[bertylicious]

But there is no irony, because it's two different meanings of the word "hacking": firstly "gaining unauthorized access", and secondly "focused programming".

I always hated that there is this second meaning. Especially since IMO it's being used to "steal" some of the glory associated with the original meaning.

When did this second meaning emerge anyway? Is this site here partially at fault?

[falcor84]

They both stem from the more general meaning of hacking as looking for clever outside-the-box solutions to a problem, showing disregard to the intended/expected/typical way of going about that sort of thing. It apparently originated with this meaning in the late 50's at MIT's Tech Model Railroad Club.

[ifdefdebug]

historically, "gaining unauthorized access" IS the second meaning.

[bertylicious]

Oh nice, I wasn't aware. I always associated hacking with "gaining unauthorized access" and googling for the first definition confirmed that I'm my eyes. Didn't know it was the other way around and the term is actually much older than I assumed.

[Aicy]

Here's a pleasant article on the subject from Richard Stallman, the developer of GNU / Linux.

https://stallman.org/articles/on-hacking.html

[ben_w]

Both are derived uses, but breaking in seems slightly more distant than the more recent usage of hackathon.

"Hack job" predates computers. The oldest form known means "to cut irregularly or inexpertly", with industrial revolution era uses similar to to people saying "AI slop" in the last year or two: https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/211750/where-did...

"The" jargon file says "[originally, someone who makes furniture with an axe]", while other sources claim it's the name of a tool that functions much like an axe or a mattock, or such an action as one might use the item for:

"""In fact, the OED also defines hack as a tool for breaking or chopping up, dating from before 1300:

He lened him þan a-pon his hak, Wit seth his sun þus-gat he spak. And hacker follows. From 1620:

One good hacker, being a lusty labourer, will at good ease hack or cut more than half an acre of ground in a day."""

- https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/70658/what-does-...

[pastage]

Hackning is what a competent black hat does while hacking. It is also what is done here. The double meaning is over 50 years old now.

[lukan]

Hackners?