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

The gratuituous use of comuputer

generated images and effects in movies and graphic art which would

have been better without them. Especially employed as a term of abuse

by Photoshop/GIMP users and graphic artists.

Node:rat belt, Next:[11052]rat dance, Previous:[11053]rasterbation,

Up:[11054]= R =

rat belt n.

A cable tie, esp. the sawtoothed, self-locking plastic kind that you

can remove only by cutting (as opposed to a random twist of wire or a

twist tie or one of those humongous metal clip frobs). Small cable

ties are `mouse belts'.

Node:rat dance, Next:[11055]ratio site, Previous:[11056]rat belt,

Up:[11057]= R =

rat dance n.

[From the [11058]Dilbert comic strip of November 14, 1995] A

[11059]hacking run that produces results which, while superficially

coherent, have little or nothing to do with its original objectives.

There are strong connotations that the coding process and the

objectives themselves were pretty [11060]random. (In the original

comic strip, the Ratbert is invited to dance on Dilbert's keyboard in

order to produce bugs for him to fix, and authors a Web browser

instead.) Compare [11061]Infinite-Monkey Theorem.

This term seems to have become widely recognized quite rapidly after

the original strip, a fact which testifies to Dilbert's huge

popularity among hackers. All too many find the perverse incentives

and Kafkaesque atmosphere of Dilbert's mythical workplace reflective

of their own experiences.

Node:ratio site, Next:[11062]rave, Previous:[11063]rat dance,

Up:[11064]= R =

ratio site

[warez d00dz] A FTP site storing pirated files where one must first

upload something before being able to download. There is a ratio,

based on bytes or files count, between the uploads and download. For

instance, on a 2:1 site, to download a 4 Mb file, one must first

upload at least 2 Mb of files. The hotter the contents of the server

are, the smaller the ratio is. More often than not, the server refuses

uploads because its disk is full, making it useless for downloading -

or the connection magically breaks after one has uploaded a large

amount of files, just before the downloading phase begins. See also

[11065]banner site, [11066]leech mode.

Node:rave, Next:[11067]rave on!, Previous:[11068]ratio site,

Up:[11069]= R =

rave vi.

[WPI] 1. To persist in discussing a specific subject. 2. To speak

authoritatively on a subject about which one knows very little. 3. To

complain to a person who is not in a position to correct the

difficulty. 4. To purposely annoy another person verbally. 5. To

evangelize. See [11070]flame. 6. Also used to describe a less negative

form of blather, such as friendly bullshitting. `Rave' differs

slightly from [11071]flame in that `rave' implies that it is the

persistence or obliviousness of the person speaking that is annoying,

while [11072]flame implies somewhat more strongly that the tone or

content is offensive as well.

Node:rave on!, Next:[11073]ravs, Previous:[11074]rave, Up:[11075]= R =

rave on! imp.

Sarcastic invitation to continue a [11076]rave, often by someone who

wishes the raver would get a clue but realizes this is unlikely.

Node:ravs, Next:[11077]raw mode, Previous:[11078]rave on!, Up:[11079]=

R =

ravs /ravz/, also `Chinese ravs' n.

[primarily MIT/Boston usage] Jiao-zi (steamed or boiled) or Guo-tie

(pan-fried). A Chinese appetizer, known variously in the plural as

dumplings, pot stickers (the literal translation of guo-tie), and

(around Boston) Peking Ravioli'. The termrav' is short for

`ravioli', and among hackers always means the Chinese kind rather than

the Italian kind. Both consist of a filling in a pasta shell, but the

Chinese kind includes no cheese, uses a thinner pasta, has a

pork-vegetable filling (good ones include Chinese chives), and is

cooked differently, either by steaming or frying. A rav or dumpling

can be cooked any way, but a potsticker is always the pan-fried kind

(so called because it sticks to the frying pot and has to be scraped

off). "Let's get hot-and-sour soup and three orders of ravs." See also

[11080]oriental food.

Node:raw mode, Next:[11081]RBL, Previous:[11082]ravs, Up:[11083]= R =

raw mode n.

