ABEND means ABnormal END. Abnormal termination (of
software); crash; lossage. Derives from an error message on the
IBM 360; used jokingly by
hackers but seriously mainly by code grinders. Usually capitalised, but may appear as "abend". Hackers will try to persuade you that ABEND is called "abend" because it is what system operators do to the computer late on
Friday when they want to call it a day, and hence is from the
German Abend = "Evening".
See also:
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