h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I know that those hardware copy-protection devices that come with some high-end CAD packages (and other expensive programs) are called "dongles", but why? Who originally coined the term? Was it just someone who thought the word was funny, or is there more to it like some type of acronym?

I am guessing, but it might have something to do with it dangling on the printer port.

Mic

(waiting to be corrected....)

Oooooh!!! Now I remember them. A D25-D25 that cost anything between £30 and £250 depending on what you wanted to 'un-dongle'.

But yeah, why?

I believe it is just a funny sounding word like gizmo, widget or thingummyjig.

DNA has a whole section on them in the "Salmon of Doubt" - but he doesn't claim to have coined the word.

I remember first hearing the word in about 1979 with respect to the ZX 81 or the ZX Spectrum, which needed a bit hanging out the back before you could do anything worthwhile with it.

So what about a TWAIN device?

"Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet,"

-- R. Kipling

It received this interesting name because it was difficult to create an API, (application program interface), for hooking up scanners and other imaging devices for both MS Windows and Mac machines.

TWAIN stands for Thing Without An Interesting Name

That's what 'they' would have you believe...

http://www.twain.org/faq.htm#What%20is%20TWAIN%20an%20acronym%20for

http://foldoc.doc.ic.ac.uk/foldoc/foldoc.cgi?query=twain&action=Search

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TWAIN

I prefer the 'non-acronym' version

So the Kipling story is the true one, then?

So it would seem.

Of course, coders tend to be a bit... eccentric

'Technology Without An Interesting Name' could be the original, and they came up with the Kipling tale to appear more intriguingly sensitive and poetic to girls at parties

I know that the Kipling story is the obvious one, the one that immediately sprung to mind for me within about 2 seconds of seeing the word "TWAIN". That's why I doubted it.

Who heard a word in 1979 in relation to a *BAck in the day.* Dangling thing's off the back of computers was seen as (and was) poor quality solutions, hence a bastardisation of the word to dongle when hardware keys for software was developed to work with bi-directional interface ports eg. RS232.

Many dongles allowed for in-line conectivity to a plotter / other serial interface printing device. The sofware can 'interigate' the dongle.

Later with bi-diretional "Centronics" printer ports and after they became more popular, dongles started to be made for that port too.

Never an interface, nor add-on. Though some people see an in-line device (say print buffer, or auto-switch) an say "dongle" that's down to their ignorance, not what a dongle is.

As for "TWAIN" ask Epson, 'cus I can't be doing with boring folk about scanners, and TWAIN compliantcy.