WhatIs

/li-tᵊl-endē-ən/

adj. Describes a computer architecture in which, within a given 16- or 32-bit word, bytes at lower addresses have lower significance (the word is stored 'little-end-first'). The PDP-11 and VAX families of computers and Intel microprocessors and a lot of communications and networking hardware are little-endian.

See big-endian, middle-endian, NUXI problem.

/li-tə-rə-ˌchu̇r, t͟hə/

n. Computer-science journals and other publications, vaguely gestured at to answer a question that the speaker believes is trivial. Thus, one might answer an annoying question by saying

"It's in the literature."

Oppose Knuth, which has no connotation of triviality.

/list prä-ˌses-iŋ laŋ-gwij/

[from LISt Processing language, but mythically from Lots of Irritating Superfluous Parentheses]

/lī-əns bu̇k/

n. 'Source Code and Commentary on UNIX level 6', by John Lions. The two parts of this book contained (1) the entire source listing of the UNIX Version 6 kernel, and (2) a commentary on the source discussing the algorithms. These were circulated internally at the University of New South Wales beginning 1976-77, and were for years after the *only* detailed kernel documentation available to anyone outside Bell Labs.

/lī-ən füd/

[IBM]

n. Middle management or HQ staff (by extension, administrative drones in general). From an old joke about two lions who, escaping from the zoo, split up to increase their chances but agreed to meet after 2 months. When they finally meet, one is skinny and the other overweight.

The thin one says: "How did you manage? I ate a human just once and they turned out a small army to chase me -- guns, nets, it was terrible. Since then I've been reduced to eating mice, insects, even grass."

/lint/

[from UNIX's 'lint(1)', named perhaps for the bits of fluff it picks from programs]

1. vt. To examine a program closely for style, language usage, and portability problems, esp. if in C, esp. if via use of automated analysis tools, most esp. if the UNIX utility 'lint(1)' is used. This term used to be restricted to use of 'lint(1)' itself, but (judging by references on USENET) it has become a shorthand for desk check at some non-UNIX shops, even in languages other than C. Also as v. delint.

/liŋk ded/

[MUD]

adj. Said of a MUD character who has frozen in place because of a dropped Internet connection.

/liŋk färm/

[UNIX]

n. A directory tree that contains many links to files in a master directory tree of files. Link farms save space when (for example) one is maintaining several nearly identical copies of the same source tree, e.g., when the only difference is architecture-dependent object files.

"Let's freeze the source and then rebuild the FROBOZZ-3 and FROBOZZ-4 link farms."

Link farms may also be used to get around restrictions on the number of '-I' (include-file directory) arguments on older C preprocessors.

/lɪŋk/

Link refers to a digital connection that seamlessly joins web content, enabling users to navigate effortlessly between different pages or resources on the internet. Also known as a hyperlink, it acts as a bridge, allowing individuals to access related information or resources with just a simple click.

/līn stärv/

[MIT]

1. vi. To feed paper through a printer the wrong way by one line (most printers can't do this). On a display terminal, to move the cursor up to the previous line of the screen. "To print 'X squared', you just output 'X', line starve, '2', line feed." (The line starve causes the '2' to appear on the line above the 'X', and the line feed gets back to the original line.)