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The Toughest Developer Puzzle Ever

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What is the answer to this: Enter the command to show the server variables in php:

It's got to be some short text cause $_SERVER, phpinfo, getenv, and other variants don;t work.

phpinfo();

doesn't work!!!

Im at #16, cause I don't know php

Stuck at level #13

Me too. I tried both words and numbers.

Same. It's really tough. I think the 3rd one is all that I'm missing, and I have no ideas for it.

I'm pretty sure I have the third one, but not two or four.

And I'm sure I nailed first three but have no clue about the fourth. tried characters and numbers. Not sure if numbers should be attempted forward or reverse.

All four answers are just numbers.

This one annoyed me so here's a hint to what I was doing "wrong".

http://pastie.org/531585

I am stuck at #13. I tried using 6 & 9 for G ...but it does not work. I am sure I have all 4 answers (1) G...(2)B* (3)B* (4)L*, but it seems it is not accepting.

Did you put them upside down?

Yes I did that too. if the answer is 1069 ..i tried entering 1069 and 9601 ...it does not pass. Am I missing something?

Did you think of the plural ?

did you solve it yet ?

Similarly beware of using the wrong digit for "L".

Jeez finally got through after about 20 tries... HINT: Try plurals... And the fourth is a bit unfair cuz it's not exclusively a geeks childhood toy...

Don't waste your time on this stupid puzzle. #13 is just completely unfair. There are too many combinations (if the answer ends with '0' do add a '5' to form a plural or use a decimal point? Do you use '9' or '8' to represent 'b'?) Trying out all the possibilities is just not fun. And the 4th question is too much of a guessing game.

Well you're entitled to your opinion of course, but #4 is not a guessing game - the answer is given to you, you just have to work out how to find it.

#17 has me totally stumped though, anyone offer any clues? I've tried naming the computer, the institute, the museum... no luck :-(

I don't mean the 4th task, I mean the 4th question in task #13

Oh, my mistake; #13 certainly is a pain, although as it happens, my first guess for part 4 was correct because I happen to fit that stereotype :-)

any hints for #14

the username is the computers name and the password is the year it was completed. Wikipedia's not really accurate on that last count, so try google.

Can't seem to find a way into level 27, stuck at 26. Din't find anything in the source. Tried following addresses "ponandzi.aspx", "ponzi.aspx", "jefthomas.aspx", "azuzephre.aspx"... nothing seems to get me into level 27... Any hints???

For #26, just check the cookie headers... The cat is telling you that the cookie were eaten/written... Very easy.

I'm surprised no-one has yet pointed out that #15 does not work in FireFox 3 (I happen to know the answer and was confused that there seemed to be no way to enter it - until I switched to Safari.)

I got email confirmation but it says I didn't solve the puzzle exactly.. I guess I got the correct mail address but there's something missing. any hints?

Does anyone have additional hints for #27?

The important hint is "Take the first one each time"...

Ask yourself why there is a period in the first column all by itself.

The "distance" comment has something to do with a word formula.

A word formula damn...

I found the answer on that page, but I still don't get it, between what you say and the relationship with that algorithm.

http://php.net/manual/en/function.similar-text.php

Whats the answer for 16!!!! is annoying

any hints on this???? HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

phpinfo(); it was from above and is correct.

agreed very annoying I couldn't figure this out either. tried foreaching through the $_SERVER too still can't get it.

Level #13: google, bsod, bios, lego is not working, I also tried "gijoe" and plural and inverted...

Microsoft BOB works though (in caps) and 4th is plural, reverse the words with 6 for g, 7 for L and 8 for B

Hey all,

I've been at number 30 for a few days and is still stuck. Does anyone have pointers for this?

I got the email, but puzzle isn't complete. Don't understand whats missing. Maybe correct email subject?

I see. I still haven't been able to decipher it to get the email address, how were you able to?

Maybe this can help

Tip #1 : 100 letters all numbered from 1 to 100 when reading from left to right then top to bottom.

Tip #2: Take pi and split into pieces of 2. At what position is the @ sign?

Hm well it's the 53rd letter, and the pi number is "48".

