Books: The New Hacker\'s Dictionary version 4.2.2

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

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* [7499]K:
* [7500]K&R:
* [7501]k-:
* [7502]kahuna:
* [7503]kamikaze packet:
* [7504]kangaroo code:
* [7505]ken:
* [7506]kernel-of-the-week club:
* [7507]kgbvax:
* [7508]KIBO:
* [7509]kiboze:
* [7510]kibozo:
* [7511]kick:
* [7512]kill file:
* [7513]killer app:
* [7514]killer micro:
* [7515]killer poke:
* [7516]kilo-:
* [7517]KIPS:
* [7518]KISS Principle:
* [7519]kit:
* [7520]klone:
* [7521]kludge:
* [7522]kluge:
* [7523]kluge around:
* [7524]kluge up:
* [7525]Knights of the Lambda Calculus:
* [7526]knobs:
* [7527]Knuth:
* [7528]koan:
* [7529]kremvax:
* [7530]kyrka:
_________________________________________________________________

Node:K, Next:[7531]K&R, Previous:[7532]jupiter, Up:[7533]= K =

K /K/ n.

[from [7534]kilo-] A kilobyte. Used both as a spoken word and a
written suffix (like [7535]meg and [7536]gig for megabyte and
gigabyte). See [7537]quantifiers.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:K&R, Next:[7538]k-, Previous:[7539]K, Up:[7540]= K =

K&R [Kernighan and Ritchie] n.

Brian Kernighan and Dennis Ritchie's book "The C Programming
Language", esp. the classic and influential first edition
(Prentice-Hall 1978; ISBN 0-13-110163-3). Syn. [7541]White Book,
[7542]Old Testament. See also [7543]New Testament.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:k-, Next:[7544]kahuna, Previous:[7545]K&R, Up:[7546]= K =

k- pref.

[rare; poss fr. `kilo-' prefix] Extremely. Rare among hackers, but
quite common among crackers and [7547]warez d00dz in compounds such as
`k-kool' /K'kool'/, `k-rad' /K'rad'/, and `k-awesome' /K'aw`sm/. Also
used to intensify negatives; thus, `k-evil', `k-lame', `k-screwed',
and `k-annoying'. Overuse of this prefix, or use in more formal or
technical contexts, is considered an indicator of [7548]lamer status.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:kahuna, Next:[7549]kamikaze packet, Previous:[7550]k-, Up:[7551]=
K =

kahuna /k*-hoo'n*/ n.

[IBM: from the Hawaiian title for a shaman] Synonym for [7552]wizard,
[7553]guru.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:kamikaze packet, Next:[7554]kangaroo code, Previous:[7555]kahuna,
Up:[7556]= K =

kamikaze packet n.

The `official' jargon for what is more commonly called a
[7557]Christmas tree packet. [7558]RFC-1025, "TCP and IP Bake Off"
says:

10 points for correctly being able to process a "Kamikaze" packet
(AKA nastygram, christmas tree packet, lamp test segment, et al.).
That is, correctly handle a segment with the maximum combination of
features at once (e.g., a SYN URG PUSH FIN segment with options and
data).

See also [7559]Chernobyl packet.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:kangaroo code, Next:[7560]ken, Previous:[7561]kamikaze packet,
Up:[7562]= K =

kangaroo code n.

Syn. [7563]spaghetti code.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:ken, Next:[7564]kernel-of-the-week club, Previous:[7565]kangaroo
code, Up:[7566]= K =

ken /ken/ n.

1. [Unix] Ken Thompson, principal inventor of Unix. In the early days
he used to hand-cut distribution tapes, often with a note that read
"Love, ken". Old-timers still use his first name (sometimes
uncapitalized, because it's a login name and mail address) in
third-person reference; it is widely understood (on Usenet, in
particular) that without a last name `Ken' refers only to Ken
Thompson. Similarly, Dennis without last name means Dennis Ritchie
(and he is often known as dmr). See also [7567]demigod, [7568]Unix. 2.
A flaming user. This was originated by the Software Support group at
Symbolics because the two greatest flamers in the user community were
both named Ken.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:kernel-of-the-week club, Next:[7569]kgbvax, Previous:[7570]ken,
Up:[7571]= K =

kernel-of-the-week club

The fictional society that [7572]BSD [7573]bigots claim [Linux] users
belong to, alluding to the release-early-release-often style preferred
by the kernel maintainers. See [7574]bazaar. This was almost certainly
inspired by the earlier [7575]bug-of-the-month club.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:kgbvax, Next:[7576]KIBO, Previous:[7577]kernel-of-the-week club,
Up:[7578]= K =

kgbvax /K-G-B'vaks/ n.

See [7579]kremvax.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:KIBO, Next:[7580]kiboze, Previous:[7581]kgbvax, Up:[7582]= K =

KIBO /ki:'boh/

1. [acronym] Knowledge In, Bullshit Out. A summary of what happens
whenever valid data is passed through an organization (or person) that
deliberately or accidentally disregards or ignores its significance.
Consider, for example, what an advertising campaign can do with a
product's actual specifications. Compare [7583]GIGO; see also
[7584]SNAFU principle. 2. James Parry , a
Usenetter infamous for various surrealist net.pranks and an uncanny,
machine-assisted knack for joining any thread in which his nom de
guerre is mentioned. He has a website at [7585]http://www.kibo.com/.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:kiboze, Next:[7586]kibozo, Previous:[7587]KIBO, Up:[7588]= K =

kiboze v.

[Usenet] To [7589]grep the Usenet news for a string, especially with
the intention of posting a follow-up. This activity was popularised by
Kibo (see [7590]KIBO, sense 2).
_________________________________________________________________

Node:kibozo, Next:[7591]kick, Previous:[7592]kiboze, Up:[7593]= K =

kibozo /ki:-boh'zoh/ n.

[Usenet] One who [7594]kibozes but is not Kibo (see [7595]KIBO, sense
2).
_________________________________________________________________

Node:kick, Next:[7596]kill file, Previous:[7597]kibozo, Up:[7598]= K =

kick v.

1. [IRC] To cause somebody to be removed from a [7599]IRC channel, an
option only available to channel ops. This is an extreme measure,
often used to combat extreme [7600]flamage or [7601]flooding, but
sometimes used at the [7602]CHOP's whim. Compare [7603]gun. 2. To
reboot a machine or kill a running process. "The server's down, let me
go kick it."
_________________________________________________________________

Node:kill file, Next:[7604]killer app, Previous:[7605]kick, Up:[7606]=
K =

kill file n.

[Usenet; very common] (alt. `KILL file') Per-user file(s) used by some
[7607]Usenet reading programs (originally Larry Wall's rn(1)) to
discard summarily (without presenting for reading) articles matching
some particularly uninteresting (or unwanted) patterns of subject,
author, or other header lines. Thus to add a person (or subject) to
one's kill file is to arrange for that person to be ignored by one's
newsreader in future. By extension, it may be used for a decision to
ignore the person or subject in other media. See also [7608]plonk.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:killer app, Next:[7609]killer micro, Previous:[7610]kill file,
Up:[7611]= K =

killer app

The application that actually makes a sustaining market for a
promising but under-utilized technology. First used in the mid-1980s
to describe Lotus 1-2-3 once it became evident that demand for that
product had been the major driver of the early business market for IBM
PCs. The term was then restrospectively applied to VisiCalc, which had
played a similar role in the success of the Apple II. After 1994 it
became commonplace to describe the World Wide Web as the Internet's
killer app. One of the standard questions asked about each new
personal-computer technology as it emerges has become "what's the
killer app?"
_________________________________________________________________

Node:killer micro, Next:[7612]killer poke, Previous:[7613]killer app,
Up:[7614]= K =

killer micro n.

[popularized by Eugene Brooks] A microprocessor-based machine that
infringes on mini, mainframe, or supercomputer performance turf. Often
heard in "No one will survive the attack of the killer micros!", the
battle cry of the downsizers. Used esp. of RISC architectures.

The popularity of the phrase `attack of the killer micros' is
doubtless reinforced by the title of the movie "Attack Of The Killer
Tomatoes" (one of the [7615]canonical examples of
so-bad-it's-wonderful among hackers). This has even more [7616]flavor
now that killer micros have gone on the offensive not just
individually (in workstations) but in hordes (within massively
parallel computers).

