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

a system that can understand and speak a natural

language as well as a human). These may appear to be modular, but all

attempts so far (1999) to solve them have foundered on the amount of

context information and `intelligence' they seem to require. See also

[400]gedanken.

Node:AI koans, Next:[401]AIDS, Previous:[402]AI-complete, Up:[403]= A

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AI koans /A-I koh'anz/ pl.n.

A series of pastiches of Zen teaching riddles created by Danny Hillis

at the MIT AI Lab around various major figures of the Lab's culture

(several are included under [404]Some AI Koans in Appendix A). See

also [405]ha ha only serious, [406]mu, and [407]hacker humor.

Node:AIDS, Next:[408]AIDX, Previous:[409]AI koans, Up:[410]= A =

AIDS /aydz/ n.

Short for A Infected Disk Syndrome (`A' is a [411]glob pattern that

matches, but is not limited to, Apple or Amiga), this condition is

quite often the result of practicing unsafe [412]SEX. See [413]virus,

[414]worm, [415]Trojan horse, [416]virgin.

Node:AIDX, Next:[417]airplane rule, Previous:[418]AIDS, Up:[419]= A =

AIDX /ayd'k*z/ n.

Derogatory term for IBM's perverted version of Unix, AIX, especially

for the AIX 3.? used in the IBM RS/6000 series (some hackers think it

is funnier just to pronounce "AIX" as "aches"). A victim of the

dreaded "hybridism" disease, this attempt to combine the two main

currents of the Unix stream ([420]BSD and [421]USG Unix) became a

[422]monstrosity to haunt system administrators' dreams. For example,

if new accounts are created while many users are logged on, the load

average jumps quickly over 20 due to silly implementation of the user

databases. For a quite similar disease, compare [423]HP-SUX. Also,

compare [424]Macintrash, [425]Nominal Semidestructor, [426]ScumOS,

[427]sun-stools.

Node:airplane rule, Next:[428]Alderson loop, Previous:[429]AIDX,

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airplane rule n.

"Complexity increases the possibility of failure; a twin-engine

airplane has twice as many engine problems as a single-engine

airplane." By analogy, in both software and electronics, the rule that

simplicity increases robustness. It is correspondingly argued that the

right way to build reliable systems is to put all your eggs in one

basket, after making sure that you've built a really good basket. See

also [431]KISS Principle, [432]elegant.

Node:Alderson loop, Next:[433]aliasing bug, Previous:[434]airplane

rule, Up:[435]= A =

Alderson loop n.

[Intel] A special version of an [436]infinite loop where there is an

exit condition available, but inaccessible in the current

implementation of the code. Typically this is created while debugging

user interface code. An example would be when there is a menu stating,

"Select 1-3 or 9 to quit" and 9 is not allowed by the function that

takes the selection from the user.

This term received its name from a programmer who had coded a modal

message box in MSAccess with no Ok or Cancel buttons, thereby

disabling the entire program whenever the box came up. The message box

had the proper code for dismissal and even was set up so that when the

non-existent Ok button was pressed the proper code would be called.

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loop, Up:[439]= A =

aliasing bug n.

A class of subtle programming errors that can arise in code that does

dynamic allocation, esp. via malloc(3) or equivalent. If several

pointers address (`aliases for') a given hunk of storage, it may

happen that the storage is freed or reallocated (and thus moved)

through one alias and then referenced through another, which may lead

to subtle (and possibly intermittent) lossage depending on the state

and the allocation history of the malloc [440]arena. Avoidable by use

of allocation strategies that never alias allocated core, or by use of

higher-level languages, such as [441]LISP, which employ a garbage

collector (see [442]GC). Also called a [443]stale pointer bug. See

also [444]precedence lossage, [445]smash the stack, [446]fandango on

core, [447]memory leak, [448]memory smash, [449]overrun screw,

[450]spam.

Historical note: Though this term is nowadays associated with C

programming, it was already in use in a very similar sense in the

Algol-60 and FORTRAN communities in the 1960s.

Node:Alice and Bob, Next:[451]all-elbows, Previous:[452]aliasing bug,

Up:[453]= A =

Alice and Bob n.

