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<h1>The International Obfuscated C Code Contest</h1>
<h2>IOCCC Guidelines</h2>
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<h1 id="official-ioccc-guidelines">Official IOCCC guidelines</h1>
<p>These guidelines are <strong>OFFICIAL</strong>.</p>
<p>Unless some significant problem turns up (such as a need to delay
in when the IOCCC will close, or some major bug is discovered) they
will remain <strong>OFFICIAL</strong> for this IOCCC.</p>
<p>See our
FAQ on “<a href="../faq.html#feedback">rules, guidelines, tools feedback</a>”
as well as our
FAQ on “<a href="../faq.html#question">about asking questions</a>”
about these guidelines. You might also find the FAQ in general useful, especially the
FAQ on “<a href="../quick-start.html#enter">how to enter the IOCCC</a>”.</p>
<p><strong>SUGGESTION</strong>: Watch both the <a href="../news.html">IOCCC news</a> and the
<a href="https://fosstodon.org/@ioccc">IOCCC Mastodon</a> feed for the latest news
about any <em>mentions</em> changes.</p>
<p><strong>HINT to mastodon users</strong>: You may wish to refresh the <a href="https://fosstodon.org/@ioccc"><span class="citation" data-cites="IOCCC">@IOCCC</span>
mastodon feed</a> page and/or mastodon
app from time to time to view IOCCC mastodon updates.</p>
<h1 id="the-ioccc-open-for-submissions">The IOCCC open for submissions</h1>
<p>See “<a href="https://www.ioccc.org/quick-start.html#enter">FAQ - How may I enter the IOCCC</a>”
for information on how to register for the IOCCC, how to create a proper
bzip2 compressed tarball of your submission, and how to upload your
bzip2 compressed tarball to the IOCCC submit server.</p>
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<h1 id="th-international-obfuscated-c-code-contest-official-guidelines">28th International Obfuscated C Code Contest Official Guidelines</h1>
<p class="leftbar">
Copyright © 2024-2025 Leonid A. Broukhis and Landon Curt Noll.
</p>
<p>All Rights Reserved. Permission for personal, education or non-profit use is
granted provided this this copyright and notice are included in its entirety
and remains unaltered. All other uses must receive prior permission in
writing by <a href="../contact.html">contacting the judges</a>.</p>
<p>Jump to: <a href="#">top</a></p>
<div id="guidelines_version">
<div id="version">
<h1 id="ioccc-guidelines-version">IOCCC Guidelines version</h1>
</div>
</div>
<p class="leftbar">
These <a href="guidelines.html">IOCCC guidelines</a> are version <strong>28.47 2025-03-15</strong>.
</p>
<p class="leftbar">
The markdown form of these guidelines <a href="guidelines.md"
download="guidelines.md">is available for download</a>.
</p>
<p><strong>IMPORTANT</strong>: Be <strong>SURE</strong> to read the <a href="rules.html">IOCCC rules</a>.</p>
<p>Jump to: <a href="#">top</a></p>
<div id="change_marks">
<h1 id="change-marks">Change marks</h1>
</div>
<p class="leftbar">
<strong>← Lines that start with this symbol indicate a change from the
previous IOCCC</strong>.
</p>
<p>Most lines (we sometimes make mistakes) that were modified since the previous
IOCCC start with a solid 4 pixel black left border (or, in the case of a code
block or blockquote, just a vertical bar).</p>
<p>Jump to: <a href="#">top</a></p>
<div id="about_guidelines">
<h1 id="about-this-file">ABOUT THIS FILE:</h1>
</div>
<p>This file contains <em>guidelines</em> intended to help people who wish to
participate in the <a href="https://www.ioccc.org">International Obfuscated C Code Contest
(IOCCC)</a>.</p>
<p>These are <strong>NOT the <a href="rules.html">IOCCC rules</a></strong>, though it does contain comments
about them. The <a href="guidelines.html">IOCCC guidelines</a> should be viewed as
<strong>hints</strong> and <strong>suggestions</strong>. <strong>Submission that violate the
<a href="guidelines.html">guidelines</a> <em>but remain within the <a href="rules.html">rules</a></em></strong> <em>are
allowed</em>. Even so, you are safer if you remain within the <a href="guidelines.html">IOCCC
guidelines</a>.</p>
<p class="leftbar">
Of course if a guideline is talking about a rule and you break that guideline,
you stand a good chance of having your submission rejected for breaking the
rule, not the guideline.
