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Cody Boone Ferguson bb7c81e4f6 Add entry to faq.md about terminal sanity

In other words after running a curses program (ANSI escape codes can
also cause problems) the terminal can be quite insane; echo might be
disabled as a simpler example but many worse more annoying problems can
occur.

The simplest way is to run reset. This will restore everything though
it'll clear the screen (clear command will not fix any problems but just
clear the screen). For echo disabled stty echo should work. Sometimes
you can get away with doing stty sane.

Now these are in the faq.md. I wrote more about this in 2020/ferguson1
but that doesn't really matter other than it was the inspiration for
this entry (which I think is a good idea to include).

2023-04-13 06:12:48 -07:00

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The International Obfuscated C Code Contest

The IOCCC FAQ

Q: How many entries do you receive each year?

By tradition, we do not say.

Q: How many judging rounds do you have?

Are you trying to trick us? We will not say that either.

Q: I cannot get entry XYZZY from year 19xx to compile!

Some winners, particularly winners from long ago, no longer compile on more modern systems because the C language has evolved (i.e. the modern C compilers are much more strict in what they accept as a valid program), or the entry depended on operation system and library features that where common back then but are different/missing today.

E.g. it is highly unlikely that you'll be able to execute 1984/mullender on a computer you're using to read this FAQ. However for that entry Cody Boone Ferguson added alternative code so that you can enjoy this entry. Try:

make alt
./mullender.alt [microseconds]

The microseconds defaults to 10000.

Thank you Cody!

See also Yusuke Endoh's entry 2015/endoh3 entry which lets one compile it and run it. Another entry that you can enjoy it under is Christopher Mill's entry 2018/mills which is a PDP-7 emulator as well as a PDP-11/40 emulator.

Others are not so easy though we're working on this and over time have added alternative code. In some cases we replaced the original code with code that works for modern systems.

Q: How do I get X11 entries to work with macOS Mountain Lion and later?

In macOS Mountain Lion and beyond to run X11 applications one needs to install XQuartz. This will let you compile, link and run X11 applications.

Q: How do I compile and run entries that use SDL1/SDL2 ?

This depends on your operating system but below are some instructions for some OSes.

Red Hat based linux

Execute one of the following as root or via sudo:

dnf install SDL2 SDL2-devel sdl12-compat sdl12-compat-devel
yum install SDL2 SDL2-devel sdl12-compat sdl12-compat-devel

In the past it was said that one might need to run make like:

make ... SDL2_INCLUDE_ROOT=/usr

or set the following environment variable:

export SDL2_INCLUDE_ROOT=/usr

but this might not be necessary in more modern days especially as we use sdl-config and sdl2-config which should find the proper paths.

Debian based linux

Execute the following as root or via sudo:

apt install libsdl1.2debian libsdl1.2-dev libsdl2-dev

and then try make all again.

In the past it was said that one might need to run make like:

make ... SDL2_INCLUDE_ROOT=/usr

or set the following environment variable:

export SDL2_INCLUDE_ROOT=/usr

but this might not be necessary in more modern days especially as we use sdl-config and sdl2-config which should find the proper paths.

macOS

If you're using macOS there are at least three ways to obtain it. You can download it from the SDL website and install the package. This will possibly not work well for the IOCCC but these will:

MacPorts

If you haven't already, install MacPorts. Then run:

sudo port install libsdl libsdl2

Homebrew

If you have not already done so, install Homebrew.

Then to install SDL and SDL2, execute the following command:

brew install sdl2 sdl12-compat
eval "$(/opt/homebrew/bin/brew shellenv)"

Q: How did entry XYZZY win? It breaks rule 2!

As entries have been fixed it is entirely possible that some of the entries no longer fit within the year's size restrictions. Invariably the length of columns and number of rows might also be changed.

For the original version see the /archive directory where you can find all the original winning entries.

Q: I found a bug in a previous winner, what should I do?

We do not 'maintain' the contest winners as such. The code is made available on an 'AS IS' basis. If you have a FIX for an entry, we suggest that you try and email it to the authors and to submit your fixes in a GitHub pull request (with ONE PULL REQUEST PER FIX, please!).

