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Microsoft's ill-chosen magic constants [BARF ALERT]
Dreamwidth (via Fedora) ^ | Jul. 13th, 2012 06:59 pm | mjg59

Posted on 07/13/2012 8:26:28 PM PDT by re_nortex

Paolo Bonzini noticed something a little awkward in the Linux kernel support code for Microsoft's HyperV virtualisation environment - specifically, that the magic constant passed through to the hypervisor was "0xB16B00B5", or, in English, "BIG BOOBS". It turns out that this isn't an exception - when the code was originally submitted it also contained "0x0B00B135". That one got removed when the Xen support code was ripped out.


TOPICS: Computers/Internet
KEYWORDS: constants; linux; microsoft
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The article goes on to add:

At the most basic level it's just straightforward childish humour, and the use of vaguely-English strings in magic hex constants is hardly uncommon. But it's also specifically male childish humour. Puerile sniggering at breasts contributes to the continuing impression that software development is a boys club where girls aren't welcome. It's especially irritating in this case because Azure may depend on this constant, so changing it will break things.

So, full marks, Microsoft. You've managed to make the kernel more offensive to half the population and you've made it awkward for us to rectify it.

1 posted on 07/13/2012 8:26:35 PM PDT by re_nortex
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To: re_nortex

Better than the 0xDEADBEEF we used to use when debugging.


2 posted on 07/13/2012 8:30:33 PM PDT by Hodar (A man can fail many times, but he isn't a failure until he begins to blame somebody else.- Burroughs)
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To: re_nortex

Um, the disparity between male and female coders has nothing to do with “sexism.” It has everything to do with the fact that men’s and women’s brains are wired differently.

Are there some great female coders? Sure. But they’re rare. And many of the top male coders have ODD senses of (yes, juvenile) humor.

This is just reality - something we’re apparently not supposed to pay attention to anymore, at least if it offends the PC (not as in personal computer) gods.


3 posted on 07/13/2012 8:34:35 PM PDT by piytar (The predator-class is furious that their prey are shooting back.)
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To: re_nortex

OK, time for a nerd test: who here knows what F3GUM was?


4 posted on 07/13/2012 8:36:08 PM PDT by piytar (The predator-class is furious that their prey are shooting back.)
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To: re_nortex

Omg are you serious, or??

Honestly man, you are taking a lib position on this one.

It is any companies right or coders right to use perfectly legitimate numbers in sequence.

To the philosophical and factual point of it, the implication is only in YOUR head. It is completely irrelevant if the coder had it in HIS head at one point.


5 posted on 07/13/2012 8:43:03 PM PDT by Individual Rights in NJ (Infidel Inside)
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To: piytar
OK, time for a nerd test: who here knows what F3GUM was?

I had to look it up but was not familiar with it offhand. I do recall that 0xABADCAFE (or was it 0xCAFEBABE) is a magic string for a Java class bytecode. And, of course, the MZ signature was used to introduce the program segment in Microsoft executables.

6 posted on 07/13/2012 8:43:18 PM PDT by re_nortex (DP...that's what I like about Texas.)
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To: Individual Rights in NJ

And shame on my bad grammar on that post; sorry on the phone web.


7 posted on 07/13/2012 8:44:19 PM PDT by Individual Rights in NJ (Infidel Inside)
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To: piytar

I had a Model II with two 8 inch flopies


8 posted on 07/13/2012 8:44:53 PM PDT by MindBender26 (America can survive 4 years of Romney. She cannot survive another 4 years of an unfettered Obama!)
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To: re_nortex

You’re probably a little bit too easily offended to work in a male dominated occupation like coding.

You should probably specialize in coding talking baby dolls to ensure such offenses don’t come across your eyes.


9 posted on 07/13/2012 8:47:49 PM PDT by Jonty30 (What Islam and secularism have in common is that they are both death cults.)
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To: re_nortex

Yawn. Somebody suffers from boob envy.


10 posted on 07/13/2012 8:53:08 PM PDT by VeniVidiVici (Congrats to Ted Kennedy! He's been sober for two years now!!)
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To: Jonty30; Individual Rights in NJ
I sincerely apologize to both of you for any misunderstanding about my stance on this matter. For the record, I think it's utterly ridiculous and is an example of PC run amok. It's as absurd as the prohibition of using the terms MASTER and SLAVE to designate IDE drives.

My posting of the article should have been accompanied by the requisite [BARF ALERT] tag and I've asked the Admin Moderator to append that to the title.

I hope we're all right now and that there are no hard feelings. I'm a 70-year old Unix geek from way back (the days of K&R as well as "ken") and, believe me, I hate political correctness in all forms.

11 posted on 07/13/2012 9:01:21 PM PDT by re_nortex (DP...that's what I like about Texas.)
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To: re_nortex

Thanks for the post.

Appreciate NON-PC


12 posted on 07/13/2012 9:07:34 PM PDT by Texas Fossil (Government, even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one)
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To: All
The comments at the source (remember, I didn't write the article) are interesting. Sure, there are a few liberals expressing outrage but some reasonable people are also present in the discussion:

"make the kernel more offensive to half the population"?

Most people don't read source code of any kind. Please drop the faux-offended male feminist pretense, and get real. (BTW, my wife just read your post and thinks B00B5 are funny.)

That site needs some FReeping! :-)

13 posted on 07/13/2012 9:10:46 PM PDT by re_nortex (DP...that's what I like about Texas.)
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To: piytar

Trash talk. ;)


14 posted on 07/13/2012 9:11:29 PM PDT by Melas (u)
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To: re_nortex

“Boob” has more than one meaning. One of them is “simpleton.” The gals can quite properly razz those gutter minded laddies by calling them boobs.


15 posted on 07/13/2012 9:17:59 PM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (let me ABOs run loose, lew)
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To: Hodar

The CCI mini computer boot monitor would return cafebabe on successful completion of the board diagnostic. It was the name of a nearby coffee shop.


16 posted on 07/13/2012 9:19:30 PM PDT by Myrddin
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To: MindBender26

I have a working Model 16A with 512KB on memory on the 68000 CPU board. My board actually has the 68010 CPU. My Xenix OS has a port of the Korn shell from the 1986 source. Microsoft ditched support before adding demand page virtual memory to the 68k kernel.


17 posted on 07/13/2012 9:25:08 PM PDT by Myrddin
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To: Melas
Trash talk. ;)

Just do a recursive grep though the Linux kernel source tree sometime for the seven naughty words. Here's but one example (cleaned up for FR standards):

/* Only Sun can take such nice parts and f**k up the programming interface
 * like this.  Good job guys...
 */

0xBI6BOOB5 is pretty tame stuff by comparison.

18 posted on 07/13/2012 10:02:29 PM PDT by re_nortex (DP...that's what I like about Texas.)
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To: VeniVidiVici
Yawn. Somebody suffers from boob envy.

Not me. I've got my own.

Well, OK, TECHNICALLY they're moobs, but I do got 'em...

19 posted on 07/13/2012 10:38:32 PM PDT by null and void (Day 1269 of our ObamaVacation from reality - Heroes aren't made Frank, they're cornered...)
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To: re_nortex
As someone who has been working with computers for 30+ years, and getting paid to do it for 25+... I can tell you these kinds of inside jokes are everywhere. The examples listed here are nothing, NOTHING, compared to what I've seen.

Offensive? Maybe, to the easily offended. I have known and currently know some very sharp ladies in programming. They have just as irreverent of a sense of humor as their male counterparts.

20 posted on 07/13/2012 11:12:27 PM PDT by ThunderSleeps (Stop obama now! Stop the hussein - insane agenda!)
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