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

>Node:GECOS, Next:[5858]gedanken, Previous:[5859]GCOS, Up:[5860]= G =

GECOS /jee'kohs/ n.

See [5861]GCOS.

Node:gedanken, Next:[5862]geef, Previous:[5863]GECOS, Up:[5864]= G =

gedanken /g*-dahn'kn/ adj.

Ungrounded; impractical; not well-thought-out; untried; untested.

Gedanken' is a German word forthought'. A thought experiment is one

you carry out in your head. In physics, the term `gedanken experiment'

is used to refer to an experiment that is impractical to carry out,

but useful to consider because it can be reasoned about theoretically.

(A classic gedanken experiment of relativity theory involves thinking

about a man in an elevator accelerating through space.) Gedanken

experiments are very useful in physics, but must be used with care.

It's too easy to idealize away some important aspect of the real world

in constructing the `apparatus'.

Among hackers, accordingly, the word has a pejorative connotation. It

is typically used of a project, especially one in artificial

intelligence research, that is written up in grand detail (typically

as a Ph.D. thesis) without ever being implemented to any great extent.

Such a project is usually perpetrated by people who aren't very good

hackers or find programming distasteful or are just in a hurry. A

`gedanken thesis' is usually marked by an obvious lack of intuition

about what is programmable and what is not, and about what does and

does not constitute a clear specification of an algorithm. See also

[5865]AI-complete, [5866]DWIM.

Node:geef, Next:[5867]geek code, Previous:[5868]gedanken, Up:[5869]= G

=

geef v.

[ostensibly from `gefingerpoken'] vt. Syn. [5870]mung. See also

[5871]blinkenlights.

Node:geek code, Next:[5872]geek out, Previous:[5873]geef, Up:[5874]= G

=

geek code n.

(also "Code of the Geeks"). A set of codes commonly used in [5875]sig

blocks to broadcast the interests, skills, and aspirations of the

poster. Features a G at the left margin followed by numerous letter

codes, often suffixed with plusses or minuses. Because many net users

are involved in computer science, the most common prefix is `GCS'. To

see a copy of the current code, browse [5876]http://www.geekcode.com.

Here is a sample geek code (that of Robert Hayden, the code's

inventor) from that page:

-----BEGIN GEEK CODE BLOCK-----

Version: 3.1

GED/J d-- s:++>: a- C++(++++)$ ULUO++ P+>+++ L++ !E---- W+(---) N+++

o+ K+++ w+(---) O- M+$>++ V-- PS++(+++)>$ PE++(+)>$ Y++ PGP++ t- 5+++

X++ R+++>$ tv+ b+ DI+++ D+++ G+++++>$ e++$>++++ h r-- y+**

------END GEEK CODE BLOCK------

The geek code originated in 1993; it was inspired (according to the

inventor) by previous "bear", "smurf" and "twink"

style-and-sexual-preference codes from lesbian and gay

[5877]newsgroups. It has in turn spawned imitators; there is now even

a "Saturn geek code" for owners of the Saturn car. See also

[5878]computer geek.

Node:geek out, Next:[5879]gen, Previous:[5880]geek code, Up:[5881]= G

=

geek out vi.

To temporarily enter techno-nerd mode while in a non-hackish context,

for example at parties held near computer equipment. Especially used

when you need to do or say something highly technical and don't have

time to explain: "Pardon me while I geek out for a moment." See

[5882]computer geek; see also [5883]propeller head.

Node:gen, Next:[5884]gender mender, Previous:[5885]geek out,

Up:[5886]= G =

gen /jen/ n.,v.

Short for [5887]generate, used frequently in both spoken and written

contexts.

Node:gender mender, Next:[5888]General Public Virus,

Previous:[5889]gen, Up:[5890]= G =

gender mender n.

[common] A cable connector shell with either two male or two female

connectors on it, used to correct the mismatches that result when some

[5891]loser didn't understand the RS232C specification and the

distinction between DTE and DCE. Used esp. for RS-232C parts in either

the original D-25 or the IBM PC's bogus D-9 format. Also called

gender bender',gender blender', sex changer', and evenhomosexual

adapter;' however, there appears to be some confusion as to whether a

`male homosexual adapter' has pins on both sides (is doubly male) or

sockets on both sides (connects two males).

Node:General Public Virus, Next:[5892]generate, Previous:[5893]gender

mender, Up:[5894]= G =

General Public Virus n.

Pejorative name for some versions of the [5895]GNU project

[5896]copyleft or General Public License (GPL), which requires that

any tools or [5897]apps incorporating copylefted code must be

source-distributed on the same anti-proprietary terms as GNU stuff.

