To Hack or Not to Hack

For your own good, you want to write high-quality code. You will learn more, your code will run better, and your code will be easier to fix in the future. However, sometimes a durable, long-term solution is not necessary or desirable. Develop the ability to distinguish when a short-term hack is actually better than a long-term, robust solution.

Hacking

You have been taught that hacking is a malicious attempt to gain access to secure systems: “Hack into the bank and steal a bunch of money.” Perhaps in popular culture, this is what hacking means. Among programmers, hacking does not generally carry that negative connotation. Many programmers call themselves hackers. Well-respected technology companies regularly hold events ...

Get Learning to Program now with the O’Reilly learning platform.

O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.