C programmers commit fresh crimes against readability

The International Obfuscated C Code Contest is back, which is basically the Olympics of making computer code as baffling as humanly possible. This year’s big talking point was a strange little winner built around Subleq, a deliberately tiny kind of computer design that uses just one command. The twist? Unlike many joke entries, this one actually has a real use: helping preserve old software by making it easier to keep ancient programs alive long after their original machines are gone. Yes, buried under the code crimes, there’s a surprisingly wholesome mission.

But the real fireworks were in the comments, where readers instantly split into camps. One crowd was impressed but immediately started backseat-driving the entry, with one commenter basically saying it could run faster with a different approach, only admitting that maybe it would be too sensible to win a contest like this. Another mini-drama erupted when a reader pounced on the article’s electronics description with a gleeful “Lol, no”, correcting what kind of old-school glowing number display was being discussed. Classic internet move: if there’s a tiny factual slip, somebody will arrive at speed.

Then came the philosophical spiral. One commenter wondered whether programming languages should be designed so nonsense like this becomes impossible, while another got unexpectedly nostalgic and asked whether this one-command computer idea might have helped in the Apollo era. So the mood was equal parts admiration, nerd-sniping, pedantic correction, and delighted horror. In other words: the comments section understood the assignment perfectly.