Books: The New Hacker\'s Dictionary version 4.2.2

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

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37

* [10775]quad:
* [10776]quadruple bucky:
* [10777]quantifiers:
* [10778]quantum bogodynamics:
* [10779]quarter:
* [10780]ques:
* [10781]quick-and-dirty:
* [10782]quine:
* [10783]quote chapter and verse:
* [10784]quotient:
* [10785]quux:
* [10786]qux:
* [10787]QWERTY:
_________________________________________________________________

Node:quad, Next:[10788]quadruple bucky, Previous:[10789]Python,
Up:[10790]= Q =

quad n.

1. Two bits; syn. for [10791]quarter, [10792]crumb, [10793]tayste. 2.
A four-pack of anything (compare [10794]hex, sense 2). 3. The
rectangle or box glyph used in the APL language for various arcane
purposes mostly related to I/O. Former Ivy-Leaguers and Oxford types
are said to associate it with nostalgic memories of dear old
University.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:quadruple bucky, Next:[10795]quantifiers, Previous:[10796]quad,
Up:[10797]= Q =

quadruple bucky n. obs.

1. On an MIT [10798]space-cadet keyboard, use of all four of the
shifting keys (control, meta, hyper, and super) while typing a
character key. 2. On a Stanford or MIT keyboard in [10799]raw mode,
use of four shift keys while typing a fifth character, where the four
shift keys are the control and meta keys on both sides of the
keyboard. This was very difficult to do! One accepted technique was to
press the left-control and left-meta keys with your left hand, the
right-control and right-meta keys with your right hand, and the fifth
key with your nose.

Quadruple-bucky combinations were very seldom used in practice,
because when one invented a new command one usually assigned it to
some character that was easier to type. If you want to imply that a
program has ridiculously many commands or features, you can say
something like: "Oh, the command that makes it spin the tapes while
whistling Beethoven's Fifth Symphony is quadruple-bucky-cokebottle."
See [10800]double bucky, [10801]bucky bits, [10802]cokebottle.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:quantifiers, Next:[10803]quantum bogodynamics,
Previous:[10804]quadruple bucky, Up:[10805]= Q =

quantifiers

In techspeak and jargon, the standard metric prefixes used in the SI
(Système International) conventions for scientific measurement have
dual uses. With units of time or things that come in powers of 10,
such as money, they retain their usual meanings of multiplication by
powers of 1000 = 10^3. But when used with bytes or other things that
naturally come in powers of 2, they usually denote multiplication by
powers of 1024 = 2^(10).

Here are the SI magnifying prefixes, along with the corresponding
binary interpretations in common use:
prefix decimal binary
kilo- 1000^1 1024^1 = 2^10 = 1,024

mega- 1000^2 1024^2 = 2^20 = 1,048,576

giga- 1000^3 1024^3 = 2^30 = 1,073,741,824

tera- 1000^4 1024^4 = 2^40 = 1,099,511,627,776

peta- 1000^5 1024^5 = 2^50 = 1,125,899,906,842,624

exa- 1000^6 1024^6 = 2^60 = 1,152,921,504,606,846,976

zetta- 1000^7 1024^7 = 2^70 = 1,180,591,620,717,411,303,424

yotta- 1000^8 1024^8 = 2^80 = 1,208,925,819,614,629,174,706,176

Here are the SI fractional prefixes:
prefix decimal jargon usage
milli- 1000^-1 (seldom used in jargon)
micro- 1000^-2 small or human-scale (see [10806]micro-)
nano- 1000^-3 even smaller (see [10807]nano-)
pico- 1000^-4 even smaller yet (see [10808]pico-)
femto- 1000^-5 (not used in jargon---yet)
atto- 1000^-6 (not used in jargon---yet)
zepto- 1000^-7 (not used in jargon---yet)
yocto- 1000^-8 (not used in jargon---yet)

The prefixes zetta-, yotta-, zepto-, and yocto- have been included in
these tables purely for completeness and giggle value; they were
adopted in 1990 by the `19th Conference Generale des Poids et
Mesures'. The binary peta- and exa- loadings, though well established,
are not in jargon use either -- yet. The prefix milli-, denoting
multiplication by 1/1000, has always been rare in jargon (there is,
however, a standard joke about the `millihelen' -- notionally, the
amount of beauty required to launch one ship). See the entries on
[10809]micro-, [10810]pico-, and [10811]nano- for more information on
connotative jargon use of these terms. `Femto' and `atto' (which,
interestingly, derive not from Greek but from Danish) have not yet
acquired jargon loadings, though it is easy to predict what those will
be once computing technology enters the required realms of magnitude
(however, see [10812]attoparsec).

There are, of course, some standard unit prefixes for powers of 10. In
the following table, the `prefix' column is the international standard
suffix for the appropriate power of ten; the `binary' column lists
jargon abbreviations and words for the corresponding power of 2. The
B-suffixed forms are commonly used for byte quantities; the words
`meg' and `gig' are nouns that may (but do not always) pluralize with
`s'.
prefix decimal binary pronunciation
kilo- k K, KB, /kay/
mega- M M, MB, meg /meg/
giga- G G, GB, gig /gig/,/jig/

Confusingly, hackers often use K or M as though they were suffix or
numeric multipliers rather than a prefix; thus "2K dollars", "2M of
disk space". This is also true (though less commonly) of G.

Note that the formal SI metric prefix for 1000 is `k'; some use this
strictly, reserving `K' for multiplication by 1024 (KB is thus
`kilobytes').

K, M, and G used alone refer to quantities of bytes; thus, 64G is 64
gigabytes and `a K' is a kilobyte (compare mainstream use of `a G' as
short for `a grand', that is, $1000). Whether one pronounces `gig'
with hard or soft `g' depends on what one thinks the proper
pronunciation of `giga-' is.

Confusing 1000 and 1024 (or other powers of 2 and 10 close in
magnitude) -- for example, describing a memory in units of 500K or
524K instead of 512K -- is a sure sign of the [10813]marketroid. One
example of this: it is common to refer to the capacity of 3.5"
[10814]microfloppies as `1.44 MB' In fact, this is a completely
[10815]bogus number. The correct size is 1440 KB, that is, 1440 * 1024
= 1474560 bytes. So the `mega' in `1.44 MB' is compounded of two
`kilos', one of which is 1024 and the other of which is 1000. The
correct number of megabytes would of course be 1440 / 1024 = 1.40625.
Alas, this fine point is probably lost on the world forever.

[1993 update: hacker Morgan Burke has proposed, to general approval on
Usenet, the following additional prefixes:

groucho
10^(-30)

harpo
10^(-27)

harpi
10^(27)

grouchi
10^(30)

We observe that this would leave the prefixes zeppo-, gummo-, and
chico- available for future expansion. Sadly, there is little
immediate prospect that Mr. Burke's eminently sensible proposal will
be ratified.]

[1999 upate: there is an [10816]IEC proposal for binary multipliers,
but no evidence that any of its proposals are in live use.]
_________________________________________________________________

Node:quantum bogodynamics, Next:[10817]quarter,
Previous:[10818]quantifiers, Up:[10819]= Q =

quantum bogodynamics /kwon'tm boh`goh-di:-nam'iks/ n.

A theory that characterizes the universe in terms of bogon sources
(such as politicians, used-car salesmen, TV evangelists, and
[10820]suits in general), bogon sinks (such as taxpayers and
computers), and bogosity potential fields. Bogon absorption, of
course, causes human beings to behave mindlessly and machines to fail
(and may also cause both to emit secondary bogons); however, the
precise mechanics of the bogon-computron interaction are not yet
understood and remain to be elucidated. Quantum bogodynamics is most
often invoked to explain the sharp increase in hardware and software
failures in the presence of suits; the latter emit bogons, which the
former absorb. See [10821]bogon, [10822]computron, [10823]suit,
[10824]psyton.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:quarter, Next:[10825]ques, Previous:[10826]quantum bogodynamics,
Up:[10827]= Q =

quarter n.

Two bits. This in turn comes from the `pieces of eight' famed in
pirate movies -- Spanish silver crowns that could be broken into eight
pie-slice-shaped `bits' to make change. Early in American history the
Spanish coin was considered equal to a dollar, so each of these `bits'
was considered worth 12.5 cents. Syn. [10828]tayste, [10829]crumb,
[10830]quad. Usage: rare. General discussion of such terms is under
[10831]nybble.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:ques, Next:[10832]quick-and-dirty, Previous:[10833]quarter,
Up:[10834]= Q =

ques /kwes/

1. n. The question mark character (?, ASCII 0111111). 2. interj. What?
Also frequently verb-doubled as "Ques ques?" See [10835]wall.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:quick-and-dirty, Next:[10836]quine, Previous:[10837]ques,
Up:[10838]= Q =

quick-and-dirty adj.

