# The Computer Contradictionary

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{{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](/source/Stan_Kelly-Bootle)
| illustrator   =
| cover_artist  =
| country       = United States
| language      = [English](/source/English_language)
| 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](/source/non-fiction) book by [Stan Kelly-Bootle](/source/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](/source/Ambrose_Bierce)'s ''[The Devil's Dictionary](/source/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](/source/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](/source/MIT_Press) and is an update of Kelly-Bootle's ''The Devil's [DP](/source/data_processing) 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](/source/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}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Computer Contradictionary}}

Category:Satirical books
Category:MIT Press books
Category:1995 non-fiction books
Category:Computer humour

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [The Computer Contradictionary](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Computer_Contradictionary) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Computer_Contradictionary?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.