資料來源 : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing

live data
     
        1. Data that is written to be interpreted and takes over
        program flow when triggered by some un-obvious operation, such
        as viewing it.  One use of such hacks is to break security.
        For example, some smart terminals have commands that allow one
        to download strings to program keys; this can be used to write
        live data that, when listed to the terminal, infects it with a
        security-breaking {virus} that is triggered the next time a
        hapless user strikes that key.  For another, there are some
        well-known bugs in {vi} that allow certain texts to send
        arbitrary commands back to the machine when they are simply
        viewed.
     
        2. In {C}, data that includes pointers to functions
        (executable code).
     
        3. An object, such as a {trampoline}, that is constructed on
        the fly by a program and intended to be executed as code.
     
        4. Actual real-world data, as opposed to "test data".  For
        example, "I think I have the record deletion module finished."
        "Have you tried it out on live data?"  This usage usually
        carries the connotation that live data is more fragile and
        must not be corrupted, or bad things will happen.  So a more
        appropriate response to the above claim might be: "Well, make
        sure it works perfectly before we throw live data at it."  The
        implication here is that record deletion is something pretty
        significant, and a haywire record-deletion module running amok
        on live data would probably cause great harm.
     
        [{Jargon File}]