A mode that allows a program to transfer bits directly to or from an

I/O device (or, under [11084]bogus operating systems that make a

distinction, a disk file) without any processing, abstraction, or

interpretation by the operating system. Compare [11085]rare mode,

[11086]cooked mode. This is techspeak under Unix, jargon elsewhere.

Node:RBL, Next:[11087]rc file, Previous:[11088]raw mode, Up:[11089]= R

=

RBL /R-B-L/

Abbreviation: "Realtime Blackhole List". A service that allows people

to blacklist sites for emitting [11090]spam, and makes the blacklist

available in real time to electronic-mail transport programs that know

how to use RBL so they can filter out mail from those sites. Drastic

(and controversial) but effective. There is an [11091]RBL home page.

Node:rc file, Next:[11092]RE, Previous:[11093]RBL, Up:[11094]= R =

rc file /R-C fi:l/ n.

[Unix: from `runcom files' on the [11095]CTSS system 1962-63, via the

startup script /etc/rc] Script file containing startup instructions

for an application program (or an entire operating system), usually a

text file containing commands of the sort that might have been invoked

manually once the system was running but are to be executed

automatically each time the system starts up. See also [11096]dot

file, [11097]profile (sense 1).

Node:RE, Next:[11098]read-only user, Previous:[11099]rc file,

Up:[11100]= R =

RE /R-E/ n.

Common spoken and written shorthand for [11101]regexp.

Node:read-only user, Next:[11102]README file, Previous:[11103]RE,

Up:[11104]= R =

read-only user n.

Describes a [11105]luser who uses computers almost exclusively for

reading Usenet, bulletin boards, and/or email, rather than writing

code or purveying useful information. See [11106]twink,

[11107]terminal junkie, [11108]lurker.

Node:README file, Next:[11109]real, Previous:[11110]read-only user,

Up:[11111]= R =

README file n.

Hacker's-eye introduction traditionally included in the top-level

directory of a Unix source distribution, containing a pointer to more

detailed documentation, credits, miscellaneous revision history,

notes, etc. (The file may be named README, or READ.ME, or rarely

ReadMe or readme.txt or some other variant.) In the Mac and PC worlds,

software is not usually distributed in source form, and the README is

more likely to contain user-oriented material like last-minute

documentation changes, error workarounds, and restrictions. When

asked, hackers invariably relate the README convention to the famous

scene in Lewis Carroll's "Alice's Adventures In Wonderland" in which

Alice confronts magic munchies labeled "Eat Me" and "Drink Me".

Node:real, Next:[11112]real estate, Previous:[11113]README file,

Up:[11114]= R =

real adj.

Not simulated. Often used as a specific antonym to [11115]virtual in

any of its jargon senses.

Node:real estate, Next:[11116]real hack, Previous:[11117]real,

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real estate n.

May be used for any critical resource measured in units of area. Most

frequently used of `chip real estate', the area available for logic on

the surface of an integrated circuit (see also [11119]nanoacre). May

also be used of floor space in a [11120]dinosaur pen, or even space on

a crowded desktop (whether physical or electronic).

Node:real hack, Next:[11121]real operating system,

Previous:[11122]real estate, Up:[11123]= R =

real hack n.

A [11124]crock. This is sometimes used affectionately; see

[11125]hack.

Node:real operating system, Next:[11126]Real Programmer,

Previous:[11127]real hack, Up:[11128]= R =

real operating system n.

The sort the speaker is used to. People from the BSDophilic academic

community are likely to issue comments like "System V? Why don't you

use a real operating system?", people from the commercial/industrial

Unix sector are known to complain "BSD? Why don't you use a real

operating system?", and people from IBM object "Unix? Why don't you

use a real operating system?" Only [11129]MS-DOS is universally

considered unreal. See [11130]holy wars, [11131]religious issues,

[11132]proprietary, [11133]Get a real computer!

Node:Real Programmer, Next:[11134]Real Soon Now, Previous:[11135]real

operating system, Up:[11136]= R =

Real Programmer n.

