From 3dc3f7e75fc0a54e5b131132e51fbebb29215b7e Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Landon Curt Noll Date: Sat, 18 Jan 2025 08:42:11 -0800 Subject: [PATCH] improve references to source code that inspired the IOCCC Updated `faq.md` and `README.md` to point at the BSD source for the old Bourne shell. Mentioned the GENIX operating system for the NS SYS16 system. Added a note that the links are only approximations of the BSD code that inspired the IOCCC. --- README.html | 16 ++++++++++++---- README.md | 18 +++++++++++++++--- faq.html | 10 +++++++--- faq.md | 11 ++++++++--- sitemap.xml | 8 ++++---- 5 files changed, 46 insertions(+), 17 deletions(-) diff --git a/README.html b/README.html index 15fb61979d..2a76a0623f 100644 --- a/README.html +++ b/README.html @@ -446,13 +446,21 @@

Obfuscation | noun

The official IOCCC website is www.ioccc.org.

How it was started:

-

The original inspiration of the International Obfuscated C Code Contest came -from the Bourne Shell source and the +

It was a dark and stormy night…

+

OK, let’s go back to 1984, not 1830: one day (1984 March 23 to be exact), Larry Bassel +and I (Landon Curt Noll) were working for National Semiconductor’s Genix porting +group, and we were both in our offices trying to fix some very broken code.

+

Larry had been trying to fix a bug in +the old Bourne shell +sh(1) +(C code #defined to death to sort of look like Algol), +and I had been working on the finger(1) command along with its associated fingerd(8) daemon -from early 4BSD. -If this is what could result from what some people claim is reasonable +from early 4BSD as used by the GENIX operating system for the NS SYS16 system.

+

BTW: The above links to BSD code are only approximations of the BSD code that was being used in the GENIX operating system for the NS SYS16 system. For example, the source code reference to fingerd(8) is well past the 1984 March 23 date.

+

If this is what could result from what some people claim is reasonable programming practice, then to what depths might quality sink if people really tried to write poor code?

I, Landon Curt Noll, put that question to the USENET news groups net.lang.c diff --git a/README.md b/README.md index 2a44d96010..2dac37a217 100644 --- a/README.md +++ b/README.md @@ -27,12 +27,24 @@ The official IOCCC website is [www.ioccc.org](https://www.ioccc.org). ## How it was started: -The original inspiration of the International Obfuscated C Code Contest came -from the Bourne Shell source and the +**It was a dark and stormy night...** + +OK, let's go back to 1984, not 1830: one day (1984 March 23 to be exact), Larry Bassel +and I (Landon Curt Noll) were working for National Semiconductor's Genix porting +group, and we were both in our offices trying to fix some very broken code. + +Larry had been trying to fix a bug in +the old Bourne shell +[sh(1)](https://github.com/dank101/4.2BSD/tree/708b3890ac0c2f034f2840b5ee9125b3c83a05bc/bin/sh) +(C code `#define`d to death to sort of look like Algol), +and I had been working on the [finger(1)](https://github.com/dank101/4.2BSD/blob/708b3890ac0c2f034f2840b5ee9125b3c83a05bc/ucb/finger.c) command along with its associated [fingerd(8)](https://github.com/dank101/4.3BSD-Reno/tree/master/libexec/fingerd) daemon -from early 4BSD. +from early 4BSD as used by the GENIX operating system for the NS SYS16 system. + +**BTW**: The above links to BSD code are only approximations of the BSD code that was being used in the GENIX operating system for the NS SYS16 system. For example, the source code reference to `fingerd(8)` is well past the 1984 March 23 date. + If this is what could result from what some people claim is reasonable programming practice, then to what depths might quality sink if people really tried to write poor code? diff --git a/faq.html b/faq.html index 9cf0be8743..6f82eee816 100644 --- a/faq.html +++ b/faq.html @@ -5257,12 +5257,16 @@

Q 11.0: How did the IOCCC get star

OK, let’s go back to 1984, not 1830: one day (1984 March 23 to be exact), Larry Bassel and I (Landon Curt Noll) were working for National Semiconductor’s Genix porting group, and 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 +

Larry had been trying to fix a bug in +the old Bourne shell +sh(1) +(C code #defined to death to sort of look like Algol), +and I had been working on the finger(1) command along with its associated fingerd(8) daemon -from early 4BSD.

+from early 4BSD as used by the GENIX operating system for the NS SYS16 system.

+

BTW: The above links to BSD code are only approximations of the BSD code that was being used in the GENIX operating system for the NS SYS16 system. For example, the source code reference to fingerd(8) is well past the 1984 March 23 date.

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’.

diff --git a/faq.md b/faq.md index 38be6bee71..9fe33a7d15 100644 --- a/faq.md +++ b/faq.md @@ -6552,12 +6552,17 @@ OK, let's go back to 1984, not 1830: one day (1984 March 23 to be exact), Larry and I (Landon Curt Noll) were working for National Semiconductor's Genix porting group, and 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 `#define`d -to death to sort of look like Algol) and I had been working on the +Larry had been trying to fix a bug in +the old Bourne shell +[sh(1)](https://github.com/dank101/4.2BSD/tree/708b3890ac0c2f034f2840b5ee9125b3c83a05bc/bin/sh) +(C code `#define`d to death to sort of look like Algol), +and I had been working on the [finger(1)](https://github.com/dank101/4.2BSD/blob/708b3890ac0c2f034f2840b5ee9125b3c83a05bc/ucb/finger.c) command along with its associated [fingerd(8)](https://github.com/dank101/4.3BSD-Reno/tree/master/libexec/fingerd) daemon -from early 4BSD. +from early 4BSD as used by the GENIX operating system for the NS SYS16 system. + +**BTW**: The above links to BSD code are only approximations of the BSD code that was being used in the GENIX operating system for the NS SYS16 system. For example, the source code reference to `fingerd(8)` is well past the 1984 March 23 date. We happened to both wander (at the same time) out to the hallway in Building 7C to clear our heads. diff --git a/sitemap.xml b/sitemap.xml index d51339aae1..a65dfb7c6a 100644 --- a/sitemap.xml +++ b/sitemap.xml @@ -15414,11 +15414,11 @@ https://www.ioccc.org/faq.html - 2025-01-18T10:05:03+00:00 + 2025-01-18T16:34:05+00:00 https://www.ioccc.org/faq.md - 2025-01-18T10:05:03+00:00 + 2025-01-18T16:33:38+00:00 https://www.ioccc.org/inc/index.html @@ -15466,11 +15466,11 @@ https://www.ioccc.org/README.html - 2025-01-18T10:05:03+00:00 + 2025-01-18T16:34:09+00:00 https://www.ioccc.org/README.md - 2025-01-18T10:05:03+00:00 + 2025-01-18T16:33:04+00:00 https://www.ioccc.org/robots.txt