Mmastodon TechnologyTechnology first seen 15 h ago, last 6 h ago, peak #8

Hidden Fibonacci computation found inside macOS top command

Original: A parasitic Fibonacci computation inside /usr/bin/top https://seriot.ch/computation/terminfo/ # HackerNews # Tech # Prog

Security researcher Nicolas Seriot documents how /usr/bin/top, the macOS system monitor, ends up performing an unnecessary Fibonacci-style recursive computation through terminal capability string parsing, meaning the utility wastes CPU cycles every time it runs. The write-up walks through the terminfo parsing chain that triggers the hidden workload. Developers are sharing the finding as a striking example of obscure, parasitic computation lurking in everyday Unix tools.

Why now: A surprising technical finding that a common system tool silently wastes computation is drawing attention from programmers.

Nicolas Seriot/usr/bin/topmacOSterminfo

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• A parasitic Fibonacci computation inside /usr/bin/top https://seriot.ch/computation/terminfo/ # HackerNews # Tech # Programming · hackernews@robot.villas · 3

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