Up:[4074]= D =

distro n.

Synonym for [4075]distribution, sense 1.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:disusered, Next:[4076]do protocol, Previous:[4077]distro,
Up:[4078]= D =

disusered adj.

[Usenet] Said of a person whose account on a computer has been
removed, esp. for cause rather than through normal attrition. "He got
disusered when they found out he'd been cracking through the school's
Internet access." The verbal form `disuser' is live but less common.
Both usages probably derive from the DISUSER account status flag on
VMS; setting it disables the account. Compare [4079]star out.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:do protocol, Next:[4080]doc, Previous:[4081]disusered, Up:[4082]=
D =

do protocol vi.

[from network protocol programming] To perform an interaction with
somebody or something that follows a clearly defined procedure. For
example, "Let's do protocol with the check" at a restaurant means to
ask for the check, calculate the tip and everybody's share, collect
money from everybody, generate change as necessary, and pay the bill.
See [4083]protocol.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:doc, Next:[4084]documentation, Previous:[4085]do protocol,
Up:[4086]= D =

doc /dok/ n.

Common spoken and written shorthand for `documentation'. Often used in
the plural `docs' and in the construction `doc file' (i.e.,
documentation available on-line).
_________________________________________________________________

Node:documentation, Next:[4087]dodgy, Previous:[4088]doc, Up:[4089]= D
=

documentation n.

The multiple kilograms of macerated, pounded, steamed, bleached, and
pressed trees that accompany most modern software or hardware products
(see also [4090]tree-killer). Hackers seldom read paper documentation
and (too) often resist writing it; they prefer theirs to be terse and
on-line. A common comment on this predilection is "You can't
[4091]grep dead trees". See [4092]drool-proof paper, [4093]verbiage,
[4094]treeware.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:dodgy, Next:[4095]dogcow, Previous:[4096]documentation,
Up:[4097]= D =

dodgy adj.

Syn. with [4098]flaky. Preferred outside the U.S.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:dogcow, Next:[4099]dogfood, Previous:[4100]dodgy, Up:[4101]= D =

dogcow /dog'kow/ n.

See [4102]Moof. The dogcow is a semi-legendary creature that lurks in
the depths of the Macintosh Technical Notes Hypercard stack V3.1. The
full story of the dogcow is told in technical note #31 (the particular
dogcow illustrated is properly named `Clarus'). Option-shift-click
will cause it to emit a characteristic `Moof!' or `!fooM' sound.
Getting to tech note 31 is the hard part; to discover how to do that,
one must needs examine the stack script with a hackerly eye. Clue:
[4103]rot13 is involved. A dogcow also appears if you choose `Page
Setup...' with a LaserWriter selected and click on the `Options'
button. It also lurks in other Mac printer drivers, notably those for
the now-discontinued Style Writers. Sadly, Apple has removed the pages
that used to describe the dogcow.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:dogfood, Next:[4104]dogpile, Previous:[4105]dogcow, Up:[4106]= D
=

dogfood n.

[Microsoft, Netscape] Interim software used internally for testing.
"To eat one's own dogfood" (from which the slang noun derives) means
to use the software one is developing, as part of one's everyday
development environment (the phrase is used outside Microsoft and
Netscape). The practice is normal in the Linux community and
elsewhere, but the term `dogfood' is seldom used as open-source betas
tend to be quite tasty and nourishing. The idea is that developers who
are using their own software will quickly learn what's missing or
broken. Dogfood is typically not even of [4107]beta quality.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:dogpile, Next:[4108]dogwash, Previous:[4109]dogfood, Up:[4110]= D
=

dogpile v.

