A program which would print out it's own source code - possible ornot?

[mikhal80]

Is it possible to write a program which would print out it's own
source code, using C++?

[anon]

Victor Bazarov wrote:

Kira Yamato wrote:

>On 2008-01-23 10:24:30 -0500, anon <an**@no.nosaid :

>>mi******@gmail. com wrote:
Is it possible to write a program which would print out it's own
source code, using C++?
yes, here is one example for free:

deep, philosophically ... lol.

It probably is. But my dumb compiler complains that there is no
'main' in my program...

You need to tweak it a bit (different compiler options). My linker
complains:
(.text+0x18): undefined reference to `main'
:(

[James Kanze]

On Jan 23, 10:41 pm, "Bo Persson" <[e-mail] te:

Victor Bazarov wrote:

Kira Yamato wrote:

On 2008-01-23 10:24:30 -0500, anon <[e-mail] :

>mikha...@gmail .com wrote:
Is it possible to write a program which would print out it's own
source code, using C++?

>yes, here is one example for free:

deep, philosophically ... lol.

It probably is. But my dumb compiler complains that there is no
'main' in my program...

But other compilers actually once compiled this, ran it, and produced
an identical empty output.

For what system? In a hosted environment, a C++ program must
contain a function main somewhere.

--
James Kanze (GABI Software) email:ja******* **@gmail.com
Conseils en informatique orientée objet/
Beratung in objektorientier ter Datenverarbeitu ng
9 place Sémard, 78210 St.-Cyr-l'École, France, [phone]

[Pascal J. Bourguignon]

kwikius <an**@servocomm .freeserve.co.u kwrites:

>When I tried it, it worked in the directory where I compiled it,
but when I copied it to ~/bin, and invoked it from there, it
output an earlier suggestion---the one without a main.

Yes! It was hard solving that one as well but I figured it eventually.
Isnt that even more useful than the original application?... its
multipurpose :-)

But it's not what's specified.

So how could you write a program that writes a copy of its source,
without relying on run-time external files other than the executable,
since they may not be available?

--
__Pascal Bourguignon__

[Puppet_Sock]

On Jan 23, 6:15*am, mikha...@gmail. com wrote:

Is it possible to write a program which would print out it's own
source code, using C++?

That's old. The trick is to get the compiler
to spit out the entire source code from
messages produced during compilation.
Socks

[Ioannis Vranos]

red floyd wrote:

>
Allow me to correct Pascal's code:

int main()
{
// add something here to print its own source.
// this is left as an exercise to the reader
return 0;
}

Non-portably and as a first thought I can think of this for my system:
#include <cstdlib>

int main()
{
std::system("ca t main.cc");
}
It outputs:

[john@localhost src]$ ./foobar-cpp
#include <cstdlib>

int main()
{
std::system("ca t main.cc");
}

[john@localhost src]$

[Ioannis Vranos]

Ioannis Vranos wrote:

>
Non-portably and as a first thought I can think of this for my system:
#include <cstdlib>

int main()
{
std::system("ca t main.cc");
}
It outputs:

[john@localhost src]$ ./foobar-cpp
#include <cstdlib>

int main()
{
std::system("ca t main.cc");
}

[john@localhost src]$

This can be improved my specifying int main(int argc, char **argv),
taking as an argument the source file. The program requirements doesn't
specify that arguments are prohibited.

But regarding portability, that isn't portable too.

[Laurent D.A.M. MENTEN]

mi******@gmail. com a écrit :

Is it possible to write a program which would print out it's own
source code, using C++?

I am not very confident with this but I think there are debugging
options or formats that embedded the source code in the executable... If
a programm is able to display these informations it surely can be
executed againsts itself.

[Puppet_Sock]

On Jan 24, 2:03*pm, Pascal Bourguignon <p...@informati mago.comwrote:

Puppet_Sock <puppet_s...@ho tmail.comwrites :

On Jan 23, 6:15*am, mikha...@gmail. com wrote:

Is it possible to write a program which would print out it's own
source code, using C++?

That's old. The trick is to get the compiler
to spit out the entire source code from
messages produced during compilation.

Then it wouldn't be the program that would print out its own source
code, it would be the compiler.

You know, I never get the memos. When did the memo
go around that we were all supposed to be idiots?

Me: The trick is to get the compiler to do it.
You: Then it would be the compiler doing it.
Me: (Does my Benny Hill imitation, slapping you
repeatedly on the back of the head like
B.H. did that little bald guy.)
Socks

[Matt]

I cannot see why it would be impossible to write a decompiler that was
carefully coded to decompile itself to its own source.
Is there some computation theory that I am missing?

Is it possible to write a program which would print out it's own
source code, using C++?

[kwikius]

On Jan 24, 4:16*pm, p...@informatim ago.com (Pascal J. Bourguignon)
wrote:

kwikius <a...@servocomm .freeserve.co.u kwrites:

When I tried it, it worked in the directory where I compiled it,
but when I copied it to ~/bin, and invoked it from there, it
output an earlier suggestion---the one without a main.

Yes! It was hard solving that one as well but I figured it eventually.
Isnt that even more useful than the original application?... its
multipurpose :-)

But it's not what's specified.

From the O.P....

"Is it possible to write a program which would print out it's own
source code, using C++? "
As explained above I've even thrown in some very useful extra
functionality!! :-)

regards
Andy Little