Sig \Sig\, n. [Akin to AS. s[imac]gan to fall. [root]151a. See {Sink}, v. t.] Urine. [Prov. Eng.] [1913 Webster]
SIG /sig/, n. (also common as a prefix in combining forms) A Special Interest Group, in one of several technical areas, sponsored by the Association for Computing Machinery; well-known ones include SIGPLAN (the Special Interest Group on Programming Languages), SIGARCH (the Special Interest Group for Computer Architecture) and SIGGRAPH (the Special Interest Group for Computer Graphics). Hackers, not surprisingly, like to overextend this naming convention to less formal associations like SIGBEER (at ACM conferences) and SIGFOOD (at University of Illinois).
signature sig 1. A set of function symbols with {arities}. 2. <messaging> (Or sig) A few lines of information about the sender of an {electronic mail} message or {news} {posting}. Most {Unix} mail and news software will {automagically} append a signature from a file called .signature in the user's {home directory} to outgoing mail and news. A signature should give your real name and your {e-mail address} since, though these appear in the {headers} of your messages, they may be {munged} by intervening software. It is currently (1994) hip to include the {URL} of your {home page} on the {World-Wide Web} in your sig. The composition of one's sig can be quite an art form, including an {ASCII} logo or one's choice of witty sayings (see {sig quote}, {fool file}). However, large sigs are a waste of {bandwidth}, and it has been observed that the size of one's sig block is usually inversely proportional to one's prestige on the net. See also {doubled sig}, {sig virus}. 2. <programming> A concept very similar to {abstract base classes} except that they have their own {hierarchy} and can be applied to compiled {classes}. Signatures provide a means of separating {subtyping} and {inheritance}. They are implemented in {C++} as patches to {GCC} 2.5.2 by Gerald Baumgartner <[email protected]>. (ftp://ftp.cs.purdue.edu/pub/gb/). (2001-01-05)
Sig Signal Processing, Analysis, and Display program. An environment with an associated programming language by Jan Carter of {Argonne National Lab}. Telephone +1 (312) 972 7250. [{Jargon File}]
Special Interest Group SIG (SIG) One of several technical areas, sponsored by the {Association for Computing Machinery}. Well-known SIGs include SIGPLAN (the Special Interest Group on Programming Languages), SIGARCH (the Special Interest Group for Computer Architecture) and SIGGRAPH (the Special Interest Group for Computer Graphics). (1994-10-27)