William N. Harben - "The Land of the Changing Sun"

Constant - "Private Life of Napoleon Bonaparte, V1"

Emile Zola - "The Three Cities Trilogy: Lourdes, Vol. 1"

Edith H. Allen - "Home Missions In Action"

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

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

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

Books: The New Hacker\'s Dictionary version 4.2.2

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




A power supply consisting of a full wave rectifier circuit
feeding a capacitor input filter circuit

And here are some very silly examples:
|\/\/\/| ____/| ___ |\_/| ___
| | \ o.O| ACK! / \_ |` '| _/ \
| | =(_)= THPHTH! / \/ \/ \
| (o)(o) U / \
C _) (__) \/\/\/\ _____ /\/\/\/
| ,___| (oo) \/ \/
| / \/-------\ U (__)
/____\ || | \ /---V `v'- oo )
/ \ ||---W|| * * |--| || |`. |_/\

//-o-\\
____---=======---____
====___\ /.. ..\ /___==== Klingons rule OK!
// ---\__O__/--- \\
\_\ /_/

There is an important subgenre of ASCII art that puns on the standard
character names in the fashion of a rebus.
+--------------------------------------------------------+
| ^^^^^^^^^^^^ |
| ^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^ |
| ^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^ |
| ^^^^^^^ B ^^^^^^^^^ |
| ^^^^^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ |
+--------------------------------------------------------+
" A Bee in the Carrot Patch "

Within humorous ASCII art, there is for some reason an entire
flourishing subgenre of pictures of silly cows. Four of these are
reproduced in the examples above, here are three more:
(__) (__) (__)
(\/) ($$) (**)
/-------\/ /-------\/ /-------\/
/ | 666 || / |=====|| / | ||
* ||----|| * ||----|| * ||----||
~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~
Satanic cow This cow is a Yuppie Cow in love

Finally, here's a magnificent example of ASCII art depicting an
Edwardian train station in Dunedin, New Zealand:
.-.
/___\
|___|
|]_[|
/ I \
JL/ | \JL
.-. i () | () i .-.
|_| .^. /_\ LJ=======LJ /_\ .^. |_|
._/___\._./___\_._._._._.L_J_/.-. .-.\_L_J._._._._._/___\._./___\._._._
., |-,-| ., L_J |_| [I] |_| L_J ., |-,-| ., .,
JL |-O-| JL L_J%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%L_J JL |-O-| JL JL
IIIIII_HH_'-'-'_HH_IIIIII|_|=======H=======|_|IIIIII_HH_'-'-'_HH_IIIIII_HH_
-------[]-------[]-------[_]----\.=I=./----[_]-------[]-------[]--------[]-
_/\_ ||\\_I_//|| _/\_ [_] []_/_L_J_\_[] [_] _/\_ ||\\_I_//|| _/\_ ||\
|__| ||=/_|_\=|| |__|_|_| _L_L_J_J_ |_|_|__| ||=/_|_\=|| |__| ||-
|__| |||__|__||| |__[___]__--__===__--__[___]__| |||__|__||| |__| |||
IIIIIII[_]IIIII[_]IIIIIL___J__II__|_|__II__L___JIIIII[_]IIIII[_]IIIIIIII[_]
\_I_/ [_]\_I_/[_] \_I_[_]\II/[]\_\I/_/[]\II/[_]\_I_/ [_]\_I_/[_] \_I_/ [_]
./ \.L_J/ \L_J./ L_JI I[]/ \[]I IL_J \.L_J/ \L_J./ \.L_J
| |L_J| |L_J| L_J| |[]| |[]| |L_J |L_J| |L_J| |L_J
|_____JL_JL___JL_JL____|-|| |[]| |[]| ||-|_____JL_JL___JL_JL_____JL_J

There is a newsgroup, alt.ascii-art, devoted to this genre; however,
see also [660]warlording.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:ASCIIbetical order, Next:[661]astroturfing, Previous:[662]ASCII
art, Up:[663]= A =

ASCIIbetical order /as'kee-be'-t*-kl or'dr/ adj.,n.

Used to indicate that data is sorted in ASCII collated order rather
than alphabetical order. This lexicon is sorted in something close to
ASCIIbetical order, but with case ignored and entries beginning with
non-alphabetic characters moved to the end. "At my video store, they
used their computer to sort the videos into ASCIIbetical order, so I
couldn't find `"Crocodile" Dundee' until I thought to look before
`2001' and `48 HRS.'!"
_________________________________________________________________

Node:astroturfing, Next:[664]atomic, Previous:[665]ASCIIbetical order,
Up:[666]= A =

astroturfing n.

The use of paid shills to create the impression of a popular movement,
through means like letters to newspapers from soi-disant `concerned
citizens', paid opinion pieces, and the formation of grass-roots
lobbying groups that are actually funded by a PR group (astroturf is
fake grass; hence the term). This term became common among hackers
after it came to light in early 1998 that Microsoft had attempted to
use such tactics to forestall the U.S. Department of Justice's
antitrust action against the company.

This backfired horribly, angering a number of state attorneys-general
enough to induce them to go public with plans to join the Federal
suit. It also set anybody defending Microsoft on the net for the
accusation "You're just astroturfing!".
_________________________________________________________________

Node:atomic, Next:[667]attoparsec, Previous:[668]astroturfing,
Up:[669]= A =

atomic adj.

[from Gk. `atomos', indivisible] 1. Indivisible; cannot be split up.
For example, an instruction may be said to do several things
`atomically', i.e., all the things are done immediately, and there is
no chance of the instruction being half-completed or of another being
interspersed. Used esp. to convey that an operation cannot be screwed
up by interrupts. "This routine locks the file and increments the
file's semaphore atomically." 2. [primarily techspeak] Guaranteed to
complete successfully or not at all, usu. refers to database
transactions. If an error prevents a partially-performed transaction
from proceeding to completion, it must be "backed out," as the
database must not be left in an inconsistent state.

Computer usage, in either of the above senses, has none of the
connotations that `atomic' has in mainstream English (i.e. of
particles of matter, nuclear explosions etc.).
_________________________________________________________________

Node:attoparsec, Next:[670]AUP, Previous:[671]atomic, Up:[672]= A =

attoparsec n.

About an inch. `atto-' is the standard SI prefix for multiplication by
10^(-18). A parsec (parallax-second) is 3.26 light-years; an
attoparsec is thus 3.26 * 10^(-18) light years, or about 3.1 cm (thus,
1 attoparsec/[673]microfortnight equals about 1 inch/sec). This unit
is reported to be in use (though probably not very seriously) among
hackers in the U.K. See [674]micro-.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:AUP, Next:[675]autobogotiphobia, Previous:[676]attoparsec,
Up:[677]= A =

AUP /A-U-P/

Abbreviation, "Acceptable Use Policy". The policy of a given ISP which
sets out what the ISP considers to be (un)acceptable uses of its
Internet resources.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:autobogotiphobia, Next:[678]automagically, Previous:[679]AUP,
Up:[680]= A =

autobogotiphobia /aw'toh-boh-got`*-foh'bee-*/

n. See [681]bogotify.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:automagically, Next:[682]avatar, Previous:[683]autobogotiphobia,
Up:[684]= A =

automagically /aw-toh-maj'i-klee/ adv.

Automatically, but in a way that, for some reason (typically because
it is too complicated, or too ugly, or perhaps even too trivial), the
speaker doesn't feel like explaining to you. See [685]magic. "The
C-INTERCAL compiler generates C, then automagically invokes cc(1) to
produce an executable."

This term is quite old, going back at least to the mid-70s in jargon
and probably much earlier. The word `automagic' occurred in
advertising (for a shirt-ironing gadget) as far back as the late
1940s.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:avatar, Next:[686]awk, Previous:[687]automagically, Up:[688]= A =

avatar n. Syn.

[in Hindu mythology, the incarnation of a god] 1. Among people working
on virtual reality and [689]cyberspace interfaces, an avatar is an
icon or representation of a user in a shared virtual reality. The term
is sometimes used on [690]MUDs. 2. [CMU, Tektronix] [691]root,
[692]superuser. There are quite a few Unix machines on which the name
of the superuser account is `avatar' rather than `root'. This quirk
was originated by a CMU hacker who found the terms `root' and
`superuser' unimaginative, and thought `avatar' might better impress
people with the responsibility they were accepting.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:awk, Next:[693]B5, Previous:[694]avatar, Up:[695]= A =

awk /awk/

1. n. [Unix techspeak] An interpreted language for massaging text data
developed by Alfred Aho, Peter Weinberger, and Brian Kernighan (the
name derives from their initials). It is characterized by C-like
syntax, a declaration-free approach to variable typing and
declarations, associative arrays, and field-oriented text processing.
See also [696]Perl. 2. n. Editing term for an expression awkward to
manipulate through normal [697]regexp facilities (for example, one
containing a [698]newline). 3. vt. To process data using awk(1).
_________________________________________________________________

