The New Hacker's Dictionary
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Node:EXCH, Next:[4677]excl, Previous:[4678]examining the entrails, Up:[4679]= E =
EXCH /eks'ch*/ or /eksch/ vt.
To exchange two things, each for the other; to swap places. If you point to two people sitting down and say "Exch!", you are asking them to trade places. EXCH, meaning EXCHange, was originally the name of a PDP-10 instruction that exchanged the contents of a register and a memory location. Many newer hackers are probably thinking instead of the [4680]PostScript exchange operator (which is usually written in lowercase).
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Node:excl, Next:[4681]EXE, Previous:[4682]EXCH, Up:[4683]= E =
excl /eks'kl/ n.
Abbreviation for `exclamation point'. See [4684]bang, [4685]shriek, [4686]ASCII.
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Node:EXE, Next:[4687]exec, Previous:[4688]excl, Up:[4689]= E =
EXE /eks'ee/ or /eek'see/ or /E-X-E/ n.
An executable binary file. Some operating systems (notably MS-DOS, VMS, and TWENEX) use the extension .EXE to mark such files. This usage is also occasionally found among Unix programmers even though Unix executables don't have any required suffix.
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Node:exec, Next:[4690]exercise left as an, Previous:[4691]EXE, Up:[4692]= E =
402
exec /eg-zek'/ or /eks'ek/ vt., n.
1. [Unix: from `execute'] Synonym for [4693]chain, derives from the exec(2) call. 2. [from `executive'] obs. The command interpreter for an [4694]OS (see [4695]shell); term esp. used around mainframes, and prob. derived from UNIVAC's archaic EXEC 2 and EXEC 8 operating systems. 3. At IBM and VM/CMS shops, the equivalent of a shell command file (among VM/CMS users).
The mainstream `exec' as an abbreviation for (human) executive is not used. To a hacker, an `exec' is a always a program, never a person.
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Node:exercise left as an, Next:[4696]Exon, Previous:[4697]exec, Up:[4698]= E =
exercise, left as an adj.
[from technical books] Used to complete a proof when one doesn't mind a [4699]handwave, or to avoid one entirely. The complete phrase is: "The proof [or `the rest'] is left as an exercise for the reader." This comment has occasionally been attached to unsolved research problems by authors possessed of either an evil sense of humor or a vast faith in the capabilities of their audiences.
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Node:Exon, Next:[4700]Exploder, Previous:[4701]exercise left as an, Up:[4702]= E =
Exon /eks'on/ excl.
A generic obscenity that quickly entered wide use on the Internet and Usenet after [4703]Black Thursday. From the last name of Senator James Exon (Democrat-Nebraska), primary author of the [4704]CDA.
403
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Node:Exploder, Next:[4705]exploit, Previous:[4706]Exon, Up:[4707]= E =
Exploder n.
Used within Microsoft to refer to the Windows Explorer, the interface component of Windows 95 and WinNT 4. Our spies report that most of the heavy guns at MS came from a Unix background and use command line utilities; even they are scornful of the over-gingerbreaded [4708]WIMP environments that they have been called upon to create.
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Node:exploit, Next:[4709]external memory, Previous:[4710]Exploder, Up:[4711]= E =
exploit n.
[originally cracker slang] 1. A vulnerability in software that can be used for breaking security or otherwise attacking an Internet host over the network. The [4712]Ping O' Death is a famous exploit. 2. More grammatically, a program that exploits an exploit in sense 1,
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Node:external memory, Next:[4713]eye candy, Previous:[4714]exploit, Up:[4715]= E =
external memory n.
A memo pad, palmtop computer, or written notes. "Hold on while I write that to external memory". The analogy is with store or DRAM versus nonvolatile disk storage on computers.
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Node:eye candy, Next:[4716]eyeball search, Previous:[4717]external memory, Up:[4718]= E =
eye candy /i:' kand`ee/ n.
[from mainstream slang "ear candy"] A display of some sort that's presented to [4719]lusers to keep them distracted while the program performs necessary background tasks. "Give 'em some eye candy while the back-end [4720]slurps that [4721]BLOB into core." Reported as mainstream usage among players of graphics-heavy computer games. We're also told this term is mainstream slang for soft pornography, but that sense does not appear to be live among hackers.
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Node:eyeball search, Next:[4722]face time, Previous:[4723]eye candy, Up:[4724]= E =
eyeball search n.,v.
To look for something in a mass of code or data with one's own native optical sensors, as opposed to using some sort of pattern matching software like [4725]grep or any other automated search tool. Also called a [4726]vgrep; compare [4727]vdiff, [4728]desk check.
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Node:= F =, Next:[4729]= G =, Previous:[4730]= E =, Up:[4731]The Jargon Lexicon
= F =
* [4732]face time:
* [4733]factor:
405
*[4734]fairings:
*[4735]fall over:
*[4736]fall through:
*[4737]fan:
*[4738]fandango on core:
*[4739]FAQ:
*[4740]FAQ list:
*[4741]FAQL:
*[4742]faradize:
*[4743]farkled:
*[4744]farming:
*[4745]fascist:
*[4746]fat electrons:
*[4747]fat-finger:
*[4748]faulty:
*[4749]fd leak:
*[4750]fear and loathing:
*[4751]feature:
406
*[4752]feature creature:
*[4753]feature creep:
*[4754]feature key:
*[4755]feature shock:
*[4756]featurectomy:
*[4757]feep:
*[4758]feeper:
*[4759]feeping creature:
*[4760]feeping creaturism:
*[4761]feetch feetch:
*[4762]fence:
*[4763]fencepost error:
*[4764]fiber-seeking backhoe:
*[4765]FidoNet:
*[4766]field circus:
*[4767]field servoid:
*[4768]Fight-o-net:
*[4769]File Attach:
407
*[4770]File Request:
*[4771]file signature:
*[4772]filk:
*[4773]film at 11:
*[4774]filter:
*[4775]Finagle's Law:
*[4776]fine:
*[4777]finger:
*[4778]finger trouble:
*[4779]finger-pointing syndrome:
*[4780]finn:
*[4781]firebottle:
*[4782]firefighting:
*[4783]firehose syndrome:
*[4784]firewall code:
*[4785]firewall machine:
*[4786]fireworks mode:
*[4787]firmware:
408
*[4788]firmy:
*[4789]fish:
*[4790]FISH queue:
*[4791]FITNR:
*[4792]fix:
*[4793]FIXME:
*[4794]flag:
*[4795]flag day:
*[4796]flaky:
*[4797]flamage:
*[4798]flame:
*[4799]flame bait:
*[4800]flame on:
*[4801]flame war:
*[4802]flamer:
*[4803]flap:
*[4804]flarp:
*[4805]flash crowd:
409
*[4806]flat:
*[4807]flat-ASCII:
*[4808]flat-file:
*[4809]flatten:
*[4810]flavor:
*[4811]flavorful:
*[4812]flippy:
*[4813]flood:
*[4814]flowchart:
*[4815]flower key:
*[4816]flush:
*[4817]flypage:
*[4818]Flyspeck 3:
*[4819]flytrap:
*[4820]FM:
*[4821]fnord:
*[4822]FOAF:
*[4823]FOD:
410
*[4824]fold case:
*[4825]followup:
*[4826]fontology:
*[4827]foo:
*[4828]foobar:
*[4829]fool:
*[4830]fool file:
*[4831]Foonly:
*[4832]footprint:
*[4833]for free:
*[4834]for the rest of us:
*[4835]for values of:
*[4836]fora:
*[4837]foreground:
*[4838]fork:
*[4839]fork bomb:
*[4840]forked:
*[4841]Fortrash: