The New Hacker's Dictionary by Eric S. Raymond (each kindness read aloud TXT) 📖

of

copper -- or aluminum! Opposed to [3047]light pipe or, say, a

short-range microwave link.

Node:copy protection, Next:[3048]copybroke, Previous:[3049]copper,

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copy protection n.

A class of methods for preventing incompetent pirates from stealing

software and legitimate customers from using it. Considered silly.

Node:copybroke, Next:[3051]copycenter, Previous:[3052]copy protection,

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copybroke /kop'ee-brohk/ adj.

[play on `copyright'] Used to describe an instance of a

copy-protected program that has been `broken'; that is, a copy with

the copy-protection scheme disabled. Syn. [3054]copywronged. 2.

Copy-protected software which is unusable because of some bit-rot or

bug that has confused the anti-piracy check. See also [3055]copy

protection.

Node:copycenter, Next:[3056]copyleft, Previous:[3057]copybroke,

Up:[3058]= C =

copycenter n.

[play on copyright' andcopyleft'] 1. The copyright notice carried

by the various flavors of freeware BSD. According to Kirk McKusick at

BSDCon 1999: "The way it was characterized politically, you had

copyright, which is what the big companies use to lock everything up;

you had copyleft, which is free software's way of making sure they

can't lock it up; and then Berkeley had what we called "copycenter",

which is "take it down to the copy center and make as many copies as

you want".

Node:copyleft, Next:[3059]copyparty, Previous:[3060]copycenter,

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copyleft /kop'ee-left/ n.

[play on copyright'] 1. The copyright notice (General Public

License') carried by [3062]GNU [3063]EMACS and other Free Software

Foundation software, granting reuse and reproduction rights to all

comers (but see also [3064]General Public Virus). 2. By extension, any

copyright notice intended to achieve similar aims.

Node:copyparty, Next:[3065]copywronged, Previous:[3066]copyleft,

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copyparty n.

[C64/amiga [3068]demoscene ]A computer party organized so demosceners

can meet other in real life, and to facilitate software copying

(mostly pirated software). The copyparty has become less common as the

Internet makes communication easier. The demoscene has gradually

evolved the [3069]demoparty to replace it.

Node:copywronged, Next:[3070]core, Previous:[3071]copyparty,

Up:[3072]= C =

copywronged /kop'ee-rongd/ adj.

[play on `copyright'] Syn. for [3073]copybroke.

Node:core, Next:[3074]core cancer, Previous:[3075]copywronged,

Up:[3076]= C =

core n.

Main storage or RAM. Dates from the days of ferrite-core memory; now

archaic as techspeak most places outside IBM, but also still used in

the Unix community and by old-time hackers or those who would sound

like them. Some derived idioms are quite current; `in core', for

example, means in memory' (as opposed toon disk'), and both

[3077]core dump and the core image' orcore file' produced by one

are terms in favor. Some varieties of Commonwealth hackish prefer

[3078]store.

Node:core cancer, Next:[3079]core dump, Previous:[3080]core,

Up:[3081]= C =

core cancer n.

[rare] A process that exhibits a slow but inexorable resource

[3082]leak -- like a cancer, it kills by crowding out productive

`tissue'.

Node:core dump, Next:[3083]core leak, Previous:[3084]core cancer,

Up:[3085]= C =

core dump n.

[common [3086]Iron Age jargon, preserved by Unix] 1. [techspeak] A

copy of the contents of [3087]core, produced when a process is aborted

by certain kinds of internal error. 2. By extension, used for humans

passing out, vomiting, or registering extreme shock. "He dumped core.

All over the floor. What a mess." "He heard about X and dumped core."

Occasionally used for a human rambling on pointlessly at great

length; esp. in apology: "Sorry, I dumped core on you". 4. A

recapitulation of knowledge (compare [3088]bits, sense 1). Hence,

spewing all one knows about a topic (syn. [3089]brain dump), esp. in a

lecture or answer to an exam question. "Short, concise answers are

better than core dumps" (from the instructions to an exam at

Columbia). See [3090]core.

Node:core leak, Next:[3091]Core Wars, Previous:[3092]core dump,

Up:[3093]= C =

core leak n.

Syn. [3094]memory leak.

Node:Core Wars, Next:[3095]corge, Previous:[3096]core leak, Up:[3097]=

C =

Core Wars n.