[common] Describes a [10839]crock put together under time or user
pressure. Used esp. when you want to convey that you think the fast
way might lead to trouble further down the road. "I can have a
quick-and-dirty fix in place tonight, but I'll have to rewrite the
whole module to solve the underlying design problem." See also
[10840]kluge.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:quine, Next:[10841]quote chapter and verse,
Previous:[10842]quick-and-dirty, Up:[10843]= Q =

quine /kwi:n/ n.

[from the name of the logician Willard van Orman Quine, via Douglas
Hofstadter] A program that generates a copy of its own source text as
its complete output. Devising the shortest possible quine in some
given programming language is a common hackish amusement. (We ignore
some variants of BASIC in which a program consisting of a single empty
string literal reproduces itself trivially.) Here is one classic
quine:
((lambda (x)
(list x (list (quote quote) x)))
(quote
(lambda (x)
(list x (list (quote quote) x)))))

This one works in LISP or Scheme. It's relatively easy to write quines
in other languages such as Postscript which readily handle programs as
data; much harder (and thus more challenging!) in languages like C
which do not. Here is a classic C quine for ASCII machines:
char*f="char*f=%c%s%c;main()
{printf(f,34,f,34,10);}%c";
main(){printf(f,34,f,34,10);}

For excruciatingly exact quinishness, remove the interior line breaks.
Here is another elegant quine in ANSI C:
#define q(k)main(){return!puts(#k"\nq("#k")");}
q(#define q(k)main(){return!puts(#k"\nq("#k")");})

Some infamous [10844]Obfuscated C Contest entries have been quines
that reproduced in exotic ways. There is an amusing [10845]Quine Home
Page.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:quote chapter and verse, Next:[10846]quotient,
Previous:[10847]quine, Up:[10848]= Q =

quote chapter and verse v.

[by analogy with the mainstream phrase] To cite a relevant excerpt
from an appropriate [10849]bible. "I don't care if rn gets it wrong;
`Followup-To: poster' is explicitly permitted by [10850]RFC-1036. I'll
quote chapter and verse if you don't believe me." See also
[10851]legalese, [10852]language lawyer, [10853]RTFS (sense 2).
_________________________________________________________________

Node:quotient, Next:[10854]quux, Previous:[10855]quote chapter and
verse, Up:[10856]= Q =

quotient n.

See [10857]coefficient of X.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:quux, Next:[10858]qux, Previous:[10859]quotient, Up:[10860]= Q =

quux /kwuhks/ n.

[Mythically, from the Latin semi-deponent verb quuxo, quuxare,
quuxandum iri; noun form variously `quux' (plural `quuces', anglicized
to `quuxes') and `quuxu' (genitive plural is `quuxuum', for four
u-letters out of seven in all, using up all the `u' letters in
Scrabble).] 1. Originally, a [10861]metasyntactic variable like
[10862]foo and [10863]foobar. Invented by Guy Steele for precisely
this purpose when he was young and naive and not yet interacting with
the real computing community. Many people invent such words; this one
seems simply to have been lucky enough to have spread a little. In an
eloquent display of poetic justice, it has returned to the originator
in the form of a nickname. 2. interj. See [10864]foo; however, denotes
very little disgust, and is uttered mostly for the sake of the sound
of it. 3. Guy Steele in his persona as `The Great Quux', which is
somewhat infamous for light verse and for the `Crunchly' cartoons. 4.
In some circles, used as a punning opposite of `crux'. "Ah, that's the
quux of the matter!" implies that the point is not crucial (compare
[10865]tip of the ice-cube). 5. quuxy: adj. Of or pertaining to a
quux.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:qux, Next:[10866]QWERTY, Previous:[10867]quux, Up:[10868]= Q =

qux /kwuhks/

The fourth of the standard [10869]metasyntactic variable, after
[10870]baz and before the quu(u...)x series. See [10871]foo,
[10872]bar, [10873]baz, [10874]quux. This appears to be a recent
mutation from [10875]quux, and many versions (especially older
versions) of the standard series just run [10876]foo, [10877]bar,
[10878]baz, [10879]quux, ....
_________________________________________________________________

Node:QWERTY, Next:[10880]rabbit job, Previous:[10881]qux, Up:[10882]=
Q =

QWERTY /kwer'tee/ adj.

[from the keycaps at the upper left] Pertaining to a standard
English-language typewriter keyboard (sometimes called the Sholes
keyboard after its inventor), as opposed to Dvorak or non-US-ASCII
layouts or a [10883]space-cadet keyboard or APL keyboard.

Historical note: The QWERTY layout is a fine example of a
[10884]fossil. It is sometimes said that it was designed to slow down
the typist, but this is wrong; it was designed to allow faster typing
-- under a constraint now long obsolete. In early typewriters, fast
typing using nearby type-bars jammed the mechanism. So Sholes fiddled
the layout to separate the letters of many common digraphs (he did a
far from perfect job, though; `th', `tr', `ed', and `er', for example,
each use two nearby keys). Also, putting the letters of `typewriter'
on one line allowed it to be typed with particular speed and accuracy
for [10885]demos. The jamming problem was essentially solved soon
afterward by a suitable use of springs, but the keyboard layout lives
on.

The QWERTY keyboard has also spawned some unhelpful economic myths
about how technical standards get and stay established; see
[10886]http://www.reasonmag.com/9606/Fe.QWERTY.html.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:= R =, Next:[10887]= S =, Previous:[10888]= Q =, Up:[10889]The
Jargon Lexicon

= R =

* [10890]rabbit job:
* [10891]rain dance:
* [10892]rainbow series:
* [10893]random:
* [10894]Random Number God:
* [10895]random numbers:
* [10896]randomness:
* [10897]rape:
* [10898]rare mode:
* [10899]raster blaster:
* [10900]raster burn:
* [10901]rasterbation:
* [10902]rat belt:
* [10903]rat dance:
* [10904]ratio site:
* [10905]rave:
* [10906]rave on!:
* [10907]ravs:
* [10908]raw mode:
* [10909]RBL:
* [10910]rc file:
* [10911]RE:
* [10912]read-only user:
* [10913]README file:
* [10914]real:
* [10915]real estate:
* [10916]real hack:
* [10917]real operating system:
* [10918]Real Programmer:
* [10919]Real Soon Now:
* [10920]real time:
* [10921]real user:
* [10922]Real World:
* [10923]reality check:
* [10924]reality-distortion field:
* [10925]reaper:
* [10926]recompile the world:
* [10927]rectangle slinger:
* [10928]recursion:
* [10929]recursive acronym:
* [10930]Red Book:
* [10931]red wire:
* [10932]regexp:
* [10933]register dancing:
* [10934]rehi:
* [10935]reincarnation cycle of:
* [10936]reinvent the wheel:
* [10937]relay rape:
* [10938]religion of CHI:
* [10939]religious issues:
* [10940]replicator:
* [10941]reply:
* [10942]restriction:
* [10943]retcon:
* [10944]RETI:
* [10945]retrocomputing:
* [10946]return from the dead:
* [10947]RFC:
* [10948]RFE:
* [10949]rib site:
* [10950]rice box:
* [10951]Right Thing:
* [10952]rip:
* [10953]ripoff:
* [10954]RL:
* [10955]roach:
* [10956]robocanceller:
* [10957]robot:
* [10958]robust:
* [10959]rococo:
* [10960]rogue:
* [10961]room-temperature IQ:
* [10962]root:
* [10963]root mode:
* [10964]rot13:
* [10965]rotary debugger:
* [10966]round tape:
* [10967]RSN:
* [10968]RTBM:
* [10969]RTFAQ:
* [10970]RTFB:
* [10971]RTFM:
* [10972]RTFS:
* [10973]RTI:
* [10974]RTM:
* [10975]RTS:
* [10976]rude:
* [10977]runes:
* [10978]runic:
* [10979]rusty iron:
* [10980]rusty memory:
* [10981]rusty wire:
_________________________________________________________________

Node:rabbit job, Next:[10982]rain dance, Previous:[10983]QWERTY,
Up:[10984]= R =

rabbit job n.

