[grey_whiskers]

> From: "Jim Coplien"
> Date: Tue, 22 Dec 1998 13:03:56 -0600
> To: Lalita Jagadeesan , god, tball
> Subject: a program for your flow and testing tools
>
> /*
> * seriously -- run it :-)
> */
> #include
> main(t,_,a)
> char *a;
> {
> return!0 > 1,t > main(2,_+1,"%s %d %d\n"):9:16:t<0?t<-72?main(_,t,
>"@n'+,#'/*{}w+/w#cdnr/+,{}r/*de}+,/*{*+,/w{%+,/w#q#n+,/#{l+,/n{n+,/+#n+,/#\
> ;#q#n+,/+k#;*+,/'r :'d*'3,}{w+K w'K:'+}e#';dq#'l \
> q#'+d'K#!/+k#;q#'r}eKK#}w'r}eKK{nl]'/#;#q#n'){)#}w'){){nl]'/+#n';d}rw' i;#\
> ){nl]!/n{n#'; r{#w'r nc{nl]'/#{l,+'K {rw' iK{;[{nl]'/w#q#n'wk nw' \
> iwk{KK{nl]!/w{%'l##w#' i; :{nl]'/*{q#'ld;r'}{nlwb!/*de}'c \
> ;;{nl'-{}rw]'/+,}##'*}#nc,',#nw]'/+kd'+e}+;#'rdq#w! nr'/ ') }+}{rl#'{n' ')# \
> }'+}##(!!/")
> :t<-50?_==*a?putchar(31[a]):main(-65,_,a+1):main((*a=='/')+t,_,a+1)
> :0 > "!ek;dc i@bK'(q)-[w]*%n+r3#l,{}:\nuwloca-O;m .vpbks,fxntdCeghiry"),a+1);





Supposedly, it prints out "The Twelve Days of Christmas". There are websites which claim to parse it. I've never tried it.

[5thGenTexan]

The “obfuscated C code contest” was a real thing in the USENET days. Many people had signatures that, when compiled, gererated an ASCII business card of sorts.

About once a year, people would push the limits with examples like the one you posted. The goal was to create a working program with coherent output that as source code looked like a baby had gotten hold of the keyboard.

I think these programs also contributed to improving the compilers of the time, too by pushing them to their limits.

[Political Junkie Too]

//NOTHING JOB
//STEP1 EXEC PGM=IEFBR14
//SYSIN DD DUMMY
//

-PJ