The Jargon File by Eric S. Raymond (sites to read books for free .TXT) 📖

>is the One True Ghod!" from decades ago. H-infix marking of `Ghod' and

other words spread into the 1960s counterculture via underground

comix, and into early hackerdom either from the counterculture or from

SF fandom (the three overlapped heavily at the time). More recently,

the h infix has become an expected feature of benchmark names

(Dhrystone, Rhealstone, etc.); this is probably patterning on the

original Whetstone (the name of a laboratory) but influenced by the

fannish/counterculture h infix.

Node:ha ha only serious, Next:[6442]hack, Previous:[6443]h, Up:[6444]=

H =

ha ha only serious

[from SF fandom, orig. as mutation of HHOK, `Ha Ha Only Kidding'] A

phrase (often seen abbreviated as HHOS) that aptly captures the flavor

of much hacker discourse. Applied especially to parodies, absurdities,

and ironic jokes that are both intended and perceived to contain a

possibly disquieting amount of truth, or truths that are constructed

on in-joke and self-parody. This lexicon contains many examples of

ha-ha-only-serious in both form and content. Indeed, the entirety of

hacker culture is often perceived as ha-ha-only-serious by hackers

themselves; to take it either too lightly or too seriously marks a

person as an outsider, a [6445]wannabee, or in [6446]larval stage. For

further enlightenment on this subject, consult any Zen master. See

also [6447]hacker humor, and [6448]AI koans.

Node:hack, Next:[6449]hack attack, Previous:[6450]ha ha only serious,

Up:[6451]= H =

hack

[very common] 1. n. Originally, a quick job that produces what is

needed, but not well. 2. n. An incredibly good, and perhaps very

time-consuming, piece of work that produces exactly what is needed. 3.

vt. To bear emotionally or physically. "I can't hack this heat!" 4.

vt. To work on something (typically a program). In an immediate sense:

"What are you doing?" "I'm hacking TECO." In a general (time-extended)

sense: "What do you do around here?" "I hack TECO." More generally, "I

hack foo'" is roughly equivalent to "foo' is my major interest (or

project)". "I hack solid-state physics." See [6452]Hacking X for Y. 5.

vt. To pull a prank on. See sense 2 and [6453]hacker (sense 5). 6. vi.

To interact with a computer in a playful and exploratory rather than

goal-directed way. "Whatcha up to?" "Oh, just hacking." 7. n. Short

for [6454]hacker. 8. See [6455]nethack. 9. [MIT] v. To explore the

basements, roof ledges, and steam tunnels of a large, institutional

building, to the dismay of Physical Plant workers and (since this is

usually performed at educational institutions) the Campus Police. This

activity has been found to be eerily similar to playing adventure

games such as Dungeons and Dragons and [6456]Zork. See also

[6457]vadding.

Constructions on this term abound. They include `happy hacking' (a

farewell), `how's hacking?' (a friendly greeting among hackers) and

`hack, hack' (a fairly content-free but friendly comment, often used

as a temporary farewell). For more on this totipotent term see

"[6458]The Meaning of Hack". See also [6459]neat hack, [6460]real

hack.

Node:hack attack, Next:[6461]hack mode, Previous:[6462]hack,

Up:[6463]= H =

hack attack n.

[poss. by analogy with `Big Mac Attack' from ads for the McDonald's

fast-food chain; the variant `big hack attack' is reported] Nearly

synonymous with [6464]hacking run, though the latter more strongly

implies an all-nighter.

Node:hack mode, Next:[6465]hack on, Previous:[6466]hack attack,

Up:[6467]= H =

hack mode n.

What one is in when hacking, of course. 2. More specifically, a

Zen-like state of total focus on The Problem that may be achieved when

one is hacking (this is why every good hacker is part mystic). Ability

to enter such concentration at will correlates strongly with

wizardliness; it is one of the most important skills learned during

[6468]larval stage. Sometimes amplified as `deep hack mode'.