Node:= B =, Next:[699]= C =, Previous:[700]= A =, Up:[701]The Jargon
Lexicon

= B =

* [702]B5:
* [703]back door:
* [704]backbone cabal:
* [705]backbone site:
* [706]backgammon:
* [707]background:
* [708]backreference:
* [709]backronym:
* [710]backspace and overstrike:
* [711]backward combatability:
* [712]BAD:
* [713]Bad and Wrong:
* [714]Bad Thing:
* [715]bag on the side:
* [716]bagbiter:
* [717]bagbiting:
* [718]baggy pantsing:
* [719]balloonian variable:
* [720]bamf:
* [721]banana label:
* [722]banana problem:
* [723]banner ad:
* [724]banner site:
* [725]barn:
* [726]batbelt:
* [727]Befunge:
* [728]BI:
* [729]binary four:
* [730]bandwidth:
* [731]bang:
* [732]bang on:
* [733]bang path:
* [734]banner:
* [735]bar:
* [736]bare metal:
* [737]barf:
* [738]barfmail:
* [739]barfulation:
* [740]barfulous:
* [741]barney:
* [742]baroque:
* [743]BASIC:
* [744]batch:
* [745]bathtub curve:
* [746]baud:
* [747]baud barf:
* [748]baz:
* [749]bazaar:
* [750]bboard:
* [751]BBS:
* [752]BCPL:
* [753]beam:
* [754]beanie key:
* [755]beep:
* [756]beige toaster:
* [757]bells and whistles:
* [758]bells whistles and gongs:
* [759]benchmark:
* [760]Berkeley Quality Software:
* [761]berklix:
* [762]Berzerkeley:
* [763]beta:
* [764]BFI:
* [765]bible:
* [766]BiCapitalization:
* [767]B1FF:
* [768]biff:
* [769]Big Gray Wall:
* [770]big iron:
* [771]Big Red Switch:
* [772]Big Room:
* [773]big win:
* [774]big-endian:
* [775]bignum:
* [776]bigot:
* [777]bit:
* [778]bit bang:
* [779]bit bashing:
* [780]bit bucket:
* [781]bit decay:
* [782]bit rot:
* [783]bit twiddling:
* [784]bit-paired keyboard:
* [785]bitblt:
* [786]BITNET:
* [787]bits:
* [788]bitty box:
* [789]bixen:
* [790]bixie:
* [791]black art:
* [792]black hole:
* [793]black magic:
* [794]Black Screen of Death:
* [795]Black Thursday:
* [796]blammo:
* [797]blargh:
* [798]blast:
* [799]blat:
* [800]bletch:
* [801]bletcherous:
* [802]blink:
* [803]blinkenlights:
* [804]blit:
* [805]blitter:
* [806]blivet:
* [807]bloatware:
* [808]BLOB:
* [809]block:
* [810]block transfer computations:
* [811]Bloggs Family:
* [812]blow an EPROM:
* [813]blow away:
* [814]blow out:
* [815]blow past:
* [816]blow up:
* [817]BLT:
* [818]Blue Book:
* [819]blue box:
* [820]Blue Glue:
* [821]blue goo:
* [822]Blue Screen of Death:
* [823]blue wire:
* [824]blurgle:
* [825]BNF:
* [826]boa:
* [827]board:
* [828]boat anchor:
* [829]bob:
* [830]bodysurf code:
* [831]BOF:
* [832]BOFH:
* [833]bogo-sort:
* [834]bogometer:
* [835]BogoMIPS:
* [836]bogon:
* [837]bogon filter:
* [838]bogon flux:
* [839]bogosity:
* [840]bogotify:
* [841]bogue out:
* [842]bogus:
* [843]Bohr bug:
* [844]boink:
* [845]bomb:
* [846]bondage-and-discipline language:
* [847]bonk/oif:
* [848]book titles:
* [849]boot:
* [850]Borg:
* [851]borken:
* [852]bot:
* [853]bot spot:
* [854]bottom feeder:
* [855]bottom-up implementation:
* [856]bounce:
* [857]bounce message:
* [858]boustrophedon:
* [859]box:
* [860]boxed comments:
* [861]boxen:
* [862]boxology:
* [863]bozotic:
* [864]BQS:
* [865]brain dump:
* [866]brain fart:
* [867]brain-damaged:
* [868]brain-dead:
* [869]braino:
* [870]branch to Fishkill:
* [871]bread crumbs:
* [872]break:
* [873]break-even point:
* [874]breath-of-life packet:
* [875]breedle:
* [876]Breidbart Index:
* [877]bring X to its knees:
* [878]brittle:
* [879]broadcast storm:
* [880]brochureware:
* [881]broken:
* [882]broken arrow:
* [883]BrokenWindows:
* [884]broket:
* [885]Brooks's Law:
* [886]brown-paper-bag bug:
* [887]browser:
* [888]BRS:
* [889]brute force:
* [890]brute force and ignorance:
* [891]BSD:
* [892]BSOD:
* [893]BUAF:
* [894]BUAG:
* [895]bubble sort:
* [896]bucky bits:
* [897]buffer chuck:
* [898]buffer overflow:
* [899]bug:
* [900]bug-compatible:
* [901]bug-for-bug compatible:
* [902]bug-of-the-month club:
* [903]buglix:
* [904]bulletproof:
* [905]bullschildt:
* [906]bum:
* [907]bump:
* [908]burble:
* [909]buried treasure:
* [910]burn-in period:
* [911]burst page:
* [912]busy-wait:
* [913]buzz:
* [914]BWQ:
* [915]by hand:
* [916]byte:
* [917]byte sex:
* [918]bytesexual:
* [919]Bzzzt! Wrong.:
_________________________________________________________________

Node:B5, Next:[920]back door, Previous:[921]awk, Up:[922]= B =

B5 //

[common] Abbreviation for "Babylon 5", a science-fiction TV series as
revered among hackers as was the original Star Trek.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:back door, Next:[923]backbone cabal, Previous:[924]B5, Up:[925]=
B =

back door n.

[common] A hole in the security of a system deliberately left in place
by designers or maintainers. The motivation for such holes is not
always sinister; some operating systems, for example, come out of the
box with privileged accounts intended for use by field service
technicians or the vendor's maintenance programmers. Syn. [926]trap
door; may also be called a `wormhole'. See also [927]iron box,
[928]cracker, [929]worm, [930]logic bomb.

Historically, back doors have often lurked in systems longer than
anyone expected or planned, and a few have become widely known. Ken
Thompson's 1983 Turing Award lecture to the ACM admitted the existence
of a back door in early Unix versions that may have qualified as the
most fiendishly clever security hack of all time. In this scheme, the
C compiler contained code that would recognize when the `login'
command was being recompiled and insert some code recognizing a
password chosen by Thompson, giving him entry to the system whether or
not an account had been created for him.

Normally such a back door could be removed by removing it from the
source code for the compiler and recompiling the compiler. But to
recompile the compiler, you have to use the compiler -- so Thompson
also arranged that the compiler would recognize when it was compiling
a version of itself, and insert into the recompiled compiler the code
to insert into the recompiled `login' the code to allow Thompson entry
-- and, of course, the code to recognize itself and do the whole thing
again the next time around! And having done this once, he was then
able to recompile the compiler from the original sources; the hack
perpetuated itself invisibly, leaving the back door in place and
active but with no trace in the sources.

The talk that suggested this truly moby hack was published as
"Reflections on Trusting Trust", "Communications of the ACM 27", 8
(August 1984), pp. 761-763 (text available at
[931]http://www.acm.org/classics). Ken Thompson has since confirmed
that this hack was implemented and that the Trojan Horse code did
appear in the login binary of a Unix Support group machine. Ken says
the crocked compiler was never distributed. Your editor has heard two
separate reports that suggest that the crocked login did make it out
of Bell Labs, notably to BBN, and that it enabled at least one
late-night login across the network by someone using the login name
`kt'.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:backbone cabal, Next:[932]backbone site, Previous:[933]back door,
Up:[934]= B =

backbone cabal n.

A group of large-site administrators who pushed through the [935]Great
Renaming and reined in the chaos of [936]Usenet during most of the
1980s. During most of its lifetime, the Cabal (as it was sometimes
capitalized) steadfastly denied its own existence; it was almost
obligatory for anyone privy to their secrets to respond "There is no
Cabal" whenever the existence or activities of the group were
speculated on in public.

The result of this policy was an attractive aura of mystery. Even a
decade after the cabal [937]mailing list disbanded in late 1988
following a bitter internal catfight, many people believed (or claimed
to believe) that it had not actually disbanded but only gone deeper
underground with its power intact.

This belief became a model for various paranoid theories about various
Cabals with dark nefarious objectives beginning with taking over the
Usenet or Internet. These paranoias were later satirized in ways that
took on a life of their own. See [938]Eric Conspiracy for one example.

See [939]NANA for the subsequent history of "the Cabal".
_________________________________________________________________

Node:backbone site, Next:[940]backgammon, Previous:[941]backbone
cabal, Up:[942]= B =

backbone site n.,obs.

Formerly, a key Usenet and email site, one that processes a large
amount of third-party traffic, especially if it is the home site of
any of the regional coordinators for the Usenet maps. Notable backbone
sites as of early 1993, when this sense of the term was beginning to
pass out of general use due to wide availability of cheap Internet
connections, included uunet and the mail machines at Rutgers
University, UC Berkeley, [943]DEC's Western Research Laboratories,
Ohio State University, and the University of Texas. Compare [944]rib
site, [945]leaf site.

