:dd: /dee-dee/ [UNIX: from IBM {JCL}] vt. Equivalent to
{cat} or {BLT}. Originally the name of a UNIX copy command
with special options suitable for block-oriented devices; it was
often used in heavy-handed system maintenance, as in "Let's
`dd' the root partition onto a tape, then use the boot PROM to
load it back on to a new disk". The UNIX `dd(1)' was
designed with a weird, distinctly non-UNIXy keyword option syntax
reminiscent of IBM System/360 JCL (which had an elaborate DD
`Dataset Definition' specification for I/O devices); though the
command filled a need, the interface design was clearly a prank.
The jargon usage is now very rare outside UNIX sites and now nearly
obsolete even there, as `dd(1)' has been {deprecated} for a
long time (though it has no exact replacement). The term has been
displaced by {BLT} or simple English `copy'.
-- The AI Hackers Dictionary
{cat} or {BLT}. Originally the name of a UNIX copy command
with special options suitable for block-oriented devices; it was
often used in heavy-handed system maintenance, as in "Let's
`dd' the root partition onto a tape, then use the boot PROM to
load it back on to a new disk". The UNIX `dd(1)' was
designed with a weird, distinctly non-UNIXy keyword option syntax
reminiscent of IBM System/360 JCL (which had an elaborate DD
`Dataset Definition' specification for I/O devices); though the
command filled a need, the interface design was clearly a prank.
The jargon usage is now very rare outside UNIX sites and now nearly
obsolete even there, as `dd(1)' has been {deprecated} for a
long time (though it has no exact replacement). The term has been
displaced by {BLT} or simple English `copy'.
-- The AI Hackers Dictionary
Related:
- dd /dee-dee/ vt.
[Unix: from IBM JCL] Equivalent to
cat or BLT.
Originally the name of a Unix copy command with special options suitable for block-oriented device... - cat: [from `catenate' via {{UNIX}} `cat(1)'] vt.
1.
[techspeak] To spew an entire file to the screen or some other output sink without pause.... - cat [from `catenate' via Unix cat(1)] vt.
1. [techspeak] To spew an entire file to the screen or some other
output sink without pause.
2. By extension, to dump large amounts of data at an unprepared target or with no intention of browsing it carefully.... - wab: /swob/ [From the mnemonic for the PDP-11 `SWAp Byte'
instruction, as immortalized in the `dd(1)' option `conv=swab'
(see {dd})] 1.
vt. To solve the {NUXI problem} by swapping bytes in a file.... - flush: v. 1. To delete something, usually superfluous, or to abort
an operation.
All that nonsense has been flushed." 2. [UNIX/C] To force buffered I/O to disk, as with an `fflush(3)' call.... - JCL: /J-C-L/ n. 1. IBM's supremely {rude} Job Control
Language.
JCL is the script language used to control the execution of programs in IBM's batch systems.... - flush v.
1. [common] To delete something, usually
superfluous, or to abort an operation.
All that nonsense has been flushed." 2. [Unix/C] To force buffered I/O to disk, as with an fflush(3) call.... - EOF: /E-O-F/ [abbreviation, `End Of File'] n. 1. [techspeak] The
{out-of-band} value returned by C's sequential character-input
functions (and their equivalents in other environments) when end of
file has been reached.
This value is -1 under C libraries postdating V6 UNIX, but was originally 0.... - uke: /n[y]ook/ vt. 1. To intentionally delete the entire
contents of a given directory or storage volume.
On UNIX, `rm -r /usr' will nuke everything in the usr filesystem....
