1. Data that is written to be interpret
ed and takes over program flow when trigger
ed by some un-obvious operation, such as viewing it. One use of such hacks is to break security. For example, some smart terminals have commands that allow one to download strings to program keys this can be us
ed to write live data that, when list
ed to the terminal, infects it with a security-breaking
virus that is trigger
ed the next time a hapless user strikes that key. For another, there are some well-known bugs in
vi that allow certain texts to send arbitrary commands back to the machine when they are simply view
ed. 2. In
C, data that includes pointers to functions (executable code). 3. An object, such as a
trampoline, that is construct
ed on the fly by a program and intend
ed to be execut
ed as code. 4. Actual real-world data, as oppos
ed to "test data". For example, "I think I have the record deletion module finish
ed." "Have you tri
ed it out on live data?" This usage usually carries the connotation that live data is more fragile and must not be corrupt
ed, or bad things will happen. So a more appropriate response to the above claim might be: "Well, make sure it works perfectly before we throw live data at it." The implication here is that record deletion is something pretty significant, and a haywire record-deletion module running amok on live data would probably cause great harm. [
Jargon File]
In addition suitable contents:
[ 2 ] [ = ] [ ad ] [ ag ] [ ai ] [ al ] [ am ] [ an ] [ app ] [ ar ] [ arc ] [ arg ] [ as ] [ at ] [ au ] [ av ] [ b ] [ ba ] [ be ] [ bi ] [ bit ] [ bj ] [ bo ] [ br ] [ break ] [ bv ] [ by ] [ C ] [ ca ] [ cat ] [ ch ] [ ck ] [ cl ] [ co ] [ code ] [ com ] [ comma ] [ command ] [ con ] [ cons ] [ cu ] [ D ] [ data ] [ de ] [ do ] [ down ] [ download ] [ du ] [ ec ] [ ed ] [ er ] [ era ] [ es ] [ et ] [ exec ] [ executable ] [ execute ] [ fi ] [ file ] [ fo ] [ for ] [ fr ] [ fragile ] [ function ] [ ge ] [ gh ] [ gi ] [ gn ] [ gr ] [ gs ] [ h ] [ hack ] [ hat ] [ hing ] [ hr ] [ ht ] [ id ] [ ie ] [ il ] [ in ] [ inc ] [ include ] [ int ] [ interpreted ] [ io ] [ ir ] [ is ] [ it ] [ J ] [ Jargon File ] [ ke ] [ key ] [ ki ] [ kn ] [ la ] [ ld ] [ Lex ] [ li ] [ line ] [ list ] [ load ] [ ls ] [ lu ] [ ly ] [ ma ] [ machine ] [ man ] [ mm ] [ mo ] [ mod ] [ module ] [ mp ] [ mu ] [ na ] [ nc ] [ ne ] [ nf ] [ ng ] [ ni ] [ nl ] [ nn ] [ no ] [ ns ] [ O ] [ object ] [ om ] [ op ] [ pe ] [ perf ] [ ph ] [ pl ] [ ply ] [ point ] [ pointer ] [ pr ] [ program ] [ pt ] [ query ] [ rc ] [ re ] [ real ] [ record ] [ rete ] [ rl ] [ ro ] [ row ] [ ru ] [ run ] [ S ] [ sa ] [ se ] [ sh ] [ si ] [ sig ] [ sm ] [ smart ] [ smart terminal ] [ so ] [ st ] [ string ] [ struct ] [ su ] [ T ] [ table ] [ terminal ] [ test ] [ text ] [ th ] [ to ] [ tr ] [ trampoline ] [ trigger ] [ tt ] [ tty ] [ ua ] [ ug ] [ up ] [ us ] [ user ] [ ve ] [ vi ] [ virus ] [ win ] [ write ]