[1996 update: This term is seldom heard any more. The UUCP network
world that gave it meaning has nearly disappeared; everyone is on the
Internet now and network traffic is distributed in very different
patterns. Today one might see references to a `backbone router'
instead --ESR]
_________________________________________________________________

Node:backgammon, Next:[946]background, Previous:[947]backbone site,
Up:[948]= B =

backgammon

See [949]bignum (sense 3), [950]moby (sense 4), and [951]pseudoprime.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:background, Next:[952]backreference, Previous:[953]backgammon,
Up:[954]= B =

background n.,adj.,vt.

[common] To do a task `in background' is to do it whenever
[955]foreground matters are not claiming your undivided attention, and
`to background' something means to relegate it to a lower priority.
"For now, we'll just print a list of nodes and links; I'm working on
the graph-printing problem in background." Note that this implies
ongoing activity but at a reduced level or in spare time, in contrast
to mainstream `back burner' (which connotes benign neglect until some
future resumption of activity). Some people prefer to use the term for
processing that they have queued up for their unconscious minds (a
tack that one can often fruitfully take upon encountering an obstacle
in creative work). Compare [956]amp off, [957]slopsucker.

Technically, a task running in background is detached from the
terminal where it was started (and often running at a lower priority);
oppose [958]foreground. Nowadays this term is primarily associated
with [959]Unix, but it appears to have been first used in this sense
on OS/360.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:backreference, Next:[960]backronym, Previous:[961]background,
Up:[962]= B =

backreference n.

1. In a regular expression or pattern match, the text which was
matched within grouping parentheses parentheses. 2. The part of the
pattern which refers back to the matched text. 3. By extension,
anything which refers back to something which has been seen or
discussed before. "When you said `she' just now, who were you
backreferencing?"
_________________________________________________________________

Node:backronym, Next:[963]backspace and overstrike,
Previous:[964]backreference, Up:[965]= B =

backronym n.

[portmanteau of back + acronym] A word interpreted as an acronym that
was not originally so intended. This is a special case of what
linguists call `back formation'. Examples are given under [966]BASIC,
[967]recursive acronym (Cygnus), [968]Acme, and [969]mung. Discovering
backronyms is a common form of wordplay among hackers. Compare
[970]retcon.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:backspace and overstrike, Next:[971]backward combatability,
Previous:[972]backronym, Up:[973]= B =

backspace and overstrike interj.

[rare] Whoa! Back up. Used to suggest that someone just said or did
something wrong. Once common among APL programmers; may now be
obsolete.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:backward combatability, Next:[974]BAD, Previous:[975]backspace
and overstrike, Up:[976]= B =

backward combatability /bak'w*rd k*m-bat'*-bil'*-tee/ n.

[CMU, Tektronix: from `backward compatibility'] A property of hardware
or software revisions in which previous protocols, formats, layouts,
etc. are irrevocably discarded in favor of `new and improved'
protocols, formats, and layouts, leaving the previous ones not merely
deprecated but actively defeated. (Too often, the old and new versions
cannot definitively be distinguished, such that lingering instances of
the previous ones yield crashes or other infelicitous effects, as
opposed to a simple "version mismatch" message.) A backwards
compatible change, on the other hand, allows old versions to coexist
without crashes or error messages, but too many major changes
incorporating elaborate backwards compatibility processing can lead to
extreme [977]software bloat. See also [978]flag day.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:BAD, Next:[979]Bad and Wrong, Previous:[980]backward
combatability, Up:[981]= B =

BAD /B-A-D/ adj.

[IBM: acronym, `Broken As Designed'] Said of a program that is
[982]bogus because of bad design and misfeatures rather than because
of bugginess. See [983]working as designed.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:Bad and Wrong, Next:[984]Bad Thing, Previous:[985]BAD, Up:[986]=
B =

Bad and Wrong adj.

[Durham, UK] Said of something that is both badly designed and wrongly
executed. This common term is the prototype of, and is used by
contrast with, three less common terms - Bad and Right (a kludge,
something ugly but functional); Good and Wrong (an overblown GUI or
other attractive nuisance); and (rare praise) Good and Right. These
terms entered common use at Durham c.1994 and may have been imported
from elsewhere; they are also in use at Oxford, and the emphatic form
"Evil, Bad and Wrong" (abbreviated EBW) is reported fromm there. There
are standard abbreviations: they start with B&R, a typo for "Bad and
Wrong". Consequently, B&W is actually "Bad and Right", G&R = "Good and
Wrong", and G&W = "Good and Right". Compare [987]evil and rude,
[988]Good Thing, [989]Bad Thing.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:Bad Thing, Next:[990]bag on the side, Previous:[991]Bad and
Wrong, Up:[992]= B =

Bad Thing n.

[very common; from the 1930 Sellar & Yeatman parody "1066 And All
That"] Something that can't possibly result in improvement of the
subject. This term is always capitalized, as in "Replacing all of the
9600-baud modems with bicycle couriers would be a Bad Thing". Oppose
[993]Good Thing. British correspondents confirm that [994]Bad Thing
and [995]Good Thing (and prob. therefore [996]Right Thing and
[997]Wrong Thing) come from the book referenced in the etymology,
which discusses rulers who were Good Kings but Bad Things. This has
apparently created a mainstream idiom on the British side of the pond.
It is very common among American hackers, but not in mainstream usage
here. Compare [998]Bad and Wrong.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:bag on the side, Next:[999]bagbiter, Previous:[1000]Bad Thing,
Up:[1001]= B =

bag on the side n.

[prob. originally related to a colostomy bag] An extension to an
established hack that is supposed to add some functionality to the
original. Usually derogatory, implying that the original was being
overextended and should have been thrown away, and the new product is
ugly, inelegant, or bloated. Also v. phrase, `to hang a bag on the
side [of]'. "C++? That's just a bag on the side of C ...." "They want
me to hang a bag on the side of the accounting system."
_________________________________________________________________

Node:bagbiter, Next:[1002]bagbiting, Previous:[1003]bag on the side,
Up:[1004]= B =

bagbiter /bag'bi:t-*r/ n.

1. Something, such as a program or a computer, that fails to work, or
works in a remarkably clumsy manner. "This text editor won't let me
make a file with a line longer than 80 characters! What a bagbiter!"
2. A person who has caused you some trouble, inadvertently or
otherwise, typically by failing to program the computer properly.
Synonyms: [1005]loser, [1006]cretin, [1007]chomper. 3. `bite the bag'
vi. To fail in some manner. "The computer keeps crashing every five
minutes." "Yes, the disk controller is really biting the bag."

The original loading of these terms was almost undoubtedly obscene,
possibly referring to a douche bag or the scrotum (we have reports of
"Bite the douche bag!" being used as a taunt at MIT 1970-1976, and we
have another report that "Bite the bag!" was in common use at least as
early as 1965), but in their current usage they have become almost
completely sanitized.

ITS's [1008]lexiphage program was the first and to date only known
example of a program intended to be a bagbiter.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:bagbiting, Next:[1009]baggy pantsing, Previous:[1010]bagbiter,
Up:[1011]= B =

bagbiting adj.

Having the quality of a [1012]bagbiter. "This bagbiting system won't
let me compute the factorial of a negative number." Compare
[1013]losing, [1014]cretinous, [1015]bletcherous, `barfucious' (under
[1016]barfulous) and `chomping' (under [1017]chomp).
_________________________________________________________________

Node:baggy pantsing, Next:[1018]balloonian variable,
Previous:[1019]bagbiting, Up:[1020]= B =

baggy pantsing v.

[Georgia Tech] A "baggy pantsing" is used to reprimand hackers who
incautiously leave their terminals unlocked. The affected user will
come back to find a post from them on internal newsgroups discussing
exactly how baggy their pants are, an accepted stand-in for
"unattentive user who left their work unprotected in the clusters". A
properly-done baggy pantsing is highly mocking and humorous (see
examples below). It is considered bad form to post a baggy pantsing to
off-campus newsgroups or the more technical, serious groups. A
particularly nice baggy pantsing may be "claimed" by immediately
quoting the message in full, followed by your sig; this has the added
benefit of keeping the embarassed victim from being able to delete the
post. Interesting baggy-pantsings have been done involving adding
commands to login scripts to repost the message every time the unlucky
user logs in; Unix boxes on the residential network, when cracked,
oftentimes have their homepages replaced (after being politely
backedup to another file) with a baggy-pants message; .plan files are
also occasionally targeted. Usage: "Prof. Greenlee fell asleep in the
Solaris cluster again; we baggy-pantsed him to
git.cc.class.2430.flame."
_________________________________________________________________

Node:balloonian variable, Next:[1021]bamf, Previous:[1022]baggy
pantsing, Up:[1023]= B =

balloonian variable n.

