Cody Boone Ferguson
06a5665f5d
As both Landon and I have been wondering if changing entries to use
fgets() is bordering on tampering with entries I decided to make the
original (sometimes bug fixed) versions (using gets()) alt code. I had
originally started to make the fgets() version of each entry the alt but
since the fgets() versions can handle input better and since some also
fixed bugs (see below) I decided to make the original version the alt
code (this also is how it is for other entries).
There were some exceptions here. If the change also fixed some crashes
or other bugs outside of the gets() to fgets() conversion I did not
bother to make an alt version. An example is 1992/dds. In some cases the
alt code does have bug fixes in which case they were added.
Updated the Makefiles and .gitignore files as well for the alt target
and the new files (compiled and in the case of 1992/adrian additional
source files in the Makefile alt rule).
This should solve the problem observed by Landon and me. It wouldn't be
a problem to change it so the alt version is the one that uses fgets()
but I think that might be the wrong choice.
In some entries I altogether avoided changing to fgets() say if the
author notes it uses gets() (in one case even providing a version that
uses fgets()). In some cases using fgets() introduces a bug so those are
also not changed.
As for 1990/tbr there's a strong reason for not having the fgets()
version being the alt. In macOS in particular (in linux - or maybe gcc,
not sure - it shows a warning at linker time) it will mess up the first
line of output in a potentially confusing way. For instance:
$ ./tbr.alt
$ warning: this program uses gets(), which is unsafe.
# nothing here, what to do?
And that touches on another issue of making the alt version the one that
uses gets(): the warnings that can be alarming during compilation,
linking and (in the case of macOS) runtime.
Not all entries should be or can be changed to fgets() but some can and
it's warranted for these reasons. More will possibly happen in the
future.
1993 marked the "The Tenth International Obfuscated C Code Contest"
Look at the README.md file for the given winner for information on how to compile the winner and how to run the winning program. Look at the winning source and try to figure how it does what it does! You may then wish to look at the Author's comments for even more details.
Use make to compile entries. It is possible that on BSD or non-unix systems the makefile needs to be changed. See the Makefile for details.
Read over the makefile for compile/build issues. Your system may require certain changes (add or remove a library, add or remove a #define).
Name and address information are separated from the actual program prior to judging. This eliminates any chance that we would bias our judging for/against any person or group.
This year was the first year that ANSI C was the default. Use of classic K&R C was allowed so long as ANSI C compilers could still compile the entry. If you do not have an ANSI C compiler, you may not be able to compile the winners, sorry!
A few notes regarding future contests:
Be sure to wait until the 1994 rules are posted before submitting entries. Rules differ from year to year, sometimes in significant ways.
In 1994, we will retract the guideline that discouraged the use of C constructs such as 3["curds"]. At one time, certain ANSI compilers did not consider such expressions to be valid ANSI C. Alert readers noted that the current ANSI standard considered them to be valid. We were unable to find an ANSI C compiler that flagged such expressions as errors.
Please send us comments and suggestions what we have expressed above. Also include anything else that you would like to see in future contests. Send such email to:
...!{sun,pacbell,uunet,pyramid}!hoptoad!judges
judges@toad.com
If you use, distribute or publish these entries in some way, please drop us a line. We enjoy seeing who, where and how the contest is used.
If you have problems with any of the entries, AND YOU HAVE A FIX, please email the fix (patch file or the entire changed file) to the above address.
Credits:
We would like to thank Barbara Frezza for her role as official chef of the contest. Landon Noll and Larry Bassel appreciated the opportunity to serve as official taste testers. And as usual, the food was excellent.
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Copyright (c) 1993, Landon Curt Noll & Larry Bassel. All Rights Reserved. Permission for personal, educational or non-profit use is granted provided this this copyright and notice are included in its entirety and remains unaltered. All other uses must receive prior permission in writing from both Landon Curt Noll and Larry Bassel.