is there any powerful program that can.....

[news.hku.hk]

I'd like to ask if there is any program that can give me the source file
(*.cpp) when i only have the executable file (*.exe) ?

Thanks a lot~

[Joona I Palaste]

news.hku.hk <bi******@hkusua.hku.hk> scribbled the following:

I'd like to ask if there is any program that can give me the source file
(*.cpp) when i only have the executable file (*.exe) ?

Such programs are known as decompilers, but they're not perfect. It is
impossible for a decompiler to give you back the same source code as the
original, because compiling is a lossy process. For example, all
comments, formatting and usually all local variable names are lost. This
is known as the "hamburger to cow" problem.

--
/-- Joona Palaste (pa*****@cc.helsinki.fi) ------------- Finland --------\
\-- http://www.helsinki.fi/~palaste --------------------- rules! --------/
"Bad things only happen to scoundrels."
- Moominmamma

[Martijn]

Joona I Palaste wrote:

news.hku.hk <bi******@hkusua.hku.hk> scribbled the following:

I'd like to ask if there is any program that can give me the source
file (*.cpp) when i only have the executable file (*.exe) ?

Such programs are known as decompilers, but they're not perfect. It is
impossible for a decompiler to give you back the same source code as
the original, because compiling is a lossy process. For example, all
comments, formatting and usually all local variable names are lost.
This is known as the "hamburger to cow" problem.

Not to forget about any optimizations that have been performed :)

And if all symbols have been stripped (such as "local" functions being
static), all gets even worse.

Good luck,

Martijn
http://www.sereneconcepts.nl

[Ben Pfaff]

"news.hku.hk" <bi******@hkusua.hku.hk> writes:

I'd like to ask if there is any program that can give me the source file
(*.cpp) when i only have the executable file (*.exe) ?

For me gdb usually does just fine at finding my source files, as
long as I haven't moved or deleted them since I compiled.
--
"C has its problems, but a language designed from scratch would have some too,
and we know C's problems."
--Bjarne Stroustrup

[Martin Ambuhl]

news.hku.hk wrote:

I'd like to ask if there is any program that can give me the source file
(*.cpp) when i only have the executable file (*.exe) ?

C++ questions are off-topic here, but I'll answer this anyway: No, there is
not.
If this is your own program, now is the time to learn to back up your
sources. Otherwise, stop trying to steal other people's work.
--
Martin Ambuhl

[Martin Dickopp]

Martin Ambuhl <ma*****@earthlink.net> writes:

news.hku.hk wrote:

I'd like to ask if there is any program that can give me the source file
(*.cpp) when i only have the executable file (*.exe) ?

[...] Otherwise, stop trying to steal other people's work.

Huh? There are perfectly valid reasons to reverse engineer a program.
If they apply, reverse engineering is also legal in most countries.

Martin

[Randy Howard]

In article <40********@newsgate.hku.hk>, bi******@hkusua.hku.hk says...

I'd like to ask if there is any program that can give me the source file
(*.cpp) when i only have the executable file (*.exe) ?

Thanks a lot~

http://www.woodmann.com/crackz/Tools.htm

The above link is probably not 100% legit (or even 50), but it has
information on your question.

This isn't the place for it.

--
Randy Howard
2reply remove FOOBAR

[Lew Pitcher]

news.hku.hk wrote:

I'd like to ask if there is any program that can give me the source file
(*.cpp) when i only have the executable file (*.exe) ?

Certainly, but it's a subroutine of the Graphic Omnicient Device (or G.O.D. for
short), and is only available for the Harlie OS.

--
Lew Pitcher

Master Codewright and JOAT-in-training
Registered Linux User #112576 (http://counter.li.org/)
Slackware - Because I know what I'm doing.