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

P =

profile n.

A control file for a program, esp. a text file automatically read

from each user's home directory and intended to be easily modified by

the user in order to customize the program's behavior. Used to avoid

[10621]hardcoded choices (see also [10622]dot file, [10623]rc file).

[techspeak] A report on the amounts of time spent in each routine

of a program, used to find and [10624]tune away the [10625]hot spots

in it. This sense is often verbed. Some profiling modes report units

other than time (such as call counts) and/or report at granularities

other than per-routine, but the idea is similar. 3.[techspeak] A

subset of a standard used for a particular purpose. This sense

confuses hackers who wander into the weird world of ISO standards no

end!

Node:progasm, Next:[10626]proggy, Previous:[10627]profile, Up:[10628]=

P =

progasm /proh'gaz-m/ n.

[University of Wisconsin] The euphoria experienced upon the completion

of a program or other computer-related project.

Node:proggy, Next:[10629]proglet, Previous:[10630]progasm, Up:[10631]=

P =

proggy n.

Any computer program that is considered a full application. 2. Any

computer program that is made up of or otherwise contains

[10632]proglets. 3. Any computer program that is large enough to be

normally distributed as an RPM or [10633]tarball.

Node:proglet, Next:[10634]program, Previous:[10635]proggy, Up:[10636]=

P =

proglet /prog'let/ n.

[UK] A short extempore program written to meet an immediate, transient

need. Often written in BASIC, rarely more than a dozen lines long, and

containing no subroutines. The largest amount of code that can be

written off the top of one's head, that does not need any editing, and

that runs correctly the first time (this amount varies significantly

according to one's skill and the language one is using). Compare

[10637]toy program, [10638]noddy, [10639]one-liner wars.

Node:program, Next:[10640]Programmer's Cheer, Previous:[10641]proglet,

Up:[10642]= P =

program n.

A magic spell cast over a computer allowing it to turn one's input

into error messages. 2. An exercise in experimental epistemology. 3. A

form of art, ostensibly intended for the instruction of computers,

which is nevertheless almost inevitably a failure if other programmers

can't understand it.

Node:Programmer's Cheer, Next:[10643]programming,

Previous:[10644]program, Up:[10645]= P =

Programmer's Cheer

"Shift to the left! Shift to the right! Pop up, push down! Byte! Byte!

Byte!" A joke so old it has hair on it.

Node:programming, Next:[10646]programming fluid,

Previous:[10647]Programmer's Cheer, Up:[10648]= P =

programming n.

The art of debugging a blank sheet of paper (or, in these days of

on-line editing, the art of debugging an empty file). "Bloody

instructions which, being taught, return to plague their inventor"

("Macbeth", Act 1, Scene 7) 2. A pastime similar to banging one's head

against a wall, but with fewer opportunities for reward. 3. The most

fun you can have with your clothes on. 4. The least fun you can have

with your clothes off.

Node:programming fluid, Next:[10649]propeller head,

Previous:[10650]programming, Up:[10651]= P =

programming fluid n.

Coffee. 2. Cola. 3. Any caffeinacious stimulant. Many hackers

consider these essential for those all-night hacking runs. See

[10652]wirewater.

Node:propeller head, Next:[10653]propeller key,

Previous:[10654]programming fluid, Up:[10655]= P =

propeller head n.

Used by hackers, this is syn. with [10656]computer geek. Non-hackers

sometimes use it to describe all techies. Prob. derives from SF

fandom's tradition (originally invented by old-time fan Ray Faraday

Nelson) of propeller beanies as fannish insignia (though nobody

actually wears them except as a joke).

Node:propeller key, Next:[10657]proprietary, Previous:[10658]propeller

head, Up:[10659]= P =

propeller key n.

[Mac users] See [10660]feature key.

Node:proprietary, Next:[10661]protocol, Previous:[10662]propeller key,

Up:[10663]= P =

proprietary adj.

In [10664]marketroid-speak, superior; implies a product imbued with

exclusive magic by the unmatched brilliance of the company's own

hardware or software designers. 2. In the language of hackers and

users, inferior; implies a product not conforming to open-systems

standards, and thus one that puts the customer at the mercy of a

vendor able to gouge freely on service and upgrade charges after the

initial sale has locked the customer in. Often in the phrase

"proprietary crap". 3. Synonym for closed-source, e.g. software issued

in binary without source and under a restructive license.

