The New Hacker’s Dictionary version 4.2.2 (page 13)

particular period of flakiness on IBM’s VNET corporate network ca. 1988; but there are independent reports of the term from elsewhere. _________________________________________________________________
Node:NP-, Next:[9529]nroff, Previous:[9530]notwork, Up:[9531]= N =
NP- /N-P/ pref.

Extremely. Used to modify adjectives describing a level or quality of difficulty; the connotation is often `more so than it should be’ This is generalized from the computer-science terms `NP-hard’ and `NP-complete’; NP-complete problems all seem to be very hard, but so far no one has found a proof that they are. NP is the set of Nondeterministic-Polynomial algorithms, those that can be completed by a nondeterministic Turing machine in an amount of time that is a polynomial function of the size of the input; a solution for one NP-complete problem would solve all the others. “Coding a BitBlt implementation to perform correctly in every case is NP-annoying.”
Note, however, that strictly speaking this usage is misleading; there are plenty of easy problems in class NP. NP-complete problems are hard not because they are in class NP, but because they are the hardest problems in class NP.
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Node:nroff, Next:[9532]NSA line eater, Previous:[9533]NP-, Up:[9534]= N =

nroff /N’rof/

n. [Unix, from “new roff” (see [9535]troff)] A companion program to the Unix typesetter [9536]troff, accepting identical input but preparing output for terminals and line printers. _________________________________________________________________
Node:NSA line eater, Next:[9537]NSP, Previous:[9538]nroff, Up:[9539]= N =

NSA line eater n.

The National Security Agency trawling program sometimes assumed to be reading the net for the U.S. Government’s spooks. Most hackers used to think it was mythical but believed in acting as though existed just in case. since the mid-1990s it has gradually become known that the NSA actually does this, quite illegaly, through its Echelon program.
The standard countermeasure is to put loaded phrases like `KGB’, `Uzi’, `nuclear materials’, `Palestine’, `cocaine’, and `assassination’ in their [9540]sig blocks in a (probably futile) attempt to confuse and overload the creature. The [9541]GNU version of [9542]EMACS actually has a command that randomly inserts a bunch of insidious anarcho-verbiage into your edited text.
As far back as the 1970s there was a mainstream variant of this myth involving a `Trunk Line Monitor’, which supposedly used speech recognition to extract words from telephone trunks. This is much harder than noticing keywords in email, and most of the people who originally propagated it had no idea of then-current technology or the storage, signal-processing, or speech recognition needs of such a project. On the basis of mass-storage costs alone it would have been cheaper to hire 50 high-school students and just let them listen in. Twenty years and several orders of technological magnitude later, however, there are clear indications that the NSA has actually deployed such filtering (again, very much against U.S. law). _________________________________________________________________
Node:NSP, Next:[9543]nude, Previous:[9544]NSA line eater, Up:[9545]= N =

NSP /N-S-P/ n.

Common abbreviation for `Network Service Provider’, one of the big national or regional companies that maintains a portion of the Internet backbone and resells connectivity to [9546]ISPs. In 1996, major NSPs include ANS, MCI, UUNET, and Sprint. An Internet wholesaler.
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Node:nude, Next:[9547]nugry, Previous:[9548]NSP, Up:[9549]= N =
nude adj.

Said of machines delivered without an operating system (compare [9550]bare metal). “We ordered 50 systems, but they all arrived nude, so we had to spend a an extra weekend with the installation disks.” This usage is a recent innovation reflecting the fact that most IBM-PC clones are now delivered with an operating system pre-installed at the factory. Other kinds of hardware are still normally delivered without OS, so this term is particular to PC support groups. _________________________________________________________________
Node:nugry, Next:[9551]nuke, Previous:[9552]nude, Up:[9553]= N =
nugry /n[y]oo’gree/

[Usenet, ‘newbie’ + ‘-gry’] `. n. A [9554]newbie who posts a [9555]FAQ in the rec.puzzles newsgroup, especially if it is a variant of the notorious and unanswerable “What, besides `angry’ and `hungry’, is the third common English word that ends in -GRY?”. In the newsgroup, the canonical answer is of course `nugry’ itself. Plural is `nusgry’ /n[y]oos’gree/. 2. adj. Having the qualities of a nugry. _________________________________________________________________
Node:nuke, Next:[9556]number-crunching, Previous:[9557]nugry, Up:[9558]= N =

nuke /n[y]ook/ vt.

[common] 1. To intentionally delete the entire contents of a given directory or storage volume. “On Unix, rm -r /usr will nuke everything in the usr filesystem.” Never used for accidental deletion; contrast [9559]blow away. 2. Syn. for [9560]dike, applied to smaller things such as files, features, or code sections. Often used to express a final verdict. “What do you want me to do with that 80-meg [9561]wallpaper file?” “Nuke it.” 3. Used of processes as well as files; nuke is a frequent verbal alias for kill -9 on Unix. 4. On IBM PCs, a bug that results in [9562]fandango on core can trash the operating system, including the FAT (the in-core copy of the disk block chaining information). This can utterly scramble attached disks, which are then said to have been `nuked’. This term is also used of analogous lossages on Macintoshes and other micros without memory protection.
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Node:number-crunching, Next:[9563]numbers, Previous:[9564]nuke, Up:[9565]= N =

number-crunching n.

[common] Computations of a numerical nature, esp. those that make extensive use of floating-point numbers. The only thing [9566]Fortrash is good for. This term is in widespread informal use outside hackerdom and even in mainstream slang, but has additional hackish connotations: namely, that the computations are mindless and involve massive use of [9567]brute force. This is not always [9568]evil, esp. if it involves ray tracing or fractals or some other use that makes [9569]pretty pictures, esp. if such pictures can be used as [9570]wallpaper. See also [9571]crunch.
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Node:numbers, Next:[9572]NUXI problem, Previous:[9573]number-crunching, Up:[9574]= N =
numbers n.

[scientific computation] Output of a computation that may not be significant results but at least indicate that the program is running. May be used to placate management, grant sponsors, etc. `Making numbers’ means running a program because output — any output, not necessarily meaningful output — is needed as a demonstration of progress. See [9575]pretty pictures, [9576]math-out, [9577]social science number.
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Node:NUXI problem, Next:[9578]nybble, Previous:[9579]numbers, Up:[9580]= N =

NUXI problem /nuk’see pro’bl*m/ n.
Refers to the problem of transferring data between machines with differing byte-order. The string `UNIX’ might look like `NUXI’ on a machine with a different `byte sex’ (e.g., when transferring data from a [9581]little-endian to a [9582]big-endian, or vice-versa). See also [9583]middle-endian, [9584]swab, and [9585]bytesexual. _________________________________________________________________
Node:nybble, Next:[9586]nyetwork, Previous:[9587]NUXI problem, Up:[9588]= N =

nybble /nib’l/ (alt. `nibble’) n.
[from v. `nibble’ by analogy with `bite’ => `byte’] Four bits; one [9589]hex digit; a half-byte. Though `byte’ is now techspeak, this useful relative is still jargon. Compare [9590]byte; see also [9591]bit. The more mundane spelling “nibble” is also commonly used. Apparently the `nybble’ spelling is uncommon in Commonwealth Hackish, as British orthography would suggest the pronunciation /ni:’bl/.
Following `bit’, `byte’ and `nybble’ there have been quite a few analogical attempts to construct unambiguous terms for bit blocks of other sizes. All of these are strictly jargon, not techspeak, and not very common jargon at that (most hackers would recognize them in context but not use them spontaneously). We collect them here for reference together with the ambiguous techspeak terms `word’, `half-word’ and `double word’; some (indicated) have substantial information separate entries.

2 bits:
[9592]crumb, [9593]quad, [9594]quarter, tayste, tydbit
4 bits:
nybble

5 bits:
[9595]nickle

10 bits:
[9596]deckle

16 bits:
playte, [9597]chawmp (on a 32-bit machine), word (on a 16-bit machine), half-word (on a 32-bit machine).
18 bits:
[9598]chawmp (on a 36-bit machine), half-word (on a 36-bit machine)

32 bits:
dynner, [9599]gawble (on a 32-bit machine), word (on a 32-bit machine), longword (on a 16-bit machine).
36:
word (on a 36-bit machine)

48 bits:
[9600]gawble (under circumstances that remain obscure)
64 bits
double word (on a 32-bit machine)
The fundamental motivation for most of these jargon terms (aside from the normal hackerly enjoyment of punning wordplay) is the extreme ambiguity of the term `word’ and its derivatives. _________________________________________________________________
Node:nyetwork, Next:[9601]Ob-, Previous:[9602]nybble, Up:[9603]= N =
nyetwork /nyet’werk/ n.

