International Obfuscated C Code Contest Archive + Rules

[Landon C. Noll]

For folks who requested another copy of the 1991 contest rules; see the
bottom of this article.  The contest ends 16-May-91 0:00 UTC.

The International Obfuscated C Code Contest Archive (previous winners
from 1984 to 1990) are now available for ftp access from uunet:

	/pub/ioccc/shar.1984.01
	/pub/ioccc/shar.1985.01
	/pub/ioccc/shar.1986.01
	/pub/ioccc/shar.1987.01
	/pub/ioccc/shar.1988.01
	/pub/ioccc/shar.1989.01
	/pub/ioccc/shar.1989.02
	/pub/ioccc/shar.1990.01
	/pub/ioccc/shar.1990.02
	/pub/ioccc/shar.README

If you have a collection of contest winners that is older than 09/23/1990,
you may want to fetch this collection.  There have been some minor updates,
typos fixes and README changes made to the archive.

chongo <For a good prime, call:  391581 * 2^216193 - 1> /\cc/\

=-=-

8th International Obfuscated C Code Contest Rules

	Obfuscate:  tr.v.  -cated, -cating, -cates.  1. a.  To render obscure.
		b.  To darken.  2. To confuse:  his emotions obfuscated his
		judgment.  [LLat. obfuscare, to darken : ob(intensive) +
		Lat. fuscare, to darken < fuscus, dark.] -obfuscation n.
		obfuscatory adj.


GOALS OF THE CONTEST:

    * To write the most Obscure/Obfuscated C program under the rules below.
    * To show what should NOT be done in C programs.
    * To provide a safe forum for poor C code.  :-)


DEDICATION:

    The 1991 IOCCC is dedicated to the ANSI C pre-processor.


RULES:

    To help us handle the vast volume of entries, we ask that you follow the
    rules below.  SORRY FOR THE LENGTH, BUT WE NEED ALL THE HELP WE CAN GET!

    1) Your source MUST be 1536 bytes or less.   It must be a complete program.

    2) To help us process your entries, we ask that you submit entries
       in the following format.  Please be sure to include ALL --- lines,
       otherwise our extraction program may skip your entry!

---header items---
name:    	Your name, of course!

org:		School/Company/Organization

email address:	Email address from a well known site, or in a registered domain

postal address:	Postal address
		include your country as well

environment:	Indicate the Hardware
		and OS under which your program was tested

entry:		5	<i.e., entry number from 0 to 7 inclusive>

remark:		Remarks about the program.  See rule #3 below for details.
---how to ANSI compile---
Give the command(s) needed to compile your program using an ANSI C
compiler.  If your program should not be compiled under an ANSI C compiler,
leave this section blank.  The command size must be 160 characters or less.
---how to common compile---
Give the command(s) needed to compile your program using an K&R/traditional
C compiler.  If your program should not be compiled under a K&R style C,
leave this section blank.  The command size must be 160 characters or less.
---program---
Not everyone has a program such as uuencode, and we don't want to blindly
process a shar file, so we ask that you format your source as follows:

Add a leading X to EACH line, unless it is a split line.   (see below)

Some mailers don't like long lines.  To be safe, split lines longer than 80
    characters.  To split a line, place an E at the point of a split and
    place a C (instead of an X) at the beginning of the next line.

If the program does not end in a newline, end the last line with an E.

Leading X's, trailing E's followed by the two characters "\nC", and an E
    at the last character of the last line are not considered to part of the
    source and thus don't contribute toward the source character count.
    Be careful with lines ending in "E\n", see the example below.

Newlines and tabs each count as 1 character.  Assume 8 character tab stops.

The newlines here were placed for reasons of readability.  In your entry,
    every line in this section must begin with either an X or a C.

Example:

XThis is a single line containing 79 E
Ccharacters including the E
Cfinal newline.
XThe next line contains only a single newline.
X
XThis line is terminated by a newline preceded by an EE
C
XThis last line is not terminated by a newline and ends in an EE
---end---

    3) Regarding the header items:

	* Any text outside of the above format will be kept confidential.

	* All header lines are required, but you may use 'anonymous'
	  for any header line other than 'remarks' or 'entry'.

	* Only the '---program---' section uses the 'X', 'C', 'E' notation.

	* In the 'remark' item, please include:
	    - what this program does
	    - why you think the program is obfuscated
	    - any other remarks (humorous or otherwise)
	    - By default, we will select your program source and/or binary
	      filename.  If your entry REQUIRES a specific source and/or
	      binary filename, please say so in the remark section.
	    - If this entry is a re-submission of a previous entry.

    4) Your entry should be written in common C (K&R + common extensions)
       or ANSI C.  If your program will NOT compile under an ANSI C or
       K&R C compiler, leave the particular 'how to' section blank.
       If you leave a 'how to' section blank, include the '---' line.

