gen /jen/ n.,v.
Short for generate, used
frequently in both spoken and written contexts.
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gender mender n.
[common] A cable connector shell with either two male or two
female connectors on it, used to correct the mismatches that
result when some loser didn't
understand the RS232C specification and the distinction between
DTE and DCE. Used esp. for RS-232C parts in either the original
D-25 or the IBM PC's bogus D-9 format. Also called `gender
bender', `gender blender', `sex changer', and even `homosexual
adapter;' however, there appears to be some confusion as to
whether a `male homosexual adapter' has pins on both sides (is
doubly male) or sockets on both sides (connects two males).
Node:General Public Virus,
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General Public Virus n.
Pejorative name for some versions of the GNU project copyleft or General Public License (GPL),
which requires that any tools or apps
incorporating copylefted code must be source-distributed on the
same anti-proprietary terms as GNU stuff. Thus it is alleged that
the copyleft `infects' software generated with GNU tools, which
may in turn infect other software that reuses any of its code.
The Free Software Foundation's official position as of January
1991 is that copyright law limits the scope of the GPL to
"programs textually incorporating significant amounts of GNU
code", and that the `infection' is not passed on to third parties
unless actual GNU source is transmitted. Nevertheless, widespread
suspicion that the copyleft
language is `boobytrapped' has caused many developers to avoid
using GNU tools and the GPL. Changes in the language of the
version 2.0 GPL did not eliminate this problem.
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Technique, Previous:General Public Virus, Up:= G =
generate vt.
To produce something according to an algorithm or program or
set of rules, or as a (possibly unintended) side effect of the
execution of an algorithm or program. The opposite of parse. This term retains its mechanistic
connotations (though often humorously) when used of human
behavior. "The guy is rational most of the time, but mention
nuclear energy around him and he'll generate infinite flamage."
Node:Genius From Mars
Technique, Next:gensym,
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Genius From Mars Technique n.
[TMRC] A visionary quality which enables one to ignore the
standard approach and come up with a totally unexpected new
algorithm. An attack on a problem from an offbeat angle that no
one has ever thought of before, but that in retrospect makes
total sense. Compare grok, zen.
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Technique, Up:= G =
gensym /jen'sim/
[from MacLISP for `generated symbol'] 1. v. To invent a new
name for something temporary, in such a way that the name is
almost certainly not in conflict with one already in use. 2. n.
The resulting name. The canonical form of a gensym is `Gnnnn'
where nnnn represents a number; any LISP hacker would recognize
G0093 (for example) as a gensym. 3. A freshly generated data
structure with a gensymmed name. Gensymmed names are useful for
storing or uniquely identifying crufties (see cruft).
Node:Get a life!, Next:Get a real
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=
Get a life! imp.
Hacker-standard way of suggesting that the person to whom it
is directed has succumbed to terminal geekdom (see computer geek). Often heard on Usenet, esp. as a way of suggesting that
the target is taking some obscure issue of theology too seriously. This exhortation was
popularized by William Shatner on a 1987 "Saturday Night Live"
episode in a speech that ended "Get a life!", but some
respondents believe it to have been in use before then. It was
certainly in wide use among hackers for years before achieving
mainstream currency via the sitcom "Get A Life" in 1990.
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computer!, Next:GFR,
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Get a real computer! imp.
Typical hacker response to news that somebody is having
trouble getting work done on a system that (a) is single-tasking,
(b) has no hard disk, or (c) has an address space smaller than 16
megabytes. This is as of early 1996; note that the threshold for
`real computer' rises with time. See bitty box and toy.