2 Dec
2006
2 Dec
'06
5:59 p.m.
On 2 Dec 2006 at 23:16, Tony Duell wrote:
I would argue software sources are more educational
than useful (not that
education is not a very important 'use' :-)). I like scheamtics of old
computers for 2 reasons, firstly to learn how they worked, and secondly
to be able to repair them if something failes. Only the first is really
applicable to software, software doesn't fail in the same sense that
hardware can.
If you're reading someone else's software, the stuff that isn't
executable code can really give you a window on the mind of the
author and answer the question "What kind of person wrote this--a
hack, someone trying to show off, or someone who really put a lot of
thought into what s/he was doing?". And even more importantly, "Did
whoever wrote this actually know what s/he was doing?"
Unfortuantely, you don't get that with decompiled/disassembled code.
It might be possible to infer it, but it's quite a bit more
difficult.
Cheers,
Chuck