[from Russian `nyet’ = no] A network, when it is acting [9604]flaky or is [9605]down. Compare [9606]notwork.
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Node:= O =, Next:[9607]= P =, Previous:[9608]= N =, Up:[9609]The Jargon Lexicon

= O =

* [9610]Ob-:
* [9611]Obfuscated C Contest:
* [9612]obi-wan error:
* [9613]Objectionable-C:
* [9614]obscure:
* [9615]octal forty:
* [9616]off the trolley:
* [9617]off-by-one error:
* [9618]offline:
* [9619]ogg:
* [9620]-oid:
* [9621]old fart:
* [9622]Old Testament:
* [9623]on the gripping hand:
* [9624]one-banana problem:
* [9625]one-line fix:
* [9626]one-liner wars:
* [9627]ooblick:
* [9628]op:
* [9629]open:
* [9630]open source:
* [9631]open switch:
* [9632]operating system:
* [9633]optical diff:
* [9634]optical grep:
* [9635]optimism:
* [9636]Oracle the:
* [9637]Orange Book:
* [9638]oriental food:
* [9639]orphan:
* [9640]orphaned i-node:
* [9641]orthogonal:
* [9642]OS:
* [9643]OS/2:
* [9644]OSS:
* [9645]OSU:
* [9646]OTOH:
* [9647]out-of-band:
* [9648]overclock:
* [9649]overflow bit:
* [9650]overflow pdl:
* [9651]overrun:
* [9652]overrun screw:
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Node:Ob-, Next:[9653]Obfuscated C Contest, Previous:[9654]nyetwork, Up:[9655]= O =

Ob- /ob/ pref.

Obligatory. A piece of [9656]netiquette acknowledging that the author has been straying from the newsgroup’s charter topic. For example, if a posting in alt.sex is a response to a part of someone else’s posting that has nothing particularly to do with sex, the author may append `ObSex’ (or `Obsex’) and toss off a question or vignette about some unusual erotic act. It is considered a sign of great [9657]winnitude when one’s Obs are more interesting than other people’s whole postings.
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Node:Obfuscated C Contest, Next:[9658]obi-wan error, Previous:[9659]Ob-, Up:[9660]= O =

Obfuscated C Contest n.

(in full, the `International Obfuscated C Code Contest’, or IOCCC) An annual contest run since 1984 over Usenet by Landon Curt Noll and friends. The overall winner is whoever produces the most unreadable, creative, and bizarre (but working) C program; various other prizes are awarded at the judges’ whim. C’s terse syntax and macro-preprocessor facilities give contestants a lot of maneuvering room. The winning programs often manage to be simultaneously (a) funny, (b) breathtaking works of art, and (c) horrible examples of how not to code in C.

This relatively short and sweet entry might help convey the flavor of obfuscated C:
/*
* HELLO WORLD program
* by Jack Applin and Robert Heckendorn, 1985 * (Note: depends on being able to modify elements of argv[], * which is not guaranteed by ANSI and often not possible.) */
main(v,c)char**c;{for(v[c++]=”Hello, world!\n)”; (!!c)[*c]&&(v–||–c&&execlp(*c,*c,c[!!c]+!!c,!c)); **c=!c)write(!!*c,*c,!!**c);}

Here’s another good one:
/*
* Program to compute an approximation of pi * by Brian Westley, 1988
* (requires pcc macro concatenation; try gcc -traditional-cpp) */

#define _ -F<00||--F-OO--;
int F=00,OO=00;
main(){F_OO();printf(“%1.3f\n”,4.*-F/OO/OO);}F_OO() {
_-_-_-_
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
_-_-_-_
}

Note that this program works by computing its own area. For more digits, write a bigger program. See also [9661]hello world.
The IOCCC has an official home page at [9662]http://www.ioccc.org. _________________________________________________________________
Node:obi-wan error, Next:[9663]Objectionable-C, Previous:[9664]Obfuscated C Contest, Up:[9665]= O =
obi-wan error /oh’bee-won` er’*r/ n.
[RPI, from `off-by-one’ and the Obi-Wan Kenobi character in “Star Wars”] A loop of some sort in which the index is off by 1. Common when the index should have started from 0 but instead started from 1. A kind of [9666]off-by-one error. See also [9667]zeroth. _________________________________________________________________
Node:Objectionable-C, Next:[9668]obscure, Previous:[9669]obi-wan error, Up:[9670]= O =

Objectionable-C n.

Hackish take on “Objective-C”, the name of an object-oriented dialect of C in competition with the better-known C++ (it is used to write native applications on the NeXT machine). Objectionable-C uses a Smalltalk-like syntax, but lacks the flexibility of Smalltalk method calls, and (like many such efforts) comes frustratingly close to attaining the [9671]Right Thing without actually doing so. _________________________________________________________________
Node:obscure, Next:[9672]octal forty, Previous:[9673]Objectionable-C, Up:[9674]= O =

obscure adj.

Used in an exaggeration of its normal meaning, to imply total incomprehensibility. “The reason for that last crash is obscure.” “The find(1) command’s syntax is obscure!” The phrase `moderately obscure’ implies that something could be figured out but probably isn’t worth the trouble. The construction `obscure in the extreme’ is the preferred emphatic form.
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Node:octal forty, Next:[9675]off the trolley, Previous:[9676]obscure, Up:[9677]= O =

octal forty /ok’tl for’tee/ n.

Hackish way of saying “I’m drawing a blank.” Octal 40 is the [9678]ASCII space character, 0100000; by an odd coincidence, [9679]hex 40 (01000000) is the [9680]EBCDIC space character. See [9681]wall. _________________________________________________________________
Node:off the trolley, Next:[9682]off-by-one error, Previous:[9683]octal forty, Up:[9684]= O =
off the trolley adj.

Describes the behavior of a program that malfunctions and goes catatonic, but doesn’t actually [9685]crash or abort. See [9686]glitch, [9687]bug, [9688]deep space, [9689]wedged.
This term is much older than computing, and is (uncommon) slang elsewhere. A trolley is the small wheel that trolls, or runs against, the heavy wire that carries the current to run a streetcar. It’s at the end of the long pole (the trolley pole) that reaches from the roof of the streetcar to the overhead line. When the trolley stops making contact with the wire (from passing through a switch, going over bumpy track, or whatever), the streetcar comes to a halt, (usually) without crashing. The streetcar is then said to be off the trolley, or off the wire. Later on, trolley came to mean the streetcar itself. Since streetcars became common in the 1890s, the term is more than 100 years old. Nowadays, trolleys are only seen on historic streetcars, since modern streetcars use pantographs to contact the wire. _________________________________________________________________
Node:off-by-one error, Next:[9690]offline, Previous:[9691]off the trolley, Up:[9692]= O =

off-by-one error n.

[common] Exceedingly common error induced in many ways, such as by starting at 0 when you should have started at 1 or vice-versa, or by writing < N instead of <= N or vice-versa. Also applied to giving something to the person next to the one who should have gotten it. Often confounded with [9693]fencepost error, which is properly a particular subtype of it.
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Node:offline, Next:[9694]ogg, Previous:[9695]off-by-one error, Up:[9696]= O =

offline adv.

Not now or not here. “Let’s take this discussion offline.” Specifically used on [9697]Usenet to suggest that a discussion be moved off a public newsgroup to email. _________________________________________________________________
Node:ogg, Next:[9698]-oid, Previous:[9699]offline, Up:[9700]= O =
ogg /og/ v.

[CMU] 1. In the multi-player space combat game Netrek, to execute kamikaze attacks against enemy ships which are carrying armies or occupying strategic positions. Named during a game in which one of the players repeatedly used the tactic while playing Orion ship G, showing up in the player list as “Og”. This trick has been roundly denounced by those who would return to the good old days when the tactic of dogfighting was dominant, but as Sun Tzu wrote, “What is of supreme importance in war is to attack the enemy’s strategy, not his tactics.” However, the traditional answer to the newbie question “What does ogg mean?” is just “Pick up some armies and I’ll show you.” 2. In other games, to forcefully attack an opponent with the expectation that the resources expended will be renewed faster than the opponent will be able to regain his previous advantage. Taken more seriously as a tactic since it has gained a simple name. 3. To do anything forcefully, possibly without consideration of the drain on future resources. “I guess I’d better go ogg the problem set that’s due tomorrow.” “Whoops! I looked down at the map for a sec and almost ogged that oncoming car.”
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Node:-oid, Next:[9701]old fart, Previous:[9702]ogg, Up:[9703]= O =
-oid suff.

[from Greek suffix -oid = `in the image of’] 1. Used as in mainstream slang English to indicate a poor imitation, a counterfeit, or some otherwise slightly bogus resemblance. Hackers will happily use it with all sorts of non-Greco/Latin stem words that wouldn’t keep company with it in mainstream English. For example, “He’s a nerdoid” means that he superficially resembles a nerd but can’t make the grade; a `modemoid’ might be a 300-baud box (Real Modems run at 28.8 or up); a `computeroid’ might be any [9704]bitty box. The word `keyboid’ could be used to describe a [9705]chiclet keyboard, but would have to be written; spoken, it would confuse the listener as to the speaker’s city of origin. 2. More specifically, an indicator for `resembling an android’ which in the past has been confined to science-fiction fans and hackers. It too has recently (in 1991) started to go mainstream (most notably in the term `trendoid’ for victims of terminal hipness). This is probably traceable to the popularization of the term [9706]droid in “Star Wars” and its sequels. (See also [9707]windoid.)
Coinages in both forms have been common in science fiction for at least fifty years, and hackers (who are often SF fans) have probably been making `-oid’ jargon for almost that long [though GLS and I can personally confirm only that they were already common in the mid-1970s –ESR].
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Node:old fart, Next:[9708]Old Testament, Previous:[9709]-oid, Up:[9710]= O =

old fart n.

