The International Puzzling Coding Competition resumes in 2024
The International Obfuscated C Code Contest (IOCCC) celebrated its 40th anniversary this year, marking the 28th edition of the unique programming competition. The event, which has been held intermittently since 1984, is a celebration of C's syntactical complexity, rewarding entries that are not only difficult to read but also clever and artistic in their misuse of the C language.
Notable characteristics of the IOCCC include its anonymous judging process, with entries being evaluated by a panel of experts through elimination rounds. Winners receive humorous award categories like "Worst Abuse of the C preprocessor" or "Most Erratic Behavior." The primary reward is winning recognition and bragging rights via announcement on the official website.
The contest is semi-serious in tone, described as "not all that serious" compared to typical programming contests. This year, the IOCCC set a new record with 23 winners, surpassing the previous high of 15 winners. The contest also featured advancements in judging efficiency, reducing the time between winner announcement and code publication to under two hours, and increasing the size limit for code submissions by 21% for the first time in over a decade.
Winning entries often include clever implementations such as a CPU emulator, a virtual machine capable of running Doom, or creative programs like a salmon recipe using C’s unique string literal syntax. This year, Nicholas Carlini won for a program file that implements a complete Intel 4004 emulator, including the Busicom 141-pf calculator. Adrian Cable won the "Prize in murky waters" for a code that draws the Earth's moon in its current phase, a feat that does not use any floating point and can be adjusted for different viewing perspectives.
The IOCCC is notable both for pushing the boundaries of C programming language idiosyncrasies and for showcasing programmers’ humor and creativity in writing code that is deliberately complicated yet functionally valid and often surprisingly ingenious. The event's origins can be traced back to a flame on USENET, with a statement about winning entries being posted after April 12, 1984. Dennis Ritchie's famous code comment, "C is quirky," is a fitting description of the contest's ethos.
This week, the results of the IOCCC 2024 were announced, showcasing another year of programmers' ingenuity and humour in the world of C programming.
In the world of C programming, the International Obfuscated C Code Contest (IOCCC) once again highlighted programmers' ingenuity and humor by announcing the results of its 28th edition this week. Winning entries for this year's edition included software utilizing AI and advancements in technology, such as a program file that implements a complete Intel 4004 emulator, showcasing the contestants' ability to harness the idiosyncrasies of the C language in creative and surprising ways.
