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

called a `power

glitch' (also [5995]power hit), of grave concern because it usually

crashes all the computers. In jargon, though, a hacker who got to the

middle of a sentence and then forgot how he or she intended to

complete it might say, "Sorry, I just glitched". 2. vi. To commit a

glitch. See [5996]gritch. 3. vt. [Stanford] To scroll a display

screen, esp. several lines at a time. [5997]WAITS terminals used to do

this in order to avoid continuous scrolling, which is distracting to

the eye. 4. obs. Same as [5998]magic cookie, sense 2.

All these uses of `glitch' derive from the specific technical meaning

the term has in the electronic hardware world, where it is now

techspeak. A glitch can occur when the inputs of a circuit change, and

the outputs change to some [5999]random value for some very brief time

before they settle down to the correct value. If another circuit

inspects the output at just the wrong time, reading the random value,

the results can be very wrong and very hard to debug (a glitch is one

of many causes of electronic [6000]heisenbugs).

Node:glob, Next:[6001]glork, Previous:[6002]glitch, Up:[6003]= G =

glob /glob/, not /glohb/ v.,n.

[Unix; common] To expand special characters in a wildcarded name, or

the act of so doing (the action is also called `globbing'). The Unix

conventions for filename wildcarding have become sufficiently

pervasive that many hackers use some of them in written English,

especially in email or news on technical topics. Those commonly

encountered include the following:

*

wildcard for any string (see also [6004]UN*X)

?

wildcard for any single character (generally read this way only at the beginning or in the middle of a word)

[]

delimits a wildcard matching any of the enclosed characters

{}

alternation of comma-separated alternatives; thus, `foo{baz,qux}' would be read as `foobaz' or `fooqux'

Some examples: "He said his name was [KC]arl" (expresses ambiguity).

"I don't read talk.politics.*" (any of the talk.politics subgroups on

[6005]Usenet). Other examples are given under the entry for [6006]X.

Note that glob patterns are similar, but not identical, to those used

in [6007]regexps.

Historical note: The jargon usage derives from glob, the name of a

subprogram that expanded wildcards in archaic pre-Bourne versions of

the Unix shell.

Node:glork, Next:[6008]glue, Previous:[6009]glob, Up:[6010]= G =

glork /glork/

interj. Term of mild surprise, usually tinged with outrage, as when

one attempts to save the results of two hours of editing and finds

that the system has just crashed. 2. Used as a name for just about

anything. See [6011]foo. 3. vt. Similar to [6012]glitch, but usually

used reflexively. "My program just glorked itself." 4. Syn. for

[6013]glark, which see.

Node:glue, Next:[6014]gnarly, Previous:[6015]glork, Up:[6016]= G =

glue n.

Generic term for any interface logic or protocol that connects two

component blocks. For example, [6017]Blue Glue is IBM's SNA protocol,

and hardware designers call anything used to connect large VLSI's or

circuit blocks `glue logic'.

Node:gnarly, Next:[6018]GNU, Previous:[6019]glue, Up:[6020]= G =

gnarly /nar'lee/ adj.

Both [6021]obscure and [6022]hairy (sense 1). "[6023]Yow! -- the tuned

assembler implementation of BitBlt is really gnarly!" From a similar

but less specific usage in surfer slang.

Node:GNU, Next:[6024]gnubie, Previous:[6025]gnarly, Up:[6026]= G =

GNU /gnoo/, not /noo/

[acronym: `GNU's Not Unix!', see [6027]recursive acronym] A

Unix-workalike development effort of the Free Software Foundation

headed by Richard Stallman [6028]rms@gnu.org. GNU EMACS and the GNU

C compiler, two tools designed for this project, have become very

popular in hackerdom and elsewhere. The GNU project was designed

partly to proselytize for RMS's position that information is community

property and all software source should be shared. One of its slogans

is "Help stamp out software hoarding!" Though this remains

controversial (because it implicitly denies any right of designers to

own, assign, and sell the results of their labors), many hackers who

disagree with RMS have nevertheless cooperated to produce large

amounts of high-quality software for free redistribution under the

Free Software Foundation's imprimatur. The GNU project has a web page

at [6029]http://www.gnu.org. See [6030]EMACS, [6031]copyleft,

[6032]General Public Virus, [6033]Linux. 2. Noted Unix hacker John

Gilmore [6034]gnu@toad.com, founder of Usenet's anarchic alt.*

hierarchy.

