unixism /n./ A piece of code or a coding technique that depends on the protected multi-tasking environment with relatively low process-spawn overhead that exists on virtual-memory Unix systems.
= V =
VAX /vaks/ /n./ 1. [from Virtual Address eXtension] The most successful minicomputer design in industry history, possibly excepting its immediate ancestor, the PDP-11. Between its release in 1978 and its eclipse by killer micros after about 1986, the VAX was probably the hacker's favorite machine of them all. Esp. noted for its large, assembler-programmer-friendly instruction set -- an asset that became a liability after the RISC revolution.
VAXectomy /vak-sek't*-mee/ /n./ [by analogy with `vasectomy'] A VAX removal.
VAXen /vak'sn/ /n./ [from `oxen', perhaps influenced by `vixen'] (alt. `vaxen') The plural canonically used among hackers for the DEC VAX computers. "Our installation has four PDP-10s and twenty vaxen."
vgrep /vee'grep/ /v.,n./ Visual grep. The operation of finding patterns in a file optically rather than digitally (also called an `optical grep').
vi /V-I/, not /vi:/ and never /siks/ /n./ [from `Visual Interface'] A screen editor crufted together by Bill Joy for an early BSD release. Became the de facto standard Unix editor and a nearly undisputed hacker favorite outside of MIT until the rise of EMACS after about 1984.
voice /vt./ To phone someone, as opposed to emailing them or connecting in talk mode. "I'm busy now; I'll voice you later."
voice-net /n./ Hackish way of referring to the telephone system, analogizing it to a digital network. Usenet sig blocks not uncommonly include the sender's phone next to a "Voice:" or "Voice-Net:" header; common variants of this are "Voicenet" and "V-Net". Compare paper-net, snail-mail.
= W =
WAITS /wayts/ /n./ The mutant cousin of TOPS-10 used on a handful of systems at SAIL up to 1990. There was never an `official' expansion of WAITS (the name itself having been arrived at by a rather sideways process), but it was frequently glossed as `West-coast Alternative to ITS'. Though WAITS was less visible than ITS, there was frequent exchange of people and ideas between the two communities, and innovations pioneered at WAITS exerted enormous indirect influence.
war dialer /n./ A cracking tool, a program that calls a given list or range of phone numbers and records those which answer with handshake tones (and so might be entry points to computer or telecommunications systems). Some of these programs have become quite sophisticated, and can now detect modem, fax, or PBX tones and log each one separately. The war dialer is one of the most important tools in the phreaker's kit. These programs evolved from early demon dialers.
warez /weirz/ /n./ Widely used in cracker subcultures to denote cracked version of commercial software, that is versions from which copy-protection has been stripped. Hackers recognize this term but don't use it themselves. warez d00dz /weirz doodz/ /n./ A substantial subculture of crackers refer to themselves as `warez d00dz'. Warez d00dz get illegal copies of copyrighted software. If it has copy protection on it, they break the protection so the software can be copied. Then they distribute it around the world via several gateways.
The contrast with Internet hackers is stark and instructive.
Weenix /wee'niks/ /n./ [ITS] A derogatory term for Unix, derived from Unix weenie. According to one noted ex-ITSer, it is "the operating system preferred by Unix Weenies: typified by poor modularity, poor reliability, hard file deletion, no file version numbers, case sensitivity everywhere, and users who believe that these are all advantages".
whacker /n./ [University of Maryland: from hacker] 1. A person, similar to a hacker, who enjoys exploring the details of programmable systems and how to stretch their capabilities. Whereas a hacker tends to produce great hacks, a whacker only ends up whacking the system or program in question.
2.A person who is good at programming quickly, though rather poorly.
win [MIT] 1. /vi./ To succeed. A program wins if no unexpected conditions arise. 2. /n./ Success, or a specific instance thereof, a pleasing outcome. "What a win!" Emphatic forms: `moby win', `super win', `hyper-win' (often used interjectively as a reply). `Suitable win' is also common at MIT, usually in reference to a satisfactory solution to a problem.
Ant.: lose
win big /vi./ To experience serendipity. "I went shopping and won big; there was a 2-for-1 sale."
win win /excl./ Expresses pleasure at a win.
winnage /win'*j/ /n./ The situation when a lossage is corrected, or when something is winning.
winner 1. /n./ An unexpectedly good situation, program, programmer, or person. 2. `real winner': Often sarcastic, but also used as high praise. "He's a real winner -- never reports a bug till he can duplicate it and send in an example."
winnitude /win'*-t[y]ood/ /n./ The quality of winning (as opposed to winnage, which is the result of winning).
= X =
X /X/ /n./ 1. Used in various speech and writing contexts in roughly its algebraic sense of `unknown within a set defined by context'. Thus, the abbreviation 680x0 stands for 68000, 68010, 68020, 68030, or 68040, and 80x86 stands for 80186, 80286 80386 or 80486.
2. [after the name of an earlier window system called `W'] An over-sized and over-complicated window system developed at MIT and widely used on Unix systems.
xref /X'ref/ /v.,n./ Hackish standard abbreviation for `cross-reference'.
XXX /X-X-X/ /n./ A marker that attention is needed. Commonly used in program comments to indicate areas that are kluged up or need to be.
Appendix
Poe Revisited, Computer Style
Once upon a midnight dreary, fingers cramped and vision bleary,
System manuals piled high and wasted paper on the floor
Longing for the warmth of bed sheets,
Still I sat there, doing spreadsheets;
Having reached the bottom line,
I took a floppy from the drawer.
Typing with a steady hand, then invoked the SAVE command
But I got a reprimand: it read "Abort, Retry, Ignore."
Was this some occult illusion? Some maniacal intrusion?
These were choices Solomon himself had never faced before.
Carefully, I weighed my options.
These three seemed to be the top ones.
Clearly I must now adopt one:
Choose "Abort, Retry, Ignore."
With my fingers pale and trembling,
Slowly toward the keyboard bending,
Longing for a happy ending, hoping all would be restored,
Praying for some guarantee
Finally I pressed a key--
But on the screen what did I see?
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