The archetypal individuals used as examples in discussions of

cryptographic protocols. Originally, theorists would say something

like: "A communicates with someone who claims to be B, So to be sure,

A tests that B knows a secret number K. So A sends to B a random

number X. B then forms Y by encrypting X under key K and sends Y back

to A" Because this sort of thing is is quite hard to follow, theorists

stopped using the unadorned letters A and B to represent the main

players and started calling them Alice and Bob. So now we say "Alice

communicates with someone claiming to be Bob, and to be sure, So Alice

tests that Bob knows a secret number K. Alice sends to Bob a random

number X. Bob then forms Y by encrypting X under key K and sends Y

back to Alice". A whole mythology rapidly grew up around the

metasyntactic names; see

[454]http://www.conceptlabs.co.uk/alicebob.html.

In Bruce Schneier's definitive introductory text "Applied

Cryptography" (2nd ed., 1996, John Wiley & Sons, ISBN 0-471-11709-9)

he introduces a table of dramatis personae headed by Alice and Bob.

Others include Carol (a participant in three- and four-party

protocols), Dave (a participant in four-party protocols), Eve (an

eavesdropper), Mallory (a malicious active attacker), Trent (a trusted

arbitrator), Walter (a warden), Peggy (a prover) and Victor (a

verifier). These names for roles are either already standard or, given

the wide popularity of the book, may be expected to quickly become so.

Node:all-elbows, Next:[455]alpha geek, Previous:[456]Alice and Bob,

Up:[457]= A =

all-elbows adj.

[MS-DOS] Of a TSR (terminate-and-stay-resident) IBM PC program, such

as the N pop-up calendar and calculator utilities that circulate on

[458]BBS systems: unsociable. Used to describe a program that rudely

steals the resources that it needs without considering that other TSRs

may also be resident. One particularly common form of rudeness is

lock-up due to programs fighting over the keyboard interrupt. See

[459]rude, also [460]mess-dos.

Node:alpha geek, Next:[461]alpha particles, Previous:[462]all-elbows,

Up:[463]= A =

alpha geek n.

[from animal ethologists' `alpha male'] The most technically

accomplished or skillful person in some implied context. "Ask Larry,

he's the alpha geek here."

Node:alpha particles, Next:[464]alt, Previous:[465]alpha geek,

Up:[466]= A =

alpha particles n.

See [467]bit rot.

Node:alt, Next:[468]alt bit, Previous:[469]alpha particles, Up:[470]=

A =

alt /awlt/

n. The alt shift key on an IBM PC or [471]clone keyboard; see

[472]bucky bits, sense 2 (though typical PC usage does not simply set

the 0200 bit). 2. n. The `option' key on a Macintosh; use of this term

usually reveals that the speaker hacked PCs before coming to the Mac

(see also [473]feature key, which is sometimes incorrectly called

`alt'). 3. n.,obs. [PDP-10; often capitalized to ALT] Alternate name

for the ASCII ESC character (ASCII 0011011), after the keycap labeling

on some older terminals; also `altmode' (/awlt'mohd/). This character

was almost never pronounced `escape' on an ITS system, in [474]TECO,

or under TOPS-10 -- always alt, as in "Type alt alt to end a TECO

command" or "alt-U onto the system" (for "log onto the [ITS] system").

This usage probably arose because alt is more convenient to say than

`escape', especially when followed by another alt or a character (or

another alt and a character, for that matter). 4. The alt hierarchy on

Usenet, the tree of newsgroups created by users without a formal vote

and approval procedure. There is a myth, not entirely implausible,

that alt is acronymic for "anarchists, lunatics, and terrorists"; but

in fact it is simply short for "alternative".

Node:alt bit, Next:[475]Aluminum Book, Previous:[476]alt, Up:[477]= A

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alt bit /awlt bit/ [from alternate] adj.

See [478]meta bit.

Node:Aluminum Book, Next:[479]ambimouseterous, Previous:[480]alt bit,

Up:[481]= A =

Aluminum Book n.

[MIT] "Common LISP: The Language", by Guy L. Steele Jr. (Digital

Press, first edition 1984, second edition 1990). Note that due to a

technical screwup some printings of the second edition are actually of

a color the author describes succinctly as "yucky green". See also

[482]book titles.

