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The New Hacker's Dictionary

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491

In jargon, the full phrase is sometimes heard but the [5850]abbrev GC is more frequently used because it is shorter. Note that there is an ambiguity in usage that has to be resolved by context: "I'm going to garbage-collect my desk" usually means to clean out the drawers, but it could also mean to throw away or recycle the desk itself.

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Node:GCOS, Next:[5851]GECOS, Previous:[5852]GC, Up:[5853]= G =

GCOS /jee'kohs/ n.

A [5854]quick-and-dirty [5855]clone of System/360 DOS that emerged from GE around 1970; originally called GECOS (the General Electric Comprehensive Operating System). Later kluged to support primitive timesharing and transaction processing. After the buyout of GE's computer division by Honeywell, the name was changed to General Comprehensive Operating System (GCOS). Other OS groups at Honeywell began referring to it as `God's Chosen Operating System', allegedly in reaction to the GCOS crowd's uninformed and snotty attitude about the superiority of their product. All this might be of zero interest, except for two facts: (1) The GCOS people won the political war, and this led in the orphaning and eventual death of Honeywell [5856]Multics, and (2) GECOS/GCOS left one permanent mark on Unix. Some early Unix systems at Bell Labs used GCOS machines for print spooling and various other services; the field added to /etc/passwd to carry GCOS ID information was called the `GECOS field' and survives today as the pw---gecos member used for the user's full name and other human-ID information. GCOS later played a major role in keeping Honeywell a dismal also-ran in the mainframe market, and was itself mostly ditched for Unix in the late 1980s when Honeywell began to retire its aging [5857]big iron designs.

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Node:GECOS, Next:[5858]gedanken, Previous:[5859]GCOS, Up:[5860]=

G =

492

GECOS /jee'kohs/ n.

See [5861]GCOS.

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Node:gedanken, Next:[5862]geef, Previous:[5863]GECOS, Up:[5864]= G

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gedanken /g*-dahn'kn/ adj.

Ungrounded; impractical; not well-thought-out; untried; untested.

`Gedanken' is a German word for `thought'. A thought experiment is one you carry out in your head. In physics, the term `gedanken experiment' is used to refer to an experiment that is impractical to carry out, but useful to consider because it can be reasoned about theoretically. (A classic gedanken experiment of relativity theory involves thinking about a man in an elevator accelerating through space.) Gedanken experiments are very useful in physics, but must be used with care. It's too easy to idealize away some important aspect of the real world in constructing the `apparatus'.

Among hackers, accordingly, the word has a pejorative connotation. It is typically used of a project, especially one in artificial intelligence research, that is written up in grand detail (typically as a Ph.D. thesis) without ever being implemented to any great extent. Such a project is usually perpetrated by people who aren't very good hackers or find programming distasteful or are just in a hurry. A `gedanken thesis' is usually marked by an obvious lack of intuition about what is programmable and what is not, and about what does and does not constitute a clear specification of an algorithm. See also [5865]AI-complete, [5866]DWIM.

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Node:geef, Next:[5867]geek code, Previous:[5868]gedanken, Up:[5869]= G =

493

geef v.

[ostensibly from `gefingerpoken'] vt. Syn. [5870]mung. See also [5871]blinkenlights.

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Node:geek code, Next:[5872]geek out, Previous:[5873]geef, Up:[5874]= G

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geek code n.

(also "Code of the Geeks"). A set of codes commonly used in [5875]sig blocks to broadcast the interests, skills, and aspirations of the poster. Features a G at the left margin followed by numerous letter codes, often suffixed with plusses or minuses. Because many net users are involved in computer science, the most common prefix is `GCS'. To see a copy of the current code, browse [5876]http://www.geekcode.com. Here is a sample geek code (that of Robert Hayden, the code's inventor) from that page:

-----BEGIN GEEK CODE BLOCK----- Version: 3.1 GED/J d-- s:++>: a- C++(++++)$ ULUO++ P+>+++ L++ !E---- W+(---) N+++ o+ K+++ w+(---) O- M+$>++ V-- PS++(+++)>$ PE++(+)>$ Y++ PGP++ t- 5+++ X++ R+++>$ tv+ b+ DI+++ D+++ G+++++>$ e++$>++++ h r-- y+**

------END GEEK CODE BLOCK------

The geek code originated in 1993; it was inspired (according to the inventor) by previous "bear", "smurf" and "twink" style-and-sexual-preference codes from lesbian and gay [5877]newsgroups. It has in turn spawned imitators; there is now even a "Saturn geek code" for owners of the Saturn car. See also [5878]computer geek.

