The New Hacker's Dictionary, Eric S. Raymond [bill gates book recommendations .txt] 📗

hopping, Previous:[2544]chain,

Up:[2545]= C =

channel n.

[IRC] The basic unit of discussion on [2546]IRC. Once one joins a

channel, everything one types is read by others on that channel.

Channels are named with strings that begin with a `#' sign and can

have topic descriptions (which are generally irrelevant to the actual

subject of discussion). Some notable channels are #initgame, #hottub,

callahans, and #report. At times of international crisis, #report has

hundreds of members, some of whom take turns listening to various news

services and typing in summaries of the news, or in some cases, giving

first-hand accounts of the action (e.g., Scud missile attacks in Tel

Aviv during the Gulf War in 1991).

Node:channel hopping, Next:[2547]channel op, Previous:[2548]channel,

Up:[2549]= C =

channel hopping n.

[common; IRC, GEnie] To rapidly switch channels on [2550]IRC, or a

GEnie chat board, just as a social butterfly might hop from one group

to another at a party. This term may derive from the TV watcher's

idiom, `channel surfing'.

Node:channel op, Next:[2551]chanop, Previous:[2552]channel hopping,

Up:[2553]= C =

channel op /chan'l op/ n.

[IRC] Someone who is endowed with privileges on a particular [2554]IRC

channel; commonly abbreviated chanop' orCHOP' or just `op' (as of

2000 these short forms have almost crowded out the parent usage).

These privileges include the right to [2555]kick users, to change

various status bits, and to make others into CHOPs.

Node:chanop, Next:[2556]char, Previous:[2557]channel op, Up:[2558]= C

=

chanop /chan'-op/ n.

[IRC] See [2559]channel op.

Node:char, Next:[2560]charityware, Previous:[2561]chanop, Up:[2562]= C

=

char /keir/ or /char/; rarely, /kar/ n.

Shorthand for character'. Esp. used by C programmers, aschar' is

C's typename for character data.

Node:charityware, Next:[2563]chase pointers, Previous:[2564]char,

Up:[2565]= C =

charityware /cha'rit-ee-weir`/ n.

Syn. [2566]careware.

Node:chase pointers, Next:[2567]chawmp, Previous:[2568]charityware,

Up:[2569]= C =

chase pointers

vi. To go through multiple levels of indirection, as in traversing

a linked list or graph structure. Used esp. by programmers in C, where

explicit pointers are a very common data type. This is techspeak, but

it remains jargon when used of human networks. "I'm chasing pointers.

Bob said you could tell me who to talk to about...." See

[2570]dangling pointer and [2571]snap. 2. [Cambridge] `pointer chase'

or `pointer hunt': The process of going through a [2572]core dump

(sense 1), interactively or on a large piece of paper printed with hex

[2573]runes, following dynamic data-structures. Used only in a

debugging context.

Node:chawmp, Next:[2574]check, Previous:[2575]chase pointers,

Up:[2576]= C =

chawmp n.

[University of Florida] 16 or 18 bits (half of a machine word). This

term was used by FORTH hackers during the late 1970s/early 1980s; it

is said to have been archaic then, and may now be obsolete. It was

coined in revolt against the promiscuous use of `word' for anything

between 16 and 32 bits; `word' has an additional special meaning for

FORTH hacks that made the overloading intolerable. For similar

reasons, /gaw'bl/ (spelled gawble' or possiblygawbul') was in use

as a term for 32 or 48 bits (presumably a full machine word, but our

sources are unclear on this). These terms are more easily understood

if one thinks of them as faithful phonetic spellings of `chomp' and

`gobble' pronounced in a Florida or other Southern U.S. dialect. For

general discussion of similar terms, see [2577]nybble.

Node:check, Next:[2578]cheerfully, Previous:[2579]chawmp, Up:[2580]= C

=

check n.

A hardware-detected error condition, most commonly used to refer to

actual hardware failures rather than software-induced traps. E.g., a

`parity check' is the result of a hardware-detected parity error.

Recorded here because the word often humorously extended to

non-technical problems. For example, the term `child check' has been

used to refer to the problems caused by a small child who is curious

to know what happens when s/he presses all the cute buttons on a

computer's console (of course, this particular problem could have been

prevented with [2581]molly-guards).

Node:cheerfully, Next:[2582]chemist, Previous:[2583]check, Up:[2584]=

C =

cheerfully adv.

See [2585]happily.

Node:chemist, Next:[2586]Chernobyl chicken, Previous:[2587]cheerfully,

Up:[2588]= C =

chemist n.

