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nuke: /n[y]ook/, vt. [common] 1. To intentionally delete the entire contents of a given directory
or storage volume. “On Unix, rm -r
/usr will nuke everything in the usr filesystem.” Never
used for accidental deletion; contrast blow away.
2. Syn. for dike, applied to smaller things
such as files, features, or code sections. Often used to express a final
verdict. “What do you want me to do with that 80-meg session
file?” “Nuke it.” 3. Used of processes as well as files; nuke is a frequent verbal
alias for kill -9 on Unix. 4. On IBM PCs, a bug that results in
fandango on core can trash the operating system, including the FAT (the
in-core copy of the disk block chaining information). This can utterly
scramble attached disks, which are then said to have been nuked. This term is also used of analogous
lossages on Macintoshes and other micros without memory protection.
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