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Node:geek out, Next:[5879]gen, Previous:[5880]geek code, Up:[5881]= G

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494

geek out vi.

To temporarily enter techno-nerd mode while in a non-hackish context, for example at parties held near computer equipment. Especially used when you need to do or say something highly technical and don't have time to explain: "Pardon me while I geek out for a moment." See [5882]computer geek; see also [5883]propeller head.

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Node:gen, Next:[5884]gender mender, Previous:[5885]geek out, Up:[5886]= G =

gen /jen/ n.,v.

Short for [5887]generate, used frequently in both spoken and written contexts.

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Node:gender mender, Next:[5888]General Public Virus,

Previous:[5889]gen, Up:[5890]= G =

gender mender n.

[common] A cable connector shell with either two male or two female connectors on it, used to correct the mismatches that result when some [5891]loser didn't understand the RS232C specification and the distinction between DTE and DCE. Used esp. for RS-232C parts in either the original D-25 or the IBM PC's bogus D-9 format. Also called `gender bender', `gender blender', `sex changer', and even `homosexual adapter;' however, there appears to be some confusion as to whether a `male homosexual adapter' has pins on both sides (is doubly male) or sockets on both sides (connects two males).

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495

Node:General Public Virus, Next:[5892]generate, Previous:[5893]gender mender, Up:[5894]= G =

General Public Virus n.

Pejorative name for some versions of the [5895]GNU project [5896]copyleft or General Public License (GPL), which requires that any tools or [5897]apps incorporating copylefted code must be source-distributed on the same anti-proprietary terms as GNU stuff. Thus it is alleged that the copyleft `infects' software generated with GNU tools, which may in turn infect other software that reuses any of its code. The Free Software Foundation's official position as of January 1991 is that copyright law limits the scope of the GPL to "programs textually incorporating significant amounts of GNU code", and that the `infection' is not passed on to third parties unless actual GNU source is transmitted. Nevertheless, widespread suspicion that the [5898]copyleft language is `boobytrapped' has caused many developers to avoid using GNU tools and the GPL. Changes in the language of the version 2.0 GPL did not eliminate this problem.

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Node:generate, Next:[5899]Genius From Mars Technique, Previous:[5900]General Public Virus, Up:[5901]= G =

generate vt.

To produce something according to an algorithm or program or set of rules, or as a (possibly unintended) side effect of the execution of an algorithm or program. The opposite of [5902]parse. This term retains its mechanistic connotations (though often humorously) when used of human behavior. "The guy is rational most of the time, but mention nuclear energy around him and he'll generate [5903]infinite flamage."

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496

Node:Genius From Mars Technique, Next:[5904]gensym,

Previous:[5905]generate, Up:[5906]= G =

Genius From Mars Technique n.

[TMRC] A visionary quality which enables one to ignore the standard approach and come up with a totally unexpected new algorithm. An attack on a problem from an offbeat angle that no one has ever thought of before, but that in retrospect makes total sense. Compare [5907]grok, [5908]zen.

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Node:gensym, Next:[5909]Get a life!, Previous:[5910]Genius From Mars Technique, Up:[5911]= G =

gensym /jen'sim/

[from MacLISP for `generated symbol'] 1. v. To invent a new name for something temporary, in such a way that the name is almost certainly not in conflict with one already in use. 2. n. The resulting name. The canonical form of a gensym is `Gnnnn' where nnnn represents a number; any LISP hacker would recognize G0093 (for example) as a gensym. 3. A freshly generated data structure with a gensymmed name. Gensymmed names are useful for storing or uniquely identifying crufties (see [5912]cruft).

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Node:Get a life!, Next:[5913]Get a real computer!,

Previous:[5914]gensym, Up:[5915]= G =

Get a life! imp.

Hacker-standard way of suggesting that the person to whom it is directed has succumbed to terminal geekdom (see [5916]computer geek). Often heard on [5917]Usenet, esp. as a way of suggesting that the target is taking some obscure issue of [5918]theology too seriously. This exhortation was

497

popularized by William Shatner on a 1987 "Saturday Night Live" episode in a speech that ended "Get a life!", but some respondents believe it to have been in use before then. It was certainly in wide use among hackers for years before achieving mainstream currency via the sitcom "Get A Life" in 1990.

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Node:Get a real computer!, Next:[5919]GFR, Previous:[5920]Get a life!, Up:[5921]= G =

Get a real computer! imp.