[Cambridge] Someone who wastes computer time on [2589]number-crunching

when you'd far rather the machine were doing something more

productive, such as working out anagrams of your name or printing

Snoopy calendars or running [2590]life patterns. May or may not refer

to someone who actually studies chemistry.

Node:Chernobyl chicken, Next:[2591]Chernobyl packet,

Previous:[2592]chemist, Up:[2593]= C =

Chernobyl chicken n.

See [2594]laser chicken.

Node:Chernobyl packet, Next:[2595]chicken head,

Previous:[2596]Chernobyl chicken, Up:[2597]= C =

Chernobyl packet /cher-noh'bl pak't/ n.

A network packet that induces a [2598]broadcast storm and/or

[2599]network meltdown, in memory of the April 1986 nuclear accident

at Chernobyl in Ukraine. The typical scenario involves an IP Ethernet

datagram that passes through a gateway with both source and

destination Ether and IP address set as the respective broadcast

addresses for the subnetworks being gated between. Compare

[2600]Christmas tree packet.

Node:chicken head, Next:[2601]chiclet keyboard,

Previous:[2602]Chernobyl packet, Up:[2603]= C =

chicken head n.

[Commodore] The Commodore Business Machines logo, which strongly

resembles a poultry part (within Commodore itself the logo was always

called chicken lips'). Rendered in ASCII asC='. With the arguable

exception of the Amiga (see [2604]amoeba), Commodore's machines were

notoriously crocky little [2605]bitty boxes (see also [2606]PETSCII),

albeit people have written multitasking Unix-like operating systems

with TCP/IP networking for them. Thus, this usage may owe something to

Philip K. Dick's novel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" (the

basis for the movie "Blade Runner"; the novel is now sold under that

title), in which a `chickenhead' is a mutant with below-average

intelligence.

Node:chiclet keyboard, Next:[2607]Chinese Army technique,

Previous:[2608]chicken head, Up:[2609]= C =

chiclet keyboard n.

A keyboard with a small, flat rectangular or lozenge-shaped rubber or

plastic keys that look like pieces of chewing gum. (Chiclets is the

brand name of a variety of chewing gum that does in fact resemble the

keys of chiclet keyboards.) Used esp. to describe the original IBM

PCjr keyboard. Vendors unanimously liked these because they were

cheap, and a lot of early portable and laptop products got launched

using them. Customers rejected the idea with almost equal unanimity,

and chiclets are not often seen on anything larger than a digital

watch any more.

Node:Chinese Army technique, Next:[2610]choad, Previous:[2611]chiclet

keyboard, Up:[2612]= C =

Chinese Army technique n.

Syn. [2613]Mongolian Hordes technique.

Node:choad, Next:[2614]choke, Previous:[2615]Chinese Army technique,

Up:[2616]= C =

choad /chohd/ n.

Synonym for `penis' used in alt.tasteless and popularized by the

denizens thereof. They say: "We think maybe it's from Middle English

but we're all too damned lazy to check the OED." [I'm not. It isn't.

--ESR] This term is alleged to have been inherited through 1960s

underground comics, and to have been recently sighted in the Beavis

and Butthead cartoons. Speakers of the Hindi, Bengali and Gujarati

languages have confirmed that `choad' is in fact an Indian vernacular

word equivalent to `fuck'; it is therefore likely to have entered

English slang via the British Raj.

Node:choke, Next:[2617]chomp, Previous:[2618]choad, Up:[2619]= C =

choke v.

[common] To reject input, often ungracefully. "NULs make System V's

lpr(1) choke." "I tried building an [2620]EMACS binary to use [2621]X,

but cpp(1) choked on all those #defines." See [2622]barf, [2623]gag,

[2624]vi. 2. [MIT] More generally, to fail at any endeavor, but with

some flair or bravado; the popular definition is "to snatch defeat

from the jaws of victory."

Node:chomp, Next:[2625]chomper, Previous:[2626]choke, Up:[2627]= C =

chomp vi.

To [2628]lose; specifically, to chew on something of which more was

bitten off than one can. Probably related to gnashing of teeth. 2. To

bite the bag; See [2629]bagbiter.

A hand gesture commonly accompanies this. To perform it, hold the four

fingers together and place the thumb against their tips. Now open and

close your hand rapidly to suggest a biting action (much like what

Pac-Man does in the classic video game, though this pantomime seems to

predate that). The gesture alone means `chomp chomp' (see "[2630]Verb

Doubling" in the "[2631]Jargon Construction" section of the

Prependices). The hand may be pointed at the object of complaint, and

for real emphasis you can use both hands at once. Doing this to a

person is equivalent to saying "You chomper!" If you point the gesture

at yourself, it is a humble but humorous admission of some failure.

