The Computer Contradictionary

The Computer Contradictionary by Stan Kelly-Bootle is a so-called "laxicon" of computer industry terms. It is an excellent example of "cynical lexicography" in the tradition of Ambrose Bierce's The Devil's Dictionary. It was originally published as The Devil's DP Dictionary, in New York, by McGraw-JHill in 1981. DP stood for "Data processing" a term formerly used to describe the software and hardware industries. It was reedited under the new title in Boston by MIT Press, in 1995, with the ISBN 0262611120 Kelly-Bootle adds in the "Guide":
The meaning of an entry should always be ascertained before consulting this dictionary.
That said, the Contradictionary is known to be an extremely funny dictionary, with a lot of Kelly-Bootle's typical word play and impressive store of knowledge on display. This is a full example of one of the entries, in the "I" section: Infinite loop. See: Loop, infinite This is a full example of one of the entries, in the "L" section: Loop, infinite. See: Infinite loop. One is referred to The Hacker's Dictionary for more literal definitions of computer terms and usage. Computer Contradictionary, The Computer Contradictionary, The Computer Contradictionary, The

 

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torino scale
terabyte
twa flight 800
triangulum
tucana
triangulum australe
telescopium
titus (disambiguation)
trivium
the last supper
the lord's supper
tunguska event
the terrorist
tool
the new york times
toho
tundra
the chronicles of narnia
the lion, the witch, and the wardrobe
take me out to the ball game
tai chi chuan
todd beamer
green party (united states)
triple jump
trinitrotoluene
toluene
the great divorce
temporomandibular joint disorder
the screwtape letters
tree of life
tux
technocracy
thomas aquinas
tales of the reaching moon
tide
tidal force
theremin
thin client
tree and hypertree networks
teleological argument
tram
tuscany
the book of the law
thelemite