Tribal elder. A title self-assumed with remarkable frequency by (esp.) Usenetters who have been programming for more than about 25 years; often appears in [9711]sig blocks attached to Jargon File contributions of great archeological significance. This is a term of insult in the second or third person but one of pride in first person. _________________________________________________________________
Node:Old Testament, Next:[9712]on the gripping hand, Previous:[9713]old fart, Up:[9714]= O =
Old Testament n.

[C programmers] The first edition of [9715]K&R, the sacred text describing [9716]Classic C.
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Node:on the gripping hand, Next:[9717]one-banana problem, Previous:[9718]Old Testament, Up:[9719]= O =
on the gripping hand

In the progression that starts “On the one hand…” and continues “On the other hand…” mainstream English may add “on the third hand…” even though most people don’t have three hands. Among hackers, it is just as likely to be “on the gripping hand”. This metaphor supplied the title of Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle’s 1993 SF novel “The Gripping Hand” which involved a species of hostile aliens with three arms (the same species, in fact, referenced in [9720]juggling eggs). As with [9721]TANSTAAFL and [9722]con, this usage one of the naturalized imports from SF fandom frequently observed among hackers. _________________________________________________________________
Node:one-banana problem, Next:[9723]one-line fix, Previous:[9724]on the gripping hand, Up:[9725]= O =

one-banana problem n.

At mainframe shops, where the computers have operators for routine administrivia, the programmers and hardware people tend to look down on the operators and claim that a trained monkey could do their job. It is frequently observed that the incentives that would be offered said monkeys can be used as a scale to describe the difficulty of a task. A one-banana problem is simple; hence, “It’s only a one-banana job at the most; what’s taking them so long?”
At IBM, folklore divides the world into one-, two-, and three-banana problems. Other cultures have different hierarchies and may divide them more finely; at ICL, for example, five grapes (a bunch) equals a banana. Their upper limit for the in-house [9726]sysapes is said to be two bananas and three grapes (another source claims it’s three bananas and one grape, but observes “However, this is subject to local variations, cosmic rays and ISO”). At a complication level any higher than that, one asks the manufacturers to send someone around to check things.

See also [9727]Infinite-Monkey Theorem. _________________________________________________________________
Node:one-line fix, Next:[9728]one-liner wars, Previous:[9729]one-banana problem, Up:[9730]= O =
one-line fix n.

Used (often sarcastically) of a change to a program that is thought to be trivial or insignificant right up to the moment it crashes the system. Usually `cured’ by another one-line fix. See also [9731]I didn’t change anything!
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Node:one-liner wars, Next:[9732]ooblick, Previous:[9733]one-line fix, Up:[9734]= O =

one-liner wars n.

A game popular among hackers who code in the language APL (see [9735]write-only language and [9736]line noise). The objective is to see who can code the most interesting and/or useful routine in one line of operators chosen from APL’s exceedingly [9737]hairy primitive set. A similar amusement was practiced among [9738]TECO hackers and is now popular among [9739]Perl aficionados.
Ken Iverson, the inventor of APL, has been credited with a one-liner that, given a number N, produces a list of the prime numbers from 1 to N inclusive. It looks like this:

(2 = 0 +.= T o.| T) / T <- iN where `o’ is the APL null character, the assignment arrow is a single character, and `i’ represents the APL iota.
Here’s a [9740]Perl program that prints primes: perl -wle ‘(1 x $_) !~ /^(11+)\1+$/ && print while ++ $_’

In the Perl world this game is sometimes called Perl Golf because the player with the fewest (key)strokes wins. _________________________________________________________________
Node:ooblick, Next:[9741]op, Previous:[9742]one-liner wars, Up:[9743]= O =

ooblick /oo’blik/ n.

[from the Dr. Seuss title “Bartholomew and the Oobleck”; the spelling `oobleck’ is still current in the mainstream] A bizarre semi-liquid sludge made from cornstarch and water. Enjoyed among hackers who make batches during playtime at parties for its amusing and extremely non-Newtonian behavior; it pours and splatters, but resists rapid motion like a solid and will even crack when hit by a hammer. Often found near lasers.

Here is a field-tested ooblick recipe contributed by GLS:
1 cup cornstarch
1 cup baking soda
3/4 cup water
N drops of food coloring

This recipe isn’t quite as non-Newtonian as a pure cornstarch ooblick, but has an appropriately slimy feel.

Some, however, insist that the notion of an ooblick recipe is far too mechanical, and that it is best to add the water in small increments so that the various mixed states the cornstarch goes through as it becomes ooblick can be grokked in fullness by many hands. For optional ingredients of this experience, see the “[9744]Ceremonial Chemicals” section of Appendix B.
_________________________________________________________________
Node:op, Next:[9745]open, Previous:[9746]ooblick, Up:[9747]= O =
op /op/ n.

1. In England and Ireland, common verbal abbreviation for `operator’, as in system operator. Less common in the U.S., where [9748]sysop seems to be preferred. 2. [IRC] Someone who is endowed with privileges on [9749]IRC, not limited to a particular channel. These are generally people who are in charge of the IRC server at their particular site. Sometimes used interchangeably with [9750]CHOP. Compare [9751]sysop. _________________________________________________________________
Node:open, Next:[9752]open source, Previous:[9753]op, Up:[9754]= O =
open n.

Abbreviation for `open (or left) parenthesis’ — used when necessary to eliminate oral ambiguity. To read aloud the LISP form (DEFUN FOO (X) (PLUS X 1)) one might say: “Open defun foo, open eks close, open, plus eks one, close close.”
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Node:open source, Next:[9755]open switch, Previous:[9756]open, Up:[9757]= O =

open source n.

[common; also adj. `open-source’] Term coined in March 1998 following the Mozilla release to describe software distributed in source under licenses guaranteeing anybody rights to freely use, modify, and redistribute, the code. The intent was to be able to sell the hackers’ ways of doing software to industry and the mainstream by avoid the negative connotations (to [9758]suits) of the term “[9759]free software”. For discussion of the followon tactics and their consequences, see the [9760]Open Source Initiative site. _________________________________________________________________
Node:open switch, Next:[9761]operating system, Previous:[9762]open source, Up:[9763]= O =

open switch n.

[IBM: prob. from railroading] An unresolved question, issue, or problem.
_________________________________________________________________
Node:operating system, Next:[9764]optical diff, Previous:[9765]open switch, Up:[9766]= O =

operating system n.

[techspeak] (Often abbreviated `OS’) The foundation software of a machine; that which schedules tasks, allocates storage, and presents a default interface to the user between applications. The facilities an operating system provides and its general design philosophy exert an extremely strong influence on programming style and on the technical cultures that grow up around its host machines. Hacker folklore has been shaped primarily by the [9767]Unix, [9768]ITS, [9769]TOPS-10, [9770]TOPS-20/[9771]TWENEX, [9772]WAITS, [9773]CP/M, [9774]MS-DOS, and [9775]Multics operating systems (most importantly by ITS and Unix). _________________________________________________________________
Node:optical diff, Next:[9776]optical grep, Previous:[9777]operating system, Up:[9778]= O =

optical diff n.

See [9779]vdiff.
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Node:optical grep, Next:[9780]optimism, Previous:[9781]optical diff, Up:[9782]= O =

optical grep n.

See [9783]vgrep.
_________________________________________________________________
Node:optimism, Next:[9784]Oracle the, Previous:[9785]optical grep, Up:[9786]= O =

optimism n.

What a programmer is full of after fixing the last bug and before discovering the next last bug. Fred Brooks’s book “The Mythical Man-Month” (See “Brooks’s Law”) contains the following paragraph that describes this extremely well:

All programmers are optimists. Perhaps this modern sorcery especially attracts those who believe in happy endings and fairy godmothers. Perhaps the hundreds of nitty frustrations drive away all but those who habitually focus on the end goal. Perhaps it is merely that computers are young, programmers are younger, and the young are always optimists. But however the selection process works, the result is indisputable: “This time it will surely run,” or “I just found the last bug.”.

See also [9787]Lubarsky’s Law of Cybernetic Entomology. _________________________________________________________________
Node:Oracle the, Next:[9788]Orange Book, Previous:[9789]optimism, Up:[9790]= O =

Oracle, the

The all-knowing, all-wise Internet Oracle rec.humor.oracle), or one of the foreign language derivatives of same. Newbies frequently confuse the Oracle with Oracle, a database vendor. As a result, the unmoderated rec.humor.oracle.d is frequently crossposted to by the clueless, looking for advice on SQL. As more than one person has said in similar situations, “Don’t people bother to look at the newsgroup description line anymore?” (To which the standard response is, “Did people ever read it in the first place?”) _________________________________________________________________
Node:Orange Book, Next:[9791]oriental food, Previous:[9792]Oracle the, Up:[9793]= O =

Orange Book n.

The U.S. Government’s standards document “Trusted Computer System Evaluation Criteria, DOD standard 5200.28-STD, December, 1985” which characterize secure computing architectures and defines levels A1 (most secure) through D (least). Modern Unixes are roughly C2. See also [9794]crayola books, [9795]book titles. _________________________________________________________________
Node:oriental food, Next:[9796]orphan, Previous:[9797]Orange Book, Up:[9798]= O =

oriental food n.