Thus it is alleged that the copyleft `infects' software generated with

GNU tools, which may in turn infect other software that reuses any of

its code. The Free Software Foundation's official position as of

January 1991 is that copyright law limits the scope of the GPL to

"programs textually incorporating significant amounts of GNU code",

and that the `infection' is not passed on to third parties unless

actual GNU source is transmitted. Nevertheless, widespread suspicion

that the [5898]copyleft language is `boobytrapped' has caused many

developers to avoid using GNU tools and the GPL. Changes in the

language of the version 2.0 GPL did not eliminate this problem.

Node:generate, Next:[5899]Genius From Mars Technique,

Previous:[5900]General Public Virus, Up:[5901]= G =

generate vt.

To produce something according to an algorithm or program or set of

rules, or as a (possibly unintended) side effect of the execution of

an algorithm or program. The opposite of [5902]parse. This term

retains its mechanistic connotations (though often humorously) when

used of human behavior. "The guy is rational most of the time, but

mention nuclear energy around him and he'll generate [5903]infinite

flamage."

Node:Genius From Mars Technique, Next:[5904]gensym,

Previous:[5905]generate, Up:[5906]= G =

Genius From Mars Technique n.

[TMRC] A visionary quality which enables one to ignore the standard

approach and come up with a totally unexpected new algorithm. An

attack on a problem from an offbeat angle that no one has ever thought

of before, but that in retrospect makes total sense. Compare

[5907]grok, [5908]zen.

Node:gensym, Next:[5909]Get a life!, Previous:[5910]Genius From Mars

Technique, Up:[5911]= G =

gensym /jen'sim/

[from MacLISP for `generated symbol'] 1. v. To invent a new name for

something temporary, in such a way that the name is almost certainly

not in conflict with one already in use. 2. n. The resulting name. The

canonical form of a gensym is `Gnnnn' where nnnn represents a number;

any LISP hacker would recognize G0093 (for example) as a gensym. 3. A

freshly generated data structure with a gensymmed name. Gensymmed

names are useful for storing or uniquely identifying crufties (see

[5912]cruft).

Node:Get a life!, Next:[5913]Get a real computer!,

Previous:[5914]gensym, Up:[5915]= G =

Get a life! imp.

Hacker-standard way of suggesting that the person to whom it is

directed has succumbed to terminal geekdom (see [5916]computer geek).

Often heard on [5917]Usenet, esp. as a way of suggesting that the

target is taking some obscure issue of [5918]theology too seriously.

This exhortation was popularized by William Shatner on a 1987

"Saturday Night Live" episode in a speech that ended "Get a life!",

but some respondents believe it to have been in use before then. It

was certainly in wide use among hackers for years before achieving

mainstream currency via the sitcom "Get A Life" in 1990.

Node:Get a real computer!, Next:[5919]GFR, Previous:[5920]Get a life!,

Up:[5921]= G =

Get a real computer! imp.

Typical hacker response to news that somebody is having trouble

getting work done on a system that (a) is single-tasking, (b) has no

hard disk, or (c) has an address space smaller than 16 megabytes. This

is as of early 1996; note that the threshold for `real computer' rises

with time. See [5922]bitty box and [5923]toy.

Node:GFR, Next:[5924]gib, Previous:[5925]Get a real computer!,

Up:[5926]= G =

GFR /G-F-R/ vt.

[ITS: from `Grim File Reaper', an ITS and LISP Machine utility] To

remove a file or files according to some program-automated or

semi-automatic manual procedure, especially one designed to reclaim

mass storage space or reduce name-space clutter (the original GFR

actually moved files to tape). Often generalized to pieces of data

below file level. "I used to have his phone number, but I guess I

[5927]GFRed it." See also [5928]prowler, [5929]reaper. Compare

[5930]GC, which discards only provably worthless stuff.

Node:gib, Next:[5931]GIFs at 11, Previous:[5932]GFR, Up:[5933]= G =

gib /jib/

vi. To destroy utterly. Like [5934]frag, but much more violent and

final. "There's no trace left. You definitely gibbed that bug". 2. n.

Remnants after total obliteration.

Originated first by id software in the game Quake. It's short for

giblets (thus pronounced "jib"), and referred to the bloody remains of

slain opponents. Eventually the word was verbed, and leaked into

general usage afterward.

Node:GIFs at 11, Next:[5935]gig, Previous:[5936]gib, Up:[5937]= G =

GIFs at 11

[Fidonet] Fidonet alternative to [5938]film at 11, especially in

echoes (Fidonet topic areas) where uuencoded GIFs are permitted. Other

formats, especially JPEG and MPEG, may be referenced instead.

