The Jargon File by Eric S. Raymond (sites to read books for free .TXT) 📖

and are used usually

when the authors are not quite sure whether the program is a

[3895]demo or an [3896]intro. Special-purpose coinages like wedtro

(some member of a group got married), invtro (invitation intro) etc.

have also been sighted.

Node:depeditate, Next:[3897]deprecated, Previous:[3898]dentro,

Up:[3899]= D =

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

[by (faulty) analogy with `decapitate'] Humorously, to cut off the

feet of. When one is using some computer-aided typesetting tools,

careless placement of text blocks within a page or above a rule can

result in chopped-off letter descenders. Such letters are said to have

been depeditated.

Node:deprecated, Next:[3900]derf, Previous:[3901]depeditate,

Up:[3902]= D =

deprecated adj.

Said of a program or feature that is considered obsolescent and in the

process of being phased out, usually in favor of a specified

replacement. Deprecated features can, unfortunately, linger on for

many years. This term appears with distressing frequency in standards

documents when the committees writing the documents realize that large

amounts of extant (and presumably happily working) code depend on the

feature(s) that have passed out of favor. See also [3903]dusty deck.

[Usage note: don't confuse this word with `depreciate', or the verb

form deprecate' withdepreciated`. They are different words; see any

dictionary for discussion.]

Node:derf, Next:[3904]deserves to lose, Previous:[3905]deprecated,

Up:[3906]= D =

derf /derf/ v.,n.

[PLATO] The act of exploiting a terminal which someone else has

absentmindedly left logged on, to use that person's account,

especially to post articles intended to make an ass of the victim

you're impersonating. It has been alleged that the term originated as

a reversal of the name of the gentleman who most usually left himself

vulnerable to it, who also happened to be the head of the department

that handled PLATO at the University of Delaware.

Node:deserves to lose, Next:[3907]desk check, Previous:[3908]derf,

Up:[3909]= D =

deserves to lose adj.

[common] Said of someone who willfully does the [3910]Wrong Thing;

humorously, if one uses a feature known to be [3911]marginal. What is

meant is that one deserves the consequences of one's [3912]losing

actions. "Boy, anyone who tries to use [3913]mess-dos deserves to

[3914]lose!" ([3915]ITS fans used to say the same thing of [3916]Unix;

many still do.) See also [3917]screw, [3918]chomp, [3919]bagbiter.

Node:desk check, Next:[3920]despew, Previous:[3921]deserves to lose,

Up:[3922]= D =

desk check n.,v.

To [3923]grovel over hardcopy of source code, mentally simulating the

control flow; a method of catching bugs. No longer common practice in

this age of on-screen editing, fast compiles, and sophisticated

debuggers -- though some maintain stoutly that it ought to be. Compare

[3924]eyeball search, [3925]vdiff, [3926]vgrep.

Node:despew, Next:[3927]Devil Book, Previous:[3928]desk check,

Up:[3929]= D =

despew /d*-spyoo'/ v.

[Usenet] To automatically generate a large amount of garbage to the

net, esp. from an automated posting program gone wild. See [3930]ARMM.

Node:Devil Book, Next:[3931]/dev/null, Previous:[3932]despew,

Up:[3933]= D =

Devil Book n.

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

Node:/dev/null, Next:[3935]dickless workstation, Previous:[3936]Devil

Book, Up:[3937]= D =

/dev/null /dev-nuhl/ n.

[from the Unix null device, used as a data sink] A notional `black

hole' in any information space being discussed, used, or referred to.

A controversial posting, for example, might end "Kudos to

rasputin@kremlin.org, flames to /dev/null". See [3938]bit bucket.

Node:dickless workstation, Next:[3939]dictionary flame,

Previous:[3940]/dev/null, Up:[3941]= D =

dickless workstation n.

Extremely pejorative hackerism for `diskless workstation', a class of

botches including the Sun 3/50 and other machines designed exclusively

to network with an expensive central disk server. These combine all

the disadvantages of time-sharing with all the disadvantages of

distributed personal computers; typically, they cannot even [3942]boot

themselves without help (in the form of some kind of

[3943]breath-of-life packet) from the server.

Node:dictionary flame, Next:[3944]diddle, Previous:[3945]dickless

workstation, Up:[3946]= D =

dictionary flame n.

