hand-hacking

( n.)

   1.  [rare] The practice of translating {hot spot}s from an {HLL} into
   hand-tuned  assembler,  as  opposed  to trying to coerce the compiler
   into  generating  better  code.  Both  the  term and the practice are
   becoming uncommon. See {tune}, {by hand}; syn. with v. {cruft}.

   2.  [common]  More generally, manual construction or patching of data
   sets  that  would  normally be generated by a translation utility and
   interpreted by another program, and aren't really designed to be read
   or modified by humans.

[glossary]
[Reference(s) to this entry by made by: {bare metal}{cruft}{hot spot}{slop}{tune}]