I've tried adding them up and the ASCII of the letter to try to get the actual decrypted letter but that doesn't seem to work so well. :C

Looking too far

pi is 3.14592653589793238462643383

See a 53 in there? :)

Then what position is the dot? See that number in there?

then again, as I said before, I'm not sure this email is the valid one. I got an answer, but not the one expected...

Apparently there is an auto responder set up, to notify you if have found the correct address.

but it seems that something is incorrect even if this email is valid... Need more hints! This is like a neverending story

any more hints

perfect hint! follow it :) it works

did you get a confirmation?

any hint on level2, i'm stuck there..thanks

Got a confirmation, but it said that I missed something, and so it continues!

got the confirmation mail.

does the confirmation say your done or that its not finished?? If your done, any hints? :)

Yes!.I got it.

I'm on ping pong, which appears to be level 29... So you're on the one after that?

Okay now I just got to figure out the email thing and I'll win.

Me too.. Completely lost.

Argh. I see the clue; it just makes no sense. I see the at-sign and the dot, and I suppose the riddle tells you how to decode the rest.

It's some type of cipher. The pi and chunks of two are some clue that i've yet to figure out since I'm busy at work...

yeah, work is getting in the way of my solution too...

stucked on the last one.. could you give me a hint please?

Why does VanillaIceCream (question 22) call it's parent class's constructor?

Can anyone who solved #13 just put the darn answer down!

#13: gOOgLE, BOB, BIOS, LEGOS (flip it, reverse on a calc)

You have enough hints now...

is there any other trick here? I have tried all possible combinations (reverse , read right to left), still does not work. tx

nevermind. i did it. Conclusion: it has nothing to do with development. If you're lucky enough you might figure out that some of the letter are capitalized, some not, reverse them... Lame!

No just use Wikipedia table to translate these answers:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leet

I can't find how to get to level 25... :(

open level24.js, type the answer or go to that URL...

BTW, the level25 is a fake 404 page, read the stack trace...

wow! thanks a lot.. never thought of it... :D

the transition from 24 to 25 is tricky.

Officially stuck at trying to get from 24 to 25. They tell you to go a url for 25 but it doesn't exist.... This is mind boggling.

I'm stuck on the last one (which I think is the hardest), but 24-25 is a tricky one as well. The answer is in there though ;)

EDIT: I think I may actually have figured it out just now...turns out my original method was just a little off. Now to wait and see if I won!

What number is the last one - I'm now down to level 27.

There are 30 levels.

any hints on #29?

I'm stuck at #27 too.

2 7, 27

@puzzlehints

Twenty Seven: Take the first one each time. They'll get you the distance.

This is not the hint. Seriously stop checking.

The answer is a PHP function name or algorithm to calculate the distance between two words.

If you take the distance of both pages you get 8, which is the number of words in the "This is not the hint. Seriously stop checking."

I guess the hint is way too difficult: "word distance algorithm" would have been easier.

you should get an email very quickly if you got it right

The problem with developers is that they do not read anymore... especially when the compiler gives you a hint...

Also stuck to 24/25 ... I've seen something which should be a clue but I clearly don't see what I have to do ...

Somebody help me with #21

What're those round numbers?

  var round = function(number){
      var binary = number.toString(2);
      var hex = number.toString(16);
      var R = function(str){
          return /^10*$/.test(str);
      };
      return R(binary) && R(hex);
  };

That I wrote this just shows how special class I am... If a number is "round" in base-n that just means it's a power of n, and obviously all powers of 16 are also powers of 2.

What's the hint on level 30?

