Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2005 13:08:54 -0800
To: Tom Lane <tgl@sss.pgh.pa.us>
Cc: Michael Fuhr <mike@fuhr.org>,
	Merlin Moncure <merlin.moncure@rcsonline.com>, pgsql-docs@postgresql.org
Subject: Re: allballs
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	Merlin Moncure <merlin.moncure@rcsonline.com>,
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From: elein@varlena.com (elein)

On Mon, Jan 24, 2005 at 03:18:56PM -0500, Tom Lane wrote:
> Michael Fuhr <mike@fuhr.org> writes:
> > "Allballs" is slang for "all zeros" because zeros look like balls.
> > You hear it sometimes in environments that use a 24-hour clock
> > (communications, military, etc.).  Here's an example:
> 
> > http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/basics/bsf2-3.html
> 
> > I don't know that "allballs" is specified in any standard, so I
> > suspect that somebody who used the term added it to PostgreSQL
> > (or whatever it was called at the time) for convenience.
> 
> I'm sure it isn't in any SQL standard ;-).  Tom Lockhart is doubtless
> responsible for it being in our code; I suppose he put it in because it
> is in reasonably common use at JPL.
> 
> 			regards, tom lane

Actually I think all of the weird psuedonyms for 000000 were in 
postgres very early on.  I remember seeing them in illustra
and we branched postgres in 1992.  So I blame funky grad students.

--elein