purple wire

2 definitions found

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

  purple wire
  
     <jargon, hardware> Wire installed by IBM Field Engineers to
     work around problems discovered during testing or debugging.
     These are called "purple wires" even when (as is frequently
     the case) they are yellow.
  
     Compare blue wire, yellow wire, and red wire.
  
     (1995-04-11)
  

purple wire - Jargon File (4.4.4, 14 Aug 2003) :

  purple wire
   n.
  
     [IBM] Wire installed by Field Engineers to work around problems
     discovered during testing or debugging. These are called `purple
     wires' even when (as is frequently the case) their actual physical
     color is yellow.... Compare blue wire, yellow wire, and red wire
     .