green bytes

green bytes

(jargon)(Or "green words") Meta-information embedded in afile, such as the length of the file or its name; as opposedto keeping such information in a separate description file orrecord.

By extension, the non-data bits in any self-describing format."A GIF file contains, among other things, green bytesdescribing the packing method for the image".

At a meeting of the SHARE Systems Division, November 22, 1964,in Washington, DC, George Mealy of IBM described the newblock tape format for FORTRAN in which unformatted binaryrecords had a Control Word. George used green chalk todescribe it. No one liked the contents of the Green Word (notinformation, wrong location, etc.) so Conrad Weisert andChanning Jackson made badges saying "Stamp out Green Words".This was the first computer badge.

Compare out-of-band, zigamorph, fence.

Button 251.