[1996 update: Eugene Brooks was right. Since this term first entered
the Jargon File in 1990, the minicomputer has effectively vanished,
the [7617]mainframe sector is in deep and apparently terminal decline
(with IBM but a shadow of its former self), and even the supercomputer
business has contracted into a smaller niche. It's networked killer
micros as far as the eye can see. --ESR]
_________________________________________________________________

Node:killer poke, Next:[7618]kilo-, Previous:[7619]killer micro,
Up:[7620]= K =

killer poke n.

A recipe for inducing hardware damage on a machine via insertion of
invalid values (see [7621]poke) into a memory-mapped control register;
used esp. of various fairly well-known tricks on [7622]bitty boxes
without hardware memory management (such as the IBM PC and Commodore
PET) that can overload and trash analog electronics in the monitor.
See also [7623]HCF.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:kilo-, Next:[7624]KIPS, Previous:[7625]killer poke, Up:[7626]= K
=

kilo- pref.

[SI] See [7627]quantifiers.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:KIPS, Next:[7628]KISS Principle, Previous:[7629]kilo-, Up:[7630]=
K =

KIPS /kips/ n.

[abbreviation, by analogy with [7631]MIPS using [7632]K] Thousands
(not 1024s) of Instructions Per Second. Usage: rare.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:KISS Principle, Next:[7633]kit, Previous:[7634]KIPS, Up:[7635]= K
=

KISS Principle /kis' prin'si-pl/ n.

"Keep It Simple, Stupid". A maxim often invoked when discussing design
to fend off [7636]creeping featurism and control development
complexity. Possibly related to the [7637]marketroid maxim on sales
presentations, "Keep It Short and Simple".
_________________________________________________________________

Node:kit, Next:[7638]klone, Previous:[7639]KISS Principle, Up:[7640]=
K =

kit n.

[Usenet; poss. fr. [7641]DEC slang for a full software distribution,
as opposed to a patch or upgrade] A source software distribution that
has been packaged in such a way that it can (theoretically) be
unpacked and installed according to a series of steps using only
standard Unix tools, and entirely documented by some reasonable chain
of references from the top-level [7642]README file. The more general
term [7643]distribution may imply that special tools or more stringent
conditions on the host environment are required.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:klone, Next:[7644]kludge, Previous:[7645]kit, Up:[7646]= K =

klone /klohn/ n.

See [7647]clone, sense 4.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:kludge, Next:[7648]kluge, Previous:[7649]klone, Up:[7650]= K =

kludge 1. /klooj/ n.

Incorrect (though regrettably common) spelling of [7651]kluge (US).
These two words have been confused in American usage since the early
1960s, and widely confounded in Great Britain since the end of World
War II. 2. [TMRC] A [7652]crock that works. (A long-ago "Datamation"
article by Jackson Granholme similarly said: "An ill-assorted
collection of poorly matching parts, forming a distressing whole.") 3.
v. To use a kludge to get around a problem. "I've kludged around it
for now, but I'll fix it up properly later."

This word appears to have derived from Scots `kludge' or `kludgie' for
a common toilet, via British military slang. It apparently became
confused with U.S. [7653]kluge during or after World War II; some
Britons from that era use both words in definably different ways, but
[7654]kluge is now uncommon in Great Britain. `Kludge' in Commonwealth
hackish differs in meaning from `kluge' in that it lacks the positive
senses; a kludge is something no Commonwealth hacker wants to be
associated too closely with. Also, `kludge' is more widely known in
British mainstream slang than `kluge' is in the U.S.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:kluge, Next:[7655]kluge around, Previous:[7656]kludge, Up:[7657]=
K =

kluge /klooj/

[from the German `klug', clever; poss. related to Polish `klucz' (a
key, a hint, a main point)] 1. n. A Rube Goldberg (or Heath Robinson)
device, whether in hardware or software. 2. n. A clever programming
trick intended to solve a particular nasty case in an expedient, if
not clear, manner. Often used to repair bugs. Often involves
[7658]ad-hockery and verges on being a [7659]crock. 3. n. Something
that works for the wrong reason. 4. vt. To insert a kluge into a
program. "I've kluged this routine to get around that weird bug, but
there's probably a better way." 5. [WPI] n. A feature that is
implemented in a [7660]rude manner.

Nowadays this term is often encountered in the variant spelling
`kludge'. Reports from [7661]old farts are consistent that `kluge' was
the original spelling, reported around computers as far back as the
mid-1950s and, at that time, used exclusively of hardware kluges. In
1947, the "New York Folklore Quarterly" reported a classic shaggy-dog
story `Murgatroyd the Kluge Maker' then current in the Armed Forces,
in which a `kluge' was a complex and puzzling artifact with a trivial
function. Other sources report that `kluge' was common Navy slang in
the WWII era for any piece of electronics that worked well on shore
but consistently failed at sea.

However, there is reason to believe this slang use may be a decade
older. Several respondents have connected it to the brand name of a
device called a "Kluge paper feeder", an adjunct to mechanical
printing presses. Legend has it that the Kluge feeder was designed
before small, cheap electric motors and control electronics; it relied
on a fiendishly complex assortment of cams, belts, and linkages to
both power and synchronize all its operations from one motive
driveshaft. It was accordingly temperamental, subject to frequent
breakdowns, and devilishly difficult to repair -- but oh, so clever!
People who tell this story also aver that `Kluge' was the name of a
design engineer.

There is in fact a Brandtjen & Kluge Inc., an old family business that
manufactures printing equipment - interestingly, their name is
pronounced /kloo'gee/! Henry Brandtjen, president of the firm, told me
(ESR, 1994) that his company was co-founded by his father and an
engineer named Kluge /kloo'gee/, who built and co-designed the
original Kluge automatic feeder in 1919. Mr. Brandtjen claims,
however, that this was a simple device (with only four cams); he says
he has no idea how the myth of its complexity took hold.

[7662]TMRC and the MIT hacker culture of the early '60s seems to have
developed in a milieu that remembered and still used some WWII
military slang (see also [7663]foobar). It seems likely that `kluge'
came to MIT via alumni of the many military electronics projects that
had been located in Cambridge (many in MIT's venerable Building 20, in
which [7664]TMRC is also located) during the war.

The variant `kludge' was apparently popularized by the
[7665]Datamation article mentioned above; it was titled "How to Design
a Kludge" (February 1962, pp. 30, 31). This spelling was probably
imported from Great Britain, where [7666]kludge has an independent
history (though this fact was largely unknown to hackers on either
side of the Atlantic before a mid-1993 debate in the Usenet group
alt.folklore.computers over the First and Second Edition versions of
this entry; everybody used to think [7667]kludge was just a mutation
of [7668]kluge). It now appears that the British, having forgotten the
etymology of their own `kludge' when `kluge' crossed the Atlantic,
repaid the U.S. by lobbing the `kludge' orthography in the other
direction and confusing their American cousins' spelling!

The result of this history is a tangle. Many younger U.S. hackers
pronounce the word as /klooj/ but spell it, incorrectly for its
meaning and pronunciation, as `kludge'. (Phonetically, consider huge,
refuge, centrifuge, and deluge as opposed to sludge, judge, budge, and
fudge. Whatever its failings in other areas, English spelling is
perfectly consistent about this distinction.) British hackers mostly
learned /kluhj/ orally, use it in a restricted negative sense and are
at least consistent. European hackers have mostly learned the word
from written American sources and tend to pronounce it /kluhj/ but use
the wider American meaning!

Some observers consider this mess appropriate in view of the word's
meaning.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:kluge around, Next:[7669]kluge up, Previous:[7670]kluge,
Up:[7671]= K =

kluge around vt.

To avoid a bug or difficult condition by inserting a [7672]kluge.
Compare [7673]workaround.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:kluge up, Next:[7674]Knights of the Lambda Calculus,
Previous:[7675]kluge around, Up:[7676]= K =

kluge up vt.

To lash together a quick hack to perform a task; this is milder than
[7677]cruft together and has some of the connotations of [7678]hack up
(note, however, that the construction `kluge on' corresponding to
[7679]hack on is never used). "I've kluged up this routine to dump the
buffer contents to a safe place."
_________________________________________________________________

Node:Knights of the Lambda Calculus, Next:[7680]knobs,
Previous:[7681]kluge up, Up:[7682]= K =

Knights of the Lambda Calculus n.

A semi-mythical organization of wizardly LISP and Scheme hackers. The
name refers to a mathematical formalism invented by Alonzo Church,
with which LISP is intimately connected. There is no enrollment list
and the criteria for induction are unclear, but one well-known LISPer
has been known to give out buttons and, in general, the members know
who they are....
_________________________________________________________________

Node:knobs, Next:[7683]Knuth, Previous:[7684]Knights of the Lambda
Calculus, Up:[7685]= K =

knobs pl.n.