Node:ambimouseterous, Next:[483]Amiga, Previous:[484]Aluminum Book,

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ambimouseterous /am-b-mows'ter-us/ or /am-b-mows'trus/ adj.

[modeled on ambidextrous] Able to use a mouse with either hand.

Node:Amiga, Next:[486]Amiga Persecution Complex,

Previous:[487]ambimouseterous, Up:[488]= A =

Amiga n

A series of personal computer models originally sold by Commodore,

based on 680x0 processors, custom support chips and an operating

system that combined some of the best features of Macintosh and Unix

with compatibility with neither.

The Amiga was released just as the personal computing world

standardized on IBM-PC clones. This prevented it from gaining serious

market share, despite the fact that the first Amigas had a substantial

technological lead on the IBM XTs of the time. Instead, it acquired a

small but zealous population of enthusiastic hackers who dreamt of one

day unseating the clones (see [489]Amiga Persecution Complex). The

traits of this culture are both spoofed and illuminated in [490]The

BLAZE Humor Viewer. The strength of the Amiga platform seeded a small

industry of companies building software and hardware for the platform,

especially in graphics and video applications (see [491]video

toaster).

Due to spectacular mismanagement, Commodore did hardly any R&D,

allowing the competition to close Amiga's technological lead. After

Commodore went bankrupt in 1994 the technology passed through several

hands, none of whom did much with it. However, the Amiga is still

being produced in Europe under license and has a substantial number of

fans, which will probably extend the platform's life considerably.

Node:Amiga Persecution Complex, Next:[492]amoeba, Previous:[493]Amiga,

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Amiga Persecution Complex n.

The disorder suffered by a particularly egregious variety of

[495]bigot, those who believe that the marginality of their preferred

machine is the result of some kind of industry-wide conspiracy (for

without a conspiracy of some kind, the eminent superiority of their

beloved shining jewel of a platform would obviously win over all,

market pressures be damned!) Those afflicted are prone to engaging in

[496]flame wars and calling for boycotts and mailbombings. Amiga

Persecution Complex is by no means limited to Amiga users; NeXT,

[497]NeWS, [498]OS/2, Macintosh, [499]LISP, and [500]GNU users are

also common victims. [501]Linux users used to display symptoms very

frequently before Linux started winning; some still do. See also

[502]newbie, [503]troll, [504]holy wars, [505]weenie, [506]Get a

life!.

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Complex, Up:[509]= A =

amoeba n.

Humorous term for the Commodore Amiga personal computer.

Node:amp off, Next:[510]amper, Previous:[511]amoeba, Up:[512]= A =

amp off vt.

[Purdue] To run in [513]background. From the Unix shell `&' operator.

Node:amper, Next:[514]Angband, Previous:[515]amp off, Up:[516]= A =

amper n.

Common abbreviation for the name of the ampersand (`&', ASCII 0100110)

character. See [517]ASCII for other synonyms.

Node:Angband, Next:[518]angle brackets, Previous:[519]amper, Up:[520]=

A =

Angband n. /ang'band/

Like [521]nethack, [522]moria, and [523]rogue, one of the large freely

distributed Dungeons-and-Dragons-like simulation games, available for

a wide range of machines and operating systems. The name is from

Tolkien's Pits of Angband (compare [524]elder days, [525]elvish). Has

been described as "Moria on steroids"; but, unlike Moria, many aspects

of the game are customizable. This leads many hackers and would-be

hackers into fooling with these instead of doing productive work.

There are many Angband variants, of which the most notorious is

probably the rather whimsical Zangband. In this game, when a key that

does not correspond to a command is pressed, the game will display

"Type ? for help" 50% of the time. The other 50% of the time, random

error messages including "An error has occurred because an error of

type 42 has occurred" and "Windows 95 uninstalled successfully" will

be displayed. Zangband also allows the player to kill Santa Claus (who

has some really good stuff, but also has a lot of friends), "Bull

Gates", and Barney the Dinosaur (but be watchful; Barney has a nasty

case of halitosis). There is an official angband home page at

[526]http://www.phial.com/angband and a zangband one at

[527]http://thangorodrim.angband.org. See also [528]Random Number God.

Node:angle brackets, Next:[529]angry fruit salad,