Chronometer: Precision instrument which registers sharp impacts by displaying
a telltale spiderweb pattern on its glass face, by the absence of
a normal ticking sound when held to the ear, or by the presence
of small, loose pieces moving around within its case when shaken.
It also indicates excess humidity by forming tiny droplets on the
inside of its face, and when stopped, it displays the correct time
twice each day.
-- from "Sailing" by Henry Beard and Roy Mckie
Pascal n.
An Algol-descended language designed by
Niklaus Wirth on the CDC 6600 around 1967-68 as an instructional
tool for elementary programming. This language, designed primarily
to keep students from shooting themselves in the foot and thus
extremely restrictive from a general-purpose-programming point of
view, was later promoted as a general-purpose tool and, in fact,
became the ancestor of a large family of languages including
Modula-2 and Ada (see also bondage-and-discipline l
summed up by a devastating (and, in its deadpan way, screamingly
funny) 1981 paper by Brian Kernighan (of K&...