[Commodore users; perh. a deliberate phonetic mangling of `boolean
variable'?] Any variable that doesn't actually hold or control state,
but must nevertheless be declared, checked, or set. A typical
balloonian variable started out as a flag attached to some environment
feature that either became obsolete or was planned but never
implemented. Compatibility concerns (or politics attached to same) may
require that such a flag be treated as though it were [1024]live.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:bamf, Next:[1025]banana label, Previous:[1026]balloonian
variable, Up:[1027]= B =

bamf /bamf/

1. [from X-Men comics; originally "bampf"] interj. Notional sound made
by a person or object teleporting in or out of the hearer's vicinity.
Often used in [1028]virtual reality (esp. [1029]MUD) electronic
[1030]fora when a character wishes to make a dramatic entrance or
exit. 2. The sound of magical transformation, used in virtual reality
[1031]fora like MUDs. 3. In MUD circles, "bamf" is also used to refer
to the act by which a MUD server sends a special notification to the
MUD client to switch its connection to another server ("I'll set up
the old site to just bamf people over to our new location."). 4. Used
by MUDders on occasion in a more general sense related to sense 3, to
refer to directing someone to another location or resource ("A user
was asking about some technobabble so I bamfed them to
[1032]http://www.tuxedo.org/jargon/".)
_________________________________________________________________

Node:banana label, Next:[1033]banana problem, Previous:[1034]bamf,
Up:[1035]= B =

banana label n.

The labels often used on the sides of [1036]macrotape reels, so called
because they are shaped roughly like blunt-ended bananas. This term,
like macrotapes themselves, is still current but visibly headed for
obsolescence.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:banana problem, Next:[1037]binary four, Previous:[1038]banana
label, Up:[1039]= B =

banana problem n.

[from the story of the little girl who said "I know how to spell
`banana', but I don't know when to stop"]. Not knowing where or when
to bring a production to a close (compare [1040]fencepost error). One
may say `there is a banana problem' of an algorithm with poorly
defined or incorrect termination conditions, or in discussing the
evolution of a design that may be succumbing to featuritis (see also
[1041]creeping elegance, [1042]creeping featuritis). See item 176
under [1043]HAKMEM, which describes a banana problem in a
[1044]Dissociated Press implementation. Also, see [1045]one-banana
problem for a superficially similar but unrelated usage.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:binary four, Next:[1046]bandwidth, Previous:[1047]banana problem,
Up:[1048]= B =

binary four n.

[Usenet] The finger, in the sense of `digitus impudicus'. This comes
from an analogy between binary and the hand, i.e. 1=00001=thumb,
2=00010=index finger, 3=00011=index and thumb, 4=00100. Considered
silly. Prob. from humorous derivative of [1049]finger, sense 4.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:bandwidth, Next:[1050]bang, Previous:[1051]binary four,
Up:[1052]= B =

bandwidth n.

1. [common] Used by hackers (in a generalization of its technical
meaning) as the volume of information per unit time that a computer,
person, or transmission medium can handle. "Those are amazing
graphics, but I missed some of the detail -- not enough bandwidth, I
guess." Compare [1053]low-bandwidth. This generalized usage began to
go mainstream after the Internet population explosion of 1993-1994. 2.
Attention span. 3. On [1054]Usenet, a measure of network capacity that
is often wasted by people complaining about how items posted by others
are a waste of bandwidth.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:bang, Next:[1055]bang on, Previous:[1056]bandwidth, Up:[1057]= B
=

bang

1. n. Common spoken name for ! (ASCII 0100001), especially when used
in pronouncing a [1058]bang path in spoken hackish. In [1059]elder
days this was considered a CMUish usage, with MIT and Stanford hackers
preferring [1060]excl or [1061]shriek; but the spread of Unix has
carried `bang' with it (esp. via the term [1062]bang path) and it is
now certainly the most common spoken name for !. Note that it is used
exclusively for non-emphatic written !; one would not say
"Congratulations bang" (except possibly for humorous purposes), but if
one wanted to specify the exact characters `foo!' one would speak "Eff
oh oh bang". See [1063]shriek, [1064]ASCII. 2. interj. An exclamation
signifying roughly "I have achieved enlightenment!", or "The dynamite
has cleared out my brain!" Often used to acknowledge that one has
perpetrated a [1065]thinko immediately after one has been called on
it.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:bang on, Next:[1066]bang path, Previous:[1067]bang, Up:[1068]= B
=

bang on vt.

To stress-test a piece of hardware or software: "I banged on the new
version of the simulator all day yesterday and it didn't crash once. I
guess it is ready for release." The term [1069]pound on is synonymous.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:bang path, Next:[1070]banner, Previous:[1071]bang on, Up:[1072]=
B =

bang path n.

[now historical] An old-style UUCP electronic-mail address specifying
hops to get from some assumed-reachable location to the addressee, so
called because each [1073]hop is signified by a [1074]bang sign. Thus,
for example, the path ...!bigsite!foovax!barbox!me directs people to
route their mail to machine bigsite (presumably a well-known location
accessible to everybody) and from there through the machine foovax to
the account of user me on barbox.

In the bad old days of not so long ago, before autorouting mailers
became commonplace, people often published compound bang addresses
using the { } convention (see [1075]glob) to give paths from several
big machines, in the hopes that one's correspondent might be able to
get mail to one of them reliably (example: ...!{seismo, ut-sally,
ihnp4}!rice!beta!gamma!me). Bang paths of 8 to 10 hops were not
uncommon in 1981. Late-night dial-up UUCP links would cause week-long
transmission times. Bang paths were often selected by both
transmission time and reliability, as messages would often get lost.
See [1076]Internet address, [1077]the network, and [1078]sitename.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:banner, Next:[1079]banner ad, Previous:[1080]bang path,
Up:[1081]= B =

banner n.

1. The title page added to printouts by most print spoolers (see
[1082]spool). Typically includes user or account ID information in
very large character-graphics capitals. Also called a `burst page',
because it indicates where to burst (tear apart) fanfold paper to
separate one user's printout from the next. 2. A similar printout
generated (typically on multiple pages of fan-fold paper) from
user-specified text, e.g., by a program such as Unix's banner({1,6}).
3. On interactive software, a first screen containing a logo and/or
author credits and/or a copyright notice. This is probably now the
commonest sense.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:banner ad, Next:[1083]banner site, Previous:[1084]banner,
Up:[1085]= B =

banner ad n.

Any of the annoying graphical advertisements that span the tops of way
too many Web pages.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:banner site, Next:[1086]bar, Previous:[1087]banner ad, Up:[1088]=
B =

banner site n.

[warez d00dz] A FTP site storing pirated files where one must first
click on several banners and/or subscribe to various `free' services,
usually generating some form of revenues for the site owner, to be
able to access the site. More often than not, the username/password
painfully obtained by clicking on banners and subscribing to bogus
services or mailing lists turns out to be non-working or gives access
to a site that always responds busy. See [1089]ratio site, [1090]leech
mode.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:bar, Next:[1091]bare metal, Previous:[1092]banner site,
Up:[1093]= B =

bar /bar/ n.

1. [very common] The second [1094]metasyntactic variable, after
[1095]foo and before [1096]baz. "Suppose we have two functions: FOO
and BAR. FOO calls BAR...." 2. Often appended to [1097]foo to produce
[1098]foobar.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:bare metal, Next:[1099]barf, Previous:[1100]bar, Up:[1101]= B =

bare metal n.

1. [common] New computer hardware, unadorned with such snares and
delusions as an [1102]operating system, an [1103]HLL, or even
assembler. Commonly used in the phrase `programming on the bare
metal', which refers to the arduous work of [1104]bit bashing needed
to create these basic tools for a new machine. Real bare-metal
programming involves things like building boot proms and BIOS chips,
implementing basic monitors used to test device drivers, and writing
the assemblers that will be used to write the compiler back ends that
will give the new machine a real development environment. 2.
`Programming on the bare metal' is also used to describe a style of
[1105]hand-hacking that relies on bit-level peculiarities of a
particular hardware design, esp. tricks for speed and space
optimization that rely on crocks such as overlapping instructions (or,
as in the famous case described in [1106]The Story of Mel (in Appendix
A), interleaving of opcodes on a magnetic drum to minimize fetch
delays due to the device's rotational latency). This sort of thing has
become less common as the relative costs of programming time and
machine resources have changed, but is still found in heavily
constrained environments such as industrial embedded systems, and in
the code of hackers who just can't let go of that low-level control.
See [1107]Real Programmer.

In the world of personal computing, bare metal programming (especially
in sense 1 but sometimes also in sense 2) is often considered a
[1108]Good Thing, or at least a necessary evil (because these machines
have often been sufficiently slow and poorly designed to make it
necessary; see [1109]ill-behaved). There, the term usually refers to
bypassing the BIOS or OS interface and writing the application to
directly access device registers and machine addresses. "To get 19.2
kilobaud on the serial port, you need to get down to the bare metal."
People who can do this sort of thing well are held in high regard.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:barf, Next:[1110]barfmail, Previous:[1111]bare metal, Up:[1112]=
B =

barf /barf/ n.,v.