</p>
<p>You <strong>SHOULD read the CURRENT <a href="rules.html">IOCCC rules</a></strong>, <em>prior</em> to submitting
code to the contest.</p>
<p>Jump to: <a href="#">top</a></p>
<div id="new">
<h1 id="whats-new-this-ioccc">WHAT’S NEW THIS IOCCC</h1>
</div>
<p class="leftbar">
This IOCCC runs from <strong>2024-12-29 23:58:13.213455 UTC</strong> to <strong>2025-06-05 04:03:02.010099 UTC</strong>.
This IOCCC marks the <strong>40th anniversary</strong> of the contest!
</p>
<p class="leftbar">
This contest will enter the <strong><a href="../faq.html#pending">pending</a></strong> state on or about
<strong>2024-12-29 23:58:13.213455 UTC</strong>.
When this happens, you may begin registering to enter the IOCCC.
</p>
<p class="leftbar">
This contest will enter the <strong><a href="../faq.html#open">open</a></strong> state on <strong>2025-03-05 23:19:17.131107 UTC</strong>.
When this happens, you may begin uploading your submissions to the IOCCC.
</p>
<p class="leftbar">
This contest will enter the <strong><a href="../faq.html#judging">judging</a></strong> state on <strong>2025-06-05 04:03:02.010099 UTC</strong>.
When this happens, you may no longer upload your submissions to the IOCCC.
</p>
<p class="leftbar">
<strong>IMPORTANT NOTE</strong>: Until the contest enters the <strong><a href="../faq.html#open">open</a></strong> state, any or all
of the above <strong>dates and times may change <em>AT ANY TIME</em></strong>!
</p>
<p class="leftbar">
The reason for the times of day are so that key IOCCC events are <strong>calculated</strong>
to be a <strong>fun</strong>ctional UTC time. :-)
</p>
<p class="leftbar">
<strong>NOTE</strong>: the updates to these guidelines on 2025-03-10 explained the new <code>-u uuidfile</code> and <code>-U uuidstr</code> options and are <strong>NOT</strong> important to read, in order
to follow the guidelines. The options are in a release <strong>AFTER THIS</strong> IOCCC’s
official release and not updating the toolkit is <strong>PERFECTLY</strong> okay.
</p>
<p class="leftbar">
<strong>NOTE</strong>: the updates to these guidelines on 2025-03-12 also explain how the
tools that require other tools now search under <code>$PATH</code>. It is perfectly fine to
not use the newer versions so long as you use the minimum required version of
the tools. See the
FAQ on “<a href="../faq.html#minimum_versions">minimum required version of the tools</a>”
for more details and the
FAQ on “<a href="../faq.html#obtaining_mkiocccentry">obtaining the most recent release of the
toolkit</a>”
for more help.
</p>
<p class="leftbar">
Until the contest status becomes <strong><a href="../faq.html#open">open</a></strong>,
the <a href="rules.html">IOCCC rules</a>,
<a href="guidelines.html">IOCCC guidelines</a> and the tools in the
<a href="https://github.com/ioccc-src/mkiocccentry">mkiocccentry repo</a> <strong>SHOULD be
considered</strong> provisional <strong>BETA</strong> versions and <strong>may be adjusted <em>AT ANY TIME</em></strong>
before the contest status becomes <strong><a href="../faq.html#open">open</a></strong>.
</p>
<p class="leftbar">
See the
FAQ on “<a href="../quick-start.html#enter">how to register and submit to the IOCCC</a>”
for instructions on registering and participating in the IOCCC, as the process
may change from contest to contest.
