code grinder
A {suit}-wearing minion of the sort hired in legion strength
by banks and insurance companies to implement payroll packages
in {RPG} and other such unspeakable horrors. In its native
habitat, the code grinder often removes the suit jacket to
reveal an underplumage consisting of button-down shirt (starch
optional) and a tie. In times of dire stress, the sleeves (if
long) may be rolled up and the tie loosened about half an
inch. It seldom helps. The {code grinder}'s milieu is about
as far from hackerdom as one can get and still touch a
computer; the term connotes pity.
Used of or to a {hacker}, this term is a really serious slur
on the person's creative ability; it connotes a design style
characterised by primitive technique, rule-boundedness, {brute
force} and utter lack of imagination.
See {Real World}. Compare {card walloper}. Contrast {real
programmer}.
[{Jargon File}]
(1994-11-11)