The '''International Obfuscated C Code Contest''' (abbreviated '''IOCCC''') is a [[computer programming]] contest for [[Source code|code]] written in [[C (programming language)|C]] that is the most creatively [[obfuscated code|obfuscated]] and held annually (when possible). It is described as "celebrating [C's] syntactical opaqueness".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://pcworld.co.nz/pcworld/pcw.nsf/how-to/beyond-the-command-line |access-date=2013-04-07 |title=Beyond the command line |work= [[PC World]] New Zealand| last=Palmer| first= Geoff| date=November 1, 2004| publisher= Fairfax Media, Fairfax New Zealand Limited |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130210081342/http://pcworld.co.nz/pcworld/pcw.nsf/how-to/beyond-the-command-line |archive-date=February 10, 2013 }}</ref> The winning code for the 28th contest, held in 2024/25, was announced by live stream 2 Aug 2025.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.ioccc.org/years.html |title=Previous IOCCC Winners with spoilers |publisher= International Obfuscated C Code Contest | website= IOCCC.org |access-date=2023-05-01}}</ref> Previous contests were held in the years 1984–1996, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2004–2006, 2011–2015, 2018–2020, and 2024.
Entries are evaluated anonymously by the current sitting judges, Leonid A. Broukhis & Landon Curt Noll. The judging process is documented in the competition guidelines<ref name= guidelines>{{cite web |url=https://www.ioccc.org/next/guidelines.html#judging-process|title=Judging Process|format=HTML |publisher= International Obfuscated C Code Contest | website= IOCCC.org |access-date=2025-08-27}}</ref> and consists of elimination rounds. By tradition, no information is given about the total number of entries for each competition. Winning entries are awarded with a category, such as "Worst Abuse of the [[C preprocessor]]" or "Most Erratic Behavior", and then announced on the official IOCCC website. The contest states that being announced on the IOCCC website is the reward for winning (plus bragging rights).
==History==
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==Rules==
EachThe year,Rules<ref thename=rules>{{cite web|url=https://www.ioccc.org/next/rules.html|title=Rules|publisher= International Obfuscated C Code Contest | website= IOCCC.org }}</ref> vary from year to year and are posted with a set of Guidelines<ref name=guidelines>{{cite web|url=https://www.ioccc.org/next/guidelines.html|title=Guidelines|publisher= International Obfuscated C Code Contest | website= IOCCC.org }}</ref> that attempt to convey additional enlightenment about the contestRules. They are published on the IOCCC website. All In addition all material isincluding winning entries are published under [[Creative Commons license]] [[Share-alike|BY-SA]] 34.0 UnportedInternational.<ref>{{cite web| url= https://www.ioccc.org/license.html|title=IOCCC home page| at= FooterLicense Employed|publisher= International Obfuscated C Code Contest | website= IOCCC.org| date= | access-date= }} Also in each hint.txt file.</ref> Rules vary from year to year and are posted with a set of guidelines that attempt to convey the spirit of the rules.
{{quotebox|text=Hacking the contest rules is a tradition.| author= —Landon Curt Noll, 2011<ref name=SJMerc11 />}}
The rulesRules are often deliberately written with [[loophole]]s that contestants are encouraged to find and abuse.<ref name=guidelines /> Entries that take advantage of loopholes can cause the rules for the following year's contest to be adjusted.<ref name=guidelines />
