From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
hacker \hack"er\ (h[a^]k"[~e]r), 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.
[1913 Webster]
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
hacker
n 1: someone who plays golf poorly
2: a programmer who breaks into computer systems in order to
steal or change or destroy information as a form of cyber-
terrorism [syn: {hacker}, {cyber-terrorist}, {cyberpunk}]
3: a programmer for whom computing is its own reward; may enjoy
the challenge of breaking into other computers but does no
harm; "true hackers subscribe to a code of ethics and look
down upon crackers"
4: one who works hard at boring tasks [syn: {hack}, {drudge},
{hacker}]
From The Jargon File (version 4.4.7, 29 Dec 2003) [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. RFC1392, the Internet Users' Glossary,
usefully amplifies this as: A person who delights in having an intimate
understanding of the internal workings of a system, computers and computer
networks in particular.
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}. For discussion of some of the basics
of this culture, see the 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 {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 {geek}, {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.
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