Configurable options, even in software and even those you can't adjust
in real time. Anything you can [7686]twiddle is a knob. "Has this PNG
viewer got an alpha knob?" Software may be described as having "knobs
and switches" or occasionally "knobs and lights".
_________________________________________________________________

Node:Knuth, Next:[7687]koan, Previous:[7688]knobs, Up:[7689]= K =

Knuth /ka-nooth'/ n.

[Donald E. Knuth's "The Art of Computer Programming"] Mythically, the
reference that answers all questions about data structures or
algorithms. A safe answer when you do not know: "I think you can find
that in Knuth." Contrast [7690]the literature. See also [7691]bible.
There is a Donald Knuth home page at
[7692]http://www-cs-faculty.Stanford.EDU/~knuth.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:koan, Next:[7693]kremvax, Previous:[7694]Knuth, Up:[7695]= K =

koan /koh'an/ n.

A Zen teaching riddle. Classically, koans are attractive paradoxes to
be meditated on; their purpose is to help one to enlightenment by
temporarily jamming normal cognitive processing so that something more
interesting can happen (this practice is associated with Rinzei Zen
Buddhism). Hackers are very fond of the koan form and compose their
own koans for humororous and/or enlightening effect. See [7696]Some AI
Koans, [7697]has the X nature, [7698]hacker humor.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:kremvax, Next:[7699]kyrka, Previous:[7700]koan, Up:[7701]= K =

kremvax /krem-vaks/ n.

[from the then large number of [7702]Usenet [7703]VAXen with names of
the form foovax] Originally, a fictitious Usenet site at the Kremlin,
announced on April 1, 1984 in a posting ostensibly originated there by
Soviet leader Konstantin Chernenko. The posting was actually forged by
Piet Beertema as an April Fool's joke. Other fictitious sites
mentioned in the hoax were moskvax and [7704]kgbvax. This was probably
the funniest of the many April Fool's forgeries perpetrated on Usenet
(which has negligible security against them), because the notion that
Usenet might ever penetrate the Iron Curtain seemed so totally absurd
at the time.

In fact, it was only six years later that the first genuine site in
Moscow, demos.su, joined Usenet. Some readers needed convincing that
the postings from it weren't just another prank. Vadim Antonov, senior
programmer at Demos and the major poster from there up to mid-1991,
was quite aware of all this, referred to it frequently in his own
postings, and at one point twitted some credulous readers by blandly
asserting that he was a hoax!

Eventually he even arranged to have the domain's gateway site named
kremvax, thus neatly turning fiction into fact and demonstrating that
the hackish sense of humor transcends cultural barriers. [Mr. Antonov
also contributed the Russian-language material for this lexicon.
--ESR]

In an even more ironic historical footnote, kremvax became an
electronic center of the anti-communist resistance during the bungled
hard-line coup of August 1991. During those three days the Soviet UUCP
network centered on kremvax became the only trustworthy news source
for many places within the USSR. Though the sysops were concentrating
on internal communications, cross-border postings included immediate
transliterations of Boris Yeltsin's decrees condemning the coup and
eyewitness reports of the demonstrations in Moscow's streets. In those
hours, years of speculation that totalitarianism would prove unable to
maintain its grip on politically-loaded information in the age of
computer networking were proved devastatingly accurate -- and the
original kremvax joke became a reality as Yeltsin and the new Russian
revolutionaries of `glasnost' and `perestroika' made kremvax one of
the timeliest means of their outreach to the West.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:kyrka, Next:[7705]lace card, Previous:[7706]kremvax, Up:[7707]= K
=

kyrka /chur'ka/ n.

[Swedish] See [7708]feature key.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:= L =, Next:[7709]= M =, Previous:[7710]= K =, Up:[7711]The
Jargon Lexicon

= L =

* [7712]lace card:
* [7713]lag:
* [7714]lamer:
* [7715]language lawyer:
* [7716]languages of choice:
* [7717]LART:
* [7718]larval stage:
* [7719]lase:
* [7720]laser chicken:
* [7721]lasherism:
* [7722]laundromat:
* [7723]LDB:
* [7724]leaf site:
* [7725]leak:
* [7726]leaky heap:
* [7727]leapfrog attack:
* [7728]leech:
* [7729]leech mode:
* [7730]legal:
* [7731]legalese:
* [7732]LER:
* [7733]LERP:
* [7734]let the smoke out:
* [7735]letterbomb:
* [7736]lexer:
* [7737]lexiphage:
* [7738]life:
* [7739]Life is hard:
* [7740]light pipe:
* [7741]lightweight:
* [7742]like kicking dead whales down the beach:
* [7743]like nailing jelly to a tree:
* [7744]line 666:
* [7745]line eater the:
* [7746]line noise:
* [7747]line starve:
* [7748]linearithmic:
* [7749]link farm:
* [7750]link rot:
* [7751]link-dead:
* [7752]lint:
* [7753]Lintel:
* [7754]Linus:
* [7755]Linux:
* [7756]lion food:
* [7757]Lions Book:
* [7758]LISP:
* [7759]list-bomb:
* [7760]lithium lick:
* [7761]little-endian:
* [7762]live:
* [7763]live data:
* [7764]Live Free Or Die!:
* [7765]livelock:
* [7766]liveware:
* [7767]lobotomy:
* [7768]locals the:
* [7769]locked and loaded:
* [7770]locked up:
* [7771]logic bomb:
* [7772]logical:
* [7773]loop through:
* [7774]loose bytes:
* [7775]lord high fixer:
* [7776]lose:
* [7777]lose lose:
* [7778]loser:
* [7779]losing:
* [7780]loss:
* [7781]lossage:
* [7782]lost in the noise:
* [7783]lost in the underflow:
* [7784]lots of MIPS but no I/O:
* [7785]low-bandwidth:
* [7786]LPT:
* [7787]Lubarsky's Law of Cybernetic Entomology:
* [7788]Lumber Cartel:
* [7789]lunatic fringe:
* [7790]lurker:
* [7791]luser:
_________________________________________________________________

Node:lace card, Next:[7792]lag, Previous:[7793]kyrka, Up:[7794]= L =

lace card n. obs.

A [7795]punched card with all holes punched (also called a `whoopee
card' or `ventilator card'). Card readers tended to jam when they got
to one of these, as the resulting card had too little structural
strength to avoid buckling inside the mechanism. Card punches could
also jam trying to produce these things owing to power-supply
problems. When some practical joker fed a lace card through the
reader, you needed to clear the jam with a `card knife' -- which you
used on the joker first.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:lag, Next:[7796]lamer, Previous:[7797]lace card, Up:[7798]= L =

lag n.

[MUD, IRC; very common] When used without qualification this is
synomous with [7799]netlag. Curiously, people will often complain "I'm
really lagged" when in fact it is their server or network connection
that is lagging.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:lamer, Next:[7800]language lawyer, Previous:[7801]lag, Up:[7802]=
L =

lamer n.

[prob. originated in skateboarder slang] 1. Synonym for [7803]luser,
not used much by hackers but common among [7804]warez d00dz, crackers,
and [7805]phreakers. A person who downloads much, but who never
uploads. (Also known as `leecher'). Oppose [7806]elite. Has the same
connotations of self-conscious elitism that use of [7807]luser does
among hackers. 2. Someone who tries to crack a BBS. 3. Someone who
annoys the sysop or other BBS users - for instance, by posting lots of
silly messages, uploading virus-ridden software, frequently dropping
carrier, etc.

Crackers also use it to refer to cracker [7808]wannabees. In phreak
culture, a lamer is one who scams codes off others rather than doing
cracks or really understanding the fundamental concepts. In
[7809]warez d00dz culture, where the ability to wave around cracked
commercial software within days of (or before) release to the
commercial market is much esteemed, the lamer might try to upload
garbage or shareware or something incredibly old (old in this context
is read as a few years to anything older than 3 days).

`Lamer' is also much used in the IRC world in a similar sense to the
above.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:language lawyer, Next:[7810]languages of choice,
Previous:[7811]lamer, Up:[7812]= L =

language lawyer n.

A person, usually an experienced or senior software engineer, who is
intimately familiar with many or most of the numerous restrictions and
features (both useful and esoteric) applicable to one or more computer
programming languages. A language lawyer is distinguished by the
ability to show you the five sentences scattered through a
200-plus-page manual that together imply the answer to your question
"if only you had thought to look there". Compare [7813]wizard,
[7814]legal, [7815]legalese.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:languages of choice, Next:[7816]LART, Previous:[7817]language
lawyer, Up:[7818]= L =

languages of choice n.

