• Jargon Lexicon

    Search the Jargon File, a comprehensive compendium of hacker slang illuminating many aspects of hackish tradition, folklore, and humor.

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  • Meat for the hacker's diet

    The Jargon File is great by itself, but it also has plenty of references to invaluable resources, born from the quintessence of the hacker community. For your convenience we have compiled the list of all books that have been mentioned throughout the Jargon File. Here's a random example:

    Programming Perl

    Programming Perl

    Larry Wall, Tom Christiansen, Jon Orwant. O'Reilly Media, Inc.; 3 edition (July 14, 2000). ISBN 0-596-00027-8.

    Programming Perl is the definitive guide to the language. Perl is the scripting utility that has established itself as the programming tool of choice for the World Wide Web, UNIX system administration, and a vast range of other applications. Perl is a language for easily manipulating text, files, and processes. It provides a more concise and readable way to do many jobs that were formerly accomplished (with difficulty) by programming with C or one of the shells. Perl is likely to be available wherever you choose to work. And if it isn't, you can get it and install it easily and free of charge.

    This book has been mentioned in the following pages of the Jargon File: Camel Book, Perl, TMTOWTDI.



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  • Random terms

    Cancelmoose[tm]

    Cancelmoose[tm] /kan´sel·moos/

    [Usenet] The archetype and model of all good spam-fighters. Once upon a time, the 'Moose would send out spam-cancels and then post notice anonymously to news.admin.policy, news.admin.misc, and alt.current-events.net-abuse. The 'Moose stepped to the fore on its own initiative, at a time (mid-1994) when spam-cancels were irregular and disorganized, and behaved altogether admirably — fair, even-handed, and quick to respond to comments and criticism, all without self-aggrandizement or martyrdom. Cancelmoose[tm] quickly gained near-unanimous support from the readership of all three above-mentioned groups.

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    bletch

    bletch /blech/ interj.

    [very common; from Yiddish/German ‘brechen’, to vomit, poss. via comic-strip exclamation ‘blech’] Term of disgust. Often used in “Ugh, bletch”. Compare barf.

    mutter

    mutter vt.

    To quietly enter a command not meant for the ears, eyes, or fingers of ordinary mortals. Often used in “mutter an incantation”. See also wizard.