[Usenet: prob. fr. mainstream "puppy pile"] When many people post
unfriendly responses in short order to a single posting, they are
sometimes said to "dogpile" or "dogpile on" the person to whom they're
responding. For example, when a religious missionary posts a
simplistic appeal to alt.atheism, he can expect to be dogpiled. It has
been suggested that this derives from U.S, football slang for a tackle
involving three or more people; among hackers, it seems at least as
likely do derive from an `autobiographical' Bugs Bunny cartoon in
which a gang of attacking canines actually yells "Dogpile on the
rabbit!".
_________________________________________________________________

Node:dogwash, Next:[4111]domainist, Previous:[4112]dogpile, Up:[4113]=
D =

dogwash /dog'wosh/

[From a quip in the `urgency' field of a very optional software change
request, ca. 1982. It was something like "Urgency: Wash your dog
first".] 1. n. A project of minimal priority, undertaken as an escape
from more serious work. 2. v. To engage in such a project. Many games
and much [4114]freeware get written this way.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:domainist, Next:[4115]Don't do that then!,
Previous:[4116]dogwash, Up:[4117]= D =

domainist /doh-mayn'ist/ adj.

1. [Usenet, by pointed analogy with "sexist", "racist", etc.] Someone
who judges people by the domain of their email addresses; esp. someone
who dismisses anyone who posts from a public internet provider. "What
do you expect from an article posted from aol.com?" 2. Said of an
[4118]Internet address (as opposed to a [4119]bang path) because the
part to the right of the @ specifies a nested series of `domains'; for
example, [4120]esr@snark.thyrsus.com specifies the machine called
snark in the subdomain called thyrsus within the top-level domain
called com. See also [4121]big-endian, sense 2.

The meaning of this term has drifted. At one time sense 2 was primary.
In elder days it was also used of a site, mailer, or routing program
which knew how to handle domainist addresses; or of a person (esp. a
site admin) who preferred domain addressing, supported a domainist
mailer, or proselytized for domainist addressing and disdained
[4122]bang paths. These senses are now (1996) obsolete, as effectively
all sites have converted.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:Don't do that then!, Next:[4123]dongle, Previous:[4124]domainist,
Up:[4125]= D =

Don't do that then! imp.

[from an old doctor's office joke about a patient with a trivial
complaint] Stock response to a user complaint. "When I type control-S,
the whole system comes to a halt for thirty seconds." "Don't do that,
then!" (or "So don't do that!"). Compare [4126]RTFM.

Here's a classic example of "Don't do that then!" from Neil
Stephenson's "In The Beginning Was The Command Line". A friend of his
built a network with a load of Macs and a few high-powered database
servers. He found that from time to time the whole network would lock
up for no apparent reason. The problem was eventually tracked down to
MacOS's cooperative multitasking: when a user held down the mouse
button for too long, the network stack wouldn't get a chance to run...
_________________________________________________________________

Node:dongle, Next:[4127]dongle-disk, Previous:[4128]Don't do that
then!, Up:[4129]= D =

dongle /dong'gl/ n.

1. [now obs.] A security or [4130]copy protection device for
proprietary software consisting of a serialized EPROM and some drivers
in a D-25 connector shell, which must be connected to an I/O port of
the computer while the program is run. Programs that use a dongle
query the port at startup and at programmed intervals thereafter, and
terminate if it does not respond with the dongle's programmed
validation code. Thus, users can make as many copies of the program as
they want but must pay for each dongle. The idea was clever, but it
was initially a failure, as users disliked tying up a serial port this
way. By 1993, dongles would typically pass data through the port and
monitor for [4131]magic codes (and combinations of status lines) with
minimal if any interference with devices further down the line -- this
innovation was necessary to allow daisy-chained dongles for multiple
pieces of software. These devices have become rare as the industry has
moved away from copy-protection schemes in general. 2. By extension,
any physical electronic key or transferable ID required for a program
to function. Common variations on this theme have used parallel or
even joystick ports. See [4132]dongle-disk. 3. An adaptor cable mating
a special edge-type connector on a PCMCIA or on-board Ethernet card to
a standard RJ45 Ethernet jack. This usage seems to have surfaced in
1999 and is now dominant. Laptop owners curse these things because
they're notoriously easy to lose and the vendors commonly charge
extortionate prices for replacements.