Also looking for hint on #27

still looking for 27....any furhter hints??

any hints on level 6? I am not a developer. But I made it this far!

im stuck in level 2..what do i need to do to go to level 3...thanks

Just go straight to level 3...

stuck on debuging javascripts. im not sure if its #5

Answers:

1) http://www.toughestdeveloperpuzzleever.com/tdpe/level1.aspx

Click on the knob

2) http://www.toughestdeveloperpuzzleever.com/tdpe/level2.aspx

Read sentence and type this:

3) http://www.toughestdeveloperpuzzleever.com/tdpe/level3.aspx

View page source and type this:

4) http://www.jeffblankenburg.com/tdpe/jeff.aspx

View source, copy-paste to calc in bin mode, convert to hex, pair of 2 hex: U: 69,68,65,61,72,74 and P: 73,6F,66,74,77,61,72,65 open an ASCII hex chart table and translate (61-79 is a-z lowercase):

Type Username: iheart Password: software and Proceed

5) http://www.jeffblankenburg.com/tdpe/thatisnotenglish.aspx

View source, image is called wingdings.png, open WordPad, type a-z in lowercase in wingding font match the image symbols, convert to arial, copy-paste.

Type Username: wheelof Password: jeopardy and Proceed

6) http://www.jeffblankenburg.com/tdpe/yesthatisjavascript.aspx #cns

Read the script, copy/paste in an HTML dummy page, fix bugs, it should be:

regexp.exec() (c missing) checkNonInteger() (n missing) primes[] (s missing)

Type solution: cns and Proceed

7) http://www.jeffblankenburg.com/tdpe/algebra.aspx

Substitute downward until you get:

1+x+x+x+x=89 x=(89-1)/4

Type x=22 and Proceed

8) http://www.jeffblankenburg.com/tdpe/sudoku.aspx

By simple deduction, it cannot be 2,3,5,6,7 so you are left with 1,4,8,9 Either solve the puzzle or just try them all four, one by one.

Type x=9 and Proceed.

9) http://www.jeffblankenburg.com/tdpe/BOSSLEVEL.aspx

Two different ways: Open the JavaScript code translate into keys and do it. Search on Google: "Contra 30 lives"

Open IE for this one, it is broken in Firefox 3.

Press: UP,UP,DOWN,DOWN,LEFT,RIGHT,LEFT,RIGHT,B,A

10) http://www.jeffblankenburg.com/tdpe/notourprincess.aspx

View source, click the image...

11) http://codinggeekette.com/tdpe/mybff.aspx

View source, look for that sentence in Google.

Type: http://www.codinggeekette.com/tdpe/mybff.aspx?user=software&...

12) http://www.codinggeekette.com/tdpe/monumental.aspx

Does not work anymore... Type: http://www.codinggeekette.com/tdpe/sequencename.aspx?rnd=fib...

13) http://www.codinggeekette.com/tdpe/calcwords.aspx

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Bob (Hint: Melinda Gates was the project manager)

gOOgLE, BOB, BIOS, LEgOS

(reverse with digits, if not convince try with a real calculator)

Type: 376006, 808, 5018, 50637 and Proceed

14) http://www.codinggeekette.com/tdpe/notasnake.aspx

Search on Google: "Zen of python"

Type: import this and Proceed

15) http://www.codinggeekette.com/tdpe/idclipdoom.aspx

Search on Google: "Doom I" cheat code next level

Type: IDSPISPOPD

16) http://www.codinggeekette.com/tdpe/showmethevariables.aspx

Try the common server config display http://php.net/phpinfo

Type: phpinfo();

17) http://www.codinggeekette.com/tdpe/oldschool.aspx

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ENIAC, wikipedia says 1946... try 1945.

Type Username: eniac Password: 1945 and Proceed

18) http://www.codinggeekette.com/tdpe/chinchillas.aspx

Search on Google: smalltalk chinchillas implementation

http://www.squeak.org/

Type: squeak and Proceed

19) http://www.codinggeekette.com/tdpe/icanhazcode.aspx

Search on Google: "CAN HAS STDIO?"

Example ends with: KTHXBYE

Type: KTHXBYE and Proceed

20) http://www.codinggeekette.com/tdpe/kthxbye.aspx

View source, click the image

21) http://brendan.enrick.com/tdpe/untitled.aspx

Use code above to find the correct number.

Type: 1162564096 and Proceed

22) http://brendan.enrick.com/tdpe/icecream.aspx

Call ancestor class first in order (implicit super() being called)

Type: 134124 and Proceed, then click on the link

23) http://brendan.enrick.com/tdpe/threelawsofrobotics.aspx?x=Ro...

