:dup loop: /d[y]oop loop/ (also `dupe loop') /n./ [FidoNet]
An infinite stream of duplicated, near-identical messages on a
FidoNet {echo}, the only difference being unique or mangled
identification information applied by a faulty or incorrectly
configured system or network gateway, thus rendering {dup
killer}s ineffective. If such a duplicate message eventually
reaches a system through which it has already passed (with the
original identification information), all systems passed on the way
back to that system are said to be involved in a {dup loop}.
:dusty deck: /n./ Old software (especially applications) which
one is obliged to remain compatible with, or to maintain ({DP}
types call this `legacy code', a term hackers consider smarmy and
excessively reverent). The term implies that the software in
question is a holdover from card-punch days. Used esp. when
referring to old scientific and {number-crunching} software,
much of which was written in FORTRAN and very poorly documented but
is believed to be too expensive to replace. See {fossil};
compare {crawling horror}.
:DWIM: /dwim/ [acronym, `Do What I Mean'] 1. /adj./ Able to
guess, sometimes even correctly, the result intended when bogus
input was provided. 2. /n. obs./ The BBNLISP/INTERLISP function
that
attempted to accomplish this feat by correcting many of the more
common errors. See {hairy}. 3. Occasionally, an interjection
hurled at a balky computer, esp. when one senses one might be
tripping over legalisms (see {legalese}).
Warren Teitelman originally wrote DWIM to fix his typos and spelling errors, so it was somewhat idiosyncratic to his style, and would often make hash of anyone else's typos if they were stylistically different. Some victims of DWIM thus claimed that the acronym stood for `Damn Warren's Infernal Machine!'.
In one notorious incident, Warren added a DWIM feature to the command interpreter used at Xerox PARC. One day another hacker there typed `delete *$' to free up some disk space. (The editor there named backup files by appending `$' to the original file name, so he was trying to delete any backup files left over from old editing sessions.) It happened that there weren't any editor backup files, so DWIM helpfully reported `*$ not found, assuming you meant 'delete *'.' It then started to delete all the files on the disk! The hacker managed to stop it with a {Vulcan nerve pinch} after only a half dozen or so files were lost.
The disgruntled victim later said he had been sorely tempted to go to Warren's office, tie Warren down in his chair in front of his workstation, and then type `delete *$' twice.
DWIM is often suggested in jest as a desired feature for a complex program; it is also occasionally described as the single instruction the ideal computer would have. Back when proofs of program correctness were in vogue, there were also jokes about `DWIMC' (Do What I Mean, Correctly). A related term, more often seen as a verb, is DTRT (Do The Right Thing); see {Right Thing}.
:dynner: /din'r/ /n./ 32 bits, by analogy with {nybble} and {{byte}}. Usage: rare and extremely silly. See also {playte}, {tayste}, {crumb}. General discussion of such terms is under {nybble}.
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:earthquake: /n./ [IBM] The ultimate real-world shock test for computer hardware. Hackish sources at IBM deny the rumor that the Bay Area quake of 1989 was initiated by the company to test quality-assurance procedures at its California plants.