</p>
<p class="leftbar">
To assist in the formation of the xz compressed tarball for submission, use the
<code>mkiocccentry(1)</code> tool as found in the <a href="https://github.com/ioccc-src/mkiocccentry">mkiocccentry repo</a>.
</p>
<p class="leftbar">
See FAQs regarding:
</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="../faq.html#obtaining_mkiocccentry">obtaining the latest mkiocccentry tools</a></li>
<li><a href="../faq.html#compiling_mkiocccentry">compiling the mkiocccentry tools</a></li>
<li><a href="../faq.html#install">installing the mkiocccentry tools</a></li>
<li><a href="../faq.html#using_mkiocccentry">using the mkiocccentry tools</a></li>
</ul>
<p class="leftbar">
Uploading a tarball not formed by <code>mkiocccentry(1)</code> puts you at a very big risk of
violating <a href="rules.html#rule17">Rule 17</a>, especially as <code>mkiocccentry(1)</code> does a
great number of things that are required, and it also runs many checks, and if
any of those checks fail, you are at a very great risk of having your submission
rejected for violating <a href="rules.html#rule17">Rule 17</a>.
</p>
<p class="leftbar">
We <strong>STRONGLY</strong> recommend you <strong>do</strong> install the
<a href="https://github.com/ioccc-src/mkiocccentry">mkiocccentry toolkit</a>.
</p>
<p class="leftbar">
<strong>IMPORTANT NOTE</strong>: the tools that require other tools, <code>mkiocccentry(1)</code> and
<code>txzchk(1)</code>, will, as of version <code>2.0.2 2025-03-11</code>, search under <code>$PATH</code>. If
you have an earlier version and you have not installed the tools and run the
tools from outside the repo directory, you will have to use the options to the
tools to set the path to the required tools.
</p>
<p class="leftbar">
See the
FAQ on “<a href="../faq.html#mkiocccentry">obtaining and compiling the most recent mkiocccentry tools</a>”
and the
FAQ on “<a href="../quick-start.html#enter">how to enter the IOCCC</a>”
as that FAQ has important details on
<a href="register.html">how to register</a>
as well as
<a href="submit.html">how to upload your submission</a> to the IOCCC.
</p>
<p class="leftbar">
See also the
FAQ on “<a href="../faq.html#minimum_versions">what the minimum required versions are for this
contest</a>”
for more details on how to verify you have the correct versions for this
contest.
</p>
<p class="leftbar">
While the contest is <strong><a href="../faq.html#open">open</a></strong>, you may modify your
previously uploaded submission by rebuilding your submission with the
<code>mkiocccentry(1)</code> tool and then re-uploading it to <strong>the same slot number</strong> on the
<a href="https://submit.ioccc.org">submit server</a>.
</p>
<p class="leftbar">
<strong>HINT:</strong> so that you do not have to repeatedly answer all the
questions, the <code>mkiocccentry(1)</code> tool has the options <code>-a answers</code>, <code>-A answers</code>
and <code>-i answers</code>, where <code>-a</code> will write to an answers file (if it does not
already exist), <code>-A</code> <strong>WILL OVERWRITE THE FILE</strong> and <code>-i</code> will read the answers from
the file. If you use <code>-A</code>, <strong>BE SURE</strong> you don’t overwrite another file by accident!
</p>
<p class="leftbar">
Be aware that even with the <code>-i answers</code> you will still be required to confirm
most if not all <code>y/n</code> questions - you just don’t have to input the name of the
submission, the abstract, the author details etc. If you really wish to
circumvent this you can use the <code>-Y</code> option but we do not recommend this because
if your update breaks a rule or there is some problem, you might not see it.
</p>
<p class="leftbar">
To help with not having to repeatedly enter a UUID, whether for the same
submission or multiple submissions, you can use the <code>-u uuidfile</code> or <code>-U UUID</code>
option. See the
FAQ on “<a href="../faq.html#uuid">how to avoid re-entering your UUID</a>”
for more details. Note that the <code>-i answers</code> option cannot be used with the UUID
options as the answers file includes the UUID.
