live data
1. Data that is written to be interpreted and takes over program flow when
triggered by some un-obvious operation, such as viewing it. One use of such
hacks is to break security. For example, some smart terminals have commands that
allow one to download strings to program keys; this can be used to write live
data that, when listed to the terminal, infects it with a security-breaking
virus that is triggered the next time a hapless user strikes that key. For
another, there are some well-known bugs in vi that allow certain texts to send
arbitrary commands back to the machine when they are simply viewed.
2. In C, data that includes pointers to functions (executable code).
3. An object, such as a trampoline, that is constructed on the fly by a program
and intended to be executed as code.
4. Actual real-world data, as opposed to "test data". For example, "I think I
have the record deletion module finished." "Have you tried it out on live data?"
This usage usually carries the connotation that live data is more fragile and
must not be corrupted, or bad things will happen. So a more appropriate response
to the above claim might be: "Well, make sure it works perfectly before we throw
live data at it." The implication here is that record deletion is something
pretty significant, and a haywire record-deletion module running amok on live
data would probably cause great harm.
[Jargon File]
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LITTLE « little-endian « Little Smalltalk « live
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