[indirectly, from the book "Real Men Don't Eat Quiche"] A particular

sub-variety of hacker: one possessed of a flippant attitude toward

complexity that is arrogant even when justified by experience. The

archetypal `Real Programmer' likes to program on the [11137]bare metal

and is very good at same, remembers the binary opcodes for every

machine he has ever programmed, thinks that HLLs are sissy, and uses a

debugger to edit his code because full-screen editors are for wimps.

Real Programmers aren't satisfied with code that hasn't been

[11138]bummed into a state of [11139]tenseness just short of rupture.

Real Programmers never use comments or write documentation: "If it was

hard to write", says the Real Programmer, "it should be hard to

understand." Real Programmers can make machines do things that were

never in their spec sheets; in fact, they are seldom really happy

unless doing so. A Real Programmer's code can awe with its fiendish

brilliance, even as its crockishness appalls. Real Programmers live on

junk food and coffee, hang line-printer art on their walls, and

terrify the crap out of other programmers -- because someday, somebody

else might have to try to understand their code in order to change it.

Their successors generally consider it a [11140]Good Thing that there

aren't many Real Programmers around any more. For a famous (and

somewhat more positive) portrait of a Real Programmer, see "[11141]The

Story of Mel" in Appendix A. The term itself was popularized by a 1983

Datamation article "Real Programmers Don't Use Pascal" by Ed Post,

still circulating on Usenet and Internet in on-line form. You can

browse "Real Programmers Don't Use Pascal" from the Datamation home

page [11142]http://www.datamation.com.

Node:Real Soon Now, Next:[11143]real time, Previous:[11144]Real

Programmer, Up:[11145]= R =

Real Soon Now adv.

[orig. from SF's fanzine community, popularized by Jerry Pournelle's

column in "BYTE"] 1. Supposed to be available (or fixed, or cheap, or

whatever) real soon now according to somebody, but the speaker is

quite skeptical. 2. When one's gods, fates, or other time commitments

permit one to get to it (in other words, don't hold your breath).

Often abbreviated RSN. Compare [11146]copious free time.

Node:real time, Next:[11147]real user, Previous:[11148]Real Soon Now,

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real time

[techspeak] adj. Describes an application which requires a program

to respond to stimuli within some small upper limit of response time

(typically milli- or microseconds). Process control at a chemical

plant is the [11150]canonical example. Such applications often require

special operating systems (because everything else must take a back

seat to response time) and speed-tuned hardware. 2. adv. In jargon,

refers to doing something while people are watching or waiting. "I

asked her how to find the calling procedure's program counter on the

stack and she came up with an algorithm in real time."

Node:real user, Next:[11151]Real World, Previous:[11152]real time,

Up:[11153]= R =

real user n.

A commercial user. One who is paying real money for his computer

usage. 2. A non-hacker. Someone using the system for an explicit

purpose (a research project, a course, etc.) other than pure

exploration. See [11154]user. Hackers who are also students may also

be real users. "I need this fixed so I can do a problem set. I'm not

complaining out of randomness, but as a real user." See also

[11155]luser.

Node:Real World, Next:[11156]reality check, Previous:[11157]real user,

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Real World n.

Those institutions at which `programming' may be used in the same

sentence as FORTRAN',[11159]COBOL', RPG',[11160]IBM', `DBASE',

etc. Places where programs do such commercially necessary but

intellectually uninspiring things as generating payroll checks and

invoices. 2. The location of non-programmers and activities not

related to programming. 3. A bizarre dimension in which the standard

dress is shirt and tie and in which a person's working hours are

defined as 9 to 5 (see [11161]code grinder). 4. Anywhere outside a

university. "Poor fellow, he's left MIT and gone into the Real World."

Used pejoratively by those not in residence there. In conversation,

talking of someone who has entered the Real World is not unlike

speaking of a deceased person. It is also noteworthy that on the

campus of Cambridge University in England, there is a gaily-painted

lamp-post which bears the label `REALITY CHECKPOINT'. It marks the

boundary between university and the Real World; check your notions of

reality before passing. This joke is funnier because the Cambridge

`campus' is actually coextensive with the center of Cambridge town.

See also [11162]fear and loathing, [11163]mundane, and

[11164]uninteresting.

Node:reality