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

given event occurs or a specified time delay

elapses. 2. In jargon, used very similarly to v. [12225]block; also in

sleep on', syn. withblock on'. Often used to indicate that the

speaker has relinquished a demand for resources until some (possibly

unspecified) external event: "They can't get the fix I've been asking

for into the next release, so I'm going to sleep on it until the

release, then start hassling them again."

Node:slim, Next:[12226]slop, Previous:[12227]sleep, Up:[12228]= S =

slim n.

A small, derivative change (e.g., to code).

Node:slop, Next:[12229]slopsucker, Previous:[12230]slim, Up:[12231]= S

=

slop n.

A one-sided [12232]fudge factor, that is, an allowance for error

but in only one of two directions. For example, if you need a piece of

wire 10 feet long and have to guess when you cut it, you make very

sure to cut it too long, by a large amount if necessary, rather than

too short by even a little bit, because you can always cut off the

slop but you can't paste it back on again. When discrete quantities

are involved, slop is often introduced to avoid the possibility of

being on the losing side of a [12233]fencepost error. 2. The

percentage of `extra' code generated by a compiler over the size of

equivalent assembler code produced by [12234]hand-hacking; i.e., the

space (or maybe time) you lose because you didn't do it yourself. This

number is often used as a measure of the goodness of a compiler; slop

below 5% is very good, and 10% is usually acceptable. With modern

compiler technology, esp. on RISC machines, the compiler's slop may

actually be negative; that is, humans may be unable to generate code

as good. This is one of the reasons assembler programming is no longer

common.

Node:slopsucker, Next:[12235]Slowlaris, Previous:[12236]slop,

Up:[12237]= S =

slopsucker /slop'suhk-r/ n.

A lowest-priority task that waits around until everything else has

`had its fill' of machine resources. Only when the machine would

otherwise be idle is the task allowed to `suck up the slop'. Also

called a hungry puppy' orbottom feeder'. One common variety of

slopsucker hunts for large prime numbers. Compare [12238]background.

Node:Slowlaris, Next:[12239]slurp, Previous:[12240]slopsucker,

Up:[12241]= S =

Slowlaris /slo'-lahr-is/ n.

[Usenet; poss. from the variety of prosimian called a "slow loris".

The variant `Slowlartus' is also common, related to [12242]LART]

Common hackish term for Solaris, Sun's System VR4 version of UNIX that

came out of the standardization wars of the early 1990s. So named

because especially on older hardware, responsiveness was much less

crisp than under the preceding SunOS. Early releases of Solaris (that

is, Solaris 2, as some [12243]marketroids at Sun retroactively

rechristened SunOS as Solaris 1) were quite buggy, and Sun was forced

by customer demand to support SunOS for quite some time. Newer

versions are acknowledged to be among the best commercial UNIX

variants in 1998, but still lose single-processor benchmarks to Sparc

[12244]Linux. Compare [12245]AIDX, [12246]HP-SUX, [12247]Nominal

Semidestructor, [12248]Telerat, [12249]sun-stools.

Node:slurp, Next:[12250]smart, Previous:[12251]Slowlaris, Up:[12252]=

S =

slurp vt.

To read a large data file entirely into [12253]core before working on

it. This may be contrasted with the strategy of reading a small piece

at a time, processing it, and then reading the next piece. "This

program slurps in a 1K-by-1K matrix and does an FFT." See also

[12254]sponge.

Node:smart, Next:[12255]smart terminal, Previous:[12256]slurp,

Up:[12257]= S =

smart adj.

Said of a program that does the [12258]Right Thing in a wide variety

of complicated circumstances. There is a difference between calling a

program smart and calling it intelligent; in particular, there do not

exist any intelligent programs (yet -- see [12259]AI-complete).

Compare [12260]robust (smart programs can be [12261]brittle).

Node:smart terminal, Next:[12262]smash case, Previous:[12263]smart,

Up:[12264]= S =

smart terminal n.