You might do this if someone told you that a program you had written

had failed in some surprising way and you felt dumb for not having

anticipated it.

Node:chomper, Next:[2632]CHOP, Previous:[2633]chomp, Up:[2634]= C =

chomper n.

Someone or something that is chomping; a loser. See [2635]loser,

[2636]bagbiter, [2637]chomp.

Node:CHOP, Next:[2638]Christmas tree, Previous:[2639]chomper,

Up:[2640]= C =

CHOP /chop/ n.

[IRC] See [2641]channel op.

Node:Christmas tree, Next:[2642]Christmas tree packet,

Previous:[2643]CHOP, Up:[2644]= C =

Christmas tree n.

A kind of RS-232 line tester or breakout box featuring rows of

blinking red and green LEDs suggestive of Christmas lights.

Node:Christmas tree packet, Next:[2645]chrome,

Previous:[2646]Christmas tree, Up:[2647]= C =

Christmas tree packet n.

A packet with every single option set for whatever protocol is in use.

See [2648]kamikaze packet, [2649]Chernobyl packet. (The term doubtless

derives from a fanciful image of each little option bit being

represented by a different-colored light bulb, all turned on.) Compare

[2650]Godzillagram.

Node:chrome, Next:[2651]chug, Previous:[2652]Christmas tree packet,

Up:[2653]= C =

chrome n.

[from automotive slang via wargaming] Showy features added to attract

users but contributing little or nothing to the power of a system.

"The 3D icons in Motif are just chrome, but they certainly are pretty

chrome!" Distinguished from [2654]bells and whistles by the fact that

the latter are usually added to gratify developers' own desires for

featurefulness. Often used as a term of contempt.

Node:chug, Next:[2655]Church of the SubGenius, Previous:[2656]chrome,

Up:[2657]= C =

chug vi.

To run slowly; to [2658]grind or [2659]grovel. "The disk is chugging

like crazy."

Node:Church of the SubGenius, Next:[2660]Cinderella Book,

Previous:[2661]chug, Up:[2662]= C =

Church of the SubGenius n.

A mutant offshoot of [2663]Discordianism launched in 1981 as a spoof

of fundamentalist Christianity by the `Reverend' Ivan Stang, a

brilliant satirist with a gift for promotion. Popular among hackers as

a rich source of bizarre imagery and references such as "Bob" the

divine drilling-equipment salesman, the Benevolent Space Xists, and

the Stark Fist of Removal. Much SubGenius theory is concerned with the

acquisition of the mystical substance or quality of [2664]slack. There

is a home page at [2665]http://www.subgenius.com/.

Node:Cinderella Book, Next:[2666]CI$, Previous:[2667]Church of the

SubGenius, Up:[2668]= C =

Cinderella Book [CMU] n.

"Introduction to Automata Theory, Languages, and Computation", by John

Hopcroft and Jeffrey Ullman, (Addison-Wesley, 1979). So called because

the cover depicts a girl (putatively Cinderella) sitting in front of a

Rube Goldberg device and holding a rope coming out of it. On the back

cover, the device is in shambles after she has (inevitably) pulled on

the rope. See also [2669]book titles.

Node:CI$, Next:[2670]Classic C, Previous:[2671]Cinderella Book,

Up:[2672]= C =

CI$ // n.

Hackerism for `CIS', CompuServe Information Service. The dollar sign

refers to CompuServe's rather steep line charges. Often used in

[2673]sig blocks just before a CompuServe address. Syn.

[2674]Compu$erve.

Node:Classic C, Next:[2675]clean, Previous:[2676]CI$, Up:[2677]= C =

Classic C /klas'ik C/ n.

[a play on `Coke Classic'] The C programming language as defined in

the first edition of [2678]K&R, with some small additions. It is also

known as `K&R C'. The name came into use while C was being

standardized by the ANSI X3J11 committee. Also `C Classic'.

An analogous construction is sometimes applied elsewhere: thus, `X

Classic', where X = Star Trek (referring to the original TV series) or

X = PC (referring to IBM's ISA-bus machines as opposed to the PS/2

series). This construction is especially used of product series in

which the newer versions are considered serious losers relative to the

older ones.

Node:clean, Next:[2679]CLM, Previous:[2680]Classic C, Up:[2681]= C =

clean 1. adj.

Used of hardware or software designs, implies `elegance in the small',

that is, a design or implementation that may not hold any surprises

but does things