garbageabetical order
<humour> 1. The result of using an insertion sort to merge data into an
unsorted list.
2. The state of any file or list that is supposed to be sorted, but is not.
(1997-02-11)
Nearby terms:
gang bang « GAP « GAPLog « garbageabetical order
» garbage collect » garbage collection » Garbage In,
Garbage Out
garbage collect
garbage collection
Nearby terms:
GAP « GAPLog « garbageabetical order « garbage
collect
» garbage collection » Garbage In, Garbage Out »
Gargoyle
garbage collection
<programming> (GC) The process by which dynamically allocated storage is
reclaimed during the execution of a program. The term usually refers to
automatic periodic storage reclamation by the garbage collector (part of the
run-time system), as opposed to explicit code to free specific blocks of memory.
Automatic garbage collection is usually triggered during memory allocation when
the amount free memory falls below some threshold or after a certain number of
allocations. Normal execution is suspended and the garbage collector is run.
There are many variations on this basic scheme.
Languages like Lisp represent expressions as graphs built from cells which
contain pointers and data. These languages use automatic dynamic storage
allocation to build expressions. During the evaluation of an expression it is
necessary to reclaim space which is used by subexpressions but which is no
longer pointed to by anything. This reclaimed memory is returned to the free
memory pool for subsequent reallocation.
Without garbage collection the program's memory requirements would increase
monotonically throughout execution, possibly exceeding system limits on virtual
memory size.
The three main methods are mark-sweep garbage collection, reference counting and
copying garbage collection.
See also the AI koan about garbage collection.
(1997-08-25)
Nearby terms:
GAPLog « garbageabetical order « garbage collect «
garbage collection » Garbage In, Garbage Out »
Gargoyle » Garnet
Garbage In, Garbage Out
<humour> (GIGO) /gi:'goh/ Wilf Hey's maxim expressing the fact that
computers, unlike humans, will unquestioningly process nonsensical input data
and produce nonsensical output. Of course a properly written program will reject
input data that is obviously erroneous but such checking is not always easy to
specify and is tedious to write.
GIGO is usually said in response to lusers who complain that a program didn't
"do the right thing" when given imperfect input or otherwise mistreated in some
way. Also commonly used to describe failures in human decision making due to
faulty, incomplete, or imprecise data.
The expansion "Garbage In, Gospel Out" is an ironic comment on the tendency to
put excessive trust in "computerised" data.
[Jargon File]
(2004-10-03)
Nearby terms:
garbageabetical order « garbage collect « garbage
collection « Garbage In, Garbage Out »
Gargoyle » Garnet » GARP
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