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3.1 KiB
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23 lines
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<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1" standalone="no"?>
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<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><title>cycle</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="../../jargon.css" type="text/css"/><meta name="generator" content="DocBook XSL Stylesheets V1.61.0"/><link rel="home" href="../index.html" title="The Jargon File"/><link rel="up" href="../C.html" title="C"/><link rel="previous" href="cyberspace.html" title="cyberspace"/><link rel="next" href="cycle-of-reincarnation.html" title="cycle of reincarnation"/></head><body><div class="navheader"><table width="100%" summary="Navigation header"><tr><th colspan="3" align="center">cycle</th></tr><tr><td width="20%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="cyberspace.html">Prev</a><EFBFBD></td><th width="60%" align="center">C</th><td width="20%" align="right"><EFBFBD><a accesskey="n" href="cycle-of-reincarnation.html">Next</a></td></tr></table><hr/></div><dt><a id="cycle"/><dt xmlns="" id="cycle"><b>cycle</b></dt></dt><dd><p> 1. <span class="grammar">n.</span> The basic unit of
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computation. What every hacker wants more of (noted hacker Bill Gosper
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described himself as a “<span class="quote">cycle junkie</span>”). One can describe an
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instruction as taking so many <span class="firstterm">clock
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cycles</span>. Often the computer can access its memory once on every
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clock cycle, and so one speaks also of <span class="firstterm">memory
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cycles</span>. These are technical meanings of
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<a href="cycle.html"><i class="glossterm">cycle</i></a>. The jargon meaning comes from the
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observation that there are only so many cycles per second, and when you are
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sharing a computer the cycles get divided up among the users. The more
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cycles the computer spends working on your program rather than someone
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else's, the faster your program will run. That's why every hacker wants
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more cycles: so he can spend less time waiting for the computer to respond.
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</p></dd><dd><p> 2. By extension, a notional unit of <span class="emphasis"><em>human</em></span>
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thought power, emphasizing that lots of things compete for the typical
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hacker's think time. “<span class="quote">I refused to get involved with the Rubik's
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Cube back when it was big. Knew I'd burn too many cycles on it if I let
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myself.</span>” </p></dd><dd><p> 3. <span class="grammar">vt.</span>
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Syn. <a href="../B/bounce.html"><i class="glossterm">bounce</i></a> (sense 4), from the phrase ‘cycle
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power’. “<span class="quote">Cycle the machine again, that serial port's still
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hung.</span>”</p></dd><div class="navfooter"><hr/><table width="100%" summary="Navigation footer"><tr><td width="40%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="cyberspace.html">Prev</a><EFBFBD></td><td width="20%" align="center"><a accesskey="u" href="../C.html">Up</a></td><td width="40%" align="right"><EFBFBD><a accesskey="n" href="cycle-of-reincarnation.html">Next</a></td></tr><tr><td width="40%" align="left" valign="top">cyberspace<EFBFBD></td><td width="20%" align="center"><a accesskey="h" href="../index.html">Home</a></td><td width="40%" align="right" valign="top"><EFBFBD>cycle of reincarnation</td></tr></table></div></body></html>
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