Why Greasemonkey Hacks?

The term hacking has a bad reputation in the press. They use it to refer to someone who breaks into systems or wreaks havoc with computers as their weapon. Among people who write code, though, the term hack refers to a "quick-and-dirty" solution to a problem, or a clever way to get something done. And the term hacker is taken very much as a compliment, referring to someone as being creative, having the technical chops to get things done. The Hacks series is an attempt to reclaim the word, document the good ways people are hacking, and pass the hacker ethic of creative participation on to the uninitiated. Seeing how others approach systems and problems is often the quickest way to learn about a new technology.

Greasemonkey has existed for less than a year, and hundreds of people have already written thousands of Greasemonkey scripts to scratch their own personal itches. Web enthusiasts with zero JavaScript experience have written scripts to route around broken web sites, alter site styles, and roll back ill-conceived site redesigns. More experienced coders have created link trackers, password managers, and personal shopping agents. Some have even added entirely new features to complex web applications without ever needing to talk to the application developers or wait for bureaucratic approval.

Clearly, there were a lot of itches waiting to be scratched.

Some hacks in this book are short and sweet; they do one thing and do it well. (One is just a single line of code!) Other hacks are hundreds of lines long, complete with their own user interface, their own data cache, and their own preferences. This book showcases the best of the best, from "Hey, that's always bugged me," to "Gee, I don't know how I ever lived without this," to "Wow, I had no idea a browser could do that."