Node:gnubie, Next:[6035]GNUMACS, Previous:[6036]GNU, Up:[6037]= G =

gnubie /noo'bee/ n.

Written-only variant of [6038]newbie in common use on IRC channels,

which implies specifically someone who is new to the Linux/open

source/free software world.

Node:GNUMACS, Next:[6039]go flatline, Previous:[6040]gnubie,

Up:[6041]= G =

GNUMACS /gnoo'maks/ n.

[contraction of `GNU EMACS'] Often-heard abbreviated name for the

[6042]GNU project's flagship tool, [6043]EMACS. Used esp. in contrast

with GOSMACS.

Node:go flatline, Next:[6044]go root, Previous:[6045]GNUMACS,

Up:[6046]= G =

go flatline v.

[from cyberpunk SF, refers to flattening of EEG traces upon

brain-death] (also adjectival `flatlined'). 1. To [6047]die,

terminate, or fail, esp. irreversibly. In hacker parlance, this is

used of machines only, human death being considered somewhat too

serious a matter to employ jargon-jokes about. 2. To go completely

quiescent; said of machines undergoing controlled shutdown. "You can

suffer file damage if you shut down Unix but power off before the

system has gone flatline." 3. Of a video tube, to fail by losing

vertical scan, so all one sees is a bright horizontal line bisecting

the screen.

Node:go root, Next:[6048]go-faster stripes, Previous:[6049]go

flatline, Up:[6050]= G =

go root vi.

[Unix; common] To temporarily enter [6051]root mode in order to

perform a privileged operation. This use is deprecated in Australia,

where v. `root' is a synonym for "fuck".

Node:go-faster stripes, Next:[6052]GoAT, Previous:[6053]go root,

Up:[6054]= G =

go-faster stripes n.

[UK] Syn. [6055]chrome. Mainstream in some parts of UK.

Node:GoAT, Next:[6056]gobble, Previous:[6057]go-faster stripes,

Up:[6058]= G =

GoAT //

[Usenet] Abbreviation: "Go Away, Troll". See [6059]troll.

Node:gobble, Next:[6060]Godwin's Law, Previous:[6061]GoAT, Up:[6062]=

G =

gobble vt.

To consume, usu. used with `up'. "The output spy gobbles characters

out of a [6063]tty output buffer." 2. To obtain, usu. used with

`down'. "I guess I'll gobble down a copy of the documentation

tomorrow." See also [6064]snarf.

Node:Godwin's Law, Next:[6065]Godzillagram, Previous:[6066]gobble,

Up:[6067]= G =

Godwin's Law prov.

[Usenet] "As a Usenet discussion grows longer, the probability of a

comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches one." There is a

tradition in many groups that, once this occurs, that thread is over,

and whoever mentioned the Nazis has automatically lost whatever

argument was in progress. Godwin's Law thus practically guarantees the

existence of an upper bound on thread length in those groups. However

there is also a widely- recognized codicil that any intentional

triggering of Godwin's Law in order to invoke its thread-ending

effects will be unsuccessful.

Node:Godzillagram, Next:[6068]golden, Previous:[6069]Godwin's Law,

Up:[6070]= G =

Godzillagram /god-zil'*-gram/ n.

[from Japan's national hero] 1. A network packet that in theory is a

broadcast to every machine in the universe. The typical case is an IP

datagram whose destination IP address is [255.255.255.255].

Fortunately, few gateways are foolish enough to attempt to implement

this case! 2. A network packet of maximum size. An IP Godzillagram has

65,536 octets. Compare [6071]super source quench, [6072]Christmas tree

packet, [6073]martian.

Node:golden, Next:[6074]golf-ball printer,

Previous:[6075]Godzillagram, Up:[6076]= G =

golden adj.

[prob. from folklore's `golden egg'] When used to describe a magnetic

medium (e.g., golden disk',golden tape'), describes one containing

a tested, up-to-spec, ready-to-ship software version. Compare

[6077]platinum-iridium.

Node:golf-ball printer, Next:[6078]gonk, Previous:[6079]golden,

Up:[6080]= G =

golf-ball printer n. obs.

The IBM 2741, a slow but letter-quality printing device and terminal

based on the IBM Selectric typewriter. The `golf ball' was a little

spherical frob bearing reversed embossed images of 88 different

characters arranged on four parallels of latitude; one could change

the font by swapping in a different golf ball. The print element spun

and jerked alarmingly in action and when in motion was sometimes

described as an `infuriated golf ball'. This was the technology that

enabled APL to use a non-EBCDIC, non-ASCII, and in fact completely

non-standard character set. This put it 10 years ahead of its time --

where it stayed, firmly rooted, for the next 20, until character

displays gave way to programmable bit-mapped devices with the

flexibility to support other character sets.

