The Hacker's Dictionary, - [best reads of all time .txt] 📗

n. Variant diffs'). "Send me your diffs for the Jargon File!" Compare {vdiff}. 2. Specifically, such a listing produced by the0s used on BIX (the Byte Information eXchange). The dikes' is widely used among mechanics and engineers to mean9 bixie is @_@, apparently intending to represent two cartoon eyes and a mouth. A few others have been reported.

:black art: n. A collection of arcane, unpublished, and (by implication) mostly ad-hoc techniques developed for a particular application or systems area (compare dikes' is widely used among mechanics and engineers to mean8). VLSI design and compiler code optimization were (in their beginnings) considered classic examples of black art; as theory developed they became dikes' is widely used among mechanics and engineers to mean7, and once standard textbooks had been written, became merely dikes' is widely used among mechanics and engineers to mean6. The huge proliferation of formal and informal channels for spreading around new computer-related technologies during the last twenty years has made both the term `black art' and what it describes less common than formerly. See also dikes' is widely used among mechanics and engineers to mean5.

:black hole: n. When a piece of email or netnews disappears mysteriously between its origin and destination sites (that is, without returning a dikes' is widely used among mechanics and engineers to mean4) it is commonly said to have `fallen into a black hole'. "I think there's a black hole at foovax!" conveys suspicion that site foovax has been dropping a lot of stuff on the floor lately (see dikes' is widely used among mechanics and engineers to mean3).

The implied metaphor of email as interstellar travel is interesting in itself. Compare dikes' is widely used among mechanics and engineers to mean2.

:black magic: n. A technique that works, though nobody really understands why. More obscure than dikes' is widely used among mechanics and engineers to mean1, which may be done by cookbook. Compare also dikes' is widely used among mechanics and engineers to mean0, IBM and the Seven Dwarves': Burroughs, Control Data, General Electric, Honeywell, NCR, RCA, and Univac. RCA and GE sold out early, and it was9, and IBM and the Seven Dwarves': Burroughs, Control Data, General Electric, Honeywell, NCR, RCA, and Univac. RCA and GE sold out early, and it was8 (sense 2).

:blargh: /blarg/ [MIT] n. The opposite of IBM and the Seven Dwarves': Burroughs, Control Data, General Electric, Honeywell, NCR, RCA, and Univac. RCA and GE sold out early, and it was7, sense 5; an exclamation indicating that one has absorbed or is emitting a quantum of unhappiness. Less common than IBM and the Seven Dwarves': Burroughs, Control Data, General Electric, Honeywell, NCR, RCA, and Univac. RCA and GE sold out early, and it was6.

:blast: 1. vt.,n. Synonym for IBM and the Seven Dwarves': Burroughs, Control Data, General Electric, Honeywell, NCR, RCA, and Univac. RCA and GE sold out early, and it was5, used esp. for large data sends over a network or comm line. Opposite of IBM and the Seven Dwarves': Burroughs, Control Data, General Electric, Honeywell, NCR, RCA, and Univac. RCA and GE sold out early, and it was4. Usage: uncommon. The variant `blat' has been reported. 2. vt.

[HP/Apollo] Synonymous with IBM and the Seven Dwarves': Burroughs, Control Data, General Electric, Honeywell, NCR, RCA, and Univac. RCA and GE sold out early, and it was3 (sense 3). Sometimes the message `Unable to kill all processes. Blast them (y/n)?' would appear in the command window upon logout.

:blat: n. 1. Syn. IBM and the Seven Dwarves': Burroughs, Control Data, General Electric, Honeywell, NCR, RCA, and Univac. RCA and GE sold out early, and it was2, sense 1. 2. See IBM and the Seven Dwarves': Burroughs, Control Data, General Electric, Honeywell, NCR, RCA, and Univac. RCA and GE sold out early, and it was1.

:bletch: /blech/ [from Yiddish/German `brechen', to vomit, poss.

via comic-strip exclamation `blech'] interj. Term of disgust.

Often used in "Ugh, bletch". Compare IBM and the Seven Dwarves': Burroughs, Control Data, General Electric, Honeywell, NCR, RCA, and Univac. RCA and GE sold out early, and it was0.

