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<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><title>dike</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="../D.html" title="D"/><link rel="previous" href="diff.html" title="diff"/><link rel="next" href="Dilbert.html" title="Dilbert"/></head><body><div class="navheader"><table width="100%" summary="Navigation header"><tr><th colspan="3" align="center">dike</th></tr><tr><td width="20%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="diff.html">Prev</a> </td><th width="60%" align="center">D</th><td width="20%" align="right"> <a accesskey="n" href="Dilbert.html">Next</a></td></tr></table><hr/></div><dt><a id="dike"/><dt xmlns="" id="dike"><b>dike</b>: <span xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" class="grammar">vt.</span></dt></dt><dd><p> To remove or disable a portion of something, as a wire from a
computer or a subroutine from a program. A standard slogan is &#8220;<span class="quote">When
in doubt, dike it out</span>&#8221;. (The implication is that it is usually more
effective to attack software problems by reducing complexity than by
increasing it.) The word &#8216;dikes&#8217; is widely used to mean
&#8216;diagonal cutters&#8217;, a kind of wire cutter. To &#8216;dike
something out&#8217; means to use such cutters to remove something. Indeed,
the TMRC Dictionary defined dike as &#8220;<span class="quote">to attack with
dikes</span>&#8221;. Among hackers this term has been metaphorically extended to
informational objects such as sections of code.</p></dd><div class="navfooter"><hr/><table width="100%" summary="Navigation footer"><tr><td width="40%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="diff.html">Prev</a> </td><td width="20%" align="center"><a accesskey="u" href="../D.html">Up</a></td><td width="40%" align="right"> <a accesskey="n" href="Dilbert.html">Next</a></td></tr><tr><td width="40%" align="left" valign="top">diff </td><td width="20%" align="center"><a accesskey="h" href="../index.html">Home</a></td><td width="40%" align="right" valign="top"> Dilbert</td></tr></table></div></body></html>