The Jargon File, Eric S. Raymond [speld decodable readers txt] 📗

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[2267]COBOL:

[2268]COBOL fingers:

[2269]cobweb site:

[2270]code grinder:

[2271]code monkey:

[2272]Code of the Geeks:

[2273]code police:

[2274]codes:

[2275]codewalker:

[2276]coefficient of X:

[2277]cokebottle:

[2278]cold boot:

[2279]COME FROM:

[2280]comm mode:

[2281]command key:

[2282]comment out:

[2283]Commonwealth Hackish:

[2284]compact:

[2285]compiler jock:

[2286]compo:

[2287]compress:

[2288]Compu$erve:

[2289]computer confetti:

[2290]computer geek:

[2291]computron:

[2292]con:

[2293]condition out:

[2294]condom:

[2295]confuser:

[2296]connector conspiracy:

[2297]cons:

[2298]considered harmful:

[2299]console:

[2300]console jockey:

[2301]content-free:

[2302]control-C:

[2303]control-O:

[2304]control-Q:

[2305]control-S:

[2306]Conway's Law:

[2307]cookbook:

[2308]cooked mode:

[2309]cookie:

[2310]cookie bear:

[2311]cookie file:

[2312]cookie jar:

[2313]cookie monster:

[2314]copious free time:

[2315]copper:

[2316]copy protection:

[2317]copybroke:

[2318]copycenter:

[2319]copyleft:

[2320]copyparty:

[2321]copywronged:

[2322]core:

[2323]core cancer:

[2324]core dump:

[2325]core leak:

[2326]Core Wars:

[2327]corge:

[2328]cosmic rays:

[2329]cough and die:

[2330]courier:

[2331]cow orker:

[2332]cowboy:

[2333]CP/M:

[2334]CPU Wars:

[2335]crack:

[2336]crack root:

[2337]cracker:

[2338]cracking:

[2339]crank:

[2340]crapplet:

[2341]CrApTeX:

[2342]crash:

[2343]crash and burn:

[2344]crawling horror:

[2345]cray:

[2346]cray instability:

[2347]crayola:

[2348]crayola books:

[2349]crayon:

[2350]creationism:

[2351]creep:

[2352]creeping elegance:

[2353]creeping featurism:

[2354]creeping featuritis:

[2355]cretin:

[2356]cretinous:

[2357]crippleware:

[2358]critical mass:

[2359]crlf:

[2360]crock:

[2361]cross-post:

[2362]crossload:

[2363]crudware:

[2364]cruft:

[2365]cruft together:

[2366]cruftsmanship:

[2367]crufty:

[2368]crumb:

[2369]crunch:

[2370]cryppie:

[2371]CTSS:

[2372]cube:

[2373]cubing:

[2374]cup holder:

[2375]cursor dipped in X:

[2376]cuspy:

[2377]cut a tape:

[2378]cybercrud:

[2379]cyberpunk:

[2380]cyberspace:

[2381]cycle:

[2382]cycle crunch:

[2383]cycle drought:

[2384]cycle of reincarnation:

[2385]cycle server:

[2386]cypherpunk:

[2387]C|N>K:

Node:C, Next:[2388]C Programmer's Disease, Previous:[2389]Bzzzt!

Wrong., Up:[2390]= C =

C n.

The third letter of the English alphabet. 2. ASCII 1000011. 3. The

name of a programming language designed by Dennis Ritchie during the

early 1970s and immediately used to reimplement [2391]Unix; so called

because many features derived from an earlier compiler named `B' in

commemoration of its parent, BCPL. (BCPL was in turn descended from an

earlier Algol-derived language, CPL.) Before Bjarne Stroustrup settled

the question by designing [2392]C++, there was a humorous debate over

whether C's successor should be named D' orP'. C became immensely

popular outside Bell Labs after about 1980 and is now the dominant

language in systems and microcomputer applications programming. See

also [2393]languages of choice, [2394]indent style.

C is often described, with a mixture of fondness and disdain varying

according to the speaker, as "a language that combines all the

elegance and power of assembly language with all the readability and

maintainability of assembly language".

Node:C Programmer's Disease, Next:[2395]C&C, Previous:[2396]C,

Up:[2397]= C =

C Programmer's Disease n.

