chain

   1.  vi. [orig. from BASIC's CHAIN statement] To hand off execution to
   a   child  or  successor  without  going  through  the  {OS}  command
   interpreter  that invoked it. The state of the parent program is lost
   and  there  is  no  returning  to it. Though this facility used to be
   common  on  memory-limited  micros  and is still widely supported for
   backward  compatibility,  the  jargon  usage  is semi-obsolescent; in
   particular,  most  Unix  programmers will think of this as an {exec}.
   Oppose the more modern subshell.

   2.  n.  A  series  of linked data areas within an operating system or
   application.  Chain  rattling  is  the  process of repeatedly running
   through  the linked data areas searching for one which is of interest
   to  the  executing  program.  The implication is that there is a very
   large number of links on the chain.

[glossary]
[Reference(s) to this entry by made by: {exec}]