dike
To remove or disable a portion of something, as a wire from a computer or a
subroutine from a program. A standard slogan is "When in doubt, dike it out".
(The implication is that it is usually more effective to attack software
problems by reducing complexity than by increasing it.) The word "dikes" is
widely used among mechanics and engineers to mean "diagonal cutters", especially
the heavy-duty metal-cutting version, but may also refer to a kind of
wire-cutters used by electronics technicians. To "dike something out" means to
use such cutters to remove something. Indeed, the TMRC Dictionary defined dike
as "to attack with dikes". Among hackers this term has been metaphorically
extended to informational objects such as sections of code.
[Jargon File]
Nearby terms:
Digital Versatile Disk Random Access Memory «
Digital Video Disc « Dijkstra's guarded command
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