[common; from mainstream slang meaning `vomit'] 1. interj. Term of
disgust. This is the closest hackish equivalent of the Valspeak "gag
me with a spoon". (Like, euwww!) See [1113]bletch. 2. vi. To say
"Barf!" or emit some similar expression of disgust. "I showed him my
latest hack and he barfed" means only that he complained about it, not
that he literally vomited. 3. vi. To fail to work because of
unacceptable input, perhaps with a suitable error message, perhaps
not. Examples: "The division operation barfs if you try to divide by
0." (That is, the division operation checks for an attempt to divide
by zero, and if one is encountered it causes the operation to fail in
some unspecified, but generally obvious, manner.) "The text editor
barfs if you try to read in a new file before writing out the old
one." See [1114]choke, [1115]gag. In Commonwealth Hackish, `barf' is
generally replaced by `puke' or `vom'. [1116]barf is sometimes also
used as a [1117]metasyntactic variable, like [1118]foo or [1119]bar.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:barfmail, Next:[1120]barfulation, Previous:[1121]barf, Up:[1122]=
B =

barfmail n.

Multiple [1123]bounce messages accumulating to the level of serious
annoyance, or worse. The sort of thing that happens when an
inter-network mail gateway goes down or wonky.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:barfulation, Next:[1124]barfulous, Previous:[1125]barfmail,
Up:[1126]= B =

barfulation /bar`fyoo-lay'sh*n/ interj.

Variation of [1127]barf used around the Stanford area. An exclamation,
expressing disgust. On seeing some particularly bad code one might
exclaim, "Barfulation! Who wrote this, Quux?"
_________________________________________________________________

Node:barfulous, Next:[1128]barn, Previous:[1129]barfulation,
Up:[1130]= B =

barfulous /bar'fyoo-l*s/ adj.

(alt. `barfucious', /bar-fyoo-sh*s/) Said of something that would make
anyone barf, if only for esthetic reasons.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:barn, Next:[1131]barney, Previous:[1132]barfulous, Up:[1133]= B =

barn n.

[uncommon; prob. from the nuclear military] An unexpectedly large
quantity of something: a unit of measurement. "Why is /var/adm taking
up so much space?" "The logs have grown to several barns." The source
of this is clear: when physicists were first studying nuclear
interactions, the probability was thought to be proportional to the
cross-sectional area of the nucleus (this probability is still called
the cross-section). Upon experimenting, they discovered the
interactions were far more probable than expected; the nuclei were `as
big as a barn'. The units for cross-sections were christened Barns,
(10^-24 cm^2) and the book containing cross-sections has a picture of
a barn on the cover.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:barney, Next:[1134]baroque, Previous:[1135]barn, Up:[1136]= B =

barney n.

In Commonwealth hackish, `barney' is to [1137]fred (sense #1) as
[1138]bar is to [1139]foo. That is, people who commonly use `fred' as
their first metasyntactic variable will often use `barney' second. The
reference is, of course, to Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble in the
Flintstones cartoons.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:baroque, Next:[1140]BASIC, Previous:[1141]barney, Up:[1142]= B =

baroque adj.

[common] Feature-encrusted; complex; gaudy; verging on excessive. Said
of hardware or (esp.) software designs, this has many of the
connotations of [1143]elephantine or [1144]monstrosity but is less
extreme and not pejorative in itself. "Metafont even has features to
introduce random variations to its letterform output. Now that is
baroque!" See also [1145]rococo.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:BASIC, Next:[1146]batbelt, Previous:[1147]baroque, Up:[1148]= B =

BASIC /bay'-sic/ n.

A programming language, originally designed for Dartmouth's
experimental timesharing system in the early 1960s, which for many
years was the leading cause of brain damage in proto-hackers. Edsger
W. Dijkstra observed in "Selected Writings on Computing: A Personal
Perspective" that "It is practically impossible to teach good
programming style to students that have had prior exposure to BASIC:
as potential programmers they are mentally mutilated beyond hope of
regeneration." This is another case (like [1149]Pascal) of the
cascading [1150]lossage that happens when a language deliberately
designed as an educational toy gets taken too seriously. A novice can
write short BASIC programs (on the order of 10-20 lines) very easily;
writing anything longer (a) is very painful, and (b) encourages bad
habits that will make it harder to use more powerful languages well.
This wouldn't be so bad if historical accidents hadn't made BASIC so
common on low-end micros in the 1980s. As it is, it probably ruined
tens of thousands of potential wizards.

[1995: Some languages called `BASIC' aren't quite this nasty any more,
having acquired Pascal- and C-like procedures and control structures
and shed their line numbers. --ESR]

Note: the name is commonly parsed as Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic
Instruction Code, but this is a [1151]backronym. BASIC was originally
named Basic, simply because it was a simple and basic programming
language. Because most programming language names were in fact
acronyms, BASIC was often capitalized just out of habit or to be
silly. No acronym for BASIC originally existed or was intended (as one
can verify by reading texts through the early 1970s). Later, around
the mid-1970s, people began to make up backronyms for BASIC because
they weren't sure. Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code is
the one that caught on.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:batbelt, Next:[1152]batch, Previous:[1153]BASIC, Up:[1154]= B =

batbelt n.

Many hackers routinely hang numerous devices such as pagers,
cell-phones, personal organizers, leatherman multitools, pocket
knives, flashlights, walkie-talkies, even miniature computers from
their belts. When many of these devices are worn at once, the hacker's
belt somewhat resembles Batman's utility belt; hence it is referred to
as a batbelt.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:batch, Next:[1155]bathtub curve, Previous:[1156]batbelt,
Up:[1157]= B =

batch adj.

1. Non-interactive. Hackers use this somewhat more loosely than the
traditional technical definitions justify; in particular, switches on
a normally interactive program that prepare it to receive
non-interactive command input are often referred to as `batch mode'
switches. A `batch file' is a series of instructions written to be
handed to an interactive program running in batch mode. 2. Performance
of dreary tasks all at one sitting. "I finally sat down in batch mode
and wrote out checks for all those bills; I guess they'll turn the
electricity back on next week..." 3. `batching up': Accumulation of a
number of small tasks that can be lumped together for greater
efficiency. "I'm batching up those letters to send sometime" "I'm
batching up bottles to take to the recycling center."
_________________________________________________________________

Node:bathtub curve, Next:[1158]baud, Previous:[1159]batch, Up:[1160]=
B =

bathtub curve n.

Common term for the curve (resembling an end-to-end section of one of
those claw-footed antique bathtubs) that describes the expected
failure rate of electronics with time: initially high, dropping to
near 0 for most of the system's lifetime, then rising again as it
`tires out'. See also [1161]burn-in period, [1162]infant mortality.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:baud, Next:[1163]baud barf, Previous:[1164]bathtub curve,
Up:[1165]= B =

baud /bawd/ n.

[simplified from its technical meaning] n. Bits per second. Hence
kilobaud or Kbaud, thousands of bits per second. The technical meaning
is `level transitions per second'; this coincides with bps only for
two-level modulation with no framing or stop bits. Most hackers are
aware of these nuances but blithely ignore them.

Historical note: `baud' was originally a unit of telegraph signalling
speed, set at one pulse per second. It was proposed at the November,
1926 conference of the Comité Consultatif International Des
Communications Télégraphiques as an improvement on the then standard
practice of referring to line speeds in terms of words per minute, and
named for Jean Maurice Emile Baudot (1845-1903), a French engineer who
did a lot of pioneering work in early teleprinters.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:baud barf, Next:[1166]baz, Previous:[1167]baud, Up:[1168]= B =

baud barf /bawd barf/ n.

The garbage one gets a terminal (or terminal emulator) when using a
modem connection with some protocol setting (esp. line speed)
incorrect, or when someone picks up a voice extension on the same
line, or when really bad line noise disrupts the connection. Baud barf
is not completely [1169]random, by the way; hackers with a lot of
serial-line experience can usually tell whether the device at the
other end is expecting a higher or lower speed than the terminal is
set to. Really experienced ones can identify particular speeds.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:baz, Next:[1170]bazaar, Previous:[1171]baud barf, Up:[1172]= B =

baz /baz/ n.

1. [common] The third [1173]metasyntactic variable "Suppose we have
three functions: FOO, BAR, and BAZ. FOO calls BAR, which calls
BAZ...." (See also [1174]fum) 2. interj. A term of mild annoyance. In
this usage the term is often drawn out for 2 or 3 seconds, producing
an effect not unlike the bleating of a sheep; /baaaaaaz/. 3.
Occasionally appended to [1175]foo to produce `foobaz'.

Earlier versions of this lexicon derived `baz' as a Stanford
corruption of [1176]bar. However, Pete Samson (compiler of the
[1177]TMRC lexicon) reports it was already current when he joined TMRC
in 1958. He says "It came from "Pogo". Albert the Alligator, when
vexed or outraged, would shout `Bazz Fazz!' or `Rowrbazzle!' The club
layout was said to model the (mythical) New England counties of
Rowrfolk and Bassex (Rowrbazzle mingled with
(Norfolk/Suffolk/Middlesex/Essex)."
_________________________________________________________________

Node:bazaar, Next:[1178]bboard, Previous:[1179]baz, Up:[1180]= B =

bazaar n.,adj.

In 1997, after meditatating on the success of [1181]Linux for three
years, the Jargon File's own editor ESR wrote an analytical paper on
hacker culture and development models titled [1182]The Cathedral and
the Bazaar. The main argument of the paper was that [1183]Brooks's Law
is not the whole story; given the right social machinery, debugging
can be efficiently parallelized across large numbers of programmers.
The title metaphor caught on (see also [1184]cathedral), and the style
of development typical in the Linux community is now often referred to
as the bazaar mode. Its characteristics include releasing code early
and often, and actively seeking the largest possible pool of peer
reviewers.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:bboard, Next:[1185]BBS, Previous:[1186]bazaar, Up:[1187]= B =

bboard /bee'bord/ n.