</p>
<p class="leftbar">
The overall size limit (see <a href="rules.html#rule2a">Rule 2a</a>) on <code>prog.c</code> has been
<strong>increased from 4096 to 4993</strong> bytes.
The <a href="rules.html#rule2a">Rule 2a</a> size was changed from
<strong>4096</strong> to <strong>4993</strong> to keep the “2b to 2a” size ratio to a
value similar to the <a href="../faq.html#size_rule2001-2012">2001-2012</a> and
<a href="../faq.html#size_rule2013-2020">2013-2020</a> IOCCC eras.
</p>
<p class="leftbar">
The <a href="rules.html#rule2b">Rule 2b</a> size has <strong>increased from 2053 to 2503</strong>
bytes.
</p>
<p class="leftbar">
Your submission must satisfy <strong>BOTH</strong> the maximum size
<a href="rules.html#rule2a">Rule 2a</a> <strong>AND</strong> the IOCCC size <a href="rules.html#rule2b">Rule 2b</a>.
</p>
<p class="leftbar">
To check your code against <a href="rules.html#rule2">Rule 2</a>, use the <code>iocccentry(1)</code> tool.
For example:
</p>
<pre><code> iocccsize prog.c</code></pre>
<p class="leftbar">
The IOCCC size tool algorithm can be summarized as follows:
</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The size tool counts most C reserved words (keyword, secondary, and selected
preprocessor keywords) as 1. The size tool counts all other bytes as 1
excluding ASCII whitespace, and excluding any ‘<code>;</code>’, ‘<code>{</code>’ or ‘<code>}</code>’ followed by
ASCII whitespace, and excluding any ‘<code>;</code>’, ‘<code>{</code>’ or ‘<code>}</code>’ byte immediately
before the end of file.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>ASCII whitespace includes ASCII tab, ASCII space, ASCII newline,
ASCII formfeed, and ASCII carriage return.</p>
<p class="leftbar">
When ‘<code>;</code>’, ‘<code>{</code>’ or ‘<code>}</code>’ are within a C string, they may still not be
counted by the IOCCC size tool. This is a <strong>feature</strong>, not a bug!
</p>
<p class="leftbar">
In cases where the above summary and the algorithm implemented by
the IOCCC size tool <code>iocccsize(1)</code> conflict, the algorithm implemented
by the current version of <code>iocccsize(1)</code> is preferred by the <a href="../judges.html">IOCCC judges</a>.
</p>
<p class="leftbar">
In other words, make sure <code>iocccsize</code> does not flag any issues with your
<code>prog.c</code>.
</p>
<p class="leftbar">
There are at least 2 other reasons for selecting 2503 as the 2nd limit besides
the fact that 2503 is a prime. These reasons may be searched for and discovered
if you are <a href="https://t5k.org/curios/page.php/2503.html">“Curios!” about 2503</a>.
:-) Moreover, 2053 was the number of the kernel disk pack of one of the judge’s
BESM-6, and 2503 is a decimal anagram of 2053.
</p>
<p>Take note that this secondary limit imposed by the IOCCC size tool
obviates some of the need to <code>#define</code> C reserved words in an effort
to get around the size limits of <a href="rules.html#rule2">Rule 2</a>.</p>
<p>Yes Virginia, <strong>that is a hint</strong>!</p>
<p class="leftbar">
The <strong>official locale</strong> of the <strong>IOCCC</strong> is <strong>C</strong>.
</p>
<p class="leftbar">
The <a href="https://github.com/ioccc-src/mkiocccentry">mkiocccentry toolkit</a>,
as of <a href="https://github.com/ioccc-src/mkiocccentry/releases/tag/2.4.4">Release version 2.4.4 2025-03-15</a>,
will run with a locale set to <strong>C</strong>.