The tendency of the undisciplined C programmer to set arbitrary but

supposedly generous static limits on table sizes (defined, if you're

lucky, by constants in header files) rather than taking the trouble to

do proper dynamic storage allocation. If an application user later

needs to put 68 elements into a table of size 50, the afflicted

programmer reasons that he or she can easily reset the table size to

68 (or even as much as 70, to allow for future expansion) and

recompile. This gives the programmer the comfortable feeling of having

made the effort to satisfy the user's (unreasonable) demands, and

often affords the user multiple opportunities to explore the marvelous

consequences of [2398]fandango on core. In severe cases of the

disease, the programmer cannot comprehend why each fix of this kind

seems only to further disgruntle the user.

Node:C&C, Next:[2399]C++, Previous:[2400]C Programmer's Disease,

Up:[2401]= C =

C&C //

[common, esp. on news.admin.net-abuse.email] Contraction of "Coffee &

Cats". This frequently occurs as a warning label on USENET posts that

are likely to cause you to [2402]snarf coffee onto your keyboard and

startle the cat off your lap.

Node:C++, Next:[2403]calculator, Previous:[2404]C&C, Up:[2405]= C =

C++ /C'-pluhs-pluhs/ n.

Designed by Bjarne Stroustrup of AT&T Bell Labs as a successor to

[2406]C. Now one of the [2407]languages of choice, although many

hackers still grumble that it is the successor to either Algol 68 or

[2408]Ada (depending on generation), and a prime example of

[2409]second-system effect. Almost anything that can be done in any

language can be done in C++, but it requires a [2410]language lawyer

to know what is and what is not legal-- the design is almost too large

to hold in even hackers' heads. Much of the [2411]cruft results from

C++'s attempt to be backward compatible with C. Stroustrup himself has

said in his retrospective book "The Design and Evolution of C++" (p.

207), "Within C++, there is a much smaller and cleaner language

struggling to get out." [Many hackers would now add "Yes, and it's

called [2412]Java" --ESR]

Node:calculator, Next:[2413]Camel Book, Previous:[2414]C++, Up:[2415]=

C =

calculator [Cambridge] n.

Syn. for [2416]bitty box.

Node:Camel Book, Next:[2417]can, Previous:[2418]calculator, Up:[2419]=

C =

Camel Book n.

Universally recognized nickname for the book "Programming Perl", by

Larry Wall and Randal L. Schwartz, O'Reilly and Associates 1991, ISBN

0-937175-64-1 (second edition 1996, ISBN 1-56592-149-6). The

definitive reference on [2420]Perl.

Node:can, Next:[2421]can't happen, Previous:[2422]Camel Book,

Up:[2423]= C =

can vt.

To abort a job on a time-sharing system. Used esp. when the person

doing the deed is an operator, as in "canned from the [2424]console".

Frequently used in an imperative sense, as in "Can that print job, the

LPT just popped a sprocket!" Synonymous with [2425]gun. It is said

that the ASCII character with mnemonic CAN (0011000) was used as a

kill-job character on some early OSes. Alternatively, this term may

derive from mainstream slang `canned' for being laid off or fired.

Node:can't happen, Next:[2426]cancelbot, Previous:[2427]can,

Up:[2428]= C =

can't happen

The traditional program comment for code executed under a condition

that should never be true, for example a file size computed as

negative. Often, such a condition being true indicates data corruption

or a faulty algorithm; it is almost always handled by emitting a fatal

error message and terminating or crashing, since there is little else

that can be done. Some case variant of "can't happen" is also often

the text emitted if the `impossible' error actually happens! Although

"can't happen" events are genuinely infrequent in production code,

programmers wise enough to check for them habitually are often

surprised at how frequently they are triggered during development and

how many headaches checking for them turns out to head off. See also

[2429]firewall code (sense 2).

Node:cancelbot, Next:[2430]Cancelmoose[tm], Previous:[2431]can't

happen, Up:[2432]= C =

cancelbot /kan'sel-bot/

[Usenet: compound, cancel + robot] 1. Mythically, a

[2433]robocanceller 2. In reality, most cancelbots are manually

operated by being fed lists of spam message IDs.

Node:Cancelmoose[tm], Next:[2434]candygrammar,

Previous:[2435]cancelbot, Up:[2436]= C =

Cancelmoose[tm] /kan'sel-moos/

[Usenet] The archetype and model of all good [2437]spam-fighters. Once

upon a time, the 'Moose would send out spam-cancels and then post

notice anonymously to news.admin.policy, news.admin.misc, and

alt.current-events.net-abuse. The 'Moose stepped to the fore on its

own initiative, at a time (mid-1994) when spam-cancels were irregular

and disorganized, and behaved altogether admirably - fair,

even-handed, and quick to respond to comments and criticism, all

without self-aggrandizement or martyrdom. Cancelmoose[tm] quickly

gained near-unanimous support from the readership of all three

above-mentioned groups.