[Cambridge] A batch job that does little, if any, real work, but
creates one or more copies of itself, breeding like rabbits. Compare
[10985]wabbit, [10986]fork bomb.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:rain dance, Next:[10987]rainbow series, Previous:[10988]rabbit
job, Up:[10989]= R =

rain dance n.

1. Any ceremonial action taken to correct a hardware problem, with the
expectation that nothing will be accomplished. This especially applies
to reseating printed circuit boards, reconnecting cables, etc. "I
can't boot up the machine. We'll have to wait for Greg to do his rain
dance." 2. Any arcane sequence of actions performed with computers or
software in order to achieve some goal; the term is usually restricted
to rituals that include both an [10990]incantation or two and physical
activity or motion. Compare [10991]magic, [10992]voodoo programming,
[10993]black art, [10994]cargo cult programming, [10995]wave a dead
chicken; see also [10996]casting the runes.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:rainbow series, Next:[10997]random, Previous:[10998]rain dance,
Up:[10999]= R =

rainbow series n.

Any of several series of technical manuals distinguished by cover
color. The original rainbow series was the NCSC security manuals (see
[11000]Orange Book, [11001]crayola books); the term has also been
commonly applied to the PostScript reference set (see [11002]Red Book,
[11003]Green Book, [11004]Blue Book, [11005]White Book). Which books
are meant by "`the' rainbow series" unqualified is thus dependent on
one's local technical culture.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:random, Next:[11006]Random Number God, Previous:[11007]rainbow
series, Up:[11008]= R =

random adj.

1. Unpredictable (closest to mathematical definition); weird. "The
system's been behaving pretty randomly." 2. Assorted; undistinguished.
"Who was at the conference?" "Just a bunch of random business types."
3. (pejorative) Frivolous; unproductive; undirected. "He's just a
random loser." 4. Incoherent or inelegant; poorly chosen; not well
organized. "The program has a random set of misfeatures." "That's a
random name for that function." "Well, all the names were chosen
pretty randomly." 5. In no particular order, though deterministic.
"The I/O channels are in a pool, and when a file is opened one is
chosen randomly." 6. Arbitrary. "It generates a random name for the
scratch file." 7. Gratuitously wrong, i.e., poorly done and for no
good apparent reason. For example, a program that handles file name
defaulting in a particularly useless way, or an assembler routine that
could easily have been coded using only three registers, but
redundantly uses seven for values with non-overlapping lifetimes, so
that no one else can invoke it without first saving four extra
registers. What [11009]randomness! 8. n. A random hacker; used
particularly of high-school students who soak up computer time and
generally get in the way. 9. n. Anyone who is not a hacker (or,
sometimes, anyone not known to the hacker speaking); the noun form of
sense 2. "I went to the talk, but the audience was full of randoms
asking bogus questions". 10. n. (occasional MIT usage) One who lives
at Random Hall. See also [11010]J. Random, [11011]some random X. 11.
[UK] Conversationally, a non sequitur or something similarly
out-of-the-blue. As in: "Stop being so random!" This sense equates to
`hatstand', taken from the Viz comic character "Roger Irrelevant -
He's completely Hatstand."
_________________________________________________________________

Node:Random Number God, Next:[11012]random numbers,
Previous:[11013]random, Up:[11014]= R =

Random Number God

[rec.games.roguelike.angband; often abbreviated `RNG'] The malign
force which lurks behind the random number generator in [11015]Angband
(and by extension elsewhere). A dark god that demands sacrifices and
toys with its victims. "I just found a really great item; I suppose
the RNG is about to punish me..." Apparently, Angband's random number
generator occasionally gets locked in a repetition, so you get
something with a 3% chance happening 8 times in a row. Improbable, but
far too common to be pure chance. Compare [11016]Shub-Internet.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:random numbers, Next:[11017]randomness, Previous:[11018]Random
Number God, Up:[11019]= R =

random numbers n.

When one wishes to specify a large but random number of things, and
the context is inappropriate for [11020]N, certain numbers are
preferred by hacker tradition (that is, easily recognized as
placeholders). These include the following:

17
Long described at MIT as `the least random number'; see 23.

23
Sacred number of Eris, Goddess of Discord (along with 17 and
5).

42
The Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and
Everything. (Note that this answer is completely fortuitous.
:-))

69
From the sexual act. This one was favored in MIT's ITS culture.

105
69 hex = 105 decimal, and 69 decimal = 105 octal.

666
The Number of the Beast.

For further enlightenment, study the "Principia Discordia",
"[11021]The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", "The Joy of Sex", and
the Christian Bible (Revelation 13:18). See also [11022]Discordianism
or consult your pineal gland. See also [11023]for values of.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:randomness, Next:[11024]rape, Previous:[11025]random numbers,
Up:[11026]= R =

randomness n.

1. An inexplicable misfeature; gratuitous inelegance. 2. A [11027]hack
or [11028]crock that depends on a complex combination of coincidences
(or, possibly, the combination upon which the crock depends for its
accidental failure to malfunction). "This hack can output characters
40-57 by putting the character in the four-bit accumulator field of an
XCT and then extracting six bits -- the low 2 bits of the XCT opcode
are the right thing." "What randomness!" 3. Of people, synonymous with
`flakiness'. The connotation is that the person so described is
behaving weirdly, incompetently, or inappropriately for reasons which
are (a) too tiresome to bother inquiring into, (b) are probably as
inscrutable as quantum phenomena anyway, and (c) are likely to pass
with time. "Maybe he has a real complaint, or maybe it's just
randomness. See if he calls back."

Despite the negative connotations jargon uses of this term have, it is
worth noting that randomness can actually be a valuable resource, very
useful for applications in cryptography and elsewhere. Computers are
so thoroughly deterministic that they have a hard time generating
high-quality randomess, so hackers have sometimes felt the need to
built special-purpose contraptions for this purpose alone. One
well-known website offers random bits [11029]generated by radioactive
decay. Another derives random bits from [11030]images of Lava Lite
lamps. (Hackers invariably find the latter hilarious. If you have to
ask why, you'll never get it.)
_________________________________________________________________

Node:rape, Next:[11031]rare mode, Previous:[11032]randomness,
Up:[11033]= R =

rape vt.

1. To [11034]screw someone or something, violently; in particular, to
destroy a program or information irrecoverably. Often used in
describing file-system damage. "So-and-so was running a program that
did absolute disk I/O and ended up raping the master directory." 2. To
strip a piece of hardware for parts. 3. [CMU/Pitt] To mass-copy files
from an anonymous ftp site. "Last night I raped Simtel's dskutl
directory."
_________________________________________________________________

Node:rare mode, Next:[11035]raster blaster, Previous:[11036]rape,
Up:[11037]= R =

rare mode adj.

[Unix] CBREAK mode (character-by-character with interrupts enabled).
Distinguished from [11038]raw mode and [11039]cooked mode; the phrase
"a sort of half-cooked (rare?) mode" is used in the V7/BSD manuals to
describe the mode. Usage: rare.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:raster blaster, Next:[11040]raster burn, Previous:[11041]rare
mode, Up:[11042]= R =

raster blaster n.

[Cambridge] Specialized hardware for [11043]bitblt operations (a
[11044]blitter). Allegedly inspired by `Rasta Blasta', British slang
for the sort of portable stereo Americans call a `boom box' or `ghetto
blaster'.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:raster burn, Next:[11045]rasterbation, Previous:[11046]raster
blaster, Up:[11047]= R =

raster burn n.

Eyestrain brought on by too many hours of looking at low-res, poorly
tuned, or glare-ridden monitors, esp. graphics monitors. See
[11048]terminal illness.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:rasterbation, Next:[11049]rat belt, Previous:[11050]raster burn,
Up:[11051]= R =

rasterbation n.

[portmanteau: raster + masturbation] The gratuituous use of comuputer
generated images and effects in movies and graphic art which would
have been better without them. Especially employed as a term of abuse
by Photoshop/GIMP users and graphic artists.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:rat belt, Next:[11052]rat dance, Previous:[11053]rasterbation,
Up:[11054]= R =

rat belt n.

A cable tie, esp. the sawtoothed, self-locking plastic kind that you
can remove only by cutting (as opposed to a random twist of wire or a
twist tie or one of those humongous metal clip frobs). Small cable
ties are `mouse belts'.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:rat dance, Next:[11055]ratio site, Previous:[11056]rat belt,
Up:[11057]= R =

rat dance n.

