View source for Hack (term)

In a wide sense, a '''hack''' is a somewhat unexpected act of cleverness, especially including practical jokes. The term originated at [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology|MIT]], where it much later became especially associated with smart computer programmers&mdash;[[hacker]]s.

The epicenter of the latter started at the [[Research Laboratory of Electronics]] (which had the [[TX-0]], and later one of the original [[PDP-1]]'s); it later moved to [[Project MAC]]. Similar groups quickly appeared wherever enthusiastic people were allowed somewhat free rein with computers, and many adopted the hacking philosophy.

A '''display hack''' is a short program that produces surprisingly complex and interesting patterns on a display.  In recent times, the term '''life hack''' has come to mean a smart way to make your life easier.

A hack can also be a 'quick and dirty' solution which is somewhat unsatisfactory (also known as a '''kludge''').

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==Further reading==

* Steven Levy, ''Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution'', Doubleday, Garden City, 1984

==External links==

* [http://hacks.mit.edu/ Gallery of hacks at MIT]
* [http://catb.org/jargon/html/ The Jargon File]
** [https://github.com/PDP-10/its-vault/blob/master/files/humor/jargon.68 The Jargon File] - the original from ITS

[[Category: Terminology]]