:wirewater: /n./ Syn. {programming fluid}. This melds the mainstream slang adjective `wired' (stimulated, up, hyperactive) with `firewater'; however, it refers to caffeinacious rather than alcoholic beverages.
:wish list: /n./ A list of desired features or bug fixes that probably won't get done for a long time, usually because the person responsible for the code is too busy or can't think of a clean way to do it. "OK, I'll add automatic filename completion to the wish list for the new interface." Compare {tick-list features}.
:within delta of: /adj./ See {delta}.
:within epsilon of: /adj./ See {epsilon}.
:wizard: /n./ 1. A person who knows how a complex piece of software or hardware works (that is, who {grok}s it); esp. someone who can find and fix bugs quickly in an emergency. Someone is a {hacker} if he or she has general hacking ability, but is a wizard with respect to something only if he or she has specific detailed knowledge of that thing. A good hacker could become a wizard for something given the time to study it. 2. A person who is permitted to do things forbidden to ordinary people; one who has {wheel} privileges on a system. 3. A Unix expert, esp. a Unix systems programmer. This usage is well enough established that `Unix Wizard' is a recognized job title at some corporations and to most headhunters. See {guru}, {lord high fixer}. See also {deep magic}, {heavy wizardry}, {incantation}, {magic}, {mutter}, {rain dance}, {voodoo programming}, {wave a dead chicken}.
:Wizard Book: /n./ "Structure and Interpretation of
Computer Programs" (Hal Abelson, Jerry Sussman and Julie Sussman;
MIT Press, 1984, 1996; ISBN 0-262-01153-0), an excellent computer
science
text used in introductory courses at MIT. So called because of
the wizard on the jacket. One of the {bible}s of the
LISP/Scheme world. Also, less commonly, known as the {Purple
Book}.
:wizard mode: /n./ [from {rogue}] A special access mode of a program or system, usually passworded, that permits some users godlike privileges. Generally not used for operating systems themselves (`root mode' or `wheel mode' would be used instead). This term is often used with respect to games that have editable state.
:wizardly: /adj./ Pertaining to wizards. A wizardly
{feature} is one that only a wizard could understand or use
properly.
:wok-on-the-wall: /n./ A small microwave dish antenna used for
cross-campus private network circuits, from the obvious resemblance
between a microwave dish and the Chinese culinary utensil.
:womb box: /n./ 1. [TMRC] Storage space for equipment. 2. [proposed] A variety of hard-shell equipment case with heavy interior padding and/or shaped carrier cutouts in a foam-rubber matrix; mundanely called a `flight case'. Used for delicate test equipment, electronics, and musical instruments.