[From the [11058]Dilbert comic strip of November 14, 1995] A
[11059]hacking run that produces results which, while superficially
coherent, have little or nothing to do with its original objectives.
There are strong connotations that the coding process and the
objectives themselves were pretty [11060]random. (In the original
comic strip, the Ratbert is invited to dance on Dilbert's keyboard in
order to produce bugs for him to fix, and authors a Web browser
instead.) Compare [11061]Infinite-Monkey Theorem.

This term seems to have become widely recognized quite rapidly after
the original strip, a fact which testifies to Dilbert's huge
popularity among hackers. All too many find the perverse incentives
and Kafkaesque atmosphere of Dilbert's mythical workplace reflective
of their own experiences.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:ratio site, Next:[11062]rave, Previous:[11063]rat dance,
Up:[11064]= R =

ratio site

[warez d00dz] A FTP site storing pirated files where one must first
upload something before being able to download. There is a ratio,
based on bytes or files count, between the uploads and download. For
instance, on a 2:1 site, to download a 4 Mb file, one must first
upload at least 2 Mb of files. The hotter the contents of the server
are, the smaller the ratio is. More often than not, the server refuses
uploads because its disk is full, making it useless for downloading -
or the connection magically breaks after one has uploaded a large
amount of files, just before the downloading phase begins. See also
[11065]banner site, [11066]leech mode.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:rave, Next:[11067]rave on!, Previous:[11068]ratio site,
Up:[11069]= R =

rave vi.

[WPI] 1. To persist in discussing a specific subject. 2. To speak
authoritatively on a subject about which one knows very little. 3. To
complain to a person who is not in a position to correct the
difficulty. 4. To purposely annoy another person verbally. 5. To
evangelize. See [11070]flame. 6. Also used to describe a less negative
form of blather, such as friendly bullshitting. `Rave' differs
slightly from [11071]flame in that `rave' implies that it is the
persistence or obliviousness of the person speaking that is annoying,
while [11072]flame implies somewhat more strongly that the tone or
content is offensive as well.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:rave on!, Next:[11073]ravs, Previous:[11074]rave, Up:[11075]= R =

rave on! imp.

Sarcastic invitation to continue a [11076]rave, often by someone who
wishes the raver would get a clue but realizes this is unlikely.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:ravs, Next:[11077]raw mode, Previous:[11078]rave on!, Up:[11079]=
R =

ravs /ravz/, also `Chinese ravs' n.

[primarily MIT/Boston usage] Jiao-zi (steamed or boiled) or Guo-tie
(pan-fried). A Chinese appetizer, known variously in the plural as
dumplings, pot stickers (the literal translation of guo-tie), and
(around Boston) `Peking Ravioli'. The term `rav' is short for
`ravioli', and among hackers always means the Chinese kind rather than
the Italian kind. Both consist of a filling in a pasta shell, but the
Chinese kind includes no cheese, uses a thinner pasta, has a
pork-vegetable filling (good ones include Chinese chives), and is
cooked differently, either by steaming or frying. A rav or dumpling
can be cooked any way, but a potsticker is always the pan-fried kind
(so called because it sticks to the frying pot and has to be scraped
off). "Let's get hot-and-sour soup and three orders of ravs." See also
[11080]oriental food.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:raw mode, Next:[11081]RBL, Previous:[11082]ravs, Up:[11083]= R =

raw mode n.

A mode that allows a program to transfer bits directly to or from an
I/O device (or, under [11084]bogus operating systems that make a
distinction, a disk file) without any processing, abstraction, or
interpretation by the operating system. Compare [11085]rare mode,
[11086]cooked mode. This is techspeak under Unix, jargon elsewhere.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:RBL, Next:[11087]rc file, Previous:[11088]raw mode, Up:[11089]= R
=

RBL /R-B-L/

Abbreviation: "Realtime Blackhole List". A service that allows people
to blacklist sites for emitting [11090]spam, and makes the blacklist
available in real time to electronic-mail transport programs that know
how to use RBL so they can filter out mail from those sites. Drastic
(and controversial) but effective. There is an [11091]RBL home page.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:rc file, Next:[11092]RE, Previous:[11093]RBL, Up:[11094]= R =

rc file /R-C fi:l/ n.

[Unix: from `runcom files' on the [11095]CTSS system 1962-63, via the
startup script /etc/rc] Script file containing startup instructions
for an application program (or an entire operating system), usually a
text file containing commands of the sort that might have been invoked
manually once the system was running but are to be executed
automatically each time the system starts up. See also [11096]dot
file, [11097]profile (sense 1).
_________________________________________________________________

Node:RE, Next:[11098]read-only user, Previous:[11099]rc file,
Up:[11100]= R =

RE /R-E/ n.

Common spoken and written shorthand for [11101]regexp.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:read-only user, Next:[11102]README file, Previous:[11103]RE,
Up:[11104]= R =

read-only user n.

Describes a [11105]luser who uses computers almost exclusively for
reading Usenet, bulletin boards, and/or email, rather than writing
code or purveying useful information. See [11106]twink,
[11107]terminal junkie, [11108]lurker.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:README file, Next:[11109]real, Previous:[11110]read-only user,
Up:[11111]= R =

README file n.

Hacker's-eye introduction traditionally included in the top-level
directory of a Unix source distribution, containing a pointer to more
detailed documentation, credits, miscellaneous revision history,
notes, etc. (The file may be named README, or READ.ME, or rarely
ReadMe or readme.txt or some other variant.) In the Mac and PC worlds,
software is not usually distributed in source form, and the README is
more likely to contain user-oriented material like last-minute
documentation changes, error workarounds, and restrictions. When
asked, hackers invariably relate the README convention to the famous
scene in Lewis Carroll's "Alice's Adventures In Wonderland" in which
Alice confronts magic munchies labeled "Eat Me" and "Drink Me".
_________________________________________________________________

Node:real, Next:[11112]real estate, Previous:[11113]README file,
Up:[11114]= R =

real adj.

Not simulated. Often used as a specific antonym to [11115]virtual in
any of its jargon senses.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:real estate, Next:[11116]real hack, Previous:[11117]real,
Up:[11118]= R =

real estate n.

May be used for any critical resource measured in units of area. Most
frequently used of `chip real estate', the area available for logic on
the surface of an integrated circuit (see also [11119]nanoacre). May
also be used of floor space in a [11120]dinosaur pen, or even space on
a crowded desktop (whether physical or electronic).
_________________________________________________________________

Node:real hack, Next:[11121]real operating system,
Previous:[11122]real estate, Up:[11123]= R =

real hack n.

A [11124]crock. This is sometimes used affectionately; see
[11125]hack.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:real operating system, Next:[11126]Real Programmer,
Previous:[11127]real hack, Up:[11128]= R =

real operating system n.

The sort the speaker is used to. People from the BSDophilic academic
community are likely to issue comments like "System V? Why don't you
use a real operating system?", people from the commercial/industrial
Unix sector are known to complain "BSD? Why don't you use a real
operating system?", and people from IBM object "Unix? Why don't you
use a real operating system?" Only [11129]MS-DOS is universally
considered unreal. See [11130]holy wars, [11131]religious issues,
[11132]proprietary, [11133]Get a real computer!
_________________________________________________________________

Node:Real Programmer, Next:[11134]Real Soon Now, Previous:[11135]real
operating system, Up:[11136]= R =

Real Programmer n.

[indirectly, from the book "Real Men Don't Eat Quiche"] A particular
sub-variety of hacker: one possessed of a flippant attitude toward
complexity that is arrogant even when justified by experience. The
archetypal `Real Programmer' likes to program on the [11137]bare metal
and is very good at same, remembers the binary opcodes for every
machine he has ever programmed, thinks that HLLs are sissy, and uses a
debugger to edit his code because full-screen editors are for wimps.
Real Programmers aren't satisfied with code that hasn't been
[11138]bummed into a state of [11139]tenseness just short of rupture.
Real Programmers never use comments or write documentation: "If it was
hard to write", says the Real Programmer, "it should be hard to
understand." Real Programmers can make machines do things that were
never in their spec sheets; in fact, they are seldom really happy
unless doing so. A Real Programmer's code can awe with its fiendish
brilliance, even as its crockishness appalls. Real Programmers live on
junk food and coffee, hang line-printer art on their walls, and
terrify the crap out of other programmers -- because someday, somebody
else might have to try to understand their code in order to change it.
Their successors generally consider it a [11140]Good Thing that there
aren't many Real Programmers around any more. For a famous (and
somewhat more positive) portrait of a Real Programmer, see "[11141]The
Story of Mel" in Appendix A. The term itself was popularized by a 1983
Datamation article "Real Programmers Don't Use Pascal" by Ed Post,
still circulating on Usenet and Internet in on-line form. You can
browse "Real Programmers Don't Use Pascal" from the Datamation home
page [11142]http://www.datamation.com.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:Real Soon Now, Next:[11143]real time, Previous:[11144]Real
Programmer, Up:[11145]= R =

Real Soon Now adv.