[7819]C, [7820]C++, [7821]LISP, and [7822]Perl. Nearly every hacker
knows one of C or LISP, and most good ones are fluent in both. C++,
despite some serious drawbacks, is generally preferred to other
object-oriented languages (though in 1999 it looks as though
[7823]Java has displaced it in the affections of hackers, if not
everywhere). Since around 1990 Perl has rapidly been gaining favor,
especially as a tool for systems-administration utilities and rapid
prototyping. [7824]Python, Smalltalk and Prolog are also popular in
small but influential communities.

There is also a rapidly dwindling category of older hackers with
FORTRAN, or even assembler, as their language of choice. They often
prefer to be known as [7825]Real Programmers, and other hackers
consider them a bit odd (see "[7826]The Story of Mel" in Appendix A).
Assembler is generally no longer considered interesting or appropriate
for anything but [7827]HLL implementation, [7828]glue, and a few
time-critical and hardware-specific uses in systems programs. FORTRAN
occupies a shrinking niche in scientific programming.

Most hackers tend to frown on languages like [7829]Pascal and
[7830]Ada, which don't give them the near-total freedom considered
necessary for hacking (see [7831]bondage-and-discipline language), and
to regard everything even remotely connected with [7832]COBOL or other
traditional [7833]card walloper languages as a total and unmitigated
[7834]loss.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:LART, Next:[7835]larval stage, Previous:[7836]languages of
choice, Up:[7837]= L =

LART //

Luser Attitude Readjustment Tool. 1. n. In the collective mythos of
[7838]scary devil monastery, this is an essential item in the toolkit
of every [7839]BOFH. The LART classic is a 2x4 or other large billet
of wood usable as a club, to be applied upside the head of spammers
and other people who cause sysadmins more grief than just naturally
goes with the job. Perennial debates rage on alt.sysadmin.recovery
over what constitutes the truly effective LART; knobkerries,
semiautomatic weapons, flamethrowers, and tactical nukes all have
their partisans. Compare [7840]clue-by-four. 2. v. To use a LART. Some
would add "in malice", but some sysadmins do prefer to gently lart
their users as a first (and sometimes final) warning. 3. interj.
Calling for one's LART, much as a surgeon might call "Scalpel!". 4.
interj. [rare] Used in [7841]flames as a rebuke. "LART! LART! LART!"
_________________________________________________________________

Node:larval stage, Next:[7842]lase, Previous:[7843]LART, Up:[7844]= L
=

larval stage n.

Describes a period of monomaniacal concentration on coding apparently
passed through by all fledgling hackers. Common symptoms include the
perpetration of more than one 36-hour [7845]hacking run in a given
week; neglect of all other activities including usual basics like
food, sleep, and personal hygiene; and a chronic case of advanced
bleary-eye. Can last from 6 months to 2 years, the apparent median
being around 18 months. A few so afflicted never resume a more
`normal' life, but the ordeal seems to be necessary to produce really
wizardly (as opposed to merely competent) programmers. See also
[7846]wannabee. A less protracted and intense version of larval stage
(typically lasting about a month) may recur when one is learning a new
[7847]OS or programming language.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:lase, Next:[7848]laser chicken, Previous:[7849]larval stage,
Up:[7850]= L =

lase /layz/ vt.

To print a given document via a laser printer. "OK, let's lase that
sucker and see if all those graphics-macro calls did the right
things."
_________________________________________________________________

Node:laser chicken, Next:[7851]lasherism, Previous:[7852]lase,
Up:[7853]= L =

laser chicken n.

Kung Pao Chicken, a standard Chinese dish containing chicken, peanuts,
and hot red peppers in a spicy pepper-oil sauce. Many hackers call it
`laser chicken' for two reasons: It can [7854]zap you just like a
laser, and the sauce has a red color reminiscent of some laser beams.
The dish has also been called `gunpowder chicken'.

In a variation on this theme, it is reported that some Australian
hackers have redesignated the common dish `lemon chicken' as
`Chernobyl Chicken'. The name is derived from the color of the sauce,
which is considered bright enough to glow in the dark (as, mythically,
do some of the inhabitants of Chernobyl).
_________________________________________________________________

Node:lasherism, Next:[7855]laundromat, Previous:[7856]laser chicken,
Up:[7857]= L =

lasherism n.

[Harvard] A program that solves a standard problem (such as the Eight
Queens puzzle or implementing the [7858]life algorithm) in a
deliberately nonstandard way. Distinguished from a [7859]crock or
[7860]kluge by the fact that the programmer did it on purpose as a
mental exercise. Such constructions are quite popular in exercises
such as the [7861]Obfuscated C Contest, and occasionally in
[7862]retrocomputing. Lew Lasher was a student at Harvard around 1980
who became notorious for such behavior.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:laundromat, Next:[7863]LDB, Previous:[7864]lasherism, Up:[7865]=
L =

laundromat n.

Syn. [7866]disk farm; see [7867]washing machine.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:LDB, Next:[7868]leaf site, Previous:[7869]laundromat, Up:[7870]=
L =

LDB /l*'d*b/ vt.

[from the PDP-10 instruction set] To extract from the middle. "LDB me
a slice of cake, please." This usage has been kept alive by Common
LISP's function of the same name. Considered silly. See also
[7871]DPB.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:leaf site, Next:[7872]leak, Previous:[7873]LDB, Up:[7874]= L =

leaf site n.,obs.

Before pervasive TCP/IP, this term was used of a machine that merely
originated and read Usenet news or mail, and did not relay any
third-party traffic. It was often uttered in a critical tone; when the
ratio of leaf sites to backbone, rib, and other relay sites got too
high, the network tended to develop bottlenecks. Compare
[7875]backbone site, [7876]rib site. Now that traffic patterns depend
more on the distribution of routers than of host machines this term
has largely fallen out of use.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:leak, Next:[7877]leaky heap, Previous:[7878]leaf site, Up:[7879]=
L =

leak n.

With qualifier, one of a class of resource-management bugs that occur
when resources are not freed properly after operations on them are
finished, so they effectively disappear (leak out). This leads to
eventual exhaustion as new allocation requests come in. [7880]memory
leak and [7881]fd leak have their own entries; one might also refer,
to, say, a `window handle leak' in a window system.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:leaky heap, Next:[7882]leapfrog attack, Previous:[7883]leak,
Up:[7884]= L =

leaky heap n.

[Cambridge] An [7885]arena with a [7886]memory leak.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:leapfrog attack, Next:[7887]leech, Previous:[7888]leaky heap,
Up:[7889]= L =

leapfrog attack n.

Use of userid and password information obtained illicitly from one
host (e.g., downloading a file of account IDs and passwords, tapping
TELNET, etc.) to compromise another host. Also, the act of TELNETting
through one or more hosts in order to confuse a trace (a standard
cracker procedure).
_________________________________________________________________

Node:leech, Next:[7890]leech mode, Previous:[7891]leapfrog attack,
Up:[7892]= L =

leech

1. n. (Also `leecher'.) Among BBS types, crackers and [7893]warez
d00dz, one who consumes knowledge without generating new software,
cracks, or techniques. BBS culture specifically defines a leech as
someone who downloads files with few or no uploads in return, and who
does not contribute to the message section. Cracker culture extends
this definition to someone (a [7894]lamer, usually) who constantly
presses informed sources for information and/or assistance, but has
nothing to contribute. 2. v. [common, Toronto area] To instantly fetch
a file (other than a mail attachment) whether by FTP or IRC file req
or any other method. Seems to be a holdover from the early 1990s when
Toronto had a very active BBS and warez scene.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:leech mode, Next:[7895]legal, Previous:[7896]leech, Up:[7897]= L
=

leech mode n.

[warez d00dz] "Leech mode" or "leech access" or (simply "leech" as in
"You get leech") is the access mode on a FTP site where one can
download as many files as one wants, without having to upload. Leech
mode is often promised on banner sites, but rarely obtained. See
[7898]ratio site, [7899]banner site.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:legal, Next:[7900]legalese, Previous:[7901]leech mode, Up:[7902]=
L =

legal adj.

