Talk:toeprint

The computing definition comes from the Hacker's Jargon file via FOLDOC and, as far as Google can tell, is not used anywhere. Unless someone can support this usage I suggest it be deleted. -- Denishowe 10:06, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

RFV discussion: September–October 2019
"An exceptionally small audit trail left by a crashed program." I think this was created by confusion from the Jargon File's entry, which defines this as a small footprint: however, footprint has two computing senses (1. physical space taken up by equipment, 2. crash audit trail) and &mdash; from my research &mdash; a computing toeprint seems to be a small #1, not a small #2. I've added that sense, which leaves this one needing citations. Equinox ◑ 00:23, 21 September 2019 (UTC)
 * I found a couple of weak mentions, but no actual uses. I did add an additional meaning from genetics. Kiwima (talk) 22:25, 21 September 2019 (UTC)
 * In the computing sense this seems to be a dictionary-only term. I have no idea what is meant by “the audit trail of a crashed program”, also used in the definition of, which was taken from The Hackers Dictionary, where it is classified as IBM jargon: “rampantly unofficial jargon lists circulated within IBM’s own beleaguered hacker underground”. So already there it was copied from a list of mentions rather than based on uses. (There is a contemporary computing sense of footprints, meaning the traces left by any app or other program that has been run, not in any specific way related to program crashes.) --Lambiam 09:37, 22 September 2019 (UTC)


 * I would assume they mean (something like) a stack trace. It is reasonable to call that an "audit trail" although that's how I would expect an accountant to talk about it. Equinox ◑ 21:33, 23 October 2019 (UTC)

RFV-failed Kiwima (talk) 10:00, 23 October 2019 (UTC)