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Compiling C to printable x86, to make an executable research paper

suckerpinch · 479.5K views · 2017-03-31 · 25:41

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Overview

Tom7 explains how he built a SIGBOVIK 2017 paper made only of printable ASCII bytes that is also a valid DOS executable. He writes a C compiler targeting printable x86 without self-modifying code and solves the puzzles the constraint creates.

On Hacker News

HN fans call it a favorite engineering video and a showcase of Tom7's masterpiece-level, playful hacking.

Recommended by 8 HN people across 7 months · HN mentions 2018–2023

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What people said

omgmajk · 2023-10 · Strong recommendation

Love Tom7, his video "Compiling C to printable x86, to make an executable research paper" [0] is my favorite but most of his stuff is super interesting. [0] [VIDEO]

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nextaccountic · 2023-07 · Strong recommendation

The author is an absolute legend. Absolutely every video on his Youtube channel is a masterpiece [LINK] And this includes the video that explains this code (Compiling C to printable x86, to make an executable research paper) [VIDEO]

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badrequest · 2019-11 · Strong recommendation

Every one of this guy's SIGBOVIK papers/videos are pure gold. His video about the printable x86[1] is my favorite engineering video of all time. ^1: [VIDEO]

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Sources

Video by suckerpinch, played through YouTube.

Data and selection notes

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