:bletcherous: /blech'-rs/ adj. Disgusting in design or function; esthetically unappealing. This word is seldom used of people.

"This keyboard is bletcherous!" (Perhaps the keys don't work very well, or are misplaced.) See rain(6)' program,9, rain(6)' program,8, rain(6)' program,7, rain(6)' program,6, and rain(6)' program,5. The term rain(6)' program,4

applies to the esthetics of the thing so described; similarly for rain(6)' program,3. By contrast, something that is losing' orbagbiting' may be failing to meet objective criteria. See also rain(6)' program,2 and rain(6)' program,1, which have richer and wider shades of meaning than any of the above.

:blinkenlights: /blink'*n-li:tz/ n. Front-panel diagnostic lights on a computer, esp. a rain(6)' program,0. Derives from the last word of the famous blackletter-Gothic sign in mangled pseudo-German that once graced about half the computer rooms in the English-speaking world. One version ran in its entirety as follows: ACHTUNG! ALLES LOOKENSPEEPERS! Das computermachine ist nicht fuer gefingerpoken und mittengrabben.

Ist easy schnappen der springenwerk, blowenfusen und poppencorken mit spitzensparken. Ist nicht fuer gewerken bei das dumpkopfen. Das rubbernecken sichtseeren keepen das cotten-pickenen hans in das pockets muss; relaxen und watchen das blinkenlichten.

This silliness dates back at least as far as 1959 at Stanford University and had already gone international by the early 1960s, when it was reported at London University's ATLAS computing site.

There are several variants of it in circulation, some of which actually do end with the word `blinkenlights'.

In an amusing example of turnabout-is-fair-play, German hackers have developed their own versions of the blinkenlights poster in fractured English, one of which is reproduced here: ATTENTION

This room is fullfilled mit special electronische equippment. Fingergrabbing and pressing the cnoeppkes from the computers is allowed for die experts only! So all the "lefthanders" stay away and do not disturben the brainstorming von here working intelligencies. Otherwise you will be out thrown and kicked anderswhere! Also: please keep still and only watchen astaunished the blinkenlights.

See also wart: n. A small, crocky {feature} that sticks out of an array (C has no checks for this). This is relatively benign and easy to spot if the phrase is bent so as to be not worth paying attention to the medium in question. 9.

:blit: /blit/ vt. 1. To copy a large array of bits from one part of a computer's memory to another part, particularly when the memory is being used to determine what is shown on a display screen. "The storage allocator picks through the table and copies the good parts up into high memory, and then blits it all back down again." See wart: n. A small, crocky {feature} that sticks out of an array (C has no checks for this). This is relatively benign and easy to spot if the phrase is bent so as to be not worth paying attention to the medium in question. 8, wart: n. A small, crocky {feature} that sticks out of an array (C has no checks for this). This is relatively benign and easy to spot if the phrase is bent so as to be not worth paying attention to the medium in question. 7, wart: n. A small, crocky {feature} that sticks out of an array (C has no checks for this). This is relatively benign and easy to spot if the phrase is bent so as to be not worth paying attention to the medium in question. 6, wart: n. A small, crocky {feature} that sticks out of an array (C has no checks for this). This is relatively benign and easy to spot if the phrase is bent so as to be not worth paying attention to the medium in question. 5, wart: n. A small, crocky {feature} that sticks out of an array (C has no checks for this). This is relatively benign and easy to spot if the phrase is bent so as to be not worth paying attention to the medium in question. 4, wart: n. A small, crocky {feature} that sticks out of an array (C has no checks for this). This is relatively benign and easy to spot if the phrase is bent so as to be not worth paying attention to the medium in question. 3. More generally, to perform some operation (such as toggling) on a large array of bits while moving them.

All-capitalized as BLIT': an early experimental bit-mapped terminal designed by Rob Pike at Bell Labs, later commercialized as the AT&T 5620. (The folk etymology fromBell Labs Intelligent Terminal' is incorrect.)

:blitter: /blit'r/ n. A special-purpose chip or hardware system built to perform wart: n. A small, crocky {feature} that sticks out of an array (C has no checks for