From c2472c3eab355b2ac6a716201c88e524cbdadb09 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Cody Boone Ferguson <53008573+xexyl@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Fri, 31 Mar 2023 04:51:00 -0700
Subject: [PATCH] Improve 1984/mullender alt code

Now you can specify the number of microseconds to sleep in between
writes! This makes it easier to experiment with different speeds as well
as solve any problems if your CPU is too slow or too fast

BTW: is there such a thing as too fast a CPU ? :-) actually yes for
certain code which is probably not as uncommon as you think :-) ).
---
 1984/mullender/Makefile        |  2 +-
 1984/mullender/README.md       | 37 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++-----
 1984/mullender/mullender.alt.c |  2 +-
 faq.md                         | 19 ++++++++++++++---
 4 files changed, 50 insertions(+), 10 deletions(-)

diff --git a/1984/mullender/Makefile b/1984/mullender/Makefile
index b45316974..b539c0321 100644
--- a/1984/mullender/Makefile
+++ b/1984/mullender/Makefile
@@ -137,7 +137,7 @@ alt: data ${ALT_TARGET}
 	@${TRUE}
 
 ${ALT_TARGET}: ${PROG}.alt.c
-	${CC} -include stdio.h -include unistd.h ${CFLAGS} $< -o $@ ${LIBS}
+	${CC} -include stdio.h -include unistd.h -include stdlib.h ${CFLAGS} $< -o $@ ${LIBS}
 
 # data files
 #
diff --git a/1984/mullender/README.md b/1984/mullender/README.md
index 42cc744ee..3fe9b76f4 100644
--- a/1984/mullender/README.md
+++ b/1984/mullender/README.md
@@ -20,20 +20,45 @@ Robbert van Renesse
 
 [Cody Boone Ferguson](/winners.html#Cody_Boone_Ferguson) added the alternative
 code which lets you run this on other systems. He notes though that this was
-only a slight fix to the change in the [faq](/faq.md). Thank you Cody for your
-assistance!
+only a slight fix and enhancement to the change in the [faq](/faq.md). Thank you
+Cody for your assistance!
 
-To build:
+### To build:
 
 
 	make alt
 
-Use `./mullender.alt` as you would `./mullender` above.
+### To run:
+
+	./mullender.alt [microseconds]
+
+The default microseconds is 10000. This ability is so you can experiment with
+different speeds in between writes. It can be useful if your CPU is too slow or
+too fast.
+
+BTW: is there such a thing as too fast a CPU ? :-) actually yes for certain code
+which is probably not as uncommon as you think :-) ).
+
+Note that it is an int and it uses `atoi()` which does NOT check for
+overflow! In fact it's argc itself.
+
+
+### Try:
+
+
+    ./mullender.alt
+
+    ./mullender.alt 5000
+
+    ./mullender.alt 500
+
+    ./mullender.alt 20000
+
+What happens if you hit enter after it writes a line of output?
 
 
 ## Judges' comments:
 
-
 Without question, this C program is the one of the most obfuscated
 C program that has ever been received!  Like all great contest
 entries, they result in a change of rules for the following year.
@@ -55,6 +80,8 @@ makes direct calls to the write() Unix system call to produce a
 message on the screen.  Can you guess what is printed?  We knew you
 couldn't!  :-)
 
+BTW: this remains my (Landon Curt Noll's) all time favorite entries!
+
 ## Author's comments:
 
 These comments, found at
diff --git a/1984/mullender/mullender.alt.c b/1984/mullender/mullender.alt.c
index ad6677967..4329093eb 100644
--- a/1984/mullender/mullender.alt.c
+++ b/1984/mullender/mullender.alt.c
@@ -1 +1 @@
-main(){int i=10000;do write(1,"  :-)\b\b\b\b",9),usleep(i);while(--i);}
+main(i,v)char**v;{i=v[1]?atoi(v[1]):10000;do write(1,"  :-)\b\b\b\b",9),usleep(i);while(--i);}
diff --git a/faq.md b/faq.md
index 4d485dae3..a8ca9b5ea 100644
--- a/faq.md
+++ b/faq.md
@@ -41,9 +41,13 @@ can enjoy this entry. Try:
 
 ```sh
 make alt
-./mullender.alt
+./mullender.alt [microseconds]
 ```
 
+The microseconds defaults to 10000.
+
+Thank you Cody!
+
 See also [Yusuke Endoh](/winners.html#Yusuke_Endoh)'s entry
 [2015/endoh3](/2015/endoh3/README.md) entry which lets one compile it and run
 it.
@@ -353,15 +357,24 @@ try the alternative code added by [Cody Boone Ferguson](/winners.html#Cody_Boone
 
 ```sh
 make alt
-./mullender.alt
+./mullender.alt [microseconds]
 ```
 
+where microseconds is the number of microseconds to sleep between writes.
+Default 10000. This is useful to see different speeds as well as if your CPU is
+too slow or too fast for the entry. See the
+[README.md](/1984/mullender/README.md) for more details.
+
 Thank you Cody for your help!
 
-BTW: in this case it's a slight adjustment to our original suggested code:
+BTW: in this case it's a slight fix and improvement to our original suggested
+code:
 
 	main(){int i=512;do write(1,"  :-)\b\b\b\b",9),usleep(i);while(--i);}
 
+BTW: is there such a thing as too fast a CPU ? :-) actually yes for certain code
+which is probably not as uncommon as you think :-) ).
+
 break;
 
 - case [1991/davidguy](years.html#1991_davidguy): disable access