< jargon > 1. To modify, usually to correct; especially used when the action is performed with a debugger or binary patching tool. Also implies surgical precision. "Zap the debug level to 6 and run it again."
In the IBM mainframe world, binary patches are applied to programs or to the operating system with a program called " superzap ", whose file name is "IMASPZAP" (possibly contrived from I M A SuPerZAP).
See also Zero and Add Packed .
2. To fry a chip with static electricity. "Uh oh - I think that lightning strike may have zapped the disk controller."
(1998-07-08)