Hackers display an intense tropism towards oriental cuisine, especially Chinese, and especially of the spicier varieties such as Szechuan and Hunan. This phenomenon (which has also been observed in subcultures that overlap heavily with hackerdom, most notably science-fiction fandom) has never been satisfactorily explained, but is sufficiently intense that one can assume the target of a hackish dinner expedition to be the best local Chinese place and be right at least three times out of four. See also [9799]ravs, [9800]great-wall, [9801]stir-fried random, [9802]laser chicken, [9803]Yu-Shiang Whole Fish. Thai, Indian, Korean, and Vietnamese cuisines are also quite popular.
_________________________________________________________________
Node:orphan, Next:[9804]orphaned i-node, Previous:[9805]oriental food, Up:[9806]= O =

orphan n.

[Unix] A process whose parent has died; one inherited by init(1). Compare [9807]zombie.
_________________________________________________________________
Node:orphaned i-node, Next:[9808]orthogonal, Previous:[9809]orphan, Up:[9810]= O =

orphaned i-node /or’f*nd i:’nohd/ n.
[Unix] 1. [techspeak] A file that retains storage but no longer appears in the directories of a filesystem. 2. By extension, a pejorative for any person no longer serving a useful function within some organization, esp. [9811]lion food without subordinates. _________________________________________________________________
Node:orthogonal, Next:[9812]OS, Previous:[9813]orphaned i-node, Up:[9814]= O =

orthogonal adj.

[from mathematics] Mutually independent; well separated; sometimes, irrelevant to. Used in a generalization of its mathematical meaning to describe sets of primitives or capabilities that, like a vector basis in geometry, span the entire `capability space’ of the system and are in some sense non-overlapping or mutually independent. For example, in architectures such as the PDP-11 or VAX where all or nearly all registers can be used interchangeably in any role with respect to any instruction, the register set is said to be orthogonal. Or, in logic, the set of operators `not’ and `or’ is orthogonal, but the set `nand’, `or’, and `not’ is not (because any one of these can be expressed in terms of the others). Also used in comments on human discourse: “This may be orthogonal to the discussion, but….” _________________________________________________________________
Node:OS, Next:[9815]OS/2, Previous:[9816]orthogonal, Up:[9817]= O =
OS /O-S/

1. [Operating System] n. An abbreviation heavily used in email, occasionally in speech. 2. n. obs. On ITS, an output spy. See “[9818]OS and JEDGAR” in Appendix A.
_________________________________________________________________
Node:OS/2, Next:[9819]OSS, Previous:[9820]OS, Up:[9821]= O =
OS/2 /O S too/ n.

The anointed successor to MS-DOS for Intel 286- and 386-based micros; proof that IBM/Microsoft couldn’t get it right the second time, either. Often called `Half-an-OS’. Mentioning it is usually good for a cheap laugh among hackers — the design was so [9822]baroque, and the implementation of 1.x so bad, that 3 years after introduction you could still count the major [9823]apps shipping for it on the fingers of two hands — in unary. The 2.x versions are said to have improved somewhat, and informed hackers now rate them superior to Microsoft Windows (an endorsement which, however, could easily be construed as damning with faint praise). See [9824]monstrosity, [9825]cretinous, [9826]second-system effect.
_________________________________________________________________
Node:OSS, Next:[9827]OSU, Previous:[9828]OS/2, Up:[9829]= O =
OSS

Written-only acronym for “Open Source Software” (see [9830]open source. This is a rather ugly [9831]TLA, and the principals in the open-source movement don’t use it, but it has (perhaps inevitably) spread through the trade press like kudzu. _________________________________________________________________
Node:OSU, Next:[9832]OTOH, Previous:[9833]OSS, Up:[9834]= O =
OSU /O-S-U/ n. obs.

[TMRC] Acronym for Officially Sanctioned User; a user who is recognized as such by the computer authorities and allowed to use the computer above the objections of the security monitor. _________________________________________________________________
Node:OTOH, Next:[9835]out-of-band, Previous:[9836]OSU, Up:[9837]= O =
OTOH //

[Usenet; very common] On The Other Hand. _________________________________________________________________
Node:out-of-band, Next:[9838]overclock, Previous:[9839]OTOH, Up:[9840]= O =

out-of-band adj.

[from telecommunications and network theory] 1. In software, describes values of a function which are not in its `natural’ range of return values, but are rather signals that some kind of exception has occurred. Many C functions, for example, return a nonnegative integral value, but indicate failure with an out-of-band return value of -1. Compare [9841]hidden flag, [9842]green bytes, [9843]fence. 2. Also sometimes used to describe what communications people call `shift characters’, such as the ESC that leads control sequences for many terminals, or the level shift indicators in the old 5-bit Baudot codes. 3. In personal communication, using methods other than email, such as telephones or [9844]snail-mail. _________________________________________________________________
Node:overclock, Next:[9845]overflow bit, Previous:[9846]out-of-band, Up:[9847]= O =

overclock /oh’vr-klok’/ vt.

To operate a CPU or other digital logic device at a rate higher than it was designed for, under the assumption that the manufacturer put some [9848]slop into the specification to account for manufacturing tolerances. Overclocking something can result in intermittent [9849]crashes, and can even burn things out, since power dissipation is directly proportional to [9850]clock frequency. People who make a hobby of this are sometimes called “overclockers”; they are thrilled that they can run their 450MHz CPU at 500MHz, even though they can only tell the difference by running a [9851]benchmark program. _________________________________________________________________
Node:overflow bit, Next:[9852]overflow pdl, Previous:[9853]overclock, Up:[9854]= O =

overflow bit n.

1. [techspeak] A [9855]flag on some processors indicating an attempt to calculate a result too large for a register to hold. 2. More generally, an indication of any kind of capacity overload condition. “Well, the [9856]Ada description was [9857]baroque all right, but I could hack it OK until they got to the exception handling … that set my overflow bit.” 3. The hypothetical bit that will be set if a hacker doesn’t get to make a trip to the Room of Porcelain Fixtures: “I’d better process an internal interrupt before the overflow bit gets set.”
_________________________________________________________________
Node:overflow pdl, Next:[9858]overrun, Previous:[9859]overflow bit, Up:[9860]= O =

overflow pdl n.

[MIT] The place where you put things when your [9861]PDL is full. If you don’t have one and too many things get pushed, you forget something. The overflow pdl for a person’s memory might be a memo pad. This usage inspired the following doggerel:
Hey, diddle, diddle
The overflow pdl
To get a little more stack;
If that’s not enough
Then you lose it all,
And have to pop all the way back. -The Great Quux

The term `pdl’ (see [9862]PDL) seems to be primarily an MITism; outside MIT this term is replaced by `overflow [9863]stack’ (but that wouldn’t rhyme with `diddle’).
_________________________________________________________________
Node:overrun, Next:[9864]overrun screw, Previous:[9865]overflow pdl, Up:[9866]= O =

overrun n.

1. [techspeak] Term for a frequent consequence of data arriving faster than it can be consumed, esp. in serial line communications. For example, at 9600 baud there is almost exactly one character per millisecond, so if a [9867]silo can hold only two characters and the machine takes longer than 2 msec to get to service the interrupt, at least one character will be lost. 2. Also applied to non-serial-I/O communications. “I forgot to pay my electric bill due to mail overrun.” “Sorry, I got four phone calls in 3 minutes last night and lost your message to overrun.” When [9868]thrashing at tasks, the next person to make a request might be told “Overrun!” Compare [9869]firehose syndrome. 3. More loosely, may refer to a [9870]buffer overflow not necessarily related to processing time (as in [9871]overrun screw).
_________________________________________________________________
Node:overrun screw, Next:[9872]P-mail, Previous:[9873]overrun, Up:[9874]= O =

overrun screw n.

