regexp /reg'eksp/ n.
[Unix] (alt. `regex' or `reg-ex') 1. Common written and spoken
abbreviation for `regular expression', one of the wildcard patterns
used, e.g., by Unix utilities such as grep(1), sed(1), and awk(1).
These use conventions similar to but more elaborate than those
described under glob. For purposes of this lexicon, it is sufficient to
note that regexps also allow complemented character sets using ^; thus,
one can specify `any non-alphabetic character' with [^A-Za-z]. 2. Name
of a well-known PD regexp-handling package in portable C, written by
revered Usenetter Henry Spencer.
Node:register dancing, Next:rehi, Previous:regexp, Up:=
R =
register dancing n.
Many older processor architectures suffer from a serious
shortage of general-purpose registers. This is especially a
problem for compiler-writers, because their generated code needs
places to store temporaries for things like intermediate values
in expression evaluation. Some designs with this problem, like
the Intel 80x86, do have a handful of special-purpose registers
that can be pressed into service, providing suitable care is
taken to avoid unpleasant side effects on the state of the
processor: while the special-purpose register is being used to
hold an intermediate value, a delicate minuet is required in
which the previous value of the register is saved and then
restored just before the official function (and value) of the
special-purpose register is again needed.
Node:rehi, Next:reincarnation cycle of,
Previous:register
dancing, Up:= R =
rehi
[IRC, MUD] "Hello again." Very commonly used to greet people
upon returning to an IRC channel after channel hopping.
Node:reincarnation cycle
of, Next:reinvent the wheel, Previous:rehi, Up:= R =
reincarnation, cycle of n.
See cycle of
reincarnation.
Node:reinvent the wheel,
Next:relay rape,
Previous:reincarnation cycle of, Up:= R =
reinvent the wheel v.
To design or implement a tool equivalent to an existing one or
part of one, with the implication that doing so is silly or a
waste of time. This is often a valid criticism. On the other
hand, automobiles don't use wooden rollers, and some kinds of
wheel have to be reinvented many times before you get them right.
On the third hand, people reinventing the wheel do tend to come
up with the moral equivalent of a trapezoid with an offset
axle.
Node:relay rape, Next:religion of CHI, Previous:reinvent the wheel,
Up:= R =
relay rape n.
The hijacking of a third party's unsecured mail server to
deliver spam.
Node:religion of CHI, Next:religious issues,
Previous:relay rape,
Up:= R =
religion of CHI /ki:/ n.
[Case Western Reserve University] Yet another hackish parody
religion (see also Church of the SubGenius,
Discordianism). In the
mid-70s, the canonical "Introduction to Programming" courses at
CWRU were taught in Algol, and student exercises were punched on
cards and run on a Univac 1108 system using a homebrew operating
system named CHI. The religion had no doctrines and but one
ritual: whenever the worshipper noted that a digital clock read
11:08, he or she would recite the phrase "It is 11:08; ABS,
ALPHABETIC, ARCSIN, ARCCOS, ARCTAN." The last five words were the
first five functions in the appropriate chapter of the Algol
manual; note the special pronunciations /obz/ and /ark'sin/
rather than the more common /ahbz/ and /ark'si:n/. Using an alarm
clock to warn of 11:08's arrival was considered harmful.