{{Short description|Satirical dictionary of computer industry terms}}{{Infobox book| | name = The Computer Contradictionary | title_orig = | translator = | image = The Computer Contradictionary.jpg| caption = | author = Stan Kelly-Bootle | illustrator = | cover_artist = | country = United States | language = English | series = | genre = | publisher = | release_date = May 1995 | english_release_date = | media_type = Print | pages = 256 pages | isbn = 0-262-61112-0 | dewey= | congress= | oclc= | preceded_by = | followed_by = }} '''''The Computer Contradictionary''''' is a non-fiction book by Stan Kelly-Bootle that compiles a satirical list of definitions of computer industry terms. It is an example of "cynical lexicography" in the tradition of Ambrose Bierce's ''The Devil's Dictionary''.<ref>{{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}}</ref> Rather than offering a factual account of usage, its definitions are largely made up by the author.<ref>{{cite book|last=Raymond|first=Eric S|title=The New Hacker's Dictionary - 3rd Edition|year=1996|publisher=MIT Press|pages=534–535}}</ref>
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.<ref name=acm/>
== 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".<ref>{{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}}</ref> ''ACM Computing Reviews'' recommended dipping into it because "a dictionary is a difficult read".<ref name=acm>{{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}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
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Category:Satirical books Category:MIT Press books Category:1995 non-fiction books Category:Computer humour
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