Mmastodon TechnologyInternet first seen 6 d ago, last 6 d ago, peak #1

How curl was accidentally Turing-complete for nine months

Original: How curl was accidentally Turing-complete for nine months From curl 8.12 through 8.16, config files could slice variable

The curl command-line tool turned out to be accidentally Turing-complete between versions 8.12 and 8.16, a span of roughly nine months. Its config files could slice variable values and include other config files with no explicit depth cap, and combined these features could simulate any two-counter Minsky program. The discovery is drawing attention as a quirky example of how small, harmless-looking features can combine into full computational power.

Why now: The surprising finding that a widely used download tool could, in effect, run arbitrary computations is fascinating to developers.

curl

Open on mastodon →

Evidence

• How curl was accidentally Turing-complete for nine months From curl 8.12 through 8.16, config files could slice variable values and include other config files without an explicit depth cap. Together, these features let curl simulate any two-counter Minsky program. Under the… · osnews@mstdn.social · 24

API: https://socialmediatrends-api.osmike.com/v1/trends/4342864