WordNet (r) 1.7 [wn]

GIGO
n : (computer science) a rule stating that the quality of the
output is a function of the quality of the input; put
garbage in and you get garbage out [syn: GIGO]

Jargon File (4.3.0, 30 APR 2001) [jargon]

GIGO /gi:'goh/ [acronym] 1. `Garbage In, Garbage Out' -- usually said
in response to lusers who complain that a program didn't "do the right
thing" when given imperfect input or otherwise mistreated in some way.
Also commonly used to describe failures in human decision making due to
faulty, incomplete, or imprecise data. 2. `Garbage In, Gospel Out': this
more recent expansion is a sardonic comment on the tendency human beings
have to put excessive trust in `computerized' data.

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (09 FEB 02) [foldoc]

GIGO

/gi:'goh/ 1. Garbage In, Garbage Out. A reference to the fact
that computers, unlike humans, will unquestioningly process
the most nonsensical of input data and produce nonsensical
output. Of course a properly written program will reject
input data that is obviously erroneous but such checking is
not always easy to specify and is tedious to write.

GIGO is usually said in response to lusers who complain that
a program didn't "do the right thing" when given imperfect
input or otherwise mistreated in some way. Also commonly used
to describe failures in human decision making due to faulty,
incomplete, or imprecise data.

2. Garbage In, Gospel Out. This more recent expansion is a
sardonic comment on the tendency human beings have to put
excessive trust in "computerised" data.

[Jargon File]

V.E.R.A. -- Virtual Entity of Relevant Acronyms December 2001 [vera]

GIGO
Garbage In Garbage Out