Common term for "computer", usually when considered at the
	hardware level.  The {Turing Machine}, an early example of
	this usage, was however neither hardware nor software, but
	only an idea.

	[Earlier use?]

	(1995-02-15)

<operating system> A {directory} in the sense of a collection
	of computer {files}.  The term is more common in systems such
	as the {Macintosh} or {Windows 95} which have a {graphical
	user interface} and provide a graphical {file browser} in
	which directories are traditionally depicted as folders (like
	small briefcases).

	(1997-03-20)

<programming> One of a sequence of copies of a program, each
	incorporating new modifications.  Each version is usually
	identified by a number, commonly of the form X.Y where X is
	the major version number and Y is the release number.
	Typically an increment in X (with Y reset to zero) signifies a
	substantial increase in the function of the program or a
	partial or total re-implementation, whereas Y increases each
	time the progam is changed in any way and re-released.

	Version numbers are useful so that the user can know if the
	program has changed ({bugs} have been fixed or new functions
	added) since he obtained his copy and the programmer can tell
	if a bug report relates to the current version.  It is thus
	always important to state the version when reporting bugs.
	Statements about compatibility between different software
	components should always say which versions they apply to.

	See {change management}.

	(1997-12-07)

<character> (Or "ctrl", "^") One (or a pair) of {modifier
	keys} found on all modern {keyboards}.  If the control key is
	held down while pressing and releasing certain other keys then
	a "{control character}" is generated, e.g. holding control and
	hitting "A" generates control-A ({ASCII} code 1).  The ASCII
	code for the control character is generally 64 less than that
	for the unmodified character.

	The control key does not generate any character on its own but
	most modern keyboards and {operating systems} allow a program
	to tell whether each of the individual keys on the keyboard
	(including modifier keys) is pressed at any time.

	Control characters mostly have some kind of "non-printing"
	effect on the output such as ringing the bell (Control-G) or
	advancing to the next line (Control-J).  Most have alternative
	names suggesting these functions (Bell, Line Feed, etc.).

	See {ASCII character table}.

	(1997-07-10)

<jargon> 1. A good property or behaviour (as of a program).
	Whether it was intended or not is immaterial.

	2. An intended property or behaviour (as of a program).
	Whether it is good or not is immaterial (but if bad, it is
	also a {misfeature}).

	3. A surprising property or behaviour; in particular, one that
	is purposely inconsistent because it works better that way -
	such an inconsistency is therefore a {feature} and not a
	{bug}.  This kind of feature is sometimes called a {miswart}.

	4. A property or behaviour that is gratuitous or unnecessary,
	though perhaps also impressive or cute.  For example, one
	feature of {Common LISP}'s "format" function is the ability to
	print numbers in two different Roman-numeral formats (see
	{bells, whistles, and gongs}).

	5. A property or behaviour that was put in to help someone
	else but that happens to be in your way.

	6. A bug that has been documented.  To call something a
	feature sometimes means the author of the program did not
	consider the particular case, and that the program responded
	in a way that was unexpected but not strictly incorrect.  A
	standard joke is that a bug can be turned into a {feature}
	simply by documenting it (then theoretically no one can
	complain about it because it's in the manual), or even by
	simply declaring it to be good.  "That's not a bug, that's a
	feature!" is a common catch-phrase.  Apparently there is a
	Volkswagen Beetle in San Francisco whose license plate reads
	"FEATURE".

	See also {feetch feetch}, {creeping featurism}, {wart}, {green
	lightning}.

	The relationship among bugs, features, misfeatures, warts and
	miswarts might be clarified by the following hypothetical
	exchange between two hackers on an airliner:

	A: "This seat doesn't recline."

	B: "That's not a bug, that's a feature.  There is an emergency
	exit door built around the window behind you, and the route
	has to be kept clear."

	A: "Oh.  Then it's a misfeature; they should have increased
	the spacing between rows here."

	B: "Yes.  But if they'd increased spacing in only one section
	it would have been a wart - they would've had to make
	nonstandard-length ceiling panels to fit over the displaced
	seats."

	A: "A miswart, actually.  If they increased spacing throughout
	they'd lose several rows and a chunk out of the profit margin.
	So unequal spacing would actually be the Right Thing."

	B: "Indeed."

	"Undocumented feature" is a common euphemism for a {bug}.

	7. An attribute or function of a {class} in {Eiffel}.

	[{Jargon File}]

	(1995-10-22)

<programming> (CVS) A {cross-platform} {code management
	system} originally based on {RCS}.

	CVS tracks all revisions to a file in an associated file with
	the same name as the original file but with the string ",v"
	(for version) appended to the filename.  These files are
	stored in a (possibly centralised) repository.

	Changes are checked in or "committed" along with a comment
	(which appears in the the "commit log").  CVS has the notions
	of projects, branches, file locking and many others needed to
	provide a full-functioned repository.

	It is commonly accessed over over its own "anonCVS" {protocol}
	for read-only access (many {open source} projects are
	available by anonymous CVS) and over the {SSH} protocol by
	those with commit privileges ("committers").

	CVS has been rewritten several times and does not depend on
	RCS.  However, files are still largely compatible; one can
	easily migrate a project from RCS to CVS by copying the
	history files into a CVS repository.  A sub-project of the
	{OpenBSD} project is building a complete new implementation of
	CVS, to be called OpenCVS.

	{CVS Home (http://www.cvshome.org/)}.  {OpenCVS
	(http://www.opencvs.org/)}.

	(2005-01-17)

After-sale handholding; something many software vendors
	promise but few deliver.  To hackers, most support people are
	useless - because by the time a hacker calls support he or she
	will usually know the software and the relevant manuals better
	than the support people (sadly, this is *not* a joke or
	exaggeration).  A hacker's idea of "support" is a tte--tte
	or exchange of {electronic mail} with the software's designer.

	[{Jargon File}]

	(1995-02-15)

1. <programming, operating system> A simple item of data that
	identifies a resource.  For example, a {Unix} file handle
	identifies an open file and associated data such as whether it
	was opened for read or write and the current read/write
	position.  On the {Macintosh}, a handle is a pointer to a
	pointer to some dynamically-allocated memory.  The extra level
	of indirection allows on-the-fly {memory compaction} or
	{garbage collection} without invalidating application program
	references to the allocated memory.

	2. <jargon> An alias used intended to conceal a user's true
	identity in an electronic message.  The term is common on
	Citizen's Band and other amateur radio but, in that context
	usually means the user's real name as {FCC} rules forbid
	concealing one's identity.

	Use of grandiose handles is characteristic of {crackers},
	{weenies}, {spods}, and other lower forms of network life;
	true hackers travel on their own reputations.

	Compare {nick}.

	[{Jargon File}]

	(2004-07-20)