[contraction of `bulletin board'] 1. Any electronic bulletin board;
esp. used of [1188]BBS systems running on personal micros, less
frequently of a Usenet [1189]newsgroup (in fact, use of this term for
a newsgroup generally marks one either as a [1190]newbie fresh in from
the BBS world or as a real old-timer predating Usenet). 2. At CMU and
other colleges with similar facilities, refers to campus-wide
electronic bulletin boards. 3. The term `physical bboard' is sometimes
used to refer to an old-fashioned, non-electronic cork-and-thumbtack
memo board. At CMU, it refers to a particular one outside the CS
Lounge.

In either of senses 1 or 2, the term is usually prefixed by the name
of the intended board (`the Moonlight Casino bboard' or `market
bboard'); however, if the context is clear, the better-read bboards
may be referred to by name alone, as in (at CMU) "Don't post for-sale
ads on general".
_________________________________________________________________

Node:BBS, Next:[1191]BCPL, Previous:[1192]bboard, Up:[1193]= B =

BBS /B-B-S/ n.

[common; abbreviation, `Bulletin Board System'] An electronic bulletin
board system; that is, a message database where people can log in and
leave broadcast messages for others grouped (typically) into
[1194]topic groups. The term was especially applied to the thousands
of local BBS systems that operated during the pre-Internet
microcomputer era of roughly 1980 to 1995, typically run by amateurs
for fun out of their homes on MS-DOS boxes with a single modem line
each. Fans of Usenet and Internet or the big commercial timesharing
bboards such as CompuServe and GEnie tended to consider local BBSes
the low-rent district of the hacker culture, but they served a
valuable function by knitting together lots of hackers and users in
the personal-micro world who would otherwise have been unable to
exchange code at all. Post-Internet, BBSs are likely to be local
newsgroups on an ISP; efficiency has increased but a certain flavor
has been lost. See also [1195]bboard.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:BCPL, Next:[1196]beam, Previous:[1197]BBS, Up:[1198]= B =

BCPL // n.

[abbreviation, `Basic Combined Programming Language') A programming
language developed by Martin Richards in Cambridge in 1967. It is
remarkable for its rich syntax, small size of compiler (it can be run
in 16k) and extreme portability. It reached break-even point at a very
early stage, and was the language in which the original [1199]hello
world program was written. It has been ported to so many different
systems that its creator confesses to having lost count. It has only
one data type (a machine word) which can be used as an integer, a
character, a floating point number, a pointer, or almost anything
else, depending on context. BCPL was a precursor of C, which inherited
some of its features.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:beam, Next:[1200]beanie key, Previous:[1201]BCPL, Up:[1202]= B =

beam vt.

[from Star Trek Classic's "Beam me up, Scotty!"] 1. To transfer
[1203]softcopy of a file electronically; most often in combining forms
such as `beam me a copy' or `beam that over to his site'. 2. Palm
Pilot users very commonly use this term for the act of exchanging bits
via the infrared links on their machines (this term seems to have
originated with the ill-fated Newton Message Pad). Compare
[1204]blast, [1205]snarf, [1206]BLT.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:beanie key, Next:[1207]beep, Previous:[1208]beam, Up:[1209]= B =

beanie key n.

[Mac users] See [1210]command key.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:beep, Next:[1211]Befunge, Previous:[1212]beanie key, Up:[1213]= B
=

beep n.,v.

Syn. [1214]feep. This term is techspeak under MS-DOS and OS/2, and
seems to be generally preferred among micro hobbyists.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:Befunge, Next:[1215]beige toaster, Previous:[1216]beep,
Up:[1217]= B =

Befunge n.

A worthy companion to [1218]INTERCAL; a computer language family which
escapes the quotidian limitation of linear control flow and embraces
program counters flying through multiple dimensions with exotic
topologies. Sadly, the Befunge home page has vanished, but a Befunge
version of the [1219]hello world program is at
[1220]http://www.catseye.mb.ca/esoteric/befunge.html.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:beige toaster, Next:[1221]bells and whistles,
Previous:[1222]Befunge, Up:[1223]= B =

beige toaster n.

A Macintosh. See [1224]toaster; compare [1225]Macintrash,
[1226]maggotbox.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:bells and whistles, Next:[1227]bells whistles and gongs,
Previous:[1228]beige toaster, Up:[1229]= B =

bells and whistles n.

[common] Features added to a program or system to make it more
[1230]flavorful from a hacker's point of view, without necessarily
adding to its utility for its primary function. Distinguished from
[1231]chrome, which is intended to attract users. "Now that we've got
the basic program working, let's go back and add some bells and
whistles." No one seems to know what distinguishes a bell from a
whistle. The recognized emphatic form is "bells, whistles, and gongs".

It used to be thought that this term derived from the toyboxes on
theater organs. However, the "and gongs" strongly suggests a different
origin, at sea. Before powered horns, ships routinely used bells,
whistles, and gongs to signal each other over longer distances than
voice can carry.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:bells whistles and gongs, Next:[1232]benchmark,
Previous:[1233]bells and whistles, Up:[1234]= B =

bells whistles and gongs n.

A standard elaborated form of [1235]bells and whistles; typically said
with a pronounced and ironic accent on the `gongs'.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:benchmark, Next:[1236]Berkeley Quality Software,
Previous:[1237]bells whistles and gongs, Up:[1238]= B =

benchmark n.

[techspeak] An inaccurate measure of computer performance. "In the
computer industry, there are three kinds of lies: lies, damn lies, and
benchmarks." Well-known ones include Whetstone, Dhrystone, Rhealstone
(see [1239]h), the Gabriel LISP benchmarks (see [1240]gabriel), the
SPECmark suite, and LINPACK. See also [1241]machoflops, [1242]MIPS,
[1243]smoke and mirrors.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:Berkeley Quality Software, Next:[1244]berklix,
Previous:[1245]benchmark, Up:[1246]= B =

Berkeley Quality Software adj.

(often abbreviated `BQS') Term used in a pejorative sense to refer to
software that was apparently created by rather spaced-out hackers late
at night to solve some unique problem. It usually has nonexistent,
incomplete, or incorrect documentation, has been tested on at least
two examples, and core dumps when anyone else attempts to use it. This
term was frequently applied to early versions of the dbx(1) debugger.
See also [1247]Berzerkeley.

Note to British and Commonwealth readers: that's /berk'lee/, not
/bark'lee/ as in British Received Pronunciation.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:berklix, Next:[1248]Berzerkeley, Previous:[1249]Berkeley Quality
Software, Up:[1250]= B =

berklix /berk'liks/ n.,adj.

[contraction of `Berkeley Unix'] See [1251]BSD. Not used at Berkeley
itself. May be more common among [1252]suits attempting to sound like
cognoscenti than among hackers, who usually just say `BSD'.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:Berzerkeley, Next:[1253]beta, Previous:[1254]berklix, Up:[1255]=
B =

Berzerkeley /b*r-zer'klee/ n.

[from `berserk', via the name of a now-deceased record label; poss.
originated by famed columnist Herb Caen] Humorous distortion of
`Berkeley' used esp. to refer to the practices or products of the
[1256]BSD Unix hackers. See [1257]software bloat,
[1258]Missed'em-five, [1259]Berkeley Quality Software.

Mainstream use of this term in reference to the cultural and political
peculiarities of UC Berkeley as a whole has been reported from as far
back as the 1960s.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:beta, Next:[1260]BFI, Previous:[1261]Berzerkeley, Up:[1262]= B =

beta /bay't*/, /be't*/ or (Commonwealth) /bee't*/ n.

1. Mostly working, but still under test; usu. used with `in': `in
beta'. In the [1263]Real World, systems (hardware or software)
software often go through two stages of release testing: Alpha
(in-house) and Beta (out-house?). Beta releases are generally made to
a group of lucky (or unlucky) trusted customers. 2. Anything that is
new and experimental. "His girlfriend is in beta" means that he is
still testing for compatibility and reserving judgment. 3. Flaky;
dubious; suspect (since beta software is notoriously buggy).

Historical note: More formally, to beta-test is to test a pre-release
(potentially unreliable) version of a piece of software by making it
available to selected (or self-selected) customers and users. This
term derives from early 1960s terminology for product cycle
checkpoints, first used at IBM but later standard throughout the
industry. `Alpha Test' was the unit, module, or component test phase;
`Beta Test' was initial system test. These themselves came from
earlier A- and B-tests for hardware. The A-test was a feasibility and
manufacturability evaluation done before any commitment to design and
development. The B-test was a demonstration that the engineering model
functioned as specified. The C-test (corresponding to today's beta)
was the B-test performed on early samples of the production design,
and the D test was the C test repeated after the model had been in
production a while.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:BFI, Next:[1264]bible, Previous:[1265]beta, Up:[1266]= B =

BFI /B-F-I/ n.