Nobody knows who Cancelmoose[tm] really is, and there aren't even any

good rumors. However, the 'Moose now has an e-mail address

([2438]moose@cm.org) and a web site ([2439]http://www.cm.org.)

By early 1995, others had stepped into the spam-cancel business, and

appeared to be comporting themselves well, after the 'Moose's manner.

The 'Moose has now gotten out of the business, and is more interested

in ending spam (and cancels) entirely.

Node:candygrammar, Next:[2440]canonical,

Previous:[2441]Cancelmoose[tm], Up:[2442]= C =

candygrammar n.

A programming-language grammar that is mostly [2443]syntactic sugar;

the term is also a play on `candygram'. [2444]COBOL, Apple's Hypertalk

language, and a lot of the so-called `4GL' database languages share

this property. The usual intent of such designs is that they be as

English-like as possible, on the theory that they will then be easier

for unskilled people to program. This intention comes to grief on the

reality that syntax isn't what makes programming hard; it's the mental

effort and organization required to specify an algorithm precisely

that costs. Thus the invariable result is that `candygrammar'

languages are just as difficult to program in as terser ones, and far

more painful for the experienced hacker.

[The overtones from the old Chevy Chase skit on Saturday Night Live

should not be overlooked. This was a "Jaws" parody. Someone lurking

outside an apartment door tries all kinds of bogus ways to get the

occupant to open up, while ominous music plays in the background. The

last attempt is a half-hearted "Candygram!" When the door is opened, a

shark bursts in and chomps the poor occupant. [There is a similar gag

in "Blazing Saddles" --ESR] There is a moral here for those attracted

to candygrammars. Note that, in many circles, pretty much the same

ones who remember Monty Python sketches, all it takes is the word

"Candygram!", suitably timed, to get people rolling on the floor. --

GLS]

Node:canonical, Next:[2445]card walloper, Previous:[2446]candygrammar,

Up:[2447]= C =

canonical adj.

[very common; historically, `according to religious law'] The usual or

standard state or manner of something. This word has a somewhat more

technical meaning in mathematics. Two formulas such as 9 + x and x + 9

are said to be equivalent because they mean the same thing, but the

second one is in `canonical form' because it is written in the usual

way, with the highest power of x first. Usually there are fixed rules

you can use to decide whether something is in canonical form. The

jargon meaning, a relaxation of the technical meaning, acquired its

present loading in computer-science culture largely through its

prominence in Alonzo Church's work in computation theory and

mathematical logic (see [2448]Knights of the Lambda Calculus). Compare

[2449]vanilla.

Non-technical academics do not use the adjective `canonical' in any of

the senses defined above with any regularity; they do however use the

nouns canon' andcanonicity' (not **canonicalness or

**canonicality). The `canon' of a given author is the complete body of

authentic works by that author (this usage is familiar to Sherlock

Holmes fans as well as to literary scholars). `The canon' is the body

of works in a given field (e.g., works of literature, or of art, or of

music) deemed worthwhile for students to study and for scholars to

investigate.

The word `canon' has an interesting history. It derives ultimately

from the Greek kanon' (akin to the Englishcane') referring to a

reed. Reeds were used for measurement, and in Latin and later Greek

the word `canon' meant a rule or a standard. The establishment of a

canon of scriptures within Christianity was meant to define a standard

or a rule for the religion. The above non-techspeak academic usages

stem from this instance of a defined and accepted body of work.

Alongside this usage was the promulgation of canons' (rules') for

the government of the Catholic Church. The techspeak usages

("according to religious law") derive from this use of the Latin

`canon'.

Hackers invest this term with a playfulness that makes an ironic

contrast with its historical meaning. A true story: One Bob Sjoberg,

new at the MIT AI Lab, expressed some annoyance at the incessant use

of jargon. Over his loud objections, GLS and RMS made a point of using

as much of it as possible in his presence, and eventually it began to

sink in. Finally, in one conversation, he used the word `canonical' in

jargon-like fashion without thinking. Steele: "Aha! We've finally got

you talking jargon too!" Stallman: "What did he say?" Steele: "Bob

just used `canonical' in the canonical way."

Of course, canonicality depends on context, but it is implicitly

defined as