[orig. from SF's fanzine community, popularized by Jerry Pournelle's
column in "BYTE"] 1. Supposed to be available (or fixed, or cheap, or
whatever) real soon now according to somebody, but the speaker is
quite skeptical. 2. When one's gods, fates, or other time commitments
permit one to get to it (in other words, don't hold your breath).
Often abbreviated RSN. Compare [11146]copious free time.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:real time, Next:[11147]real user, Previous:[11148]Real Soon Now,
Up:[11149]= R =

real time

1. [techspeak] adj. Describes an application which requires a program
to respond to stimuli within some small upper limit of response time
(typically milli- or microseconds). Process control at a chemical
plant is the [11150]canonical example. Such applications often require
special operating systems (because everything else must take a back
seat to response time) and speed-tuned hardware. 2. adv. In jargon,
refers to doing something while people are watching or waiting. "I
asked her how to find the calling procedure's program counter on the
stack and she came up with an algorithm in real time."
_________________________________________________________________

Node:real user, Next:[11151]Real World, Previous:[11152]real time,
Up:[11153]= R =

real user n.

1. A commercial user. One who is paying real money for his computer
usage. 2. A non-hacker. Someone using the system for an explicit
purpose (a research project, a course, etc.) other than pure
exploration. See [11154]user. Hackers who are also students may also
be real users. "I need this fixed so I can do a problem set. I'm not
complaining out of randomness, but as a real user." See also
[11155]luser.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:Real World, Next:[11156]reality check, Previous:[11157]real user,
Up:[11158]= R =

Real World n.

1. Those institutions at which `programming' may be used in the same
sentence as `FORTRAN', `[11159]COBOL', `RPG', `[11160]IBM', `DBASE',
etc. Places where programs do such commercially necessary but
intellectually uninspiring things as generating payroll checks and
invoices. 2. The location of non-programmers and activities not
related to programming. 3. A bizarre dimension in which the standard
dress is shirt and tie and in which a person's working hours are
defined as 9 to 5 (see [11161]code grinder). 4. Anywhere outside a
university. "Poor fellow, he's left MIT and gone into the Real World."
Used pejoratively by those not in residence there. In conversation,
talking of someone who has entered the Real World is not unlike
speaking of a deceased person. It is also noteworthy that on the
campus of Cambridge University in England, there is a gaily-painted
lamp-post which bears the label `REALITY CHECKPOINT'. It marks the
boundary between university and the Real World; check your notions of
reality before passing. This joke is funnier because the Cambridge
`campus' is actually coextensive with the center of Cambridge town.
See also [11162]fear and loathing, [11163]mundane, and
[11164]uninteresting.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:reality check, Next:[11165]reality-distortion field,
Previous:[11166]Real World, Up:[11167]= R =

reality check n.

1. The simplest kind of test of software or hardware; doing the
equivalent of asking it what 2 + 2 is and seeing if you get 4. The
software equivalent of a [11168]smoke test. 2. The act of letting a
[11169]real user try out prototype software. Compare [11170]sanity
check.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:reality-distortion field, Next:[11171]reaper,
Previous:[11172]reality check, Up:[11173]= R =

reality-distortion field n.

An expression used to describe the persuasive ability of managers like
Steve Jobs (the term originated at Apple in the 1980s to describe his
peculiar charisma). Those close to these managers become passionately
committed to possibly insane projects, without regard to the
practicality of their implementation or competitive forces in the
marketpace.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:reaper, Next:[11174]recompile the world,
Previous:[11175]reality-distortion field, Up:[11176]= R =

reaper n.

A [11177]prowler that [11178]GFRs files. A file removed in this way is
said to have been `reaped'.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:recompile the world, Next:[11179]rectangle slinger,
Previous:[11180]reaper, Up:[11181]= R =

recompile the world

The surprisingly large amount of work that needs to be done as the
result of any small but globally visible program change. "The world"
may mean the entirety of some huge program, or may in theory refer to
every program of a certain class in the entire known universe. For
instance, "Add one #define to stdio.h, and you have to recompile the
world." This means that any minor change to the standard-I/O header
file theoretically mandates recompiling every C program in existence,
even if only to verify that the change didn't screw something else up.
In practice, you may not actually have to recompile the world, but the
implication is that some human cleverness is required to figure out
what parts can be safely left out.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:rectangle slinger, Next:[11182]recursion,
Previous:[11183]recompile the world, Up:[11184]= R =

rectangle slinger n.

See [11185]polygon pusher.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:recursion, Next:[11186]recursive acronym,
Previous:[11187]rectangle slinger, Up:[11188]= R =

recursion n.

See [11189]recursion. See also [11190]tail recursion.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:recursive acronym, Next:[11191]Red Book,
Previous:[11192]recursion, Up:[11193]= R =

recursive acronym n.

A hackish (and especially MIT) tradition is to choose
acronyms/abbreviations that refer humorously to themselves or to other
acronyms/abbreviations. The classic examples were two MIT editors
called EINE ("EINE Is Not EMACS") and ZWEI ("ZWEI Was EINE
Initially"). More recently, there is a Scheme compiler called LIAR
(Liar Imitates Apply Recursively), and [11194]GNU (q.v., sense 1)
stands for "GNU's Not Unix!" -- and a company with the name Cygnus,
which expands to "Cygnus, Your GNU Support" (though Cygnus people say
this is a [11195]backronym). See also [11196]mung, [11197]EMACS.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:Red Book, Next:[11198]red wire, Previous:[11199]recursive
acronym, Up:[11200]= R =

Red Book n.

1. Informal name for one of the four standard references on
[11201]PostScript ("PostScript Language Reference Manual", Adobe
Systems (Addison-Wesley, 1985; QA76.73.P67P67; ISBN 0-201-10174-2, or
the 1990 second edition ISBN 0-201-18127-4); the others are known as
the [11202]Green Book, the [11203]Blue Book, and the [11204]White Book
(sense 2). 2. Informal name for one of the 3 standard references on
Smalltalk ("Smalltalk-80: The Interactive Programming Environment" by
Adele Goldberg (Addison-Wesley, 1984; QA76.8.S635G638; ISBN
0-201-11372-4); this too is associated with blue and green books). 3.
Any of the 1984 standards issued by the CCITT eighth plenary assembly.
These include, among other things, the X.400 email spec and the Group
1 through 4 fax standards. 4. The new version of the [11205]Green Book
(sense 4) -- IEEE 1003.1-1990, a.k.a ISO 9945-1 -- is (because of the
color and the fact that it is printed on A4 paper) known in the USA as
"the Ugly Red Book That Won't Fit On The Shelf" and in Europe as "the
Ugly Red Book That's A Sensible Size". 5. The NSA "Trusted Network
Interpretation" companion to the [11206]Orange Book. 6. Nemeth,
Snyder, Seebass, Hein; "Unix System Administration Handbook, Second
Edition" (Prentice Hall PTR, New Jersey; 1995; QA76.76.063N45; ISBN
0-13-151051-7). See also [11207]book titles.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:red wire, Next:[11208]regexp, Previous:[11209]Red Book,
Up:[11210]= R =

red wire n.

[IBM] Patch wires installed by programmers who have no business
mucking with the hardware. It is said that the only thing more
dangerous than a hardware guy with a code patch is a [11211]softy with
a soldering iron.... Compare [11212]blue wire, [11213]yellow wire,
[11214]purple wire.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:regexp, Next:[11215]register dancing, Previous:[11216]red wire,
Up:[11217]= R =

regexp /reg'eksp/ n.

[Unix] (alt. `regex' or `reg-ex') 1. Common written and spoken
abbreviation for `regular expression', one of the wildcard patterns
used, e.g., by Unix utilities such as grep(1), sed(1), and awk(1).
These use conventions similar to but more elaborate than those
described under [11218]glob. For purposes of this lexicon, it is
sufficient to note that regexps also allow complemented character sets
using ^; thus, one can specify `any non-alphabetic character' with
[^A-Za-z]. 2. Name of a well-known PD regexp-handling package in
portable C, written by revered Usenetter Henry Spencer
[11219].
_________________________________________________________________

Node:register dancing, Next:[11220]rehi, Previous:[11221]regexp,
Up:[11222]= R =

register dancing n.

