The Computer Contradictionary

The Computer Contradictionary
Author	Stan Kelly-Bootle
Language	English
Publication date	May 1995
Publication place	United States
Media type	Print
Pages	256 pages
ISBN	0-262-61112-0

The Computer Contradictionary, by Stan Kelly-Bootle, is a satirical dictionary of computer industry terms. It is an example of "cynical lexicography" in the tradition of Ambrose Bierce's The Devil's Dictionary. Rather than offering a factual account of usage, its definitions are largely made up by the author.

The book was published in May 1995 by MIT Press and is an update of Kelly-Bootle's The Devil's DP Dictionary which appeared in 1981.

Examples

Endless loop. See: Loop, endless

Loop, endless. See: Endless loop

Recursion. See: Recursion

Reception

The Los Angeles Times, including the book in a review of more serious high-tech lexicons, wrote that it was "smartly-titled" but was an "awfully stupid book". ACM Computing Reviews suggested an approach of dipping into it, because "a dictionary is a difficult read".

References

↑ "The Court Jester of Computerdom". Dr Dobb's Electronic Review of Books. Archived from the original on 22 February 1997.
↑ Raymond, Eric S (1996). The New Hacker's Dictionary - 3rd Edition. MIT Press. pp. 534–535.
1 2 Blackman, A (Mar 1, 1996). "Review: The computer contradictionary (2nd ed.)". ACM Computing Reviews.
↑ Harris, Krissy (January 26, 1998). "Dictionaries to De-Encrypt What the Digerati Are Saying". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved 29 October 2012.

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[1] "The Court Jester of Computerdom". Dr Dobb's Electronic Review of Books. Archived from the original on 22 February 1997.

[2] Raymond, Eric S (1996). The New Hacker's Dictionary - 3rd Edition. MIT Press. pp. 534–535.

[acm-3] 1 2 Blackman, A (Mar 1, 1996). "Review: The computer contradictionary (2nd ed.)". ACM Computing Reviews.

[4] Harris, Krissy (January 26, 1998). "Dictionaries to De-Encrypt What the Digerati Are Saying". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved 29 October 2012.