Typical hacker response to news that somebody is having trouble getting work done on a system that (a) is single-tasking, (b) has no hard disk, or (c) has an address space smaller than 16 megabytes. This is as of early 1996; note that the threshold for `real computer' rises with time. See [5922]bitty box and [5923]toy.

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Node:GFR, Next:[5924]gib, Previous:[5925]Get a real computer!, Up:[5926]= G =

GFR /G-F-R/ vt.

[ITS: from `Grim File Reaper', an ITS and LISP Machine utility] To remove a file or files according to some program-automated or semi-automatic manual procedure, especially one designed to reclaim mass storage space or reduce name-space clutter (the original GFR actually moved files to tape). Often generalized to pieces of data below file level. "I used to have his phone number, but I guess I [5927]GFRed it." See also [5928]prowler, [5929]reaper. Compare [5930]GC, which discards only provably worthless stuff.

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498

Node:gib, Next:[5931]GIFs at 11, Previous:[5932]GFR, Up:[5933]= G =

gib /jib/

1. vi. To destroy utterly. Like [5934]frag, but much more violent and final. "There's no trace left. You definitely gibbed that bug". 2. n. Remnants after total obliteration.

Originated first by id software in the game Quake. It's short for giblets (thus pronounced "jib"), and referred to the bloody remains of slain opponents. Eventually the word was verbed, and leaked into general usage afterward.

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Node:GIFs at 11, Next:[5935]gig, Previous:[5936]gib, Up:[5937]= G =

GIFs at 11

[Fidonet] Fidonet alternative to [5938]film at 11, especially in echoes (Fidonet topic areas) where uuencoded GIFs are permitted. Other formats, especially JPEG and MPEG, may be referenced instead.

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Node:gig, Next:[5939]giga-, Previous:[5940]GIFs at 11, Up:[5941]= G =

gig /jig/ or /gig/ n.

[SI] See [5942]quantifiers.

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Node:giga-, Next:[5943]GIGO, Previous:[5944]gig, Up:[5945]= G =

giga- /ji'ga/ or /gi'ga/ pref.

499

[SI] See [5946]quantifiers.

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Node:GIGO, Next:[5947]gilley, Previous:[5948]giga-, Up:[5949]= G =

GIGO /gi:'goh/ [acronym]

1. `Garbage In, Garbage Out' -- usually said in response to [5950]lusers who complain that a program didn't "do the right thing" when given imperfect input or otherwise mistreated in some way. Also commonly used to describe failures in human decision making due to faulty, incomplete, or imprecise data. 2. `Garbage In, Gospel Out': this more recent expansion is a sardonic comment on the tendency human beings have to put excessive trust in `computerized' data.

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Node:gilley, Next:[5951]gillion, Previous:[5952]GIGO, Up:[5953]= G =

gilley n.

[Usenet] The unit of analogical [5954]bogosity. According to its originator, the standard for one gilley was "the act of bogotoficiously comparing the shutting down of 1000 machines for a day with the killing of one person". The milligilley has been found to suffice for most normal conversational exchanges.

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Node:gillion, Next:[5955]ginger, Previous:[5956]gilley, Up:[5957]= G =

gillion /gil'y*n/ or /jil'y*n/ n.

[formed from [5958]gigaby analogy with mega/million and tera/trillion] 10^9. Same as an American billion or a British `milliard'. How one

500

pronounces this depends on whether one speaks [5959]gigawith a hard or soft `g'.

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Node:ginger, Next:[5960]GIPS, Previous:[5961]gillion, Up:[5962]= G =

ginger n.

See [5963]saga.

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Node:GIPS, Next:[5964]glark, Previous:[5965]ginger, Up:[5966]= G =

GIPS /gips/ or /jips/ n.

[analogy with [5967]MIPS] Giga-Instructions per Second (also possibly `Gillions of Instructions per Second'; see [5968]gillion). In 1991, this is used of only a handful of highly parallel machines, but this is expected to change. Compare [5969]KIPS.

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Node:glark, Next:[5970]glass, Previous:[5971]GIPS, Up:[5972]= G =

glark /glark/ vt.

To figure something out from context. "The System III manuals are pretty poor, but you can generally glark the meaning from context." Interestingly, the word was originally `glork'; the context was "This gubblick contains many nonsklarkish English flutzpahs, but the overall pluggandisp can be glorked [sic] from context" (David Moser, quoted by Douglas Hofstadter in his "Metamagical Themas" column in the January 1981 "Scientific American"). It is conjectured that hacker usage mutated the verb to `glark' because [5973]glork was already an established jargon term (some hackers

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