Many older processor architectures suffer from a serious shortage of
general-purpose registers. This is especially a problem for
compiler-writers, because their generated code needs places to store
temporaries for things like intermediate values in expression
evaluation. Some designs with this problem, like the Intel 80x86, do
have a handful of special-purpose registers that can be pressed into
service, providing suitable care is taken to avoid unpleasant side
effects on the state of the processor: while the special-purpose
register is being used to hold an intermediate value, a delicate
minuet is required in which the previous value of the register is
saved and then restored just before the official function (and value)
of the special-purpose register is again needed.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:rehi, Next:[11223]reincarnation cycle of,
Previous:[11224]register dancing, Up:[11225]= R =

rehi

[IRC, MUD] "Hello again." Very commonly used to greet people upon
returning to an IRC channel after [11226]channel hopping.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:reincarnation cycle of, Next:[11227]reinvent the wheel,
Previous:[11228]rehi, Up:[11229]= R =

reincarnation, cycle of n.

See [11230]cycle of reincarnation.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:reinvent the wheel, Next:[11231]relay rape,
Previous:[11232]reincarnation cycle of, Up:[11233]= R =

reinvent the wheel v.

To design or implement a tool equivalent to an existing one or part of
one, with the implication that doing so is silly or a waste of time.
This is often a valid criticism. On the other hand, automobiles don't
use wooden rollers, and some kinds of wheel have to be reinvented many
times before you get them right. On the third hand, people reinventing
the wheel do tend to come up with the moral equivalent of a trapezoid
with an offset axle.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:relay rape, Next:[11234]religion of CHI, Previous:[11235]reinvent
the wheel, Up:[11236]= R =

relay rape n.

The hijacking of a third party's unsecured mail server to deliver
[11237]spam.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:religion of CHI, Next:[11238]religious issues,
Previous:[11239]relay rape, Up:[11240]= R =

religion of CHI /ki:/ n.

[Case Western Reserve University] Yet another hackish parody religion
(see also [11241]Church of the SubGenius, [11242]Discordianism). In
the mid-70s, the canonical "Introduction to Programming" courses at
CWRU were taught in Algol, and student exercises were punched on cards
and run on a Univac 1108 system using a homebrew operating system
named CHI. The religion had no doctrines and but one ritual: whenever
the worshipper noted that a digital clock read 11:08, he or she would
recite the phrase "It is 11:08; ABS, ALPHABETIC, ARCSIN, ARCCOS,
ARCTAN." The last five words were the first five functions in the
appropriate chapter of the Algol manual; note the special
pronunciations /obz/ and /ark'sin/ rather than the more common /ahbz/
and /ark'si:n/. Using an alarm clock to warn of 11:08's arrival was
[11243]considered harmful.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:religious issues, Next:[11244]replicator,
Previous:[11245]religion of CHI, Up:[11246]= R =

religious issues n.

Questions which seemingly cannot be raised without touching off
[11247]holy wars, such as "What is the best operating system (or
editor, language, architecture, shell, mail reader, news reader)?",
"What about that Heinlein guy, eh?", "What should we add to the new
Jargon File?" See [11248]holy wars; see also [11249]theology,
[11250]bigot.

This term is a prime example of [11251]ha ha only serious. People
actually develop the most amazing and religiously intense attachments
to their tools, even when the tools are intangible. The most
constructive thing one can do when one stumbles into the crossfire is
mumble [11252]Get a life! and leave -- unless, of course, one's own
unassailably rational and obviously correct choices are being slammed.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:replicator, Next:[11253]reply, Previous:[11254]religious issues,
Up:[11255]= R =

replicator n.

Any construct that acts to produce copies of itself; this could be a
living organism, an idea (see [11256]meme), a program (see
[11257]quine, [11258]worm, [11259]wabbit, [11260]fork bomb, and
[11261]virus), a pattern in a cellular automaton (see [11262]life,
sense 1), or (speculatively) a robot or [11263]nanobot. It is even
claimed by some that [11264]Unix and [11265]C are the symbiotic halves
of an extremely successful replicator; see [11266]Unix conspiracy.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:reply, Next:[11267]restriction, Previous:[11268]replicator,
Up:[11269]= R =

reply n.

See [11270]followup.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:restriction, Next:[11271]retcon, Previous:[11272]reply,
Up:[11273]= R =

restriction n.

A [11274]bug or design error that limits a program's capabilities, and
which is sufficiently egregious that nobody can quite work up enough
nerve to describe it as a [11275]feature. Often used (esp. by
[11276]marketroid types) to make it sound as though some crippling
bogosity had been intended by the designers all along, or was forced
upon them by arcane technical constraints of a nature no mere user
could possibly comprehend (these claims are almost invariably false).

Old-time hacker Joseph M. Newcomer advises that whenever choosing a
quantifiable but arbitrary restriction, you should make it either a
power of 2 or a power of 2 minus 1. If you impose a limit of 107 items
in a list, everyone will know it is a random number -- on the other
hand, a limit of 15 or 16 suggests some deep reason (involving 0- or
1-based indexing in binary) and you will get less [11277]flamage for
it. Limits which are round numbers in base 10 are always especially
suspect.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:retcon, Next:[11278]RETI, Previous:[11279]restriction,
Up:[11280]= R =

retcon /ret'kon/

[short for `retroactive continuity', from the Usenet newsgroup
rec.arts.comics] 1. n. The common situation in pulp fiction (esp.
comics or soap operas) where a new story `reveals' things about events
in previous stories, usually leaving the `facts' the same (thus
preserving continuity) while completely changing their interpretation.
For example, revealing that a whole season of "Dallas" was a dream was
a retcon. 2. vt. To write such a story about a character or fictitious
object. "Byrne has retconned Superman's cape so that it is no longer
unbreakable." "Marvelman's old adventures were retconned into
synthetic dreams." "Swamp Thing was retconned from a transformed
person into a sentient vegetable." "Darth Vader was retconned into
Luke Skywalker's father in "The Empire Strikes Back".

[This term is included because it is a good example of hackish
linguistic innovation in a field completely unrelated to computers.
The word `retcon' will probably spread through comics fandom and lose
its association with hackerdom within a couple of years; for the
record, it started here. --ESR]

[1993 update: some comics fans on the net now claim that retcon was
independently in use in comics fandom before rec.arts.comics. In
lexicography, nothing is ever simple. --ESR]
_________________________________________________________________

Node:RETI, Next:[11281]retrocomputing, Previous:[11282]retcon,
Up:[11283]= R =

RETI v.

Syn. [11284]RTI
_________________________________________________________________

Node:retrocomputing, Next:[11285]return from the dead,
Previous:[11286]RETI, Up:[11287]= R =

retrocomputing /ret'-roh-k*m-pyoo'ting/ n.

Refers to emulations of way-behind-the-state-of-the-art hardware or
software, or implementations of never-was-state-of-the-art; esp. if
such implementations are elaborate practical jokes and/or parodies,
written mostly for [11288]hack value, of more `serious' designs.
Perhaps the most widely distributed retrocomputing utility was the
pnch(6) or bcd(6) program on V7 and other early Unix versions, which
would accept up to 80 characters of text argument and display the
corresponding pattern in [11289]punched card code. Other well-known
retrocomputing hacks have included the programming language
[11290]INTERCAL, a [11291]JCL-emulating shell for Unix, the
card-punch-emulating editor named 029, and various elaborate PDP-11
hardware emulators and RT-11 OS emulators written just to keep an old,
sourceless [11292]Zork binary running.

A tasty selection of retrocomputing programs are made available at the
Retrocomputing Museum, [11293]http://www.ccil.org/retro.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:return from the dead, Next:[11294]RFC,
Previous:[11295]retrocomputing, Up:[11296]= R =

return from the dead v.

To regain access to the net after a long absence. Compare
[11297]person of no account.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:RFC, Next:[11298]RFE, Previous:[11299]return from the dead,
Up:[11300]= R =

RFC /R-F-C/ n.

[Request For Comment] One of a long-established series of numbered
Internet informational documents and standards widely followed by
commercial software and freeware in the Internet and Unix communities.
Perhaps the single most influential one has been RFC-822 (the Internet
mail-format standard). The RFCs are unusual in that they are floated
by technical experts acting on their own initiative and reviewed by
the Internet at large, rather than formally promulgated through an
institution such as ANSI. For this reason, they remain known as RFCs
even once adopted as standards.

