The New Hacker's Dictionary
.pdf1171
holders for buggy whips. "But suppose the parts list for a widget has 52 entries...." 2. [poss. evoking `window gadget'] A user interface object in [14707]X graphical user interfaces.
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Node:wiggles, Next:[14708]WIMP environment, Previous:[14709]widget, Up:[14710]= W =
wiggles n.
[scientific computation] In solving partial differential equations by finite difference and similar methods, wiggles are sawtooth (up-down-up-down) oscillations at the shortest wavelength representable on the grid. If an algorithm is unstable, this is often the most unstable waveform, so it grows to dominate the solution. Alternatively, stable (though inaccurate) wiggles can be generated near a discontinuity by a Gibbs phenomenon.
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Node:WIMP environment, Next:[14711]win, Previous:[14712]wiggles, Up:[14713]= W =
WIMP environment n.
[acronym: `Window, Icon, Menu, Pointing device (or Pull-down menu)'] A graphical-user-interface environment such as [14714]X or the Macintosh interface, esp. as described by a hacker who prefers command-line interfaces for their superior flexibility and extensibility. However, it is also used without negative connotations; one must pay attention to voice tone and other signals to interpret correctly. See [14715]menuitis, [14716]user-obsequious.
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Node:win, Next:[14717]win big, Previous:[14718]WIMP environment, Up:[14719]= W =
win
[MIT; now common everywhere] 1. vi. To succeed. A program wins if no unexpected conditions arise, or (especially) if it sufficiently [14720]robust to take exceptions in stride. 2. n. Success, or a specific instance thereof. A pleasing outcome. "So it turned out I could use a [14721]lexer generator instead of hand-coding my own pattern recognizer. What a win!" Emphatic forms: `moby win', `super win', `hyper-win' (often used interjectively as a reply). For some reason `suitable win' is also common at MIT, usually in reference to a satisfactory solution to a problem. Oppose [14722]lose; see also [14723]big win, which isn't quite just an intensification of `win'.
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Node:win big, Next:[14724]win win, Previous:[14725]win, Up:[14726]= W =
win big vi.
To experience serendipity. "I went shopping and won big; there was a 2-for-1 sale." See [14727]big win.
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Node:win win, Next:[14728]Winchester, Previous:[14729]win big, Up:[14730]= W =
win win excl.
Expresses pleasure at a [14731]win.
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Node:Winchester, Next:[14732]windoid, Previous:[14733]win win, Up:[14734]= W =
Winchester n.
Informal generic term for sealed-enclosure magnetic-disk drives in which the read-write head planes over the disk surface on an air cushion. There is a legend that the name arose because the original 1973 engineering prototype for what later became the IBM 3340 featured two 30-megabyte volumes; 30-30 became `Winchester' when somebody noticed the similarity to the common term for a famous Winchester rifle (in the latter, the first 30 referred to caliber and the second to the grain weight of the charge). (It is sometimes incorrectly claimed that Winchester was the laboratory in which the technology was developed.)
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Node:windoid, Next:[14735]window shopping,
Previous:[14736]Winchester, Up:[14737]= W =
windoid n.
In the Macintosh world, a style of window with much less adornment (smaller or missing title bar, zoom box, etc, etc) than a standard window.
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Node:window shopping, Next:[14738]Windoze, Previous:[14739]windoid, Up:[14740]= W =
window shopping n.
[US Geological Survey] Among users of [14741]WIMP environments like [14742]X or the Macintosh, extended experimentation with new window colors, fonts, and icon shapes. This activity can take up hours of what might otherwise have been productive working time. "I spent the afternoon
1174
window shopping until I found the coolest shade of green for my active window borders -- now they perfectly match my medium slate blue background." Serious window shoppers will spend their days with bitmap editors, creating new and different icons and background patterns for all to see. Also: `window dressing', the act of applying new fonts, colors, etc. See [14743]fritterware, compare [14744]macdink.
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Node:Windoze, Next:[14745]winged comments, Previous:[14746]window shopping, Up:[14747]= W =
Windoze /win'dohz/ n.
See [14748]Microsloth Windows.
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Node:winged comments, Next:[14749]winkey, Previous:[14750]Windoze, Up:[14751]= W =
winged comments n.
Comments set on the same line as code, as opposed to [14752]boxed comments. In C, for example: d = sqrt(x*x + y*y); /* distance from origin */
Generally these refer only to the action(s) taken on that line.
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Node:winkey, Next:[14753]winnage, Previous:[14754]winged comments, Up:[14755]= W =
winkey n.
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(alt. `winkey face') See [14756]emoticon.
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Node:winnage, Next:[14757]winner, Previous:[14758]winkey,
Up:[14759]= W =
winnage /win'*j/ n.
The situation when a lossage is corrected, or when something is winning.
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Node:winner, Next:[14760]winnitude, Previous:[14761]winnage,
Up:[14762]= W =
winner
1. n. An unexpectedly good situation, program, programmer, or person. 2. `real winner': Often sarcastic, but also used as high praise (see also the note under [14763]user). "He's a real winner -- never reports a bug till he can duplicate it and send in an example."
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Node:winnitude, Next:[14764]Wintel, Previous:[14765]winner,
Up:[14766]= W =
winnitude /win'*-t[y]ood/ n.
The quality of winning (as opposed to [14767]winnage, which is the result of winning). "Guess what? They tweaked the microcode and now the LISP interpreter runs twice as fast as it used to." "That's really great! Boy, what winnitude!" "Yup. I'll probably get a half-hour's winnage on the next run of my program." Perhaps curiously, the obvious antonym `lossitude' is rare.