</p>
<p>Jump to: <a href="#">top</a></p>
<div id="hints">
<div id="suggestions">
<h1 id="hints-and-suggestions">HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS:</h1>
</div>
</div>
<p>You are <strong>encouraged</strong> to examine the <a href="../years.html">winners of previous contests</a>.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that <a href="rules.html">rules</a> change from year to year, so some <a href="../years.html">winning
entries</a> might not be valid submissions this year; what <em>was</em> unique
and novel one year <em>might be ‘old’ the next year</em>.</p>
<p>A submission is usually examined in a number of ways. We typically apply
a number of tests to a submission:</p>
<ul>
<li>look at the original source</li>
<li>C pre-process the source ignoring <code>#include</code> lines</li>
<li>C pre-process the source ignoring <code>#define</code> <em>and</em> <code>#include</code> lines</li>
<li>run it through a C beautifier</li>
<li>examine the algorithm</li>
<li>compile it (with flags to enable all warnings)</li>
<li>execute it</li>
</ul>
<p>You should consider how your submission looks in each of the above tests.
You should ask yourself if your submission remains obscure after it has been
‘<em>cleaned up</em>’ by the C pre-processor and a C beautifier.</p>
<p>Your submission need not pass all of the above tests. In certain
cases, a test is not important. Submissions that compete for the
‘<strong>strangest/most creative source layout</strong>’ need not do as well as
others in terms of their algorithm. On the other hand, given
two such submissions, we are more inclined to pick the submission that
does something interesting when it’s executed.</p>
<p>We try to avoid limiting creativity in our <a href="rules.html">rules</a>. As such, we
leave the contest open for creative rule interpretation. As in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_life">real
life</a> programming, interpreting a
requirements document or a customer request is important. For this reason, we
often award ‘<strong>Best abuse of the <a href="rules.html">rules</a></strong>’ or ‘<strong>Worst abuse of the
<a href="rules.html">rules</a></strong>’ or some variation to a submission that illustrates this
point in an ironic way.</p>
<p class="leftbar">
The IOCCC has a rich history of remarkable winning entries created by
authors who skillfully employed various techniques to develop their code.
While it is <strong>NOT</strong> required, you are allowed to use tools to develop
and test your submission. These tools may include, but are not limited
to code generators, code analysis tools, static code analysis tools,
runtime analysis tools, machine learning tools, natural language models,
code copilot tools, so-called AI services, large language models (LLMS), etc.
If you do make use of such tools or services, then we <strong>ENCOURAGE you to describe
how you used such tools</strong> in your <code>remarks.md</code> file.
</p>
<p class="leftbar">
You may use git, or services such as <a href="https://www.github.com">GitHub</a>
to develop and maintain your submission. However, we <strong>DISLIKE</strong>
submissions that <strong>require</strong> them in order to build/compile your submission.
</p>
<p class="leftbar">
Submissions will be judged in an environment that has no <strong>IDE</strong>.
Any submission that fails to compile/build because it requires
an <strong>IDE</strong> will be rejected.
</p>
<p class="leftbar">
We will use the <code>make(1)</code> tool, your <code>Makefile</code>, and other tools found in
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_UNIX_Specification">Single UNIX Specification</a>
environments and systems that conform to the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_UNIX_Specification">Single UNIX
Specification</a>
in the building and compiling of your submission.
</p>
<p>We do realize that there are holes in the <a href="rules.html">rules</a>, and invite
submitters to attempt to exploit them. We may award ‘<strong>Worst abuse of the
<a href="rules.html">rules</a></strong>’ or ‘<strong>Best abuse of the <a href="rules.html">rules</a></strong>’ or some
variation and then plug the hole next year.</p>
<p class="leftbar">
When we do need to plug a hole in the <a href="rules.html">IOCCC rules</a> or <a href="guidelines.html">IOCCC
guidelines</a>, we will attempt to use a very small plug, if not
smaller. Or, maybe not. :-)
</p>
<p class="leftbar">
There may be fewer than 2^7+1 reasons why these <a href="guidelines.html">IOCCC
guidelines</a> seem obfuscated.