Since the coining of the term [10665]open source, many hackers have

made a conscious effort to distinguish between `proprietary' and

`commercial' software. It is possible for software to be commercial

(that is, intended to make a profit for the producers) without being

proprietary. The reverse is also possible, for example in binary-only

freeware.

Node:protocol, Next:[10666]provocative maintenance,

Previous:[10667]proprietary, Up:[10668]= P =

protocol n.

As used by hackers, this never refers to niceties about the proper

form for addressing letters to the Papal Nuncio or the order in which

one should use the forks in a Russian-style place setting; hackers

don't care about such things. It is used instead to describe any set

of rules that allow different machines or pieces of software to

coordinate with each other without ambiguity. So, for example, it does

include niceties about the proper form for addressing packets on a

network or the order in which one should use the forks in the Dining

Philosophers Problem. It implies that there is some common message

format and an accepted set of primitives or commands that all parties

involved understand, and that transactions among them follow

predictable logical sequences. See also [10669]handshaking, [10670]do

protocol.

Node:provocative maintenance, Next:[10671]prowler,

Previous:[10672]protocol, Up:[10673]= P =

provocative maintenance n.

[common ironic mutation of `preventive maintenance'] Actions performed

upon a machine at regularly scheduled intervals to ensure that the

system remains in a usable state. So called because it is all too

often performed by a [10674]field servoid who doesn't know what he is

doing; such `maintenance' often induces problems, or otherwise results

in the machine's remaining in an unusable state for an indeterminate

amount of time. See also [10675]scratch monkey.

Node:prowler, Next:[10676]pseudo, Previous:[10677]provocative

maintenance, Up:[10678]= P =

prowler n.

[Unix] A [10679]daemon that is run periodically (typically once a

week) to seek out and erase [10680]core files, truncate administrative

logfiles, nuke lost+found directories, and otherwise clean up the

[10681]cruft that tends to pile up in the corners of a file system.

See also [10682]GFR, [10683]reaper, [10684]skulker.

Node:pseudo, Next:[10685]pseudoprime, Previous:[10686]prowler,

Up:[10687]= P =

pseudo /soo'doh/ n.

[Usenet: truncation of `pseudonym'] 1. An electronic-mail or

[10688]Usenet persona adopted by a human for amusement value or as a

means of avoiding negative repercussions of one's net.behavior; a `nom

de Usenet', often associated with forged postings designed to conceal

message origins. Perhaps the best-known and funniest hoax of this type

is [10689]B1FF. See also [10690]tentacle. 2. Notionally, a

[10691]flamage-generating AI program simulating a Usenet user. Many

flamers have been accused of actually being such entities, despite the

fact that no AI program of the required sophistication yet exists.

However, in 1989 there was a famous series of forged postings that

used a phrase-frequency-based travesty generator to simulate the

styles of several well-known flamers; it was based on large samples of

their back postings (compare [10692]Dissociated Press). A significant

number of people were fooled by the forgeries, and the debate over

their authenticity was settled only when the perpetrator came forward

to publicly admit the hoax.

Node:pseudoprime, Next:[10693]pseudosuit, Previous:[10694]pseudo,

Up:[10695]= P =

pseudoprime n.

A backgammon prime (six consecutive occupied points) with one point

missing. This term is an esoteric pun derived from number theory: a

number that passes a certain kind of "primality test" may be called a

`pseudoprime' (all primes pass any such test, but so do some composite

numbers), and any number that passes several is, in some sense, almost

certainly prime. The hacker backgammon usage stems from the idea that

a pseudoprime is almost as good as a prime: it will do the same job

unless you are unlucky.

Node:pseudosuit, Next:[10696]psychedelicware,

Previous:[10697]pseudoprime, Up:[10698]= P =

pseudosuit /soo'doh-s[y]oot`/ n.

A [10699]suit wannabee; a hacker who has decided that he wants to be

in management or administration and begins wearing ties, sport coats,

and (shudder!) suits voluntarily. It's his funeral. See also

[10700]lobotomy.

Node:psychedelicware, Next:[10701]psyton, Previous:[10702]pseudosuit,

Up:[10703]= P =

psychedelicware /si:`k*-del'-ik-weir/ n.

[UK] Syn. [10704]display hack. See also [10705]smoking clover.