Search on Google: "robot laws" Answer also in view source

Type: http://brendan.enrick.com/tdpe/threelawsofrobotics.aspx?x=As...

24) http://brendan.enrick.com/tdpe/level24.aspx?x=superSecretExt...

Open level24.js or secret.js

Type: thisistheanswer and Proceed, then type URL:

25) http://toughestdeveloperpuzzleever.com/tdpe/level25.aspx

Read 404 message, compare to a real one, it says in suffix:

", but it's more likely you're being fooled."

View source, read stack trace:

"at System.Web.UI.ThisIsAFakeErrorPage.YouCanGetPastIt.GetToNextPuzzle(ToughestDeveloper puzzleEver, DotCom slash, TdpeSlash level, TwentySix dotAspx)"

26) http://toughestdeveloperpuzzleever.com/Tdpe/levelTwentySix.a...

View source, either use show cookie, Firebug or HTTP Live headers:

Cookie header says: nextLevel=--> http://www.toughestdeveloperpuzzleever.com/tdpe/twoseven.asp... <--;

27) http://www.toughestdeveloperpuzzleever.com/tdpe/twoseven.asp... and http://jexed.com/tdpe/twentyseventext.aspx

"Take the first one each time. They'll get you the distance."

The author means take each page name and plug it into the leveinstein function, you will get the word distance of 8, which is the number of words in: "This is not the hint. Seriously stop checking."

Search on Google: distance algorithm

http://php.net/manual/en/function.levenshtein.php

28) http://jexed.com/tdpe/levenshtein.aspx

<?php echo levenshtein("killer","bunnies"); // output 6

Type 6 and Proceed

29) http://jexed.com/tdpe/pingpong.aspx

Now, compare those two images: http://jexed.com/tdpe/assets/images/pingpong.png

Search on Google Images: ping pong tournament http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1121/1098453615_f41fb895bd.jp...

The title is different, now read the sentence: "There's a command in that image. Maybe you should start following instructions."

open a command prompt, type: "ping pong.com", you get: "Pinging pong.com [68.178.232.99] with 32 bytes of data:"

Type one number in each box "68 178 232 99" and Proceed

30) http://jexed.com/tdpe/congratulations.aspx

View page source and figure it out yourself :D

Supplemental hints:

13) A popular search engine: Google

A failed interface to an operating system: Microsoft Bob

Search on Google: Microsoft failed GUI

When the computer first boots up, you can log into its: BIOS

Search on Google Image: computer first boots up

Childhood toys for many geeks: Legos

Search on Google Image: "Childhood toys" First link is: "Favorite childhood toys from the '80s" for Legos

16) Search on Google: display server configuration php

17) Search on Google: Smithsonian computer panel museum

12) The sequence name is fibonacci and the rnd=311, so you should type this to get redirected to problem 13:

http://www.codinggeekette.com/tdpe/fibonacci.aspx?rnd=311

I've been stuck on #30 for days... any good hints? I found an email following the hints I had already posted before, but it's not complete.

I am struck at #14

whew! done.. can sleep peacefully now... hehehe

Any hints on #30?

Any Hint for 28?

Use the PHP function you wrote to get from 27 to 28 with the arguments given in 28...

Stuck @29 :(

same here can;t go beyond 29

ufhooo @30.. need to break the email..

what did you do at 29?

look at the image and it tells you what to do

got it...stuck @30 now

it's 100 symbols without spaces, so email shouldn't be that long, so may be: a) several cipher symbols mean 1 clear text symbol or b) you must skip some symbols

my interpretation of "if you throw a pi at the wall, does it break into chunks of two" - take pi value in binary like 11.00100100001111110110... and assume, that 1 means keep symbol, 0 means discard it, but that didn't produce meaningfull email :( Such interpratation just shows, that hint is not clear enough, too much variations.

how about not converting to binary :) try thinking about chunks of two

i too am struggling...can anyone who solved give more hints?

i am through..got the email :)

I looked at the image: http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1121/1098453615_f41fb895bd.jp...

and I still have no clue what are the 4 commands...

Type the DOS command: "ping pong.com" and enter the IP address digit...

any hints on #30?

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