       You do not have to fill in both 'how to' sections, though you must
       fill in at least one 'how to' section.  If you leave a 'how to'
       section blank, include the '---' line anyway.

    5) The program must be of original work.  All programs must be
       in the public domain.  All copyrighted programs will be rejected.

    6) Entries must be received between 06-Mar-91 0:00 UTC and
       16-May-91 0:00 UTC.  Email your entries the address found below.
       (UTC is essentially equivalent to Greenwich Mean Time)

       We will attempt to Email a confirmation of receipt of contest
       entries, however since Email is not reliable you may not receive it.
       We regret that we can no longer accept entries via postal mail.

    7) Each person may submit up to 8 entries.  Only 1 entry per Email
       letter.  If you submit multiple entries, be sure that each has a
       unique entry number.

       We will discard all but the latest email in the case of multiple
       entries with the same entry number.  Thus, if you wish to correct
       a previously sent entry, re-send it with the same entry number.
       Just to be sure email does not arrive out or sequence, note that 
       fact in the 'remark' item.

    8) Entries requiring human interaction to be built are not allowed.  
       (for example, don't use #include "/dev/tty")

    9) Compiling an entry must result a regular file which may be executed.
       (for example, don't use -o /dev/tty)


ANNOUNCEMENT OF WINNERS:

    * First announcement will likely be at the Summer 91 Usenix conference.

    * Winning entries will be posted in mid June 1991 to
      comp.sources.unix as well as news groups where these rules
      were posted.  (depending on the judges work load)

    * Winning entries will be deposited into the uunet archives.

    * An article containing the winning entries will be published
      in a future issue of the "Micro/Systems Journal".

    * Winners receive international fame and flames!  :-)


JUDGING:

    Awards will be given to the best entry in a number of categories.
    The actual category list will vary depending on the types of entries
    we receive.  As a guide, consider using the following:

	* The best small one line program
	* The strangest source layout
	* The most useful obfuscated program
	* The most creatively obfuscated program
	* Best obfuscated entry smaller than 256 bytes
	* Best obfuscated entry smaller than 1024 bytes
	* Best abuse of ANSI C
	* Worse abuse of the rules (no abuse of entry format please!)
	* <anything else so strange that it deserves an award>


POINTS TO PONDER:

    People are encouraged to examine winners of the previous contests.
    A copy of these entries has been posted to comp.sources.unix.
    Contact the comp.sources.unix moderator, or some archive site (such
    as uunet).  Keep in mind that rules change from year to year, so some
    winning entries may not be valid entries this year.  What was unique
    and novel one year might be 'old' the next year.

    We examine each entry on several levels of confusion.  For example
    each entry is judged when we:

	* look at the original source
	* If it is ANSI, convert tri-graphs to ASCII
	* C pre-process the source ignoring '#include' '#define' lines
	* C pre-process the source ignoring '#define' and '#include' lines
	* run it through a C beautifier
	* examine the algorithm
	* lint it
	* compile it
	* execute it

    One line programs are best when they are short, obscure and concise.

    We tend to dislike programs that:

	* are very hardware specific
	* are very OS or Un*x version specific
	     (index/strchr differences are ok, but socket/streams specific
	      code is likely not to be)
	* dump core or have compiler warnings
	     (it is ok only if you warn us in the 'remark' header item)
	* won't compile under both BSD or SYS V Un*x
	* use an excessively long compile line to get around the size limit
	* obfuscate by excessive use of ANSI tri-graphs
	* are longer than they need to be
	* are similar to previous winners
	* are similar to previous losers  :-)

    Simply abusing #defines or -Dfoo=bar won't go as far as a program
    that is more well rounded in confusion.

    Unless you are cramped for space, or unless you are entering the
    'best one liner' category, we suggest that you format your program
    in a more creative way than simply forming excessively long lines.

    We like programs that:

	* are as concise and small as they need to be
	* do something at least quasi-interesting
	* pass lint without complaint (not a requirement, but it is nice)
	* are portable
	* are unique or novel in their obfuscation style
	* MAKE USE OF A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF OBFUSCATION
	* make us laugh and/or throw up  :-)

    Some types of programs can't excel in some areas.  Of course, your
    program doesn't have to excel in all areas, but doing well in several
    areas really does help.  A humorous note in the remark section helps.

    Be creative!


EMAIL ADDRESSES

    Send contest entries to:

	...!{sun,pacbell,uunet,pyramid,amdahl}!hoptoad!obfuscate
	obfuscate at toad.com

    The Judging will be done by Landon Noll and Larry Bassel.  If you have 
    questions or comments (no entries), please feel free to email them to:

	...!{sun,pacbell,uunet,pyramid,amdahl}!hoptoad!judges
	judges at toad.com


chongo <Landon Curt Noll> /\cc/\  	hoptoad!chongo
Larry Bassel			  	{amdahl,ucbvax,cbosgd}|sun!lab
-- 
For a good prime, call:  391581 * 2^216193 - 1