Node:gonk, Next:[6081]gonkulator, Previous:[6082]golf-ball printer,

Up:[6083]= G =

gonk /gonk/ vi.,n.

To prevaricate or to embellish the truth beyond any reasonable

recognition. In German the term is (mythically) `gonken'; in Spanish

the verb becomes `gonkar'. "You're gonking me. That story you just

told me is a bunch of gonk." In German, for example, "Du gonkst mich"

(You're pulling my leg). See also [6084]gonkulator. 2. [British] To

grab some sleep at an odd time; compare [6085]gronk out.

Node:gonkulator, Next:[6086]gonzo, Previous:[6087]gonk, Up:[6088]= G =

gonkulator /gon'kyoo-lay-tr/ n.

[common; from the 1960s "Hogan's Heroes" TV series] A pretentious

piece of equipment that actually serves no useful purpose. Usually

used to describe one's least favorite piece of computer hardware. See

[6089]gonk.

Node:gonzo, Next:[6090]Good Thing, Previous:[6091]gonkulator,

Up:[6092]= G =

gonzo /gon'zoh/ adj.

[from Hunter S. Thompson] 1. With total commitment, total

concentration, and a mad sort of panache. (Thompson's original sense.)

More loosely: Overwhelming; outrageous; over the top; very large,

esp. used of collections of source code, source files, or individual

functions. Has some of the connotations of [6093]moby and [6094]hairy,

but without the implication of obscurity or complexity.

Node:Good Thing, Next:[6095]gopher, Previous:[6096]gonzo, Up:[6097]= G

=

Good Thing n.,adj.

[very common; often capitalized; always pronounced as if capitalized.]

Self-evidently wonderful to anyone in a position to notice: "A

language that manages dynamic memory automatically for you is a Good

Thing." 2. Something that can't possibly have any ill side-effects and

may save considerable grief later: "Removing the self-modifying code

from that shared library would be a Good Thing." 3. When said of

software tools or libraries, as in "YACC is a Good Thing",

specifically connotes that the thing has drastically reduced a

programmer's work load. Oppose [6098]Bad Thing.

Node:gopher, Next:[6099]gopher hole, Previous:[6100]Good Thing,

Up:[6101]= G =

gopher n.

A type of Internet service first floated around 1991 and obsolesced

around 1995 by the World Wide Web. Gopher presents a menuing interface

to a tree or graph of links; the links can be to documents, runnable

programs, or other gopher menus arbitrarily far across the net.

Some claim that the gopher software, which was originally developed at

the University of Minnesota, was named after the Minnesota Gophers (a

sports team). Others claim the word derives from American slang

`gofer' (from "go for", dialectal "go fer"), one whose job is to run

and fetch things. Finally, observe that gophers dig long tunnels, and

the idea of tunneling through the net to find information was a

defining metaphor for the developers. Probably all three things were

true, but with the first two coming first and the gopher-tunnel

metaphor serendipitously adding flavor and impetus to the project as

it developed out of its concept stage.

Node:gopher hole, Next:[6102]gorets, Previous:[6103]gopher, Up:[6104]=

G =

gopher hole n.

Any access to a [6105]gopher. 2. [Amateur Packet Radio] The

terrestrial analog of a [6106]wormhole (sense 2), from which this term

was coined. A gopher hole links two amateur packet relays through some

non-ham radio medium.

Node:gorets, Next:[6107]gorilla arm, Previous:[6108]gopher hole,

Up:[6109]= G =

gorets /gor'ets/ n.

The unknown ur-noun, fill in your own meaning. Found esp. on the

Usenet newsgroup alt.gorets, which seems to be a running contest to

redefine the word by implication in the funniest and most peculiar

way, with the understanding that no definition is ever final. [A

correspondent from the Former Soviet Union informs me that `gorets' is

Russian for `mountain dweller'. Another from France informs me that

`goret' is archaic French for a young pig --ESR] Compare [6110]frink.

Node:gorilla arm, Next:[6111]gorp, Previous:[6112]gorets, Up:[6113]= G

=

gorilla arm n.

The side-effect that destroyed touch-screens as a mainstream input

technology despite a promising start in the early 1980s. It seems the

designers of all those [6114]spiffy touch-menu systems failed to

notice that humans aren't designed to hold