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chain
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chain 1. /vi./ [orig. from BASIC's `CHAIN' statement]
To hand off execution to a child or successor without going
through the OS command interpreter that invoked it. The state
of the parent program is lost and there is no returning to it.
Though this facility used to be common on memory-limited micros and
is still widely supported for backward compatibility, the jargon
usage is semi-obsolescent; in particular, most Unix programmers
will think of this as an exec. Oppose the more modern
`subshell'. 2. /n./ A series of linked data areas within an
operating system or application. `Chain rattling' is the process
of repeatedly running through the linked data areas searching for
one which is of interest to the executing program. The implication
is that there is a very large number of links on the chain.
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