We released [mkiocccentry toolkit](https://github.com/ioccc-src/mkiocccentry) **version 2.4.6 2025-04-26**.
While you are **NOT** required to use this release in order to submit to **IOCCC28**,
we do **RECOMMEND** that you **install and use** it, because among other things, it provides:
* Enhanced the scanning process of topdir, excluding ignored files and directories from the count against the maximum allowed limit.
* Clarified the purpose of a submission title to emphasize that it should not contain names.
* Default handles may now contain UPPERCASE letters.
The **IOCCC28** **OPEN** period has reached the half-way point.
This is a _gentle suggestion_ to not wait until the last minute to write, test
and upload your submission.
The **IOCCC28** is [open for registration](https://www.ioccc.org/next/register.html).
Those who have registered have until **2025-06-05 04:03:02.010099 UTC** to
[upload their submissions](https://www.ioccc.org/next/submit.html).
See "[how enter the IOCCC](https://www.ioccc.org/quick-start.html#enter)" for more information.
Added processing of "%%REPO_TOP_URL%%" tokens to `bin/subst.default.sh`.
Updated `find-missing-links.sh` to not falsely report missing links
when a "%%REPO_TOP_URL%%" token is used.
Changed `bin/subst.default.sh` VERSION from "1.3.2 2024-08-05"
to "1.4.0 2025-04-16".
Changed `bin/find-missing-links.sh` VERSION from "1.1.1 2024-04-28"
to "1.2.0 2025-04-16".
Due to a `pandoc(1)` bug fix, `2011/fredriksson/index.html` and
`2012/kang/index.html` were modified. The bug fix removed extraneous
whitespace that was previously introduced into HTML under certain
situations. These 2 changes do **NOT** impact the way web browsers
render these pages, however.
Updated sitemap.
Updated tarballs based on entry mods since 2025 March 4
(commit 233e5e90a5 just prior
to the IOCCC28 open).
Tested the above via `make update` on macOS.
Updated `bugs.html` to reflect the fix of all known bugs in `2000/dlowe`.
Added thank you to John Dalbec in `thanks-for-help.md`.
Added processing of "%%REPO_TOP_URL%%" tokens to `bin/subst.default.sh`.
Updated `find-missing-links.sh` to not falsely report missing links
when a "%%REPO_TOP_URL%%" token is used.
Changed `bin/subst.default.sh` VERSION from "1.3.2 2024-08-05"
to "1.4.0 2025-04-16".
Changed `bin/find-missing-links.sh` VERSION from "1.1.1 2024-04-28"
to "1.2.0 2025-04-16".
Due to a `pandoc(1)` bug fix, `2011/fredriksson/index.html` and
`2012/kang/index.html` were modified. The bug fix removed extraneous
whitespace that was previously introduced into HTML under certain
situations. These 2 changes do **NOT** impact the way web browsers
render these pages, however.
Updated sitemap.
Tested the above via `make www gen_status gen_sitemap timestamp` on macOS.
Add news of the mkiocccentry toolkit version 2.4.4 2025-03-15.
Note that C is the official locale of the IOCCC in the IOCCC guidelines
version 28.47 2025-03-15.
Added news based on the recent
[release 2.4.3 2025-03-11](https://github.com/ioccc-src/mkiocccentry/releases/tag/2.4.3)
of the [mkiocccentry toolkit](https://github.com/ioccc-src/mkiocccentry).
Updated the FAQ with additional information about the above mentioned release.
Fixed use of double blank lines in `faq.md` so that they:
- precede all markdown headings
- precede and follow all "Jump to top" lines
Added missing "Jump to top" lines.
Fixed Section 2 internal link.
Performed `make www gen_status gen_sitemap timestamp` to update the website.
The IOCCC28 will now open on **2025-03-05 23:19:17.131107 UTC**
and enter the judging state on **2025-06-05 04:03:02.010099 UTC**.
Updated sitemap, added news for 2025-02-12, and updated the status.
Performed `make www gen_status gen_sitemap timestamp` on macOS to complete the above.
The IOCCC now has a [Discord server](https://discord.gg/2hVYnv83DD)!