[C programming] A variety of [9875]fandango on core produced by scribbling past the end of an array (C implementations typically have no checks for this error). This is relatively benign and easy to spot if the array is static; if it is auto, the result may be to [9876]smash the stack — often resulting in [9877]heisenbugs of the most diabolical subtlety. The term `overrun screw’ is used esp. of scribbles beyond the end of arrays allocated with malloc(3); this typically trashes the allocation header for the next block in the [9878]arena, producing massive lossage within malloc and often a core dump on the next operation to use stdio(3) or malloc(3) itself. See [9879]spam, [9880]overrun; see also [9881]memory leak, [9882]memory smash, [9883]aliasing bug, [9884]precedence lossage, [9885]fandango on core, [9886]secondary damage.
_________________________________________________________________
Node:= P =, Next:[9887]= Q =, Previous:[9888]= O =, Up:[9889]The Jargon Lexicon

= P =

* [9890]P-mail:
* [9891]P.O.D.:
* [9892]packet over air:
* [9893]padded cell:
* [9894]page in:
* [9895]page out:
* [9896]pain in the net:
* [9897]Pangloss parity:
* [9898]paper-net:
* [9899]param:
* [9900]PARC:
* [9901]parent message:
* [9902]parity errors:
* [9903]Parkinson’s Law of Data: * [9904]parm:
* [9905]parse:
* [9906]Pascal:
* [9907]pastie:
* [9908]patch:
* [9909]patch pumpkin:
* [9910]patch space:
* [9911]path:
* [9912]pathological:
* [9913]payware:
* [9914]PBD:
* [9915]PC-ism:
* [9916]PD:
* [9917]PDL:
* [9918]PDP-10:
* [9919]PDP-20:
* [9920]PEBKAC:
* [9921]peek:
* [9922]pencil and paper:
* [9923]Pentagram Pro:
* [9924]Pentium:
* [9925]peon:
* [9926]percent-S:
* [9927]perf:
* [9928]perfect programmer syndrome: * [9929]Perl:
* [9930]person of no account:
* [9931]pessimal:
* [9932]pessimizing compiler:
* [9933]peta-:
* [9934]PETSCII:
* [9935]PFY:
* [9936]phage:
* [9937]phase:
* [9938]phase of the moon:
* [9939]phase-wrapping:
* [9940]PHB:
* [9941]phreaker:
* [9942]phreaking:
* [9943]pico-:
* [9944]pig-tail:
* [9945]pilot error:
* [9946]ping:
* [9947]Ping O’ Death:
* [9948]ping storm:
* [9949]pink wire:
* [9950]pipe:
* [9951]pistol:
* [9952]pixel sort:
* [9953]pizza box:
* [9954]plaid screen:
* [9955]plain-ASCII:
* [9956]plan file:
* [9957]platinum-iridium:
* [9958]playpen:
* [9959]playte:
* [9960]plingnet:
* [9961]plokta:
* [9962]plonk:
* [9963]plug-and-pray:
* [9964]plugh:
* [9965]plumbing:
* [9966]PM:
* [9967]pnambic:
* [9968]pod:
* [9969]point-and-drool interface: * [9970]pointy hat:
* [9971]pointy-haired:
* [9972]poke:
* [9973]poll:
* [9974]polygon pusher:
* [9975]POM:
* [9976]pop:
* [9977]POPJ:
* [9978]poser:
* [9979]post:
* [9980]postcardware:
* [9981]posting:
* [9982]postmaster:
* [9983]PostScript:
* [9984]pound on:
* [9985]power cycle:
* [9986]power hit:
* [9987]PPN:
* [9988]pr0n:
* [9989]precedence lossage:
* [9990]prepend:
* [9991]prestidigitization:
* [9992]pretty pictures:
* [9993]prettyprint:
* [9994]pretzel key:
* [9995]priesthood:
* [9996]prime time:
* [9997]print:
* [9998]printing discussion:
* [9999]priority interrupt:
* [10000]profile:
* [10001]progasm:
* [10002]proggy:
* [10003]proglet:
* [10004]program:
* [10005]Programmer’s Cheer:
* [10006]programming:
* [10007]programming fluid:
* [10008]propeller head:
* [10009]propeller key:
* [10010]proprietary:
* [10011]protocol:
* [10012]provocative maintenance: * [10013]prowler:
* [10014]pseudo:
* [10015]pseudoprime:
* [10016]pseudosuit:
* [10017]psychedelicware:
* [10018]psyton:
* [10019]pubic directory:
* [10020]puff:
* [10021]pumpkin holder:
* [10022]pumpking:
* [10023]punched card:
* [10024]punt:
* [10025]Purple Book:
* [10026]purple wire:
* [10027]push:
* [10028]Python:
_________________________________________________________________
Node:P-mail, Next:[10029]P.O.D., Previous:[10030]overrun screw, Up:[10031]= P =

P-mail n.

[rare] Physical mail, as opposed to [10032]email. Synonymous with [10033]snail-mail, but much less common. _________________________________________________________________
Node:P.O.D., Next:[10034]packet over air, Previous:[10035]P-mail, Up:[10036]= P =

P.O.D. /P-O-D/

[rare] Acronym for `Piece Of Data’ (as opposed to a code section). See also [10037]pod.
_________________________________________________________________
Node:packet over air, Next:[10038]padded cell, Previous:[10039]P.O.D., Up:[10040]= P =

packet over air

[common among backbone ISPs] The protocol notionally being used by Internet data attempting to traverse a physical gap or break in the network, such as might be caused by a [10041]fiber-seeking backhoe. “I see why you’re dropping packets. You seem to have a packet over air problem.
_________________________________________________________________
Node:padded cell, Next:[10042]page in, Previous:[10043]packet over air, Up:[10044]= P =

padded cell n.

Where you put [10045]lusers so they can’t hurt anything. A program that limits a luser to a carefully restricted subset of the capabilities of the host system (for example, the rsh(1) utility on USG Unix). Note that this is different from an [10046]iron box because it is overt and not aimed at enforcing security so much as protecting others (and the luser) from the consequences of the luser’s boundless naivete (see [10047]naive). Also `padded cell environment’. _________________________________________________________________
Node:page in, Next:[10048]page out, Previous:[10049]padded cell, Up:[10050]= P =

page in v.

[MIT] 1. To become aware of one’s surroundings again after having paged out (see [10051]page out). Usually confined to the sarcastic comment: “Eric pages in, [10052]film at 11!” 2. Syn. `swap in’; see [10053]swap.
_________________________________________________________________
Node:page out, Next:[10054]pain in the net, Previous:[10055]page in, Up:[10056]= P =

page out vi.

[MIT] 1. To become unaware of one’s surroundings temporarily, due to daydreaming or preoccupation. “Can you repeat that? I paged out for a minute.” See [10057]page in. Compare [10058]glitch, [10059]thinko. 2. Syn. `swap out’; see [10060]swap.
_________________________________________________________________
Node:pain in the net, Next:[10061]Pangloss parity, Previous:[10062]page out, Up:[10063]= P =
pain in the net n.

A [10064]flamer.
_________________________________________________________________
Node:Pangloss parity, Next:[10065]paper-net, Previous:[10066]pain in the net, Up:[10067]= P =

Pangloss parity n.

[from Dr. Pangloss, the eternal optimist in Voltaire’s “Candide”] In corporate DP shops, a common condition of severe but equally shared [10068]lossage resulting from the theory that as long as everyone in the organization has the exactly the same model of obsolete computer, everything will be fine.
_________________________________________________________________
Node:paper-net, Next:[10069]param, Previous:[10070]Pangloss parity, Up:[10071]= P =

paper-net n.

Hackish way of referring to the postal service, analogizing it to a very slow, low-reliability network. Usenet [10072]sig blocks sometimes include a “Paper-Net:” header just before the sender’s postal address; common variants of this are “Papernet” and “P-Net”. Note that the standard [10073]netiquette guidelines discourage this practice as a waste of bandwidth, since netters are quite unlikely to casually use postal addresses. Compare [10074]voice-net, [10075]snail-mail, [10076]P-mail.
_________________________________________________________________
Node:param, Next:[10077]PARC, Previous:[10078]paper-net, Up:[10079]= P =

param /p*-ram’/ n.

[common] Shorthand for `parameter’. See also [10080]parm; compare [10081]arg, [10082]var.
_________________________________________________________________
Node:PARC, Next:[10083]parent message, Previous:[10084]param, Up:[10085]= P =

PARC n.

See [10086]XEROX PARC.
_________________________________________________________________
Node:parent message, Next:[10087]parity errors, Previous:[10088]PARC, Up:[10089]= P =

parent message n.

What a [10090]followup follows up. _________________________________________________________________
Node:parity errors, Next:[10091]Parkinson’s Law of Data, Previous:[10092]parent message, Up:[10093]= P =
parity errors pl.n.

Little lapses of attention or (in more severe cases) consciousness, usually brought on by having spent all night and most of the next day hacking. “I need to go home and crash; I’m starting to get a lot of parity errors.” Derives from a relatively common but nearly always correctable transient error in memory hardware. It predates RAM; in fact, this term is reported to have already have been in use in its jargoin sense back in the 1960s when magnetic cores ruled. Parity errors can also afflict mass storage and serial communication lines; this is more serious because not always correctable. _________________________________________________________________
Node:Parkinson’s Law of Data, Next:[10094]parm, Previous:[10095]parity errors, Up:[10096]= P =

Parkinson’s Law of Data prov.

“Data expands to fill the space available for storage”; buying more memory encourages the use of more memory-intensive techniques. It has been observed since the mid-1980s that the memory usage of evolving systems tends to double roughly once every 18 months. Fortunately, memory density available for constant dollars also tends to about double once every 18 months (see [10097]Moore’s Law); unfortunately, the laws of physics guarantee that the latter cannot continue indefinitely.
_________________________________________________________________
Node:parm, Next:[10098]parse, Previous:[10099]Parkinson’s Law of Data, Up:[10100]= P =

parm /parm/ n.

Further-compressed form of [10101]param. This term is an IBMism, and written use is almost unknown outside IBM shops; spoken /parm/ is more widely distributed, but the synonym [10102]arg is favored among hackers. Compare [10103]arg, [10104]var. _________________________________________________________________
Node:parse, Next:[10105]Pascal, Previous:[10106]parm, Up:[10107]= P =
parse [from linguistic terminology] vt.
1. To determine the syntactic structure of a sentence or other utterance (close to the standard English meaning). “That was the one I saw you.” “I can’t parse that.” 2. More generally, to understand or comprehend. “It’s very simple; you just kretch the glims and then aos the zotz.” “I can’t parse that.” 3. Of fish, to have to remove the bones yourself. “I object to parsing fish”, means “I don’t want to get a whole fish, but a sliced one is okay”. A `parsed fish’ has been deboned. There is some controversy over whether `unparsed’ should mean `bony’, or also mean `deboned’.
_________________________________________________________________
Node:Pascal, Next:[10108]pastie, Previous:[10109]parse, Up:[10110]= P =

Pascal n.