[Note: in early 1992, advertising copy from Rainbow Technologies (a
manufacturer of dongles) included a claim that the word derived from
"Don Gall", allegedly the inventor of the device. The company's
receptionist will cheerfully tell you that the story is a myth
invented for the ad copy. Nevertheless, I expect it to haunt my life
as a lexicographer for at least the next ten years. :-( --ESR]
_________________________________________________________________

Node:dongle-disk, Next:[4133]donuts, Previous:[4134]dongle, Up:[4135]=
D =

dongle-disk /don'gl disk/ n.

A special floppy disk that is required in order to perform some task.
Some contain special coding that allows an application to identify it
uniquely, others are special code that does something that
normally-resident programs don't or can't. (For example, AT&T's "Unix
PC" would only come up in [4136]root mode with a special boot disk.)
Also called a `key disk'. See [4137]dongle.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:donuts, Next:[4138]doorstop, Previous:[4139]dongle-disk,
Up:[4140]= D =

donuts n. obs.

A collective noun for any set of memory bits. This usage is extremely
archaic and may no longer be live jargon; it dates from the days of
ferrite-[4141]core memories in which each bit was implemented by a
doughnut-shaped magnetic flip-flop.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:doorstop, Next:[4142]DoS attack, Previous:[4143]donuts,
Up:[4144]= D =

doorstop n.

Used to describe equipment that is non-functional and halfway expected
to remain so, especially obsolete equipment kept around for political
reasons or ostensibly as a backup. "When we get another Wyse-50 in
here, that ADM 3 will turn into a doorstop." Compare [4145]boat
anchor.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:DoS attack, Next:[4146]dot file, Previous:[4147]doorstop,
Up:[4148]= D =

DoS attack //

[Usenet,common; note that it's unrelated to `DOS' as name of an
operating system] Abbreviation for Denial-Of-Service attack. This
abbreviation is most often used of attempts to shut down newsgroups
with floods of [4149]spam, or to flood network links with large
amounts of traffic, or to flood network links with large amounts of
traffic, often by abusing network broadcast addresses Compare
[4150]slashdot effect.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:dot file, Next:[4151]double bucky, Previous:[4152]DoS attack,
Up:[4153]= D =

dot file [Unix] n.

A file that is not visible by default to normal directory-browsing
tools (on Unix, files named with a leading dot are, by convention, not
normally presented in directory listings). Many programs define one or
more dot files in which startup or configuration information may be
optionally recorded; a user can customize the program's behavior by
creating the appropriate file in the current or home directory.
(Therefore, dot files tend to [4154]creep -- with every nontrivial
application program defining at least one, a user's home directory can
be filled with scores of dot files, of course without the user's
really being aware of it.) See also [4155]profile (sense 1), [4156]rc
file.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:double bucky, Next:[4157]doubled sig, Previous:[4158]dot file,
Up:[4159]= D =

double bucky adj.

Using both the CTRL and META keys. "The command to burn all LEDs is
double bucky F."

This term originated on the Stanford extended-ASCII keyboard, and was
later taken up by users of the [4160]space-cadet keyboard at MIT. A
typical MIT comment was that the Stanford [4161]bucky bits (control
and meta shifting keys) were nice, but there weren't enough of them;
you could type only 512 different characters on a Stanford keyboard.
An obvious way to address this was simply to add more shifting keys,
and this was eventually done; but a keyboard with that many shifting
keys is hard on touch-typists, who don't like to move their hands away
from the home position on the keyboard. It was half-seriously
suggested that the extra shifting keys be implemented as pedals;
typing on such a keyboard would be very much like playing a full pipe
organ. This idea is mentioned in a parody of a very fine song by
Jeffrey Moss called "Rubber Duckie", which was published in "The
Sesame Street Songbook" (Simon and Schuster 1971, ISBN 0-671-21036-X).
These lyrics were written on May 27, 1978, in celebration of the
Stanford keyboard:
Double Bucky

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