9th International Obfuscated C Code Contest Guidelines, Hints and CommentsCopyright (c) 1992, Landon Curt Noll & Larry Bassel.All Rights Reserved.  Permission for personal, education or non-profit use isgranted provided this this copyright and notice are included in its entiretyand remains unaltered.  All other uses must receive prior permission in writingfrom both Landon Curt Noll and Larry Bassel.ABOUT THIS FILE:    This file is intended to help people who wish to submit entries to    the International Obfuscated C Code Contest (IOCCC for short).    This is not the IOCCC rules, though it does contain comments about    them.  The guidelines should be viewed as hints and suggestions.    Entries that violate the guidelines but remain within the rules are    allowed.  Even so, you are safer if you remain within the guidelines.    You should read the current IOCCC rules, prior to submitting entries.    The rules are typically sent out with these guidelines.WHAT IS NEW IN 1992:    The size rules are different this year.  There is a more relaxed    rule to encourage formatting styles beyond rectangular blobs of C    code.  The build file (how to compile) has been expanded as well.    See the rules, and OUR LIKES AND DISLIKES for details.    The entry format is better (for us anyway).  The program mkentry.c    provides a convenient way to form an entry.  See ENTRY FORMAT.    The original entry source, build and resulting binary should be    treated as read-only.  There is a provision to allow entries to    modify these files indirectly.  See ENTRY FORMAT.    This year, we are experimenting with a new category of programs:    X clients.  X client entries should be as portable as possible.    See OUR LIKES AND DISLIKES.HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS:    You are encouraged to examine the winners of previous contests.  See    FOR MORE INFORMATION for details on how to get previous winners.    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.    An entry is usually examined in a number of ways.  We typically apply    a number of tests to an entry:	* look at the original source	* If it is ANSI, convert tri-graphs to ASCII	* C pre-process the source ignoring '#include' 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    You should consider how your entry looks in each of the above tests.    You should ask yourself if your entry remains obscure after it has been    'cleaned up' by the C pre-processor and a C beautifier.    Your entry need not do well under all, or in most tests.  In certain    cases, a test is not important.  Entries that compete for the    'strangest/most creative source layout' need not do as well as    others in terms of their algorithm.  On the other hand, given    two such entries, we are more inclined to pick the entry that    does something interesting when you run it.    We try to avoid limiting creativity in our rules.  As such, we leave    the contest open for creative rule interpretation.  As in real life    programming, interpreting a requirements document or a customer request    is important.  For this reason, we often award 'worst abuse of the    rules' to an entry that illustrates this point in an ironic way.    If you do plan to abuse the rules, we suggest that you let us know    in the remarks section.  Please note that an invitation to abuse    is not an invitation to break.  We are strict when it comes to the    3217 byte size limit.  Also, abusing the entry format tends to    annoy more than amuse.    We do realize that there are holes in the rules, and invite entries    to attempt to exploit them.  We will award 'worst abuse of the rules'    and then plug the hole next year.  Even so, we will attempt to use    the smallest plug needed, if not smaller.  :-)    Check out your program and be sure that it works.  We sometimes make    the effort to debug an entry that has a slight problem, particularly    in or near the final round.  On the other hand, we have seen some    of the best entries fall down because they didn't work.    We tend to look down on a prime number printer, that claims that    16 is a prime number.  If you do have a bug, you are better off    documenting it.  Noting "this entry sometimes prints the 4th power    of a prime by mistake" would save the above entry.  And sometimes,    a strange bug/feature can even help the entry!  Of course, a correctly    working entry is best.OUR LIKES AND DISLIKES:    Doing masses of #defines to obscure the source has become 'old'.  We    tend to 'see thru' masses of #defines due to our pre-processor tests    that we apply.  Simply abusing #defines or -Dfoo=bar won't go as far    as a program that is more well rounded in confusion.    Many ANSI C compilers dislike the following code, and so do we:	#define d define	#d foo		   <-- don't expect this to turn into #define foo	int i;	j;		   <-- don't use such implicit type declarations	int k;    We suggest that you use ANSI C compilers if possible.  If you must    use non-ANSI C, such as K&R C, try to avoid areas that give ANSI C    compilers problems.    