The RFC tradition of pragmatic, experience-driven, after-the-fact
standard writing done by individuals or small working groups has
important advantages over the more formal, committee-driven process
typical of ANSI or ISO. Emblematic of some of these advantages is the
existence of a flourishing tradition of `joke' RFCs; usually at least
one a year is published, usually on April 1st. Well-known joke RFCs
have included 527 ("ARPAWOCKY", R. Merryman, UCSD; 22 June 1973), 748
("Telnet Randomly-Lose Option", Mark R. Crispin; 1 April 1978), and
1149 ("A Standard for the Transmission of IP Datagrams on Avian
Carriers", D. Waitzman, BBN STC; 1 April 1990). The first was a Lewis
Carroll pastiche; the second a parody of the TCP-IP documentation
style, and the third a deadpan skewering of standards-document
legalese, describing protocols for transmitting Internet data packets
by carrier pigeon.

The RFCs are most remarkable for how well they work -- they manage to
have neither the ambiguities that are usually rife in informal
specifications, nor the committee-perpetrated misfeatures that often
haunt formal standards, and they define a network that has grown to
truly worldwide proportions.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:RFE, Next:[11301]rib site, Previous:[11302]RFC, Up:[11303]= R =

RFE /R-F-E/ n.

1. [techspeak] Request For Enhancement (compare [11304]RFC). 2. [from
`Radio Free Europe', Bellcore and Sun] Radio Free Ethernet, a system
(originated by Peter Langston) for broadcasting audio among Sun
SPARCstations over the ethernet.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:rib site, Next:[11305]rice box, Previous:[11306]RFE, Up:[11307]=
R =

rib site n.

[by analogy with [11308]backbone site] A machine that has an on-demand
high-speed link to a [11309]backbone site and serves as a regional
distribution point for lots of third-party traffic in email and Usenet
news. Compare [11310]leaf site, [11311]backbone site.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:rice box, Next:[11312]Right Thing, Previous:[11313]rib site,
Up:[11314]= R =

rice box n.

[from ham radio slang] Any Asian-made commodity computer, esp. an
80x86-based machine built to IBM PC-compatible ISA or EISA-bus
standards.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:Right Thing, Next:[11315]rip, Previous:[11316]rice box,
Up:[11317]= R =

Right Thing n.

That which is compellingly the correct or appropriate thing to use,
do, say, etc. Often capitalized, always emphasized in speech as though
capitalized. Use of this term often implies that in fact reasonable
people may disagree. "What's the right thing for LISP to do when it
sees (mod a 0)? Should it return a, or give a divide-by-0 error?"
Oppose [11318]Wrong Thing.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:rip, Next:[11319]ripoff, Previous:[11320]Right Thing, Up:[11321]=
R =

rip v.

1. To extract the digital representation of a piece of music from an
audio CD. Software that does this is often called a "CD ripper". 2.
[Amiga hackers] To extract sound or graphics from a program that they
have been compiled/assembled into, or which generates them at
run-time. In the case of older Amiga games this entails searching
through memory shortly after a reboot. This sense has been in use for
many years and probably gave rise to the (now more common) sense 1.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:ripoff, Next:[11322]RL, Previous:[11323]rip, Up:[11324]= R =

ripoff n.

Synonym for [11325]chad, sense 1.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:RL, Next:[11326]roach, Previous:[11327]ripoff, Up:[11328]= R =

RL // n.

[MUD community] Real Life. "Firiss laughs in RL" means that Firiss's
player is laughing. Compare [11329]meatspace; oppose [11330]VR.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:roach, Next:[11331]robocanceller, Previous:[11332]RL, Up:[11333]=
R =

roach vt.

[Bell Labs] To destroy, esp. of a data structure. Hardware gets
[11334]toasted or [11335]fried, software gets roached.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:robocanceller, Next:[11336]robot, Previous:[11337]roach,
Up:[11338]= R =

robocanceller /roh-boh-kan'sel-*r/

A program that monitors Usenet feeds, attempting to detect and
eliminate [11339]spam by sending appropriate cancel messages .
Robocancellers may use the [11340]Breidbart Index as a trigger.
Programming them is not a game for amateurs; see [11341]ARMM. See also
[11342]Dave the Resurrector.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:robot, Next:[11343]robust, Previous:[11344]robocanceller,
Up:[11345]= R =

robot n.

See [11346]bot.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:robust, Next:[11347]rococo, Previous:[11348]robot, Up:[11349]= R
=

robust adj.

Said of a system that has demonstrated an ability to recover
gracefully from the whole range of exceptional inputs and situations
in a given environment. One step below [11350]bulletproof. Carries the
additional connotation of elegance in addition to just careful
attention to detail. Compare [11351]smart, oppose [11352]brittle.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:rococo, Next:[11353]rogue, Previous:[11354]robust, Up:[11355]= R
=

rococo adj.

Terminally [11356]baroque. Used to imply that a program has become so
encrusted with the software equivalent of gold leaf and curlicues that
they have completely swamped the underlying design. Called after the
later and more extreme forms of Baroque architecture and decoration
prevalent during the mid-1700s in Europe. Alan Perlis said: "Every
program eventually becomes rococo, and then rubble." Compare
[11357]critical mass.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:rogue, Next:[11358]room-temperature IQ, Previous:[11359]rococo,
Up:[11360]= R =

rogue

1. [Unix] n. A Dungeons-and-Dragons-like game using character
graphics, written under BSD Unix and subsequently ported to other Unix
systems. The original BSD curses(3) screen-handling package was hacked
together by Ken Arnold primarily to support games, and the development
of rogue(6) popularized its use; it has since become one of Unix's
most important and heavily used application libraries. Nethack, Omega,
Larn, Angband, and an entire subgenre of computer dungeon games (all
known as `roguelikes') all took off from the inspiration provided by
rogue(6); the popular Windows game Diablo, though graphics-intensive,
has very similar play logic. See also [11361]nethack. 2. [Usenet] adj.
An [11362]ISP which permits net abuse (usually in the form of
[11363]spamming) by its customers, or which itself engages in such
activities. Rogue ISPs are sometimes subject to [11364]IDPs or
[11365]UDPs. Sometimes deliberately mispelled as "rouge". See also
[11366]nethack, [11367]moria, [11368]Angband.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:room-temperature IQ, Next:[11369]root, Previous:[11370]rogue,
Up:[11371]= R =

room-temperature IQ quant.

[IBM] 80 or below (nominal room temperature is 72 degrees Fahrenheit,
22 degrees Celsius). Used in describing the expected intelligence
range of the [11372]luser. "Well, but how's this interface going to
play with the room-temperature IQ crowd?" See [11373]drool-proof
paper. This is a much more insulting phrase in countries that use
Celsius thermometers.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:root, Next:[11374]root mode, Previous:[11375]room-temperature IQ,
Up:[11376]= R =

root n.

[Unix] 1. The [11377]superuser account (with user name `root') that
ignores permission bits, user number 0 on a Unix system. The term
[11378]avatar is also used. 2. The top node of the system directory
structure; historically the home directory of the root user, but
probably named after the root of an (inverted) tree. 3. By extension,
the privileged system-maintenance login on any OS. See [11379]root
mode, [11380]go root, see also [11381]wheel.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:root mode, Next:[11382]rot13, Previous:[11383]root, Up:[11384]= R
=

root mode n.

Syn. with [11385]wizard mode or `wheel mode'. Like these, it is often
generalized to describe privileged states in systems other than OSes.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:rot13, Next:[11386]rotary debugger, Previous:[11387]root mode,
Up:[11388]= R =

rot13 /rot ther'teen/ n.,v.

[Usenet: from `rotate alphabet 13 places'] The simple Caesar-cypher
encryption that replaces each English letter with the one 13 places
forward or back along the alphabet, so that "The butler did it!"
becomes "Gur ohgyre qvq vg!" Most Usenet news reading and posting
programs include a rot13 feature. It is used to enclose the text in a
sealed wrapper that the reader must choose to open -- e.g., for
posting things that might offend some readers, or [11389]spoilers. A
major advantage of rot13 over rot(N) for other N is that it is
self-inverse, so the same code can be used for encoding and decoding.
See also [11390]spoiler space, which has partly displaced rot13 since
non-Unix-based newsreaders became common.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:rotary debugger, Next:[11391]round tape, Previous:[11392]rot13,
Up:[11393]= R =

rotary debugger n.

