|
|
|
|
|
|
|
syntactic sugar n. [coined by Peter Landin] Features added to a language or other formalism to make it 'sweeter' for humans, features which do not affect the expressiveness of the formalism (compare chrome). Used esp. when there is an obvious and trivial translation of the 'sugar' feature into other constructs already present in the notation. C's a[i] notation is syntactic sugar for *(a + i). "Syntactic sugar causes cancer of the semicolon." Alan Perlis. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The variants syntactic saccharin and syntactic syrup are also recorded. These denote something even more gratuitous, in that syntactic sugar serves a purpose (making something more acceptable to humans), but syntactic saccharin or syrup serve no purpose at all. Compare candygrammar, syntactic salt. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
sys-frog /sis'frog/ n. [the PLATO system] Playful variant of sysprog, which is in turn short for 'systems programmer'. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
sysadmin /sis'ad-min/ n. Common contraction of 'system admin'; see admin. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
sysape /sys'ayp/ n. A rather derogatory term for a computer operator; a play on sysop common at sites that use the banana hierarchy of problem complexity (see one-banana problem). |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
sysop /sis'op/ n. [esp. in the BBS world] The operator (and usually the owner) of a bulletin-board system. A common neophyte mistake on FidoNet is to address a message to sysop in an international echo, thus sending it to hundreds of sysops around the world. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
system n. 1. The supervisor program or OS on a computer. 2. The entire computer system, including input/output devices, the supervisor program or OS, and possibly other software. 3. Any large-scale program. 4. Any method or algorithm. 5. System hacker: one who hacks the system (in senses 1 and 2 only; for sense 3 one mentions the particular program: e.g., LISP hacker) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
systems jock n. See jock, sense 2. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
system mangler n. Humorous synonym for 'system manager', poss. from the fact that one major IBM OS had a root account called SYSMANGR. Refers specifically to a systems programmer in charge of administration, software maintenance, and updates at some site. Unlike admin, this term emphasizes the technical end of the skills involved. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
SysVile /sis-v l'/ n. See Missed'em-five. |
|
|
|
|
|