Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!mips!apple!portal!cup.portal.com!tczarnik From: tczarnik@cup.portal.com (Tom A Czarnik) Newsgroups: comp.misc Subject: Re: CORE WAR inquiry- has any =one heard of this thing? Message-ID: <42868@cup.portal.com> Date: 1 Jun 91 21:47:16 GMT References: <1991May29.150606.25121@cs.yale.edu> <194@s5000.rsvl.unisys.com> <1084@wshb.csms.com> Distribution: na Organization: The Portal System (TM) Lines: 35 I have an address, but the International Core War Society may have moved. Attn: William Buckley 5712 Kern Drive Huntington Beach, CA 92649-4535 From the reference source I have: Does the concept of worms and viruses fascinate you? There is a society of computer programmers just like you called the International Core Wars Society (ICWS). They pit their programming skills in a game called Core Wars. CW is an outgrowth of a game called "Darwin" originally developed in AT&T Bell Labs. CW works something like this: Two competitors write their own "warrior" programs. These programs are loaded into a computer arena, or CW Coliseum. The computer starts the game by equally dividing computer time between the two competitors.The two programs then compete for more computer time. A winner is declared when one program forces the computer to allot all of its time to that program. The other competitor is then "dead". In this anything-goes format, the software can reproduce, grab memory, overwrite the other program or do just about anything it can to force the other competitor out. These characteristics have direct analogies to worm and virus programs. Does this sound like a childish game? Both the Soviet Academy of Science and the Central Intelligence Agency don't think so; they are two in a long and distinguished list of members. Annual competions are held that pit the skills of some of the best programmers in the world BTW: Bill Buckley is an expert on worms and viruses. He wrote the first worm in 1985. And continues to write them for their educational value. Tom Czarnik tczarnik@cup.portal.com