An Algol-descended language designed by Niklaus Wirth on the CDC 6600 around 1967-68 as an instructional tool for elementary programming. This language, designed primarily to keep students from shooting themselves in the foot and thus extremely restrictive from a general-purpose-programming point of view, was later promoted as a general-purpose tool and, in fact, became the ancestor of a large family of languages including Modula-2 and [10111]Ada (see also [10112]bondage-and-discipline language). The hackish point of view on Pascal was probably best summed up by a devastating (and, in its deadpan way, screamingly funny) 1981 paper by Brian Kernighan (of [10113]K&R fame) entitled “Why Pascal is Not My Favorite Programming Language”, which was turned down by the technical journals but circulated widely via photocopies. It was eventually published in “Comparing and Assessing Programming Languages”, edited by Alan Feuer and Narain Gehani (Prentice-Hall, 1984). Part of his discussion is worth repeating here, because its criticisms are still apposite to Pascal itself after ten years of improvement and could also stand as an indictment of many other bondage-and-discipline languages. At the end of a summary of the case against Pascal, Kernighan wrote:
9. There is no escape

This last point is perhaps the most important. The language is inadequate but circumscribed, because there is no way to escape its limitations. There are no casts to disable the type-checking when necessary. There is no way to replace the defective run-time environment with a sensible one, unless one controls the compiler that defines the “standard procedures”. The language is closed.
People who use Pascal for serious programming fall into a fatal trap. Because the language is impotent, it must be extended. But each group extends Pascal in its own direction, to make it look like whatever language they really want. Extensions for separate compilation, FORTRAN-like COMMON, string data types, internal static variables, initialization, octal numbers, bit operators, etc., all add to the utility of the language for one group but destroy its portability to others.

I feel that it is a mistake to use Pascal for anything much beyond its original target. In its pure form, Pascal is a toy language, suitable for teaching but not for real programming.
Pascal has since been almost entirely displaced (by [10114]C) from the niches it had acquired in serious applications and systems programming, but retains some popularity as a hobbyist language in the MS-DOS and Macintosh worlds.
_________________________________________________________________
Node:pastie, Next:[10115]patch, Previous:[10116]Pascal, Up:[10117]= P =

pastie /pay’stee/ n.

An adhesive-backed label designed to be attached to a key on a keyboard to indicate some non-standard character which can be accessed through that key. Pasties are likely to be used in APL environments, where almost every key is associated with a special character. A pastie on the R key, for example, might remind the user that it is used to generate the rho character. The term properly refers to nipple-concealing devices formerly worn by strippers in concession to indecent-exposure laws; compare [10118]tits on a keyboard. _________________________________________________________________
Node:patch, Next:[10119]patch pumpkin, Previous:[10120]pastie, Up:[10121]= P =

patch

1. n. A temporary addition to a piece of code, usually as a [10122]quick-and-dirty remedy to an existing bug or misfeature. A patch may or may not work, and may or may not eventually be incorporated permanently into the program. Distinguished from a [10123]diff or [10124]mod by the fact that a patch is generated by more primitive means than the rest of the program; the classical examples are instructions modified by using the front panel switches, and changes made directly to the binary executable of a program originally written in an [10125]HLL. Compare [10126]one-line fix. 2. vt. To insert a patch into a piece of code. 3. [in the Unix world] n. A [10127]diff (sense 2). 4. A set of modifications to binaries to be applied by a patching program. IBM operating systems often receive updates to the operating system in the form of absolute hexadecimal patches. If you have modified your OS, you have to disassemble these back to the source. The patches might later be corrected by other patches on top of them (patches were said to “grow scar tissue”). The result was often a convoluted [10128]patch space and headaches galore. 5. [Unix] the patch(1) program, written by Larry Wall, which automatically applies a patch (sense 3) to a set of source code.
There is a classic story of a [10129]tiger team penetrating a secure military computer that illustrates the danger inherent in binary patches (or, indeed, any patches that you can’t — or don’t — inspect and examine before installing). They couldn’t find any [10130]trap doors or any way to penetrate security of IBM’s OS, so they made a site visit to an IBM office (remember, these were official military types who were purportedly on official business), swiped some IBM stationery, and created a fake patch. The patch was actually the trapdoor they needed. The patch was distributed at about the right time for an IBM patch, had official stationery and all accompanying documentation, and was dutifully installed. The installation manager very shortly thereafter learned something about proper procedures. _________________________________________________________________
Node:patch pumpkin, Next:[10131]patch space, Previous:[10132]patch, Up:[10133]= P =

patch pumpkin n.

[Perl hackers] A notional token passed around among the members of a project. Possession of the patch pumpkin means one has the exclusive authority to make changes on the project’s master source tree. The implicit assumption is that `pumpkin holder’ status is temporary and rotates periodically among senior project members.
This term comes from the Perl development community, but has been sighted elsewhere. It derives from a stuffed-toy pumpkin that was passed around at a development shop years ago as the access control for a shared backup-tape drive.
_________________________________________________________________
Node:patch space, Next:[10134]path, Previous:[10135]patch pumpkin, Up:[10136]= P =

patch space n.

An unused block of bits left in a binary so that it can later be modified by insertion of machine-language instructions there (typically, the patch space is modified to contain new code, and the superseded code is patched to contain a jump or call to the patch space). The near-universal use of compilers and interpreters has made this term rare; it is now primarily historical outside IBM shops. See [10137]patch (sense 4), [10138]zap (sense 4), [10139]hook. _________________________________________________________________
Node:path, Next:[10140]pathological, Previous:[10141]patch space, Up:[10142]= P =

path n.

1. A [10143]bang path or explicitly routed [10144]Internet address; a node-by-node specification of a link between two machines. Though these are now obsolete as a form of addressing, they still show up in diagnostics and trace headers ocvcasionally (e.g. in NNTP headers). 2. [Unix] A filename, fully specified relative to the root directory (as opposed to relative to the current directory; the latter is sometimes called a `relative path’). This is also called a `pathname’. 3. [Unix and MS-DOS] The `search path’, an environment variable specifying the directories in which the [10145]shell (COMMAND.COM, under MS-DOS) should look for commands. Other, similar constructs abound under Unix (for example, the C preprocessor has a `search path’ it uses in looking for #include files).
_________________________________________________________________
Node:pathological, Next:[10146]payware, Previous:[10147]path, Up:[10148]= P =

pathological adj.

1. [scientific computation] Used of a data set that is grossly atypical of normal expected input, esp. one that exposes a weakness or bug in whatever algorithm one is using. An algorithm that can be broken by pathological inputs may still be useful if such inputs are very unlikely to occur in practice. 2. When used of test input, implies that it was purposefully engineered as a worst case. The implication in both senses is that the data is spectacularly ill-conditioned or that someone had to explicitly set out to break the algorithm in order to come up with such a crazy example. 3. Also said of an unlikely collection of circumstances. “If the network is down and comes up halfway through the execution of that command by root, the system may just crash.” “Yes, but that’s a pathological case.” Often used to dismiss the case from discussion, with the implication that the consequences are acceptable, since they will happen so infrequently (if at all) that it doesn’t seem worth going to the extra trouble to handle that case (see sense 1). _________________________________________________________________
Node:payware, Next:[10149]PBD, Previous:[10150]pathological, Up:[10151]= P =

payware /pay’weir/ n.

Commercial software. Oppose [10152]shareware or [10153]freeware. _________________________________________________________________
Node:PBD, Next:[10154]PC-ism, Previous:[10155]payware, Up:[10156]= P =
PBD /P-B-D/ n.

[abbrev. of `Programmer Brain Damage’] Applied to bug reports revealing places where the program was obviously broken by an incompetent or short-sighted programmer. Compare [10157]UBD; see also [10158]brain-damaged.
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Node:PC-ism, Next:[10159]PD, Previous:[10160]PBD, Up:[10161]= P =
PC-ism /P-C-izm/ n.

A piece of code or coding technique that takes advantage of the unprotected single-tasking environment in IBM PCs and the like running DOS, e.g., by busy-waiting on a hardware register, direct diddling of screen memory, or using hard timing loops. Compare [10162]ill-behaved, [10163]vaxism, [10164]unixism. Also, `PC-ware’ n., a program full of PC-isms on a machine with a more capable operating system. Pejorative. _________________________________________________________________
Node:PD, Next:[10165]PDL, Previous:[10166]PC-ism, Up:[10167]= P =
PD /P-D/ adj.