Click the link to join the [IOCCC Discord server](https://discord.gg/2hVYnv83DD).
Fans of the IOCCC, hopeful **IOCCC28** contestants, and past winners of the IOCCC
are all encouraged to stop by and say hello.
Based on user input and suggestions, we have been working on some new
functionality for the [mkiocccentry tool set](faq.html#mkiocccentry).
In order to complete and fully test this new functionality, we need
additional time. Therefore the **IOCCC28 open** date as been **moved
forward for 19 days**. Moreover, and also by request, the contest will
remain **open for an additional month**.
The [40th anniversary of the IOCCC](faq.html#ioccc_start), which started
on **2024-12-29 23:58:13.213455 UTC**, is now scheduled to be **open**
from **2025-02-19 23:19:17.130705 UTC** to **2025-05-19 23:29:31.374143
UTC**. We will update the [IOCCC rules](next/rules.html) and
[IOCCC guidelines](next/guidelines.html) accordingly, before the contest opens.
Fixed link in `inc/guidelines.pending.hdr`.
Improved link in `inc/rules.open.hdr`.
Updated timestamps and sitemap with `make gen_status gen_sitemap timestamp`.
Changed `bin/status2html.sh` VERSION from "1.4.3 2024-08-05"
to "1.4.4 2024-12-29".
Performed `make quick_www` on macOS to complete the above.
The menu in all html pages for the FAQ was fixed to link to the step 0
(of how to enter the contest) and also it was renamed ('Enter the
IOCCC').
I also went through the most important sections of the FAQ (how to
enter and the mkiocccentry related questions) and checked the
register.html, pw-change.html and submit.html pages. It is possible I
have missed something but I think it's in pretty good shape nonetheless.
Some broken links were fixed in some of the files like next/index.html,
next/pw-change.html, next/index.html and status.html.
Some wrong images were used in next/submit.html (or at least referred to
wrong if not wrong image).
Useful update to FAQ about the answers file in mkiocccentry.
There might have been other things.
This might be all that is needed for next/ wrt the register/change
password/submit but it's possible something has slipped through.
Added a new `next/submit.html` to move the "how to submit" form "in-line"
of the top FAQ entry into a new page managed by `next/submit.md`.
Thus, `next/submit.html` is a parallel to `next/register.html`
and `next/submit.md` is a parallel to `next/register.md`.
Changed the FAQ "faq.html#submit" and into "faq.html#enter".
Added individual tags for the steps in FAQ0.0.
Moved "faq.html#register" down to FAQ 0.0 step 2.
Added "faq.html#submit" for FAQ 0.0 step 5,
however elsewhere often "next/submit.html" is used.
Changed references for "faq.html#upload" to "next/submit.html".
We made a number of changes to the following markdown files to reflect the above:
- `about.md`
- `faq.md`
- `index.md`
- `markdown.md`
- `next/README.md`
- `next/README.md`
- `next/guidelines.md`
- `next/register.md`
- `next/rules.md`
- `nojs-menu.md`
- `status.md`
as well as these files:
- `bin/gen-top-html.sh`
- `bin/md2html.cfg`
and added:
- `next/submit.html`
- `next/submit.md`
Perform `make www` and `make gen_status` to perform the above and test under macOS.
TODO: Add images about the mailing list to `next/register.md`. See the line:
```
XXX - **put images and other details about joining the mailing list here** - XXX
```
Added a new `next/register.html` that is required by the mailing list server.
The `next/register.md` still contains a big **XXX - put more data here - XXX**
as a placeholder for information about the mailing list registration process.
Improved the status text for `faq.html`, `next/index.html` and `status.html`
via `faq.md`, `next/README.md` and `status.md`. We also removed the
excessive links to IOCCC and instead use the term "contest" where applicable.
IMPORTANT CHANGE: Registration be available when the contest is both pending and open.
We made a number of changes to `faq.md`, `next/README.md` in an attempt to
reflect the above.
Changed `bin/gen-status.sh` VERSION from "1.7 2024-09-23"
to "1.8 2024-11-23".
Changed `bin/gen-top-html.sh` VERSION from "1.4.9 2024-08-11"
to "1.4.10 2024-11-23".