</p>
<p class="leftbar">
<strong>IMPORTANT:</strong> Be sure that <strong>your submission works</strong> as documented in your
<code>remarks.md</code> file. We sometimes make an effort to debug a submission
that has a slight problem, particularly in or near the final round.
On the other hand, we have seen some otherwise excellent submissions
fall down because they didn’t work as documented.
</p>
<p class="leftbar">
If you submission has bugs and/or mis-features, you are <strong>MUCH BETTER</strong> off
documenting such bugs and/or mis-features in your <code>remarks.md</code> file.
</p>
<p class="leftbar">
Consider an example of a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_number">prime number</a>
printing program that claims that 16 is a prime number.
Noting such a bug in your <code>remarks.md</code> file could save your submission:
</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“<em>this submission sometimes prints the 4th power of a prime by mistake</em>”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Sometimes a strange bug or (mis-)feature can even help the submission! Of course, a correctly
working submission might be better.</p>
<p class="leftbar">
We tend to look down on a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_number">prime
number</a> printer that claims that
16 is a prime number.
Clever people will note that 16 might be prime
under certain conditions. ;-) Wise people, when submitting something clever
will fully explain such cleverness in their submission’s <code>remarks.md</code> file.
</p>
<p>People who are considering to just use some complex mathematical
function or state machine to spell out something such as “<em>hello,
world!</em>” <strong>really really, <em>and we do mean REALLY</em>, do need to be more creative</strong>.</p>
<p>Ultra-obfuscated programs are, in some cases, easier to
deobfuscate than subtly-obfuscated programs. Consider using
misleading or subtle tricks layered on top of or under an
appropriate level of obfuscation. A clean looking program with
misleading comments and variable names might be a <strong>VERY GOOD START</strong>
to a great submission!</p>
<p>Jump to: <a href="#">top</a></p>
<h1 id="mkiocccentry"><code>mkiocccentry</code></h1>
<p class="leftbar">
<a href="rules.html#rule17">Rule 17</a> (the <code>mkiocccentry(1)</code> rule) states that
you <strong>REALLY SHOULD</strong> use the <code>mkiocccentry(1)</code> tool to package your submission tarball.
</p>
<p class="leftbar">
See the <a href="https://github.com/ioccc-src/mkiocccentry">mkiocccentry repo</a>
for the <code>mkiocccentry(1)</code> tool and below for more details.
</p>
<p class="leftbar">
<strong>IMPORTANT NOTE</strong>: make <strong>CERTAIN</strong> you have the most recent version of the
<code>mkiocccentry</code> toolkit! See the
FAQ on “<a href="../faq.html#obtaining_mkiocccentry">obtaining the mkiocccentry toolkit</a>”.
</p>
<p class="leftbar">
<code>mkiocccentry</code> runs a number of checks, by the tool itself and by executing
other tools, <em>before</em> packaging your xz compressed tarball, including running
<code>chkentry(1)</code> on the submission directory.
</p>
<p class="leftbar">
If <code>mkiocccentry</code> encounters an <strong>error</strong>, the program will exit and the xz
compressed tarball <strong>will not be formed</strong>. For instance, if
<a href="#chkentry">chkentry</a> fails to validate the submission directory, either because
of a validation error in the <code>.auth.json</code> or <code>.info.json</code>
<a href="https://www.json.org/json-en.html">JSON</a> files or because of
something else that <code>mkiocccentry(1)</code> creates or does, it is an
<strong>error</strong> and <strong>possibly</strong> a bug that you should <a href="https://github.com/ioccc-src/mkiocccentry/issues/new?assignees=&labels=bug&projects=&template=bug_report.yml&title=%5BBug%5D+%3Ctitle%3E">report as a bug at the
mkiocccentry bug report
page</a>.
<strong>PLEASE run the <code>bug_report.sh</code> script to help us out here!</strong> See the
FAQ on “<a href="../faq.html#mkiocccentry_bugs">reporting mkiocccentry bugs</a>”.