[common] Abbreviation for `public domain’, applied to software distributed over [10168]Usenet and from Internet archive sites. Much of this software is not in fact public domain in the legal sense but travels under various copyrights granting reproduction and use rights to anyone who can [10169]snarf a copy. See [10170]copyleft. _________________________________________________________________
Node:PDL, Next:[10171]PDP-10, Previous:[10172]PD, Up:[10173]= P =
PDL /P-D-L/, /pid’l/, /p*d’l/ or /puhd’l/
1. n. `Program Design Language’. Any of a large class of formal and profoundly useless pseudo-languages in which [10174]management forces one to design programs. Too often, management expects PDL descriptions to be maintained in parallel with the code, imposing massive overhead to little or no benefit. See also [10175]flowchart. 2. v. To design using a program design language. “I’ve been pdling so long my eyes won’t focus beyond 2 feet.” 3. n. `Page Description Language’. Refers to any language which is used to control a graphics device, usually a laserprinter. The most common example is, of course, Adobe’s [10176]PostScript language, but there are many others, such as Xerox InterPress, etc. 4. In ITS days, the preferred MITism for [10177]stack. See [10178]overflow pdl. 5. Dave Lebling, one of the co-authors of [10179]Zork; (his [10180]network address on the ITS machines was at one time pdl@dms).
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Node:PDP-10, Next:[10181]PDP-20, Previous:[10182]PDL, Up:[10183]= P =
PDP-10 n.

[Programmed Data Processor model 10] The machine that made timesharing real. It looms large in hacker folklore because of its adoption in the mid-1970s by many university computing facilities and research labs, including the MIT AI Lab, Stanford, and CMU. Some aspects of the instruction set (most notably the bit-field instructions) are still considered unsurpassed. The 10 was eventually eclipsed by the VAX machines (descendants of the PDP-11) when [10184]DEC recognized that the 10 and VAX product lines were competing with each other and decided to concentrate its software development effort on the more profitable VAX. The machine was finally dropped from DEC’s line in 1983, following the failure of the Jupiter Project at DEC to build a viable new model. (Some attempts by other companies to market clones came to nothing; see [10185]Foonly and [10186]Mars.) This event spelled the doom of [10187]ITS and the technical cultures that had spawned the original Jargon File, but by mid-1991 it had become something of a badge of honorable old-timerhood among hackers to have cut one’s teeth on a PDP-10. See [10188]TOPS-10, [10189]ITS, [10190]BLT, [10191]DDT, [10192]DPB, [10193]EXCH, [10194]HAKMEM, [10195]LDB, [10196]pop, [10197]push. See also [10198]http://www.inwap.com/pdp10/.
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Node:PDP-20, Next:[10199]PEBKAC, Previous:[10200]PDP-10, Up:[10201]= P =

PDP-20 n.

The most famous computer that never was. [10202]PDP-10 computers running the [10203]TOPS-10 operating system were labeled `DECsystem-10′ as a way of differentiating them from the PDP-11. Later on, those systems running [10204]TOPS-20 were labeled `DECSYSTEM-20′ (the block capitals being the result of a lawsuit brought against DEC by Singer, which once made a computer called `system-10′), but contrary to popular lore there was never a `PDP-20′; the only difference between a 10 and a 20 was the operating system and the color of the paint. Most (but not all) machines sold to run TOPS-10 were painted `Basil Blue’, whereas most TOPS-20 machines were painted `Chinese Red’ (often mistakenly called orange). _________________________________________________________________
Node:PEBKAC, Next:[10205]peek, Previous:[10206]PDP-20, Up:[10207]= P =
PEBKAC /peb’kak/

[Abbrev., “Problem Exists Between Keyboard And Chair”] Used by support people, particularly at call centers and help desks. Not used with the public. Denotes pilot error as the cause of the crash, especially stupid errors that even a [10208]luser could figure out. Very derogatory. Usage: “Did you ever figure out why that guy couldn’t print?” “Yeah, he kept cancelling the operation before it could finish. PEBKAC.”
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Node:peek, Next:[10209]pencil and paper, Previous:[10210]PEBKAC, Up:[10211]= P =

peek n.,vt.

(and [10212]poke) The commands in most microcomputer BASICs for directly accessing memory contents at an absolute address; often extended to mean the corresponding constructs in any [10213]HLL (peek reads memory, poke modifies it). Much hacking on small, non-MMU micros used to consist of `peek’ing around memory, more or less at random, to find the location where the system keeps interesting stuff. Long (and variably accurate) lists of such addresses for various computers circulated (see [10214]interrupt list). The results of `poke’s at these addresses may be highly useful, mildly amusing, useless but neat, or (most likely) total [10215]lossage (see [10216]killer poke).
Since a [10217]real operating system provides useful, higher-level services for the tasks commonly performed with peeks and pokes on micros, and real languages tend not to encourage low-level memory groveling, a question like “How do I do a peek in C?” is diagnostic of the [10218]newbie. (Of course, OS kernels often have to do exactly this; a real kernel hacker would unhesitatingly, if unportably, assign an absolute address to a pointer variable and indirect through it.) _________________________________________________________________
Node:pencil and paper, Next:[10219]Pentagram Pro, Previous:[10220]peek, Up:[10221]= P =

pencil and paper n.

An archaic information storage and transmission device that works by depositing smears of graphite on bleached wood pulp. More recent developments in paper-based technology include improved `write-once’ update devices which use tiny rolling heads similar to mouse balls to deposit colored pigment. All these devices require an operator skilled at so-called `handwriting’ technique. These technologies are ubiquitous outside hackerdom, but nearly forgotten inside it. Most hackers had terrible handwriting to begin with, and years of keyboarding tend to have encouraged it to degrade further. Perhaps for this reason, hackers deprecate pencil-and-paper technology and often resist using it in any but the most trivial contexts. _________________________________________________________________
Node:Pentagram Pro, Next:[10222]Pentium, Previous:[10223]pencil and paper, Up:[10224]= P =

Pentagram Pro n.

A humorous corruption of “Pentium Pro”, with a Satanic reference, implying that the chip is inherently [10225]evil. Often used with “666 MHz”; there is a T-shirt. See [10226]Pentium _________________________________________________________________
Node:Pentium, Next:[10227]peon, Previous:[10228]Pentagram Pro, Up:[10229]= P =

Pentium n.

The name given to Intel’s P5 chip, the successor to the 80486. The name was chosen because of difficulties Intel had in trademarking a number. It suggests the number five (implying 586) while (according to Intel) conveying a meaning of strength “like titanium”. Among hackers, the plural is frequently `pentia’. See also [10230]Pentagram Pro.
Intel did not stick to this convention when naming its P6 processor the Pentium Pro; many believe this is due to difficulties in selling a chip with “sex” in its name. Successor chips have been called `Pentium II’ and `Pentium III’.
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Node:peon, Next:[10231]percent-S, Previous:[10232]Pentium, Up:[10233]= P =

peon n.

A person with no special ([10234]root or [10235]wheel) privileges on a computer system. “I can’t create an account on foovax for you; I’m only a peon there.”
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Node:percent-S, Next:[10236]perf, Previous:[10237]peon, Up:[10238]= P =

percent-S /per-sent’ es’/ n.

[From the code in C’s printf(3) library function used to insert an arbitrary string argument] An unspecified person or object. “I was just talking to some percent-s in administration.” Compare [10239]random.
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Node:perf, Next:[10240]perfect programmer syndrome, Previous:[10241]percent-S, Up:[10242]= P =
perf /perf/ n.

Syn. [10243]chad (sense 1). The term `perfory’ /per’f*-ree/ is also heard. The term [10244]perf may also refer to the perforations themselves, rather than the chad they produce when torn (philatelists use it this way).
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Node:perfect programmer syndrome, Next:[10245]Perl, Previous:[10246]perf, Up:[10247]= P =

perfect programmer syndrome n.

Arrogance; the egotistical conviction that one is above normal human error. Most frequently found among programmers of some native ability but relatively little experience (especially new graduates; their perceptions may be distorted by a history of excellent performance at solving [10248]toy problems). “Of course my program is correct, there is no need to test it.” “Yes, I can see there may be a problem here, but I’ll never type rm -r / while in [10249]root mode.” _________________________________________________________________
Node:Perl, Next:[10250]person of no account, Previous:[10251]perfect programmer syndrome, Up:[10252]= P =

Perl /perl/ n.

[Practical Extraction and Report Language, a.k.a. Pathologically Eclectic Rubbish Lister] An interpreted language developed by Larry Wall ([10253], author of patch(1) and rn(1)) and distributed over Usenet. Superficially resembles [10254]awk, but is much hairier, including many facilities reminiscent of sed(1) and shells and a comprehensive Unix system-call interface. Unix sysadmins, who are almost always incorrigible hackers, generally consider it one of the [10255]languages of choice, and it is by far the most widely used tool for making `live’ web pages via CGI. Perl has been described, in a parody of a famous remark about lex(1), as the “Swiss-Army chainsaw” of Unix programming. Though Perl is very useful, it would be a stretch to describe it as pretty or [10256]elegant; people who like clean, spare design generally prefer [10257]Python. See also [10258]Camel Book, [10259]TMTOWTDI. _________________________________________________________________
Node:person of no account, Next:[10260]pessimal, Previous:[10261]Perl, Up:[10262]= P =

person of no account n.

