28 lines
4.0 KiB
HTML
28 lines
4.0 KiB
HTML
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1" standalone="no"?>
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<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><title>mode</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="../M.html" title="M"/><link rel="previous" href="mod.html" title="mod"/><link rel="next" href="mode-bit.html" title="mode bit"/></head><body><div class="navheader"><table width="100%" summary="Navigation header"><tr><th colspan="3" align="center">mode</th></tr><tr><td width="20%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="mod.html">Prev</a> </td><th width="60%" align="center">M</th><td width="20%" align="right"> <a accesskey="n" href="mode-bit.html">Next</a></td></tr></table><hr/></div><dt><a id="mode"/><dt xmlns="" id="mode"><b>mode</b>: <span xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" class="grammar">n.</span></dt></dt><dd><p> [common] A general state, usually used with an adjective describing
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the state. Use of the word ‘mode’ rather than
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‘state’ implies that the state is extended over time, and
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probably also that some activity characteristic of that state is being
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carried out. “<span class="quote">No time to hack; I'm in thesis mode.</span>” In its
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jargon sense, ‘mode’ is most often attributed to people, though
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it is sometimes applied to programs and inanimate objects. In particular,
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see <a href="../H/hack-mode.html"><i class="glossterm">hack mode</i></a>, <a href="../D/day-mode.html"><i class="glossterm">day mode</i></a>,
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<a href="../N/night-mode.html"><i class="glossterm">night mode</i></a>, <a href="../D/demo-mode.html"><i class="glossterm">demo mode</i></a>,
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<a href="../F/fireworks-mode.html"><i class="glossterm">fireworks mode</i></a>, and
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<a href="../Y/yoyo-mode.html"><i class="glossterm">yoyo mode</i></a>; also <a href="../T/talk-mode.html"><i class="glossterm">talk mode</i></a>.</p><p>One also often hears the verbs <span class="firstterm">enable</span> and <span class="firstterm">disable</span> used in connection with jargon modes.
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Thus, for example, a sillier way of saying “<span class="quote">I'm going to
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crash</span>” is “<span class="quote">I'm going to enable crash mode now</span>”. One
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might also hear a request to “<span class="quote">disable flame mode,
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please</span>”.</p><p>In a usage much closer to techspeak, a mode is a special state that
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certain user interfaces must pass into in order to perform certain
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functions. For example, in order to insert characters into a document in
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the Unix editor <b class="command">vi</b>, one must type the
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“<span class="quote">i</span>” key, which invokes the “<span class="quote">Insert</span>” command. The
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effect of this command is to put vi into “<span class="quote">insert mode</span>”, in
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which typing the “<span class="quote">i</span>” key has a quite different effect (to wit,
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it inserts an “<span class="quote">i</span>” into the document). One must then hit
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another special key, “<span class="quote">ESC</span>”, in order to leave “<span class="quote">insert
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mode</span>”. Nowadays, modeful interfaces are generally considered
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<a href="../L/losing.html"><i class="glossterm">losing</i></a> but survive in quite a few widely used tools
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built in less enlightened times.</p></dd><div class="navfooter"><hr/><table width="100%" summary="Navigation footer"><tr><td width="40%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="mod.html">Prev</a> </td><td width="20%" align="center"><a accesskey="u" href="../M.html">Up</a></td><td width="40%" align="right"> <a accesskey="n" href="mode-bit.html">Next</a></td></tr><tr><td width="40%" align="left" valign="top">mod </td><td width="20%" align="center"><a accesskey="h" href="../index.html">Home</a></td><td width="40%" align="right" valign="top"> mode bit</td></tr></table></div></body></html>
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