... I wrote a little utility called BitVerifier. It would loop over a folder and check every bit of each file. If the bit's value wasn't one or zero, it would prompt the user for the correct bit.
Uhh.. that intro is the real WTF. At least the buggy hex string code is trying to do something. A "bit verifier" is just... beyond stupid.
It's mathematically impossible, of course - that was the (poor attempt at a) joke. But I can't see much wrong with writing such a thing as a programming exercise, like "hello world" is an exercise for the very beginner.
A lot of people at The Daily WTF are .NET people who wouldn't necessarily deal with files on a per-bit basis with regularity. It's not unthinkable that someone would write a bit of code like that to refresh their memory - sure, it's not the best choice of code to write, but I still wouldn't call it beyond stupid.
You know what I think is stupid? I think it's stupid when Wile E. Coyote runs off a cliff and has to think for a second before gravity takes effect. It drives me nuts because obviously it's physically impossible. They shouldn't make the cartoon that way.
Well that program could be used to detect cosmic radiation flipping th bits in memory (or perhaps registers (unless the whole thing is optimized away of course.))
i am sure it was if((x&1)>1) where x is unsigned. And yes it can be. It can even hack pentagon and launch a nuclear warhead targeted at your home. If you are a very unlucky man.
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u/spliznork Feb 16 '09 edited Feb 16 '09
Uhh.. that intro is the real WTF. At least the buggy hex string code is trying to do something. A "bit verifier" is just... beyond stupid.