Jargon File

Jargon File

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dev/null /dev-nuhl/ n. [from the Unix null device, used as a data sink] A notional `black hole' in any information space being discussed, used, or referred to.
A controversial posting, f...
dickless workstation n.
dictionary flame n. [Usenet] An attempt to sidetrack a debate away from issues by insisting on meanings for key terms that presuppose a desired conclusion or smuggle in an implicit premise.
...
diddle 1. vt. To work with or modify in a not particularly serious manner.
I diddled a copy of ADVENT so it didn't double-space all the time....
die v. Syn. crash. Unlike crash, which is used primarily of hardware, this verb is used of both hardware and software.
See also go flatline, casters-up mode....
die horribly v. The software equivalent of crash and burn, and the preferred emphatic form of
diff /dif/ n. 1. A change listing, especially giving differences between (and additions to) source code or documents (the term is often used in the plural `diffs').
Send me your diffs fo...
digit n.,obs. An employee of Digital Equipment Corporation.
See also VAX, VMS, PDP-10, TOPS-10, field circus....
dike vt. 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 ...
Dilbert n. Name and title character of a comic strip nationally syndicated in the U.
S. and enormously popular among hackers....

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