Loosely used to mean `in accordance with all the relevant rules', esp.
in connection with some set of constraints defined by software. "The
older =+ alternate for += is no longer legal syntax in ANSI C." "This
parser processes each line of legal input the moment it sees the
trailing linefeed." Hackers often model their work as a sort of game
played with the environment in which the objective is to maneuver
through the thicket of `natural laws' to achieve a desired objective.
Their use of `legal' is flavored as much by this game-playing sense as
by the more conventional one having to do with courts and lawyers.
Compare [7903]language lawyer, [7904]legalese.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:legalese, Next:[7905]LER, Previous:[7906]legal, Up:[7907]= L =

legalese n.

Dense, pedantic verbiage in a language description, product
specification, or interface standard; text that seems designed to
obfuscate and requires a [7908]language lawyer to [7909]parse it.
Though hackers are not afraid of high information density and
complexity in language (indeed, they rather enjoy both), they share a
deep and abiding loathing for legalese; they associate it with
deception, [7910]suits, and situations in which hackers generally get
the short end of the stick.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:LER, Next:[7911]LERP, Previous:[7912]legalese, Up:[7913]= L =

LER /L-E-R/

n. 1. [TMRC, from `Light-Emitting Diode'] A light-emitting resistor
(that is, one in the process of burning up). Ohm's law was broken. See
also [7914]SED. 2. An incandescent light bulb (the filament emits
light because it's resistively heated).
_________________________________________________________________

Node:LERP, Next:[7915]let the smoke out, Previous:[7916]LER,
Up:[7917]= L =

LERP /lerp/ vi.,n.

Quasi-acronym for Linear Interpolation, used as a verb or noun for the
operation. "Bresenham's algorithm lerps incrementally between the two
endpoints of the line."
_________________________________________________________________

Node:let the smoke out, Next:[7918]letterbomb, Previous:[7919]LERP,
Up:[7920]= L =

let the smoke out v.

To fry hardware (see [7921]fried). See [7922]magic smoke for a
discussion of the underlying mythology.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:letterbomb, Next:[7923]lexer, Previous:[7924]let the smoke out,
Up:[7925]= L =

letterbomb

1. n. A piece of [7926]email containing [7927]live data intended to do
nefarious things to the recipient's machine or terminal. It used to be
possible, for example, to send letterbombs that would lock up some
specific kinds of terminals when they are viewed, so thoroughly that
the user must cycle power (see [7928]cycle, sense 3) to unwedge them.
Under Unix, a letterbomb can also try to get part of its contents
interpreted as a shell command to the mailer. The results of this
could range from silly to tragic; fortunately it has been some years
since any of the standard Unix/Internet mail software was vulnerable
to such an attack (though, as the Melissa virus attack demonstrated in
early 1999, Microsoft systems can have serious problems). See also
[7929]Trojan horse; compare [7930]nastygram. 2. Loosely, a
[7931]mailbomb.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:lexer, Next:[7932]lexiphage, Previous:[7933]letterbomb,
Up:[7934]= L =

lexer /lek'sr/ n.

Common hacker shorthand for `lexical analyzer', the input-tokenizing
stage in the parser for a language (the part that breaks it into
word-like pieces). "Some C lexers get confused by the old-style
compound ops like =-."
_________________________________________________________________

Node:lexiphage, Next:[7935]life, Previous:[7936]lexer, Up:[7937]= L =

lexiphage /lek'si-fayj`/ n.

A notorious word [7938]chomper on ITS. See [7939]bagbiter. This
program would draw on a selected victim's bitmapped terminal the words
"THE BAG" in ornate letters, followed a pair of jaws biting pieces of
it off.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:life, Next:[7940]Life is hard, Previous:[7941]lexiphage,
Up:[7942]= L =

life n.

1. A cellular-automata game invented by John Horton Conway and first
introduced publicly by Martin Gardner ("Scientific American", October
1970); the game's popularity had to wait a few years for computers on
which it could reasonably be played, as it's no fun to simulate the
cells by hand. Many hackers pass through a stage of fascination with
it, and hackers at various places contributed heavily to the
mathematical analysis of this game (most notably Bill Gosper at MIT,
who even implemented life in [7943]TECO!; see [7944]Gosperism). When a
hacker mentions `life', he is much more likely to mean this game than
the magazine, the breakfast cereal, or the human state of existence.
2. The opposite of [7945]Usenet. As in "[7946]Get a life!"
_________________________________________________________________

Node:Life is hard, Next:[7947]light pipe, Previous:[7948]life,
Up:[7949]= L =

Life is hard prov.

[XEROX PARC] This phrase has two possible interpretations: (1) "While
your suggestion may have some merit, I will behave as though I hadn't
heard it." (2) "While your suggestion has obvious merit, equally
obvious circumstances prevent it from being seriously considered." The
charm of the phrase lies precisely in this subtle but important
ambiguity.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:light pipe, Next:[7950]lightweight, Previous:[7951]Life is hard,
Up:[7952]= L =

light pipe n.

Fiber optic cable. Oppose [7953]copper.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:lightweight, Next:[7954]like kicking dead whales down the beach,
Previous:[7955]light pipe, Up:[7956]= L =

lightweight adj.

Opposite of [7957]heavyweight; usually found in combining forms such
as `lightweight process'.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:like kicking dead whales down the beach, Next:[7958]like nailing
jelly to a tree, Previous:[7959]lightweight, Up:[7960]= L =

like kicking dead whales down the beach adj.

Describes a slow, difficult, and disgusting process. First popularized
by a famous quote about the difficulty of getting work done under one
of IBM's mainframe OSes. "Well, you could write a C compiler in COBOL,
but it would be like kicking dead whales down the beach." See also
[7961]fear and loathing.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:like nailing jelly to a tree, Next:[7962]line 666,
Previous:[7963]like kicking dead whales down the beach, Up:[7964]= L =

like nailing jelly to a tree adj.

Used to describe a task thought to be impossible, esp. one in which
the difficulty arises from poor specification or inherent slipperiness
in the problem domain. "Trying to display the `prettiest' arrangement
of nodes and arcs that diagrams a given graph is like nailing jelly to
a tree, because nobody's sure what `prettiest' means algorithmically."

Hacker use of this term may recall mainstream slang originated early
in the 20th century by President Theodore Roosevelt. There is a legend
that, weary of inconclusive talks with Colombia over the right to dig
a canal through its then-province Panama, he remarked, "Negotiating
with those pirates is like trying to nail currant jelly to the wall."
Roosevelt's government subsequently encouraged the anti-Colombian
insurgency that created the nation of Panama.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:line 666, Next:[7965]line eater the, Previous:[7966]like nailing
jelly to a tree, Up:[7967]= L =

line 666 [from Christian eschatological myth] n.

The notional line of source at which a program fails for obscure
reasons, implying either that somebody is out to get it (when you are
the programmer), or that it richly deserves to be so gotten (when you
are not). "It works when I trace through it, but seems to crash on
line 666 when I run it." "What happens is that whenever a large batch
comes through, mmdf dies on the Line of the Beast. Probably some twit
hardcoded a buffer size."
_________________________________________________________________

Node:line eater the, Next:[7968]line noise, Previous:[7969]line 666,
Up:[7970]= L =

line eater, the n. obs.

[Usenet] 1. A bug in some now-obsolete versions of the netnews
software that used to eat up to BUFSIZ bytes of the article text. The
bug was triggered by having the text of the article start with a space
or tab. This bug was quickly personified as a mythical creature called
the `line eater', and postings often included a dummy line of `line
eater food'. Ironically, line eater `food' not beginning with a space
or tab wasn't actually eaten, since the bug was avoided; but if there
was a space or tab before it, then the line eater would eat the food
and the beginning of the text it was supposed to be protecting. The
practice of `sacrificing to the line eater' continued for some time
after the bug had been [7971]nailed to the wall, and is still
humorously referred to. The bug itself was still occasionally reported
to be lurking in some mail-to-netnews gateways as late as 1991. 2. See
[7972]NSA line eater.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:line noise, Next:[7973]line starve, Previous:[7974]line eater
the, Up:[7975]= L =

line noise n.

