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hacker

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hacker

 

  4  definitions  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Hacker  \Hack"er\,  n. 
  One  who  or  that  which  hacks.  Specifically:  A  cutting 
  instrument  for  making  notches;  esp.,  one  used  for  notching 
  pine  trees  in  collecting  turpentine;  a  hack. 
 
  From  WordNet  r  1.6  [wn]: 
 
  hacker 
  n  1:  someone  who  plays  golf  poorly 
  2:  a  programmer  for  whom  computing  is  its  own  reward;  may  enjoy 
  the  challenge  of  breaking  into  other  computers 
  3:  one  who  works  hard  at  boring  tasks  [syn:  {hack},  {drudge}] 
 
  From  Jargon  File  (4.2.3,  23  NOV  2000)  [jargon]: 
 
  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  {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. 
  7.  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  {cracker}. 
 
  The  term  `hacker'  also  tends  to  connote  membership  in  the  global 
  community  defined  by  the  net  (see  {the  network}  and  {Internet  address}). 
  For  discussion  of  some  of  the  basics  of  this  culture,  see  the  How  To 
  Become  A  Hacker  (http://www.tuxedo.org/~esr/faqs/hacker-howto.html) 
  FAQ.  It  also  implies  that  the  person  described  is  seen  to  subscribe  to 
  some  version  of  the  hacker  ethic  (see  {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  {bogus}).  See  also  {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. 
 
 
 
  From  The  Free  On-line  Dictionary  of  Computing  (13  Mar  01)  [foldoc]: 
 
  hacker 
 
    (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  {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. 
 
  7.  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  is  {cracker}. 
 
  The  term  hacker"  also  tends  to  connote  membership  in  the 
  global  community  defined  by  the  net  (see  {The  Network}  and 
  {Internet  address}).  It  also  implies  that  the  person 
  described  is  seen  to  subscribe  to  some  version  of  the  {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.  Thus  while  it  is 
  gratifying  to  be  called  a  hacker,  false  claimants  to  the  title 
  are  quickly  labelled  as  "{bogus}"  or  a  "{wannabee}". 
 
  9.  (University  of  Maryland,  rare)  A  programmer  who  does  not 
  understand  proper  programming  techniques  and  principles  and 
  doesn't  have  a  Computer  Science  degree.  Someone  who  just 
  bangs  on  the  keyboard  until  something  happens.  For  example, 
  "This  program  is  nothing  but  {spaghetti  code}.  It  must  have 
  been  written  by  a  hacker". 
 
  [{Jargon  File}] 
 
  (1996-08-26)




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