[Usenet] An attempt to sidetrack a debate away from issues by

insisting on meanings for key terms that presuppose a desired

conclusion or smuggle in an implicit premise. A common tactic of

people who prefer argument over definitions to disputes about reality.

Compare [3947]spelling flame.

Node:diddle, Next:[3948]die, Previous:[3949]dictionary flame,

Up:[3950]= D =

diddle

vt. To work with or modify in a not particularly serious manner. "I

diddled a copy of [3951]ADVENT so it didn't double-space all the

time." "Let's diddle this piece of code and see if the problem goes

away." See [3952]tweak and [3953]twiddle. 2. n. The action or result

of diddling. See also [3954]tweak, [3955]twiddle, [3956]frob.

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

=

die v.

Syn. [3960]crash. Unlike [3961]crash, which is used primarily of

hardware, this verb is used of both hardware and software. See also

[3962]go flatline, [3963]casters-up mode.

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

die horribly v.

The software equivalent of [3967]crash and burn, and the preferred

emphatic form of [3968]die. "The converter choked on an FF in its

input and died horribly".

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

=

diff /dif/ n.

A change listing, especially giving differences between (and

additions to) source code or documents (the term is often used in the

plural `diffs'). "Send me your diffs for the Jargon File!" Compare

[3972]vdiff. 2. Specifically, such a listing produced by the diff(1)

command, esp. when used as specification input to the patch(1) utility

(which can actually perform the modifications; see [3973]patch). This

is a common method of distributing patches and source updates in the

Unix/C world. 3. v. To compare (whether or not by use of automated

tools on machine-readable files); see also [3974]vdiff, [3975]mod.

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

digit n.,obs.

An employee of Digital Equipment Corporation. See also [3979]VAX,

[3980]VMS, [3981]PDP-10, [3982]TOPS-10, [3983]field circus.

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

dike vt.

To remove or disable a portion of something, as a wire from a computer

or a subroutine from a program. A standard slogan is "When in doubt,

dike it out". (The implication is that it is usually more effective to

attack software problems by reducing complexity than by increasing

it.) The word `dikes' is widely used among mechanics and engineers to

mean `diagonal cutters', esp. the heavy-duty metal-cutting version,

but may also refer to a kind of wire-cutters used by electronics

techs. To `dike something out' means to use such cutters to remove

something. Indeed, the TMRC Dictionary defined dike as "to attack with

dikes". Among hackers this term has been metaphorically extended to

informational objects such as sections of code.

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

Dilbert

n. Name and title character of a comic strip nationally syndicated in

the U.S. and enormously popular among hackers. Dilbert is an

archetypical engineer-nerd who works at an anonymous high-technology

company; the strips present a lacerating satire of insane working

conditions and idiotic [3990]management practices all too readily

recognized by hackers. Adams, who spent nine years in [3991]cube

4S700R at Pacific Bell (not [3992]DEC as often reported), often

remarks that he has never been able to come up with a fictional

management blunder that his correspondents didn't quickly either

report to have actually happened or top with a similar but even more

bizarre incident. In 1996 Adams distilled his insights into the

collective psychology of businesses into an even funnier book, "The

Dilbert Principle" (HarperCollins, ISBN 0-887-30787-6). See also

[3993]pointy-haired, [3994]rat dance.

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

ding n.,vi.

Synonym for [3998]feep. Usage: rare among hackers, but more common

in the [3999]Real World. 2. `dinged': What happens when someone in

authority gives you a minor bitching about something, esp. something

trivial. "I was dinged for having a messy desk."

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

dink /dink/ adj.

Said of a machine that has the [4003]bitty box nature; a machine too

small to be worth bothering with -- sometimes the system you're

currently forced to work on. First heard from an MIT hacker working on

a CP/M system with 64K, in reference to any 6502 system, then from

fans of 32-bit architectures about 16-bit machines. "GNUMACS will

never work on that dink machine." Probably derived from mainstream

`dinky', which isn't sufficiently pejorative. See [4004]macdink.

Node:dinosaur, Next:[4005]dinosaur pen, Previous:[4006]dink,

Up:[4007]= D =

dinosaur n.

Any hardware requiring raised flooring and special power. Used

especially of old minis and mainframes, in contrast with newer

microprocessor-based machines. In a famous quote from the 1988 Unix

EXPO, Bill Joy compared the liquid-cooled mainframe in the massive IBM

display with a grazing dinosaur "with a truck outside pumping its

bodily fluids through it". IBM was not amused. Compare [4008]big iron;

see also [4009]mainframe. 2. [IBM] A very conservative user; a

[4010]zipperhead.

