- DIDDLE
- v. To work with in a not particularly serious manner. "I
diddled with a copy of ADVENT so it didn't double-space all the
time." "Let's diddle this piece of code and see if the problem
goes away." See TWEAK and TWIDDLE.
- DIKE
- [from "diagonal cutters"] v. To remove a module or disable it.
"When in doubt, dike it out."
- DMP
- (dump) See BIN.
- DO PROTOCOL
- [from network protocol programming] v. To perform an
interaction with somebody or something that follows a clearly
defined procedure. For example, "Let's do protocol with the check"
at a restaurant means to ask the waitress for the check, calculate
the tip and everybody's share, generate change as necessary, and
pay the bill.
- DOWN
- 1.adj. Not working."The up escalator is down."
2. TAKE DOWN, BRING DOWN:
v. To deactivate, usually for repair work. See UP.
- DPB
- (duh-pib') [from the PDP-10 instruction set] v. To plop something
down in the middle.
- DRAGON
- n. (MIT) A program similar to a "daemon" (q.v.), except that it
is not invoked at all, but is instead used by the system to perform
various secondary tasks. A typical example would be an accounting
program, which keeps track of who is logged in, accumulates load-
average statistics, etc. At MIT, all free TV's display a list of
people logged in, where they are, what they're running, etc. along
with some random picture (such as a unicorn, Snoopy, or the
Enterprise) which is generated by the "NAME DRAGON". See PHANTOM.
- DWIM
- [Do What I Mean]1. adj. Able to guess, sometimes even correctly,
what result was intended when provided with bogus input. Often
suggested in jest as a desired feature for a complex program. A
related term, more often seen as a verb, is DTRT (Do The Right Thing).
2.n. The INTERLISP function that attempts to accomplish
this feat by correcting many of the more common errors. See HAIRY.
- ENGLISH
- n. The source code for a program, which may be in any
language, as opposed to BINARY. Usage: slightly obsolete, used
mostly by old-time hackers, though recognizable in context. At
MIT, directory SYSENG is where the "English" for system programs is
kept, and SYSBIN, the binaries. SAIL has many such directories,
but the canonical one is [CSP,SYS].
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