display hack
:display hack: n. A program with the same approximate purpose as a
kaleidoscope: to make pretty pictures. Famous display hacks include
munching squares
, smoking clover
the BSD Unix `rain(6)' program,
`worms(6)' on miscellaneous Unixes, and the X
`kaleid(1)' program.
Display hacks can also be implemented by creating text files containing
numerous escape sequences for interpretation by a video terminal; one
notable example displayed, on any VT100, a Christmas tree with twinkling
lights and a toy train circling its base. The hack value
of a display
hack is proportional to the esthetic value of the images times the
cleverness of the algorithm divided by the size of the code. Syn.
psychedelicware
Jargon File Version 4.3.1, 29 JUN 2001 =
Skip to a random entry
Back to Liz's page