1. [techspeak] Spurious characters due to electrical noise in a
communications link, especially an RS-232 serial connection. Line
noise may be induced by poor connections, interference or crosstalk
from other circuits, electrical storms, [7976]cosmic rays, or
(notionally) birds crapping on the phone wires. 2. Any chunk of data
in a file or elsewhere that looks like the results of line noise in
sense 1. 3. Text that is theoretically a readable text or program
source but employs syntax so bizarre that it looks like line noise in
senses 1 or 2. Yes, there are languages this ugly. The canonical
example is [7977]TECO; it is often claimed that "TECO's input syntax
is indistinguishable from line noise." Other non-[7978]WYSIWYG
editors, such as Multics qed and Unix ed, in the hands of a real
hacker, also qualify easily, as do deliberately obfuscated languages
such as [7979]INTERCAL.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:line starve, Next:[7980]linearithmic, Previous:[7981]line noise,
Up:[7982]= L =

line starve

[MIT] 1. vi. To feed paper through a printer the wrong way by one line
(most printers can't do this). On a display terminal, to move the
cursor up to the previous line of the screen. "To print `X squared',
you just output `X', line starve, `2', line feed." (The line starve
causes the `2' to appear on the line above the `X', and the line feed
gets back to the original line.) 2. n. A character (or character
sequence) that causes a terminal to perform this action. ASCII
0011010, also called SUB or control-Z, was one common line-starve
character in the days before microcomputers and the X3.64 terminal
standard. Today, the term might be used for the ISO reverse line feed
character 0x8D. Unlike `line feed', `line starve' is not standard
[7983]ASCII terminology. Even among hackers it is considered a bit
silly. 3. [proposed] A sequence such as \c (used in System V echo, as
well as [7984]nroff and [7985]troff) that suppresses a [7986]newline
or other character(s) that would normally be emitted.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:linearithmic, Next:[7987]link farm, Previous:[7988]line starve,
Up:[7989]= L =

linearithmic adj.

Of an algorithm, having running time that is O(N log N). Coined as a
portmanteau of `linear' and `logarithmic' in "Algorithms In C" by
Robert Sedgewick (Addison-Wesley 1990, ISBN 0-201-51425-7).
_________________________________________________________________

Node:link farm, Next:[7990]link rot, Previous:[7991]linearithmic,
Up:[7992]= L =

link farm n.

[Unix] A directory tree that contains many links to files in a master
directory tree of files. Link farms save space when one is maintaining
several nearly identical copies of the same source tree -- for
example, when the only difference is architecture-dependent object
files. "Let's freeze the source and then rebuild the FROBOZZ-3 and
FROBOZZ-4 link farms." Link farms may also be used to get around
restrictions on the number of -I (include-file directory) arguments on
older C preprocessors. However, they can also get completely out of
hand, becoming the filesystem equivalent of [7993]spaghetti code.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:link rot, Next:[7994]link-dead, Previous:[7995]link farm,
Up:[7996]= L =

link rot n.

The natural decay of web links as the sites they're connected to
change or die. Compare [7997]bit rot.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:link-dead, Next:[7998]lint, Previous:[7999]link rot, Up:[8000]= L
=

link-dead adj.

[MUD] The state a player is in when they kill their connection to a
[8001]MUD without leaving it properly. The player is then commonly
left as a statue in the game, and is only removed after a certain
period of time (an hour on most MUDs). Used on [8002]IRC as well,
although it is inappropriate in that context. Compare [8003]netdead.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:lint, Next:[8004]Lintel, Previous:[8005]link-dead, Up:[8006]= L =

lint

[from Unix's lint(1), named for the bits of fluff it supposedly picks
from programs] 1. vt. To examine a program closely for style, language
usage, and portability problems, esp. if in C, esp. if via use of
automated analysis tools, most esp. if the Unix utility lint(1) is
used. This term used to be restricted to use of lint(1) itself, but
(judging by references on Usenet) it has become a shorthand for
[8007]desk check at some non-Unix shops, even in languages other than
C. Also as v. [8008]delint. 2. n. Excess verbiage in a document, as in
"This draft has too much lint".
_________________________________________________________________

Node:Lintel, Next:[8009]Linus, Previous:[8010]lint, Up:[8011]= L =

Lintel n.

The emerging [8012]Linux/Intel alliance. This term began to be used in
early 1999 after it became clear that the [8013]Wintel alliance was
under increasing strain and Intel started taking stakes in Linux
companies.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:Linus, Next:[8014]Linux, Previous:[8015]Lintel, Up:[8016]= L =

Linus /leen'us'/ or /lin'us'/, not /li:'nus/

Linus Torvalds, the author of [8017]Linux. Nobody in the hacker
culture has been as readily recognized by first name alone since Ken
(Thompson).
_________________________________________________________________

Node:Linux, Next:[8018]lion food, Previous:[8019]Linus, Up:[8020]= L =

Linux /lee'nuhks/ or /li'nuks/, not /li:'nuhks/ n.

The free Unix workalike created by Linus Torvalds and friends starting
about 1991. The pronunciation /lee'nuhks/ is preferred because the
name `Linus' has an /ee/ sound in Swedish (Linus's family is part of
Finland's 6% ethnic-Swedish minority). This may be the most remarkable
hacker project in history -- an entire clone of Unix for 386, 486 and
Pentium micros, distributed for free with sources over the net (ports
to Alpha and Sparc and many other machines are also in use).

Linux is what [8021]GNU aimed to be, and it relies on the GNU toolset.
But the Free Software Foundation didn't produce the kernel to go with
that toolset until 1999, which was too late. Other, similar efforts
like FreeBSD and NetBSD have been technically successful but never
caught fire the way Linux has; as this is written in 2000, Linux is
seriously challenging Microsoft's OS dominance. It has already
captured 31% of the Internet-server market and 25% of general business
servers.

An earlier version of this entry opined "The secret of Linux's success
seems to be that Linus worked much harder early on to keep the
development process open and recruit other hackers, creating a
snowball effect." Truer than we knew. See [8022]bazaar.

(Some people object that the name `Linux' should be used to refer only
to the kernel, not the entire operating system. This claim is a proxy
for an underlying territorial dispute; people who insist on the term
`GNU/Linux' want the the [8023]FSF to get most of the credit for Linux
because RMS and friends wrote many of its user-level tools. Neither
this theory nor the term `GNU/Linux' has gained more than minority
acceptance).
_________________________________________________________________

Node:lion food, Next:[8024]Lions Book, Previous:[8025]Linux,
Up:[8026]= L =

lion food n.

[IBM] Middle management or HQ staff (or, by extension, administrative
drones in general). From an old joke about two lions who, escaping
from the zoo, split up to increase their chances but agree to meet
after 2 months. When they finally meet, one is skinny and the other
overweight. The thin one says: "How did you manage? I ate a human just
once and they turned out a small army to chase me -- guns, nets, it
was terrible. Since then I've been reduced to eating mice, insects,
even grass." The fat one replies: "Well, I hid near an IBM office and
ate a manager a day. And nobody even noticed!"
_________________________________________________________________

Node:Lions Book, Next:[8027]LISP, Previous:[8028]lion food, Up:[8029]=
L =

Lions Book n.

"Source Code and Commentary on Unix level 6", by John Lions. The two
parts of this book contained (1) the entire source listing of the Unix
Version 6 kernel, and (2) a commentary on the source discussing the
algorithms. These were circulated internally at the University of New
South Wales beginning 1976-77, and were, for years after, the only
detailed kernel documentation available to anyone outside Bell Labs.
Because Western Electric wished to maintain trade secret status on the
kernel, the Lions Book was only supposed to be distributed to
affiliates of source licensees. In spite of this, it soon spread by
[8030]samizdat to a good many of the early Unix hackers.

[1996 update: The Lions book lives again! It was put back in print as
ISBN 1-57398-013-7 from Peer-To-Peer Communications, with forewords by
Dennis Ritchie and Ken Thompson. In a neat bit of reflexivity, the
page before the contents quotes this entry.]
_________________________________________________________________

Node:LISP, Next:[8031]list-bomb, Previous:[8032]Lions Book, Up:[8033]=
L =

LISP n.

[from `LISt Processing language', but mythically from `Lots of
Irritating Superfluous Parentheses'] AI's mother tongue, a language
based on the ideas of (a) variable-length lists and trees as
fundamental data types, and (b) the interpretation of code as data and
vice-versa. Invented by John McCarthy at MIT in the late 1950s, it is
actually older than any other [8034]HLL still in use except FORTRAN.
Accordingly, it has undergone considerable adaptive radiation over the
years; modern variants are quite different in detail from the original
LISP 1.5. The dominant HLL among hackers until the early 1980s, LISP
now shares the throne with [8035]C. Its partisans claim it is the only
language that is truly beautiful. See [8036]languages of choice.

All LISP functions and programs are expressions that return values;
this, together with the high memory utilization of LISPs, gave rise to
Alan Perlis's famous quip (itself a take on an Oscar Wilde quote) that
"LISP programmers know the value of everything and the cost of
nothing".