</p>
<p class="leftbar">
Once the tarball is packaged it will
run <code>txzchk(1)</code>, which will also run <code>fnamchk(1)</code>, as part of its algorithm.
</p>
<p class="leftbar">
However, even if <code>mkiocccentry</code> or one of the tools it invokes reports an error,
it <strong>does not</strong> necessarily mean it is a bug in the code. It might be an issue with
your submission. Thus if you report an error as a bug it might not be something
that will be fixed as there might not be anything wrong with the tools.
</p>
<p class="leftbar">
On the other hand, some conditions flagged by <code>mkiocccentry(1)</code> are <strong>warnings</strong>
and it allows you to override these, if you wish. If you’re brave enough you can
use the <code>-W</code> option to ignore all warnings but this is a big risk; the <code>-y</code>
option will assume ‘<em>yes</em>’ to most questions but this is also a big risk. Using
<code>-Y</code> will say ‘<em>yes</em>’ to even more prompts. Needless to say, we do <strong>NOT</strong>
recommend these options.
</p>
<p class="leftbar">
In many places it will prompt you to verify what you input, allowing you to
correct details as you go along. Be advised that there is a default answer and
if you press enter it will proceed with that default, so make sure you have
provided the correct answer.
</p>
<p class="leftbar">
If you wish to <strong>test</strong> that your submission passes the <code>mkiocccentry(1)</code> tests
without having to type in in answers each time, you can use the <code>-d</code> or <code>-s seed</code>
option to <code>mkiocccentry</code> for the tool to pseudo-randomly create answers for you.
For example:
</p>
<pre><code> mkiocccentry -d workdir topdir</code></pre>
<p class="leftbar">
<strong>IMPORTANT NOTE</strong>: if you run an IOCCC related tool outside the repo directory
(specifying the absolute or relative path to the tool) and you have not
installed the tools (and we <strong>STRONGLY</strong> recommend you <strong>do</strong> install them),
then you will have to specify the options (such as paths) for the tools that are required like
<code>chkentry(1)</code>, <code>txzchk(1)</code> and <code>fnamchk(1)</code>.
</p>
<p class="leftbar">
Make sure you have
the latest version of of the <a href="https://github.com/ioccc-src/mkiocccentry">mkiocccentry toolkit</a>
so that you do not violate <a href="rules.html#rule17">Rule 17</a> by mistake.
</p>
<p>Jump to: <a href="#">top</a></p>
<div id="mkiocccentry-synopsis">
<h2 id="mkiocccentry1-synopsis"><code>mkiocccentry(1)</code> synopsis</h2>
</div>
<p class="leftbar">
The synopsis of the <code>mkiocccentry(1)</code> tool is:
</p>
<pre><code> mkiocccentry [options] workdir topdir</code></pre>
<p class="leftbar">
To help you with editing a submission, the <code>mkiocccentry(1)</code> tool has
some options to write <em>OR</em> read from an answers file so you do not have to input
the information about the author(s) and the submission more than once, unless of
course you need to make some changes, in which case you can use the option that
overwrites the file. If you do use the overwrite option, <strong>MAKE SURE</strong> you do
not overwrite another file!
</p>
<p class="leftbar">
See the
FAQ on the
“<a href="../faq.html#mkiocccentry">mkiocccentry tool</a>”
for how to use this tool and the
FAQ on the
“<a href="../faq.html#mkiocccentry_details">finer details of mkiocccentry</a>”
for even more information.
</p>
<div id="tools">
<h1 id="other-mkiocccentry-tools">Other mkiocccentry tools</h1>
</div>
<p class="leftbar">
The <code>mkiocccentry(1)</code> tool will execute a number of tools, some of which will
execute one or more additional tools.
</p>
<h2 id="iocccsize"><code>iocccsize</code></h2>
<p class="leftbar">
<code>mkiocccentry(1)</code> will use code from <code>iocccsize(1)</code> which detects a number of
issues (such as <a href="rules.html#rule2">Rule 2</a>) that you may ignore, if you wish, as
noted above.
