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Hack has several meanings in the technology and computer science fields: a clever or quick fix to a computer program problem; a clumsy or inelegant solution to a problem; or a modification of a program or device to give the user access to features that were otherwise unavailable to them. Image File history File links Question_book-3. ... Image File history File links Emblem-important. ...

Origin of term

A fake fire truck on MIT's Great Dome

All of the modern meanings seem to be rooted in its widespread use as slang throughout the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), starting in the 1960s. There, the original meaning of "hack" was a quick, elaborate and/or bodged solution students devised for technical obstacle; it was used with hacker, meaning one who discovers and implements a hack. The word itself comes from the German word meaning "someone who makes furniture with an axe" ^[1], implying a lack of finesse in a "hack"; it is believed by many in the hacking community that the reason for this is because programs too large to run on the limited computer resources of the time had portions "chopped" or "hacked" out in order to be reduced to a more reasonable size. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (1024 × 768 pixel, file size: 371 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) from: http://www. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (1024 × 768 pixel, file size: 371 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) from: http://www. ... “MIT” redirects here. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from 1960 to 1969. ... Look up Bodge and bodge in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article is about computer hacking. ...

See: MIT hacks An MIT hack is defined as a clever, benign, and ethical prank or practical joke at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. ...

Over time, the meaning of the word there was expanded, perhaps through contact with the amateur radio community. It came to mean either a kludge, or the opposite of a kludge, as in a clever or elegant solution to a difficult problem. In the term "hack value" it also acquired a meaning of anything that was simultaneously fun and clever. Amateur radio station with modern solid-state transceiver featuring LCD display and DSP capabilities Amateur radio, often called ham radio, is a hobby that uses various types of radio broadcasting equipment to communicate with other radio amateurs for public service, recreation and self-training. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Hack value is the notion among hackers that something is worth doing or is interesting. ...

The initial hacker community at MIT, particularly those associated with the Tech Model Railroad Club, applied this pre-existing local slang to computer programming, producing the variant which first came into common use outside MIT. The Tech Model Railroad Club (TMRC), also known as The Midnight Requisitioning Committee a student organization at MIT, is one of the most famous model railroad clubs in the world. ... Programming redirects here. ...

History in Computer Science

A "hack" now meant a clever or quick fix to a computer program problem, as in "That hack you made last night to the editor is working well". A hacker came into the lexicon as meaning one who hacks, using this definition. The surface implication (which might be a modest mocking and play on the literary definition) was a casual attempt to fix the problem, but the deeper meaning was something more clever and thus impressive. This article is about computer hacking. ...

It was used especially among US university computing center staff, such as those at Stanford in the period beginning approximately in the mid-1960s. The context determined whether the complimentary or derogatory meanings were implied. Phrases such as "ugly hack" or "quick hack" generally referred to the latter meaning; phrases such as "cool hack" or "neat hack" referred to the former. For other uses of terms redirecting here, see US (disambiguation), USA (disambiguation), and United States (disambiguation) Motto In God We Trust(since 1956) (From Many, One; Latin, traditional) Anthem The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington, D.C. Largest city New York City National language English (de facto)1 Demonym American... Stanford may refer: Stanford University Places: Stanford, Kentucky Stanford, California, home of Stanford University Stanford Shopping Center Stanford, New York, town in Dutchess County. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from 1960 to 1969. ...

In modern computer programming, a "hack" can refer to a solution or method which functions correctly but which is "ugly" in its concept, which works outside the accepted structures and norms of the environment, or which is not easily extendable or maintainable (see kludge). This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

In a similar vein, a "hack" may refer to works outside of computer programming. For example, a math hack means a clever solution to a mathematical problem. The GNU General Public License has been described as a copyright hack because it cleverly uses the copyright laws for a purpose the lawmakers did not foresee. All of these uses now also seem to be spreading beyond MIT as well. For other meanings of mathematics or uses of math and maths, see Mathematics (disambiguation) and Math (disambiguation). ... The GNU logo The GNU General Public License (GNU GPL or simply GPL) is a widely-used free software license, originally written by Richard Stallman for the GNU project. ... Not to be confused with copywriting. ...

