Make:

[Ed note: this was originally posted on the O'Reilly Network on August 30, 2005.]

As lead editor for O’Reilly’s Hacks series, I field proposals for Hacks books on a daily basis. I also usually have several books in various stages of acquisition, writing, or production, all of which of course have authors and (this being Hacks) numerous contributors. Beyond the questions about which topical areas we’re looking to publish on, the questions that come up most often are usually variations on the theme of what makes a hack and how one should be written.

I’ve long wanted to write something for current and prospective authors, contributors, and other O’Reilly editors (to share with their authors) that explains exactly what we mean by “a nonobvious solution to an interesting problem.” But, of course, I haven’t had the time to do so, so I often go through various rounds of trying to explain something that, when it comes right down to it, you really need to just grok. Unfortunately, after a few attempts to put a fine point on the term hack (as used by O’Reilly), I often end up resorting to a description that’s not much better than Justice Stewart’s infamous definition of obscenity: namely, “I know it when I see it.”

Today, I was discussing a new project with Paul Bausch, who has established himself as a model author for the series (including Amazon Hacks, the forthcoming Yahoo! Hacks, an as-yet-unannounced third Hacks title, Flickr Hacks, and Google Hacks, Third Edition), and I learned that he’d quietly drafted his own take on this theme. Paul’s an author who groks the Hacks format with little need for supervision or guidance, so I was particularly interested in his perspective. He didn’t disappoint, so I asked him to share his sage advice with the world. Thankfully, he agreed.