</p>
<p class="leftbar">
In other words, you no longer need to run <code>iocccsize</code> manually. However, the
checks described above are still made but through the <code>mkiocccentry(1)</code> tool itself.
</p>
<p>Jump to: <a href="#">top</a></p>
<h2 id="chkentry"><code>chkentry</code></h2>
<p class="leftbar">
<code>mkiocccentry(1)</code> will write two JSON files: <code>.auth.json</code> and
<code>.info.json</code>. These files contain information about the author(s) and about the
submission. After these files are formed, the <code>chkentry(1)</code> tool will be run on
the submission directory; this tool not only validates the two JSON files
(and runs specific checks on them after validating the JSON), but it also
verifies that what is in the manifest in <code>.info.json</code> matches the contents of
the directory, in addition to other checks. If <code>chkentry(1)</code> fails to validate
anything at all, your submission <strong>WILL BE</strong> rejected!
</p>
<p class="leftbar">
<strong>IMPORTANT</strong>: although <code>chkentry(1)</code> validates the files in the directory, it
only inspects the contents of the two JSON files; it performs other kinds of
checks on the other files, and those checks are run on the two JSON files as
well.
</p>
<p class="leftbar">
If you submit your own JSON files (other than <code>.auth.json</code> and
<code>.info.json</code>) then they do <strong>NOT</strong> have to be valid JSON.
However, if you do provide such invalid JSON files, <strong>PLEASE</strong>
document and explain this in your <code>remarks.md</code> file.
</p>
<p class="leftbar">
If <code>chkentry</code> does not pass and you used <code>mkiocccentry(1)</code> it is <strong>very likely</strong> a
bug and you should <a href="https://github.com/ioccc-src/mkiocccentry/issues/new?assignees=&labels=bug&projects=&template=bug_report.yml&title=%5BBug%5D+%3Ctitle%3E">report it as a bug at the mkiocccentry issues
page</a>.
<strong>PLEASE</strong> run the command:
</p>
<pre><code> make bug_report</code></pre>
<p class="leftbar">
from the top level repo directory itself and attach the bug report file (it will
tell you the name of the file). See also the
FAQ on “<a href="../faq.html#mkiocccentry_bugs">reporting mkiocccentry bugs</a>”.
</p>
<p class="leftbar">
Assuming that <code>chkentry(1)</code> successfully validates your submission directory,
the tarball will be formed and then <code>txzchk(1)</code> will be executed on it. In this
case, there should be no problems, as <code>mkiocccentry(1)</code> should <strong>NOT</strong> form a
tarball if there are any issues.
</p>
<p class="leftbar">
If <code>mkiocccentry(1)</code> is used and <code>chkentry(1)</code> fails to validate your submission
directory, then unless it is a system specific problem, it could be a bug in
<code>mkiocccentry(1)</code>, <code>chkentry(1)</code> or possibly <code>jparse</code>, although this is unlikely.
Nonetheless, if you believe there is a bug, you may report it as explained above.
</p>
<p class="leftbar">
If you want to know what <code>.auth.json</code> is, see the
FAQ on “<a href="../faq.html#auth_json">.auth.json</a>”.
If you want to know what the <code>.info.json</code> file is, see the
FAQ on “<a href="../faq.html#info_json">.info.json</a>”.
On the other hand, if you want to know a bit more details about <code>chkentry(1)</code>, see the
FAQ about “<a href="../faq.html#chkentry">chkentry</a>”.
</p>
<p class="leftbar">
<code>chkentry</code> uses the <code>jparse</code> library. See the
<a href="https://github.com/ioccc-src/mkiocccentry/blob/master/jparse/README.md">jparse
README.md</a>
in the <a href="https://github.com/ioccc-src/mkiocccentry/tree/master/jparse">mkiocccentry GitHub repo subdirectory
jparse</a> as well as