THE VIDEO SHELF · compilers and x86 hacking
Compiling C to printable x86, to make an executable research paper
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.
Why HN readers recommended it
HN fans call it a favorite engineering video and a showcase of Tom7's masterpiece-level, playful hacking.
This is a summary from the source dataset, not an endorsement by Hacker News or the video creator.
Video & recommendation details
- Creator / channel
- suckerpinch
- Topic
- compilers and x86 hacking
- Format
- talk
- Level
- advanced
- HN recommenders in dataset
- 8
- HN mentions in dataset
- 11
- Recommendation years in dataset
- 2018–2023
These counts and years describe the included Hacker News records; they are not YouTube views or the video’s publication date.
From the original HN conversations
Excerpts from the recorded comments. Follow each source for the full comment and surrounding discussion.
He's a mad genius! I like his compiler that generates executables made up only of printable characters: [VIDEO] / [LINK] He's super playful and awesomely smart!
pronoiac on Hacker News · 2019-07
In Survival in chessland [pdf]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]
badrequest on Hacker News · 2019-11
In NaN Gates and Flip FLOPSThe 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]
nextaccountic on Hacker News · 2023-07
In C89 compiler produces printable executables from C code [pdf]
Summaries, classifications and recommendation records are from the HackerTube source dataset. Read about this library and its limitations.