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Node:Wintel, Next:[14768]wired, Previous:[14769]winnitude,
Up:[14770]= W =
Wintel n.
Microsoft Windows plus Intel - the tacit alliance that dominated desktop computing in the 1990s. Now (1999) possibly on the verge of breaking up under pressure from [14771]Linux; see [14772]Lintel.
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Node:wired, Next:[14773]wirehead, Previous:[14774]Wintel, Up:[14775]=
W =
wired n.
See [14776]hardwired.
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Node:wirehead, Next:[14777]wirewater, Previous:[14778]wired,
Up:[14779]= W =
wirehead /wi:r'hed/ n.
[prob. from SF slang for an electrical-brain-stimulation addict] 1. A hardware hacker, especially one who concentrates on communications hardware. 2. An expert in local-area networks. A wirehead can be a network software wizard too, but will always have the ability to deal with network hardware, down to the smallest component. Wireheads are known for their ability to lash up an Ethernet terminator from spare resistors, for example.
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Node:wirewater, Next:[14780]wish list, Previous:[14781]wirehead, Up:[14782]= W =
wirewater n.
Syn. [14783]programming fluid. This melds the mainstream slang adjective `wired' (stimulated, up, hyperactive) with `firewater'; however, it refers to caffeinacious rather than alcoholic beverages.
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Node:wish list, Next:[14784]within delta of, Previous:[14785]wirewater, Up:[14786]= W =
wish list n.
A list of desired features or bug fixes that probably won't get done for a long time, usually because the person responsible for the code is too busy or can't think of a clean way to do it. "OK, I'll add automatic filename completion to the wish list for the new interface." Compare [14787]tick-list features.
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Node:within delta of, Next:[14788]within epsilon of, Previous:[14789]wish list, Up:[14790]= W =
within delta of adj.
See [14791]delta.
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Node:within epsilon of, Next:[14792]wizard, Previous:[14793]within delta of, Up:[14794]= W =
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within epsilon of adj.
See [14795]epsilon.
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Node:wizard, Next:[14796]Wizard Book, Previous:[14797]within epsilon of, Up:[14798]= W =
wizard n.
1. Transitively, a person who knows how a complex piece of software or hardware works (that is, who [14799]groks it); esp. someone who can find and fix bugs quickly in an emergency. Someone is a [14800]hacker if he or she has general hacking ability, but is a wizard with respect to something only if he or she has specific detailed knowledge of that thing. A good hacker could become a wizard for something given the time to study it. 2. The term `wizard' is also used intransitively of someone who has extremely high-level hacking or problem-solving ability. 3. A person who is permitted to do things forbidden to ordinary people; one who has [14801]wheel privileges on a system. 4. A Unix expert, esp. a Unix systems programmer. This usage is well enough established that `Unix Wizard' is a recognized job title at some corporations and to most headhunters. See [14802]guru, [14803]lord high fixer. See also [14804]deep magic, [14805]heavy wizardry, [14806]incantation, [14807]magic, [14808]mutter, [14809]rain dance, [14810]voodoo programming, [14811]wave a dead chicken.
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Node:Wizard Book, Next:[14812]wizard hat, Previous:[14813]wizard, Up:[14814]= W =
Wizard Book n.
"Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs" (Hal Abelson, Jerry Sussman and Julie Sussman; MIT Press, 1984, 1996; ISBN
1179
0-262-01153-0), an excellent computer science text used in introductory courses at MIT. So called because of the wizard on the jacket. One of the [14815]bibles of the LISP/Scheme world. Also, less commonly, known as the [14816]Purple Book.
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Node:wizard hat, Next:[14817]wizard mode, Previous:[14818]Wizard Book, Up:[14819]= W =
wizard hat n.
[also, after Terry Pratchett, `pointy hat'] Notional headgear worn by whoever is the [14820]wizard in a particular context. The implication is that it's a transferable role. "Talk to Alice, she's wearing the TCP/IP wizard hat while Bob is on vacation." This metaphor is sufficiently live that one may actually see hackers miming the act of putting on, taking off, or transferring a phantom hat. Compare [14821]patch pumpkin.
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Node:wizard mode, Next:[14822]wizardly, Previous:[14823]wizard hat, Up:[14824]= W =
wizard mode n.
[from [14825]rogue] A special access mode of a program or system, usually passworded, that permits some users godlike privileges. Generally not used for operating systems themselves (`root mode' or `wheel mode' would be used instead). This term is often used with respect to games that have editable state.
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Node:wizardly, Next:[14826]wok-on-the-wall, Previous:[14827]wizard mode, Up:[14828]= W =
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wizardly adj.
Pertaining to wizards. A wizardly [14829]feature is one that only a wizard could understand or use properly.
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Node:wok-on-the-wall, Next:[14830]womb box,
Previous:[14831]wizardly, Up:[14832]= W =
wok-on-the-wall n.
A small microwave dish antenna used for cross-campus private network circuits, from the obvious resemblance between a microwave dish and the Chinese culinary utensil.
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Node:womb box, Next:[14833]WOMBAT,
Previous:[14834]wok-on-the-wall, Up:[14835]= W =
womb box n.
1. [TMRC] Storage space for equipment. 2. [proposed] A variety of hard-shell equipment case with heavy interior padding and/or shaped carrier cutouts in a foam-rubber matrix; mundanely called a `flight case'. Used for delicate test equipment, electronics, and musical instruments.
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Node:WOMBAT, Next:[14836]womble, Previous:[14837]womb box, Up:[14838]= W =
WOMBAT /wom'bat/ adj.