GIGO

/gi:'goh/ 1. Garbage In, Garbage Out. A reference to the fact

that computers, unlike humans, will unquestioningly process

the most nonsensical of input data and produce nonsensical

output. Of course a properly written program will reject

input data that is obviously erroneous but such checking is

not always easy to specify and is tedious to write.

GIGO is usually said in response to lusers who complain that

a program didn't "do the right thing" when given imperfect

input or otherwise mistreated in some way. Also commonly used

to describe failures in human decision making due to faulty,

incomplete, or imprecise data.

2. Garbage In, Gospel Out. This more recent expansion is a

sardonic comment on the tendency human beings have to put

excessive trust in "computerised" data.

[Jargon File]