2014-04-26 10:52:28 -04:00
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mode
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2014-04-26 11:54:15 -04:00
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n. [common] A general state, usually used with an adjective describing the
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state. Use of the word mode rather than state implies that the state is
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extended over time, and probably also that some activity characteristic of
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that state is being carried out. No time to hack; I'm in thesis mode. In its
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jargon sense, mode is most often attributed to people, though it is
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sometimes applied to programs and inanimate objects. In particular, see hack
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mode , day mode , night mode , demo mode , fireworks mode , and yoyo mode ;
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also talk mode. One also often hears the verbs enable and disable used in
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connection with jargon modes. Thus, for example, a sillier way of saying I'm
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going to crash is I'm going to enable crash mode now. One might also hear a
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request to disable flame mode, please. In a usage much closer to techspeak,
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a mode is a special state that certain user interfaces must pass into in
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order to perform certain functions. For example, in order to insert
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characters into a document in the Unix editor vi , one must type the i key,
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which invokes the Insert command. The effect of this command is to put vi
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into insert mode , in which typing the i key has a quite different effect
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(to wit, it inserts an i into the document). One must then hit another
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special key, ESC , in order to leave insert mode. Nowadays, modeful
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interfaces are generally considered losing but survive in quite a few widely
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used tools built in less enlightened times.
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