{"ok":true,"trend":{"id":1014765,"platform":"mastodon","region":"global","key":"a parasitic fibonacci computation inside /usr/bin/top https://seriot.ch/computation/terminfo/ # hackernews # tech # prog","title":"A parasitic Fibonacci computation inside /usr/bin/top https://seriot.ch/computation/terminfo/ # HackerNews # Tech # Prog","url":"https://seriot.ch/computation/terminfo/","first_seen":"2026-10-04T18:20:30.711692Z","last_seen":"2026-10-05T02:37:50.101348Z","last_rank":11,"peak_rank":8,"last_volume":3,"peak_volume":3,"seen_count":7,"score":0.9346875,"category_hint":"software","section":"technology","category":"technology","summary":"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":"A surprising technical finding that a common system tool silently wastes computation is drawing attention from programmers.","tone":"neutral","entities":["Nicolas Seriot","/usr/bin/top","macOS","terminfo"],"summarized_at":"2026-10-05T00:24:32.935497Z","meta":{"tag":"programming","via":"scan","kind":"status","lang":"en","instance":"mastodon.social","tag_uses":72},"nw":null,"promo":null,"kind":null,"importance":null,"hidden":false,"hide_reason":null,"judged_at":null,"title_en":"Hidden Fibonacci computation found inside macOS top command","section_name":"Technology","category_name":"Technology","timeline":[{"captured_at":"2026-10-04T18:20:30.711692Z","rank":9,"volume":3},{"captured_at":"2026-10-04T18:24:32.357786Z","rank":8,"volume":3},{"captured_at":"2026-10-04T19:46:45.603512Z","rank":8,"volume":3},{"captured_at":"2026-10-04T21:08:46.452583Z","rank":9,"volume":3},{"captured_at":"2026-10-04T22:30:49.892013Z","rank":9,"volume":3},{"captured_at":"2026-10-04T23:53:27.861548Z","rank":10,"volume":3},{"captured_at":"2026-10-05T01:15:51.217415Z","rank":11,"volume":3},{"captured_at":"2026-10-05T02:37:50.101348Z","rank":11,"volume":3}],"posts":[{"platform":"mastodon","url":"https://seriot.ch/computation/terminfo/","author":"hackernews@robot.villas","title":null,"snippet":"A parasitic Fibonacci computation inside /usr/bin/top https://seriot.ch/computation/terminfo/ # HackerNews # Tech # Programming","posted_at":"2026-10-02T16:17:09Z","likes":3}],"elsewhere":[],"window":"7d"}}