One significant application for LISP has been as a proof by example
that most newer languages, such as [8037]COBOL and [8038]Ada, are full
of unnecessary [8039]crocks. When the [8040]Right Thing has already
been done once, there is no justification for [8041]bogosity in newer
languages.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:list-bomb, Next:[8042]lithium lick, Previous:[8043]LISP,
Up:[8044]= L =

list-bomb v.

To [8045]mailbomb someone by forging messages causing the victim to
become a subscriber to many mailing lists. This is a self-defeating
tactic; it merely forces mailing list servers to require confirmation
by return message for every subscription.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:lithium lick, Next:[8046]little-endian, Previous:[8047]list-bomb,
Up:[8048]= L =

lithium lick n.

[NeXT] Steve Jobs. Employees who have gotten too much attention from
their esteemed founder are said to have `lithium lick' when they begin
to show signs of Jobsian fervor and repeat the most recent catch
phrases in normal conversation -- for example, "It just works, right
out of the box!"
_________________________________________________________________

Node:little-endian, Next:[8049]live, Previous:[8050]lithium lick,
Up:[8051]= L =

little-endian adj.

Describes a computer architecture in which, within a given 16- or
32-bit word, bytes at lower addresses have lower significance (the
word is stored `little-end-first'). The PDP-11 and VAX families of
computers and Intel microprocessors and a lot of communications and
networking hardware are little-endian. See [8052]big-endian,
[8053]middle-endian, [8054]NUXI problem. The term is sometimes used to
describe the ordering of units other than bytes; most often, bits
within a byte.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:live, Next:[8055]live data, Previous:[8056]little-endian,
Up:[8057]= L =

live /li:v/ adj.,adv.

[common] Opposite of `test'. Refers to actual real-world data or a
program working with it. For example, the response to "I think the
record deleter is finished" might be "Is it live yet?" or "Have you
tried it out on live data?" This usage usually carries the connotation
that live data is more fragile and must not be corrupted, or bad
things will happen. So a more appropriate response might be: "Well,
make sure it works perfectly before we throw live data at it." The
implication here is that record deletion is something pretty
significant, and a haywire record-deleter running amok live would
probably cause great harm.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:live data, Next:[8058]Live Free Or Die!, Previous:[8059]live,
Up:[8060]= L =

live data n.

1. Data that is written to be interpreted and takes over program flow
when triggered by some un-obvious operation, such as viewing it. One
use of such hacks is to break security. For example, some smart
terminals have commands that allow one to download strings to program
keys; this can be used to write live data that, when listed to the
terminal, infects it with a security-breaking [8061]virus that is
triggered the next time a hapless user strikes that key. For another,
there are some well-known bugs in [8062]vi that allow certain texts to
send arbitrary commands back to the machine when they are simply
viewed. 2. In C code, data that includes pointers to function
[8063]hooks (executable code). 3. An object, such as a
[8064]trampoline, that is constructed on the fly by a program and
intended to be executed as code.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:Live Free Or Die!, Next:[8065]livelock, Previous:[8066]live data,
Up:[8067]= L =

Live Free Or Die! imp.

1. The state motto of New Hampshire, which appears on that state's
automobile license plates. 2. A slogan associated with Unix in the
romantic days when Unix aficionados saw themselves as a tiny,
beleaguered underground tilting against the windmills of industry. The
"free" referred specifically to freedom from the [8068]fascist design
philosophies and crufty misfeatures common on competing operating
systems. Armando Stettner, one of the early Unix developers, used to
give out fake license plates bearing this motto under a large Unix,
all in New Hampshire colors of green and white. These are now valued
collector's items. In 1994 [8069]DEC put an inferior imitation of
these in circulation with a red corporate logo added. Compaq (half of
which was once DEC) has continued the practice.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:livelock, Next:[8070]liveware, Previous:[8071]Live Free Or Die!,
Up:[8072]= L =

livelock /li:v'lok/ n.

A situation in which some critical stage of a task is unable to finish
because its clients perpetually create more work for it to do after
they have been serviced but before it can clear its queue. Differs
from [8073]deadlock in that the process is not blocked or waiting for
anything, but has a virtually infinite amount of work to do and can
never catch up.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:liveware, Next:[8074]lobotomy, Previous:[8075]livelock,
Up:[8076]= L =

liveware /li:v'weir/ n.

1. Synonym for [8077]wetware. Less common. 2. [Cambridge] Vermin.
"Waiter, there's some liveware in my salad..."
_________________________________________________________________

Node:lobotomy, Next:[8078]locals the, Previous:[8079]liveware,
Up:[8080]= L =

lobotomy n.

1. What a hacker subjected to formal management training is said to
have undergone. At IBM and elsewhere this term is used by both hackers
and low-level management; the latter doubtless intend it as a joke. 2.
The act of removing the processor from a microcomputer in order to
replace or upgrade it. Some very cheap [8081]clone systems are sold in
`lobotomized' form -- everything but the brain.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:locals the, Next:[8082]locked and loaded,
Previous:[8083]lobotomy, Up:[8084]= L =

locals, the pl.n.

The users on one's local network (as opposed, say, to people one
reaches via public Internet or UUCP connects). The marked thing about
this usage is how little it has to do with real-space distance. "I
have to do some tweaking on this mail utility before releasing it to
the locals."
_________________________________________________________________

Node:locked and loaded, Next:[8085]locked up, Previous:[8086]locals
the, Up:[8087]= L =

locked and loaded adj.,obs.

[from military slang for an M-16 rifle with magazine inserted and
prepared for firing] Said of a removable disk volume properly prepared
for use -- that is, locked into the drive and with the heads loaded.
Ironically, because their heads are `loaded' whenever the power is up,
this description is never used of [8088]Winchester drives (which are
named after a rifle).
_________________________________________________________________

Node:locked up, Next:[8089]logic bomb, Previous:[8090]locked and
loaded, Up:[8091]= L =

locked up adj.

Syn. for [8092]hung, [8093]wedged.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:logic bomb, Next:[8094]logical, Previous:[8095]locked up,
Up:[8096]= L =

logic bomb n.

Code surreptitiously inserted into an application or OS that causes it
to perform some destructive or security-compromising activity whenever
specified conditions are met. Compare [8097]back door.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:logical, Next:[8098]loop through, Previous:[8099]logic bomb,
Up:[8100]= L =

logical adj.

[from the technical term `logical device', wherein a physical device
is referred to by an arbitrary `logical' name] Having the role of. If
a person (say, Les Earnest at SAIL) who had long held a certain post
left and were replaced, the replacement would for a while be known as
the `logical' Les Earnest. (This does not imply any judgment on the
replacement.) Compare [8101]virtual.

At Stanford, `logical' compass directions denote a coordinate system
in which `logical north' is toward San Francisco, `logical west' is
toward the ocean, etc., even though logical north varies between
physical (true) north near San Francisco and physical west near San
Jose. (The best rule of thumb here is that, by definition, El Camino
Real always runs logical north-and-south.) In giving directions, one
might say: "To get to Rincon Tarasco restaurant, get onto [8102]El
Camino Bignum going logical north." Using the word `logical' helps to
prevent the recipient from worrying about that the fact that the sun
is setting almost directly in front of him. The concept is reinforced
by North American highways which are almost, but not quite,
consistently labeled with logical rather than physical directions. A
similar situation exists at MIT: Route 128 (famous for the electronics
industry that has grown up along it) is a 3-quarters circle
surrounding Boston at a radius of 10 miles, terminating near the
coastline at each end. It would be most precise to describe the two
directions along this highway as `clockwise' and `counterclockwise',
but the road signs all say "north" and "south", respectively. A hacker
might describe these directions as `logical north' and `logical
south', to indicate that they are conventional directions not
corresponding to the usual denotation for those words. (If you went
logical south along the entire length of route 128, you would start
out going northwest, curve around to the south, and finish headed due
east, passing along one infamous stretch of pavement that is
simultaneously route 128 south and Interstate 93 north, and is signed
as such!)
_________________________________________________________________

Node:loop through, Next:[8103]loose bytes, Previous:[8104]logical,
Up:[8105]= L =

loop through vt.

To process each element of a list of things. "Hold on, I've got to
loop through my paper mail." Derives from the computer-language notion
of an iterative loop; compare `cdr down' (under [8106]cdr), which is
less common among C and Unix programmers. ITS hackers used to say `IRP
over' after an obscure pseudo-op in the MIDAS PDP-10 assembler (the
same IRP op can nowadays be found in Microsoft's assembler).
_________________________________________________________________

Node:loose bytes, Next:[8107]lord high fixer, Previous:[8108]loop
through, Up:[8109]= L =

loose bytes n.

