The International Obfuscated C Code Contest

Logo by winner Matt Zucker
The International Obfuscated C Code Contest

The source winners of the 27^th IOCCC have been released. Congratulations!

The IOCCC is currently CLOSED.

Right now, you CANNOT register as a contestant with the IOCCC,
nor can you submit an entry because the IOCCC is yet NOT open.

Please see the watch the IOCCC news below for information on the next IOCCC.

You may also check on the status.json for the current status of the IOCCC.

Goals of the Contest

Obfuscate: tr.v. -cated, -cating, -cates.
1. 1. To render obscure.
  2. 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
The IOCCC:
- To write the most Obscure/Obfuscated C program within the rules.
- To show the importance of programming style, in an ironic way.
- To stress C compilers with unusual code.
- To illustrate some of the subtleties of the C language.
- To provide a safe forum for poor C code. :-)

IOCCC news

2023-01-30
- We added to the status.json page, a "status_date" JSON member whose value is the date of the most recent status.json modification, in date(1) format.
  We also added to the status.json page, a "latest_news" JSON member whose value is the date of the most recent news item.
  For example:
```
    "status_date" : "Mon Jan 30 02:28:44 PST 2023",
    "latest_news" : "Mon Jan 30 02:28:44 PST 2023"
```

2022-12-18
- As per the suggestion of Toni Mikkola (@Virtaava@home.social) we now maintain a status.json page on this web site.
  In addition to the IOCCC-style easter egg, you may count on the JSON status page having a JSON member with name of "contest" that will have a value of either "closed" or "open". When a future IOCCC is announced or the IOCCC is currently open, the JSON member with name of "contest" will change from "closed" to "open".
  Additional JSON members be added describing the contest such as the IOCCC contest number, open date, close date, timezone, etc. The details of such additional JSON members are TBD.
  When an open IOCCC closes, we won't instantaneously update the status.json page. Instead you will have to rely on the additional JSON information and/or read the IOCCC news, and/or follow us on Mastodon via @ioccc@fosstodon.org.

2022-11-29
- We are plan to abandon our IOCCC Twitter feed in favor of our new IOCCC Mastodon feed.
  Our Mastodon username is: @ioccc@fosstodon.org.
  Please note: As of the date of this posting, our account was just setup, so there isn't much to read there, yet.
  
  In the future we plan to use Mastodon as our official announcement platform. This will include announcing:
  - IOCCC news updates
  - Start of a new IOCCC
  - Updates on the IOCCC judging process
  - Who won the IOCCC
  - etC. :-)
  When registering for a new IOCCC, we will no longer ask for an optional twitter handle. Instead, you will be asked if you wish to provide a Mastodon username when you submit your IOCCC entry. Use of Mastodon is NOT required to enter the IOCCC, but nevertheless is encouraged. Proving a Mastodon username will be entirely optional.
  Non-mastodon users can follow the IOCCC postings via: fosstodon.org/@ioccc.
  If you do not yet have a Mastodon account, you may obtain a free mastodon account via: joinmastodon.org.
  If you do have / obtain a Mastodon account, please do us a favor and follow the IOCCC at:
  @ioccc@fosstodon.org
  The IOCCC wishes to thank the good folk running the fosstodon.org Mastodon hub. Their technology focused Fosstodon Hub is made possible by volunteers, and those who voluntarily support the cost of their server.
  Stay tuned in Mastodon as we update you on our progress towards the next IOCCC!

2022-11-19
- Source code has been released for version 0.8.1 2022-11-19 of the mkiocccentry repo, a GitHub repo that includes the official iocccsize tool, and a tool will form a compressed tarball of their entry.
  We are working on a submit server that will allow a registered IOCCC contestant to upload the above mentioned compressed tarball: when the contest is open of course.
  Once we reach version 1.0, we plan to invite the public to test and comment.
  We plan to hold in 2023, what we will call IOCCCMOCK, a trial IOCCC contest where the judges will go through the motions (without judging the content) of an IOCCC: testing the above mentioned tools and testing the submit server.
  We are working on complete rebuild of this web site as well.
2022-01-15
- Source code has been released for version 0.24 2022-01-15 of the mkiocccentry tool, a tool that is based on, and is containing, the official iocccsize tool, will form a compressed tarball that a registered IOCCC contestant will upload to the submit server (when the contest is open of course).
2021-12-27
- The Judges are continuing to work on re-tooling how we run the IOCCC. We are writing tools under various repositories our IOCCC GitHub organization site.
  We plan to hold IOCCC28 in 2023. Sorry for the delay, but we think you will appreciate the re-tooling when it is completed. Stay tuned!
2021-10-21
- The Judges are re-tooling how we run the IOCCC. Our goal is to build a smoother, more rapid process centered around GitHub.
  For example, when we announce the winners, we will do so by committing their code to the Winning entries of the IOCCC repo, so that people will be able immediately view the winning source.
  We plan to refactor and modernize the IOCCC web site. We also plan to build a new and improved way to submit entries the next IOCCC. As a result of all this work we need to do, we plan to hold IOCCC28 in 2023 instead of 2021. Sorry for the delay, but we think you will appreciate the re-tooling when it is completed.
  Stay tuned for how you may be able to help in the IOCCC redesign for IOCCC28!

Older news has been archived, but is not currently available