1. Yes! Underhanded entries are welcome. The obfuscation doesn't only apply to the code, but also the purpose of that code.
2. No tricks are in poor taste! The only limit is that we asked for submissions that don't re-use the common types listed by the IOCCC: https://www.ioccc.org/faq.html
3. No max length limits, and yes if you are able to create a very short program that will help. If you submit a longer program it would help the judges to provide a de-obfuscated version as well.
4. Yes, as long as it doesn't require any human intervention to produce output. There can be an alternate mode that allows human intervention, but the main goal is just to reduce confusion from potentially incorrect inputs.
Comments
Thank you for the feedback!
1. Yes! Underhanded entries are welcome. The obfuscation doesn't only apply to the code, but also the purpose of that code.
2. No tricks are in poor taste! The only limit is that we asked for submissions that don't re-use the common types listed by the IOCCC: https://www.ioccc.org/faq.html
3. No max length limits, and yes if you are able to create a very short program that will help. If you submit a longer program it would help the judges to provide a de-obfuscated version as well.
4. Yes, as long as it doesn't require any human intervention to produce output. There can be an alternate mode that allows human intervention, but the main goal is just to reduce confusion from potentially incorrect inputs.
5. Good point, will fix.