Commonwealth hackish term for the padding bytes or [8110]shims many
compilers insert between members of a record or structure to cope with
alignment requirements imposed by the machine architecture.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:lord high fixer, Next:[8111]lose, Previous:[8112]loose bytes,
Up:[8113]= L =

lord high fixer n.

[primarily British, from Gilbert & Sullivan's `lord high executioner']
The person in an organization who knows the most about some aspect of
a system. See [8114]wizard.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:lose, Next:[8115]lose lose, Previous:[8116]lord high fixer,
Up:[8117]= L =

lose vi.

1. [very common] To fail. A program loses when it encounters an
exceptional condition or fails to work in the expected manner. 2. To
be exceptionally unesthetic or crocky. 3. Of people, to be obnoxious
or unusually stupid (as opposed to ignorant). See also [8118]deserves
to lose. 4. n. Refers to something that is [8119]losing, especially in
the phrases "That's a lose!" and "What a lose!"
_________________________________________________________________

Node:lose lose, Next:[8120]loser, Previous:[8121]lose, Up:[8122]= L =

lose lose interj.

A reply to or comment on an undesirable situation. "I accidentally
deleted all my files!" "Lose, lose."
_________________________________________________________________

Node:loser, Next:[8123]losing, Previous:[8124]lose lose, Up:[8125]= L
=

loser n.

An unexpectedly bad situation, program, programmer, or person. Someone
who habitually loses. (Even winners can lose occasionally.) Someone
who knows not and knows not that he knows not. Emphatic forms are
`real loser', `total loser', and `complete loser' (but not **`moby
loser', which would be a contradiction in terms). See [8126]luser.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:losing, Next:[8127]loss, Previous:[8128]loser, Up:[8129]= L =

losing adj.

Said of anything that is or causes a [8130]lose or [8131]lossage. "The
compiler is losing badly when I try to use templates."
_________________________________________________________________

Node:loss, Next:[8132]lossage, Previous:[8133]losing, Up:[8134]= L =

loss n.

Something (not a person) that loses; a situation in which something is
losing. Emphatic forms include `moby loss', and `total loss',
`complete loss'. Common interjections are "What a loss!" and "What a
moby loss!" Note that `moby loss' is OK even though **`moby loser' is
not used; applied to an abstract noun, moby is simply a magnifier,
whereas when applied to a person it implies substance and has positive
connotations. Compare [8135]lossage.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:lossage, Next:[8136]lost in the noise, Previous:[8137]loss,
Up:[8138]= L =

lossage /los'*j/ n.

[very common] The result of a bug or malfunction. This is a mass or
collective noun. "What a loss!" and "What lossage!" are nearly
synonymous. The former is slightly more particular to the speaker's
present circumstances; the latter implies a continuing [8139]lose of
which the speaker is currently a victim. Thus (for example) a
temporary hardware failure is a loss, but bugs in an important tool
(like a compiler) are serious lossage.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:lost in the noise, Next:[8140]lost in the underflow,
Previous:[8141]lossage, Up:[8142]= L =

lost in the noise adj.

Syn. [8143]lost in the underflow. This term is from signal processing,
where signals of very small amplitude cannot be separated from
low-intensity noise in the system. Though popular among hackers, it is
not confined to hackerdom; physicists, engineers, astronomers, and
statisticians all use it.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:lost in the underflow, Next:[8144]lots of MIPS but no I/O,
Previous:[8145]lost in the noise, Up:[8146]= L =

lost in the underflow adj.

Too small to be worth considering; more specifically, small beyond the
limits of accuracy or measurement. This is a reference to `floating
underflow', a condition that can occur when a floating-point
arithmetic processor tries to handle quantities smaller than its limit
of magnitude. It is also a pun on `undertow' (a kind of fast, cold
current that sometimes runs just offshore and can be dangerous to
swimmers). "Well, sure, photon pressure from the stadium lights alters
the path of a thrown baseball, but that effect gets lost in the
underflow." Compare [8147]epsilon, [8148]epsilon squared; see also
[8149]overflow bit.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:lots of MIPS but no I/O, Next:[8150]low-bandwidth,
Previous:[8151]lost in the underflow, Up:[8152]= L =

lots of MIPS but no I/O adj.

Used to describe a person who is technically brilliant but can't seem
to communicate with human beings effectively. Technically it describes
a machine that has lots of processing power but is bottlenecked on
input-output (in 1991, the IBM Rios, a.k.a. RS/6000, was a notorious
example).
_________________________________________________________________

Node:low-bandwidth, Next:[8153]LPT, Previous:[8154]lots of MIPS but no
I/O, Up:[8155]= L =

low-bandwidth adj.

[from communication theory] Used to indicate a talk that, although not
[8156]content-free, was not terribly informative. "That was a
low-bandwidth talk, but what can you expect for an audience of
[8157]suits!" Compare [8158]zero-content, [8159]bandwidth,
[8160]math-out.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:LPT, Next:[8161]Lubarsky's Law of Cybernetic Entomology,
Previous:[8162]low-bandwidth, Up:[8163]= L =

LPT /L-P-T/ or /lip'it/ or /lip-it'/ n.

1. Line printer (originally Line Printing Terminal). Rare under Unix,
more common among hackers who grew up with ITS, MS-DOS, CP/M and other
operating systems that were strongly influenced by early [8164]DEC
conventions. 2. Local PorT. Used among MS-DOS programmers (and so
expanded in the MS-DOS 5 manual). It seems likely this is a
[8165]backronym.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:Lubarsky's Law of Cybernetic Entomology, Next:[8166]Lumber
Cartel, Previous:[8167]LPT, Up:[8168]= L =

Lubarsky's Law of Cybernetic Entomology prov.

"There is always one more bug."
_________________________________________________________________

Node:Lumber Cartel, Next:[8169]lunatic fringe,
Previous:[8170]Lubarsky's Law of Cybernetic Entomology, Up:[8171]= L =

Lumber Cartel n.

A mythical conspiracy accused by [8172]spam-spewers of funding
anti-spam activism in order to force the direct-mail promotions
industry back onto paper. Hackers, predictably, responded by forming a
"Lumber Cartel" spoofing this paranoid theory; the web page is
[8173]http://come.to/the.lumber.cartel. Members often include the tag
TINLC ("There Is No Lumber Cartel") in their postings; see [8174]TINC,
[8175]backbone cabal and [8176]NANA for explanation.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:lunatic fringe, Next:[8177]lurker, Previous:[8178]Lumber Cartel,
Up:[8179]= L =

lunatic fringe n.

[IBM] Customers who can be relied upon to accept release 1 versions of
software. Compare [8180]heatseeker.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:lurker, Next:[8181]luser, Previous:[8182]lunatic fringe,
Up:[8183]= L =

lurker n.

One of the `silent majority' in a electronic forum; one who posts
occasionally or not at all but is known to read the group's postings
regularly. This term is not pejorative and indeed is casually used
reflexively: "Oh, I'm just lurking." Often used in `the lurkers', the
hypothetical audience for the group's [8184]flamage-emitting regulars.
When a lurker speaks up for the first time, this is called
`delurking'.

The creator of the popular science-fiction TV series "Babylon 5" has
ties to SF fandom and the hacker culture. In that series, the use of
the term `lurker' for a homeless or displaced person is a conscious
reference to the jargon term.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:luser, Next:[8185]M, Previous:[8186]lurker, Up:[8187]= L =

luser /loo'zr/ n.

[common] A [8188]user; esp. one who is also a [8189]loser.
([8190]luser and [8191]loser are pronounced identically.) This word
was coined around 1975 at MIT. Under ITS, when you first walked up to
a terminal at MIT and typed Control-Z to get the computer's attention,
it printed out some status information, including how many people were
already using the computer; it might print "14 users", for example.
Someone thought it would be a great joke to patch the system to print
"14 losers" instead. There ensued a great controversy, as some of the
users didn't particularly want to be called losers to their faces
every time they used the computer. For a while several hackers
struggled covertly, each changing the message behind the back of the
others; any time you logged into the computer it was even money
whether it would say "users" or "losers". Finally, someone tried the
compromise "lusers", and it stuck. Later one of the ITS machines
supported luser as a request-for-help command. ITS died the death in
mid-1990, except as a museum piece; the usage lives on, however, and
the term `luser' is often seen in program comments and on Usenet.
Compare [8192]mundane, [8193]muggle.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:= M =, Next:[8194]= N =, Previous:[8195]= L =, Up:[8196]The
Jargon Lexicon

= M =

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