Note that just because you have a fix does not mean it'll be accepted. This might be because the author objects or it doesn't fit in some way or another. Of course if the entry does not work we'll certainly be more inclined to accept the fix. If it is accepted we'll be happy to credit you in the entry's README.md file. If you're a previous winner we will happily link to your entries; if you're not we can link to your website if you wish.

Q: After running a program my terminal is all messed up! How do I restore my terminal?

The simplest way to do this is to type reset. If echo was disabled you can get away with stty echo. Sometimes you can also get away with stty sane. reset does the most but note that it will clear the screen (clear will not work).

Q: Are there types of entries that are submitted so frequently that the judges get tired of them?

Yes, there are types of entries that show up over and over again.

The guidelines say:

We tend to dislike programs that: are similar to previous winners

We like variety. However too often we see (please look at the winning examples given to be aware of the level of the competition):

maze generator

tic-tac-toe game

solitaire/Othello game

As you can see, just a list of primes (let alone small primes) does not cut it anymore.

self reproducing program

1990/scjones
1994/smr - _do not claim your program is the smallest one without seeing this!
2000/dhyang - unless you beat this one, your chances are slim

entries that just print "Hello, world!"

...it's so 20th century...

entries that use some complex state machine/table to print something

rot13

pi or e computation

Hints on overused themes

HINT: It is not fatal to send in those types of entries, it is just MUCH HARDER to win. Such an entry would have to do something really unique AND interesting to even make it into the final judging rounds. Entries that re-use these 'worn out' themes frequently lose to other entries that do something different.

HINT: If you really MUST send in an entry based on an 'overused theme', be sure that it is obfuscated in several new and novel ways. Be sure to clearly explain near the beginning of your remarks why you are submitting a entry based on an 'overused theme' and why the judges should not simply toss it out as being boring.

Q: What should I write in the 'remarks' (remarks.md) section of my entry, if anything at all?

As much or as little as you wish.

What helps:

explaining what your entry does
how to entice it to do what it is supposed to do
what obfuscations are used
what are the limitations of your entry in respect of portability and/or input data
how it works (if you are really condescending)

What does not help:

admitting that your entry is not very obfuscated (you see, the contest is called the IOCCC, not the INVOCCC :-) ); but even if you do not admit it, not very obfuscated entries have a minuscule chance to win (although 2000/tomx is a notable counterexample).
mentioning your name or any identifying information in the remark section (or in the C code for that matter) - we like to be unbiased during the judging rounds; we look at the author name only if an entry wins. See the guidelines if this is not clear!
leaving the remark section empty.

Q: I am confused: what should I put to the 'build' section?

The 'build' section must contain UNIX shell-style commands to compile your C language entry in a file named prog.c and produce an executable file. More than one command is allowed, as far as the size rule is followed. Usually one (or more) of these commands will be an invocation of a C compiler (use cc or gcc), but there may be exceptions (or not anymore, see 2000/tomx).

If your entry depends on a particular source file name during compilation or execution, you will have to put a line

    cp prog.c desired_name.c

before the compiler invocation line.

If in doubt, put

    cc -o prog prog.c

in the 'build' section.

Note however that with the mkiocccentry tool we have an example Makefile which you should update and submit, using the instructions above if necessary.

Q: What happened to the winners for 1997, 1999 2002, 2003, 2007 - 2010, 2016, 2017, 2021 and 2022 ?

There are none. There was no IOCCC in those years.

Q: Why don't you publish non-winners?

Because the publication on the IOCCC site IS the award! Anyone is free to put their IOCCC hopefuls, lookalikes and/or non-winners on their web page for everyone to see.

Q: How much time does it take to judge the contest?

It takes a fair amount of time to setup, run, answer email, process entries, review entries, trim down the set entries to a set of winners, doing the write-up of the winners, announcing the winners, reviewing final edits of the winning entry set, posting the winners, being flamed :-), tell folks who send in late entries to wait until the next contest, etc... It takes a few weekends and a number nights of study and work ... which is hard given that we are busy with many other activities as well.