[University of California at Santa Cruz] Used when referring to a person with no [10263]network address, frequently to forestall confusion. Most often as part of an introduction: “This is Bill, a person of no account, but he used to be bill@random.com”. Compare [10264]return from the dead.
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Node:pessimal, Next:[10265]pessimizing compiler, Previous:[10266]person of no account, Up:[10267]= P =
pessimal /pes’im-l/ adj.

[Latin-based antonym for `optimal’] Maximally bad. “This is a pessimal situation.” Also `pessimize’ vt. To make as bad as possible. These words are the obvious Latin-based antonyms for `optimal’ and `optimize’, but for some reason they do not appear in most English dictionaries, although `pessimize’ is listed in the OED. _________________________________________________________________
Node:pessimizing compiler, Next:[10268]peta-, Previous:[10269]pessimal, Up:[10270]= P =
pessimizing compiler /pes’*-mi:z`ing k*m-pi:l’r/ n.
A compiler that produces object [antonym of techspeak `optimizing compiler’] code that is worse than the straightforward or obvious hand translation. The implication is that the compiler is actually trying to optimize the program, but through excessive cleverness is doing the opposite. A few pessimizing compilers have been written on purpose, however, as pranks or burlesques.
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Node:peta-, Next:[10271]PETSCII, Previous:[10272]pessimizing compiler, Up:[10273]= P =

peta- /pe’t*/ pref

[SI] See [10274]quantifiers.
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Node:PETSCII, Next:[10275]PFY, Previous:[10276]peta-, Up:[10277]= P =
PETSCII /pet’skee/ n. obs.

[abbreviation of PET ASCII] The variation (many would say perversion) of the [10278]ASCII character set used by the Commodore Business Machines PET series of personal computers and the later Commodore C64, C16, C128, and VIC20 machines. The PETSCII set used left-arrow and up-arrow (as in old-style ASCII) instead of underscore and caret, placed the unshifted alphabet at positions 65-90, put the shifted alphabet at positions 193-218, and added graphics characters. _________________________________________________________________
Node:PFY, Next:[10279]phage, Previous:[10280]PETSCII, Up:[10281]= P =
PFY n.

[Usenet; common] Abbreviation for `Pimply-Faced Youth’. A [10282]BOFH in training, esp. one apprenticed to an elder BOFH aged in evil. _________________________________________________________________
Node:phage, Next:[10283]phase, Previous:[10284]PFY, Up:[10285]= P =
phage n.

A program that modifies other programs or databases in unauthorized ways; esp. one that propagates a [10286]virus or [10287]Trojan horse. See also [10288]worm, [10289]mockingbird. The analogy, of course, is with phage viruses in biology.
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Node:phase, Next:[10290]phase of the moon, Previous:[10291]phage, Up:[10292]= P =

phase

1. n. The offset of one’s waking-sleeping schedule with respect to the standard 24-hour cycle; a useful concept among people who often work at night and/or according to no fixed schedule. It is not uncommon to change one’s phase by as much as 6 hours per day on a regular basis. “What’s your phase?” “I’ve been getting in about 8 P.M. lately, but I’m going to [10293]wrap around to the day schedule by Friday.” A person who is roughly 12 hours out of phase is sometimes said to be in `night mode’. (The term `day mode’ is also (but less frequently) used, meaning you’re working 9 to 5 (or, more likely, 10 to 6).) The act of altering one’s cycle is called `changing phase’; `phase shifting’ has also been recently reported from Caltech. 2. `change phase the hard way’: To stay awake for a very long time in order to get into a different phase. 3. `change phase the easy way’: To stay asleep, etc. However, some claim that either staying awake longer or sleeping longer is easy, and that it is shortening your day or night that is really hard (see [10294]wrap around). The `jet lag’ that afflicts travelers who cross many time-zone boundaries may be attributed to two distinct causes: the strain of travel per se, and the strain of changing phase. Hackers who suddenly find that they must change phase drastically in a short period of time, particularly the hard way, experience something very like jet lag without traveling. _________________________________________________________________
Node:phase of the moon, Next:[10295]phase-wrapping, Previous:[10296]phase, Up:[10297]= P =
phase of the moon n.

Used humorously as a random parameter on which something is said to depend. Sometimes implies unreliability of whatever is dependent, or that reliability seems to be dependent on conditions nobody has been able to determine. “This feature depends on having the channel open in mumble mode, having the foo switch set, and on the phase of the moon.” See also [10298]heisenbug.

True story: Once upon a time there was a program bug that really did depend on the phase of the moon. There was a little subroutine that had traditionally been used in various programs at MIT to calculate an approximation to the moon’s true phase. GLS incorporated this routine into a LISP program that, when it wrote out a file, would print a timestamp line almost 80 characters long. Very occasionally the first line of the message would be too long and would overflow onto the next line, and when the file was later read back in the program would [10299]barf. The length of the first line depended on both the precise date and time and the length of the phase specification when the timestamp was printed, and so the bug literally depended on the phase of the moon!

The first paper edition of the Jargon File (Steele-1983) included an example of one of the timestamp lines that exhibited this bug, but the typesetter `corrected’ it. This has since been described as the phase-of-the-moon-bug bug.

However, beware of assumptions. A few years ago, engineers of CERN (European Center for Nuclear Research) were baffled by some errors in experiments conducted with the LEP particle accelerator. As the formidable amount of data generated by such devices is heavily processed by computers before being seen by humans, many people suggested the software was somehow sensitive to the phase of the moon. A few desperate engineers discovered the truth; the error turned out to be the result of a tiny change in the geometry of the 27km circumference ring, physically caused by the deformation of the Earth by the passage of the Moon! This story has entered physics folklore as a Newtonian vengeance on particle physics and as an example of the relevance of the simplest and oldest physical laws to the most modern science.
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Node:phase-wrapping, Next:[10300]PHB, Previous:[10301]phase of the moon, Up:[10302]= P =

phase-wrapping n.

[MIT] Syn. [10303]wrap around, sense 2. _________________________________________________________________
Node:PHB, Next:[10304]phreaker, Previous:[10305]phase-wrapping, Up:[10306]= P =

PHB /P-H-B/

[Usenet; common; rarely spoken] Abbreviation, “Pointy-Haired Boss”. From the [10307]Dilbert character, the archetypal halfwitted middle-[10308]management type. See also [10309]pointy-haired. _________________________________________________________________
Node:phreaker, Next:[10310]phreaking, Previous:[10311]PHB, Up:[10312]= P =

phreaker /freek’r/ n.

One who engages in [10313]phreaking. See also [10314]blue box. _________________________________________________________________
Node:phreaking, Next:[10315]pico-, Previous:[10316]phreaker, Up:[10317]= P =

phreaking /freek’ing/ n.

[from `phone phreak’] 1. The art and science of [10318]cracking the phone network (so as, for example, to make free long-distance calls). 2. By extension, security-cracking in any other context (especially, but not exclusively, on communications networks) (see [10319]cracking).

At one time phreaking was a semi-respectable activity among hackers; there was a gentleman’s agreement that phreaking as an intellectual game and a form of exploration was OK, but serious theft of services was taboo. There was significant crossover between the hacker community and the hard-core phone phreaks who ran semi-underground networks of their own through such media as the legendary “TAP Newsletter”. This ethos began to break down in the mid-1980s as wider dissemination of the techniques put them in the hands of less responsible phreaks. Around the same time, changes in the phone network made old-style technical ingenuity less effective as a way of hacking it, so phreaking came to depend more on overtly criminal acts such as stealing phone-card numbers. The crimes and punishments of gangs like the `414 group’ turned that game very ugly. A few old-time hackers still phreak casually just to keep their hand in, but most these days have hardly even heard of `blue boxes’ or any of the other paraphernalia of the great phreaks of yore. _________________________________________________________________
Node:pico-, Next:[10320]pig-tail, Previous:[10321]phreaking, Up:[10322]= P =

pico- pref.

[SI: a quantifier meaning * 10^-12] Smaller than [10323]nano-; used in the same rather loose connotative way as [10324]nano- and micro-. This usage is not yet common in the way [10325]nano- and [10326]micro- are, but should be instantly recognizable to any hacker. See also [10327]quantifiers, [10328]micro-.
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Node:pig-tail, Next:[10329]pilot error, Previous:[10330]pico-, Up:[10331]= P =

pig-tail

[radio hams] A short piece of cable with two connectors on each end for converting between one connector type and another. Common pig-tails are 9-to-25-pin serial-port converters and cables to connect PCMCIA network cards to an RJ-45 network cable. _________________________________________________________________
Node:pilot error, Next:[10332]ping, Previous:[10333]pig-tail, Up:[10334]= P =

pilot error n.

[Sun: from aviation] A user’s misconfiguration or misuse of a piece of software, producing apparently buglike results (compare [10335]UBD). “Joe Luser reported a bug in sendmail that causes it to generate bogus headers.” “That’s not a bug, that’s pilot error. His sendmail.cf is hosed.”
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Node:ping, Next:[10336]Ping O’ Death, Previous:[10337]pilot error, Up:[10338]= P =

ping

[from the submariners’ term for a sonar pulse] 1. n. Slang term for a small network message (ICMP ECHO) sent by a computer to check for the presence and alertness of another. The Unix command ping(8) can be used to do this manually (note that ping(8)’s author denies the widespread folk etymology that the name was ever intended as acronym