A terminal that has enough computing capability to render graphics

or to offload some kind of front-end processing from the computer it

talks to. The development of workstations and personal computers has

made this term and the product it describes semi-obsolescent, but one

may still hear variants of the phrase `act like a smart terminal' used

to describe the behavior of workstations or PCs with respect to

programs that execute almost entirely out of a remote [12265]server's

storage, using local devices as displays. 2. obs. Any terminal with an

addressable cursor; the opposite of a [12266]glass tty. Today, a

terminal with merely an addressable cursor, but with none of the

more-powerful features mentioned in sense 1, is called a [12267]dumb

terminal.

There is a classic quote from Rob Pike (inventor of the [12268]blit

terminal): "A smart terminal is not a smartass terminal, but rather a

terminal you can educate." This illustrates a common design problem:

The attempt to make peripherals (or anything else) intelligent

sometimes results in finicky, rigid `special features' that become

just so much dead weight if you try to use the device in any way the

designer didn't anticipate. Flexibility and programmability, on the

other hand, are really smart. Compare [12269]hook.

Node:smash case, Next:[12270]smash the stack, Previous:[12271]smart

terminal, Up:[12272]= S =

smash case vi.

To lose or obliterate the uppercase/lowercase distinction in text

input. "MS-DOS will automatically smash case in the names of all the

files you create." Compare [12273]fold case.

Node:smash the stack, Next:[12274]smiley, Previous:[12275]smash case,

Up:[12276]= S =

smash the stack n.

[C programming] To corrupt the execution stack by writing past the end

of a local array or other data structure. Code that smashes the stack

can cause a return from the routine to jump to a random address,

resulting in some of the most insidious data-dependent bugs known to

mankind. Variants include `trash' the stack, [12277]scribble the

stack, [12278]mangle the stack; the term **[12279]mung the stack is

not used, as this is never done intentionally. See [12280]spam; see

also [12281]aliasing bug, [12282]fandango on core, [12283]memory leak,

[12284]memory smash, [12285]precedence lossage, [12286]overrun screw.

Node:smiley, Next:[12287]smoke, Previous:[12288]smash the stack,

Up:[12289]= S =

smiley n.

See [12290]emoticon.

Node:smoke, Next:[12291]smoke and mirrors, Previous:[12292]smiley,

Up:[12293]= S =

smoke vi.

To [12294]crash or blow up, usually spectacularly. "The new version

smoked, just like the last one." Used for both hardware (where it

often describes an actual physical event), and software (where it's

merely colorful). 2. [from automotive slang] To be conspicuously fast.

"That processor really smokes." Compare [12295]magic smoke.

Node:smoke and mirrors, Next:[12296]smoke test, Previous:[12297]smoke,

Up:[12298]= S =

smoke and mirrors n.

Marketing deceptions. The term is mainstream in this general sense.

Among hackers it's strongly associated with bogus demos and crocked

[12299]benchmarks (see also [12300]MIPS, [12301]machoflops). "They

claim their new box cranks 50 MIPS for under $5000, but didn't specify

the instruction mix -- sounds like smoke and mirrors to me." The

phrase, popularized by newspaper columnist Jimmy Breslin c.1975, has

been said to derive from carnie slang for magic acts and `freak show'

displays that depend on `trompe l'oeil' effects, but also calls to

mind the fierce Aztec god Tezcatlipoca (lit. "Smoking Mirror") for

whom the hearts of huge numbers of human sacrificial victims were

regularly cut out. Upon hearing about a rigged demo or yet another

round of fantasy-based marketing promises, hackers often feel

analogously disheartened. See also [12302]stealth manager.

Node:smoke test, Next:[12303]smoking clover, Previous:[12304]smoke and

mirrors, Up:[12305]= S =

smoke test n.

A rudimentary form of testing applied to electronic equipment

following repair or reconfiguration, in which power is applied and the

tester checks for sparks, smoke, or other dramatic signs of

fundamental failure. See [12306]magic smoke. 2. By extension, the

first run of a piece of software after construction or a critical

change. See and compare [12307]reality check.

There is an interesting semi-parallel to this term among typographers

and printers: When new typefaces are being punch-cut by hand, a `smoke

test' (hold the letter in candle smoke, then press it onto paper) is

used to check out new dies.

