|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ures are often referred to as infant mortality problems (or, occasionally, as sudden infant death syndrome). See bathtub curve, burn-in period. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
infinite adj. Consisting of a large number of objects; extreme. Used very loosely as in: "This program produces infinite garbage." "He is an infinite loser." The word most likely to follow infinite, though, is hair. (It has been pointed out that fractals are an excellent example of infinite hair.) These uses are abuses of the word's mathematical meaning. The term semi-infinite, denoting an immoderately large amount of some resource, is also heard. "This compiler is taking a semi-infinite amount of time to optimize my program.'' See also semi. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
infinite loop n. One that never terminates (that is, the machine spins or buzzes forever and goes catatonic). There is a standard joke that has been made about each generation's exemplar of the ultra-fast machine: "The Cray-3 is so fast it can execute an infinite loop in under 2 seconds!" |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Infinite-Monkey Theorem n. "If you put an infinite number of monkeys at typewriters, eventually one will bash out the script for Hamlet." (One may also hypothesize a small number of monkeys and a very long period of time.) This theorem asserts nothing about the intelligence of the one random monkey that eventually comes up with the script (and note that the mob will also type out all the possible incorrect versions of Hamlet). It may be referred to semi-seriously when justifying a brute force method; the implication is that, with enough resources thrown at it, any technical challenge becomes a one-banana problem. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
This theorem was first popularized by the astronomer Sir Arthur Eddington. It became part of the idiom of techies via the classic SF short story "Inflexible Logic" by Russell Maloney, and many younger hackers know it through a reference in Douglas Adams's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
infinity n. 1. The largest value that can be represented in a particular type of variable (register, memory location, data type, whatever). 2. minus infinity: The smallest such value, not necessarily or even usually the simple negation of plus infinity. In N-bit twos-complement arithmetic, infinity is 2N-1 1 but minus infinity is -(2N-1), not -(2N-1 1). Note also that this is different from time T equals minus infinity, which is closer to a mathematician's usage of infinity. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
inflate vt. To decompress or puff a file. Rare among Internet hackers, used primarily by MS-DOS/Windows types. |
|
|
|
|
|