The term has since acquired an additional and now more common meaning, since approximately the 1980s; this more modern definition was initially associated with crackers. This growing use of the term "hack" is to refer to a program that (sometimes illegally) modifies another program, often a computer game, giving the user access to features otherwise inaccessible to them. As an example of this use, for Palm OS users (until the 4th iteration of this operating system), a "hack" refers to an extension of the operating system which provides additional functionality. The general media also uses this term to describe the act of illegally breaking into a computer, but this meaning is disputed. The term is additionally used to refer to attempts to gain low-level access to hardware such as a graphing calculator, video game console, or other device (see CueCat for a notorious example) to expose or add functionality to a device that was unintended for use by end users by the company who created it. While it is generally accepted as a way of creating additional markets for such devices (and software as well), companies take different and sometimes inconsistent attitudes towards such practices, ranging from open acceptance (such as Texas Instruments for its graphing calculators and Lego for its Lego Mindstorms robotics gear) to outright hostility (such as Microsoft's attempts to lock out Xbox hackers or the DRM routines on Blu-Ray players designed to sabotage compromised players). Such activity is generally considered to exist in a legal gray area. The 1980s refers to the years from 1980 to 1989. ... Look up Cracker in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A computer program is a collection of instructions that describe a task, or set of tasks, to be carried out by a computer. ... Palm OS is an embedded operating system initially developed by U.S. Robotics owned Palm Computing, Inc. ... An operating system (OS) is the software that manages the sharing of the resources of a computer and provides programmers with an interface used to access those resources. ... The terms hacker and hacking have controversial definitions. ... A typical graphing calculator. ... Game console redirects here. ... CueCat barcode scanner The correct title of this article is :CueCat. ... Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN), better known in the electronics industry (and popularly) as TI, is an American company based in Dallas, Texas, USA, renowned for developing and commercializing semiconductor and computer technology. ... For other uses, see Lego (disambiguation). ... Lego Mindstorms is a line of Lego sets combining programmable bricks with electric motors, sensors, Lego bricks, and Lego Technic pieces (such as gears, axles, beams, and pneumatic parts) to build robots and other automated or interactive systems. ... Microsoft Corporation, (NASDAQ: MSFT, HKSE: 4338) is a multinational computer technology corporation with global annual revenue of US$44. ... The Xbox is a sixth generation era video game console produced by Microsoft Corporation. ... Digital rights management (DRM) is an umbrella term that refers to access control technologies used by publishers and other copyright holders to limit usage of digital media or devices. ... Blu-ray discs Blu-ray Disc is a next-generation optical disc format jointly developed by a group of leading consumer electronics and PC companies called the Blu_ray Disc Association (BDA), which succeeds the Blu_ray Disc Founders (BDF). ...

Now the term hack means cracking or breaking into a computer or website.

Sometimes the jargon used by hackers is thought of as a language in its own right, called Hackish (see the Jargon file). This should not be confused with "1337" or "leetspeak." As described by Eric S. Raymond, hackish is a sociolect of the english language used by members of the hacker subculture. ... The Jargon File is a glossary of hacker slang. ... This article does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

See also

• Hack value
• HAKMEM
• Haxie and Extension (Mac OS)
• History of "hacker"
• IHTFP
• Kludge
• MIT hack
• NetHack
• Wiktionary definition

Hack value is the notion among hackers that something is worth doing or is interesting. ... HAKMEM, alternatively known as AI Memo 239, is a 1972 memo (technical report) of the MIT AI Lab that describes a wide variety of hacks, primarily useful and clever algorithms for mathematical computation. ... In computing, a Haxie is a hack specifically designed for use with the Mac OS X operating system. ... Extension (Mac OS) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... This article is about computer hacking. ... IHTFP is an abbreviation which makes up part of the folklore at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... An MIT hack is defined as a clever, benign, and ethical prank or practical joke at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. ... This article is about the role-playing game. ...

External links

Wikibooks has a book on the topic of

Hacking

• MIT gallery of hacks
• A Hack a day keeps the doctor away
• On Hacking by Richard Stallman

Image File history File links Wikibooks-logo-en. ... Wikibooks logo Wikibooks, previously called Wikimedia Free Textbook Project and Wikimedia-Textbooks, is a wiki for the creation of books. ... Richard Matthew Stallman (born March 16, 1953), often abbreviated rms,[1] is an American software freedom activist, hacker,[2] and software developer. ...

References

1. ^ http://books.google.com/books?id=C0Z30r8qdpcC&pg=PA20&lpg=PA20&dq=someone+who+makes+furniture+with+an+axe&source=web&ots=kwUER8EzH7&sig=qjNltAYTTfvTRUPwYrkrPZqeXzA Perspectives on Free and Open Source Software By Joseph Feller, page 20