Jargon File

Jargon File

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firebottle n.obs. A large, primitive, power-hungry active electrical device, similar in function to a FET but constructed out of glass, metal, and vacuum.
Characterized by high cost, low ...
firefighting n. 1. What sysadmins have to do to correct sudden operational problems.
An opposite of hacking. "Been hacking your new newsreader?...
firehose syndrome n. In mainstream folklore it is observed that trying to drink from a firehose can be a good way to rip your lips off.
On computer networks, the absence or failure of flow ...
firewall code n. 1. The code you put in a system (say, a telephone switch) to make sure that the users can't do any damage.
Since users always want to be able to do everything but never wa...
firewall machine n. A dedicated gateway machine with special security precautions on it, used to service outside network connections and dial-in lines.
The idea is to protect a cluster of ...
fireworks mode n. 1. The mode a machine is sometimes said to be in when it is performing a crash and burn operation.
2. There is (or was) a more specific meaning of this term in the Amiga...
firmware /ferm'weir/ n. Embedded software contained in EPROM or flash memory.
It isn't quite hardware, but at least doesn't have to be loaded from a disk like regular software....
firmy /fer'mee/ n. Syn. stiffy (a 3.5-inch floppy disk).
fish n. [Adelaide University, Australia] 1. Another metasyntactic variable.
See foo....
FISH queue n. [acronym, by analogy with FIFO (First In, First Out)] `First In, Still Here'.

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