Being yanked out of hack mode (see [6469]priority interrupt) may be

experienced as a physical shock, and the sensation of being in hack

mode is more than a little habituating. The intensity of this

experience is probably by itself sufficient explanation for the

existence of hackers, and explains why many resist being promoted out

of positions where they can code. See also [6470]cyberspace (sense 2).

Some aspects of hacker etiquette will appear quite odd to an observer

unaware of the high value placed on hack mode. For example, if someone

appears at your door, it is perfectly okay to hold up a hand (without

turning one's eyes away from the screen) to avoid being interrupted.

One may read, type, and interact with the computer for quite some time

before further acknowledging the other's presence (of course, he or

she is reciprocally free to leave without a word). The understanding

is that you might be in [6471]hack mode with a lot of delicate

[6472]state (sense 2) in your head, and you dare not [6473]swap that

context out until you have reached a good point to pause. See also

[6474]juggling eggs.

Node:hack on, Next:[6475]hack together, Previous:[6476]hack mode,

Up:[6477]= H =

hack on vt.

[very common] To [6478]hack; implies that the subject is some

pre-existing hunk of code that one is evolving, as opposed to

something one might [6479]hack up.

Node:hack together, Next:[6480]hack up, Previous:[6481]hack on,

Up:[6482]= H =

hack together vt.

[common] To throw something together so it will work. Unlike `kluge

together' or [6483]cruft together, this does not necessarily have

negative connotations.

Node:hack up, Next:[6484]hack value, Previous:[6485]hack together,

Up:[6486]= H =

hack up vt.

To [6487]hack, but generally implies that the result is a hack in

sense 1 (a quick hack). Contrast this with [6488]hack on. To `hack up

on' implies a [6489]quick-and-dirty modification to an existing

system. Contrast [6490]hacked up; compare [6491]kluge up, [6492]monkey

up, [6493]cruft together.

Node:hack value, Next:[6494]hacked off, Previous:[6495]hack up,

Up:[6496]= H =

hack value n.

Often adduced as the reason or motivation for expending effort toward

a seemingly useless goal, the point being that the accomplished goal

is a hack. For example, MacLISP had features for reading and printing

Roman numerals, which were installed purely for hack value. See

[6497]display hack for one method of computing hack value, but this

cannot really be explained, only experienced. As Louis Armstrong once

said when asked to explain jazz: "Man, if you gotta ask you'll never

know." (Feminists please note Fats Waller's explanation of rhythm:

"Lady, if you got to ask, you ain't got it.")

Node:hacked off, Next:[6498]hacked up, Previous:[6499]hack value,

Up:[6500]= H =

hacked off adj.

[analogous to `pissed off'] Said of system administrators who have

become annoyed, upset, or touchy owing to suspicions that their sites

have been or are going to be victimized by crackers, or used for

inappropriate, technically illegal, or even overtly criminal

activities. For example, having unreadable files in your home

directory called worm',lockpick', or `goroot' would probably be an

effective (as well as impressively obvious and stupid) way to get your

sysadmin hacked off at you.

It has been pointed out that there is precedent for this usage in U.S.

Navy slang, in which officers under discipline are sometimes said to

be "in hack" and one may speak of "hacking off the C.O.".

Node:hacked up, Next:[6501]hacker, Previous:[6502]hacked off,

Up:[6503]= H =

hacked up adj.

Sufficiently patched, kluged, and tweaked that the surgical scars are

beginning to crowd out normal tissue (compare [6504]critical mass).

Not all programs that are hacked become `hacked up'; if modifications

are done with some eye to coherence and continued maintainability, the

software may emerge better for the experience. Contrast [6505]hack up.

Node:hacker, Next:[6506]hacker ethic, Previous:[6507]hacked up,

Up:[6508]= H =

hacker n.

