< programming > The multiple kilograms of macerated, pounded, steamed, bleached, and pressed trees that accompany most modern software or hardware products (see also tree-killer ). Hackers seldom read paper documentation and (too) often resist writing it; they prefer theirs to be terse and on-line . A common comment on this predilection is "You can't grep dead trees".
See drool-proof paper , verbiage , treeware .
[ Jargon File ]
(2003-10-25)