The Computer Contradictionary
{{Short description|Satirical dictionary of computer industry terms}}{{Infobox book|
| name = The Computer Contradictionary
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| image = The Computer Contradictionary.jpg| caption =
| author = Stan Kelly-Bootle
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| country = United States
| language = English
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| release_date = May 1995
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| media_type = Print
| pages = 256 pages
| isbn = 0-262-61112-0
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The Computer Contradictionary is a non-fiction book by Stan Kelly-Bootle that compiles a satirical list of definitions of computer industry terms. It was originally published as 'The devil's DP dictionary'. it is an example of "cynical lexicography" in the tradition of Ambrose Bierce's The Devil's Dictionary.{{cite web|url=http://www.ercb.com/brief/brief.0026.html|title=The Court Jester of Computerdom|work=Dr Dobb's Electronic Review of Books|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19970222035805/http://www.ercb.com/brief/brief.0026.html|archive-date=22 February 1997}} Rather than offering a factual account of usage, its definitions are largely made up by the author.{{cite book|last=Raymond|first=Eric S|title=The New Hacker's Dictionary - 3rd Edition|year=1996|publisher=MIT Press|pages=534–535}}
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, which praised the book, wrote that it was "smartly-titled" but was an "awfully stupid book".{{cite news|last=Harris|first=Krissy|title=Dictionaries to De-Encrypt What the Digerati Are Saying|url=http://articles.latimes.com/1998/jan/26/business/fi-12245/2|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305225312/http://articles.latimes.com/1998/jan/26/business/fi-12245/2|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 5, 2016|date=January 26, 1998|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|access-date=29 October 2012}} ACM Computing Reviews recommended dipping into it because "a dictionary is a difficult read".{{cite journal|last=Blackman|first=A|title=Review: The computer contradictionary (2nd ed.)|journal=ACM Computing Reviews|date=Mar 1, 1996|url=http://www.computingreviews.com/review/review_review.cfm?review_id=119416}}
References
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