Node:smoking clover, Next:[12308]smoot, Previous:[12309]smoke test,

Up:[12310]= S =

smoking clover n.

[ITS] A [12311]display hack originally due to Bill Gosper. Many

convergent lines are drawn on a color monitor in such a way that every

pixel struck has its color incremented. The lines all have one

endpoint in the middle of the screen; the other endpoints are spaced

one pixel apart around the perimeter of a large square. The color map

is then repeatedly rotated. This results in a striking, rainbow-hued,

shimmering four-leaf clover. Gosper joked about keeping it hidden from

the FDA (the U.S.'s Food and Drug Administration) lest its

hallucinogenic properties cause it to be banned.

Node:smoot, Next:[12312]SMOP, Previous:[12313]smoking clover,

Up:[12314]= S =

smoot /smoot/ n.

[MIT] A unit of length equal five feet seven inches. The length of the

Harvard Bridge in Boston is famously 364.4 smoots plus or minus an ear

(the ear stands for [12315]epsilon). This legend began with a

fraternity prank in 1958 during which the body length of Oliver Smoot

(class of '62) was actually used to measure out that distance. It is

commemorated by smoot marks that MIT students repaint every few years;

the tradition even survived the demolition and rebuilding of the

bridge in the late 1980s. The Boston police have been known to use

smoot markers to indicate accident locations on the bridge.

Node:SMOP, Next:[12316]smurf, Previous:[12317]smoot, Up:[12318]= S =

SMOP /S-M-O-P/ n.

[Simple (or Small) Matter of Programming] 1. A piece of code, not yet

written, whose anticipated length is significantly greater than its

complexity. Used to refer to a program that could obviously be

written, but is not worth the trouble. Also used ironically to imply

that a difficult problem can be easily solved because a program can be

written to do it; the irony is that it is very clear that writing such

a program will be a great deal of work. "It's easy to enhance a

FORTRAN compiler to compile COBOL as well; it's just an SMOP." 2.

Often used ironically by the intended victim when a suggestion for a

program is made which seems easy to the suggester, but is obviously

(to the victim) a lot of work.

Node:smurf, Next:[12319]SNAFU principle, Previous:[12320]SMOP,

Up:[12321]= S =

smurf /smerf/ n.

[from the soc.motss newsgroup on Usenet, after some obnoxiously

gooey cartoon characters] A newsgroup regular with a habitual style

that is irreverent, silly, and cute. Like many other hackish terms for

people, this one may be praise or insult depending on who uses it. In

general, being referred to as a smurf is probably not going to make

your day unless you've previously adopted the label yourself in a

spirit of irony. Compare [12322]old fart. 2. [techspeak] A ping packet

with a forged source address sent to some other network's broadcast

address. All the machines on the destination network will send a ping

response to the forged source address (the victim). This both

overloads the victim's network and hides the location of the attacker.

Node:SNAFU principle, Next:[12323]snail, Previous:[12324]smurf,

Up:[12325]= S =

SNAFU principle /sna'foo prin'si-pl/ n.

[from a WWII Army acronym for `Situation Normal, All Fucked Up'] "True

communication is possible only between equals, because inferiors are

more consistently rewarded for telling their superiors pleasant lies

than for telling the truth." -- a central tenet of

[12326]Discordianism, often invoked by hackers to explain why

authoritarian hierarchies screw up so reliably and systematically. The

effect of the SNAFU principle is a progressive disconnection of

decision-makers from reality. This lightly adapted version of a fable

dating back to the early 1960s illustrates the phenomenon perfectly:

In the beginning was the plan,

and then the specification;

And the plan was without form,

and the specification was void.

And darkness

was on the faces of the implementors thereof;

And they spake unto their leader,

saying:

"It is a crock of shit,

and smells as of a sewer."

And the leader took pity on them,

and spoke to the project leader:

"It is a crock of excrement,

and none may abide the odor thereof."

And the project leader

spake unto his section head, saying:

"It is a container of excrement,