Flashes of Panic

We are, in this industry, fond of long names. We’re also pseudo-engineers, so we abbreviate everything, because the names we came up with were too long. (Example: Java Server Pages becomes JSP, because it’s quicker to say “jayesspee” than “Java Server Pages.”) We train ourselves to trip lightly through abbreviations like XSLT. (Say that three times, fast.) But sometimes we need something a bit more colorful and evocative. We need some vivid images. And we need jargon that makes us sound like insiders.

bounce, v. - To restart or reset a system (hardware, or a software daemon,) in order to clear possible problems and reload configuration files. ex. “Sometimes you can change JSPs without needing to bounce Tomcat.” “I couldn’t figure out where the problem was, but when I bounced the box it went away.”