Editing Polyglot (computing) (section)

==History==
{{See also|Steganography#History|label 1=History of steganography}}

Polyglot programs have been crafted as challenges and curios in [[hacker culture]] since at least the early 1990s. A notable early example, named simply <code>polyglot</code> was published on the [[Usenet]] group rec.puzzles in 1991, supporting eight languages, though this was inspired by even earlier programs.<ref>{{cite web |title=Polyglot: A program in eight languages |url=https://ideology.com.au/polyglot/ |access-date=6 September 2022 |archive-date=6 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220906233052/https://ideology.com.au/polyglot/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2000, a polyglot program was named a winner in the [[International Obfuscated C Code Contest]].<ref>{{cite web |title=15th International Obfuscated C Code Contest (2000) |url=https://www.ioccc.org/years.html#2000_tomx |access-date=6 September 2022 |archive-date=6 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220906233051/https://www.ioccc.org/years.html#2000_tomx |url-status=live }}</ref>

In the 21st century, polyglot programs and files gained attention as a [[covert channel]] mechanism for propagation of [[malware]].<ref name="TDPF"/> <ref name="APF">{{cite arXiv |eprint=2407.01529|last1=Koch |first1=Luke |last2=Oesch |first2=Sean |last3=Chaulagain |first3=Amul |last4=Dixon |first4=Jared |last5=Dixon |first5=Matthew |last6=Huettal |first6=Mike | last7=Sadovnik | first7=Amir| last8=Watson | first8=Cory| last9=Weber| first9=Brian | last10=Hartman| first10=Jacob| last11=Patulski| first11=Richard |title=On the Abuse and Detection of Polyglot Files |year=2024 |class=cs.CR }}</ref> Polyglot files have practical applications in [[Computer_compatibility#Software|compatibility]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Benefits of polyglot XHTML5 |url=http://www.xmlplease.com/xhtml/xhtml5polyglot/ |access-date=4 September 2022 |archive-date=12 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111012190748/http://xmlplease.com/xhtml/xhtml5polyglot/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>