Perform `make www` and `make gen_status` to perform the above and test under macOS.
TODO: Change **XXX - put more data here - XXX** in `next/register.md` for information
about how to join the mailing list.
We move the "_Thanks for the help_" out from under the "Entries"
menu and under the "About" menu to better balance the menus.
Besides, "_Thanks for the help_" is more **about** the IOCCC itself.
The sections have been modified a fair amount. The Entries menu has been
extended to have: Fixing entries, Updating author info, Thanks for the
help. The first two were moved from FAQ and the last one from About.
The rationale for these, in order: entries and authors have to do with
entries and most of the help involves entries. It also has to do with
website but in 'about' it does not seem the right place, unless maybe it
is renamed to 'Credits' or something (I am not suggesting this one way
or the other). This one is debatable but that was the rationale.
The Status menu has been extended to have: Markdown guidelines and
Security policy. The rationale is that the markdown guidelines are part
of contest guidelines and the security policy is about the status of the
entries and how if there are any security problems they will not be
addressed (instead of about the IOCCC).
The FAQ was extended to have: Compiling entries, Running entries, How to
help. The reason to not have compiling and running entries under Entries
is because this is 'how to' and also the menu was too long. How to help
seems like a good idea under FAQ too (was in About).
About was extended to have the new 'about.html' page (from about.md).
This is a rare case where a new file is useful as it fits under 'About'.
The menu now is: Home page, About the IOCCC, The Judges, Contact us. I
was pondering the 'About [the IOCCC]' at the top and also naming it
'About us' but it seemed like a link to index.html was necessary and as
for 'about us' it seemed less clear as to whether it was about the
judges or the contest itself. The FAQ has been updated slightly for
this.
After further inspection the bin/index.html and the inc/index.html links
were removed from the about section.
With these changes, renaming an item or slight reordering
notwithstanding, I believe that #2006 is probably in good shape.
The mobile About menu was missing the IOCCC markdown guidelines. This
has been added to the mobile menu but moved to 'Status' which is where
guidelines are (it has been renamed to be 'IOCCC Markdown Guidelines' to
match the style of the other items in that menu).
The About menu now has two more links, one for the website tools and the
other for the include files of the tools. It might be, looking at the
generated html files, better to have another menu instead, but what that
should be is unclear. The reason it might be better is because the
'About' menu is rather long. In retrospect it might be better to not
have the script include files in the html files but this can be decided
and dealt with later.
The script bin/find-missing-links.sh now ignores the directory NOTES/. A
better approach might be using git ls-files --exclude but a quick test
did not work right. Another option, at least for NOTES/, might be to use
'git ls-files --exclude-standard'.
The bin/index.html file has been updated.
Run make www to rebuild all html files.
A number of question answers have been merged and shortened somewhat.
Fix link in the menu of all html pages and the inc/ files that was
broken due to renaming an anchor.
The guidelines and rules have had a link fix (to the FAQ) as well as
some additional points added about the mkiocccentry toolkit.
More work in the FAQ needs to be done, including with the how to enter
the IOCCC, but as so much work has been done already I have decided to
make the commit to get these many important changes out of the way.
We quasi-canonicalized markdown links to FAQ entries.
**IMPORTANT NOTE**: This is a useful step in completing issue #2417. This commit is consistent with the top level TODO comment requirements. Nevertheless, this changes made by this commit needs to be examined and in some cases improved.
A link to an FAQ entry is of the form:
```
FAQ on "[the link text](....faq.html#string)"
FAQ on "[the link text](....faq.html#string)"
```
The "FAQ" is at the start of the line, or in rare cases is preceded only by whitespace.
The reference to the FAQ starts outside of the markdown link with the string **FAQ ON "**.
After the markdown link is a **"** followed by either the end of line or a single punctuation character such as a period or comma.
We reduced the size of "the link text" that refer to an FAQ to at most 3 words. In some cases the sentence and/or text surrounding the markdown link to a FAQ may need to be further adjusted to better accommodate this new style.