Node:dinosaur pen, Next:[4011]dinosaurs mating,

Previous:[4012]dinosaur, Up:[4013]= D =

dinosaur pen n.

A traditional [4014]mainframe computer room complete with raised

flooring, special power, its own ultra-heavy-duty air conditioning,

and a side order of Halon fire extinguishers. See [4015]boa.

Node:dinosaurs mating, Next:[4016]dirtball, Previous:[4017]dinosaur

pen, Up:[4018]= D =

dinosaurs mating n.

Said to occur when yet another [4019]big iron merger or buyout occurs;

reflects a perception by hackers that these signal another stage in

the long, slow dying of the [4020]mainframe industry. In its glory

days of the 1960s, it was `IBM and the Seven Dwarves': Burroughs,

Control Data, General Electric, Honeywell, NCR, RCA, and Univac. RCA

and GE sold out early, and it was `IBM and the Bunch' (Burroughs,

Univac, NCR, Control Data, and Honeywell) for a while. Honeywell was

bought out by Bull; Burroughs merged with Univac to form Unisys (in

1984 -- this was when the phrase `dinosaurs mating' was coined); and

in 1991 AT&T absorbed NCR (but spat it back out a few years later).

Control Data still exists but is no longer in the mainframe business.

More such earth-shaking unions of doomed giants seem inevitable.

Node:dirtball, Next:[4021]dirty power, Previous:[4022]dinosaurs

mating, Up:[4023]= D =

dirtball n.

[XEROX PARC] A small, perhaps struggling outsider; not in the major or

even the minor leagues. For example, "Xerox is not a dirtball

company".

[Outsiders often observe in the PARC culture an institutional

arrogance which usage of this term exemplifies. The brilliance and

scope of PARC's contributions to computer science have been such that

this superior attitude is not much resented. --ESR]

Node:dirty power, Next:[4024]disclaimer, Previous:[4025]dirtball,

Up:[4026]= D =

dirty power n.

Electrical mains voltage that is unfriendly to the delicate innards of

computers. Spikes, [4027]drop-outs, average voltage significantly

higher or lower than nominal, or just plain noise can all cause

problems of varying subtlety and severity (these are collectively

known as [4028]power hits).

Node:disclaimer, Next:[4029]Discordianism, Previous:[4030]dirty power,

Up:[4031]= D =

disclaimer n.

[Usenet] Statement ritually appended to many Usenet postings

(sometimes automatically, by the posting software) reiterating the

fact (which should be obvious, but is easily forgotten) that the

article reflects its author's opinions and not necessarily those of

the organization running the machine through which the article entered

the network.

Node:Discordianism, Next:[4032]disk farm, Previous:[4033]disclaimer,

Up:[4034]= D =

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

The veneration of [4035]Eris, a.k.a. Discordia; widely popular among

hackers. Discordianism was popularized by Robert Shea and Robert Anton

Wilson's novel "Illuminatus!" as a sort of self-subverting Dada-Zen

for Westerners -- it should on no account be taken seriously but is

far more serious than most jokes. Consider, for example, the Fifth

Commandment of the Pentabarf, from "Principia Discordia": "A

Discordian is Prohibited of Believing What he Reads." Discordianism is

usually connected with an elaborate conspiracy theory/joke involving

millennia-long warfare between the anarcho-surrealist partisans of

Eris and a malevolent, authoritarian secret society called the

Illuminati. See [4036]Religion in Appendix B, [4037]Church of the

SubGenius, and [4038]ha ha only serious.

Node:disk farm, Next:[4039]display hack, Previous:[4040]Discordianism,

Up:[4041]= D =

disk farm n.

(also [4042]laundromat) A large room or rooms filled with disk drives

(esp. [4043]washing machines).

Node:display hack, Next:[4044]dispress, Previous:[4045]disk farm,

Up:[4046]= D =

display hack n.

A program with the same approximate purpose as a kaleidoscope: to make

pretty pictures. Famous display hacks include [4047]munching squares,

[4048]smoking clover, the BSD Unix rain(6) program, worms(6) on

miscellaneous Unixes, and the [4049]X kaleid(1) program. Display hacks

can also be implemented by creating text files containing numerous