down
1. Not operating. "The up escalator is down" is considered a humorous thing to
say, and "The elevator is down" always means "The elevator isn't working" and
never refers to what floor the elevator is on. With respect to computers, this
term has passed into the mainstream; the extension to other kinds of machine is
still hackish.
2. "go down" To stop functioning; usually said of the system. The message from
the console that every hacker hates to hear from the operator is "System going
down in 5 minutes".
3. "take down", "bring down" To deactivate purposely, usually for repair work or
PM. "I'm taking the system down to work on that bug in the tape drive."
Occasionally one hears the word "down" by itself used as a verb in this sense.
See crash; opposite: up.
[Jargon File]
(1994-12-07)
Nearby terms:
Douglas Engelbart « Doug Lenat « DOW COMPILER «
down
» download » downloading » downsizing
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