:crock: [from the American scatologism `crock of shit'] n. 1. An
awkward feature or programming technique that ought to be made
cleaner. For example, using small integers to represent error
codes without the program interpreting them to the user (as in, for
example, UNIX `make(1)', which returns code 139 for a process
that dies due to {segfault}). 2. A technique that works
acceptably, but which is quite prone to failure if disturbed in the
least. For example, a too-clever programmer might write an
assembler which mapped instruction mnemonics to numeric opcodes
algorithmically, a trick which depends far too intimately on the
particular bit patterns of the opcodes. (For another example of
programming with a dependence on actual opcode values, see {The
Story of Mel, a Real Programmer} in {Appendix A}.) Many crocks
have a tightly woven, almost completely unmodifiable structure.
See {kluge}, {brittle}. The adjectives `crockish' and
`crocky', and the nouns `crockishness' and `crockitude', are
also used.
-- The AI Hackers Dictionary
awkward feature or programming technique that ought to be made
cleaner. For example, using small integers to represent error
codes without the program interpreting them to the user (as in, for
example, UNIX `make(1)', which returns code 139 for a process
that dies due to {segfault}). 2. A technique that works
acceptably, but which is quite prone to failure if disturbed in the
least. For example, a too-clever programmer might write an
assembler which mapped instruction mnemonics to numeric opcodes
algorithmically, a trick which depends far too intimately on the
particular bit patterns of the opcodes. (For another example of
programming with a dependence on actual opcode values, see {The
Story of Mel, a Real Programmer} in {Appendix A}.) Many crocks
have a tightly woven, almost completely unmodifiable structure.
See {kluge}, {brittle}. The adjectives `crockish' and
`crocky', and the nouns `crockishness' and `crockitude', are
also used.
-- The AI Hackers Dictionary
Related:
- crock n.
[from the American scatologism `crock of
shit'] 1.
An awkward feature or programming technique that ought to be made cleaner.... - bare metal n.
1. [common] New computer hardware,
unadorned with such snares and delusions as an operating system, an
bit bashing needed to create these basic tools
for a new machine.
Real bare-metal programming involves things like building boot proms and BIOS chips, implementing basic monitors used to test device drivers, and writing the assemblers that will be used to write the compiler back ends that will give the new machine a real development environment.... - languages of choice: n. {C} and {LISP}. Nearly every
hacker knows one of these, and most good ones are fluent in both.
Smalltalk and Prolog are also popular in small but influential communities.... - ANSI /an'see/
1. n. [techspeak] The American National
Standards Institute.
ANSI, along with the International Organization for Standards (ISO), standardized the C programming language (see K&... - winner: 1. n. An unexpectedly good situation, program, programmer,
or person.
2. `real winner': Often sarcastic, but also used as high praise (see also the note under {user}).... - eat hack: n. 1. A clever technique. 2. A brilliant practical
joke, where neatness is correlated with cleverness, harmlessness,
and surprise value.
Example: the Caltech Rose Bowl card display switch (see "{The Meaning of `Hack'}", appendix A).... - ad-hockery: /ad-hok'*r-ee/ [Purdue] n. 1. Gratuitous assumptions
made inside certain programs, esp.
expert systems, which lead to the appearance of semi-intelligent behavior but are in fact entirely arbitrary.... - andomness: n. 1. An inexplicable misfeature; gratuitous
inelegance.
2. A {hack} or {crock} that depends on a complex combination of coincidences (or, possibly, the combination upon which the crock depends for its accidental failure to malfunction).... - kluge /klooj/
[from the German `klug', clever; poss.
related to Polish `klucz' (a key, a hint, a main point)] 1....