A game between `assembler' programs in a machine or machine simulator,

where the objective is to kill your opponent's program by overwriting

it. Popularized in the 1980s by A. K. Dewdney's column in "Scientific

American" magazine, but described in "Software Practice And

Experience" a decade earlier. The game was actually devised and played

by Victor Vyssotsky, Robert Morris Sr., and Doug McIlroy in the early

1960s (Dennis Ritchie is sometimes incorrectly cited as a co-author,

but was not involved). Their original game was called `Darwin' and ran

on a IBM 7090 at Bell Labs. See [3098]core. For information on the

modern game, do a web search for the `rec.games.corewar FAQ' or surf

to the [3099]King Of The Hill site.

Node:corge, Next:[3100]cosmic rays, Previous:[3101]Core Wars,

Up:[3102]= C =

corge /korj/ n.

[originally, the name of a cat] Yet another [3103]metasyntactic

variable, invented by Mike Gallaher and propagated by the

[3104]GOSMACS documentation. See [3105]grault.

Node:cosmic rays, Next:[3106]cough and die, Previous:[3107]corge,

Up:[3108]= C =

cosmic rays n.

Notionally, the cause of [3109]bit rot. However, this is a

semi-independent usage that may be invoked as a humorous way to

[3110]handwave away any minor [3111]randomness that doesn't seem worth

the bother of investigating. "Hey, Eric -- I just got a burst of

garbage on my [3112]tube, where did that come from?" "Cosmic rays, I

guess." Compare [3113]sunspots, [3114]phase of the moon. The British

seem to prefer the usage cosmic showers';alpha particles' is also

heard, because stray alpha particles passing through a memory chip can

cause single-bit errors (this becomes increasingly more likely as

memory sizes and densities increase).

Factual note: Alpha particles cause bit rot, cosmic rays do not

(except occasionally in spaceborne computers). Intel could not explain

random bit drops in their early chips, and one hypothesis was cosmic

rays. So they created the World's Largest Lead Safe, using 25 tons of

the stuff, and used two identical boards for testing. One was placed

in the safe, one outside. The hypothesis was that if cosmic rays were

causing the bit drops, they should see a statistically significant

difference between the error rates on the two boards. They did not

observe such a difference. Further investigation demonstrated

conclusively that the bit drops were due to alpha particle emissions

from thorium (and to a much lesser degree uranium) in the

encapsulation material. Since it is impossible to eliminate these

radioactives (they are uniformly distributed through the earth's

crust, with the statistically insignificant exception of uranium

lodes) it became obvious that one has to design memories to withstand

these hits.

Node:cough and die, Next:[3115]courier, Previous:[3116]cosmic rays,

Up:[3117]= C =

cough and die v.

Syn. [3118]barf. Connotes that the program is throwing its hands up by

design rather than because of a bug or oversight. "The parser saw a

control-A in its input where it was looking for a printable, so it

coughed and died." Compare [3119]die, [3120]die horribly, [3121]scream

and die.

Node:courier, Next:[3122]cow orker, Previous:[3123]cough and die,

Up:[3124]= C =

courier

[BBS & cracker cultures] A person who distributes newly cracked

[3125]warez, as opposed to a [3126]server who makes them available for

download or a [3127]leech who merely downloads them. Hackers recognize

this term but don't use it themselves, as the act is not part of their

culture. See also [3128]warez d00dz, [3129]cracker, [3130]elite.

Node:cow orker, Next:[3131]cowboy, Previous:[3132]courier, Up:[3133]=

C =

cow orker n.

[Usenet] n. fortuitous typo for co-worker, widely used in Usenet, with

perhaps a hint that orking cows is illegal. This term was popularized

by Scott Adams (the creator of [3134]Dilbert) but already appears in

the January 1996 version of the [3135]scary devil monastery FAQ. There

are plausible reports that it was in use on talk.bizarre as early as

Compare [3136]hing, [3137]grilf, [3138]filk, [3139]newsfroup.

Node:cowboy, Next:[3140]CP/M, Previous:[3141]cow orker, Up:[3142]= C =

cowboy n.

[Sun, from William Gibson's [3143]cyberpunk SF] Synonym for

[3144]hacker. It is reported that at Sun this word is often said with

reverence.

Node:CP/M, Next:[3145]CPU Wars, Previous:[3146]cowboy, Up:[3147]= C =

CP/M /C-P-M/ n.

