1. A general st
ATe, usually used with an adjective describing the st
ATe. Use of the word "mode" r
ATher than "st
ATe" implies th
AT the st
ATe is extended over time, and probably also th
AT some activity characteristic of th
AT st
ATe is being carried out. "No time to hack I' m in thesis mode." In its jargon sense, "mode" is most often
ATtributed to people, though it is sometimes applied to programs and inanim
ATe objects. In particular, see
hack mode, {day mode}, {night mode}, {demo mode}, {fireworks mode}, and {yoyo mode} also {ch
AT}. 2. More technically, a mode is a special st
ATe th
AT certain user interfaces must pass into in order to perform certain functions. For example, in order to insert characters into a document in the Unix editor "vi", one must type the "i" key, which invokes the "Insert" command. The effect of this command is to put vi into "insert mode", in which typing the "i" key has a quite different effect (to wit, it inserts an "i" into the document). One must then hit another special key, "ESC", in order to leave "insert mode". Nowadays, modeful interfaces are generally considered
losing but survive in quite a few widely used tools built in less enlightened times. [
Jargon File] (1994-12-22)
In addition suitable contents:
[ 2 ] [ = ] [ ad ] [ ai ] [ al ] [ am ] [ an ] [ app ] [ ar ] [ arc ] [ arg ] [ as ] [ AT ] [ ATtribute ] [ av ] [ b ] [ ba ] [ be ] [ bi ] [ bj ] [ C ] [ ca ] [ ch ] [ char ] [ character ] [ ci ] [ ck ] [ co ] [ com ] [ comma ] [ command ] [ con ] [ cons ] [ cr ] [ cu ] [ day mode ] [ de ] [ demo ] [ demo mode ] [ diff ] [ dj ] [ do ] [ doc ] [ document ] [ du ] [ E ] [ ec ] [ ed ] [ ee ] [ er ] [ era ] [ es ] [ ESC ] [ et ] [ extend ] [ fi ] [ file ] [ fireworks mode ] [ fo ] [ for ] [ function ] [ ge ] [ gen ] [ gh ] [ gr ] [ h ] [ hack ] [ hack mode ] [ hAT ] [ hit ] [ hn ] [ hr ] [ ht ] [ id ] [ ie ] [ iff ] [ il ] [ implies ] [ in ] [ int ] [ interface ] [ io ] [ ir ] [ is ] [ it ] [ J ] [ jar ] [ Jargon File ] [ ke ] [ key ] [ la ] [ Lex ] [ li ] [ losing ] [ ls ] [ lt ] [ ly ] [ M ] [ ma ] [ man ] [ mm ] [ mo ] [ mod ] [ module ] [ mp ] [ ms ] [ mu ] [ N ] [ na ] [ nc ] [ ne ] [ ng ] [ ni ] [ night mode ] [ nl ] [ no ] [ ns ] [ O ] [ object ] [ om ] [ op ] [ pa ] [ pe ] [ perf ] [ ph ] [ ping ] [ pl ] [ pr ] [ program ] [ query ] [ rc ] [ re ] [ ro ] [ S ] [ SC ] [ sc ] [ se ] [ si ] [ so ] [ spec ] [ st ] [ stATe ] [ su ] [ T ] [ th ] [ to ] [ tool ] [ tr ] [ tt ] [ type ] [ ua ] [ ug ] [ um ] [ us ] [ user ] [ user interface ] [ ve ] [ vi ] [ word ] [ yoyo mode ]