43 lines
4.7 KiB
HTML
43 lines
4.7 KiB
HTML
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1" standalone="no"?>
|
||
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><title>ping</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="../P.html" title="P"/><link rel="previous" href="pilot-error.html" title="pilot error"/><link rel="next" href="Ping-O--Death.html" title="Ping O' Death"/></head><body><div class="navheader"><table width="100%" summary="Navigation header"><tr><th colspan="3" align="center">ping</th></tr><tr><td width="20%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="pilot-error.html">Prev</a> </td><th width="60%" align="center">P</th><td width="20%" align="right"> <a accesskey="n" href="Ping-O--Death.html">Next</a></td></tr></table><hr/></div><dt><a id="ping"/><dt xmlns="" id="ping"><b>ping</b></dt></dt><dd><p> [from the submariners' term for a sonar pulse] </p></dd><dd><p> 1. n. Slang term for a small network message (ICMP ECHO) sent by a
|
||
computer to check for the presence and alertness of another. The Unix
|
||
command
|
||
<span class="citerefentry"><span class="refentrytitle">ping</span>(8)</span>
|
||
can be used to do this manually (note that
|
||
<span class="citerefentry"><span class="refentrytitle">ping</span>(8)</span>'s
|
||
author denies the widespread folk etymology that the name was ever intended
|
||
as an acronym for ‘Packet INternet Groper’). Occasionally used
|
||
as a phone greeting. See <a href="../A/ACK.html"><i class="glossterm">ACK</i></a>, also
|
||
<a href="../E/ENQ.html"><i class="glossterm">ENQ</i></a>. </p></dd><dd><p> 2. <span class="grammar">vt.</span> To verify the presence
|
||
of. </p></dd><dd><p> 3. <span class="grammar">vt.</span> To get the attention of.
|
||
</p></dd><dd><p> 4. <span class="grammar">vt.</span> To send a message to all
|
||
members of a <a href="../M/mailing-list.html"><i class="glossterm">mailing list</i></a> requesting an
|
||
<a href="../A/ACK.html"><i class="glossterm">ACK</i></a> (in order to verify that everybody's addresses
|
||
are reachable). “<span class="quote">We haven't heard much of anything from Geoff, but
|
||
he did respond with an ACK both times I pinged jargon-friends.</span>”
|
||
</p></dd><dd><p> 5. <span class="grammar">n.</span> A quantum packet of
|
||
happiness. People who are very happy tend to exude pings; furthermore, one
|
||
can intentionally create pings and aim them at a needy party (e.g., a
|
||
depressed person). This sense of ping may appear as an exclamation;
|
||
“<span class="quote">Ping!</span>” (I'm happy; I am emitting a quantum of happiness; I
|
||
have been struck by a quantum of happiness). The form
|
||
“<span class="quote">pingfulness</span>”, which is used to describe people who exude
|
||
pings, also occurs. (In the standard abuse of language,
|
||
“<span class="quote">pingfulness</span>” can also be used as an exclamation, in which
|
||
case it's a much stronger exclamation than just “<span class="quote">ping</span>”!).
|
||
Oppose <a href="../B/blargh.html"><i class="glossterm">blargh</i></a>.</p></dd><dd><p>The funniest use of ‘ping’ to date was <a href="http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=1991Jan23.211609.877%40news.cs.indiana.edu" target="_top">
|
||
described</a> in January 1991 by Steve Hayman on the Usenet group
|
||
<tt class="systemitem">comp.sys.next</tt>. He was trying to
|
||
isolate a faulty cable segment on a TCP/IP Ethernet hooked up to a NeXT
|
||
machine, and got tired of having to run back to his console after each cabling
|
||
tweak to see if the ping packets were getting through. So he used the
|
||
sound-recording feature on the NeXT, then wrote a script that repeatedly
|
||
invoked
|
||
<span class="citerefentry"><span class="refentrytitle">ping</span>(8)</span>,
|
||
listened for an echo, and played back the recording on each returned packet.
|
||
Result? A program that caused the machine to repeat, over and over,
|
||
“<span class="quote">Ping ... ping ... ping ...</span>” as long as the
|
||
network was up. He turned the volume to maximum, ferreted through the
|
||
building with one ear cocked, and found a faulty tee connector in no
|
||
time.</p></dd><div class="navfooter"><hr/><table width="100%" summary="Navigation footer"><tr><td width="40%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="pilot-error.html">Prev</a> </td><td width="20%" align="center"><a accesskey="u" href="../P.html">Up</a></td><td width="40%" align="right"> <a accesskey="n" href="Ping-O--Death.html">Next</a></td></tr><tr><td width="40%" align="left" valign="top">pilot error </td><td width="20%" align="center"><a accesskey="h" href="../index.html">Home</a></td><td width="40%" align="right" valign="top"> Ping O' Death</td></tr></table></div></body></html>
|