[Commodore] Essential equipment for those late-night or early-morning
debugging sessions. Mainly used as sustenance for the hacker. Comes in
many decorator colors, such as Sausage, Pepperoni, and Garbage. See
[11394]ANSI standard pizza.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:round tape, Next:[11395]RSN, Previous:[11396]rotary debugger,
Up:[11397]= R =

round tape n.

Industry-standard 1/2-inch magnetic tape (7- or 9-track) on
traditional circular reels. See [11398]macrotape, oppose [11399]square
tape.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:RSN, Next:[11400]RTBM, Previous:[11401]round tape, Up:[11402]= R
=

RSN /R-S-N/ adj.

See [11403]Real Soon Now.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:RTBM, Next:[11404]RTFAQ, Previous:[11405]RSN, Up:[11406]= R =

RTBM /R-T-B-M/ imp.

[Unix] Commonwealth Hackish variant of [11407]RTFM; expands to `Read
The Bloody Manual'. RTBM is often the entire text of the first reply
to a question from a [11408]newbie; the second would escalate to
"RTFM".
_________________________________________________________________

Node:RTFAQ, Next:[11409]RTFB, Previous:[11410]RTBM, Up:[11411]= R =

RTFAQ /R-T-F-A-Q/ imp.

[Usenet: primarily written, by analogy with [11412]RTFM] Abbrev. for
`Read the FAQ!', an exhortation that the person addressed ought to
read the newsgroup's [11413]FAQ list before posting questions.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:RTFB, Next:[11414]RTFM, Previous:[11415]RTFAQ, Up:[11416]= R =

RTFB /R-T-F-B/ imp.

[Unix] Abbreviation for `Read The Fucking Binary'. Used when neither
documentation nor source for the problem at hand exists, and the only
thing to do is use some debugger or monitor and directly analyze the
assembler or even the machine code. "No source for the buggy port
driver? Aaargh! I hate proprietary operating systems. Time to RTFB."

Of the various RTF? forms, `RTFB' is the least pejorative against
anyone asking a question for which RTFB is the answer; the anger here
is directed at the absence of both source and adequate documentation.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:RTFM, Next:[11417]RTFS, Previous:[11418]RTFB, Up:[11419]= R =

RTFM /R-T-F-M/ imp.

[Unix] Abbreviation for `Read The Fucking Manual'. 1. Used by
[11420]gurus to brush off questions they consider trivial or annoying.
Compare [11421]Don't do that then!. 2. Used when reporting a problem
to indicate that you aren't just asking out of [11422]randomness. "No,
I can't figure out how to interface Unix to my toaster, and yes, I
have RTFM." Unlike sense 1, this use is considered polite. See also
[11423]FM, [11424]RTFAQ, [11425]RTFB, [11426]RTFS, [11427]STFW,
[11428]RTM, all of which mutated from RTFM, and compare [11429]UTSL.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:RTFS, Next:[11430]RTI, Previous:[11431]RTFM, Up:[11432]= R =

RTFS /R-T-F-S/

[Unix] 1. imp. Abbreviation for `Read The Fucking Source'. Variant
form of [11433]RTFM, used when the problem at hand is not necessarily
obvious and not answerable from the manuals -- or the manuals are not
yet written and maybe never will be. For even trickier situations, see
[11434]RTFB. Unlike RTFM, the anger inherent in RTFS is not usually
directed at the person asking the question, but rather at the people
who failed to provide adequate documentation. 2. imp. `Read The
Fucking Standard'; this oath can only be used when the problem area
(e.g., a language or operating system interface) has actually been
codified in a ratified standards document. The existence of these
standards documents (and the technically inappropriate but politically
mandated compromises that they inevitably contain, and the
impenetrable [11435]legalese in which they are invariably written, and
the unbelievably tedious bureaucratic process by which they are
produced) can be unnerving to hackers, who are used to a certain
amount of ambiguity in the specifications of the systems they use.
(Hackers feel that such ambiguities are acceptable as long as the
[11436]Right Thing to do is obvious to any thinking observer; sadly,
this casual attitude towards specifications becomes unworkable when a
system becomes popular in the [11437]Real World.) Since a hacker is
likely to feel that a standards document is both unnecessary and
technically deficient, the deprecation inherent in this term may be
directed as much against the standard as against the person who ought
to read it.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:RTI, Next:[11438]RTM, Previous:[11439]RTFS, Up:[11440]= R =

RTI /R-T-I/ interj.

The mnemonic for the `return from interrupt' instruction on many
computers including the 6502 and 6800. The variant `RETI' is found
among former Z80 hackers (almost nobody programs these things in
assembler anymore). Equivalent to "Now, where was I?" or used to end a
conversational digression. See [11441]pop; see also [11442]POPJ.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:RTM, Next:[11443]RTS, Previous:[11444]RTI, Up:[11445]= R =

RTM /R-T-M/

[Usenet: abbreviation for `Read The Manual'] 1. Politer variant of
[11446]RTFM. 2. Robert Tappan Morris, perpetrator of the great
Internet worm of 1988 (see [11447]Great Worm); villain to many, naive
hacker gone wrong to a few. Morris claimed that the worm that brought
the Internet to its knees was a benign experiment that got out of
control as the result of a coding error. After the storm of negative
publicity that followed this blunder, Morris's username on ITS was
hacked from RTM to [11448]RTFM.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:RTS, Next:[11449]rude, Previous:[11450]RTM, Up:[11451]= R =

RTS /R-T-S/ imp.

Abbreviation for `Read The Screen'. Mainly used by hackers in the
microcomputer world. Refers to what one would like to tell the
[11452]suit one is forced to explain an extremely simple application
to. Particularly appropriate when the suit failed to notice the `Press
any key to continue' prompt, and wishes to know `why won't it do
anything'. Also seen as `RTFS' in especially deserving cases.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:rude, Next:[11453]runes, Previous:[11454]RTS, Up:[11455]= R =

rude [WPI] adj.

1. (of a program) Badly written. 2. Functionally poor, e.g., a program
that is very difficult to use because of gratuitously poor (random?)
design decisions. Oppose [11456]cuspy. 3. Anything that manipulates a
shared resource without regard for its other users in such a way as to
cause a (non-fatal) problem. Examples: programs that change tty modes
without resetting them on exit, or windowing programs that keep
forcing themselves to the top of the window stack. Compare
[11457]all-elbows.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:runes, Next:[11458]runic, Previous:[11459]rude, Up:[11460]= R =

runes pl.n.

1. Anything that requires [11461]heavy wizardry or [11462]black art to
[11463]parse: core dumps, JCL commands, APL, or code in a language you
haven't a clue how to read. Not quite as bad as [11464]line noise, but
close. Compare [11465]casting the runes, [11466]Great Runes. 2.
Special display characters (for example, the high-half graphics on an
IBM PC). 3. [borderline techspeak] 16-bit characters from the Unicode
multilingual character set.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:runic, Next:[11467]rusty iron, Previous:[11468]runes, Up:[11469]=
R =

runic adj.

Syn. [11470]obscure. VMS fans sometimes refer to Unix as `Runix'; Unix
fans return the compliment by expanding VMS to `Very Messy Syntax' or
`Vachement Mauvais Système' (French idiom, "Hugely Bad System").
_________________________________________________________________

Node:rusty iron, Next:[11471]rusty memory, Previous:[11472]runic,
Up:[11473]= R =

rusty iron n.

Syn. [11474]tired iron. It has been claimed that this is the
inevitable fate of [11475]water MIPS.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:rusty memory, Next:[11476]rusty wire, Previous:[11477]rusty iron,
Up:[11478]= R =

rusty memory n.

Mass-storage that uses iron-oxide-based magnetic media (esp. tape and
the pre-Winchester removable disk packs used in [11479]washing
machines). Compare [11480]donuts.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:rusty wire, Next:[11481]S/N ratio, Previous:[11482]rusty memory,
Up:[11483]= R =

rusty wire n.

[Amateur Packet Radio] Any very noisy network medium, in which the
packets are subject to frequent corruption. Most prevalent in
reference to wireless links subject to all the vagaries of RF noise
and marginal propagation conditions. "Yes, but how good is your
whizbang new protocol on really rusty wire?".
_________________________________________________________________

Node:= S =, Next:[11484]= T =, Previous:[11485]= R =, Up:[11486]The
Jargon Lexicon

= S =

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37