I'm not sure why you are being so defensive. I never condemned (the word you're looking for, rather than "condoned") hackers. People who like to learn on-the-fl

I'm not sure why you are being so defensive. I never condemned (the word you're looking for, rather than "condoned") hackers. People who like to learn on-the-fly, tinker, make things, have an important place in this world, including software. I would never deny that. Also note that the roles of "hacker" and "software developer/engineer" need not be mutually exclusive. I was pointing out to the parent comment that someone who is not reasonably versed in proper software design, process, and documentation cannot just hack away at products such as Therac-25 anymore. At least, it would be much more difficult for them to do so and bring it to market successfully, due to all the regulatory red-tape.