[Control Program/Monitor; later [3148]retconned to Control Program for

Microcomputers] An early microcomputer [3149]OS written by hacker Gary

Kildall for 8080- and Z80-based machines, very popular in the late

1970s but virtually wiped out by MS-DOS after the release of the IBM

PC in 1981. Legend has it that Kildall's company blew its chance to

write the OS for the IBM PC because Kildall decided to spend a day

IBM's reps wanted to meet with him enjoying the perfect flying weather

in his private plane. Many of CP/M's features and conventions strongly

resemble those of early [3150]DEC operating systems such as

[3151]TOPS-10, OS/8, RSTS, and RSX-11. See [3152]MS-DOS,

[3153]operating system.

Node:CPU Wars, Next:[3154]crack, Previous:[3155]CP/M, Up:[3156]= C =

CPU Wars /C-P-U worz/ n.

A 1979 large-format comic by Chas Andres chronicling the attempts of

the brainwashed androids of IPM (Impossible to Program Machines) to

conquer and destroy the peaceful denizens of HEC (Human Engineered

Computers). This rather transparent allegory featured many references

to [3157]ADVENT and the immortal line "Eat flaming death, minicomputer

mongrels!" (uttered, of course, by an IPM stormtrooper). The whole

shebang is now [3158]available on the Web.

It is alleged that the author subsequently received a letter of

appreciation on IBM company stationery from the head of IBM's Thomas

J. Watson Research Laboratories (then, as now, one of the few islands

of true hackerdom in the IBM archipelago). The lower loop of the B in

the IBM logo, it is said, had been carefully whited out. See [3159]eat

flaming death.

Node:crack, Next:[3160]crack root, Previous:[3161]CPU Wars, Up:[3162]=

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crack

[warez d00dz] 1. v. To break into a system (compare [3163]cracker). 2.

v. Action of removing the copy protection from a commercial program.

People who write cracks consider themselves challenged by the copy

protection measures. They will often do it as much to show that they

are smarter than the developper who designed the copy protection

scheme than to actually copy the program. 3. n. A program,

instructions or patch used to remove the copy protection of a program

or to uncripple features from a demo/time limited program. 4. An

[3164]exploit.

Node:crack root, Next:[3165]cracker, Previous:[3166]crack, Up:[3167]=

C =

crack root v.

[very common] To defeat the security system of a Unix machine and gain

[3168]root privileges thereby; see [3169]cracking.

Node:cracker, Next:[3170]cracking, Previous:[3171]crack root,

Up:[3172]= C =

cracker n.

One who breaks security on a system. Coined ca. 1985 by hackers in

defense against journalistic misuse of [3173]hacker (q.v., sense 8).

An earlier attempt to establish `worm' in this sense around 1981-82 on

Usenet was largely a failure.

Use of both these neologisms reflects a strong revulsion against the

theft and vandalism perpetrated by cracking rings. While it is

expected that any real hacker will have done some playful cracking and

knows many of the basic techniques, anyone past [3174]larval stage is

expected to have outgrown the desire to do so except for immediate,

benign, practical reasons (for example, if it's necessary to get

around some security in order to get some work done).

Thus, there is far less overlap between hackerdom and crackerdom than

the [3175]mundane reader misled by sensationalistic journalism might

expect. Crackers tend to gather in small, tight-knit, very secretive

groups that have little overlap with the huge, open poly-culture this

lexicon describes; though crackers often like to describe themselves

as hackers, most true hackers consider them a separate and lower form

of life.

Ethical considerations aside, hackers figure that anyone who can't

imagine a more interesting way to play with their computers than

breaking into someone else's has to be pretty [3176]losing. Some other

reasons crackers are looked down on are discussed in the entries on

[3177]cracking and [3178]phreaking. See also [3179]samurai,

[3180]dark-side hacker, and [3181]hacker ethic. For a portrait of the

typical teenage cracker, see [3182]warez d00dz.

Node:cracking, Next:[3183]crank, Previous:[3184]cracker, Up:[3185]= C

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cracking n.

[very common] The act of breaking into a computer system; what a

[3186]cracker does. Contrary to widespread myth, this does not usually

involve some mysterious leap of hackerly brilliance, but rather

persistence and the dogged repetition of a handful of fairly

well-known tricks that exploit common weaknesses in the security of

target systems. Accordingly, most crackers are only mediocre hackers.

Node:crank, Next:[3187]crapplet, Previous:[3188]cracking, Up:[3189]= C

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crank vt.