Node:psyton, Next:[10706]pubic directory,

Previous:[10707]psychedelicware, Up:[10708]= P =

psyton /si:'ton/ n.

[TMRC] The elementary particle carrying the sinister force. The

probability of a process losing is proportional to the number of

psytons falling on it. Psytons are generated by observers, which is

why demos are more likely to fail when lots of people are watching.

[This term appears to have been largely superseded by [10709]bogon;

see also [10710]quantum bogodynamics. --ESR]

Node:pubic directory, Next:[10711]puff, Previous:[10712]psyton,

Up:[10713]= P =

pubic directory /pyoob'ik d-rek't-ree/) n.

[NYU] (also pube directory' /pyoob' d*-rek't*-ree/) Thepub'

(public) directory on a machine that allows [10714]FTP access. So

called because it is the default location for [10715]SEX (sense 1).

"I'll have the source in the pube directory by Friday."

Node:puff, Next:[10716]pumpkin holder, Previous:[10717]pubic

directory, Up:[10718]= P =

puff vt.

To decompress data that has been crunched by Huffman coding. At least

one widely distributed Huffman decoder program was actually named

`PUFF', but these days it is usually packaged with the encoder. Oppose

[10719]huff, see [10720]inflate.

Node:pumpkin holder, Next:[10721]pumpking, Previous:[10722]puff,

Up:[10723]= P =

pumpkin holder n.

See [10724]patch pumpkin.

Node:pumpking, Next:[10725]punched card, Previous:[10726]pumpkin

holder, Up:[10727]= P =

pumpking n.

Syn. for [10728]pumpkin holder; see [10729]patch pumpkin.

Node:punched card, Next:[10730]punt, Previous:[10731]pumpking,

Up:[10732]= P =

punched card n.obs.

[techspeak] (alt. `punch card') The signature medium of computing's

[10733]Stone Age, now obsolescent outside of some IBM shops. The

punched card actually predated computers considerably, originating in

1801 as a control device for mechanical looms. The version patented by

Hollerith and used with mechanical tabulating machines in the 1890

U.S. Census was a piece of cardboard about 90 mm by 215 mm. There is a

widespread myth that it was designed to fit in the currency trays used

for that era's larger dollar bills, but recent investigations have

falsified this.

IBM (which originated as a tabulating-machine manufacturer) married

the punched card to computers, encoding binary information as patterns

of small rectangular holes; one character per column, 80 columns per

card. Other coding schemes, sizes of card, and hole shapes were tried

at various times.

The 80-column width of most character terminals is a legacy of the IBM

punched card; so is the size of the quick-reference cards distributed

with many varieties of computers even today. See [10734]chad,

[10735]chad box, [10736]eighty-column mind, [10737]green card,

[10738]dusty deck, [10739]lace card, [10740]card walloper.

Node:punt, Next:[10741]Purple Book, Previous:[10742]punched card,

Up:[10743]= P =

punt v.

[from the punch line of an old joke referring to American football:

"Drop back 15 yards and punt!"] 1. To give up, typically without any

intention of retrying. "Let's punt the movie tonight." "I was going to

hack all night to get this feature in, but I decided to punt" may mean

that you've decided not to stay up all night, and may also mean you're

not ever even going to put in the feature. 2. More specifically, to

give up on figuring out what the [10744]Right Thing is and resort to

an inefficient hack. 3. A design decision to defer solving a problem,

typically because one cannot define what is desirable sufficiently

well to frame an algorithmic solution. "No way to know what the right

form to dump the graph in is -- we'll punt that for now." 4. To hand a

tricky implementation problem off to some other section of the design.

"It's too hard to get the compiler to do that; let's punt to the

runtime system." 5. To knock someone off an Internet or chat

connection; a `punter' thus, is a person or program that does this.

Node:Purple Book, Next:[10745]purple wire, Previous:[10746]punt,

Up:[10747]= P =

Purple Book n.

The "System V Interface Definition". The covers of the first

editions were an amazingly nauseating shade of off-lavender. 2. Syn.

[10748]Wizard Book. Donald Lewine's "POSIX Programmer's Guide"

(O'Reilly, 1991, ISBN 0-937175-73-0). See also [10749]book titles.

Node:purple wire, Next:[10750]push, Previous:[10751]Purple Book,

Up:[10752]= P =

purple wire n.

[IBM] Wire