See [1267]brute force and ignorance. Also encountered in the variants
`BFMI', `brute force and massive ignorance' and `BFBI' `brute force
and bloody ignorance'. In dome parts of the U.S. this abbreviation was
probably reinforced by a company called Browning-Ferris Industries who
used to be in the waste-management business; a large BFI logo in
white-on-blue could be seen on the sides of garbage trucks.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:bible, Next:[1268]BiCapitalization, Previous:[1269]BFI,
Up:[1270]= B =

bible n.

1. One of a small number of fundamental source books such as
[1271]Knuth, [1272]K&R, or the [1273]Camel Book. 2. The most detailed
and authoritative reference for a particular language, operating
system, or other complex software system.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:BiCapitalization, Next:[1274]B1FF, Previous:[1275]bible,
Up:[1276]= B =

BiCapitalization n.

The act said to have been performed on trademarks (such as
[1277]PostScript, NeXT, [1278]NeWS, VisiCalc, FrameMaker, TK!solver,
EasyWriter) that have been raised above the ruck of common coinage by
nonstandard capitalization. Too many [1279]marketroid types think this
sort of thing is really cute, even the 2,317th time they do it.
Compare [1280]studlycaps.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:B1FF, Next:[1281]BI, Previous:[1282]BiCapitalization, Up:[1283]=
B =

B1FF /bif/ [Usenet] (alt. `BIFF') n.

The most famous [1284]pseudo, and the prototypical [1285]newbie.
Articles from B1FF feature all uppercase letters sprinkled liberally
with bangs, typos, `cute' misspellings (EVRY BUDY LUVS GOOD OLD BIFF
CUZ HE"S A K00L DOOD AN HE RITES REEL AWESUM THINGZ IN CAPITULL LETTRS
LIKE THIS!!!), use (and often misuse) of fragments of [1286]talk mode
abbreviations, a long [1287]sig block (sometimes even a [1288]doubled
sig), and unbounded naivete. B1FF posts articles using his elder
brother's VIC-20. B1FF's location is a mystery, as his articles appear
to come from a variety of sites. However, [1289]BITNET seems to be the
most frequent origin. The theory that B1FF is a denizen of BITNET is
supported by B1FF's (unfortunately invalid) electronic mail address:
B1FF@BIT.NET.

[1993: Now It Can Be Told! My spies inform me that B1FF was originally
created by Joe Talmadge , also the author of the
infamous and much-plagiarized "Flamer's Bible". The BIFF filter he
wrote was later passed to Richard Sexton, who posted BIFFisms much
more widely. Versions have since been posted for the amusement of the
net at large. See also [1290]Jeff K. --ESR]
_________________________________________________________________

Node:BI, Next:[1291]biff, Previous:[1292]B1FF, Up:[1293]= B =

BI //

Common written abbreviation for [1294]Breidbart Index.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:biff, Next:[1295]Big Gray Wall, Previous:[1296]BI, Up:[1297]= B =

biff /bif/ vt.

To notify someone of incoming mail. From the BSD utility biff(1),
which was in turn named after a friendly dog who used to chase
frisbees in the halls at UCB while 4.2BSD was in development. There
was a legend that it had a habit of barking whenever the mailman came,
but the author of biff says this is not true. No relation to
[1298]B1FF.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:Big Gray Wall, Next:[1299]big iron, Previous:[1300]biff,
Up:[1301]= B =

Big Gray Wall n.

What faces a [1302]VMS user searching for documentation. A full VMS
kit comes on a pallet, the documentation taking up around 15 feet of
shelf space before the addition of layered products such as compilers,
databases, multivendor networking, and programming tools. Recent
(since VMS version 5) documentation comes with gray binders; under VMS
version 4 the binders were orange (`big orange wall'), and under
version 3 they were blue. See [1303]VMS. Often contracted to `Gray
Wall'.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:big iron, Next:[1304]Big Red Switch, Previous:[1305]Big Gray
Wall, Up:[1306]= B =

big iron n.

[common] Large, expensive, ultra-fast computers. Used generally of
[1307]number-crunching supercomputers such as Crays, but can include
more conventional big commercial IBMish mainframes. Term of approval;
compare [1308]heavy metal, oppose [1309]dinosaur.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:Big Red Switch, Next:[1310]Big Room, Previous:[1311]big iron,
Up:[1312]= B =

Big Red Switch n.

[IBM] The power switch on a computer, esp. the `Emergency Pull' switch
on an IBM [1313]mainframe or the power switch on an IBM PC where it
really is large and red. "This !@%$% [1314]bitty box is hung again;
time to hit the Big Red Switch." Sources at IBM report that, in tune
with the company's passion for [1315]TLAs, this is often abbreviated
as `BRS' (this has also become established on FidoNet and in the PC
[1316]clone world). It is alleged that the emergency pull switch on an
IBM 360/91 actually fired a non-conducting bolt into the main power
feed; the BRSes on more recent mainframes physically drop a block into
place so that they can't be pushed back in. People get fired for
pulling them, especially inappropriately (see also [1317]molly-guard).
Compare [1318]power cycle, [1319]three-finger salute, [1320]120 reset;
see also [1321]scram switch.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:Big Room, Next:[1322]big win, Previous:[1323]Big Red Switch,
Up:[1324]= B =

Big Room n.

(Also `Big Blue Room') The extremely large room with the blue ceiling
and intensely bright light (during the day) or black ceiling with lots
of tiny night-lights (during the night) found outside all computer
installations. "He can't come to the phone right now, he's somewhere
out in the Big Room."
_________________________________________________________________

Node:big win, Next:[1325]big-endian, Previous:[1326]Big Room,
Up:[1327]= B =

big win n.

1. [common] Major success. 2. [MIT] Serendipity. "Yes, those two
physicists discovered high-temperature superconductivity in a batch of
ceramic that had been prepared incorrectly according to their
experimental schedule. Small mistake; big win!" See [1328]win big.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:big-endian, Next:[1329]bignum, Previous:[1330]big win, Up:[1331]=
B =

big-endian adj.

[common; From Swift's "Gulliver's Travels" via the famous paper "On
Holy Wars and a Plea for Peace" by Danny Cohen, USC/ISI IEN 137, dated
April 1, 1980] 1. Describes a computer architecture in which, within a
given multi-byte numeric representation, the most significant byte has
the lowest address (the word is stored `big-end-first'). Most
processors, including the IBM 370 family, the [1332]PDP-10, the
Motorola microprocessor families, and most of the various RISC designs
are big-endian. Big-endian byte order is also sometimes called
`network order'. See [1333]little-endian, [1334]middle-endian,
[1335]NUXI problem, [1336]swab. 2. An [1337]Internet address the wrong
way round. Most of the world follows the Internet standard and writes
email addresses starting with the name of the computer and ending up
with the name of the country. In the U.K. the Joint Networking Team
had decided to do it the other way round before the Internet domain
standard was established. Most gateway sites have [1338]ad-hockery in
their mailers to handle this, but can still be confused. In
particular, the address me@uk.ac.bris.pys.as could be interpreted in
JANET's big-endian way as one in the U.K. (domain uk) or in the
standard little-endian way as one in the domain as (American Samoa) on
the opposite side of the world.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:bignum, Next:[1339]bigot, Previous:[1340]big-endian, Up:[1341]= B
=

bignum /big'nuhm/ n.

[common; orig. from MIT MacLISP] 1. [techspeak] A multiple-precision
computer representation for very large integers. 2. More generally,
any very large number. "Have you ever looked at the United States
Budget? There's bignums for you!" 3. [Stanford] In backgammon, large
numbers on the dice especially a roll of double fives or double sixes
(compare [1342]moby, sense 4). See also [1343]El Camino Bignum.

Sense 1 may require some explanation. Most computer languages provide
a kind of data called `integer', but such computer integers are
usually very limited in size; usually they must be smaller than 2^(31)
(2,147,483,648) or (on a [1344]bitty box) 2^(15) (32,768). If you want
to work with numbers larger than that, you have to use floating-point
numbers, which are usually accurate to only six or seven decimal
places. Computer languages that provide bignums can perform exact
calculations on very large numbers, such as 1000! (the factorial of
1000, which is 1000 times 999 times 998 times ... times 2 times 1).
For example, this value for 1000! was computed by the MacLISP system
using bignums:
40238726007709377354370243392300398571937486421071
46325437999104299385123986290205920442084869694048
00479988610197196058631666872994808558901323829669
94459099742450408707375991882362772718873251977950
59509952761208749754624970436014182780946464962910
56393887437886487337119181045825783647849977012476
63288983595573543251318532395846307555740911426241
74743493475534286465766116677973966688202912073791
43853719588249808126867838374559731746136085379534
52422158659320192809087829730843139284440328123155
86110369768013573042161687476096758713483120254785
89320767169132448426236131412508780208000261683151
02734182797770478463586817016436502415369139828126
48102130927612448963599287051149649754199093422215
66832572080821333186116811553615836546984046708975
60290095053761647584772842188967964624494516076535
34081989013854424879849599533191017233555566021394
50399736280750137837615307127761926849034352625200
01588853514733161170210396817592151090778801939317
81141945452572238655414610628921879602238389714760
88506276862967146674697562911234082439208160153780
88989396451826324367161676217916890977991190375403
12746222899880051954444142820121873617459926429565
81746628302955570299024324153181617210465832036786
90611726015878352075151628422554026517048330422614
39742869330616908979684825901254583271682264580665
26769958652682272807075781391858178889652208164348
34482599326604336766017699961283186078838615027946
59551311565520360939881806121385586003014356945272
24206344631797460594682573103790084024432438465657
24501440282188525247093519062092902313649327349756
55139587205596542287497740114133469627154228458623
77387538230483865688976461927383814900140767310446
64025989949022222176590433990188601856652648506179
97023561938970178600408118897299183110211712298459
01641921068884387121855646124960798722908519296819
37238864261483965738229112312502418664935314397013
74285319266498753372189406942814341185201580141233
44828015051399694290153483077644569099073152433278
28826986460278986432113908350621709500259738986355
42771967428222487575867657523442202075736305694988
25087968928162753848863396909959826280956121450994
87170124451646126037902930912088908694202851064018
21543994571568059418727489980942547421735824010636
77404595741785160829230135358081840096996372524230
56085590370062427124341690900415369010593398383577
79394109700277534720000000000000000000000000000000
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
000000000000000000.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:bigot, Next:[1345]bit, Previous:[1346]bignum, Up:[1347]= B =

bigot n.

