SectorC 512-Byte C Compiler

SectorC: A C Compiler in 512 bytes SectorC (github) is a C compiler written in x86-16 assembly that fits within the 512 byte boot sector of an x86 machine. It supports a subset of C that is large enough to write real and interesting programs. It is quite likely the smallest C compiler ever written. In a base64 encoding, it looks like this: 6gUAwAdoADAfaAAgBzH/6DABPfQYdQXoJQHr8+gjAVOJP+gSALDDo AegFAYnYg/hNdFuE9nQNs0iqiwcp+IPoAqvr4j3/FXUG60UAquvXP A0sF6CgA680w6ayYKfiD6Akrifgp8CaJRP7rrOg4ALiFWku4D4Srq ieu4iRQRQuIs26IAAWKvD6AcAiieu4iQbrc4nd6HkA6HYADgAHgf4fv UKr0wDOgWc4WZGrW4D/WHUMuDnIq7i4AKu4AA+ririrH8M9jfx1C JIP49nUI6BwAuI0G6wyE0nQFSLiq6wa4iwarAduJ2KvrA+gAAOhLA weEIMFr2wqD6DABw+gqA0Vqicg9Ly90Dj0qL3QSPskoD5TGidjD6 sI1x9osEMQQ803QUuAACMdLNFlDkgHX0PDt1BlKEMcBaw/v/A8H9/ wYQA0+CaANP4jwCUwHf/lcAMAJzADGcfwiUAnsCZAJ3AAAAAAA

SectorC is presented as a C compiler written in x86-16 assembly that fits inside a 512-byte boot sector. The joke is the absurdly tiny base64-encoded compiler: despite its size, it reportedly supports enough C to write real programs, making the extreme compression itself the punchline.

• @gentoomemes / 4729 2023-05-26