handle

1. jargon (From Citizen's Band amateur radio slang) An

electronic pseudonym or "nom de guerre" intended to conceal

the user's true identity. Network and BBS handles function as

the same sort of simultaneous concealment and display one

finds on CB.

Use of grandiose handles is characteristic of crackers,

weenies, spods, and other lower forms of network life;

true hackers travel on their own reputations rather than

invented legendry.

Compare nick.

2. programming (Macintosh) A pointer to a pointer to

dynamically-allocated memory. The extra level of indirection

allows on-the-fly memory compaction (to cut down on

fragmentation) or garbage collection of unused resources,

with minimal impact on the (possibly multiple) parts of the

larger program containing references to the allocated memory.

Compare snap (to snap a handle would defeat its purpose).

See also aliasing bug, dangling pointer.

[Jargon File]

(1995-02-28)