display hack
<graphics> A program with the same approximate purpose as a kaleidoscope:
to make pretty pictures. Famous display hacks include munching squares, smoking
clover, the BSD Unix "rain(6)" program, "worms(6)" on miscellaneous Unixes, and
the X "kaleid(1)" program. Display hacks can also be implemented without
programming by creating text files containing numerous escape sequences for
interpretation by a video terminal; one notable example displayed, on any VT100,
a Christmas tree with twinkling lights and a toy train circling its base. The
hack value of a display hack is proportional to the aesthetic value of the
images times the cleverness of the algorithm divided by the size of the code.
Synonym psychedelicware.
[Jargon File]
(1995-05-10)
Nearby terms:
Dislang « disman « display « display hack » Display
PostScript » Display Screen Equipment » display standard