Note that we do not contact the author if an entry does not compile or does not work as advertised, we might attempt to fix obvious compilation problems or incompatibilities, but no more than that - so be sure that your entry does work on at least a couple different platforms, at least one of them being UNIX or POSIX-conforming.

Q: What platform should I assume for my entry?

Your entry must compile with GCC and run under at least one flavor of UNIX (e.g. Linux or Solaris). To improve chances to win, it should work under both BSD and SysV style UNIX (think stty cbreak), and should not depend on endianness. If it can compile and run on Windows and/or Mac (see 2000/thadgavin for one example, amongst others), even better. Being able to compile with other compilers like clang is also a good thing.

Q: I would like to mirror the IOCCC web site. May I do so?

We are not accepting mirror requests at this time, sorry.

Please ask the IOCCC judges first. Please send your request using the instructions on the contacting the IOCCC Judges page.

Q: What are the grand prize / Best of Show winners?

In 1984-1987, the grand prize winners are:

Starting from 1988, the entry we liked the most in that year is called "Best of Show". Here are the "Best of Show" entries:

In 1993, 1994 and 1995 the judges were unable to select a clear overall winner. So to give a nod to the entry that had the highest approval ranking from the judges, they used the following awards:

1993/rince - Most Well Rounded
1994/shapiro - Most Well Rounded
1995/leo - Best Use of Obfuscation

These could be considered the 'best entry' for those years with 1 or more other entries that came in close behind.

Q: I managed to get entry XYZZY from year 19xx to compile; now it fails to run!

switch(19xx/XYZZY) {

case [1984/mullender](years.html#1984_mullender):

try the alternative code added by Cody Boone Ferguson like:

make 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 for more details.

Thank you Cody for your help!

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: disable access control of your X server (xhost +). If it does not help (or if you see black screen), restart the X server without access control and with visual depth of 8 bits or less.

break;

default: Try enabling -fwritable-strings for GCC or its equivalent for other compilers.

}

Q: How did the IOCCC get started?

One day (23 March 1984 to be exact), Larry Bassel and I (Landon Curt Noll) were working for National Semiconductor's Genix porting group, we were both in our offices trying to fix some very broken code.

Larry had been trying to fix a bug in the classic Bourne shell (C code #defined to death to sort of look like Algol) and I had been working on the finger program from early BSD (a bug ridden finger implementation to be sure).

We happened to both wander (at the same time) out to the hallway in Building 7C to clear our heads.

We began to compare notes: 'You won't believe the code I am trying to fix'.

And: 'Well you cannot imagine the brain damage level of the code I'm trying to fix'.

As well as: 'It's more than bad code, the author really had to try to make it this bad!

After a few minutes we wandered back into my office where I posted a flame to net.lang.c inviting people to try and out obfuscate the UN*X source code we had just been working on.

BTW: I (Landon Curt Noll) had to post this typo correction. Thus began the tradition of putting typos in the contest rules and guidelines ... to make them more obfuscated of course! :-)

BTW: This posting was made back in the days when AT&T was the evil giant. Now, Microsoft makes AT&T look mild and kind in comparison. :-( (IMHO) ).

BTW: See the story about the 'Bill Gates' award. :-)

OK, back to the story.

We (Larry and I) received a number of entries by email. When we began to receive messages from outside of the US, Larry and I decided to include International in the name.

The 1st IOCCC winners were posted on 17 April 1984.

There were 4 winners in 1984:

BTW: The (dis)honorable mention wished to remain anonymous. While many have asked who it was, we have continued to follow the author's wish to remain anonymous.

A few years ago, we asked the author if they still wanted to remain anonymous. They said: 'Yes, I want to keep my anonymity. But you can tell them that I am well known for my connection to the C language'. It was not until 2001 that another anonymous entry received an award.

BTW: The 1984 winner remains one of my (Landon Curt Noll) all time favorites.

The name used in the posting of the 1st IOCCC winner posting was International Obfuscated C Code Contest or IOCCC for short.

The posting said '1st annual', so in 1985 we held the 2nd IOCCC contest and the tradition continues as the longest running contest on the Internet.

P.S. Part of the inspiration for making the IOCCC a contest goes to the Bulwer-Lytton fiction contest.

P^2.S. See the overall README for more details.

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