[originally, someone who makes furniture with an axe] 1. A person who

enjoys exploring the details of programmable systems and how to

stretch their capabilities, as opposed to most users, who prefer to

learn only the minimum necessary. 2. One who programs enthusiastically

(even obsessively) or who enjoys programming rather than just

theorizing about programming. 3. A person capable of appreciating

[6509]hack value. 4. A person who is good at programming quickly. 5.

An expert at a particular program, or one who frequently does work

using it or on it; as in `a Unix hacker'. (Definitions 1 through 5 are

correlated, and people who fit them congregate.) 6. An expert or

enthusiast of any kind. One might be an astronomy hacker, for example.

One who enjoys the intellectual challenge of creatively overcoming

or circumventing limitations. 8. [deprecated] A malicious meddler who

tries to discover sensitive information by poking around. Hence

password hacker',network hacker'. The correct term for this sense

is [6510]cracker.

The term `hacker' also tends to connote membership in the global

community defined by the net (see [6511]the network and [6512]Internet

address). For discussion of some of the basics of this culture, see

the [6513]How To Become A Hacker FAQ. It also implies that the person

described is seen to subscribe to some version of the hacker ethic

(see [6514]hacker ethic).

It is better to be described as a hacker by others than to describe

oneself that way. Hackers consider themselves something of an elite (a

meritocracy based on ability), though one to which new members are

gladly welcome. There is thus a certain ego satisfaction to be had in

identifying yourself as a hacker (but if you claim to be one and are

not, you'll quickly be labeled [6515]bogus). See also [6516]wannabee.

This term seems to have been first adopted as a badge in the 1960s by

the hacker culture surrounding TMRC and the MIT AI Lab. We have a

report that it was used in a sense close to this entry's by teenage

radio hams and electronics tinkerers in the mid-1950s.

Node:hacker ethic, Next:[6517]hacker humor, Previous:[6518]hacker,

Up:[6519]= H =

hacker ethic n.

The belief that information-sharing is a powerful positive good,

and that it is an ethical duty of hackers to share their expertise by

writing open-source and facilitating access to information and to

computing resources wherever possible. 2. The belief that

system-cracking for fun and exploration is ethically OK as long as the

cracker commits no theft, vandalism, or breach of confidentiality.

Both of these normative ethical principles are widely, but by no means

universally, accepted among hackers. Most hackers subscribe to the

hacker ethic in sense 1, and many act on it by writing and giving away

open-source software. A few go further and assert that all information

should be free and any proprietary control of it is bad; this is the

philosophy behind the [6520]GNU project.

Sense 2 is more controversial: some people consider the act of

cracking itself to be unethical, like breaking and entering. But the

belief that `ethical' cracking excludes destruction at least moderates

the behavior of people who see themselves as `benign' crackers (see

also [6521]samurai). On this view, it may be one of the highest forms

of hackerly courtesy to (a) break into a system, and then (b) explain

to the sysop, preferably by email from a [6522]superuser account,

exactly how it was done and how the hole can be plugged -- acting as

an unpaid (and unsolicited) [6523]tiger team.

The most reliable manifestation of either version of the hacker ethic

is that almost all hackers are actively willing to share technical

tricks, software, and (where possible) computing resources with other

hackers. Huge cooperative networks such as [6524]Usenet, [6525]FidoNet

and Internet (see [6526]Internet address) can function without central

control because of this trait; they both rely on and reinforce a sense

of community that may be hackerdom's most valuable intangible asset.

Node:hacker humor, Next:[6527]Hackers (the movie),

Previous:[6528]hacker ethic, Up:[6529]= H =

hacker humor

A distinctive style of shared intellectual humor found among hackers,

having the following marked characteristics:

Fascination with form-vs.-content jokes, paradoxes, and humor

having to do with confusion of metalevels (see [6530]meta). One way to

make a hacker laugh: hold a red index card in front of him/her with

"GREEN" written on it, or vice-versa (note, however, that this is

funny only the first time).

Elaborate deadpan parodies of large intellectual constructs, such

as specifications (see [6531]write-only memory), standards documents,

language descriptions (see [6532]INTERCAL), and even entire