| DDT | Contact Us |
|
 |
 |
| WK :: DDT :: |
| Resources :: |
|
|
WB WBT Addons Baby Cooking Books Runway Legal DVD Electronics Outdoor Living Kitchen Change Magazines Pop Music PCs Computers Cameras Software Toys Tools Video Computer |
|
|
|
5 definitions for DDT From WordNet (r) 2.0 :
DDT
n : an insecticide that is also toxic to animals and humans;
banned in the United States since 1972 [syn: dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 :
25 Moby Thesaurus words for "DDT":
DDD, Paris green, antimony, arsenic, arsenic trioxide, beryllium,
bichloride of mercury, cadmium, carbolic acid, carbon monoxide,
carbon tetrachloride, chlorine, cyanide, hydrocyanic acid,
hyoscyamine, lead, mercuric chloride, mercury, mustard gas,
nicotine, phenol, poison gas, prussic acid, selenium, strychnine
From Virtual Entity of Relevant Acronyms (Version 1.9, June 2002) :
DDT
Dynamic Debugging Tool (DEC)
From Jargon File (4.3.1, 29 Jun 2001) :
DDT /D-D-T/ n. [from the insecticide
para-dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethene] 1. Generic term for a program
that assists in debugging other programs by showing individual machine
instructions in a readable symbolic form and letting the user change
them. In this sense the term DDT is now archaic, having been widely
displaced by `debugger' or names of individual programs like `adb',
`sdb', `dbx', or `gdb'. 2. [ITS] Under MIT's fabled {ITS operating
system, DDT (running under the alias HACTRN, a six-letterism for `Hack
Translator') was also used as the shell or top level command language
used to execute other programs. 3. Any one of several specific DDTs
(sense 1) supported on early DEC hardware and CP/M. The PDP-10
Reference Handbook (1969) contained a footnote on the first page of the
documentation for DDT that illuminates the origin of the term:
Historical footnote: DDT was developed at MIT for the PDP-1
computer in 1961. At that time DDT stood for "DEC Debugging
Tape". Since then, the idea of an on-line debugging program has
propagated throughout the computer industry. DDT programs are now
available for all DEC computers. Since media other than tape are
now frequently used, the more descriptive name "Dynamic Debugging
Technique" has been adopted, retaining the DDT abbreviation.
Confusion between DDT-10 and another well known pesticide,
dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (C14-H9-Cl5) should be minimal
since each attacks a different, and apparently mutually exclusive,
class of bugs.
(The `tape' referred to was, incidentally, not magnetic but paper.)
Sadly, this quotation was removed from later editions of the handbook
after the suits took over and DEC became much more `businesslike'.
The history above is known to many old-time hackers. But there's more:
Peter Samson, compiler of the original TMRC lexicon, reports that he
named `DDT' after a similar tool on the TX-0 computer, the direct
ancestor of the PDP-1 built at MIT's Lincoln Lab in 1957. The debugger
on that ground-breaking machine (the first transistorized computer)
rejoiced in the name FLIT (FLexowriter Interrogation Tape).
From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03) :
DDT
1. Generic term for a program that assists in debugging other
programs by showing individual machine instructions in a
readable symbolic form and letting the user change them. In
this sense the term DDT is now archaic, having been widely
displaced by "debugger" or names of individual programs like
"{adb", "{sdb}", "{dbx}", or "{gdb}".
2. Under MIT's fabled ITS operating system, DDT (running
under the alias HACTRN) was also used as the shell or top
level command language used to execute other programs.
3. Any one of several specific debuggers supported on early
DEC hardware. The DEC PDP-10 Reference Handbook (1969)
contained a footnote on the first page of the documentation
for DDT that illuminates the origin of the term:
Historical footnote: DDT was developed at MIT for the
PDP-1 computer in 1961. At that time DDT stood for "DEC
Debugging Tape". Since then, the idea of an on-line debugging
program has propagated throughout the computer industry. DDT
programs are now available for all DEC computers. Since media
other than tape are now frequently used, the more descriptive
name "Dynamic Debugging Technique" has been adopted, retaining
the DDT abbreviation. Confusion between DDT-10 and another
well known pesticide, dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane
(C14-H9-Cl5) should be minimal since each attacks a different,
and apparently mutually exclusive, class of bugs.
(The "tape" referred to was, incidentally, not magnetic but
paper.) Sadly, this quotation was removed from later editions
of the handbook after the suits took over and DEC became
much more "businesslike".
The history above is known to many old-time hackers. But
there's more: Peter Samson, compiler of the original TMRC
lexicon, reports that he named "DDT" after a similar tool on
the TX-0 computer, the direct ancestor of the PDP-1 built at
MIT's Lincoln Lab in 1957. The debugger on that
ground-breaking machine (the first transistorised computer)
rejoiced in the name FLIT (FLexowriter Interrogation Tape).
[{Jargon File]
Request more information on DDT |
