File 13

"File 13" is a euphemism for the trash can. The phrase is especially used in the U.S. military, and is less common outside of the United States. In the United Kingdom, for instance, the expression "round file" or "circular file" is more common (in reference to trash cans typically being round). Expressions such as "I'll place that memo in file 13" are often heard in offices as a joking way of saying, "I'm going to throw away that memo."

History

The first known citation of "File 13" was in 1941. The phrase's origins may perhaps be traced to 13 being a supposedly unlucky number, although the exact source is unknown. Another explanation refers to the fact that there are 12 months in the year, and a file is typically kept for each, with the 13th file being non-existent (the garbage can). According to Slangsearch: Air Force, "File 13" refers to an aircraft's garbage can.

Usage in popular culture

File 13 is one of the simple games distributed in Dragon magazine. In this board game, players assume the roles of game publishers and each attempts to develop and market "hot item" games before the others.

File 13 (board game)

File 13, "The Game Inventor's Game", is a board game created by Tom Wham. File 13 first appeared in Dragon Magazine #72 and was later re-released by TSR, Inc. in the boxed set Best of the Dragon Magazine Games.

File 13 is an exaggerated simulation of the process of getting games published by a mythical game company called The Great Game Company in the Sky. It is implied that this fictional company is a reflection of TSR.

The name File 13 refers to a trash can — where, it is implied, most game ideas end up.

External links

File

File or filing may refer to:

Services

Information

Computing

Other uses

See also

Glossary of chess

This page explains commonly used terms in chess in alphabetical order. Some of these have their own pages, like fork and pin. For a list of unorthodox chess pieces, see Fairy chess piece; for a list of terms specific to chess problems, see Glossary of chess problems; for a list of chess-related games, see Chess variants.

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

[adjective: prophylactic] Prophylactic techniques include the blockade, overprotection, and the mysterious rook move.

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

X

Z

References

Bibliography

Computer file

A computer file is a resource for storing information, which is available to a computer program and is usually based on some kind of durable storage. A file is "durable" in the sense that it remains available for other programs to use after the program that created it has finished executing. Computer files can be considered as the modern counterpart of paper documents which traditionally are kept in office and library files, and this is the source of the term.

Etymology

The word "file" was used publicly in the context of computer storage as early as February, 1950. In an RCA (Radio Corporation of America) advertisement in Popular Science Magazine describing a new "memory" vacuum tube it had developed, RCA stated:

In 1952, "file" was used in referring to information stored on punched cards.

In early usage, people regarded the underlying hardware (rather than the contents) as a file. For example, the IBM 350 disk drives were called "disk files". In about 1961 the Burroughs MCP and the MIT Compatible Time-Sharing System introduced the concept of a "file system", which managed several virtual "files" on one storage device, giving the term its present-day meaning. Although the current term "register file" shows the early concept of files, it has largely disappeared.