ICK(1)

💖 ICK — the INTERCAL compiler, bestie edition 💖

okay so you found ick (that's ICK(1), General Commands Manual energy) and you're about to have the time of your LIFE. sit down, hydrate, let's go 🫶

✨ NAME ✨

ick — the INTERCAL compiler. that's it, that's the whole name, no notes 💅

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

ick [options] file...

ick -e [options] intercal-file [non-intercal-file...] [library...]

like... two whole shapes of invocation. pick your fighter ✨

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

so this manual page is a brief little rundown of the ick command, no cap. it was originally written for the Debian GNU/Linux distribution (but other people can absolutely use it too, it's not gatekept 💜), because the original program straight up did not have a manual page — tragic, honestly — and then it got added back into the main distribution. glow-up fr.

want the fuller documentation? run info ick (that's for the ick command itself). want even fuller than full? run info C-INTERCAL, which has the docs for both the compiler and the INTERCAL language. she contains multitudes, periodt 👑

ick takes INTERCAL programs and generates code from them (by running gcc, because we delegate around here 💅).

ngl, the base a program is written in is deduced from its file extension. this is not optional, bestie. INTERCAL programs in base 2 must have the extension .i, and INTERCAL programs in bases from 3 to 7 must have an extension from .3i to .7i respectively. get it wrong and it's over for you 😭

also: no options take arguments. none. zero. you can give multiple options separately or combined in the usual way (yes, even -e, iconic). the order you give options in is irrelevant unless they conflict — and if they conflict, the options given last on the command line win. last one standing, main character energy 🌈

💅 OPTIONS 💅

• -c — compile INTERCAL to C, but do not compile the resulting C. half-finished, on purpose, we love a cliffhanger 🎀
• -d — print yacc debugging information. this implies -c.
• -t — requires strict INTERCAL-72 compliance, which means it rejects COME FROM, the extensions for bases other than two, and all the other features that INTERCAL-72 simply did not have. strict queen, no crumbs 💀
• -b — disables the INTERCAL-72 random-bug feature. yes that's a real feature. no I will not elaborate (the manpage doesn't) 🙈
• -O — attempt to optimize expressions in the generated code. try your best, king ✨
• -C — clockface output, using IIII rather than IV in Roman numerals. aesthetic choice, respected 🕰️
• -f — optimize control flow in the generated code. note that this prevents -yp.
• -F — optimize everything in the generated code for speed, regardless of how slow the compiler becomes or how large the object file becomes. go big or go home. implies -fO, and prevents -cdeghpyH. she does not share the aux 🔥
• -h — print optimizer debugging information. implies -cO.
• -H — print verbose optimizer debugging information. implies -cO.
• -hH — print optimizer debugging information in a different form. implies -cO. yes, -hH is its own thing, it's giving duo 💫
• -w — enable the +printflow option in output programs even if they are not multithreaded. generosity 💖
• -y — run the yuk debugger on the code. prevents -fme.
• -p — run the yuk profiler on the code. prevents -fme.
• -m — allow multithreading and backtracking. prevents -ype, and implies -w.
• -e — link one INTERCAL file to non-INTERCAL files or to expansion libraries. doing this changes the syntax of the command line: the first file given must be the INTERCAL source file, then any number of files in other languages to link via the external calls system (currently only C and maybe Befunge-98 programs are allowed), and then any number of expansion libraries. the non-INTERCAL files will be processed to link them to the INTERCAL files, then compiled with gcc and linked to the main INTERCAL program. it's a whole crossover episode 🌈
• -E — do not link any system libraries, even if the code suggests that one or more is needed. prevents -P.
• -a — allow the use of the CREATE statement. prevents -P.
• -v — allow anything on the left of an assignment, and turn off the protection that constants otherwise have against being assigned to. chaos, consented to 💀 prevents -fFOP.
• -P — compile PIC-INTERCAL rather than INTERCAL. prevents -amFvxeE, and implies -cfO.
• -o — output to stdout rather than .c. implies -c.
• -X — interpret ambiguous syntax such as ? and @ with Princeton meanings (as used by CLC-INTERCAL), rather than with the default Atari meanings. two dialects, one diva 🎀
• -x — use CLC-INTERCAL rules for text I/O and for abstaining from a GIVE UP by label. prevents -P.
• -u — print a message whenever the compiler tries to open a file. nosy, in a helpful way 🦋
• -U — dump core on E778 as well as printing an error. dramatic! it's giving and I oop 😭
• -Y — display the command lines for programs invoked by ick. receipts, always 🧾
• -g — leave the generated C in place, and make the output executable debuggable.
• -l — attempt to report likely bugs and nonportabilities. implies -O. she's a hater but she's right 💜

👑 SEE ALSO 👑

• the newsgroup alt.lang.intercal is where INTERCAL compilers get announced, and where INTERCAL itself is discussed.
• the website http://catb.org/~esr/intercal is where the most recent versions of C-INTERCAL are currently hosted. go visit, it's iconic ⭐

🌟 AUTHOR 🌟

ick was originally written by Eric S. Raymond. this manual page was originally written by Mark W. Eichin <eichin@kitten.gen.ma.us>, for the Debian GNU/Linux system. legends only 🫶

and that's the whole page bestie!! it's the ICK(1) page from the General Commands Manual, and yeah the footer is just ICK(1) again because the manpage said so — take care of yourself, compile responsibly, and remember: no options take arguments 💖✨🎀🦋🌸💅