[common] A person who is religiously attached to a particular
computer, language, operating system, editor, or other tool (see
[1348]religious issues). Usually found with a specifier; thus, `cray
bigot', `ITS bigot', `APL bigot', `VMS bigot', `Berkeley bigot'. Real
bigots can be distinguished from mere partisans or zealots by the fact
that they refuse to learn alternatives even when the march of time
and/or technology is threatening to obsolete the favored tool. It is
truly said "You can tell a bigot, but you can't tell him much."
Compare [1349]weenie, [1350]Amiga Persecution Complex.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:bit, Next:[1351]bit bang, Previous:[1352]bigot, Up:[1353]= B =

bit n.

[from the mainstream meaning and `Binary digIT'] 1. [techspeak] The
unit of information; the amount of information obtained by asking a
yes-or-no question for which the two outcomes are equally probable. 2.
[techspeak] A computational quantity that can take on one of two
values, such as true and false or 0 and 1. 3. A mental flag: a
reminder that something should be done eventually. "I have a bit set
for you." (I haven't seen you for a while, and I'm supposed to tell or
ask you something.) 4. More generally, a (possibly incorrect) mental
state of belief. "I have a bit set that says that you were the last
guy to hack on EMACS." (Meaning "I think you were the last guy to hack
on EMACS, and what I am about to say is predicated on this, so please
stop me if this isn't true.")

"I just need one bit from you" is a polite way of indicating that you
intend only a short interruption for a question that can presumably be
answered yes or no.

A bit is said to be `set' if its value is true or 1, and `reset' or
`clear' if its value is false or 0. One speaks of setting and clearing
bits. To [1354]toggle or `invert' a bit is to change it, either from 0
to 1 or from 1 to 0. See also [1355]flag, [1356]trit, [1357]mode bit.

The term `bit' first appeared in print in the computer-science sense
in a 1948 paper by information theorist Claude Shannon, and was there
credited to the early computer scientist John Tukey (who also seems to
have coined the term `software'). Tukey records that `bit' evolved
over a lunch table as a handier alternative to `bigit' or `binit', at
a conference in the winter of 1943-44.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:bit bang, Next:[1358]bit bashing, Previous:[1359]bit, Up:[1360]=
B =

bit bang n.

Transmission of data on a serial line, when accomplished by rapidly
tweaking a single output bit, in software, at the appropriate times.
The technique is a simple loop with eight OUT and SHIFT instruction
pairs for each byte. Input is more interesting. And full duplex (doing
input and output at the same time) is one way to separate the real
hackers from the [1361]wannabees.

Bit bang was used on certain early models of Prime computers,
presumably when UARTs were too expensive, and on archaic Z80 micros
with a Zilog PIO but no SIO. In an interesting instance of the
[1362]cycle of reincarnation, this technique returned to use in the
early 1990s on some RISC architectures because it consumes such an
infinitesimal part of the processor that it actually makes sense not
to have a UART. Compare [1363]cycle of reincarnation.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:bit bashing, Next:[1364]bit bucket, Previous:[1365]bit bang,
Up:[1366]= B =

bit bashing n.

(alt. `bit diddling' or [1367]bit twiddling) Term used to describe any
of several kinds of low-level programming characterized by
manipulation of [1368]bit, [1369]flag, [1370]nybble, and other
smaller-than-character-sized pieces of data; these include low-level
device control, encryption algorithms, checksum and error-correcting
codes, hash functions, some flavors of graphics programming (see
[1371]bitblt), and assembler/compiler code generation. May connote
either tedium or a real technical challenge (more usually the former).
"The command decoding for the new tape driver looks pretty solid but
the bit-bashing for the control registers still has bugs." See also
[1372]bit bang, [1373]mode bit.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:bit bucket, Next:[1374]bit decay, Previous:[1375]bit bashing,
Up:[1376]= B =

bit bucket n.

[very common] 1. The universal data sink (originally, the mythical
receptacle used to catch bits when they fall off the end of a register
during a shift instruction). Discarded, lost, or destroyed data is
said to have `gone to the bit bucket'. On [1377]Unix, often used for
[1378]/dev/null. Sometimes amplified as `the Great Bit Bucket in the
Sky'. 2. The place where all lost mail and news messages eventually
go. The selection is performed according to [1379]Finagle's Law;
important mail is much more likely to end up in the bit bucket than
junk mail, which has an almost 100% probability of getting delivered.
Routing to the bit bucket is automatically performed by mail-transfer
agents, news systems, and the lower layers of the network. 3. The
ideal location for all unwanted mail responses: "Flames about this
article to the bit bucket." Such a request is guaranteed to overflow
one's mailbox with flames. 4. Excuse for all mail that has not been
sent. "I mailed you those figures last week; they must have landed in
the bit bucket." Compare [1380]black hole.

This term is used purely in jest. It is based on the fanciful notion
that bits are objects that are not destroyed but only misplaced. This
appears to have been a mutation of an earlier term `bit box', about
which the same legend was current; old-time hackers also report that
trainees used to be told that when the CPU stored bits into memory it
was actually pulling them `out of the bit box'. See also [1381]chad
box.

Another variant of this legend has it that, as a consequence of the
`parity preservation law', the number of 1 bits that go to the bit
bucket must equal the number of 0 bits. Any imbalance results in bits
filling up the bit bucket. A qualified computer technician can empty a
full bit bucket as part of scheduled maintenance.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:bit decay, Next:[1382]bit rot, Previous:[1383]bit bucket,
Up:[1384]= B =

bit decay n.

See [1385]bit rot. People with a physics background tend to prefer
this variant for the analogy with particle decay. See also
[1386]computron, [1387]quantum bogodynamics.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:bit rot, Next:[1388]bit twiddling, Previous:[1389]bit decay,
Up:[1390]= B =

bit rot n.

[common] Also [1391]bit decay. Hypothetical disease the existence of
which has been deduced from the observation that unused programs or
features will often stop working after sufficient time has passed,
even if `nothing has changed'. The theory explains that bits decay as
if they were radioactive. As time passes, the contents of a file or
the code in a program will become increasingly garbled.

There actually are physical processes that produce such effects (alpha
particles generated by trace radionuclides in ceramic chip packages,
for example, can change the contents of a computer memory
unpredictably, and various kinds of subtle media failures can corrupt
files in mass storage), but they are quite rare (and computers are
built with error-detecting circuitry to compensate for them). The
notion long favored among hackers that cosmic rays are among the
causes of such events turns out to be a myth; see the [1392]cosmic
rays entry for details.

The term [1393]software rot is almost synonymous. Software rot is the
effect, bit rot the notional cause.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:bit twiddling, Next:[1394]bit-paired keyboard, Previous:[1395]bit
rot, Up:[1396]= B =

bit twiddling n.

[very common] 1. (pejorative) An exercise in tuning (see [1397]tune)
in which incredible amounts of time and effort go to produce little
noticeable improvement, often with the result that the code becomes
incomprehensible. 2. Aimless small modification to a program, esp. for
some pointless goal. 3. Approx. syn. for [1398]bit bashing; esp. used
for the act of frobbing the device control register of a peripheral in
an attempt to get it back to a known state.
_________________________________________________________________

Node:bit-paired keyboard, Next:[1399]bitblt, Previous:[1400]bit
twiddling, Up:[1401]= B =

bit-paired keyboard n.,obs.

(alt. `bit-shift keyboard') A non-standard keyboard layout that seems
to have originated with the Teletype ASR-33 and remained common for
several years on early computer equipment. The ASR-33 was a mechanical
device (see [1402]EOU), so the only way to generate the character
codes from keystrokes was by some physical linkage. The design of the
ASR-33 assigned each character key a basic pattern that could be
modified by flipping bits if the SHIFT or the CTRL key was pressed. In
order to avoid making the thing even more of a kluge than it already
was, the design had to group characters that shared the same basic bit
pattern on one key.

Looking at the ASCII chart, we find:
high low bits
bits 0000 0001 0010 0011 0100 0101 0110 0111 1000 1001
010 ! " # $ % & ' ( )
011 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

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