handle

n : the part of an object designed to be held in order to use or

move it [syn: {grip}, {handgrip}, {hold}]

v 1: be in charge of, act on, or dispose of; "I can deal with

this crew of workers"; "This blender can't handle nuts";

"She managed her parents' affairs after they got too

old" [syn: {manage}, {deal}, {care}]

2: interact in a certain way; "Do right by her"; "Treat him

with caution, please" [syn: {treat}, {do by}]

3: deal with verbally or in some form of artistic expression;

"This book deals with incest"; "The course covered all of

Western Civilization" [syn: {cover}, {treat}, {work}, {plow},

{deal}, {address}]

4: touch, lift, or hold with the hands [syn: {palm}]

5: handle effectively; "The burglar wielded an axe" [syn: {wield}]

6: hold and move repeatedly

handle

1. (From Citizen's Band amateur radio slang) An

electronic pseudonym or "nom de guerre" intended to conceal

the user's true identity. Network and BBS handles function as

the same sort of simultaneous concealment and display one

finds on CB.

Use of grandiose handles is characteristic of {cracker}s,

{weenie}s, {spod}s, and other lower forms of network life;

true hackers travel on their own reputations rather than

invented legendry.

Compare {nick}.

2. (Macintosh) A pointer to a pointer to

dynamically-allocated memory. The extra level of indirection

allows on-the-fly memory compaction (to cut down on

{fragmentation}) or garbage collection of unused resources,

with minimal impact on the (possibly multiple) parts of the

larger program containing references to the allocated memory.

Compare {snap} (to snap a handle would defeat its purpose).

See also {aliasing bug}, {dangling pointer}.

[{Jargon File}]

(1995-02-28)