glob

4 definitions found

glob - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  glob \glob\ n.
     1. a compact mass, especially of a semiliquid or viscous
        substance; as, a glob of glue fell on my shoe.
  
     Syn: ball, clod, lump, clump, chunk.
          [WordNet 1.5 +PJC]

glob - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  glob
      n 1: a compact mass; "a ball of mud caught him on the shoulder"
           [syn: ball, clod, glob, lump, clump, chunk]

glob - Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (26 May 2007) :

  glob
  
     /glob/, *not* /glohb/ To expand wild card characters in a
     path name.
  
     In Unix the file name wild cards are:
  
      * = zero or more characters (E.g. UN*X)
  
      ? = any single character
  
      [] any of the enclosed characters
  
       indicate alternation of comma-separated alternatives, thus
      foobaz,qux would expand to "foobaz" or "fooqux".  This
      syntax generates a list of all possible expansions, rather
      than matching one.
  
     These have become sufficiently pervasive that hackers use them
     in written English, especially in electronic mail or
     Usenet news on technical topics.  E.g. "He said his name was
     [KC]arl" (expresses ambiguity).  "I don't read
     talk.politics.*" (any of the talk.politics subgroups on
     Usenet).  Other examples are given under the entry for X.
     Note that glob patterns are similar, but not identical, to
     those used in regexps.
  
     "glob" was a subprogram that expanded wild cards in archaic
     pre-Bourne versions of the Unix shell.
  
     (1997-07-16)
  

glob - Jargon File (4.4.4, 14 Aug 2003) :

  glob
   /glob/, not, /glohb/, v.,n.
  
     [Unix; common] To expand special characters in a wildcarded name, or
     the act of so doing (the action is also called globbing). The Unix
     conventions for filename wildcarding have become sufficiently
     pervasive that many hackers use some of them in written English,
     especially in email or news on technical topics. Those commonly
     encountered include the following:
  
     *  wildcard for any string (see also UN*X)
     ?  wildcard for any single character (generally read this way only at
     the beginning or in the middle of a word)
     [] delimits a wildcard matching any of the enclosed characters
      alternation of comma-separated alternatives; thus, `foobaz,qux'
     would be read as `foobaz' or `fooqux'
  
     Some examples: "He said his name was [KC]arl" (expresses ambiguity).
     "I don't read talk.politics.*" (any of the talk.politics subgroups on
     Usenet). Other examples are given under the entry for X. Note
  that
     glob patterns are similar, but not identical, to those used in
     regexps.
  
     Historical note: The jargon usage derives from glob, the name of a
     subprogram that expanded wildcards in archaic pre-Bourne versions of
     the Unix shell.