Small programs are best when they are short, obscure and concise.    While such programs are not as complex as other winners, they do    serve a useful purpose.  They are often the only program that people    attempt to completely understand.  For this reason, we look for    programs that are compact, and are instructional.    One line programs should be short one line programs, say around 80    bytes long.  Getting close to 160 bytes is a bit too long for one liners    in our books.    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	* abusing the build file 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 identical to previous losers  :-)    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.    The build file should not be used to try and get around the size    limit.  It is one thing to make use of a several -D's to help out,    but it is quite another to use 200+ bytes of -D's in order to    try and squeeze the source under the size limit.  You should feel    free to make use of the build file space, but you are better off    if you show some amount of restraint.    We allowed whitespace, and in certain cases ; { or } do not impact    your program size (up to a certain point), because we want to get    away from source that is simply a compact blob of characters.    Given two versions of the same program, one that is a compact blob    of code, and the other that is formatted more like a typical C    program, we tend to favor the second version.  Of course, a third    version of the same program that is formatted in an interesting    and/or obfuscated way, would definitely win over the first two!    We suggest that you avoid trying for the 'smallest self-replicating'    program.  We are amazed at the many different sizes that claim    to be the smallest.  There is nothing wrong with self-replicating    programs.  In fact, a number of winners have been self-replicating.    You might want to avoid the claim of 'smallest', lest we (or others)    know of a smaller one!    X client entries should be as portable as possible.  Entries that    adapt to a wide collection of environments will be favored.  Don't    depend on a particular type of display.  For example, don't depend    on color or a given size.  Don't require backing store.    X client entries should avoid using X related libraries and    software that is not in wide spread use.  We ask that such X client    entries restrict themselves to only the low level Xlib and the    Athena widget set (libX11.a, libXaw.a, libXmu.a and libXt.a).    Don't use M*tif, Xv*ew, or OpenL*ok toolkits, since not everyone    has them.  Avoid depending on a particular window manager.  Not    everyone has X11r5, and some people are stuck back in X11r3 (or    earlier), so try to target X11r4 without requiring X11r4.  Better    yet, try to make your entry run on all version 11 X Window Systems.    X client entries should not to depend on particular items on    .Xdefaults.  If you must do so, be sure to note the required lines    in the ---remark--- section.  Better yet, give an xrdb -merge    command as part of the build.    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.    We freely admit that interesting, creative or humorous comments in    the ---remark--- section helps your chance of winning.  If you had to    read of many twisted entries, you too would enjoy a good laugh or two.    We think the readers of the contest winners do as well.    Be creative!ENTRY FORMAT:    In order to help us process the many entries, we must request your    assistance by formatting your entries in a certain way.  This format,    in addition, allows us to quickly separate information about the    author from the program itself.  (see JUDGING PROCESS)    We have provided the program, mkentry, as an example of how to    format entries.  You should be aware of the following warning that    is found in mkentry.c:	This program attempts to implement the IOCCC rules.  Every	attempt has been made to make sure that this program produces	an entry that conforms to the contest rules.  In all cases,	where this program differs from the contest rules, the	contest rules will be used.  Be sure to check with the	contest rules before submitting an entry.    You are not required to use mkentry.  It is convenient, however,    as it attempts to uuencode the needed files, and attempt to check    the entry against the size rules.    If you have any suggestions, comments, fixes or complaints about    the mkentry.c program, please send Email to the judges.  (see below)    The following is a sample entry:---entry---rule:	1992title:	chonglabentry:	0date:	Mon Feb 17 13:58:57 1992host:	Un*x v6, pdp11/45	2.9BSD, pdp11/70---remark---    This is a non-obfuscated obfuscated C program.    It is likely not to win a prize.  But what do you expect from    a short example!  (yes, Hello world progs have become old too)---author---name:	Landon Curt Nollorg:	IOCCC Judging Groupaddr:	Toad Hall	San Francisco, CA 94101	USAemail:	chongo@toad.comanon:	n---author---name:	Larry Basselorg:	IOCCC Judging Groupaddr:	Toad Hall	San Francisco, CA 94101	USAemail:	hoptoad!sun!lab