Node:gig, Next:[5939]giga-, Previous:[5940]GIFs at 11, Up:[5941]= G =

gig /jig/ or /gig/ n.

[SI] See [5942]quantifiers.

Node:giga-, Next:[5943]GIGO, Previous:[5944]gig, Up:[5945]= G =

giga- /ji'ga/ or /gi'ga/ pref.

[SI] See [5946]quantifiers.

Node:GIGO, Next:[5947]gilley, Previous:[5948]giga-, Up:[5949]= G =

GIGO /gi:'goh/ [acronym]

`Garbage In, Garbage Out' -- usually said in response to

[5950]lusers who complain that a program didn't "do the right thing"

when given imperfect input or otherwise mistreated in some way. Also

commonly used to describe failures in human decision making due to

faulty, incomplete, or imprecise data. 2. `Garbage In, Gospel Out':

this more recent expansion is a sardonic comment on the tendency human

beings have to put excessive trust in `computerized' data.

Node:gilley, Next:[5951]gillion, Previous:[5952]GIGO, Up:[5953]= G =

gilley n.

[Usenet] The unit of analogical [5954]bogosity. According to its

originator, the standard for one gilley was "the act of

bogotoficiously comparing the shutting down of 1000 machines for a day

with the killing of one person". The milligilley has been found to

suffice for most normal conversational exchanges.

Node:gillion, Next:[5955]ginger, Previous:[5956]gilley, Up:[5957]= G =

gillion /gil'yn/ or /jil'yn/ n.

[formed from [5958]giga- by analogy with mega/million and

tera/trillion] 10^9. Same as an American billion or a British

`milliard'. How one pronounces this depends on whether one speaks

[5959]giga- with a hard or soft `g'.

Node:ginger, Next:[5960]GIPS, Previous:[5961]gillion, Up:[5962]= G =

ginger n.

See [5963]saga.

Node:GIPS, Next:[5964]glark, Previous:[5965]ginger, Up:[5966]= G =

GIPS /gips/ or /jips/ n.

[analogy with [5967]MIPS] Giga-Instructions per Second (also possibly

`Gillions of Instructions per Second'; see [5968]gillion). In 1991,

this is used of only a handful of highly parallel machines, but this

is expected to change. Compare [5969]KIPS.

Node:glark, Next:[5970]glass, Previous:[5971]GIPS, Up:[5972]= G =

glark /glark/ vt.

To figure something out from context. "The System III manuals are

pretty poor, but you can generally glark the meaning from context."

Interestingly, the word was originally `glork'; the context was "This

gubblick contains many nonsklarkish English flutzpahs, but the overall

pluggandisp can be glorked [sic] from context" (David Moser, quoted by

Douglas Hofstadter in his "Metamagical Themas" column in the January

1981 "Scientific American"). It is conjectured that hacker usage

mutated the verb to `glark' because [5973]glork was already an

established jargon term (some hackers do report using the original

term). Compare [5974]grok, [5975]zen.

Node:glass, Next:[5976]glass tty, Previous:[5977]glark, Up:[5978]= G =

glass n.

[IBM] Synonym for [5979]silicon.

Node:glass tty, Next:[5980]glassfet, Previous:[5981]glass, Up:[5982]=

G =

glass tty /glas T-T-Y/ or /glas ti'tee/ n.

A terminal that has a display screen but which, because of hardware or

software limitations, behaves like a teletype or some other printing

terminal, thereby combining the disadvantages of both: like a printing

terminal, it can't do fancy display hacks, and like a display

terminal, it doesn't produce hard copy. An example is the early `dumb'

version of Lear-Siegler ADM 3 (without cursor control). See

[5983]tube, [5984]tty; compare [5985]dumb terminal, [5986]smart

terminal. See "[5987]TV Typewriters" (Appendix A) for an interesting

true story about a glass tty.

Node:glassfet, Next:[5988]glitch, Previous:[5989]glass tty, Up:[5990]=

G =

glassfet /glas'fet/ n.

[by analogy with MOSFET, the acronym for `Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor

Field-Effect Transistor'] Syn. [5991]firebottle, a humorous way to

refer to a vacuum tube.

Node:glitch, Next:[5992]glob, Previous:[5993]glassfet, Up:[5994]= G =

glitch /glich/

[very common; from German glitschig' to slip, via Yiddishglitshen',

to slide or skid] 1. n. A sudden interruption in electric service,

sanity, continuity, or program function. Sometimes recoverable. An

interruption in electric service is specifically