**IMPORTANT NOTE**: References to a FAQ entry are on a separate line.
p.s. When linking to the `faq.html` file itself, we use markdown of the form "`the [IOCCC FAQ](..../faq.html)`" and place the word "the" outside of the "IOCCC FAQ" link text.
Given the above system (and because references to an FAQ entry is on a separate line), the following command shows links to FAQ entries, sorted by FAQ entry "link #name" so that one may evaluate the way a given FAQ entry is referenced:
```sh
find * -name '*.md' -print0 | xargs0 grep -E '^[[:space:]]*FAQ on "' | sed -e 's/^\([^:]*\):\( *FAQ on "[^#]*\)#\([^)]*\)\()".*\)$/#\3\t\1\t\2#\3\4/' | sort
```
The above command shows the value of consistency when it comes to FAQ references.
**NOTE**: There are a few differences on how a given FAQ is references. That is probably OK as there is NOT an "total mandate" that all references to a given FAQ must have the same "link text" for example. On the other hand if references to a given FAQ can be identical, that might be helpful. We are certain that in some contexts the "link text" might need to change.
Should we decide to change the way FAQ are referenced, we will be able to modify identify and modify them with greater ease.'
Examine the changes made by this commit and adjust and/or improve as needed.
Performed `make www` to accomplish the above and to test under macOS.
The location of the link is in the About menu under the 'Contacting the
IOCCC' and above 'Thanks for the help'. At first I had it at the very
bottom, under 'IOCCC markdown guidelines', but it seemed better to have
it closer to contacting the IOCCC. This is the same location in the no
JavaScript menu (which, for those who do not know or forget, is not a
requirement except for some screen sizes).
The top level Makefile has a new 'security' rule. Updated make help.
Typo fixes in make help.
SECURITY.html has had a few updates as well: change the wording of entry
code is unsupported (it now says 'ALL CODE IN ALL IOCCC ENTRIES IS
UNSUPPORTED!!') and it now links to the mkiocccentry repo and how to
report a possible security vulnerability in that repo; as that IS
supported - and since there was reference to discussing security
concerns is in SECURITY.html - even though the entries will not receive
security updates - it seemed a good idea to have a link to report such
security issues in the mkiocccentry repo. Perhaps the FAQ needs to be
updated for this too.
While not strictly necessary, replacing the two ASCII tab characters
in the markdown copyright comment makes it easier to detect problematic
TAB indentation within markdown files.
After this commit, only 90 markdown files have leading ASCII TAB
characters. And again, while not strictly necessary, we can consider
running expand on those 90 markdown files to see what effect that
might have on the HTML files they produce.
Replace leading ASCII TAB characters with multiples of 8 ASCII SPACE
characters (the default action of the `expand(1)` tool) might have
an negative effect on some HTML formatting where **hack-a-round**
formatting was attempted to fix broken indentation caused by
problematic ASCII TAB characters.
Think of this as a baseline for evaluating leading
TAB characters within markdown files.
TODO: Consider either using `expand(1)` to replace leading ASCII
TAB characters with multiples of 8 ASCII SPACE characters AND/OR
modifying the appropriate `bin` tool to convert leading ASCII TAB
characters into multiples of 8 ASCII SPACE characters.
It should be 'Location of winning authors' (as it is now) but by mistake
there was an extra space ('Location of winning authors'). Obviously
this is a huge commit as every html file with a menu (almost all) had to
be updated.
A few page names were changed and menu link (titles) were changed too.
By page names it means either DESCRIPTION or HEADER_2 in
bin/md2html.cfg. Although it looks better and is more consistent, there
might be one or two that can be further improved.
Naturally every html file that is markdown based was updated.
In some pages at the top it had 'and' but in the menu it had instead a
'&'. The menus (JavaScript and otherwise) now has 'and' to match the
pages. The file nojs-menu.html has been checked for broken links and
indeed one at least was fixed. Very few top level html files need to be
checked now. Some that are entirely generated should be okay but links
will still be checked to be sure.
Some cases of '(Mis)features' from the previous commit were also
corrected to '(mis)features' as this is also part of menu and page
consistency.
The files markdown.{md,html} have had the menus updated too but there
are some other changes that were works in progress. This file is not
thus completed but will be sometime soon.
Landon Curt Noll