line noise

2 definitions found

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

  line noise
  
     <communications> 1. Spurious characters due to electrical
     noise in a communications link, especially an EIA-232
     serial connection.  Line noise may be induced by poor
     connections, interference or crosstalk from other circuits,
     electrical storms, cosmic rays, or (notionally) birds
     crapping on the phone wires.
  
     2. Any chunk of data in a file or elsewhere that looks like
     the results of electrical line noise.
  
     3. Text that is theoretically a readable text or program
     source but employs syntax so bizarre that it looks like line
     noise.  Yes, there are languages this ugly.  The canonical
     example is TECO, whose input syntax is often said to be
     indistinguishable from line noise.  Other non-WYSIWYG
     editors, such as Multics "qed" and Unix "ed", in the
     hands of a real hacker, also qualify easily, as do
     deliberately obfuscated languages such as INTERCAL.
  
     [Jargon File]
  
     (1994-12-22)
  

line noise - Jargon File (4.4.4, 14 Aug 2003) :

  line noise
   n.
  
     1. [techspeak] Spurious characters due to electrical noise in a
     communications link, especially an RS-232 serial connection. Line
     noise may be induced by poor connections, interference or crosstalk
     from other circuits, electrical storms, cosmic rays, or
  (notionally)
     birds crapping on the phone wires.
  
     2. Any chunk of data in a file or elsewhere that looks like the
     results of line noise in sense 1.
  
     3. Text that is theoretically a readable text or program source but
     employs syntax so bizarre that it looks like line noise in senses 1
  or
     2. Yes, there are languages this ugly. The canonical example is
     TECO; it is often claimed that "TECO's input syntax is
     indistinguishable from line noise." Other non-WYSIWYG editors, such
     as Multics qed and Unix ed, in the hands of a real hacker, also
     qualify easily, as do deliberately obfuscated languages such as
     INTERCAL.