Source : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing

Cinderella Book
     
         "Introduction to Automata Theory, Languages, and
        Computation", by John Hopcroft and Jeffrey Ullman,
        (Addison-Wesley, 1979).  So called because the cover depicts a
        girl (putatively Cinderella) sitting in front of a Rube
        Goldberg device and holding a rope coming out of it.  On the
        back cover, the device is in shambles after she has
        (inevitably) pulled on the rope.
     
        See also {book titles}.
     
        [{Jargon File}]
     
        (1996-12-03)