The Computer Contradictionary: 2nd Edition (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Warning: If you aren't a true-blue geek, you won't even have a clue as to why this cracked glossary of computing terms is supposed to be funny. But if you're capable of finding humor in jokes about OO programming, TCP/IP, Bjarne Stroustrup, and operating system kernels, The Computer Contradictionary is truly hilarious. Sample: "ISAM ... One of the most successful data-security systems so far devised. Information is protected from all but the most persistent, patient, and devious." If you're even tempted to smile, you'll enormously enjoy British author Stan Kelly-Bootle's witty, urbane, and well-informed parody.

Review

"With his mind-numbing grasp of English, literature, computer history, and programmer culture, Stan is the Umberto Eco of programming."
—Ron Burk, Windows Developer's Journal

"[The Computer Contradictionary] is ultimately a manual to our industry, computer history, and much of your universe as it really ought to be. It is also the first dictionary you're likely to read in one sitting. Enjoy!"
—Andrew Binstock, UNIX Review

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Product Details

• Paperback: 260 pages
• Publisher: The MIT Press; 2 edition (April 10, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0262611120
• ISBN-13: 978-0262611121
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #892,045 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars New & Improved Rev. 2.0!!, April 22, 1998

By	Poul-Henning Kamp "poul-henning" (Slagelse, Denmark) - See all my reviews

This is "The Devils DP Dictionary" Rev.2.0 not to be missed by anybody who has been around for long enough to not trust Rev.2.0 of anything. All known bugs have been fixed and countless new features added. Year 2000 compliant, biodegradable and politically incorrect. (Do not lend this book to anybody, you will not get it back.)

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Definately NOT a waste of money! Very funny!, December 31, 1998

By A Customer

I read The Devil's DP Dictionary in 1981 when it was first published and absolutely loved it. (I'm a computer nerd so that's to be expected.) Since then that book has gotten a bit dated and I've been waiting for Kelly-Bootle to update it. Let me say that The Computer Contradictionary is everything that I hoped it would be and more. I must also strongly disagree with the customer reviewer who stated "Don't waste your money". I've read the Jargon File (a.k.a. The New Hacker's Dictionary) and while I rate it as highly as the book in question I must say that one really cannot compare the two. The Jargon File, while extremely funny, is a real dictionary with real definitions of hacker jargon. The Computer Contradictionary on the other hand is not intended to give real definitions at all. It exists simply to make us laugh through satire, irony, and Kelly-Bootle's irreverent wit. In fact it's required that one already know the definitions of the words he "defines" or they wouldn't be funny. This was also the requirement of the work that Kelly-Bootle paid homage to in this, and his first book, namely The Devil's Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce.

5.0 out of 5 stars A Good Book for Geeks Who Love to Laugh, January 30, 2002

By	Cindi A. Knox "theology, music, and electroni... (Joliet, IL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This little bit of whimsy is a lot of fun. It's a fun book to keep on the shelf for those times you're too frustrated to go on coding and you need just a bit of comic relief.