Supercomputer development abandoned by famous coder, striking them a blow (8)
I believe the answer is:
uppercut
'a blow' is the definition.
(I know that uppercut is a type of blow)
'supercomputer development abandoned by famous coder striking them' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'by' could be 'per' (I've seen this in another clue) and 'per' is present in the answer.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for uppercut that I've seen before include "Swinging blow in boxing" , "Swinging blow directed at an opponent's chin" , "Type of punch" , "Blow from fist to chin" , "Punch delivered vertically to chin" .)