For questions about words, phrases and definitions that are specific to classic computers and gaming systems.
Questions tagged [terminology]
73 questions
58
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Why is slash so commonly used in old systems' abbreviations?
Many things around the '80s or earlier use ‘/’ in their abbreviations and sometimes even in their names, for example
IBM PS/2, OS/2 and PS/2 port
CP/M - MP/M - PL/M - PL/I - PL/S - PL/8 along with CP/NET, CP/NOS, MP/NET and MP/NOS
OS/8, MS/8 and…
phuclv
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57
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Why do we use caret (^) as the symbol for ctrl/control?
From my understanding, the caret character (^) has been used to indicate Ctrl-key combinations since the early UNIX days, if not earlier. Why was this character used to indicate this? Was it simply that the symbol wasn't being used for anything else…
fluffy
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Terminology of what is termed "CPU" and what is "computer"
In PDP-11/20 the block KA11 is termed "CPU". It is intended to be inserted into a rack. In PDP-11/05 on the other hand a similar block is termed "computer" even though it also is intended to be inserted.
It should be noted that KA11 is much smaller…
Anixx
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First use of "destructuring" in computing?
Which programming system first introduced "destructuring" denoting accessing various parts of an object using some sort of pattern, and binding those parts to variables, like Common Lisp's destructuring-bind, either as an the name of an operator in…
Kaz
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Is there an established name for this group of CPUs?
There is a group of 8-bit CPUs, starting with the Datapoint 2200, which includes the Intel 8080 and 8085, the Z80, the LR35902, the KR580VM1, the Rabbit 2000, and others. It seems like an obvious grouping, but I can't seem to find an established…
Omar and Lorraine
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Why does Oracle use MINUS instead of EXCEPT?
I just saw this after seeing MINUS in this powerpoint and looking for more information.
MINUS Example The following statement combines results with the MINUS operator, which returns only unique rows returned by the first query but not by the…
Evan Carroll
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What are hobbyists?
In An Open Letter to Hobbyists, Bill Gates reprimanded hobbyists that pirated his software.
But what were hobbyists? What was the difference between a hobbyist and a user?
robertspierre
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