To remove or disable a portion of something, as a
wire from a computer or a subroutine from a program. A standard
slogan is "When in doubt, dike it out". (The implication is that
it is usually more effective to attack software problems by
reducing complexity than by increasing it.) The word `dikes' is
widely used among mechanics and engineers to mean `diagonal
cutters', esp. the heavy-duty metal-cutting version, but may also
refer to a kind of wire-cutters used by electronics techs. To
`dike something out' means to use such cutters to remove
something. Indeed, the TMRC Dictionary defined dike as "to attack
with dikes". Among hackers this term has been metaphorically
extended to informational objects such as sections of code.
