To defeat a selection mechanism by introducing a (sometimes temporary) device that forces a specific result. The word is used in several industries telephone engineeRS refer to spiking a relay by inserting a pin to hold the relay in either the closed or open state, and railroadeRS refer to spiking a track switch so that it cannot be moved. In programming environments it normally refeRS to a temporary change, usually for testing purposes (as opposed to a permanent change, which would be called hard-coded). (1999-10-18)